2
The next day Mark and Renee were back at the house with some workers. Mark spent the majority of his time in the basement carefully setting up the snake pit. Renee kept to the upstairs, overseeing the removal of the graffiti from the walls.
Towards the end of the project, Renee heard violent screams coming from the room where some of the workers were at. She set down her log book and rushed into the room.
They all were surrounding a man, curled up on the floor crying and holding his hand.
"What happened?" she demanded, elbowing her way through them.
"Joe had an accident Maam." One told her, his eyes wide. "He was scraping off what was left of the paint and his putty knife slipped He cut his finger off at the knuckle."
Renee groaned inwardly. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to keep calm. "Was the finger saved?"
"Yes."
"Well take Joe down stairs and use the cell phone thats on the table to call an ambulance."
Nodding, they did as they were told.
Renee sank down into an old fashioned iron chair, putting a hand on her head. "Jesus..."
***
"So how was your day?" Mark asked as they walked out to the amusement park parking lot later that night.
"Someone lost a finger."
He frowned. "How'd that happen?"
"Apparently he slipped while doing something and cut it off." Renee rubbed her temples. "It wasnt easy getting them to finish up I'll tell you They all seemed to think they'd come out of it missing their fingers."
"Just superstitious." Mark shrugged. "That house is enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies."
"Thats the whole point of it being a haunted house Mark." She pointed out sounding slightly irritated.
Mark was silent for a moment. "Yeah well... See you later."
Renee watched him stalk over to his motorcycle knowing she shouldnt have been so short with him. But damn did her head hurt!
***
The night before opening, Mark and Renee met Paul at the park.
"You two have to go through the house and see what you think," he told them. "Everything is turned on and the extra features are sensitive to heat so they'll pop out unexpectedly." He smiled gleefully.
Mark and Renee exchanged looks before nodding. Take a walk through the finished house. How hard could it be?
When they had reached the house, it seemed a bit different. In the day it was freaky enough, at night it was downright scary though neither was about to admit it.
Mark took the lead and walked inside. He let out an admiring whistle at the sound effects and lights. "Paul wasn't kiddin when he said he was gonna have them do some interestin stuff."
Renee nodded, listening to the ghastly music and wails. She looked into the mirror, remembering how startled she had been the first time she'd looked into it. It was just her reflection. Renee started to look away but did a double take. There was a little green demon dancing in front of her, making obscene faces, her reflection gone.
Mark caught her stare and followed her gaze. "Thats different." He tried to slide the panel door open but it wasnt budging. "I guess he doesn"t want us to know his secrets."
"Let him keep them." Renee muttered, feeling creeped out by the threatening gestures the demon was making. "Come on, lets go."
Surprises waited around virtually every corner. The blood in the kitchen was now running down the walls in little rivulets, puddling on the floor.
"Is it supposed to be like that?" she asked, edging along the counter to avoid staining her shoes.
"It'll probably wash out." Mark assured her.
Renee screamed loudly when something grabbed hold of her hair.
Mark spun around, his mouth dropping. Another one of the green demons had sprung out from a cabinet, furiously tugging at her hair. It looked at Mark, smiled broadly showing off its jagged yellow teeth before letting go of Renee and disappearing back into the cabinet.
Renee felt the back of her head. What the hell was that? she demanded, her face pale.
"Another of those goblin things," he told her, forcing himself to look calm. "Probably meant to scare people though I dont think you're supposed to get that close to them."
"Like I knew that!" Renee rubbed the spot where the thing had pulled. "I hope none of my hair was yanked out."
"No it looks fine." Mark assured, heading towards the stairs. "C'mon, lets get this over with."
This time his foot didnt go through any steps. However, Mark stopped anyway when he felt something drop onto the sleeve of his shirt. "What the hell?"
Renee looked up, her mouth forming an O of terror.
Mark followed her gaze.
Hanging from the ceiling were severed limbs, blood dripping from them. A head dangled from a hook over Mark, the persons face forming a grotesque expression, blood coming out of the open mouth.
"Thats sick!" Mark exploded. "Paul didnt say anythin about messin up peoples clothes n stuff!"
Renee tore her gaze away from the appendages, looking at the steps. "We'll just have to post a sign saying something about this stuff then wont we?"
"An age restriction as well" Mark muttered, hurrying up the last few steps.
They walked into the bedroom, finding the corpse still on the bed, only now writhing and moaning in pain. Its hands were clutching at the dagger, blood gushing freely from the wound.
By now Renee was thoroughly tired of the house, of getting blood splattered on her and creatures fondling her. "Lets go." She muttered, stalking past the bed.
Mark followed her, only stopping when the corpse started screaming out:
"Continue on and meet your doom!" It cackled and kept repeating itself, black ooze dribbling from the gape that used to be a mouth.
"Paul went a bit overboard, dont you think?" she asked scathingly. "I can hardly tolerate this place, what makes him think young children will be able too?"
Mark put a hand on her shoulder soothingly. "This is a Halloween park Renee. People will just have to decide if they want to come in here or not."
They had just cleared the second room when a raspy growling followed by a thud sounded behind them. Mark and Renee looked over their shoulders to find another one of the little green demons running to them, brandishing a long black pitchfork.
Neither of them was about to wait and find out if this was mechanics. They both sprinted towards the last bedroom. Mark slammed the door shut behind him, bracing his weight against it.
There was silence.
"Is it gone?" she whispered.
"I think so..." Just as Mark started to move away the prongs of the pitchfork came through the door.
Screaming, they ran past the beaded curtain and down the steps that led to the basement. The demon didnt follow.
At the bottom of the stairs they stopped to catch their breath. After a moment Mark doubled over laughing.
Renee eyed him as if hed gone crazy. "And what the hell do you find funny about this?" she demanded.
"This is great."
"This is insane! You're insane! Paul is..." Renee trailed off as she looked down through the glass panel.
Mark was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, trying to check his laughter.
"M-mark?"
"Renee, lighten up."
Renee crossed over to him and violently shook his shoulders. "Mark!"
Marks eyes snapped open. He trailed her gaze down. "Uh oh."
Instead of just the harmless baby pythons Mark had had placed in the cage, there was also a very large anaconda that simply was too big. It reared its massive head, looking at them, its forked tongue flickering out.
Mark edged towards the exit, drawing the snakes attention towards him. He jiggled the door handle. It wasnt opening.
"Mark hurry." Renee whispered, seeing the anaconda rearing its head.
He slammed into the door with his shoulder, still nothing. "We're goin to have to go back!"
"Are you nuts? That thing is up there!"
The anacondas head connected with the glass, instantly cracks appeared in it.
"Its either face that thing or become snake food." Mark grabbed her hand and started for the stairwell.
"The door has to open!" Renee shrieked, panicking now. "It has too!"
"Well its not gonna!"
A loud angry hiss filled their ears followed by the sound of the snake breaking through the glass.
Mentally reminding himself to kill Paul later, Mark pulled Renee up the stairs after him. He shoved her forward. "Get goin woman!" Then shut the door behind them, hurrying after her.