Exsanguinate (6 page)

W
e advanced
our way past the ticket carousels where our costumes were searched for anything dangerous. We went through metal detectors and x-ray machines, which looked like airport scanners to ensure the utmost protection at the event. I set off the alarms due to the brass costume snake jewelry around my upper arms. The castle guard gave me a few extra swipes of his metal detector wand, winked, and cleared me to go. The extra security measures made me feel a whole lot better about people dressed in scary costumes – at least I knew they’d gone through the same security measures I had.

I thought about how anyone could harm or hurt others in a setting like this. How easy it would be for a crazed serial killer to do his or her cherry picking, and the theme park wouldn’t have any way to identify the person. Of course, the logical side of me countered, not only are park employees dressed up, so are a ton of undercover security guards and police. I steadied myself and decided from here on out, the evening was going to become magically transcendental.

As we walked past the front entrance locker area, the park transported us into another realm where we couldn’t see the ground through obscure fog. Promises of cinnamony goodness beckoned me further into the murkiness as gourmet goodies drifted their invitations to my nose, tempting my palette. I wanted to find where the delicious pastries where offered, but the night sky, high above the zero ground visibility, revealed a dark new moon. No extra light tonight from the moon Goddess, Diana, to keep the creepies away. My stomach rumbled, and I hoped we would pass the store and I could get a cinnamon roll soon. Dakota grabbed onto my arm, and onto Sheridan’s branch of an arm as we penetrated the mist over the bridge.

Animated, indigo lights illuminated the foot path under the foggy shadows at my feet. They scurried around like mischievous ferrets, dashing off before my eyes could catch them. The ambiance tricked me into believing more evilness hid in the fog than I wanted to experience.

We heard a blood-curdling scream through the haze and looked up to follow the sound. My throat dropped instantly into my stomach as I saw the roller coaster, complete a loop-the-loop, not a hundred feet above us. The coaster ride lovers were smashed against the backs of their seats in what looked like more G-force than a human body could withstand. The coaster dipped down and away into the dense fog bank hovering above the water. The dewy night muted the steel coaster gliding of the rails. Not being able to see through the mist confused my senses. I suppose that was the effect the park wanted to obtain. And obtain, they did.

The wailing screams of the riders echoed off the lakefront as the trailing car zoomed overhead. Someone’s fake, bloody teeth fell from the skycar and plopped into the water a few feet away from us. The tentacles of fog crept over the comforting, soft glow of twinkle lights which were used to help illuminate the walking paths. Their tendrils stole any assistance the lights emitted, and sucked the illumination in as if it were a sponge. In these shoes, I became weary of each and every step I took.

“Holy, fog bank, Batman,” Dakota said.

I murmured back her sentiments. “They have truly outdone themselves this year. I’ve never seen Halloween Scream Nights like this before. Have you?”

A wolf howled in the distance. Eyes wide, Dakota shook her head and held on to my arm a little tighter.

We took in the full essence of the terrifying special effects laid out before us. Phantasmal music thrummed its way into the night through hidden speakers. My head swayed to the dark, haunted cadence. Deep, thunderous melodies surged through my bones, vibrating my teeth with the electric bolts of lightning inside the orchestration.

“Isn’t this bad-assed?” Sheridan asked. “I can’t get over how they have transformed the park. It’s like walking into one of our sims. I hope you’re taking notes, Chey.”

My sisters and I knew these parks like the backs of our hands since we had season passes every year. The amazing attention to detail in how Global Studios transformed their family friendly atmosphere by day, to such a frightening adventure by night, was simply fascinating.

Here we were, a man-eating bush, Elvira Mistress of the Night, and a fourth century mummified street walker. Only the mighty O’Cuinn sisters would ever try to pull off such a stunt.

I checked my iPod for placement on my shoulder and checked the microphone cord I’d secured under my hair and into my ear. “Yep, I’m taking notes. I never would’ve imagined that sort of effect with the fog, but it sure worked on me. I definitely have it in my notes.”

As we moved past super hero land, the brume finally began to clear out a bit, and it was easier to see the people around us.

Dakota straightened up, let go of our arms, and looked around. “Have you two seen Ludovic and his brother? I think we lost them back in the fog.”

