Chapter 4

E very bit of loss and pain came back as the memories surfaced, causing me to gasp out loud as I drew in deep, shaking breaths. My eyes popped open, frantically scanning my surroundings.

I wasn't in the car crash with my parents. I wasn't screaming or looking into my mother's haunted eyes. It was only a dream, reserved for me every single night on repeat. I wished it was only a nightmare from my past instead of reality.

It took a minute for my head to clear and for it to all come back as I stared at the faded gray seat in front of me, listening to the soft sound of crickets coming through the open windows. There was a cool breeze flowing over my cheeks. Why is it so quiet? Where am I, and why do I feel like there should be screaming?

It came barreling back at once. The screaming, the crunch of metal, and the crack of bones. The bus crash, the guys. I was almost too scared to pull my gaze away from the discolored cushion in front of me as my breath came in scared pants, afraid to see their lifeless eyes and twisted necks. My stomach jumped into my throat, bile rising. I raised my fist, biting down into my flesh to hold in my tortured scream, because once I started, I might not be able to stop.

Oh god, I didn't even remember seeing Maddie, but something scattered at the back of my memory said that I did. I remembered her flying forward and getting lost in the haze of screams and debris. Everyone was either horribly injured or dead. I released my fist and looked down at my trembling hands. They were clean, rather than covered in dirt, cuts, and blood. Blood that wasn't mine to begin with. My stomach lurched at that thought. I knew whose blood it should have been, and even though I couldn't see it, it was still there under the skin. The ghost of the memory made my head spin, my heart pounding like it wanted to rip out of my chest and lay at my feet bleeding out.

Gathering the courage to do what had to be done, I held my breath as I slowly stretched up in my seat, my neck craning to look around this new graveyard. Families needed to know what happened here tonight, and I hoped someone had already called 911. I didn't know how long we'd been out here, but I didn't hear any sirens.

What in the world...?

Everything was completely wrong. As I finally realized my surroundings, I noticed the bus sat in one piece, not separated in two halves with the engine on fire and corpses riddling the floor. The air was clear of smoke. There was no sign of a crash or even a slight impact. Just a normal bus, sitting on the side of a lonely country road. Quiet breathing filled the eerie stillness, and I stood on shaking legs, only to have them collapse under me again. It was like walking on noodles, and I had to hold myself up with weak arms.

I could see over the top of the seat and just make out Maddie's red cheerleading outfit, her chest rising up and down. Her face was covered by a hoodie, as if she were only sleeping. Relief flooded through me so strongly that I let out a quiet sob. She was here; she was alive. I clenched the seat to pull myself up, leaning over to shake her shoulders roughly.

"Maddie, wake up!" I rasped, desperately pulling the hoodie off her and practically falling on my ass when her face turned towards me.

Holy shit…

Her eyes popped open instantly, her honey-brown gaze connecting with mine as she started to gasp like a fish out of water. She looked past me for a second, as if she wasn't even really seeing me. As if the same memories were flooding back as they had with me. I watched the terror leave her slowly, and after a few heartbeats, her shoulders sagged when she realized it was just me. I was pretty sure my mouth was gaping as I continued to stare at her. I was speechless.

"Oh, thank God you're alive!" She choked out seconds before she jumped up and crushed me in a hug so tight, I swear a rib cracked. She released me almost as fast but kept a hold of my shoulders. She looked me over with a frown on her face.

"Why are you staring at me like that? What's wrong?" Her eyes traveled over my stricken face, confused. "You know, I had the strangest dream..." She tilted her head at me, but then gasped loudly again, slapping a hand over her mouth, her eyes going impossibly wide as she stared at the side of my head.

"Your hair!" I blurted, knowing she was about to freak out. I was freaking out.

"Oh my god, what happened to your hair?" she said at the exact same time with a shout.

" My hair?" I asked in bewilderment.

She grabbed a piece of mine and held it up, showing me a streak of pure white that absolutely wasn't there before. I glanced down on the other side, and to my relief, the rest of my hair was still dark orange. I didn't take the time to really examine it because Maddie was staring at her own locks now with a deep, confused frown.

Yup, here comes the screaming.

"Why is my hair black?" She screeched, high-pitched, and ear-splitting. She stumbled back into her seat and frantically ran her fingers through her new inky hair, pulling at the strands as if they were magically going to pop off like a wig.

"Jesus H. Christ, stop the noise! For the love of God, make it stop," a deep voice grumbled— no , demanded. I'd know that voice anywhere...

My head whipped around so fast, I probably looked like a scene from The Exorcist . The need to move towards him and perhaps tackle him had me stumbling over my seat to get to the aisle. I walked on shaking legs, taking deep, steadying breaths.

It's not real; it can't be. I saw him… I saw… He was dead! Like…dead, dead!

"Norman?" My voice wobbled. I couldn't help it. Seeing his emerald green eyes flicker up at me from his crouched position in the middle of two seats brought so many emotions barreling to the surface at once. It was overwhelming. His green eyes were so full of life—unlike the pale shade of vacant green I'd seen last time.

"What are you staring at, goth freak?" His voice, deep yet deadly soft, made my skin break out in goosebumps. I truly thought I'd never hear it again.

Those intense eyes were achingly familiar, even though we'd grown so distant. They used to follow my every movement. If I were to put my hair behind my ear, he would be watching, as if he were filing it away for later. If I laughed, scowled, or sniffed, he was somehow always there, watching, even if he sneered my way.

He still stared, but nowadays, it was more of a disgusted glare. He truly hated me. Maybe I deserved that hatred. After lying so much and pushing them all away, maybe I did deserve it. But I never wanted to cause him pain, especially not the kind of pain I had been living day in and day out for a year now.

"Nothing. I just… You're alive." My hand had a mind of its own as I slowly crowded his space. One more step, and I had my palm on his sharp cheekbone, skimming my thumb under his eye just to feel him. His skin was cold—so freezing that it felt like pins and needles on my fingertips.

His jaw tightened at my touch, and he stared up at me with a look I couldn't describe. It was dangerous the way he was still holding my stare, but all the more alluring when those deep, jewel-toned eyes flashed with a look of gentle tenderness. Just when I was about to pull away from embarrassment, his hand captured mine and held it a second longer against his cheek without looking away.

" I miss… If only she smiled ." What sounded like his voice whispered in my ear, but I was staring at him the whole time, and his mouth never once moved.

"What was that?" I asked, peering down at him in bewilderment, wondering if I was losing my mind and needed to check into an asylum once the paramedics arrived.

Maybe I'll take Maddie with me, because she's still freaking out. And indeed she was—sitting up front, seemingly talking to herself, trying to convince herself she was still dreaming. Today was definitely topping the list of the strangest things 2020 would bring, and that was saying something.

"I said get the fuck away from me." Icy breath caressed my face. "I don't want your freaky diseases anywhere near me," he hissed through clenched teeth, slapping my hand away at the same time. His once soft eyes were ice cold as he stood up to tower over me. It was like a switch had been flipped or a shroud had been pulled back into place. I'd seen past it for a moment, but it was so brief.

I stumbled back, tripping over my own two feet, and prayed my ass wasn't going to be black and blue later. Luck, it seemed, was on my side because two arms wrapped around my waist from behind, catching my fall. My lips parted with a thank-you just as I was turning around, but the words died on my lips just as fast.

