Chapter 6: The Fright Stuff
Taylor and Eric held up their passes at the gate and walked through the large iron gate. A shiver ran down Taylor's spine and she tugged her jacket a little closer, cautiously looking around as they joined the crowd walking into the carnival. She had been volunteering here all week and thought she was used to the show they put on. But walking into it, her breath caught in her throat as they were greeted by a kaleidoscope of dazzling lights, a dance of purples, oranges, greens, and reds that flickered across the faces of people around, all walking in with awe in their eyes. A symphony of chaos and delight shattered the illusion of silence as they stepped out of the walkway, curling around them and beckoning them to explore.
Despite the peculiar feeling tugging at her, Taylor couldn't fight the smile working its way to her lips. "I'll say it again. Wes did good. This is something."
A couple dressed as a vampire and werewolf crossed their path and before she could register it Eric was reaching for his holstered Quantum Defender. He caught himself, fingers just brushing over the clasp, and closed his eyes, slowly relaxing his stance. Taylor smiles fondly at him and gently reaches for his hand, wrapping her own around it and pulling it away from the weapon. She kept his hand clasped in her own and tugged him forward and tilted her head to look up at the dark sky.
"I slept a lot better too, not knowing that it was currently open season on our world and that there were actually real witches, vampires, and whatnots potentially wandering around."
He squeezed her hand and turned to her. "I'm sorry I've been on edge all week. And the paranoia just intensified today. I keep waiting for something to jump out of the shadows. And it doesn't help that costumes are so damn realistic. I don't think I'm going to be able to breathe until this day is over and I just want to be prepared."
"I know, that's why I didn't question you coming to this thing armed." She replied, letting go of his hand and taking a step closer to wrap an arm around his waist. "Are you okay though? Paranoia aside."
"I'm… honestly I don't know. Maybe I am overthinking it, maybe Wes is right and I am letting what happened last year drive me crazy."
"Wes may believe us about what happened but he doesn't remember it, he didn't experience what we did, what you did. And now that we know that it's not necessarily a one-and-done thing, it's okay to be a little par… on guard."
He slipped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed before steering them down a familiar path. He looked around as patrons milled around, some in costume, others like them, opting to go without, all bathed in the glow of the lights. "Yeah, I guess. Though I suppose I don't need to be suspicious of every person in costume.
"Oh I don't know, Joker over there looks like he's plotting something." She pointed to a group of 11-12-year-olds dressed as Batman rogues huddled up together, barely fighting back a grin.
"Go ahead laugh at my slow descent into insanity."
"Descent? Myers, you were already there when I met you."
He just pulled her closer so that she was now facing him and just looked at her for a moment. Donning a black tank top under a faux leather, yellow jacket, paired with dark-washed jeans and her signature boots, she looked resolutely like Taylor, and that made him sigh with relief.
"Look at it this way, your supernatural girlfriend didn't make an appearance and there weren't any strange reports…
"…no stranger than usual"
"So maybe all is well in the supernatural world… or they're probably terrorizing someone else this year."
Eric watched as a couple of zombies ambled by them and shook his head. "She got what she wanted, I don't think she's going to be turning up anytime soon. But I get what you're saying. It's just hard to keep my brain from seeing monsters everywhere."
She reached for his hand again and tugged him forward. "If it makes you feel better, we are seeing monsters everywhere. She stopped in front of the Jack-O'-Lantern fountain which was now lit up, casting a warm, almost ethereal glow around it. He looked up at it and while there was a hint of a smile playing on his lips, there were lines etched into his face and his gaze seemed far away. She gently placed her hand against his cheek and turned it to face her, "Come back to be Myers,"
He blinked, an apology ready on his lips but she silenced him by leaning up and kissing him. "You don't have to apologise for this," she said after pulling away, as she caressed his cheek with her thumb. "But if it helps you get out of your head for a little bit, I'm happy to be a distraction." She kissed him again, this time his hands found her waist and pulled her in closer, refusing to let go even when they pulled away a second time. With a gentle sigh, he took in the moment, until he became increasingly aware of the lack of interruptions. And Taylor seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Where is everyone? I thought we'd be the last here," she said as she looked around, trying to spot their friends."
"Wes came by earlier to check on something and Jen was riding with Andros and Ashley, but they said they'd meet us here."
