It's nearly midnight when the bus Michael hired to drive them out to the scarehouse walkthrough pulls into the gravel lot.
Jim leans forward scanning the nearly deserted lot and sighs. A whole Saturday evening wasted. It's not even Halloween, hence Michael's great deal on ticket prices. Still. There is one bright side...
He quickly downs the steps trying to catch up with Pam so they can walk together.
He's craning his neck trying to spot which way she went when he crashes into someone standing stock still in front of him.
"Watch it, Howard," he grunts stumbling back. Turning he sees Pam link arms with Kelly.
He scowls at Ryan dragging his feet, casting wary eyes towards the big Freddy and Jason cut outs. He grins coming up beside him and throws an arm around his shoulders amicably. "Does the little baby need protecting?" He murmurs against his ear.
Ryan shoves him off angrily. He wishes he could duck out of this whole thing. The dismembered body parts hanging off the sign already have him wanting to vomit. He is not cut out for scary stuff.
Jim rolls his eyes at him and lets him pass.
Reluctantly he steps into the darkness. Demonic faces with horns glow from the walls in black light and Ryan knows they're going to haunt his dreams tonight.
This is just like third grade he shivers getting flashbacks. Nothing's even jumped out yet, but it feels like it will at any minute. His eyes scan ahead trying to see what made the group in front of them shriek so bad. Probably something bloody, he swallows, or dead, or- he jumps a foot when something grabs him from behind.
"Dang it, Jim," he snaps heart pounding. "You're not funny."
"Oh man," he laughs. "I didn't know you could jump that high."
"Shut up," he says breathily trying to get his heart under control. Its thumping so hard in his chest it physically hurts.
"Geez man, calm down. They can't actually hurt you."
Somehow that doesn't seem to matter, his brain is screaming at him to get out.
He jumps again as Jim's arm comes to settle around his shoulder.
He tries to shrug him off but he tightens his grip.
"Hey hey, come on, for real," he says giving him a squeeze. "Let's just get through this."
He thinks about putting an elbow in his ribs and walking on but a girl chained to the wall up ahead starts screaming at them to turn back, and oh crap no forget it, he presses closer to Jim's side wondering if they can turn back. Jim presses him forward with a palm to his back.
"You're alright," he murmurs close to his ear.
Yeah right easy for him to say.
The lights start to flash and a posse of clowns wielding baseball bats start a slow approach.
He feels himself start to shake. He wants out, he wants out now.
"Back up." Jim tells one of them when they get too close. He shifts Ryan in front of him keeping his hands on his shoulders.
His chest feels tighter and tighter he wants to squeeze his eyes shut but is too afraid of tripping. Deep manic laughter fills the room from overhead speakers.
"Jim."
"Right here." He gives his shoulders a squeeze.
They pass a few more screaming girls and a guy with a machete before they get close to the exit.
Ryan's never been so grateful for that little red sign in his life. He takes a deep breath but before he can let it out a chainsaw revs from beside him and a beefy man in a dirty apron steps forward. He chokes on the air trapped in his lungs and rips away from Jim rushing to the exit.
Jim walks the parking lot twice while everyone hangs by the exit chatting and taking pictures.
He finally finds Ryan on his second walk through, sitting on the ground by someone's car, his face is pale and his hands are trembling against his knees.
"Hey," he murmurs taking a seat beside him. "You okay?"
Ryan gives a jerky shrug of his shoulders.
"Why didn't you tell Michael you have some type of spookphobia?"
"He would have never let me hear the end of it," he rasps squeezing his knee. "Or Kevin or- he trails off, but Jim knows he means him.
And if he wasn't there to feel how hard he trembled of how pale and shakey he is now he probably would have.
"Sorry," he finds himself mumbling. "For, you know, grabbing you and everything."
Ryan shrugs a little bit. "I wouldn't have made it out of there without you."
"So, what, what um, happened to make you so...
"Let's just say my childhood babysitter was a sick jerk and leave it at that." He shivers.
"Sure," he says gently bumping him with his shoulder.
"Everyone on the bus!" Michael calls startling them.
Jim stands offering him a hand.
"Hey, saved you a seat." Pam smiles as they make their way onto the bus.
Ugh, he can't belive he's doing this.
"Actually," he hedges. "Ryan and I were just in the middle of a heated debate over who's scarier in the Shining, the twin on the right or the twin on the left, do you mind?"
She glances between the two of them. "Sure," she says slowly.
He feels like a jerk but she gives him a smile when she passes like maybe she understands.
Ryan collapses in the abandoned seat.
"I don't need to be babied," he grumbles.
From three rows up Kevin hollers boo at Michael climbing the steps and Ryan jumps.
"Well if you're sure," Jim teases starting to turn.
Ryan's clammy fingers shoot out to grab at his hand.
"Kidding kidding." He takes a seat giving his slim fingers a squeeze.
"Who's up for some scary stories?" Michael asks clicking on a flashlight as the bus starts to pull out.
"Oh me, I'll go." Dwight says waving his hand frantically.
Ryan's swallow is audible.
"Relax," Jim says wrapping an arm around him. "I've heard all of Dwight's scary stories and unless you have a specific phobia of the beet worm, you're fine." He yawns.
Ryan lets out a breathy chuckle and relaxes against him.
Okay, Jim thinks resting his head against Ryan's, it could have been a worse Saturday.