We periscoped around us and tried to find the Scream mask guy and Sherlock Holmes. I thought it was just my nerves, but with each passerby coming out of the fog bank, I examined the same spectral expression upon people’s faces. The iPod recorded my observations. There was something about people-watching that was deliciously mesmerizing. Observing others as freaked out as me made me feel human enough to believe I wasn’t the only other scaredy-cat on this planet. Here we all were, in a very public and safe place. Everyone paid a premium price to be in this hair-raising nightmare for just one reason – to have the hell scared out of them.

“There they are.” They were just coming out of the mist. Raising her voice to embarrassing levels, Dakota shouted, “Hey, guys. C’mon, we’re over here.”

Sheridan stopped us not far from the water barge rides. “Here we are.”

I could hear the churning, riptides from where we stood. It creeped me out to think someone could get thrown in there and no one would know about it until daylight.

“You guys stand over here and watch for a couple minutes. You won’t believe how people react to this.”

“I have an inkling,” I murmured and continued to look around for a copper-top vampire. But Roxas was no where to be found.

Sheridan reached in for another hug but stopped herself before the branches caught on the gauze once again.

“Wait. Before you go, Sher, I want to get a picture of us. Ludovic can you take pictures?”

Dakota handed Ludovic her phone and I unplugged my iPod for Edric to take pictures for me. After five minutes of various poses and sisterly nonsense, Sheridan resumed her previous scare factor position in her own web of fears.

We waited until an unsuspecting Superman sat down on the bench beside her tree base. It wasn’t long until she sneaked an arm in around the back of the guy’s shoulders and attacked him. The man was so scared he actually threw punches at the bush. Fortunately, Sheridan was quicker than the Man of Steel, and he ran off toward the dinosaur lost continent.

I ran up to Sheridan as fast as I could in stilettos and helped her up. “Whoa, Sher, are you okay? Is this a covered event on our health insurance?”

She stood up and readjusted a couple of her broken branches. “Maybe I won’t try that tactic again and just stick to the slow movement and growling.”

“You should’ve thought about that before now. Be careful tonight, Sher, and don’t let the ghoulies bite.”

Sheridan laughed. “I’ll meet up with you kids later on. I can’t wait to meet Roxas.”

Dakota elbowed me in the ribs. “I know, right? Mr. Mystery man finally revealed to all of us.”

The secret sister hip bump handshake commenced. Tonight was a night of celebration.

I snapped my fingers. “I get it! You put that song on my iPod playlist this morning. How long have you two been planning this?”

They grinned big stupid cheesy teeth at me. Sheridan ignored my question.

“Let’s plan on meeting at midnight over by the insane asylum, all right?” Sheridan pointed towards the haunted house. “That’s where we’re set up to monitor the cameras from all over the park.”

“Seriously?” I whined
.

“I hate that haunted house. It’s the worst. They always have people in cages who come out after you. Couldn’t we have monitored the cameras from the Dr. Seuss Kiddie World or something?”

Again with the cheesy grins.

“Okay – we’ll be there.” I put on my best
go get ‘em
face. “Right now I need to find a bathroom.”

“Laters.” Sheridan waved and settled back down into her attack mode.

I had the coolest sisters on the planet. Weird, and not a lot of common sense, but definitely cool.

Dakota grabbed onto Ludovic, and Edric walked on the other side of his brother. “Yeah, we’re gonna go check out the zombie parade. Love those deaders.” Dakota winked at me. I knew what she meant to hook up with the dead guy.

I looked at my watch. “I have about forty-five minutes before meeting Roxas, so I’m gonna walk to the back of the park.”

“Hey, sweetie, why don’t you go freshen up in the ladies room and buy a bottle of water or something. You look like the reaper has come to take you away.” Dakota put her hand on my arm and squeezed. “You need to keep relaxing and breathe. You’re having fun. He loves you and you love him. Just remember that.”

She hugged me and even with that kind reassurance, there was still this overwhelming feeling growing deeper in the pit of my stomach. My life was seriously about to change and I hoped it was for the better. I that tonight, of all nights, my old recurring dream from childhood about the Red Man didn’t come true.

M
arveling
at the lengths the Halloween horror freaks went into detail of their costumes, I was reminded of how people dressed their avatars in ExsanguiNation.

Many people dressed in ragged clothing with dime store makeup to fit in as grisly ghoulies. My attention was drawn to these strange humanoid creatures with glowing eyes. They had white makeup on half of their bodies and black makeup on the other half as if they were adult harlequin dolls. I expected to see other party goers dressed in Venetian masks following these captivatingly quirky characters.

