Undead Love: A Post-Apocalyptic Romance Page 26

  Calm down, Essie, everything is going to be okay, I told myself, trying to ease my troubled mind.

  I knew Halloween was supposed to be scary, but this was becoming hellish.

  Suddenly, I stopped, pressing my ear against the wall.

  Soft murmurs floated to my ears. People were talking just beyond the wall! Maybe they could help us!

  “Allen!” I called out.

  “What? Did you find something?” He jogged up to me.

  “Is there a room next to this one?”

  He thought for a moment before shaking his head.

  “No, why?”

  “There are people talking on the other side of this wall,” I said, gesturing for him to listen.

  He did so and his eyes widened. “That sounds like Chris!” He started to bang on the walls, shouting his brother’s name.

  At first, nothing happened, but then the bookcase started to move.

  I watched it curiously as it rolled on invisible tracks to the left.

  A hole appeared in the wall, revealing a secret room, also painted purple.

  “What the hell are you guys doing making so much noise?” Chris asked, poking his head through the opening.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Allen demanded. “Were you taken as well?”

  “Taken?” Ebony appeared beside Chris. “What do you mean? We came here to get away from all the nonsense.”

  “You two have been here the whole time?” Allen asked.

  Chris sighed. “This is my secret library. When I don’t want to deal with you, I hide here, because I know you won’t be able to find me,” he explained. “Besides, I wanted some privacy with Ebony.”

  Allen walked into the library, bringing me along with him.

  It was a smaller room, filled floor to ceiling with books, most of them leather bound and expensive looking. Comfortable chairs were tucked away into the corners. A small electric fireplace crackled away with fake flames.

  “What the hell is wrong with you two? You look like you just saw a ghost,” Ebony teased.

  “Something strange is going on…” I whispered.

  “Such as?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

  “People started disappearing from the game. There was blood,” I said, almost in hysterics.

  “Blood? Are you sure? It was probably just a gag,” Ebony pointed out. “It is Halloween after all.”

  “It wasn’t a gag.” Allen stepped forward. “I saw it with my own two eyes. Something bad is going on.”

  “Okay, but you aren’t playing the game anymore, so what are you worried about?” Chris was about to grab a book and start reading when Allen knocked it out of his hand.

  “Don’t be an idiot. These rooms are part of the game or were you too blind to realize that they changed the color of the room?”

  “Hmm… violet…” Ebony looked around. “If we work off the Poe logic, then we are in the room of imminent death.”

  “Imminent death?” I repeated, my blood running cold. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, in the story, the next room is black – death. Inside of it is a clock.”

  My eyes widened. “We already saw a clock.”

  “Where?”

  “In the other room.”

  “Then, death is upon us,” Ebony said sinisterly.

  Chapter 18

  ALLEN

  “Shut up. That’s not funny.” I snapped.

  “Of course it’s funny. You two are scared out of your wits because of some stupid little game.” Ebony shook her head. “Honestly.”

  “This isn’t a game.” Essie grabbed her sister by the arms. “Something is going on. You have to believe us.”

  She sighed. “Okay, but I swear to God, if this is one of your little jokes, I won’t forgive you this time.”

  “I’m telling the truth,” Essie insisted.

  “Alright, where’s the clock?” she asked.

  “You aren’t really going to go in there, are you?” My eyes widened. “Didn’t you just say the last room was death?”

  “I did, but do you really think something is going to kill me? I mean if you hired murderers for your party, that’s a whole different story.”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then, what do we have to worry about?” She whipped her black hair over her shoulders before she sauntered out of the room.

  Chris’ eyes were glued to the sway of her hips before he followed her.

  Essie looked at me, a sense of dread in her eyes. “Nothing is going to happen,” I whispered, sounding more confident than I felt. I just couldn’t shake this sense of foreboding deep within my chest.

  This wasn’t right.

  I took her hand in mine, squeezing it tight. “I won’t let go,” I told her.

  She nodded and together, we approached the last room.

  The light had turned off and now the only thing beyond the threshold was pure darkness.

  Even Chris and Ebony hesitated, their previous confidence wavering in front of the wall of black.

  Eventually, Chris pulled out his phone, turning on the flashlight. It didn’t do much to illuminate the room.

  At a snail’s pace, we all moved forward until we were wrapped by the ethereal blackness. It seemed to get tighter and tighter around us like a snake trying to crush our every bone.

