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The Haunted House
"This is ridiculous," Rory complained, trailing after her mom and pulling the top which kept riding up, down.
"Oh now, come on, you agreed," Lorelai Gilmore the second smirked over her shoulder.
"What's wrong with toffee apples and handing out candy? Sitting on the couch watching scary movies and hiding our faces in the cushions? Huh? It's tradition and we like tradition," Rory said, frowning. People dressed in many different weird and wonderful costumes walked the same way they did, towards the stupidity instead of away from it.
"I think someone's scared," her mom teased, waiting a beat for Rory to catch up with her and linking their arms togerher.
"This is the part of the horror movie where everyone sitting at home watching is screaming, no don't do it. Turn back, save yourselves! Somewhere, two women are sat on a sofa throwing popcorn at the screen as they watch us do this, shouting at the dumb broads," Rory pointed out.
"So now we're in the Truman show?" Her mom chuckled. "In case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight."
"That sounds very ominous considering," Rory said with a shudder.
"Come on now, this will be fun," her mom cajoled, making her walk quicker towards their destination.
"You said that about the last one," Rory said deadpan. "And you had nightmares all week."
Mother and daughter had decided for the month of October they would visit the best haunted houses that they could find on the internet. They had all gone into a hat and for the last two weekends they had visited a freaky one in Maine, that had been scary but also lulled them into a false sense of security. They had screamed a little and laughed a lot. Then they'd visited one in Texas, one word 'dolls'. Nightmares had been had, the screams they'd shrieked had been real. And now… despite Rory suggesting that this was a bad idea and Candy Apples were better. Here they were in North Carolina, not only visiting a haunted house but also had paid to do the terrifying maze outside as well. Rory had no problem with going back to the hotel and forgetting the whole thing.
"Okay, but what are the chances of there being more of those creepy dolls? I mean really?" Her mom asked as they cued up to enter. Rory could hear screams rolling out of the house in front of them. A shiver of fear already made it's way down her spine. She did not want to do this. Every part of her was screaming that this was a bad idea.
"And if there are?" Rory asked as they stepped closer to the double oak doors that squealed when they opened and banged ominously behind each group that entered.
"Then you can do the I told you so dance," her mom said, tugging Rory another three steps.
Rory swallowed as her mom handed their tickets to a grinning clown. Clowns. Not even an IT clown, those she could deal with but like the clown she'd had for a birthday party, where the cops had ended up being called. Freaky ass clowns.
The clown bowed them towards the door - after checking to see if they'd signed the disclaimer- and Rory gripped her mom's arm that much tighter.
With a loud squeal the oak doors opened slowly into pitch black. Her mom grinned widely as she pulled them into the darkness.
The doors slammed shut behind them leaving them in pitch black. Rory couldn't see a thing. Whispers started around them, echoing around the room. The whispers got louder as Rory stepped away from the door, taking her mom with her. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she felt something move behind her. Just as she was about to turn back to the door and pound on it till the freaky ass clown let her out, another door opened. No light entered the room but the next room was lit a bright, harsh white.
"Think we should head towards the light?" Her mom asked quietly.
"I think we should head home," Rory said back, her voice low as they walked towards the door. As they did the whispers became voices. She couldn't make out what they were saying but she started walking quicker. As they reached the light the voices raised to a shout.
"DON'T GO IN THERE!"
Too late they were through the door, which slammed behind them.
"Well that was creepy," Lorelai said happily. They were now in a plain white corridor, a red door at the end. Nothing was in the corridor and for a moment Rory breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing that this would be a minor breather.
"Yeah, can we just get this done quickly?" Rory asked.
"Scared?"
"You bet your Jimmy Choos I am," Rory replied as they walked down the fairly long corridor.
"Sacrilege," her mom gasped playfully.
They were halfway down the corridor when Rory thought she heard footsteps behind them. Turning her head she saw no one there.
"Did you hear that?" Her mom asked, also turning her head, they stopped together.
"Uh huh," Rory said and they walked quicker. The footsteps started up steadily as they walked again, unhurried as they almost started jogging towards the red door which seemed to be further away somehow. "Next year candy apples!"
"Candy apples and movies where we're not the idiots," her mom agreed, looking as freaked out as Rory felt.
They reached the red door, Rory's clammy hands slipping on the doorknob for a moment before she wrenched it open and screamed as in front of her stood a clown, holding a knife and stepping forward menacingly.