Women dressed in everything, from Renaissance ball gowns, to a ribbon, a feather, and a smile. Belly dancers seduced onlookers, wrapped in both shimmering scarves and live snakes. Eerie calliope music played off-key around me, making me wonder if this was an inauspicious carny dream or something worse. My mind enjoyed the overload of the warped scenery, but my eyes kept telling me to scream and run.

The music made my head swoon. I pushed my way through the wall of gory creatures. Screams pierced through the crowd. Several angels ran past me as they were chased by a band of frolicking demons.

I looked for the bathroom rest area in the dinosaur park. The fog didn’t help in finding the bathroom, but the shrill cries of the tropical birds in covert speakers tested the bladder control.

Desperate to freshen up before meeting Rox, I didn’t feel my best after the sister tree attack. I walked along a main thoroughfare, over the water bridge into the back half of the park closer to the log flume ride. There was a bathroom rest area with seating which should be protected from any man-eating vegetation. More weird characters passed me – wizards, ogres, fairies, witches, elves, bounty hunters, and other gothic unrecognizable characters. This place was a madhouse.

The raging river deafened the night as the wailing riders screamed into the dark waters and out of sight. The pond was pitch, but Global Studios had done an impressive job of lighting the menacing creatures swimming inside the ride.

Tempted to remove my high heels for a while, I came upon a scare zone featured on the theme park’s website. The locomotive disaster scene, complete with a stalled car across the tracks and dead passengers. This particular spooky corridor revealed too many plants for my comfort. Convinced I was on the vegetation menu, I thought about finding an alternate route. However, the allure of the lonely, faraway train whistle drifted on the humid air and beckoned me forward.

The fog thickened, filling my senses with earthy scents of pine, peat, and wet leaves. Scads of dead bodies lay over the ground, falling out of the car, and across the tracks. Victims were draped across the decrepit engine’s tangled wreckage of ruined steel. Several bodies weren’t moving, while other dismembered parts of those bodies awakened upon my arrival. The steam engine’s light faded off and on, creating a darker blanket of blind spots in the absence of light.

Despite the desperate attempt to apply logic, my eyes kept telling my brain a different story. The scare zone played tricks on all my senses. The special effects engaged my brain and the wheels turned once again. Wow, I knew this was a level of intensity needed in the game. Logic obscured the understanding, but the eyes overruled the logic. I reminded myself that these were actors. They would take a break in an hour or so, remove the gory makeup at the end of the night, and sleep in their own warm beds with body parts intact. It was hard to keep my wits about me while immersed in the wrecked carnage of the scene, coupled with the loud sound effects from the train whistle.

Dying, last gasps of breaths from the bodies echoed in the pregnant fog. Just then, a crawling hand reached out and scraped at my ankle. I screamed.

They’re not supposed to touch me!

The animated undead came alive and walked toward me accompanied by trees and shrubs. This deadly crew must’ve known they had a live one since the conductor ran after me. Aren’t deaders supposed to shuffle or something?

The conductor’s mouth hung open, frozen into a perpetual scream. It was hard to stomach looking at his face as the blood dripped from his chin. He dragged a coal shovel along the cement, creating sparks to accompany the skin-crawling scraping and grinding sound effects. I kicked off my heels, grabbed them, and ran to get out of the scare zone. My thoughts raced to imagine what that zombie wanted to do with his shovel. After reaching the safe zone, my heart pumped adrenaline throughout my body causing me to shake. My lungs clamored to obtain more oxygen. Dead bodies, detached body parts, and creepy vegetation reset into control z mode to attack the next set of unsuspecting victims.

I looked around for any additional creepies.

Finally, a bathroom!

Margaritas out, hienie floss adjusted, stilettos on, and lipstick reapplied. It was time to take on the world. I had just enough time to go check out a haunted house before I met Roxas. It wouldn’t take but ten minutes to get through the haunted house, and I could expend nervous energy before I saw him. Scared out of my ever- lovin’, cotton-pickn’ mind to go in to the haunted house alone, I was even more scared to meet him.