The man who stood in front of me looked like Michael but didn't at the same time. He was tall, with a muscular body that gave the best hugs in the whole world but could also crush you like a bug when you crossed him. He was still Michael; only minor details were different. Inside, I was freaking the hell out about them. It took a moment to realize why the hell he looked so different. And then I realized...

Why was everyone's hair changing? Did we take a trip to the salon and forget about it? Maybe carbon monoxide was leaking, or this is just a sick joke. First Maddie with her new black mane, then me with the white streak, and now Michael. Michael loved his hair, and it was usually a dark sandy blond color, but not so much now. His hair had turned a bright silver, which reminded me of moonlight on a lake. The effect was jaw-dropping and made his ocean eyes pop against his skin. What was even stranger, when I took in the rest of him, were his fingertips, currently covered in what looked like black ink, crawling up to his wrists in swirling designs.

"Dude, why are my hands covered in black shit?" Michael stared down at his fingers in disbelief and shock. The blackness was creeping up slowly, and it looked like it was writhing under his skin.

"Probably Carrot Top is playing more of her mind games. Right, little goth? You just love games," Freddy said with an emotionless laugh. My eyes went wide. Freddy, too? Had I only imagined that bus accident?

I peered over Michael's shoulder with a forced glare and smacked his hands away from my waist. Freddy sat behind him, his golden hair like a beacon in the dark. He was staring at me with a cruel yet relaxed smirk, and he reached high over the seat to ruffle Michael's hair. "I gotta say, man, this hair is wild. Absolutely wild."

Michael shoved him away, scowling. Freddy and Norman started laughing as he bent down to look in the window at his reflection. The girlish scream he let out would forever play on repeat in my mind, and the way he turned to glance at Maddie in shock was even better. They both let out comically loud shrieks, as if they were united in their hair horror. My god, they were divas.

"I swear to god, if you don't stop with the noise, I'm going to kick both your asses off this fucking bus," grumbled another husky voice toward the front. My heart dropped to my stomach and fluttered back up again in a matter of a split second.

Jason… Holy shit!

I might have had some lingering loathing for these assholes, but the heart never truly stops loving, even when it's been kicked and beaten down until it's on its last dying breath. In this case, my heart was hammering.

We all swung around as one and faced Jason. Our eyes connected first, and I didn't miss the way his stormy grays swept me from head to toe, as if checking for something. Checking for injuries, maybe? But he was done in a heartbeat, and his concern morphed into a disgusted, dirty look once more.

"Anyone else have a bizarre fucking dream?" Maddie asked, holding the sides of her head. "Shit... maybe this is a dream right now! Oh my god, pinch me!" She made a gimme gesture at Michael, prompting him to reach over and pinch her on the forearm hard.

I think we were all holding our breath, only to sag with utter dread when she yelped and jumped back, smacking his hand away before collapsing against the window with her arm dramatically draped over her eyes. "Not a dream... Oh god, do you have any idea how much it cost to get my hair so perfectly golden?"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Everyone needs to just calm down. Think critically. There has to be an explanation. Maybe we're hallucinating, or maybe Maddie's right and this is just some kind of shared fucked-up dream." The others look at me dubiously. "Okay, yeah, that sounded a lot better in my head, but what else could it be? Look at our hair!" I gestured around wildly.

Jason stood up, glaring out the side windows, saying, "Forget the hair for a second! Where the hell is everyone else? There were fifty of us plus the driver. I don't see anyone out there. Maybe it's a prank, like a Halloween one? Did we even leave that carnival?" He looked straight at me, as if somehow I'd be the one with all the answers.

I shifted nervously under the pressure of everyone's attention. They all looked pissed, except for Maddie, who moved her arm to glance up at me because my girl had my back no matter what. I rolled my eyes with a long sigh.

"You did this, didn't you, Cruella?" Freddy sneered. His deep voice was like a rumbling growl that made me shiver. I'd never heard him sound quite so feral. I swore on the holy pumpkin that his eyes flashed yellow and then pitch black before settling back on the familiar emerald green I was used to.

"So you think what, that I somehow convinced fifty people to knock you out and then hide in a cornfield five miles from town for shits and giggles?" I snorted, crossing my arms as I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yeah, Freddy, that's what happened. It was my diabolical plan all along. Idiot…" I shook my head and rolled my eyes for the millionth time, trying not to look at Norman. He had a thing about eye rolling.

No, stop it, October. You do not get to think about Norman's kinks at a time like this. Get your shit together.

"She did it. No doubt about it," Michael said in disgust, grimacing as he slid both of his hands through his silver hair, making his biceps flex. I glanced away, not wanting to get caught staring or, worse, drooling. I almost couldn't help myself. A few minutes ago, they were all dead.

The guys started arguing, just like in the old times, about how it was all my fault and they should have left me back in Sunset Hollow, as if it were even their choice to make. All the while, I just stood there with my arms crossed over my chest, staring up at the ceiling in annoyance. Maddie entered the fray when they started to get irate.

The bus doors creaked wide open without warning, metal sliding on metal, until cold air rushed in to greet us. All arguments stopped as we collectively stared at the creepy, orange-tinged fog that began to roll in. There was no driver, and none of us were anywhere close enough to pull the lever and open the door. Jason stepped into the aisle, since he was the closest, and made his way to the door on quiet feet. I held my breath as he bent over to look outside.

"What is it?" Maddie asked, standing on her tiptoes to see over the seats. I was doing the same.

"It's just more orange fog. I think we're still on the road." Jason looked back at us with a deep, confused frown. "I say we get off this creepy bus and head to town on foot. I'd rather not get murdered in a cornfield, you know? Can you imagine what the newspaper would say? We'd be known as those dumb fucks who disappeared in a freaking cornfield...probably abducted by aliens."

My whole body shuddered at the thought, but crickets only met his suggestion, along with raised eyebrows all around.

Well, if no one else was going to do something, I would. I wasn't going to be a sitting duck out here. Jason was right. I wasn't ready to have a movie based on a true story made about me. I cleared my throat, smoothing my dress down the front of my body, and made my way down the aisle, only to be blocked by Michael. He held a hand out, clamping down on my shoulder.

"We don't know what's going on yet. It might be safer to stay on the bus and wait, and you're definitely not going outside in the dark alone." He was holding my shoulder to the point that I couldn't move. It didn't hurt, but was it just me, or did he seem stronger than he should be? His eyes were deadly serious, enough to make me question if he might be right.

I matched his stance, not backing down, because fuck if I was going to let him intimidate me. The only way to get answers would be to get our asses off this bus. Despite my hesitance to explore the unknown, I wasn't about to be trapped in a vehicle again. I wouldn't let them see me like that. Closed spaces made it difficult to breathe sometimes, and they brought so many horrific memories to the surface that I would rather not relive them.

I started to breathe a little harder now that I was thinking about it, now that the images from the crash that I wasn't one hundred percent sure even happened came barreling back in. "I can't be here…" My eyes shot to Michael, and I knew he could see the panic on my face. There was no hiding it, but right now, I didn't care. I just needed to get out of this metal death trap.