  I held onto Essie’s hand even tighter.

  “There seems to be a trap door,” Chris observed, shining the light of his phone at a handle protruding from the ground. “Did you know this was here?” he asked me.

  “No. I didn’t even know you had a secret library.”

  “Should we see what it leads to?” he asked, already squatting down, his fingers wrapping around the iron handle.

  Beside me, Essie shook her head.

  The door opened with a loud, drawn out groan.

  We all peered down the narrow shaft but we couldn’t see a thing.

  “We aren’t really going down there, are we?” Essie asked. “I mean… in movies… going down something like that is a sure-fire way to get killed.”

  Ebony rolled her eyes. “What are you twelve? There’s nothing to be afraid of.” She was the first one to start down the ladder. Chris shrugged and followed.

  “Allen… please don’t tell me you’re going down there too.”

  “We have to get to the bottom of this, Essie. It’s the only way.” I told her, giving her a passionate kiss before I helped her onto the ladder.

  The descent was long and perilous. The ladder was slick and slippery, making it hard to hold onto. The air smelled of rotten eggs – sulfur maybe. Whatever it was, it was making me sick to my stomach.

  Then, the further down we got, the weirder the sounds became. At first, all that could be heard was the sound of our feet against the rungs of the ladders, but then strange moans emerged from the darkness. Sometimes, the sound of metal grinding together. The hair-raising sound of nails on a chalkboard.

  What the hell was going on?

  At some point, Essie had completely frozen up. She refused to budge.

  “Come on, we have to keep going,” I tried to coax her. We had come this far, we couldn’t give up now. “We only have a little bit left to go,” I said, even though I had no idea if that was true or not.

  “I can’t…” She shook her head, her blond curls bouncing around her shoulders. “I can’t do it. I just want to go home.”

  “Essie, I know this is scary, but we will get out of this. I promise. I just need you to stay strong for me for a little while longer, okay?” I wanted to hold her in my arms and comfort her, but given the situation we were in, that was impossible. I needed her to keep going. It was the only way.

  She took a deep breath and slowly continued her descent.

  Finally, we reached the bottom. Somehow, we were in the basement. All of our old things were stacked against the walls.

  Chri
s held his phone over his head.

  “Why would we be taken down here?” I wondered aloud.

  “Maybe some axe murderer is about to pop out of the shadows and kill us all,” Ebony snickered.

  “Ebony! This isn’t funny.” Essie nearly lost it. She was shaking so hard that I had to hold her tight. It felt like if I didn’t, she would crumble to pieces.

  “Don’t listen to her,” I murmured into her hair, kissing the top of her head.

  “Come on.” Chris started forward, lighting the way. We followed him, approaching a loud grinding noise.

  A part of me wanted to rush up the ladders and run far, far away but at the same time, I had an obligation to protect Essie. I had gotten her into this mess and now I was going to get her out of it, even if I had to give up my life to do it.

  When we rounded a corner, we saw a light at the end of the room. It swung back and forth from its wire, sending its light circling around in a pendulum.

  Another one of Poe’s stories. The only one I had fully read.

  Could this be the finale of this horrible game?

  Chapter 19

  ESSIE

  I clung onto Allen for dear life. I was terrified. I had never been this scared in my entire life. My heart was hammering so loudly that I could barely hear anything. My ears echoed with the sound of it.

  No one dared to approach the light.

  The grinding noise had ceased.

  All was quiet.

  Too quiet.

  Ebony was the first to step forward, still skeptical that there was really something going on.

  When she stepped into the light, her skin seemed to sparkle. Her black hair glistened. In that moment, it almost seemed silly to think that something bad would happen to her.

  But suddenly, a figure dressed all in black appeared right behind her.

  “Ebony!” I screamed. “Behind you! Watch out!” I wanted to run out and push her out of harm’s way but my feet were bolted to the ground. I couldn’t move.

  All I could do was watch in horror as the figure loomed closer and closer.

  Why wouldn’t she just get out of the way?

  “What are you talking about?” She looked over her shoulder. Her eyes grew wide as she came face to face with the specter. Her mouth opened in a silent scream.

  Chris moved into action. He grabbed her by the waist. “Run!” he shouted, already carrying Ebony in his arms.

  Allen picked me up next, holding me across his chest in a fireman’s carry.

