The Hallow

7

Carson

My eyes open to complete darkness. I do not remember falling asleep, but eventually the memories come back to me. Darcy and I were faking a scene, then suddenly I was hit upside the head, and everything went black. I remember hearing Darcy's blood curdling screams; mostly consisting of my name, but my entire body was numb, and even though I tried to move, I couldn't.

The sound of packing dirt is what had woken me up, and suddenly breathing becomes immensely difficult. By this time, I have become aware of my sense of touch, and the plush cloth beneath me delivers the worst news possible.

I throw my hands up against the room of the limited space I have been placed in. The silk against my fingertips is soft, but in no way soothing.

I have been buried alive.

I begin to hit my hands against the top of the casket, but eventually stop. I have read an article about live burial. Oxygen is limited, and panicking is only going to kill me faster. I try my best to steady my breathing to suit my lung capacity, though air is running out quick. The sound of packing dirt continues, and I try my hardest to stay as calm as possible.

Luckily, I am not claustrophobic, but my biggest fear is dying of suffocation. I can feel my heart rate picking up, but I continue breathing in through my nose and out of my mouth slowly.

"God please, please. Not like this." I plead. It is then that the panic sets in.

Darcy

With my hands tied tightly behind my back, I am propped up on a throne-like chair in a dimly lit room. There are creepy portraits of women and young families on the walls. My ankles are strapped to the bottom of the large chair, and I can't tell if it's blood or sweat trickling down my temples.

A slim figure enters the room, forcing my breath to catch in my throat. He is wearing a mask—a puppet-like smiling face—and casual clothing. His jeans are covered in dry dirt, and the red shirt peeking out from under his dark gray jacket stands out the most.

The man walks toward me slowly with a sway in his shoulders. He tilts his head as to smile wider, but it is just the mask messing with my vision. My hands shake behind my back, and I shake my head as he comes closer. If it weren't for the duct tape on my mouth, I would beg him to leave me alone.

The masked man is finally within touching distance of me, and brushes the back of his index finger against my cheek, making me wince. He tilts his head the other way, and my brain makes the mask turn into a sad face. I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head, trying to keep myself from hallucinating.

I groan behind the duct tape, and the masked man shakes his head. He reaches over and rips the tape from my mouth, causing me to scream. He quickly covers my mouth with his other hand and shakes his head. He places the opposite index finger up to his lips, then slowly pulls away. He then walks to the other side of the room toward a small music box that I had not noticed before, and twists the knob. Slow carnival music begins to play, causing my fear to grow.

"Where's Carson?" I ask demandingly. The masked man does not turn to face me.

"Your friend is . . . very grounded." an obviously disguised voice says. He then laughs to himself.

"What did you do to him?" I ask. I almost ask about Maddy and the others, but I stop myself incase he does not yet know about them. I don't want to blow their cover and put them in danger as well.

The masked man turns to face me once again, and places a hand on his chest as to have been offended by what I had just said.

"I didn't do anything to him."

"Let me go!" I demand.

"I'm afraid that is not a possibility."

"Who are you?"

"My, you're just full of questions, aren't you?" the masked man makes a ticking noise with his tongue, and tilts his head again. I take this as a sign to stay silent. The only noise now is his footsteps gaining on me, and the soft tune from the music box playing in the background.

"You were smart thinking this was a bad idea," the masked man says, bending over with his hands on his knees directly in front of me. "too bad your friends weren't smart enough to listen to you."

"How do you know?"

The masked man leans his head back a little, nods, then stands to his full height.

"I'll be right back." he says, replacing the duct tape across my lips. He then spins on his heel and walks toward the door. I fidget in my large seat, trying to yell and scream through the tape, but he doesn't listen, and moments later, he is gone.

Tears flood my eyes and stain my cheeks, and the rubbing of the rope string around my wrists digs into my skin painfully. I look around for a way out, but my brain is hallucinating, and I cannot focus on one thing for more than ten seconds at a time.

My heart stops as I gaze around the room, and the corner of my eye catches a small silhouette near the door across from me. I slowly turn my head to get a better view of it, and immediately regret it when I do.

The small body of what appears to be a young child—a boy—is lying limp in the corner. He is wearing a nice black tuxedo and dress shoes, but the creepiest thing about this sight is that over his head is a traditionally carved jack-o-lantern.

I can't bring myself to take my eyes off of the scene. My heart is pounding, and my breathing becomes heavy as I panic; trying to think of a way out of here. It is then that I notice something similar on the other side of the room, only this body is that of an older male pinned to the wall; much like a crucifixion. He also has a pumpkin over his head.

I move quickly, trying to free my hands from the tight hold of the rope. I cry and scream under the tape due to the pain it is causing and the tender skin, but I keep going until one hand is finally free. I then lean down and try to undo the numerous layers of flytrap tape around my ankles. I get one foot free, and rip the other away, causing the wound on my leg from earlier to reopen and bleed again. I yank the tape off of my mouth, and search desperately for a way out where the masked man would not catch me.

There is a metal vent in between the legs of the crucified pumpkin man, and I cringe at the thought, but open it up quickly and crawl through.

MASKED MAN *Sitting in leather chair in room full of camera monitors*

"Stupid girl."