Chapter 2
Later that evening, Bobby and Megan left their desks and to go to the haunted house. Both were shy with each other, unsure of what to say. It made it easier that they were tagging along behind two of the officers' wives and their two children.
Bobby considered talking about the weather but decided this was a lame topic of conversation. Why would she care that he always liked the fall, especially, when the leaves just start to turn brown and it was still warm enough outside not to need a jacket.
It was so warm out that Megan wanted to take off her jacket but didn't. She guessed that Bobby was not wearing a jacket because he knew he wouldn't need one. He probably paid attention to things like the weather. Why didn't he say something? What could she say that wouldn't sound trifling? Bobby was so smart and well read, what could she possibly say to him?
They both decided that the best thing to do was to remain quiet and follow the two wives and children.
When they got the haunted house, Alex came up with her two nieces and nephews. "Glad you two decided to come."
At the entrance of the haunted house, zombies, staggering towards them on stiff legs, pointed them to the entrance. The children squealed in delight. Bobby sighed and wondered if he should indeed lighten up and stop acting like a zombie. Inside, bats, or what sounded like bats, flapped their wings overhead. Bobby swatted at the artificial cobwebs that rubbed across his face just as a vampire grabbed Megan and pretended to bite her neck. Bobby pulled her away. "Ease off, Vampy."
The hallway was almost dark. The dull lighting only highlighted the jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, and skulls.
Aunt Alex, "Are these skeletons and skulls from the morgue?"
The dark hallway seemed to go on forever in both directions. Megan wondered how they did that.
They looked inside a box and see a lady with the rubberneck. As they all watched and tried to figure out what this meant, her head started to spin around.
"Wow," one of the kids exclaimed. "That's so cool!"
"I think she works in the cafeteria?" Bobby whispers to Megan.
They continued along the hallway. Suddenly a light switched on and off, effectively blinding them all. A ghoul then appeared beneath their feet through a sheet of plexiglass and growled at them! This was so completely unexpected that like the others, both Bobby and Megan jumped.
The children were frightened and started to run, although they couldn't see where they were going. Alex and some other adults scampered off after them. A ghoul appeared in front of the children and pointed them back towards the group. The frightened children backed up and held onto each other for comfort.
The group slowly continued down the hallway. When the children sawa casket with one half of the top open, they refused to go any further.
"Hey, move it along," Bobby urged. He liked it when Megan giggles.
The children, still holding onto each other, inched closer to the casket and shrieked when they saw what they thought was a decomposing body.
"That's so gross!" a girl said.
"At least it's dead and can't hurt you," a boy responded.
The rest of the children got a little braver and approached the casket. At that exact moment a ghoul swung open the second half of the casket top with a bang and growled at them! The children screamed and took off running. A ghoul, a lady vampire and a different zombie appeared out of nowhere causing the children to pull up short and huddle together. One girl started crying.
"Now, there will be none of that," the lady vampire stated in a smoky voice. "And there will be no more running or we will be forced to drag you all off to our cauldron in the basement." Just as quickly as they appeared, the trio disappeared into the walls.
"What's a cauldron?" one of the children asked his mother.
"It's a huge pot used for boiling things," she told him.
They approached a table with a box on it. On the other side of the box a dim light highlighted a living head with a ragged neck. "The rest of my body is in the cauldron," the head said wearily before expiring.
"Oh, no," one of the kids protested. "They're cooking the rest of his body in a soup pot!"
"I wanna go home now," another kid whined.
"Let's go," Alex said, pulling her nieces and nephew away from the table. "I think we're at the end."
As the audience walked down the hallway, they saw a wooden-framed mirror on the wall. As they looked into the reflection, the image of a ghost appeared in the mirror! The group could then see their own reflection and also what appeared to be the image of the ghost as well.
"That's so amazing!" Megan said.
"It's a ghost," one of the kids declared. "It's not amazing, it's fricking scary!"
Just then, the room turned dark and the floor started to spin.
"What's happening?" a girl asked. "The floor is spinning!"
"No," another boy said. "It's the room. The room is moving!"
"Maybe we should move along," Bobby suggested. The pastrami sandwich he had for lunch didn't feel like staying down now.
The group made their way down a long, dark hallway to what looked like the exit. Some put their hands on the walls for guidance but quickly jerked them back. A sticky substance coated the walls.
"I don't even want to think what that is," one of the mothers said, rubbing her hands on her pants.
Bobby didn't touch the wall but Megan did. He pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to her.
"Thanks." She smiled at him but couldn't see his face.
Just then, car headlights came on down the hall. The light blinded them all and they shielded their eyes just as a horn started blaring. The children ran back towards Bobby and Megan. Two ghouls came up behind them and ushered the group to the hidden exit on the side.
Only they were not outside but in another dimly lit room with a railcar sitting on tracks. A trio of lady vampires ushered the children into the railcar.
"What do you think so far?" Alex asked Bobby.
"It was good," he admitted. "You guys put a lot of work into it and you did a good job." He walked off away from the group.
"Yeah," Megan chimed in. "I don't know if I saw Logan back there. He was really into his hanging man routine. I didn't miss it, did I?"
"No, you haven't missed it," Alex said as she and Megan both watched an uncomfortable Bobby off to himself, fidgeting and apparently lost in thought.
What they didn't know was that Bobby was practicing lines to use on Megan while at the same time wondering about police protocol.