Chapter Text
“Here we are!” You announced, following the car in front of you towards the grassy parking lot. You found your spot and once parked, you climbed out of the car along with everyone else. “I told you the drive wasn’t that bad! We made it in no time!”
“It was nearly an hour! This place better be worth it.” Mike complained, moving so Chris and Matt could pop out of the back too.
Josh, the master of “I call shotgun” apparently, casually closed the passenger side.
“Hey man, it wasn’t too bad. Are you trying to say you didn’t like my singing?” He joked, poking fun just in time for the next car to pull up beside them. Moments after, Sam got out of its driver’s seat along with Ashley, Emily, and Jessica not far behind.
“Alright, the gang’s all here.” Chris chimed in. “Let’s go get our tickets and some cider. They have that here, don’t they?”
“Oh, they have all sorts of fall goodies to soothe your inner halloween goblin.” You teased. “Apple cider, pumpkin coffee, caramel apples, hot chocolate with the orange marshmallows.”
“Oh wow, the orange ones?” Josh feigned wonder, his grin teasing.
“Shut up, Washington. Let’s hurry up and get in there already.” You said, making way towards the entrance.
Inside, your group made a break for the vendor stands, which meant hot drinks and seasoned fries for all. Sitting at one of the long picnic tables, your group talked amongst themselves until it was going to be your time to head into the trail.
“So,” Emily started this time, capturing everyone’s attention immediately. “Any new sexcapades to report?” She asked. When no one immediately answered, some rolling their eyes and others looking away, she tsked. “Nothing? Come on, somebody has to have something. No? Not even a hot, new crush or anything?”
“I don’t know, why don’t you ask Chris that?” Mike threw out, laughing at the red cheeked glare the blonde sent his way.
“Lay off, man.” He groaned in response.
“Ooo is there a new girl…a new guy?” Jessica chimed in, perfectly done eyebrows already wiggling.
“No! Ugh, seriously? Just cause I’m single doesn’t mean you gotta call me out for it, man.” Chris pouted then waved his hand over towards you and Josh. “They’re single too, why not bug them instead?”
“Wow, way to throw a bro under the bus.” Josh feigned offense with a hand on his chest and mouth agape.
“Spill the details or shut up.” Emily butted in again. Honestly it made you laugh a little and apparently it was a little louder than you thought because suddenly, all eyes were on you. “Well, what about you? Hit anything lately? Come on, you never tell us any juicy stories.”
“Uhh…” In that moment, you were reminded just how much you hate having everyone’s focus on you. Each pair of expecting eyes were glued to you. Some were just waiting for that hot tea, namely Emily, Jessica, and Mike. Others almost looked sympathetic, more so Sam, Ashley, Chris, and Matt. Then there was the last, the one with the focused crease in his brow and a face that nearly looked…concerned? That couldn’t be right. Yet still, whatever it was, Josh’s face was weirdly tense.
That is, until he laughed and balled up the foil left over from his food and tossed it at your head.
“Hey!” You yelled with a lucky dodge. Josh didn’t look very fazed though and kept that award winning smile on his face.
“Leave her alone, guys.” He said, taking most of the attention off of you for now. “She just joined the group a few weeks ago, gotta ease her into the love life interrogating.”
It was true. You were the newest addition to the friend group. Actually, you had met Josh first and he had introduced you to his friends after a couple months of it just being the two of you. The first was Chris, obviously, but that made meeting everyone else a million times easier and led to you here now, at a haunted trail with them. You could only imagine how your group looked to those around. You were all quite the bunch together.
With the attention diverted, you mouthed a silent thank you to Josh who only returned it with a little wink before turning his attention back to the conversation at hand. Something about Jessica wanting pumpkin spiced…eyeshadow? Whatever, not important right now. Your attention was more focused on finishing up your hot chocolate and fries.
Once it was time to enter the haunted trail, the group walked over with their tickets and immediately you were somehow at the front of the line. To your side was Josh, looking like a kid on Christmas. The guy was a huge horror fan, what could you say? The rest of the group was in pairs behind you as much as they could be squished together in the limited space. You weren’t really paying attention to them though because you were more interested in the giant, creepy clown attraction you were about to walk into.
“Are you sure you’re brave enough for this?” You glanced over and saw Josh grinning down at you again. Just by looking at him you could see the excitement.
“Can I handle it? Dude, are you serious? I’m the one who brought you guys here.” You smirked.
“You got me there.” The brunette responded, shifting his weight onto his other leg. He was getting impatient by the looks of it. Must have been that excitement creeping in again. “So, did you-”
“You there! How many in your group? Nine? Alright, you’re up next.” The worker accidentally interrupted, ushering your group into the mouth of a giant, scary clown.
Whatever Josh was about to ask died as you stepped between the figure’s massive teeth and into a dark corridor, decorated with neon lights and gaudy, colorful mirrors that morphed you into different shapes.