"Erm?" Rory asked her mom as she stumbled backwards, dragging her mom with her. Her heart was racing. The clown was still coming. It had a white rubber mask with a huge grin. It started laughing as it kept coming, the white walls started running with a thick red substance behind the clown. It looked suspiciously like blood.
"Okay, screw this," her mom said in a shaky voice. Together the Gilmores ran back the way they came, the sound of the laughing clown echoing around them. Throwing themselves through the door leading to the whisper room they slammed it behind them and leant against it. The laughter echoing through it.
"Never again," Rory whispered in the pitch black.
"Never, we had to run!" Her mom said indignantly.
A door on the opposite side of the room to them opened quietly, again shedding no light into the whisper room.
"Guess we're going that way Dorothy," her mom whispered as they started walking.
"Uh huh Scarecrow," Rory whispered back, focusing on calming her heart, this wasn't real. It was a show. Not real. This was tamer than the movies her mom and her had watched. This time the movie was just ultra 3d was all.
The next room made Rory sigh in relief. Just wax statues. Sure enough, gruesome wax statues but nothing moved, nothing jumped out at them and nothing made sinister sounds that would haunt her nightmares thank God.
"Okay, this isn't so bad," her mom, always on the same wavelength, said.
The room was a moderate size, crammed with the wax models of monster movies. Werewolves, vampires, Freddie Krueger. Traditional, a little creepy but nothing to make them scream or even raise their heart rates. It was like a sinister madame tussauds.
Through to the other side of the room they opened a door, it creaked eerily and opened up to a set of wooden stairs that were illuminated by a single bare bulb. The wallpaper either side of the stairs was an old floral paper that was ripped and hanging off in places. It was grubby, grimy and freaking freaky. Still not as scary as the damn clown.
They walked the stairs which of course creaked and groaned with every step. Cliches are cliches for a reason and it was very unnerving. Rory had thought it made sure whatever was waiting for them knew that they were coming. She needed to remember not to follow or encourage her mom's crazy whims anymore.
The stairs opened up into what looked like an attic room. It was full of cardboard boxes, things covered in white sheets, tall, short, wide and slim. Cobwebs and dust decorated the room that looked full of junk. Rory couldn't see a way out of the room, meaning they were going to have to look.
"What are you doing?" Rory's mom asked as Rory started slowly walking around the edge of the room, stepping over obstacles as she did.
"I'm trying to find a way out of her before the killer clown comes back or something else happens," Rory explained, her eyes glued to the walls. There had to be a way out of there.
"Good thinking Poirot," her mom nodded, doing the same thing on the other side of the room.
As Rory was checking the baseboards and walls, slowly but thoroughly she started feeling like she was being watched. Looking around the room she saw nothing but her heart started beating that little bit harder. Biting her lip and trying to ignore the feeling she carried on looking for an escape route. A moment later, as her hand ran along a dusty wooden wall that she was sure was going to give her splinters she felt it again. Eyes on her. Standing back up straight she looked around the room once more. Again she saw nothing. Her heart beat even faster now. A sense of dread filled her, her hands became clammy and she started looking for the escape quicker. She needed to get outta there. They both did.
Hands searched quicker now, her motions no longer so cautious. Instead they were hurried and determined.
The noise of a sheet or some clothing rustling behind her made her breath catch. She could hear and see her mom opposite her. Feeling almost faint with fear she turned her head to look over her shoulder. One of the dusty, off white sheets had fallen off… a doll. A freaking doll! It was porcelain, with dark red curly ringlets, red lips turned up in a sinister smile and glassy green eyes that seemed to look coldy through her.
Rory was shaking now as she searched, frantically trying to get out of the attic.
"I want to play…" A creepy, childlike, voice echoed from behind her, a giggle added to the end.
Freezing Rory slowly turned to look. The doll stood up, looking directly at her! "Fuck this!" Rory yelled as her composed nature shattered and fear gripped her. She ran from the doll, the fucked up, scary as hell doll that was walking towards her and laughing. Her hands skimmed the walls, still trying to escape while trying to put space between the doll and herself.
She looked around for her mom as she tripped over a box, colliding with the floor, hard. The doll was still coming and she scooted back to the wall, desperate to stand up. Her mom was nowhere to be seen.
"Mom!" Rory shouted, her voice shakey to her ears. "Mom!" She shouted louder and more desperately when there was no reply except the doll giggling behind her. Close. Too close. Rory turned her head to see it almost at her heels, it's cold eyes burning into hers.