He didn't say anything for a minute; he just stared down at me before glancing over my head and off into space as if deliberating. He nodded to himself and then stepped to the side for me to pass. The space was a tight fit, so my body brushed against his, and a small whisper of his husky voice caressed my ear, saying, "I'm...here."

My feet couldn't carry me off the bus fast enough. I barreled past Jason, not even bothering to say anything, and flung myself off the bus. I gulped in the strange fog-filled air like my life depended on it, bending down with my hands on my knees. The smell of fall hit me like a train—hay from the surrounding fields, a small hint of burning wood, and the decay of dead leaves.

There was a shuffle of moving feet behind me. I guessed they all decided it was indeed better to get the hell out of that bus. Maybe they chose not to become sitting ducks for the local axe murderer. Not that quaint little Sunset Hollow had a local axe murderer, but who knew?

A soft hand grasped mine, tearing my attention away from the undulating fog. I'd been zoning out for a second, but then I looked at Maddie. Her eyes were scanning our surroundings, and her grip was growing tighter and a little sweaty.

"It's too dark out here, Toby... It's not right. I've been out here a bunch of times to pick peaches in the orchards, and it's never been this dark." Her eyes met mine, brimming with tears, until she blinked rapidly as she glanced up to get rid of the waterworks on the way. "I need you to tell me it'll be okay. Please, even if it's a lie."

"We're going to be fine, Mads. I promise. Let's just head towards town before Pennywise shows up with a red balloon," I said, trying to make a joke and snorting awkwardly, but she didn't even move, let alone laugh, as she continued to look up at the sky.

"So not funny, Redrum," Freddy snapped, stepping up to my side. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Damnit! How the hell did he sneak up on me? He was normally lumbering and heavy-footed, since he was such a big dude.

I chose to ignore him in favor of staring at the side of Maddie's profile in confusion. Is she okay? She wasn't talking like her normal, bubbly self, and it almost looked like she was shaking. In fact, she was shaking. Her hand was covered in sweat, and her fingers gripped mine like a vice. Her head tilted back even further, and I followed her gaze. Holy fuck! I stumbled back a step, and a yelp ripped from my lips.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" Freddy snapped. "Hello, Earth to freak!" He waved his big hand in front of my face, but I couldn't look away from the sky. It was all wrong. So fucking wrong.

I blindly reached up and grasped his chin, pointing his face upward. He shut up real fast, but in less than a heartbeat, I could have sworn I heard him whisper, " Her skin is so soft... What the fuck —"

I shook my head. There was something wrong with his voice. It was only a soft, echoing whisper in my mind, like he was talking to me from the other side of the street. Whatever it was, I didn't have time to think about it.

"I don't think we're on Earth anymore," Jason said at my back. His voice shook and he sounded uncertain, which freaked me out because Jason was usually the voice of reason. He never let his emotions get the better of him in all the years we'd been friends. Right now, Jason was afraid, and that made the rest of us afraid too.

"I'm going to wake up any moment now, and there definitely won't be two fucking moons in the sky!" Michael said as he paced back and forth, looking panicked. He was gripping his hair and reminded me of a caged animal, repeatedly stopping and looking at the sky.

I had to look back up again to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. They were still up there, the twin moons. They hovered in the starry sky, like mirror images of each other, except the one on the right was a little bit darker than the other one. Both were tinted slightly orange, just like the fog that flowed over the road. I was shaking now, too. I didn't know what to do. Clearly, we weren't in Sunset Hollow anymore. But how could that be? I recognized the stretch of road we were on. I'd know this place anywhere, but I knew for damn sure there had always been exactly one moon in that sky.

I was officially losing my mind. At least I wasn't alone.

"Maddie," I said calmly, surprising myself. "Let's head to the aunties' house. I don't know why, but I have a feeling those two will know what's going on. Maybe they slipped something in our tea again?"

They'd been known to experiment with their herbal teas, claiming they were trying out some new medicinal herb, but it never ended well for the test subject—usually me or Maddie. Somehow, though, I just knew that if anyone had a chance of helping us, it would be those two crazy women. If they were even there... Oh god, what if they weren't there ?

Maddie nodded numbly, giving me a pathetic smile, but I watched her take a deep breath and square her shoulders before looping her arm through mine. We took off down the road.

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the guys were now arguing quietly. I shook my head. Nothing ever changed. It reminded me of the good ole days, when no one seemed to be able to make a decision until I stepped up and made it for them. Freddy usually sided with Norman, and Jason sided with Michael based on principle alone. A wave of nostalgia so strong it almost made me stumble came over me, but I shrugged it off. Now wasn't the time for a walk down memory lane—pun fully intended.

"Are you coming or what?" I eyed each of them individually. "Unless you feel like hitchhiking." I shrugged, turned back around, and continued down the road. Maddie snorted a quiet laugh.

Stomping feet pounded the pavement behind us. Now she outright giggled behind her other hand and bumped her shoulder with mine. Thank God the same old Maddie was still in there. It was going to be just fine. I had my best friend by my side, grumpy assholes watching our backs, and I knew what direction we were heading in. That was…unless they planned to use me as bait in the event things did go south. I really wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

It felt like we'd been walking for miles before we finally approached the orchard up ahead in the distance, but the itching feeling of being watched kept coming and going. I'd felt it for the last twenty minutes, and I thought Maddie did too, because her head was on a constant swivel.

Five more minutes, and we were at the edge of Farmer Orson's orchard, but something didn't look right. For an orchard, it was awfully thick and dark. If I didn't know any better, I'd almost call it a forest. This wasn't right. Something was off about this place that was both familiar and alien at the same time.

I knew that on the other side of the orchard was a cornfield and the cemetery before reaching the town line, so we'd be home free, I hoped. The road took a detour, cutting the orchard or forest in half, so we had no choice but to head straight into it. It shouldn't have taken us more than ten minutes to walk through, but still, nobody moved. We'd come to a dead stop on the edge of the treeline, darkness looming ahead.

There wasn't one single sliver of movement from any of us as we peered into the darkness. The eerie sea of spindly trees was thick enough that it blocked out most of the moonlight. Orange fog still surged between them, folding over a landscape of upturned roots on either side of the two-lane road. I couldn't even hear the usual crickets or howling of the wind. It was as if everything had stopped moving at once. Even my own heartbeat seemed to slow. Fuck, I really didn't want to go in there.

"Maybe we should take a different route?" My voice came out a little too high before I cleared my throat and refused to meet anyone's gaze. They were all looking at me.

"Don't tell me a goth chick is afraid of the woods," Norman sneered. His sideways smile goaded me. He was such a fucking ass sometimes.

"Be my guest." I gestured ahead with a dramatic sweep of my hand and watched his eyes flicker with a small hint of doubt before he shrugged it off and bumped into my shoulder. "Your funeral," I added cheekily, just to grate his nerves.

Freddy rushed past me to walk along with his twin, quietly whispering in his ear. His jaw was clenched, and he rolled his eyes at whatever Norman said back to him. Jason and Michael stayed behind Maddie and me, giving us enough space that they weren't breathing down our necks.

