Page 15 of Fed By Fear

My train of thought halts when a creeping sensationovertakes my skin. The pressure swirling around me tightens. His presence is more than a cocky scare actor.It’s an actual presence.

My tongue protests as I fight to swallow in an undetectable manner. He’s not a ghost. Haunted dolls and creepy relics are one thing. I’m not equipped to deal with whatever this guy is.

Breathe. Move away. Play it cool. Get out of this building.

“Nice mask,” I offer as coolly as I can manage. Realizing I’ve been separated from my group seeds uncertainty in my gut. My movements are robotic as I step around the clown.

He moves behind me, leaning close enough that his green nose slides in my peripherals. “Lost lucky girl starts with moon-shimmered skin, but blue skin now means that we’ll see you again.” His voice is deep and smooth, a perfect match to his body. My friends disappear into the darkness of the hallway without me.

Laughter follows me out.Hislaughter. Even with his eyes hidden beneath the mask, I know his gaze is on me.

I can’t stop myself from looking over my shoulder to catch one more eyeful. The lime-green graffiti painted across his chiseled abdomen glows. The words drip down, as if the painter was rushed. “Laugh, baby, laugh.”

He’s still laughing when I push into the next room. I barely register the spooky new theme. My focus is frozen downward.

On my wrist, where the girl had hold of me, my skin is turning blue.

Hunt

My fear reserves are sky-fucking-high just an hour in. I love Halloween. It’s the best time of year to find people who actually want to be scared. They go looking for it. Teenagers visit haunted bridges and abandoned buildings hoping to encounter something scary. Couples snuggle up with their popcorn and raging hormones to watch the most gory flicks they can find. Masses flock to haunted houses and pay to have strangers make them scream. I wish it was Halloween every day.

A large group of girls flee through the exit. Their screams were absolutely delicious. The things I could do with all seven of them tied up in the woods. Scared and splayed. My needs are begging to be sated in more ways than one this evening.

The fantasy adds to my high. What a rush.

“Hunt needs to know something.” The voice comes out of nowhere.

My teeth cut my gums on instinct. Madness and his sneaky games. “One of these days I’m going to rip your throat out for pulling a move like that. What are you doing here?”

“We saw someone. A girl. We need her.” His hands twitch. Madness sometimes sees things that aren’t there.

“You’re imagining things.”

“She was real this time.” His tone is that of a petulant child.

I throw my head back. Even in my mask, my exasperation must be obvious.

“She was,” he insists. “Caught her talking to a ghost.”

That has my attention. “She could see them?” A chill prickles up my spine.

Madness jumps from foot to foot. “Not too long. Clock started ticking. Tick-tock, tick-tock.”

“What happened?”

“Ghost got her good now she’s turning blue.”

Blue. Excitement fizzes in me. “How much time?”

“We don’t know. Clock ticks faster since we’re nearby.” He taps his wrist.

“Give me something, Madness. How long do we have?”

“Not long.” Madness drops, pressing his ear to the floor. “Can you feel them? Ghost girl is losing her humanity. Tonight.”

Humanity is a debatable topic more often than should be normal. “What is she?”

Madness flattens the rest of his body to the ground, slowly stroking the floor. “Something that dead things are interested in. Feel them in the ground? Wiggling beneath us. All from her.”