"Mom!" Rory tried again, her heart beating so rapidly she thought it was going to pound out of her chest. Tears in hèr eyes. She could hear her heart thumping in her ears.
Giving up looking for a way out Rory turned to run to the middle of the room, desperately looking for her mom.
The doll's footsteps on the bare wooden floorboards echoed and sped up, chasing her. God! Where was the old priest and the young priest? If anything needed an exorcism that doll did.
"MOM!" Rory yelled, feeling the scared tears now fall down her face.
She ran across the room, not thinking of anything but her mom and getting away from the doll, when the floorboards under her gave way. With a scream she fell a short distance before landing on a metal slide. Rory looked up as she started sliding away from the attic. The doll was peering down into the hole. Her heart lurched as it's voice echoed into the darkness Rory was heading into.
"I'll fiiinnndddd you," the doll sang.
With that haunting promise echoing in her ears Rory was unceremoniously dumped outside of the house. She landed hard on compacted dry, cold earth.
Catching her breath that had been knocked from her she looked around. She'd been deposited outside of the corn maze they'd paid for.
The air was filled with shouts from people looking for members of their groups. "STEVE!" "Sharon, where are you?" "FRED!" It looked like getting split up was part of the game. She stood listening for her mom's shout. She guessed the only way they would be reunited would be to get through the maze. On her own. With a psycho clown and Annabelle on her tail. This was not the fun she had envisioned when agreeing to do this.
Looking around for anyone and finding only a depressing and isolating blackness she sighed and headed for the path in the high corn directly in front of her. Why had her and her mom watched all those horror movies before? It was biting her in the ass now as the corn closed in around her, making the shouts and screams surrounding her more distorted.
Despite the oppressive and freaky atmosphere, Rory found herself calming as she walked through the maze. Nothing jumped out at her, nothing was particularly scary. It was like being back in the hay bale maze in Stars Hollow almost five years ago. It was pretty relaxing.
Five minutes turned into ten as she walked through the maze before she came across something that had her heart stuttering a little. A scarecrow, reminiscent of Jeepers Creepers, stood in the middle of an intersection. With a shiver and not wanting to turn back Rory approached the creepy looking thing despite her instincts yelling at her to run screaming.
Her footsteps slowed the closer she got but she kept walking.
It didn't move. It didn't make a sound. It did nothing unnatural at all, however she still felt the need to get away as soon as possible. Keeping her eyes on it she turned right. If she kept it in her sights it wouldn't be able to get her. Right?
A jolt ran through her as she crashed into something knocking her to the hard ground, making her scream as her stomach lurched into her throat. She scrambled away from the figure…
"Fucking! Bloody! Fucking bloody hell! Never again! What the hell was that pillock thinking!" A familiar voice yelled, sounding as scared as she had felt. "I'm so sorry darling… Love? Is that you?"
"Finn?" Rory asked hesitantly, still on the ground, the coolness of the earth seeping into her behind and hands.
"Rory!" He called a brilliant smile stretching across his face and lighting up his eyes.
Finn held out his hand to help her from the ground and as soon as she accepted she was in his arms for one of his infamous bear hugs. She hugged him back just as ferociously. Rory had missed Finn, they'd emailed, text and occasionally called but they hadn't seen each other for over three years.
"Love what are you doing here?" He asked pulling back to look at her face but keeping his arms around her waist. She shivered, telling herself it was the cold night air around her and the adrenaline. Nothing to do with the handsome man holding her. Nothing to do with the small, very small, crush she had developed after getting to know him properly these last three years.
"My mom dragged me. What are you doing here Finn? I thought you were in Atlanta for a bit," Rory grinned up at him, forgetting where she was. Where they were. Her heart was pounding again, though this time for a completely different reason than earlier.
"Robert convinced me this would be a great way to pick up girls. I'm going to have to stop listening to him while drunk again," Finn said with a deep chuckle, making the hair on her arms stand up.
"Again?" Rory laughed.
"Well, yes I stopped listening to him after that awful time in Santa Monica. Really, rooftop bars and mechanical bulls are a terrible combination. However he was particularly persuasive on this venture. Something I may just kick his arse for," Finn grinned down at her, his smile touching his eyes making the green shine brightly. "Or maybe I should thank him after all?"
A scream near them rent the air apart making them both jump. Rory then remembered where they were and was suddenly very aware of the fact that Finn's arms were still around her waist. Her hands on his strong forearms.
"Maybe we should be looking for the exit Love? Which way did you come from?" Finn asked, his arms dropping from around her but taking her hand instead.