“Woah, weird!” Chris said somewhere not far behind you.
“It is weird…” You said. You had been there before in the past, sure. Yet that didn’t mean you couldn’t still get creeped out or that nothing ever changed. That was the fun part.
Traveling through the wonky mirrors led you straight into the arms of “clown nurses”....what a concept! But, the colorfully dressed clown ladies laughed maniacally while guiding you towards your next destination.
What did this place not have? After surviving the creepy clowns, you were all ushered into a corn maze with some sort of haunted scarecrow guy creeping his way through the dark stalks. It was terrifying!
Moving forward through the maze, your group groaned after finding yet another dead end.
You frowned and turned back with the group to figure out your next move when you heard it. The blaring roar of a chainsaw, and not just any chainsaw! A chainsaw wielding maniac to be exact.
Emily was the first to scream and run, passing everyone else and leaving them in the dust as she ran. Matt, ever loyal, wasn’t far behind. Everyone else followed suit down the dirt path illuminated by only dim, yellowing lamps swaying every few feet on wooden poles. Of course the killer had to pop out once you ended up in the back!
Running as fast as you could from the masked chainsaw man, you failed to notice the bumpy terrain and one wrong move twisted your ankle and sent you tumbling down into the dirt.
“Ugh!” You groaned as you landed full force onto your front, barely having enough time to put out your hands which miraculously saved your face from hitting the ground as well. The same could not be said for the black outfit you had specifically picked out for this very special occasion. So much for looking cute!
Just when you thought your fate was sealed and all your friends had left you as a sacrifice to the chainsaw man, you felt warm hands upon your arms trying to gently pull you up. Daring a glance, you saw Josh there with that furrowed look of concern on his face again.
“Are you alright?” He asked just as the sound of loud whirring died down.
“Oh man, I’m sorry!” Came the voice behind you and you realized the “crazy psycho lunatic with a chainsaw” was actually just a teenage worker after he pushed his mask up. “I totally didn’t think you’d fall. I’m really sorry. Do you need me to call somebody?”
“No, no, I’m alright. I think I twisted my ankle a little but that’s it. It’ll be alright.” You brushed off with a small wave of your hand.
“Are you sure? Uh, alright. Just be careful, okay? You’re only, like, halfway through so take it easy.” The teen said. Then, just like that, he pulled his mask back down and stalked off somewhere else to go harass a different group of people.
Once he was gone, Josh again was trying to help you up off the ground.
“Thanks for not abandoning me and sacrificing me to the killer.” You told him, trying not to think about how grunty you were standing up.
He didn’t seem to mind at all though and smirked. “Leave you behind? No way.” He said, getting you to your feet he immediately took your arm in his. “Lean on me and try to keep some weight off your ankle. Are you sure we don’t need to call someone to escort you out of here?”
“And miss the rest of the trail? No way!” You answered. “I’ll rest when I’m dead.”
“How appropriate for a haunted trail. You’ll be the newest ghost.” The brunette grinned as he slowly started to lead you down the path once more.
Limping your way towards your next destination with Josh’s help, you came across your group of friends huddled there in a spot waiting for you both to catch up. Instantly, you pointed an accusatory finger. “You all left me!”
“You’re alive!” Chris chimed instead, arms up in celebration. “We didn’t mean to leave you. We thought you were behind us the whole time! Then we stopped when we heard the chainsaw go quiet and you and Josh were gone. Duh, that’s why we stopped to wait on you guys. Hey, what happened to your leg?” The realization must’ve hit a little slow but one could never really be mad at Chris of all people. The guy was basically a golden retriever in disguise.
“Oh, the chainsaw guy totally cut off my tendon and now I have to walk like this forever.” You responded.
“Wow! You’re looking pretty good for somebody that’s bleeding out as we speak.” Chris said with a snicker.
You only rolled your eyes and smiled. “I tripped and twisted my ankle. Made the poor kid break character and everything.” You said. Which was really a big accomplishment for any haunted attraction. Score one for you. “I’ll be fine though. It’s really not all that bad, just a little sore.”
“If you say so.” Sam joined in, looking just as concerned as Josh had. She already had a look that said she knew how stubborn you were going to be about this though. Everyone already knew how excited you had been to come back here and you weren’t going to let a minor injury slow you down so much that you wouldn’t enjoy it. “If you’re really okay, then let’s get moving.”
“Hell yeah, back to the spooks.” Chris cheered, leading the pack further down the trail.
Between the pitch blankness forcing you to use your phone flashlight, dense fog so thick you had to feel your way through it, and all number of classic horror movie themed scares, you finally made it through to the next big one.
“Uhhh…is that a hospital?” Ashley whispered.
You looked up and there it was. “The Sanatorium” in bold, rotting letters there just waiting for you to walk through its doors.