How are you holding up?" I asked Maddie, staring idly down at my black stockings and finding it silly how just this morning I was throwing clothes around left and right across my room because I knew the guys would be at the carnival. Dress to impress, even for my enemies. It all seemed so trivial now.

"Honestly, not great. I don't get how you're so calm right now. I'm one more bat, shadow, or scarecrow away from running around in circles screaming," she said with a straight face, telling the truth.

I squeezed her arm tighter, noting the hopelessness creeping into her stare. She was petrified, but in usual Maddie fashion, she was trying to be tough for everyone.

"Call me crazy, but after what I saw earlier..." My voice caught as vacant eyes flashed through my memory. "Everyone was dead... I didn't even know where you were until I saw your hand sticking out, but everyone else..." I trailed off, scared to talk about it because it sounded crazy, even to my own ears.

If I could, I'd bleach my entire brain. I needed those images gone. Taking a deep breath, I said, "I think I can handle the strange and unusual as long as you're here too. And the guys…" The last part was a whisper as I stared straight ahead at Freddy's sunkissed hair, then quickly glanced away when his eyes strayed to mine. His lips curled up on the sides, and my belly flipped at that stretch of perfect lips. There was no way he could have heard me; they were too far ahead.

"It's all right, Tobs," she said with a small, sympathetic smile. "You can still love them and be afraid at the same time. After what happened last year... I know it seems impossible, but if you could just see what's right in front of you..." She bit her lower lip and froze when I suddenly stopped walking.

I crossed my arms and turned away, staring into the dark trees. "You have no idea what I went through. None of you do. You think you know because of what you heard on the news, but you don't. I'm so not talking about this right now." My body was vibrating with tension, and suppressed anger was swelling up in my chest.

"No, I don't know, because you never talk about it," she snapped, stepping into my space. Suddenly, it was like the forest, and the accident was forgotten. "I'm your friend, Toby, your best friend. We've been family for over a decade, and you never talk!" Her chin wobbled, but she refused to back down. I couldn't believe we were having this conversation right now, with everything else that was happening. But so be it. If it was time to hash it out, it might as well be now, to top it all off with a nice cherry.

"You really want to know, Maddie?" I said it bitterly with an emotionless laugh. "Want me to talk about it? Do you want to hear the gory details? Maybe I should've prepared a slide show!" Small tears trickled down her cheeks, matching my own, but I wiped them away angrily. I don't cry about this anymore. Not in front of anyone, at least.

The guys had gone suspiciously silent. Jason and Michael moved closer, while Norman and Freddy were heading back in our direction, taking small, cautious steps. All I could do was stare at Maddie, but in reality, I was somewhere else—some other time and place.

"Tobs," she whispered brokenly, but a small sob ripped from my lips.

"I'm fucking angry!" I squeezed my fists closed, my nails biting into my skin. "I'm so fucking angry, and nobody gives a shit!" I looked at Maddie through watery eyes, pleading with her to understand. "They left me here, and I didn't get a choice to stay or go! They left... and I didn't even get to say goodbye." My throat closed, each intake of breath growing more difficult. "And for all of this shit to happen tonight of all nights..." I choked, a tear sliding down my cheek in earnest.

Realization seemed to dawn on Maddie, and her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh god, October! I didn't even realize it was tonight! The accident…"

I was suddenly pulled into her arms, and a wave of comfort and familiarity surrounded me. "I'm always here, sis. You're never alone. I promise you'll never be alone. I was stupid and didn't pay attention to what day it was. I didn't realize how the bus crash would have brought it back," she whispered softly.

I couldn't pick up my head from her shoulder. My face was buried in her hair as I let the last of my tears fall. We stood there for a minute or two before I felt myself calm down. I felt her hands slide through my hair for a split second before that touch was gone. To say I was embarrassed is an understatement. I felt like a coward, and I didn't want to lift my head just yet. I didn't want to see the judgment or hear the jabs from the guys about my rare show of weakness.

Everything was silent. All I could hear was the sound of everyone breathing and my own heartbeat pulsing in my ear. But a second later, I felt the ground vibrate under my boots. It was like a semi-truck was passing over a road, but we were miles away from a freeway, and the bus had no driver, so it wasn't going anywhere.

"Anyone else feeling that?" Freddy asked quietly, coming closer now. His chest was puffed up, and his head was on a swivel as I peered at him behind the curtain of my hair.

I finally lifted my head and stepped away from Maddie, wiping my face and hoping my makeup wasn't smeared all over my cheeks.

"Um, the trees are moving," Norman announced in a deep voice, grabbing my hand in an instant. I froze at the coolness of his touch and the fact that he was even touching me at all. He angled his body in the other direction, as if he were going to make a run for it with me in tow.

" Mine ," he whispered, but his voice sounded like Freddy's had earlier—too quiet.

What the hell was going on? I watched his mouth, waiting for him to speak again so I would know I wasn't losing my mind, but he was staring intently at the tree line. Maybe I'd imagined it.

A branch snapped. Then there was a deep rumble, the noise of what I could only describe as a thousand feet heading our way.

"Maybe it's the rest of the class?" Maddie's voice was squeaky, and she didn't even sound like she believed herself. She took a small step back, her brown eyes darting everywhere at once.

My blood was rushing in my ears, and sweat dripped down my back, because something was coming, and I didn't think it was our missing classmates.

"Norman, run!" Jason shouted loudly, turning around to face us with wide, horror-filled eyes. "Take her and fucking run!" His gray eyes met mine before his face contorted. He shook his head back and forth, repeatedly smacking his palm into his temple, like he was trying to get something out of his brain. I could have sworn I saw a flash of yellow in his eyes .

I was about to tear my hand from Norman's and run to Jason, but Michael and Freddy were shouting, frantically waving us on, telling us to move it. Maddie took off towards the woods, and Norman, without hesitation, swooped down, lifted me off the ground, threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and took off running.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy fucking shit!" Freddy cursed like someone in a horror movie—the part right before the bad guy inevitably offs the rest of the campers with a rusty chainsaw. His expression was pure terror, but he kept pace with us with relative ease.

I was hanging upside down over Norman's shoulder, straining my neck upward as I placed my hands on his lower back. I pushed up to see better, just in time to watch Maddie trip over a root sticking up from where a crack split the road, almost face-planting in some gnarled bushes off to the side.

"Maddie!" I screamed, reaching out for her, but Norman wouldn't slow down. "Maddie, run!" She was up and on her feet in seconds, catching up quickly, all those years of cheerleading working to her advantage.

Something was moving at full speed behind her. A huge, dark shape raced through the shadows. My eyes went wide, and I pounded on Norman's tight ass as if I could force him to run faster. "Faster!" I screamed. "Holy crap, it's coming right for us!"

"What is it?" Norman shouts frantically over his shoulder. "What's coming?!"

"I don't fucking know! Just run!" I was hysterical now. There was no way I was seeing this.

"I can't turn around, so you've got to tell me what it is!" He shouted in panic, starting to slow down to look, but the ass slapping continued, so he kept moving .

"It's a…" I fought for a coherent thought. "It's a giant s-spider!"

I was pretty sure Norman was going to have a bruised ass if we ever got out of this nightmare forest because I was still slapping his buttocks as if it would make him run faster, and I couldn't stop.

