I know it isn't Halloween, or anywhere near the holiday, but I don't care! Here you go!
"I mean, are you really sure about this, Jane? Mazes are known bacterial breeding grounds, and some of the articles I've read recently about-"
"Hey, c'mon, it'll fine. This is fun! Besides, it's the last chance we'll have to do this tonight." Jane spread her arms wide and Maura looked at her askance until the grin slipped from her lips and she set her hands on Maura's shoulders with a serious expression. "Listen, just give it a go. Please? I promise you don't even have to, like, touch anything. Just follow me."
Around them, the sounds of the carnival echoed and the scent of fair food filled the air. Maura glanced at the people flowing around them without pausing and flicked her hazel eyes up to Jane's pleading face. "Fine. But!" She overrode Jane's exultant shout, hiding a smile when she slumped and groaned dramatically. "If I decide this isn't to my liking, then I get to choose the next activity we do here."
"Fiiiiine. C'mon!" Jane took Maura's hand and dragged her to the line for the horror house. She bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet as they shuffled closer to the front and swung their arms between them. "I haven't been to one of these since I was a kid! Me and Tommy and Frankie used to sneak over here every year just for this and see who screamed first." She snickered at the memory, swiping her thumb across the back of Maura's hand reassuringly.
"Don't worry about it though, it's not actually very scary. Just, like, guys in masks and some strobe lights." She waved her hand around nonchalantly and handed over some crumpled up bills to the bored looking attendant, then dragged Maura inside the creaking door. They were immediately surrounded by a dim light and the fabricated sounds of moaning and very real sounds of someone yelping fearfully up ahead. "Are you ready?" Maura squeezed her hand and let Jane lead them deeper within.
They paused at a closed door, Jane standing tall with Maura at her side, and they both jumped when a burst of air hit them from the side and the door shuddered open with a disquieting groan. "Jeez, you'd think that wouldn't bug me anymore." Jane laughed as they walked on, feeling Maura squeeze her hand when the sides of the corridor they were walking down lit up and revealed twisted pictures hanging on the damaged, bloodstained walls. "This has nothing on a crime scene though, right, Doc?"
"Visually, it isn't dissimilar to some of the more gruesome ones we've seen, but otherwise, I would agree." Maura jumped when they heard a demented laugh on the other side of the wall, pushing closer to Jane's back. A door slammed somewhere nearby, then they shuffled into a larger room that disappeared into shadows on their peripherals. "Jane?"
"I don't really remember this," she whispered. "It's been a while, and they've redone a lot."
Just then, the lights came up and the boarded up windows came into view. Bloodied hands scratched at the boards and pushed them off. Faces that were decomposing and feral growled from the openings and Jane jumped when something heavy banged on the door they had come through. "Holy shit," she breathed, standing protectively at Maura's side with her free hand inching toward her belt where her service weapon normally sat. The zombies pulled themselves through the windows and started shuffling quickly toward them as the door burst open and more walked in with snarls twisting their faces. The only other door opened and Jane led Maura speedily toward it, watching as it closed on the small horde in the room.
They both relaxed and looked at each other, laughing in relief. Maura pressed her hand to her chest and blew strands of hair from her face. "Even though it isn't real, my body still reacted as though it was. I think I can see the appeal though, the adrenaline rush is quite lovely."
"Right? C'mon, let's get out of here, I'm craving fresh air and sunlight." They quickly made their way through the rest of the attraction and came out relatively unscathed, albeit a little more shaken from the various jumpscares interspersed amongst the unsettling ambient sounds that filled the place. Jane tipped her head to the side when they stood before the last obstacle to freedom. "Huh."
"A maze?" Maura peered around Jane at the nearly clear glass that blocked their path.
"It's like an inverse of the mirror maze. God, I can barely see the glass." She stuck her hand out and blindly led them into the maze, grunting each time they bumped into a clear wall. "Even with the fingerprints all over this, I can't see them until we're on top of them," she whined when they got turned around again. "I know they wouldn't make this difficult, but fucking A, why?"
She grumbled and muttered under her breath while Maura laughed quietly, shooting her a wounded look as Maura's mirth continued the couple minutes. "It isn't funny, Maur," she whined, stamping her foot childishly.
Maura composed her face and nodded with a serious expression that quickly morphed into something akin to wary confusion. "Nuh uh, you aren't getting me to turn around, I know this is the right way." Jane poked her finger in a direction and grinned when she met no resistance. "See, I told you thi – Maur?"
"Jane, there's something in the doorway." Maura whispered urgently and scooted closer to Jane, who automatically looked back where they had exited from a few minutes ago. A shadowy shape lingered in the doorway, then shuffled into the sunlight and paused again. "Jane…what is that?"
"It looks like a zombie, Maura."
"I know that, I mean what is it doing here?" Maura's hand slipped into the crook of Jane's elbow as the man dressed in bloody rags took a couple steps closer and tilted his head blankly at them when it ran into a pane of glass at the beginning of the maze.
"It's just a dude in a costume, Maur. Don't worry." Despite her reassurances, Jane jumped when the zombie uttered a creepy wail and started walking through the maze, unerringly maneuvering the nearly invisible glass and eyeing them hungrily. She felt behind her for a clear path and dragged Maura down it, looking over her shoulder occasionally to find the man closer than before, still eyeing them ravenously. Up closer, they could see his skin was shredded and hanging in flaps from his forearms and face, eyes red and bloodshot.
"Shit," Jane said when they hit another dead end. She whirled on her heel when Maura squeaked and saw the zombie blocking their path. It wailed again and took several shuffling steps toward them.
Jane found herself unceremoniously shoved forward and stumbled a few steps, barely catching herself before she fell on her face. "Really, Maur?! Why am I zombie bait!? You coward, offering up your favorite friend to be a snack while you make your escape! I'm offended!" Maura looked halfway between relief and horror that Jane was still acting as a barrier between herself and the zombie, which had stopped moving and was tilting his head curiously at them.
His face contorted oddly and he suddenly laughed, loud, gasping laughter that left him doubled over and breathless. "Oh my god, that's priceless! You guys are the best today!" He guffawed some more while Maura cocked an eyebrow in confusion and Jane grinned broadly.
She wrapped a lean arm around Maura's waist and pressed a kiss against her temple. "I'm totally using this as blackmail material," she muttered lowly. Maura smacked her stomach, smiling innocently as the air wheezed out of Jane, and stepped forward. She studied the man's carefully applied makeup and the skin prosthetics, asking if she could look more closely at them while Jane caught her breath and rubbed her stomach with a pout on her lips.
She eventually stepped up next to Maura and praised the man's makeup while she poked her friend in the ribs. Maura giggled and squirmed away, taking her hand to keep her from tickling her. "You totally freaked out, Maur."
"I did no – my body engaged in a normal response, triggered by the release of adrenaline, coloquiallly referred to as-"
"Fight or flight, I know. But, you'd really sacrifice me?" Jane made a face and pressed her hand against her chest in mock pain.
Maura slapped her shoulder lightly and pressed tight against her side. "You know I'd never sacrifice you for my own well being, Jane." Jane grinned and Maura smiled coyly. "I'd only have to be faster than you." Jane's jaw dropped and the man broke into loud laughter again as Maura smirked. "It isn't a sacrifice if I'm in better shape than you, Jane."
"Why, you little! – I'm going to get you, Maur!" Maura squeaked and took off past the man with Jane hot on her heels, navigating the remainder of the maze quickly and sprinting toward the lights of the fair that glittered in the deepening twilight with their laughter rising into the air.