“Ariana! There you are! Where were you? Did you see all the doors closed?”
I look around the small room, staring at the decorations. This room is themed killer pumpkins and every surface is filled with them at different sizes and different expressions. In the corner near the door I came out of, is a giant pumpkin-and-vine creature with a wide, pointy-toothed mouth.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I mumble, letting Kayla suffocate me in her hug.
“Is there really a dead body in there? Who would do that?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have any answers, Kayla,” I say into her shoulder. I can feel her shaking against me so I squeeze her.
“Were the boys with you?” She asks, finally letting me go and checking over me. “You have blood on you.”
“What? Oh, I got shoved through the door and someone had something sharp. It cut my arm.”
“Who shoved you?” She asked, her overbearing must-protect-everyone attitude flaring.
“Kayla, someone was murdered. People will shove.” I shiver as I think about the girl. The way her leg was twisted, the gore of her face being smashed in.
“You look a little green in the face,” Kayla points out.
I shake my head and hug myself, looking around. “Who would do such a thing?” I ask absentmindedly as I stare at the other teens.
“Were the boys with you?” Kayla asks.
I shake my head again and take a breath as the lights begin to flicker again. “We’re in a room with a killer. The lights are flickering again. It did that right before that girl was killed. We need to stay together.”
Kayla grabs onto my upper arm. “We need to get out of here.”
“Yeah but since we can’t, we need to survive. Do you see anyone with blood on their hands? Maybe someone who looks like a killer?” Even as I ask that question, I know we won’t be able to pick out who the killer is, not from our spot by the wall.
A group of people next to me are crying, sniffling loudly and wiping their runny noses against their sleeves.
I tighten my pigtails as I look around, trying to concentrate on what to do next. My head feels clouded, almost like I’m underwater. It’s probably just shock from seeing a dead body. Being stuck in a room with a killer doesn’t help either.
Kayls taps my shoulder pointing off to the left. “He looks sketchy.”
“Who?” I turn my head and look into the crowd.
“The one in the mask from that one movie, The Purge?”
I stare at him as he runs a bloody hand through his hair. He adjusts his mask, his back against a decorated wall. His head swivels in my direction and he waves lazily at me.
“Who is he?” Kayla asks.
How would I know? I don’t say it out loud and instead take a step toward him.
Kayla grabs my arm. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? What if he’s the killer? You cannot go near him.”
“I just want to have a talk. He looks familiar. And what if he’s not the killer?” I yank my arm back and walk over to the guy, leaning against the wall next to him.
“Why The Purge?” I ask, picking at a hangnail to try to calm my racing heart. If he is the killer, I’m making one hell of a risk move.
“It’s a good movie. If we don’t get out of here, this whole party will become its very own Purge movie.”
Alright, so that’s a bit of a disturbing thought. “And what happens then? What will you do?”
He tilts his head, considering his answer. “Defend myself. I’m not going to die at a Halloween party.”
“No? What if the killer gets you?”
He shrugs and slides his mask up, looking over at me. “I’d like to see them try.”
I stare out at the people in the crowd, my arms crossed over my chest. So far, he seems like your average cocky high schooler. He seemed to have a dark moment but then again, who doesn’t?
“I’m Wil.” He holds out his hand despite the awkward angel of reaching across himself toward me, rather than just turning.
“Ariana. Have we met before? You look familiar.”
He shrugs, glaring into the crowd.
I follow his gaze but all I see are the same scared people still trying to find a way out.
“Why do you think the killer hasn’t done anything yet? The lights keep flashing on and off and yet we’re still alive. That doesn’t make sense,” Wil mumbles, looking around before staring back at the spot in the crowd.
“According to the giant bloody letters, they’re not done. Maybe they’re waiting.”
“For?”
“The perfect moment,” I say, looking up at his profile.
“And what would that be?” He turns towards me, glancing at the letters again. “What better time than when the lights are flashing and they’re all panicking?”
"Maybe they don't want to do it quite yet. Maybe we're not panicking enough. Or maybe they're waiting because we are panicking. They might want us to let our guard down a little." I look up at Wil, my head tilting a little.
“I’d argue that it’s much easier to kill people when they’re panicking. Isn’t that always how they get caught in horror movies?” Wil looked out at the crowd again, leaning back against the wall. “Nobody’s safe while everyone’s running around like this.”
I continue looking up at him, staring into his eyes while he looks at the crowd. "No, they're not," I say slowly. Maybe he could be the killer. He certainly thinks things out. And he keeps scanning the crowd.
Wil sighs, slipping his mask off and wrapping the strap around his wrist. “Who do you think it could be, then?” He looks over at me, his eyes studying mine.
I slide my gaze over to Kayla, who's biting her nail nervously. "No idea. Everyone's a suspect." I look up at him again, suddenly hating the height difference. "What about you?”
He shakes his head, slipping his hand in his pocket. “I doubt it’s the girls over there crying. They don’t seem the type to kill a friend. But then, they could be good actors.”
"We could all be good actors." I look down, taking in his pants and shoes. "Why the leader from The Purge? Why not one of the family members?"
He shrugs. “Why a clown? Why a witch? Same reason anybody else chose their costumes.”
"Okay. Why were you looking at me earlier? When I was standing with my friend. You waved too."
“I waved because you were staring at me. And I was just looking around. Your costume is . . . great.”
I look down at myself, taking in the overalls, tall boots, and a cropped gray top. I laugh. "Yeah, I'm a casual clown. Nothing sexy or scary about it, which seems to be the running theme with teen costumes."
He laughs a bit. “Yeah, it does. Kind of weird, actually. I prefer the normal costumes.”
I smile, relaxing against the wall and look over where my friend was just standing. Kayla walks up to us, leaning to whisper in my ear, "You're getting awfully cozy. I don't trust him, we need to stick together."
I can see him watching us, then he glances around like he’s looking for someone but seemingly unable to spot them. He frowns, eventually finding them in the crowd trying to calm another girl down.
I keep my eyes on him while letting Kayla whisper in my ear. I almost feel sad to let him leave. And am I really feeling a little jealous that he's talking to another girl?
Wil glances at me again and waves, then slips his mask back on and walks into the crowd, heading over to another girl and slinging an arm over her shoulder.
I bite my lip and shake my head a little, suspecting that little wave and arm slinging was all for show. Could he tell I am a little jealous?
"What are you shaking your head ‘no’ for? If we don't stick together, we'll die. And he just walked off. Holy fuck he put the mask on, Ariana." Kayla shakes my arm, her face paler than usual.
Wil looks down at the girl and pushes his mask up slightly when, yet another girl, grabs onto his hand. The girl she had been helping looks up at Wil and yelps, then runs off. The girl holding his hand looks up to him.
“What if something happens to one of us?” She asks quietly.
He shakes his head. “Nothing’s going to happen, Lex. We’ll be fine.”
I don't take my eyes off Wil, even when my face heats up from embarrassment. I may not be able to hear them very well, but ever since I was a child, I knew how to read lips. Right now I hated that I knew what they were saying.
"Are you keeping your eye on him?"
I smile up at Kayla, a thought taking place in my mind. "Yes, I am. I'll make sure he doesn't hurt anyone."
The girl with Wil shudders. “The lights… why are they still doing that?” She looks around, searching for something. “There’s too much noise, Wil.”
Wil holds her hands. “It’s alright. Promise. Just breathe. Okay? Breath with me. We’ll both be fine.”
I watch them, well more specifically their lips. I cross my arms and look over at Kayla.
Suddenly the lights shut off completely.
207Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjoku8P8mH
