This is dedicated to Sparkycsi.
Remember the Shuffle Challenge, when someone scared Carmen witless in chapter 10? Well this is what happened after the song ended.
It was Halloween Night, the house loomed in front of me dark and foreboding as I trod through it, my footsteps the only sound echoing through the silence. I shivered, my flash light in one hand and gun in the other as I crept through the dark doorway.
It had to me who got the call out to the only place with a reputation as Haunted House in the area. I didn't' scare easy but this place was giving me the creeps. On top of that there was no sign of the homicide detective on call and that unnerved me.
There was light coming from the mantle piece; the beam of my flash light lingers on the insane smile of an ill carved Jack O' Lantern. Its strange hallow smile looked perverse amongst the grinning photographs of the family littered around it.
A creaky floorboard caused me to spin around, pointing my gun at nothing but darkness. I clenched my jaw forcing myself to stop, and take a deep breath to calm my racing heart, as I took another step moving deeper into the darkness.
Halloween paraphernalia littered the room, Black and white streamers wrapped around my boots as I shuffled towards the open French windows. The wind was ruffling the paper ghosts that hung from the ceiling.
Another creak, another footstep, I swung around gun aiming at the darkest corner of the room. The light from my flash light showed nothing at all.
This house was definitely haunted…
A tiny rap caught my attention. I froze listening for the sound, eyes darting around the room. There…it came again, to the left of me, it sounded like it was coming from the window. I crept towards it, trying to be light on my feet, feeling icy cold hands run up and down my spine as I took another step. I reached out to pull the swaying curtain back.
"Boo!" I screamed dropping my weapon and lashing out as the clown's face loomed in my vision.
Strong hands grabbed me under my elbow drawing me closer I struggled against it.
"Carmen, calm down it's me," a familiar muffled voice muffled told me, as it pulled the mask off its face to reveal none other that Danny Messer staring down at me.
"You fucking bastard!" I yelled slapping at him. "I could have shot you."
Danny raised his hands fending me off as I shrieked at him. My heart was still pounding in my chest.
"Jesus Christ it would have been worth it, you should have seen your face." He laughed, grabbing my wrists and holding them together in front of him.
"You gonna stop hitting me now?" he asked still grinning.
I narrowed my eyes, before slapping at his arm again, harder this time.
"I should be hitting you harder you bastard, you scared the shit out of me."
"Hey, it wasn't my idea, it was his." I looked up to see Flack appear from behind the curtain looking sheepish, rubbing the back of his head.
"Surprise…" he said, cringing at the expression on my face.
"You were in on this too?! I am going to kill the both of you!" I screamed. "Of all the dangerous irresponsible things…"
I was interrupted by the creaking of the ceiling above us. I raised my gaze upwards frowning.
"O.K. What the hell have you two got up there?" I glared at the two offending men, whose gazes where locked on the ceiling, mouths hanging open.
"Princess, that ain't us," Flack promised as we stared at the growing dark spot on the white ceiling.
A droplet hit the floor as the ceiling groaned again, louder this time. The dark stain was still growing.
"That looks like…"
The ceiling above us exploded in a mass of debris, showering us all in powder as something crashed through it causing the three of us to leap back in terror.
Dust shrouded the room as we coughed and spluttered trying to see through its cloudy mass. Danny and Flack's weapons were drawn and pointed at the huge immobile bulk at our feet. Flack was the first to crouch down to examine the body.
"You won't believe this…" he muttered, tilting his gaze up to meet mine.
"We got ourselves a Frankenstein."
I leaned over getting a good look at the face before muttering the phrase "Happy Halloween," under my breath.