Today’s the day, reader friends. Happy Spooky Story Day!!
I hope you’ve been enjoying all of the offerings this week!
To end this year’s flash fiction event, author Beth Dolgner brings us a seasonal story with an interesting twist.

A Little Scary
Beth Dolgner

Jenny told me I was being silly. I told her I was just trying an alternative to dating apps.

I zipped up my knee-high black leather boots, adjusted my fishnet stockings, and gave my shoulder-length hair a fluff. “How do I look?”

“Like you should be going to a club for vampires.”

“Perfect.”

Maybe it was a little silly to go to the local haunted house attraction in the shortest pair of black shorts that I owned. And it was definitely not tank-top weather. I wore a hoodie in the car, stripping out of it only once Jenny parked in the dirt lot next to the old warehouse where Midnight Terrors Haunted House set up each year.

Once we were in line, I wrapped my arms around myself while I bounced on the balls of my feet. It was only three days before Halloween, and the wind was ushering in appropriate weather for the holiday.

Sacrificing my comfort for fashion would pay off, I hoped. Jenny wanted to have fun and get scared. I wanted to find a date.

Was it strange that I thought the men working the haunt each year were sexy? Looking around at some of the other people in line, I realized I wasn’t the only one who was dressed to kill.

Metaphorically, of course.

My taste in spooky men wasn’t that unusual, after all.

Haunted houses were fun because they were safe. I could buy into the fantasy, screaming and shrieking while knowing I was in absolutely no danger. And, just like the dark hallways they lurked in, the men working the haunt were somehow more attractive because they were a harmless kind of scary, too.

Dangerous, but not really. Sinister, but totally safe.

I could fantasize about a bad boy falling for me without having to worry he’d really hurt me.

Jenny took my hand and gave it a squeeze when it was our turn to enter the haunt. A long, ratty gray curtain hung down in front of the gaping doorway, and I could hear the group ahead of us giggling and screaming just beyond.

“You ready?” she asked.

I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin. “I am ready to prowl.”

Jenny barked out a laugh. “That’s the scariest part of this whole outing. Just don’t go running off with someone halfway through. If I have to finish the haunt by myself, I won’t hesitate to get my revenge. I’ll make a dating profile for you that says you only like preppy guys in polo shirts.”

“You would not.”

“I would.”

I gave an exaggerated shudder. “The horror.”

Jenny and I clutched at each other as we slowly wound our way through the haunt. The jump-scares were perfectly timed, and I doubled over with laughter when a mannequin made to look like a corpse sat up on a gurney, making Jenny dart behind me with a yelp.

The maze was the scariest part. There, I didn’t feel so safe. The lights inside the room that contained the maze were off, and the plywood walls were painted black. I liked to be scared, but I did not like the dark.

When I reached for Jenny, groping for her hand or her shoulder or anywhere I could find a connection, my fingers touched rough walls. I called her name, but her answer was muffled, distant. We’d veered off on different paths.

After a few more turns, including one dead end that forced me to retrace my steps, I saw a dim glow ahead. Figuring I had finally found the exit of the maze, I hurried toward it.

It wasn’t an exit, though. A lantern hung in one corner, throwing a circle of light onto the ground. Beneath it stood a man with long brown hair that hung in front of his face. He stepped closer to me, and I could see intense dark eyes, barely visible in the glow of the lantern. Black costume makeup gave his cheeks and eye sockets a hollow look.

As he leered down at me, I felt the air leave my lungs. This was what I had been looking for. This feeling. This sense that I was facing someone dangerous but seductive, someone whose thrall I wanted to be under.

He was sexy and a little scary.

I ignored the small voice in my head that reminded me this was all pretend. He was only a guy. Another local, like me.

The man continued stalking toward me, silent, and I slowly retreated until my back pressed up against the wall. He smiled then, not a friendly expression, and I forgot to breathe as I lost myself in his dark eyes.

He bent his head toward me, until strands of his hair tickled my face. His lips brushed my earlobe as he growled, “Meet me out back. Thirty minutes.”

Then, he was gone, retreating out of the lantern’s glow as he disappeared into the maze.

Dazed, I continued to fumble through the dark until I heard Jenny’s voice. I followed the sound until I found her, looking worried, at the exit of the maze.

“I got lost,” I mumbled as I looked over my shoulder. He wasn’t there.

As soon as we exited the haunt, chased by masked men wielding chainsaws that were all noise and no chain, I told Jenny why we couldn’t leave just yet.

She eyed me warily. “Be careful.”

“You’ll be nearby, and I have my phone on me. I’ll be fine.”

Jenny looked like she wanted to argue, but she knew me too well to try. Instead, she gave a curt nod. “Fine. I’ll wait in the car. It’s too cold to sit around out here.”

We got hot chocolates from the food truck set up in the parking lot, but I was too anxious for my rendezvous to drink much of mine. Finally, it was time. Jenny wished me good luck, warned me again to be careful, then headed for the car.

I made my way around the side of the warehouse. The building backed up against a forested area, and there was only a narrow strip of grass before a dense wall of pine trees loomed up against the starlit sky. The trees creaked as their branches bent in the wind.

As I neared a door at the back of the building, a shadow detached itself from the trees and came toward me. The waxing moon was enough light for me to see it was him, the man from the maze, but he looked different now. He’d removed most of his makeup, though there were still black smudges underneath his eyes. His hair had been tamed into a low ponytail, and even his clothes were ordinary.

He was, after all, just a guy.

I had known that all along, of course. Still, he was good-looking, and picking up a guy at a haunted house really did beat a dating app.

“Hi,” I said, suddenly feeling shy. The fantasy was giving way to reality.

He smiled, and I felt an electric tingle through my limbs as I saw that it was the same sinister smirk he’d given me inside the haunt. “Hey. I’m off for the night. Want to go get a drink?”

Before I could say yes, I heard something crashing through the underbrush beneath the nearest pine trees. The man and I turned to look, and for the first time that night, I felt real fear.

The creature that emerged from the woods stood at least seven feet tall. It had long, spindly arms that reached toward us, the fingers tipped by thick claws. The head looked like a deer skull covered in patchy dark fur.

“That is not one of ours,” the man said. I knew he meant there was no costume in the haunt’s inventory that looked like this monstrosity. He spread his arms and stepped in front of me protectively. “Move toward the back door, slowly.”

“What is it?” I whispered.

His voice was even quieter than mine. “I don’t know, but I’ve heard stories about the things in these woods. I always thought they were made up to scare people.”

The creature emitted a low growl, then jumped toward us. It landed close enough that it would easily be able to reach us with a swipe of its hand.

The man was still facing the creature, but he moved backward slowly, steering us toward the door. His back pressed against me, and I could feel him trembling. A mixture of fear and adrenaline, probably.

We would never make it to the door in time.

I sighed. The trouble with normal guys was that I had to do everything myself.

With a flick of my fingers, I muttered an incantation. The creature reeled backward like it had been struck. Then, it pivoted and fled into the woods with a shriek.

The man turned to me, eyes wide. Usually, whenever I told a guy what I was, he would break up with me in less than a week. He’d claim it was because it just wasn’t working out, or that he’d found someone else, but the truth was, they were always scared of me.

“You’re a witch?” he asked.

I nodded and dropped my gaze. He’d never even told me his name, and it was already over. His fingers curled under my chin, and he tilted my face upward. His smile had returned. “I’ve been looking for someone who’s a little scary.”