“Ugh, that’s so creepy.” Emily replied. You could practically hear the disgusted look on her face in her words. It was reasonable really, lots of people didn’t like hospitals at all. Hence why it was so popular during Halloween.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go in.” Mike said, taking charge this time.
However, as you went to move forward with the rest of the group, you found you couldn’t. “Josh?” You asked quietly, looking over at the brunette and the way he stared at the front of the haunted attraction with a look of unease. It didn’t look like he was doing it on purpose but had zoned out, unintentionally keeping you there with him as your support. “What’s the matter? Josh?”
“Huh?” He snapped out of it and as soon as it was gone, his winning smile was back. “Sorry. Just taking in the atmosphere, ya know? Come on, let’s catch up with the others. I’ve got you.” He said, helping you along your way into the makeshift hospital.
It was what one would expect when entering a ghostly sanatorium. Empty wheelchairs all over the place, flickering lights, fake blood splattered everywhere. The like.
Peeking into one of the rooms, your skin crawled to see a figure sitting strapped up in a straight jacket twitching around in a wheelchair. Quickly moving onwards, further into the hospital, a bloody nurse popped out of a doorway and screamed at an octave that Ashely matched in her fear.
Rushing forward the best you could, the scenery got worse the further in you traveled. To one side, a doctor shoved a needle into a strapped patient’s arm. To the other, a woman in a straight jacket laughed loudly and kicked at her room door. It was all horrific and just as scary as you’d like when, from behind, quick footsteps echoed in the hollow walls far too quick for you to react in time. Then, a scream in your ear caused you to yelp out and stumble away from the sound as the person skittered back into the darkness behind you.
You didn’t care though, still trying to get the ringing out of your ears by shrinking into your shoulders. You squeezed your eyes shut and unintentionally curled into the warmth by your side. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that you realized who that warmth was exactly.
“O-Oh! I’m sorry, Josh.” You apologized quickly, pulling back.
“It’s fine.” Came the immediate answer, a smile as comforting as the Sun on his face. “I don’t mind if you need to grab onto me.”
“Oh-”
“Are you two boning back there or what? Come on!” Chris called.
You swear you never felt your face get that red hot so quickly before and you only noticed then that the rest of the others were down the hallway already. Again, Josh had waited for you. They had a point though, now wasn’t the time to be lagging behind. You already got separated once and you didn’t want it to happen again. So, you limped your way faster down the hallway with Josh’s help.
“Ugh! Thank god that’s over!” Ashley sighed with relief once you were all out. Now, your group was calmly walking through the last portion of the trail towards the exit. All that surrounded you now were dark woods with cheap, cheesy figures of monsters and “Keep Out” signs illuminated by comically orange lights.
“No kidding, that shit was crazy.” Mike said. “Good suggestion to come here.”
You feigned a bow as well as you could while walking and were quite pleased with yourself. “I am a Halloween and spooktacular extraordinaire.” You declared.
Josh however scoffed.
“What? What’s that face for?” You challenged. Was he daring to question your title?
“Halloween and spooktacular extraordinaire says the one who’s never seen, like, any classic horror movies.” The brunette pointed out.
“Ooooh, man! Calling her out!” Chris hyped up.
“Hey! I’ve seen plenty…it’s just been a while.”
“By a while you mean like two decades?” Josh reminded.
Damn. Maybe you shouldn’t have told the kid who was big into films, especially the classic horror movies, that you haven't seen most of them since you were little. Older siblings were good for that sort of thing and all but you really couldn’t recall most of the movies even if you tried.
“So? I still saw them.”
“Doesn’t count.” Matt said this time and you gave him a look that only spoke of betrayal.
“I brought everyone here to the best haunted trail and this is the thanks I get? I feel hurt.”
At that, everyone laughed which quickly ended with some yawns as well. So, after making your way through the exit and grabbing some cider, donuts, and hot chocolate to go, both cars were packed up again.
This time Josh was in the driver’s seat. No way you were driving with a twisted ankle in the middle of the night and you were giving the guy who helped you through the horrors of the attractions full trust with your not-so new but ol’ reliable car.
It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that you passed out in the passenger seat, hardly even noticing when the others in the backseat were dropped off. It wasn’t until you felt your shoulder being shaken that you jostled awake and blearily looked over at Josh looking right at you.
“Hey…you alright? I was gonna ask earlier…did you want to come over to watch some of those movies? Maybe I shouldn’t ask though…you’re tired. I can take you home and we can watch the movies a different time.” He offered quietly.
“What? Oh that’s right…you did say something about wanting to do some big movie marathon leading up to Halloween…I can’t promise that I can do a whole marathon but I can do at least one.” You replied, rubbing your eye some to get some of the sleep away.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, man. I’m totally sure.”
“Alright…let’s head over to my place then.” Josh said quietly and started the drive.