"A spider?" he yelled back hysterically. "What are you talking about?"

"A fucking giant ass spider! Just run!" The panic and the mad laugh I let loose must have been convincing enough that something scary was chasing us, because he listened.

Legs. So many legs. All eight fuzzy freaking legs moved in perfect sync, and the speed those bad boys were moving at was nearly a blur. I screamed again as the spider slid right past a screaming Maddie, who was zigzagging down the path. It didn't even stop, as if Maddie wasn't there. All eight of those beady black eyes were focused right on me. Heck, I could see my reflection in all of its eyes.

The tarantula spider was literally the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and inches away from my face as I bounced up and down on Norman's shoulder. Its fangs— no , its tusks—were dripping with saliva as it kept pace. The sound of its feet battering the ground was nearly deafening, like a herd of horses galloping over hard earth.

"Wait!" a squeaky voice called into the night. I had to shake my head, my eyes bugging out of my skull. "Seriously, wait up!" it said again. The voice seemed to be coming from the spider itself as its mouth moved.

What the fuck is going on? There's no way...

"It's me, Jessica, yo girl!" The spider cried out, catching up with us. "Holy crap, you guys are fast!"

Yep … check me into the nearest mental institution and throw that key down the drain.

Don't get me wrong; I've always been a strange girl, I guess you could say. I've been quite proud of that fact, actually. I even had a love of spiders and insects at a young age, keeping a few of them as pets, much to my mom's horror. But I never, and I mean never , had a spider talk to me with real human words. Until today. I never even imagined what a spider might sound like, because the notion was absurd. But the squeaky voice yelling at us to slow down because of her asthma had my head spinning.

"Whose voice is that?" Norman shouted over his shoulder at me, still running as fast as he could.

We didn't even know where we were headed at this point, but with how fast we were traveling, we had to be getting close to the edge of town by now.

"It's the freakin' spider!" I yelled with a hysterical note in my voice. "She says her name is Jessica!" I was laughing now, but I felt like screaming.

Is this what it feels like to completely lose it?

The thudding sound of her legs slowed down. She was making these weird wheezing sounds. I was guessing her asthma really took a toll on her. Oh my god, a spider with asthma? We kept going, but I watched in disbelief as an honest-to-god tear rolled out of one of the spider's eyes.

Can spiders even cry? Is that a thing?

I really didn't think so. But she was completely stopped now and just standing there, crouched low to the ground with her legs bent inward, letting out a rough sob. I couldn't explain why, but my chest felt suddenly tight. Was I really feeling bad for a giant tarantula? Was this how low I'd finally sunk?

"Norman, stop!" I shouted, pinching his hard-ass cheek to get his attention. He kept running, and as I calmed down and looked around, I realized the others were still way behind the spider. How the hell was Norman running so fast? "Stop, Norman! Put me down! Something isn't right!" I slapped his ass a few more times, trying to get through to him.

Usually, the ass slapping would be the other way around, but it worked for now. He wasn't, at least.

It took a moment, but he started to slow down. I hung there like dead weight until we came to a stop, and he literally dropped me on my ass without warning. I landed with a grunt and glared up at him, picturing myself punching him in his pretty face. But I'd save that for another day—when we didn't have a giant spider crying on the ground behind us deep in the woods.

I rolled to my knees and looked up through the curtain of my hair, only to freeze in place, barely breathing at all and hardly moving a single muscle.

"Don't move," Norman snapped. "Not a muscle, October." His voice had an edge to it. It was gravelly, threatening, and dangerous. It made me listen and not argue for once. I noticed belatedly that he'd used my name for the first time since last year.

"Finally!" the squeaky voice yelped. "Oh my gosh, I've only been waiting foreverrr to meet you! Oh crap, where are my manners?" The spider was hovering close to my face now, but unless I was mistaken, she seemed about half the size she'd been when she was chasing us. Did she shrink?

"W-what are you?" My voice shook as she peered closer at me, her tusks inches from my face.

"I already told you, I'm Jessica. No last name, just Jessica, but you can call me Jess or J if you want. Or you can just call me Jessica; that's cool, too." I was trying to keep it together but failing. The spider's voice was so high-pitched, it sounded like she'd sucked on a helium balloon.

She bounced in place, rubbing her two front legs together in, dare I say, excitement?

I peeked at Norman out of the corner of my eye, hoping I wasn't the only one experiencing this. His eyes were bouncing between me and Jessica, and his mouth parted in shock. He looked like he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Okay, Jessica…" I cringed as the others ran up to where we were standing. They took in the huge arachnid with wide, terrified eyes, and Maddie skirted Jessica's legs, inching closer to me. The guys looked ready to fight. I kept my eyes on the spider. "What are you?"

"What, you've never heard of a familiar before?" She giggled. "Silly girl, didn't the aunties teach you anything?" She still seemed to be shrinking, little by little. She was the size of a Shetland pony at this point, and my heart was slowing its frantic pace.

"Like a witch's familiar?" I asked, vaguely familiar with the term. "And what do my aunties have to do with anything?" Freaking hell, I just knew they had something to do with this. "So, what, you're the Salem to my Sabrina?" I laughed nervously. Jessica was silent, and I got to my feet. "Wait... are you for real right now?" I slapped my hand on my forehead. "What the fuck am I saying? I'm having a conversation with a spider!"

Could this year just... not?

"I don't know what you're so upset about. I'm actually pretty chill when you get to know me. And I'd prefer you call me an arachnid, not a spider. We're politically correct in this neck of the woods." She sounded like she'd have been smiling smugly, had she been human. "So basically, I'm your best friend now and also your unofficial tour guide! "

I felt another hysterical laugh bubbling up. This couldn't be happening. Like, what the actual fuck was happening?

"Hey! I'm her best friend," Maddie huffed, sliding up to my side with her hands on her hips. "Don't think I won't fight you, Jessica ," she spat, bouncing on her feet while punching the air.

Oh shit, Maddie was about to throw down with a spider—ahem, an arachnid. She took her best friend status very seriously, so I had no doubt she'd cut a bitch if they tried to steal that title.

"No way!" Jessica said she was growing even smaller now. "I've been waiting for this day since we were both babies! Tell her, October!" She stomped one of her long legs. "Your spidey senses had to be tingling at one point or another. Tell her!"

"This shit is not happening right now. Tell me I'm tripping balls and not seeing this with my own two eyes," Jason murmured in annoyance as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"That's it. Game on," Maddie said like she meant business, and I could suddenly imagine her tying her hair up in a ponytail, ready to claim best friend status.

Michael coughed into his fist to hide a chuckle, and Freddy just kept staring at Jessica, eyes wandering over her skinny legs tipped with tiny little hooked claws that tapped against the ground. His whole body shuddered every few seconds, the longer he stared.

"We don't have time for this!" I stomped my foot. With my cute ankle boots, I used more force than I probably needed to.

The gravity of the situation suddenly became clear to me. Maddie was threatening to throw down with a spider twice her size. Yeah, it would be pretty entertaining, but if Jessica grew again, she could probably swallow Maddie whole.