"Wait, what? Why didn't she just go with him…."
Eric gave her a look and sighed. "I think he just wanted to get away from her for a bit."
Taylor groaned and bumped her head against his chest. "For two people who literally defied the laws of time travel to stay together, they can't even have an honest conversation. This is getting out of hand."
"They will," he assured her. "They're just trying to protect each other and are unintentionally making it worse. But it's Wes and Jen they will figure it out soon enough and go back to being their annoying lovey-dovey selves and be mad at us."
"At the pace they're going, I'll be back home by the time they finally get married."
Eric tightened his hold on her and gently kissed the top of her head. "I'd like that," he said softly.
She looked up at him and smiled, "You jus…"
"Taylor! Taylor!"
They broke apart and turned to find a petite woman running towards them waving her hand. She was dressed in a long black dress with flowy sleeves and pointed black heels. Her hand held a pointed hat atop her head as she rushed toward them, while a taller figure wearing a headband with lion ears ambled after her.
"Alyssa, Cole," she acknowledged as the two caught up to them, Alyssa struggling to adjust her hat.
"Looks like the munchkins finally set you free," she teased.
"Very funny," the brunette shot back, finally satisfied with her hat. "Some of the other volunteers took over, they'll call if they need me. Though I don't think we're going to get too many takers for story time, even my usual audience is a little too excited to sit still."
"She was a hit earlier though. The kids loved her," said Cole with a big grin as he draped an arm across her shoulders.
"I'm sure she was."
"Hey guys, have you seen Wes around?" Eric asked as he pulled out his phone. "He was supposed to meet us here."
Alyssa and Cole shared a look and Eric immediately started dialling as Taylor trained her eyes on them. "What happened?"
"Well, you see…"
"It's like…
"Alyssa, what happened?"
"I'm not sure. I only heard the others talking but some strange things have been happening, you know like someone pulling a prank or something but it's really elaborate. The last time I saw Wes he was heading over to the maze with the carnival manager, he looked worried."
Taylor whipped around to meet Eric's eyes. He was staring forward, holding his phone up to his ears. "You don't think…"
"What kind of strange things?" Eric demanded.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
The four of them turned around as streamers of paper bats shifted in the wind before they came to life and flew off the twine, circling around people before taking off into the sky, forming a massive cloud.
A faint giggle pricked Taylor's ears and she scanned the area around them, but there was no one laughing. Some people looked up in awe, others scampered for shelter under awnings and tents as the bats weaved through the crowd eliciting gasps and screams, before taking to the sky."
"Things like that."
Jen trailed behind Andros and Ashely as they walked around the carnival, their cheerful voices floated back to her but her mind was elsewhere and she tucked her hands in her pockets as she watched the people around her.
"Hey Jen, do you want to head back to the fountain? Eric and Taylor should be here now."
Ashley's voice pulled her out of her thoughts but only then realised that they were alone. Ashley chuckled as pointed to a stand selling candy corn. "He's over there, candy corn is his new obsession," she said as she looped her arm through Jen's and pulled her towards the stand.
In the meantime, Andros eagerly stepped into line and smiled at the two men in front of him who had just accepted their bags. As he waited for him he watched the man toss a couple into the air and catch them in his mouth.
"Is it good?" he asked.
The man smiled as he chewed and held this thumb up. Andros watched as the light in his eyes dimmed and his smile dropped as his face contorted. He coughed and put his hand against his chest, then coughed again.
"Hey you okay man?" his friend asked as he stepped closer to him.
The man dropped the bag he was holding and fell to his knees, coughing and sputtering, spraying blood onto the ground.
"Help!" his friend called out as he crouched beside him. "Someone call 911"
Andros ran up to him just as he coughed out a razor blade and looked up at Jen and Ashley with wide eyes.
Jen immediately turned to the volunteer standing by the cart, "Radio the medic, tell them to get here immediately." She then turned to Ashely. "Call 911!"
She looked at the vendor who froze mid-filling up a bag before looking around at the crowd surrounding them. "Everyone please stand back, let's give him some room to breathe. Help is on it's… way."
Her words trailed off as a horde of bats soared overhead, screeches punctuating the symphony that surrounded them.
Thanks for reading. I hope you're enjoying it so far
The next chapter will be up soon...