  It was hard to focus as I bounced around in his arms. My head felt like it was going to snap off my neck.

  “He’s gaining on us!” I screamed in fright, seeing the black shadow rushing right toward us.

  In his hand, something caught the light, reflecting off the surface.

  An… axe…

  My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. This couldn’t be real. This sort of thing only happened in the movies. This had to be a nightmare or something.

  Holding me with one arm for a second, Allen used his other to knock over a stack of boxes, trying to buy us some time.

  “Where the fuck did the ladder go?” Chris looked around frantically.

  “We don’t have time to look for it. We just have to find another way to get out of here,” Allen said quickly, sprinting forward, still holding me tight in his arms.

  I didn’t know how he was managing to run and carry me at the same time but I was grateful he was. My whole body felt like it was made of jelly.

  “I’m going to get us out of this. I’m going to get us out of this. I promise,” he started to rant, his eyes moving back and forth, looking for a much-needed exit.

  I wanted to do something to help, but there was nothing I could do.

  The specter was catching up with us.

  “Fuck…” Allen grumbled, dancing on his feet, all his nervous energy making it impossible for him to keep still.

  “What is it?” I asked, panic rising in my voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “We reached a dead end.”

  “What do you mean we reached a dead end?” My throat was closing up. I was breathing through a straw at this point.

  This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening.

  “It’s okay. We are going to make it through this. I swear.” We were backed up against a wall. Chris and Ebony were right by our side.

  The black figure moved closer and closer.

  He stopped, just standing in front of us for a moment. His head cocked to the side, a flash of teeth shining through the darkness.

  Allen squeezed my body before he put me down. His hands clenched into fists.

  “You aren’t really going to fight that monster, are you?”

  “Listen, when I do, I want you and your sister to run. Find an exit. Don’t look back. Do you hear me?”

  “Are you crazy? I’m not leaving you here with this… thing.” I shook my head, my eyes already filling with tears. This was suicide.

  “We have no time to argue. Do this. Do this for me.” He took my face in mine and gave me a quick emotion-filled kiss. It felt like the last time I would ever get to kiss those sweet lips of his. I lingered a little longer, too scared to say goodbye.

  Chris stepped up, standing by his brother.

  They were prepared to give up their lives for us…

  The figure grinned deeper, bringing up his axe, adjusting his grip.

  Chris and Allen looked at each other, their heads nodding ever so slightly.

  Suddenly, they ran forward, attacking the figure in perfect sync.

  He just seemed to disappear.

  Ebony grabbed my hand, pulling me in the opposite direction.

  My body was working on autopilot, propelling me forward as fast as possible. I looked back to find the two men looking around, trying to find the figure.

  But, it was already too late.

  I rammed into him full force, falling to the ground. The air rushed out of my lungs as I looked up at his horrifying half mask, like the ones used by witch doctors in ages past. The long, protruding nose looked like a dagger.

  Quickly, I crawled backward, trying to get back on my feet, but his axe was already in the air.

  Swish!

  Chapter 20

  ALLEN

  I watched in horror as the figure swung his axe at Essie. My reflexes didn’t kick in until it was too late. I ran forward but the axe was already headed right for her neck.

  The world came to a grinding halt.

  My heart tightened, thinking I was about to lose the one woman I had truly felt a connection with.

  No, this couldn’t be happening.

  Just as I reached her, the axe made contact.

  Squeak!

  I stopped.

  What?

  The figure continued to madly hack into the side of Essie’s neck and each time it squeaked like a dog toy.

  Essie didn’t even move. She was as shocked as I was.

  What the hell was going on?

  Chapter 21

  ESSIE

  I stared up at the black figure, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened.

  How was I still alive? Why did his axe squeak like that?

  Everything was silent.

  My thoughts screamed for an explanation.

  What was going on?

  Suddenly, a deep, rumbling laugh emerged. The figure tilted his head back, holding a hand to his stomach. The laugh grew louder and louder until he was hunched over.

  Quickly, I scrambled to my feet, edging away.

  Allen folded me into his embrace, holding me close as we watched the man double over. He almost looked like he was in pain.

  His laughs grew hysterical. His knees buckled as he fell to the ground rolling around. “Oh, God, I can’t believe you guys actually fell for it…” His voice was ragged and shaky. “The look on your faces… oh… it was too g
ood…” He wiped a tear from his eye, finally revealing who he truly was.