We didn't have time for any of this nonsense. We were on a mission—a mission to get back home, find out what happened to everyone on the bus, figure out why there were two moons in the sky, and lastly, change our hair back to normal. Jessica shuffled closer to me, her fuzzy little hairs brushing against my skin. It made me shiver, but in a comfortable sort of way. Call me weird, but I was actually really digging this odd turn of events.

A spider familiar... Why the hell did I even have a familiar? Wasn't that for witches? Did I believe in witches? As far as I knew, I wasn't a witch. I guessed I'd have to put up with it for now, and she really wasn't even hurting anything. If this was all just some crazy hallucination, I might as well keep her around to answer some burning questions.

She was cute in spider terms, I suppose. I loved her coloring—her soft little hairs were black with streaks of dark purple weaving along her body. I'd never seen a spider with such pretty colors before, and they matched my vibes.

"That's enough; I have plenty of friendships to go around." I stepped between them with my palms facing Mads and Jess.

I ignored Jason, but I heard pretty clearly as he whispered under his breath, "A little too much friendship."

Asshole.

"As much as I'd love to have you stick around, Jessica, I don't see how we could possibly hide you. No offense, but you're huge." I eyed her up and down, wondering if we could just ride her into town. That would be freaking amazing until we got shot down like King Kong by the police. We would totally be in the history books, thoug h

"Oh gosh, silly me!" Jessica giggled, her tusks flashing in the moonlight. "Just hold on a second."

Her giggle made me want to giggle, even though it would probably come out a little hysterical. The helium effect in her voice was almost too much, and it was hard to take anything she said seriously. That, and the fact that she was a talking fucking spider.

Freddy cringed behind her, shuffling a good distance away and looking a little green around the edges. Michael rolled his eyes at him. I never knew Freddy had a fear of spiders.

Jessica squeezed all of her eyes shut and seemed to be concentrating pretty hard. A moment later, a web shot out of her butt and barely missed a dodging Michael, who made a dive for the ground. It's a good thing he had quick athletic reflexes, because he'd probably be wrapped in a cocoon right now.

"Oops, sorry! I got this, one second!" Jessica said to Michael, who just dusted dirt off his jeans as he stood back up, while she closed her eyes again. She was trying so hard, pushing and vibrating to the point that I genuinely wondered if she was about to croak.

Then her body started twitching, and Jessica laughed in triumph as she began to shrink before our very eyes. She'd been doing it so gradually before, but it was like time sped up, and soon she was the size of a regular tarantula. Her maniacal laugh got squeakier and squeakier the smaller she got, and we all stood there dumbfounded, scratching our heads. I wondered when we'd finally wake up from this impossible dream.

She immediately crawled over to me on her fast little legs and hopped into my waiting hand, her legs tickling my skin. Mads and the guys crowded around me, staring down at Jessica in disbelief.

"Take that and go pick on someone your own size!" Jessica said to Maddie, who blinked rapidly in return at an utter loss for words, before Jessica disappeared into my long hair.

Well, that was interesting and all, but I'd like to pretend it never happened. Can we fucking go already?" His voice was tired as Norman scrubbed at his face in exhaustion, close to losing his shit.

He took off ahead of us, grumbling to himself. Something about ‘spidey senses.' He was probably right; we'd had enough surprises for today. I was hoping that there was a gas leak somewhere that would explain the hallucinations.

One by one, the guys moved past me, not saying a damn word or glancing in my direction. Back to hating my stinkin' guts, I guessed. I was perfectly okay with that. It's better they hate me than pretend to love me. I followed behind Maddie silently as we went deeper into the woods, getting swallowed by the orchard that seemed to want to eat me alive. I was tempted to let it consume me. I came to an agreement with myself that it was all a dream and nothing was real.

"It's not real... It's not real. None of it is real." The chant came out of my mouth on repeat, until I almost started to believe it.

Oh, it's real all right," Jessica said into my ear, like the freaking devil or angel on my shoulder, though I couldn't decide which one yet. "Don't worry, October, I'll help you survive the night." Her words crushed my hopes. I supposed I was stuck in a nightmare.

"I-I don't understand. What happened to this place?" Maddie stuttered, terror coming off her in waves. I felt her hand grasp mine, but she wasn't looking at me. Her eyes wandered through the darkness of our little town as we made our way towards the welcome arch.

I didn't answer her. I couldn't. My throat was tight, my hands were shaking, and the only thing grounding me to reality was Maddie's grip. The guys were on either side of us, and I wondered for a second if the protective positions were intentional or not because they were spread out around us pretty evenly. I was probably just reading too much into it.

I didn't understand what was happening. None of us did. I could hear Norman and Freddy muttering to each other, and Jason was frantically checking his phone, trying to get a signal. Michael walked in a daze, his eyes darting from one impossible thing to the next. We passed the edge of Farmer Orson's corn field and spotted as many as four creepy-looking scarecrows that I was positive had never been there before. Shadows seemed to sneak up around us like creeping spider legs, reaching out to caress my chilled skin.

Speaking of spider legs, that was going to be another problem. I was all too aware of the strange arachnid perched on my shoulder. I should have been freaked out. I should have been squirming away from her hairy legs and her buggy eyes, but I felt no such inclination. Instead, her presence sort of made me feel calmer. Yeah, I was losing my mind, for sure. A spider named Jessica. I snorted out loud for the fifteenth time. A talking spider named Jessica. Honestly, nothing really surprises me anymore. I was just waiting for the next part.

We passed the cemetery on our right, across the road from the cornfield. The gates were tall and black, spiked at the top, and woven through with old, dried-up vines that were more gray than brown. A shiver snaked down my spine. The crisp atmosphere of the place gave me the heebie-jeebies. Everything was gnarled and twisted, reminding me of a place I'd once seen on a trip to Salem a few years ago. Something about the place just gave me weird vibes.

The gate had an archway reading ‘ Midnight Hollow Cemetery' in spindly wrought iron letters.

What the hell is a Midnight Hollow?

Behind it was a series of skinny hilltops covered with old stone graves and creepy, broken statues that I didn't remember being there before. I knew more than anyone what the cemetery should have looked like, as I'd spent hours and hours out there lying at the base of my mom and dad's gravestones.

We kept walking, and I could feel Jason's burning gaze on my back, but he didn't say anything. I wondered if he knew about my frequent cemetery visits, but he probably couldn't care less what I did these days. Reaching the edge of town seemed like a blessing until I realized how empty it was. The familiar silhouette brought me comfort, but there was something different about the place I'd called home my whole life.

The one and only gas station in town across the street was deserted and quiet, when usually it was filled with teenagers and college students grabbing snacks before peeling out of the parking lot and heading to parties. I stepped closer onto the blacktop where the street met the parking lot, drawn towards the gas station.

"Don't," Freddy said suddenly in a hesitant, gruff voice. "It feels…off." His whole body was locked up tight at my side, as if his muscles were frozen. His eyes were darting around the area frantically, and his pupils were dilated until nearly all of his iris was gone .

I turned and watched as the lights that illuminated the pumps started to flicker. It only lasted a brief moment before all of them shut off at once, leaving it pitch black and eerily still. The orange-tinged moonlight almost made things worse, as the only part of the darkness we could make out was the rolling orange fog and a little bit of the parking lot. It took too many heartbeats for my eyes to adjust.