"Back there with the creepy scarecrow, which is why I ran into you, I was looking at it instead of where I was going," Rory said pointing the way she had come.
"What creepy scarecrow Love? Have you been drinking? If so I approve and would be extremely disappointed if you don't share," he chuckled as Rory whipped around to see the scarecrow had gone. It wasn't there.
Her hand gripped Finn's tighter. She just wanted out of there already.
"Finn," she whispered, tugging him away from where the thing had been. Why had she and her mom watched so many horrors again? Why had she agreed to this insanity?
"Alright then darling, let's be going shall we," he said quietly, apparently catching onto her fear.
They walked at a quick pace the way Finn had been coming from. Rory glanced over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure If Only I Had A Brain wasn't behind them.
"So then Love, tell me what horrors you have seen this evening. I had a rather terrifying run in with a ghost which I believe was a rather spectacular hologram. Also a giant spider, which I have to say did not induce the fear these fine organizers hoped for I'm sure," Finn said, looking relaxed and not in the slightest bit spooked. His thumb was rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand. She didn't know if he realised he was doing it. Her lip went between her teeth as she tried to squash the feelings it was invoking.
"Er… we ran into a killer clown, wax statues, which were kind of cool and not that scary. Though I did keep expecting Paris Hilton to show up," Rory chuckled as they turned a random left, hopefully to find an exit.
"Now that truly would have been terrifying," Finn grinned looking down at her.
"Then I had a run in with the bride of Chucky. Let me tell you, dolls, freakiest things ever," Rory said with a shudder.
"Nah, no way Love. Just punt the things across the room," Finn said, still grinning.
"Have you met me? If I tried to kick the thing I'd end up on my ass and be possessed or murdered," Rory pointed out. Her and sports didn't exactly go hand in hand after all.
"That is a very good point, Love," Finn chuckled, squeezing her hand gently.
They took a left at the next intersection and both stopped as the looming, imposing and terrifying shadow of the large scarecrow blocked their path.
"Shit, okay, that's pretty freaky," Finn said, backing up as the scarecrow stepped, slowly and lurchingly towards them.
Finn turned her around before grabbing her hand again and started running, towing her behind him.
Rory looked at him with worry as he started laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" She asked him, her breathing heavy and laboured.
"It's a game Love, that freaky thing chasing us, is just a dude dressed up. It's supposed to be fun," Finn said, his breathing less heavy than hers as he led her through the maze at a run. She grinned up at him, her fear fading at his words.
They kept running until the corn maze started having brick walls. Finn pulled her to one and they stopped, breathing heavily as they tried to listen if the scarecrow was following them.
Rory leant against the wall, the solid brick at her back making her feel better. Finn leant one long arm above her head, his chest heaving.
Rory looked up at Finn. He was staring down at her, his green eyes sparkling in the muted light of the moon, his face serious for a change.
There was no hesitancy between them. One minute she was looking into his eyes, her heart beating fast, her stomach fluttering. The next they were kissing, furiously, desperately. Their lips were hard and insistent. They wrapped around each other, their bodies pressed together, a delicious urgency passing between them.
"Hem hem," a voice came from behind Finn making them pull apart. Rory felt the loss of his heat, his touch, his fire.
Looking around Finn as he turned they saw the scarecrow, his foot tapping impatiently.
"Mate? Can you not see we're having a moment years in the making? Come on, Halloween is the time for true love, give us a break," Finn said and she giggled, hearing the smirk in his voice.
"Years in the making?" She questioned him, ignoring the scarecrow who now wasn't the least bit scary at all. In fact she was fairly sure that right now she wouldn't even find the cursed doll scary.
"Is for me Love," he said softly, turning to face her again, his hand reaching up and gently cupping her cheek. "Tell me it's not for you and we go back just being friends no harm, no foul. But Rory, I need to tell you, these last few years, talking to you every day through email, or messages, it's been the highlight of my day. When I'm having a crap day, I see your name on my phone and suddenly, it's better. Love, Rory, say the word and I'll walk out of this maze with you and part as friends. I want you. I want whatever you'll give me."
Rory dived forward and kissed him desperately once more. She wanted him. She needed him.
They found their way out of the maze an hour later. Her mom was waiting outside of it.
"Never again that was terrifying!" Lorelai the second declared looking traumatised.
Rory couldn't help but disagree as she clutched Finn's hand tighter. Nothing was scary while they were together.