Fear of the Dark

Chloe was afraid of the dark.

She had sunlight in her heart and in her outlook on life, and being without light made her feel deeply uneasy. Even with Beca with her.

"I don't like this place," she whispered as her girlfriend smiled easily at her and squeezed her hand.

"It's just a fun, old, haunted house, Chlo," the brunette chuckled. "The scary things are just sounds and actors. They're not even allowed to touch you, so you're completely safe, I promise. There's nothing to be afraid of."

But Chloe wasn't afraid of the sounds or of the actors. It was the dark she feared; where you couldn't see the monsters she hadn't quite grown out of believing in, creeping up on you. "Ok," she said worriedly, squeezing Beca's hand a little harder.

"Hey…" The younger woman stopped them walking, not caring that they were holding up the queue. "Baby, if you really don't want to do this, we don't have to. We can leave right now."

But the redhead knew that her girlfriend loved Halloween and the haunted houses it brought, and she wanted her to enjoy it. "No, I want to do this with you, Bec. It's going to be fun."

For a moment Beca looked slightly skeptical but, when Chloe shot her a beaming smile, she relaxed and nodded. "Ok, Chlo. If you're really alright with it."

They started walking again and, this time, Beca wrapped her arm around the older woman's waist, holding her close against her as they paid for their tickets and made their entrance into the first room of the house. It was themed as an Asylum of Torture and Beca grinned like a fiend as blood curdling shrieks echoed through hidden speakers and a body writhed on a filthy examination table from the supposed electric shock pumping through it.

Chloe jumped as a man in a blood-stained hospital gown suddenly moved past her, brandishing a machete. "Fuck," she gasped, clutching her chest.

Beca held her tighter and led her on to the next room. It was even louder in there and yellow eyes blinked at them from dark corners as wolves howled in the distance. There was a girl with long dark hair sitting on the fog-obscured floor, holding a headless doll, and rocking back and forth as she babbled to herself.

"Sshhhh…" Beca teased. "We might survive if we can creep past her."

And creep they did. They were almost all the way out of the room too when the girl suddenly jumped up and charged at them, screaming at the top of her lungs. Chloe back pedaled quickly and crashed into the wall behind her as she held her hands up to protect herself.

"Holy shit!"

Beca doubled over in laughter and pulled her away from the wall, plucking strands of fake spider web from her shoulders and red hair. "It's ok, Baby," she soothed as they watched the actor return to her spot.

"I'm fine," the redhead pouted, straightening her leather jacket, and squaring her shoulders. "She just startled me." She took hold of Beca's hand again and bravely took the lead this time but, when they walked down a narrow corridor and reached the next room, Chloe froze and then tried to move backwards. In front of them was a portal to a pitch black… nothingness.

"Come on," Beca grinned. "I'll go first. Just hold on to the back of my jacket."

The redhead swallowed hard, mouth completely dry with fear. "Oookay," she warbled nervously. "But don't leave me behind, ok?"

The brunette kissed her gently on the lips. "Of course I'm not going to leave you," she said. "There's nothing at all to be worried about, Honey." Then she turned and faced the blackness as her girlfriend grasped the back of her jacket and held on for dear life. They slowly shuffled forward and Beca realized that she could hear fans. Then, as she pushed her hand out, she could feel the pressure of nylon material. "Seems like inflated material bags we have to push past, Chlo. Just stick to me."

"Like white on rice," the redhead replied tightly. The room was so dark now that her eyes couldn't even adjust, and she had to rely on Beca to keep them going. Chloe was trembling and every little noise that spilled from the speakers made her jump. "I really don't like this," she muttered.

Then she felt a hand grab her ankle hard and let out a scream that almost deafened her girlfriend, as close as they were pressed together. "Jesus, Chloe. What the hell, Dude?!"

"Something grabbed my ankle!" the redhead exclaimed. "You said they wouldn't touch us, Beca!"

"They don't," the younger woman soothed as she turned and pulled her girlfriend into her arms. "It's ok. It must have just been a piece of material that got caught around your foot."

It was a plausible explanation, and Chloe, even in her panicked state, could almost buy it. "Y-yeah… maybe you're right," she capitulated. "Let's just get out of here."

"Ok," Beca said and turned back around to move ahead but Chloe suddenly realized she'd lost her grip on her girlfriend's jacket. Then she thought she heard a thump and a little cry, but it was hard to tell since it was loud in the room.

"Baby, wait," she called, reaching out and only feeling air and air blown material. "Becs?" She took some shuffled steps forward. "Beca!" Chloe couldn't hear anything but loud music, sound effects and the fans, and she felt nauseated as fear gripped her. She kept shuffling forward, reaching out blindly. "Beca, stop messing around. You're scaring me!"

Then she felt a hand close around her wrist and another at her waist, holding her steady. "Jesus fucking Christ, Beca,' she said indignantly. "You scared the shit out of me!"

But then a warm puff of air ghosted against her ear and a deep, rasping voice spoke to her, making goosebumps lift all over her body.

"Beca's... not here anymore."

And Chloe realized way too late that she was afraid of the dark... for good reason.