"You guys hear that?" Michael asked, his deep voice breaking through the silence. His hand was held out, as if to stop anyone from taking even a single step that might shatter the silence.

"I don't hear anything," Maddie whispered, tilting her head as if she were straining to hear what he was.

He looked at us incredulously. "Exactly. There's nothing."

Goosebumps instantly covered my skin. He was right. No buzzing insects, no rumbles of car engines, or the sound of human life. Absolutely nothing. The silence only made the stillness all the more fascinating and eerie in equal measure. Once again, everything about the town I'd lived in my whole life seemed both familiar and alien at the same time. It was as if a lens had fallen over my world.

A single light flickered back on under gas pump number five, and we all froze. I felt someone grab my arm, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the man standing underneath the pumps. He wore dusty blue coveralls with the gas station logo over his breast pocket.

"Finally, someone who can explain what the fuck is going on." Jason shoved past us, but I grabbed his sleeve in a tight grip before he could take another step.

He jerked to a stop. I knew he could have shaken me off easily. Instead, he turned his head to snarl something nasty but stopped when he noticed how the blood had drained from my face. I lifted my shaking hand past his shoulder and pointed in the direction of the man. Jason spun on his heel and instantly backed up until he was grabbing the waist of my dress, pulling me close to his side. My fingers curled in his T-shirt. I'd never been this scared.

The man was staring right at us, and the light above him started going crazy, flickering like a strobe light. It flickered off his pudgy features and sunken eyes in such a way that it seemed like his face was contorting. His paleness was stark, and the stillness of his body compared to the flickering of those deep-set eyes made me want to turn and run. But what almost made me piss my pants was the way his face changed.

Despite the light playing tricks on his face, he was staring off into space, just an ordinary guy with pale skin and blue eyes. Creepy but just a normal guy...until he wasn't. He slowly lifted his hand and pointed right at me, his skin turning a sickly blue-gray with little spots that looked like mold. The spots started to cover his skin in patterns, like they were growing right from his pores.

"Tell me this isn't happening." Maddie whimpered. "Tell me it's the drugs... I swear I'll never drink another drop of alcohol again in my life if we get out of this." She made a sign of a cross before saying a little prayer under her breath.

We were frozen in place, watching as his mouth opened in a silent scream, expanding wider and wider, until I thought it might come unhinged. No human mouth could possibly open that wide without the jaw snapping right off. It was looking down into a black hole. No tongue, no teeth—just darkness, like a chasm of nothing inside this man. It made my stomach churn, and my heart raced in a pattern that almost made me fear that I was about to have a heart attack. I didn't know true terror until it stared me in the face.

It took me a moment to register that Jason kept pulling on my dress, trying to get me to move unnoticed. I stumbled backwards, tripping over my feet, because I couldn't look away from the man. His gaze locked on mine and held. The blue irises of his eyes were now fading away into a slate gray that was glossy and empty, like a film had covered his eyes. Just as it seemed like Jason was about to pick me up himself and run, a sharp, guttural scream ripped from the man's mouth, making me cover my ears. Then the light overhead went out completely.

"Move!" Jason yelled at me. "Fucking run, October!" He snarled in my ear, his grip on my arm bruisingly tight as he pushed me in the opposite direction.

I couldn't stop glancing back as my feet ate up the road, watching as all the lights turned back on at once, but the man was gone. He just vanished. We kept running, harder than I'd ever run before, and my feet felt like they were about to fall off. I was seriously regretting my choice of footwear.

We rounded street corners and sprinted through empty roads. I wanted to stop and gape at every familiar building we passed, but I couldn't get the man out of my head. I needed to get away from whatever he was. I needed to be as far away from that gas station as possible before my lid flipped completely off.

The town was entirely empty, but there were a few times I thought I saw the flickering of a candle in a window or a curtain here and there flipping open, as if someone was peering out. I only had a few seconds to scan the storefronts, but I didn't recognize any of them. It was like the layout of my town was still here, but that was the only similarity.

The farther away from the countryside we got, the more streetlights were on, and the buildings looked a little more put together. No, that wasn't right. They weren't streetlights—they were lamp posts. like the kind of lamp posts from the Victorian era with real fire inside.

What the fuck is going on?

By the time I called it quits, we were halfway into town and a few blocks from my aunties house. Thank God, I would be home soon, locked in my bedroom and hidden away under the covers. I didn't think that guy was following us anymore, and I really loathed running with a deep passion. So we slowed to a brisk walk. I was barely holding on.

"Stop! I need a break!" My breath came out in hard pants as I bent at the waist to draw in a proper inhale. "Oh god, my lungs are on fire! This is why I used to fail PE every year." I wheezed before each pant.

Peeking through the curtain of my hair, I saw Maddie lying down on the ground with her arms stretched out wide as she took shallow breaths. That girl might have been athletic as the head cheerleader, but I knew she'd rather be home, snuggled in a onesie, and eating a twinkie. That was probably why we got along so well—laziness breeds friendship.

Freddy held up Norman, muttering quietly into his twin's ear as they took a minute, then they straightened up from their crouched position. Norman didn't look so good, with sweat coating his forehead and his eyes unfocused. He might have been in shock.

"Well, that was quite an adventure!" Jessica announced, sounding way too chipper right now. "We're almost to the manor. You just have to pass the Killer Clown Hotel up on the right, and it's homebound from there!" She appeared on my arm, crawling down, and pointed to the right side of the street.

"Tell me the words ‘killer' and ‘clown' didn't just come out of your mouth," Jason muttered, trying to hide a slight tremor. His eyes were full of dread as he looked at Jessica before slowly spinning on his feet to look behind him. "Tell me you didn't say that."

I was terrified to look; my eyes squeezed shut for a few long heartbeats. I muttered a quick, hopeless prayer. She said the C word. This couldn't be happening right now.

Back in the day, when the guys and I were still small and innocent, we shared our fears with each other as we sat in a circle in the attic, our old hangout spot. Back then, we'd taken a blood oath to protect one another from those fears. I remembered pricking our little fingers with one of my mom's safety pins. I suddenly knew that I was going to have to protect Jason any second now because his greatest fear was about to get real. Jason's fear of clowns was soul-deep, and I could see the guys glancing at him with pity in their eyes.

I took a deep breath and straightened back up with a groan. At first, I only saw Jason's broad back, his muscles shifting under his shirt as he stood there with his fists clenched at his sides. Shit.

I looked over his shoulder and finally saw what he was looking at, and my whole body started to quake. Soft lights illuminated a building up ahead. I made eye contact with Michael as he tugged on Maddie's hand to help her off the ground, then over to Freddy, who was still holding up Norman. They wouldn't make it far without a head start, and Norman was looking paler by the second .

"Meet us at the manor," I told them with authority, watching their eyes flicker with anger and doubt before Freddy looked down at his brother and glanced back up with a nod. He knew Norman needed to get to the aunties so we could figure out what was happening to him. He looked deadly sick, which wasn't normal because he seemed fine an hour ago.

"Get out of here fast, you hear me?" Michael snapped, his jawline tight. His oceanic blue eyes were filled with worry and dread. I gave him a curt nod.

The four of them went off, with Michael and Freddy keeping an eye on Norman, who looked like he was about to throw up as they dragged him down the road between them.

