Angel of Fire - the Breath of Immortality - Book One #Wattys2014

A Grim Encounter

Chapter 21 - A Grim Encounter

"Listen up everyone." A husky voice crackled over the Walkie Talkie. "We have people starting to line up."

I tried to find Carmen, but she found me instead. "Chaos, did you hear that?"

I nodded. "Sounds like we better hurry."

We both stopped dead in our tracks when someone turned off the outside lights, leaving us in cold, hard darkness. I plucked a flashlight from the bag, clicking it on just as someone else turned on the haunted house noises. Creepy organ music drifted in the darkness. Every once in a while the sounds of wolves howling, glass breaking, and a woman's screams could be heard mingling with the eerie music.

As promised, when the black lights flickered to life the barn turned into a sadistic looking fun house. A well hidden fog machine created thick, tinted clouds of bluish smoke that crept along the barn floor like a serpent.

Carmen and I made our way to the entrance of the maze, lugging the bag of flashlights while making sure that all the signs we'd made with arrows on them pointed in the right directions. I didn't want anyone to get lost and end up in the forest beyond the cornfield.

Just the thought made me shiver. Already cold, the windless air was becoming even colder. For once, I wished I'd brought a coat.

I glanced up as we walked side by side. Unlike this morning, there wasn't a single cloud overhead to spoil the view. The moonless sky looked like it was covered in a blanket of stars. Sounds of the band warming up drifted to my ears, leaving me covered in goosebumps.

When we finally reached the gate, swarms of people waiting all huddled together to keep warm talked excitedly.

I fumbled with the Walkie Talkie until I figured out how to operate it. Pushing a button on the side, I said, "Okay mom, we're in place."

"Alright, everyone else ready?" One by one, mom's friends sounded off.

A guy dressed as Frankenstein had been watching over the increasing crowd. I approached and cautiously tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and winced at the light I'd shown right in his face. I wasn't taking any chances with strangers. Even underneath all that green makeup I could tell it was Chief Madden, a close personal friend of my mothers.

"You two ready to take over?" he asked. Carmen and I nodded. "When I'm inside the barn, I'll let you know. " I watched him disappear in the darkness and took my place beside Carmen at the gate.

As soon as the visitors noticed us, they started to form a line. I glanced over at Carmen. She was a nervous ball of energy.

"Chaos, I'm in position," Frankenstein called.

I Walkie-Talkied him back. "Get ready, we're opening the flood gates."

Taking a deep breath, I swung open the large wooden gate and started admitting people. The hardest part was making sure the ones who wanted to stay in a group were allowed to go in together. Carmen made sure to leave extra room between parties, so people didn't get too crowded.

We tried handing out flashlights, but most people just waved us off. Such brave little souls.

"I bet this is going to be stupid," I heard Brian say. He sounded like his typical cynical self.

I was suddenly glad I hadn't changed my mind about accepting the Guardian's help after all. Brian handed me his admission fee. As I reached out to take it, he held onto the bills longer than necessary, before finally letting go.

I met his bold stare, trying my best not to smile.

Too bad it didn't work.

I had a hard time believing that he was actually paying me to scare the hell out of him. The thought was sobering.