This Is Halloween

"We're almost there, you guys," Gerard said from the driver's seat.

I'd almost fallen asleep, waiting for someone to say that.

"We should stop now, Gerard," Christie said from next to me.

"Why?" Gerard asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Cars break down within two hundred feet from this place," Mikey said from the passenger's seat.

"I'm not leaving my car in the middle of nowhere."

Oh, yeah, Gerard. Because your precious car meant for five, holding seven, is just that great. Christie was sat on top of Bob against her will and I was sat on Frank, against the window. I didn't mind sitting on Frank. But...the car was so damn cramped, I could hardly breathe. Frank was enjoying the position I was in a little too much. Ray sat alone with his testosterone at the other end of the seat.

"It's true," Frank said. "Every Halloween. The car will crash and won't move until tomorrow."

It was Halloween night. We were headed toward a "haunted house". A real haunted house, not just one of those lamely made ones with fake monsters popping out all over the place that you just walk through mindlessly. An old house in the middle of nowhere, at the side of a road that no one has dared go down for years, and that is said to be haunted by a girl's angry spirit. There's no such thing as ghosts, but it's worth the trip to see the place.

"My car's not gonna break down," Gerard said. "It's not like the Bermuda triangle. It's a goddamn house."

"So if your precious car does happen to break down," Bob said, "it'll be because it's a piece of crap."

We laughed. In the distance, there was a castle-like house slowly growing bigger the closer we got to it. An ominous fog settled around it. I became infatuated; it clicked in my mind that if this night was any good, my horror-fetish would be fed.

"Maybe birthday boy will get so scared, he pees his pants," Ray said, referring to Frank. We laughed even harder.

"I'll be too busy protecting you, Ray," Frank said cockily. I laughed helplessly at that, considering Ray was tall as a giant and Frank was a shrimp.

Suddenly, the car wheels screeched. The silver car spun. I mean...spun. Frank's grip around my waist tightened as our bodies swerved with the force of the vehicle. And as quickly as it began, it stopped, leaving me dizzy and disoriented; my body forced into the seat in front of me. Christie and I shrieked when the car made a strange sound.

"Is everyone okay?" Ray asked. Everyone made some sort of nod.

"What the hell was that?" Christie exclaimed.

"Two hundred feet," Mikey said. "We're Two hundred feet away, brother."

"There's something on the road," Gerard said, sounding shocked.

"Get over it, man," Ray said. "Mikey and Frank are right."

"Or we could go with the latter and say your car is crap," Bob said.

The seven of us got out of the car. The black clouds grazing the moon left the cold night feeling eerie. There was no sign of life for a good few miles, not even dying trees, as the road was usually closed. It wasn't paranoia; it was real. Or at least that's what we'd been told. Cars couldn't ever get too close to the house. Speaking of the house, it was just about 200 feet away from where Christie and I stood, waiting for the guys to finish checking out the car.

"What's the story behind the haunted house?" Christie asked me, shivering. She hugged her jacket.

"The guys said they'd tell us once we got there," I whispered back.

"It's dead," I heard Bob say.

"I guess we're walking from here, then," Frank said, wrapping his arm around my waist and walking along.

We walked in a strange silence, fueled probably by the paranoia the dead car brought.

"Cold?" Frank asked me as I shivered. I nodded. He grinned, leaning down and pressing his lips onto my neck. My cheeks warmed.

Once we'd reached the house, I felt like I'd like to go back home. It wasn't as large as you'd imagine a so-called haunted house to be but it was all black. It looked more like burnt wood than black paint. The only form of life within miles of this place was right in front of it; it had camouflaged itself against the blackness that is the house and the darkness of the night. A leafless black tree with a motionless tire hung on it as a swing. The wind pushed my hair into my face but the tire stayed motionless. Unnatural.

"Open the door," Mikey whispered. I watched him nervously elbow his brother, Gerard, from the corner of my eye.

Gerard looked around at us awkwardly. His eyes lingered on Bob, who he smiled at. Bob sighed.

"Fine," he said. "I'll open it, ya babies."

Christie practically jumped on me when the creaky door slowly opened.

"Calm down Christie," Bob said, laughing. The inside of the house was like an endless void. Christie and I watched Bob go inside, followed by Gerard.

"Come on, girls," Ray said. Christie shook her head. She had her arms wrapped around me. I rolled my eyes.

"Stop being such a baby," I trotted her.

"No!" she said. "You can't make me!"

We went inside and someone slammed the door behind us. It was pure blackness and nothing but, making it hard to tell blinking from looking. Then suddenly, a flashlight turned on and there was a "monster" in front of us. Christie and I screamed. The room was encased by laughter and the monster peeled off his face, revealing Gerard's almost condescendingly amused smile.

"That's not funny!" Christie said, punching Gerard.

"Dude, turn on a light!" I heard Mikey's voice say from the darkness. A dim light did in fact turn on and we were all scattered around a small living room. A single light bulb hung from the middle of the high ceiling. A couch with what I hoped was red paint splattered on it, a broken mirror, a fire place with ashes still in it, dust, spider webs—

Frank let out a scream, jumping behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist protectively.

"I saw a sp-spider," he breathed. Everyone laughed at him.

"Arachnophobia is gay," Christie said, regaining her confidence by hiding behind Ray. Frank stuck his middle finger out at her.

"Let's split up, gang," Bob said.

"Have we jumped into an episode of Scooby-Doo?" Mikey asked.

"We have ground to cover!"

"Yeah!" Gerard said excitedly. "Bob's hair is blonde, he’s Fred! That's so funny, Mikey."

We all laughed at Bob's dumbfounded expression.

"We're splitting up, is my point," Bob said angrily. "But first, the story behind the house.

Christie and I looked up at him eagerly.

"Let me guess," Frank said, regaining his fearless stance. "A girl got raped and killed in this very house." He stressed the 'very house' part enough so that it was obvious he thought it was a joke.

"If we're using loopholes then...yeah," Bob said.

Christie trembled.