The Circle

The Circle - Chapter Nine

Nine:

"Please tell me you just saw that," April panicked silently. It was actually happening. Really happening and not just to her, but to her friends. Guilt weighed heavily as she struggled to face her fears.  

"I just saw that." 

Loretta and Alex were nowhere to be seen and worse still, the window had completely blacked out leaving April and Caleb blind to their ensuing fate. 

"So on the upside, at least I'm still sane... for now that is," April remembered Jinx and the terror came quick and fast. Instantly like a reflex action, April ran after her. Darting speedily between groups of people and the dancing crowds and pushing against the tirade of angry objections as she shoved people aside, she ran through Loretta's back garden and into the contrasting glossy kitchen as her rapid eyes took in the shiny chrome and fear gripped at her throat like an iron fist. She felt her breathing quicken and her vision start to blur. Not now.

Caleb followed closely behind and as she made her way through the kitchen and into the hallway she spotted Jinx casually walking up the winding staircase, linking arms with Matt O'Malley and heading for the Haunted House.  

"Stop!" April's lungs burst as she screamed and everyone in the house fell silent to stare at her, sniggering at the outburst but she couldn't care less. She was beginning to question her own mental state so this was nothing new.  

Jinx jumped at the sound and abruptly swivelled round in annoyance to find her friend posed and out of breath at the bottom of the staircase.

The last thing she remembered was April cosily snuggled up with the Mask of Zorro, now it seemed she had gone insane. "April? What are you screaming about? You've lost the plot girl." 

"Just come here would you."  

"Can't you see I'm kind of busy?" Jinx motioned none-too discretely toward Matt O'Malley, who for his part looked completely baffled and like he wanted to run a mile, which two seconds later he did. "Oh cheers A, now look what you've gone and done. You can't get pissed with me for going off with a guy when you're canoodaling the Mask of Zorro, which by the way, is a ridiculous choice of costume. I mean firstly, who the hell does this guy think he is? Yeah ok, a bit of mystery on Halloween might 'woo' you or whatever, but really? Does this really float your boat?" 

"Jinx." 

"Who is he? He doesn't go to Hilltop Green High. No offence, but him hanging around here is pretty creepy."  

"Jinx just listen!" April struggled against Jinx's tirade. "No one is to go upstairs!" She yelled to the rest of the guests. "There's been a technical fault in the Haunted House and its being sorted as we speak."  

Jogging speedily up the stairs she joined Jinx and hurriedly explained what had happened to Alex and Loretta.  

"Something isn't right," Caleb reiterated the situation. "We need to find them."  

"No shit," Jinx replied, looking as shocked as Alex in the window. "So you're Caleb Anderson. A little old for you, don't you think April?"  

April blushed under the intense hallway lights but chose to ignore Jinx's sarcasm, now was not the time. 

"Leave it Jinx," April snapped at her friend unnerved. "We need to find Alex and Loretta but we need to go into the Haunted House and from the look on their faces, I don't think it's turned into the most pleasant of places."  

"I've heard of this before," Caleb confirmed, his expression as hard as stone. "It sounds as if someone has put a Hex on the house and it has trapped the guests. Zalidas - a Hex used to trap an enemy."