I crept up softly to Jason's side once the guys and Maddie turned the corner down the block, pretending like they weren't gawking at the blinking sign. I made my footsteps known, but he didn't notice my approach. It didn't even look like he was breathing as he stared straight ahead. I'd never seen his eyes that dark—the usual gunmetal gray gone. His pupils were so blown out that you could only see a blackness full of paralyzing fear. Jason was a big, tough guy, and seeing him like this made my heart sink.

I snuck my hand out, placing it over his tight fist and uncurling his fingers to slide mine through. We were being watched. I'd seen them from the corner of my eye and tried to convince myself that if I didn't acknowledge them, they'd disappear just like the guy at the gas station. It wasn't working.

Clowns were never my personal enemies. My fear involved being left alone or getting stuck in small places, but I supposed I could make an exception and add clowns to my schedule for the night. The two-story building looked like any regular Motel 6 you'd find off the highway, and I firmly remembered passing it on our way out of town to the carnival. But this wasn't Sunset Hollow's Motel 6. There was nothing normal about this place.

The bright sign on the corner of the road was lit with big, flashing bulbs of every color, drawing attention to the bold red lettering.

‘Killer Clown Motel. Come and stay forever.'

The sign was a clue enough to stay the hell away, but the icing on the top of the clusterfuck cake had to be the three very real clowns standing in a row, right in the middle of the parking lot. All three were staring at Jason with wide, red-lipped smiles that expanded past the curve of their mouths. White powder was smeared across each face, with dark blue circles outlining their haunting eyes. The makeup smudged down each cheek in ruined trails.

Baggy, striped jumpsuits hung off their frames, each foot wearing the typical big red clown shoes. One was wearing a small purple top hat, and he kept honking the horn in his hand, the sound broken and loud in the quiet parking lot. The clown with the brightly colored nose and penciled-in black eyebrows was repeatedly blowing up balloon animals, only to pop them over and over again with a long needle.

The last clown was the one that made me the most nervous. I didn't like the way he was staring at Jason, completely ignoring me. It was like he knew Jason was petrified, and he loved it. His already wide smile grew even bigger, stretching so far at the corners that blood started dripping from his mouth and down his chin. He stood still except for his receding hairline, the strands blowing around his head as a cool breeze brushed by, kicking up dust from the parking lot.

"You might want to start running," a squeaky voice piped up. Jessica dug her little legs in deeper, latching on tight. " The clowns don't usually bother people, especially the ones staying at their motel, but they love games. They can't resist a game, especially that one in the middle."

Her little spider leg pointed to the one who had yet to look away from Jason. He reached into his baggy pocket and pulled something out. A knife?

Oh shit…

"He can smell fear," Jessica added. "Mortals have a show about a clown like that, don't they? American Horrible ? No, that's not it. You know the one clown who's all sad and lonely as he murders people? Anyway, you might want to get going before they decide to stop playing," she warned, and she held on tight like she was belting in for a ride.

"Will they chase us?" I asked without taking my eyes off of them. "Jessica!" I whispered loudly when she didn't respond.

She wasn't paying attention as she mumbled, "Does anyone else see that little doll?"

What the hell is she talking about?

My eyes flicked to the side for one second, long enough to notice a small marionette doll in a little tan trench coat and a black fedora, leaning against the sign post near a vending machine on the ground level of the motel, staring vacantly into the distance.

"Jessica!" I snapped again, panic setting in. "Forget the doll, what do we do?! Will they really chase us? Are we going to be killed by a fucking clown of all things?"

"Probably," she said in a distracted tone, and if she weren't a spider, I thought she would have shrugged.

So much for a helpful tour guide. Geez, Jessica, thanks for the heads-up!

"Jason, I need you to calm down and start running. Do you hear me?" I tugged on the side of his shirt, my nails biting into the muscles in his abdomen. "I know you probably don't want to move right now, but you need to run like your life depends on it."

He was so frozen with fear that he didn't so much as blink. I had no other choice; I had to do something I'd been wanting to do for a full year now. I didn't think; I just cocked my arm back and swung with my palm spread wide to get the full effect. My slap echoed off his cheek as his head snapped to the left. Finally, steel gray eyes flickered down at me, burning with hatred. Hatred I could take since I'd grown accustomed to it, but he needed to move before these clowns stopped toying with us and fucking killed us. We really would be staying here forever then.

"Jason, I don't give a flying hell if I'm being a huge bitch right now, but I'm not about to get bludgeoned to death by a fucking clown, so get a fucking move on now!" I demanded, gripping his hand until my fingernails were digging into his skin.

In less time than it took to blink, he took off like there was a fire lit under his ass, dragging me along for the ride. I yelped and heard Jessica screech as she latched on tight with her tiny claws. We heard footsteps pounding the pavement behind us, and I swear I'd never seen Jason run so fast, not even during basketball practice. We kept running, turning down the bend in the road, and practically toppling over.

"Keep going!" I shouted at Jason's back, and I did wonder if he would leave me if I fell behind.

Haunting laughter echoed through the empty streets, as did the honking of that damn clown horn. My heart was ready to burst out of my chest, but soon the bright lights of the motel were long behind us, and no sign of any painted face creeps followed. They probably just meant to spook us and turned around when we fled, unless they were waiting for us somewhere in the dark. They were probably laughing about it right now.

My aunties and I lived on Hill Street, which ran straight into Main Street after the bend, but as I looked at the signs, I had to stop and look around at my surroundings. The sign said Horror Hill Street now. I shook my head, knowing I was in the right place, regardless of what the stupid sign said. I was dying inside and swore I'd never run again in my whole life.

Jason was bent over at the waist as he sucked in giant lungfuls of air, all the while looking at me through narrowed eyes. "Not a word to anyone, goth girl." He held my eyes for a few moments before shaking his head, then he straightened and continued down the street, where we could just make out the silhouettes of the others waiting for us.

Not a word. Got it. That was fine with me.

Roger

Ya see here, as a private dick-tective, getting your hands dirty just came with the territory, and it just so happened I was the dummy for the job.

He came to me on a cold fall night, when the wind howled like wild dogs as the clock struck midnight. Behind the alley of the blood bank, the fella had a hat covering his ugly mug and handed over her photo without saying a word. The job was clear—find the broad, but keep my mitts off her.

I might just be a simple puppet, my strings pulled by a man much bigger than me, but the fella was a boob. I scooted out of there and got to work on finding the girl. They called me the Marionette, but my friends called me Roger. My hollow limbs made it easy to blend in with the shadows of the town of Midnight Hollow, even with the streets quiet, save for my wooden shoes tapping on the sidewalk. It was a lonely night to be out in the cold darkness, but it gave me time to think.

What's a fella like him doin' looking for a gal like her?

A flash of orange hair caught my eye. Luck was on my side today, it would seem. The gal was with a gang of people, and they ran around the corner, heading towards the street just before the clown motel. It would make my task harder to watch from a distance, but I was up for the job. I needed to stay on their heels if I wanted to gather the information .

Tucking my trench coat tighter against the chill in the air and lowering my fedora over my eyes, I followed in swift pursuit, as limber as a baby deer, all the while taking notes of just who this broad really was and what she was made of.