Laughter and happy sounds of people reverberated everywhere around me. Since I thought of going into the haunted house, that overwhelming sense of caution crept into my mind again. Anxious to behold Roxas, I looked at every guy in a vampire costume and wondered if that could be him. Especially if the man caught my eyes or stared at me longer than comfort allowed.

I needed an immediate distraction or I wasn’t going to go through with this. Why was I so afraid to meet this guy? Hadn’t he been my fella online for over two years now? Hadn’t he been the gentleman I’d shared so many secrets with on those late night gaming sessions?

What in the hell were you thinking, Cheyenne – why are you doing this to yourself?

Forward movement. I took a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other. I didn’t want to stand around looking like a doorknob when he showed up. Even if I was a little late, that would be okay. I wanted to make the impression I was cool, calm and not desperate to meet him. No matter how much I was.

Just keep moving.

If I had to sit and wait, I knew I would explode. It was time to do the haunted house, face my fear, and get it over with. High on endorphins, I figured now would be as good a time.

No guts, no glory

Who the hell said that anyway, I wondered.

A crooked wooden sign hanging over the top of a dark doorway read
Screepy Haunted Caverns
. I crept into the spooky corridor. Aware of the fact I was alone, with no boyfriend to hide behind, this would have been a perfect opportunity to cozy up to Roxas to break the physical ice. My nerves edged at the anticipation of meeting him.

The cavern was black as pitch except for tiny glow lights on the floor to guide us through the creep show maze. The line moved pretty fast through the twisting corridors.

One of things I liked the most about Halloween Scream Nights was how Global Studios could take innocent rides and walkways and turn them into a haunted house. You never knew if the haunted houses would be inside buildings, outside, or in the middle of the bathroom. Their ingenuity always amazed me.

This year they turned the line queue for the water boat ride into a Screepy Caverns haunted house with all its dark twisted passageways. This was perfect. As soon as I got out of here, I’d be able to see Roxas. One safety feature I realized was missing: the red
EXIT
lights along the ceiling.

Hmm … weren’t the rides supposed to let you get out if you wanted?

Walking in from the entrance, I also didn’t recall seeing any legalese signs stating cautions.
If you have any heart conditions, are pregnant, or if you are under such-and-such a height you shouldn’t participate in this intense event.

The screams in front of me, echoing off the walls, told a different story.

A woman so frightened at just the howls ahead dashed back out of the line and knocked me over. I fell against the wall, twisting my ankle in these shoes. I asked for help from the couple behind me, but the shrieks in the cave were too loud for them to hear, and they seemed to be wrapped up in their make out session with each other. Dressed up as a mermaid and Triton, the couple behind me continued snogging. From my vantage point, Triton’s mighty sword was ready at the helm.

A pregnant lady in front of me dressed in a nun’s outfit saw that I had fallen, and she helped me stand. I smiled and thanked her, but she was anxious to get back in line to view the carnage.

The coarse wall from the rock surface had torn into my skin. My hand came away wet with blood when I brushed the dirt and rubble from my arm. It hurt to touch it, so I used my costume to help brush off most of the damage. My ankle throbbed.

I need to get rid of these shoes.

I limped back into the line, keen to observe people acquire their next junkie gore rush.

Questioning what I was doing here gave me pause to consider my sanity … again. How many other people did this kind of crazy research for the sake of science? I knew there were ghost hunters and paranormal investigators, but it seemed they liked getting the hell scared out of them. Me, I just wanted to code a program. Why didn’t I just hire someone to tell me what was scary? I supposed then it wouldn’t be complete enough experience for gamers to believe.

I couldn't help but wonder how all this fear would affect the psyche, my psyche. One thing was clear to me, though, when it came to the flight or fight part of the brain, the humanity part of the equation leaves a person for a brief moment for self-preservation. If a person needed or chose flight, they wouldn’t care how or who was hurt, as long as they escaped the danger themselves. This was obviously demonstrated when that girl plowed me over.

Shielding my face to brace for a horrific view, I kept telling myself that these were just actors and there was nothing to be frightened of. Scenes played out from
The Island of Dr. Moreau,
and
The Exorcist
inspired disgusted screams of gory fun as we continued along the corridor of the haunted house.

I followed the line goers through the darkened corridor. I couldn’t see anything up ahead. What I hoped I wasn’t going to see were disturbing clowns, dolls with glass eyes, or gortraits watching me pass down the long, dark hall. Real things that made up nightmares.