13 Tales To Give You Night Terrors (2 page)

“
How much does the funhouse
cost?” Brandon asked.

“
My treat, cutie,” Cam told
him, pulling him off the couch.

“
They’re so adorable,”
Shelley whispered to Mac. “Are we that perfect together,
too?”

“
Sure. You want to join
them in the funhouse?”

“
Okay.”

Cam winked at Mac as he wondered which
of them would be paired up during the walk through the dark, sexy
maze.

● ● ●

CAM
drove the four of them out to the carnival. It looked exactly
the same as it did when they were kids. Food vendors peddling
sticky greasy treats. The cacophony of music, carnival games and
the crowds of kids from school and parents herding children.
Flashing lights and dancing shadows.

Shelley collected funds from the
ticket takers for the junior class while Brandon bought chili dogs
for the group. The twins wandered off and bought cups of Post Nap
Funks from one of the shadier seniors, who hung out all night by a
clown doing close-up magic tricks. The four of them reconvened to
stuff their faces with carnie food and booze on a sticky
bench.

The twins scarfed down their chili
dogs and then deftly switched positions as they entered the
funhouse. Cam threw his arm around Shelley’s shoulder and watched
Mac grab hold of Brandon’s hand.

“
This is going to be great,
babe,” Cam told Shelley. “If you’re scared, just squeeze
tight.”

“
What should I squeeze?”
she asked.

Cam smirked and placed her hand on his
crotch. “Right here.”

Shelley squealed and yanked her hand
away.

“
Yeah,” Mac told Brandon.
“So if you’re scared, just start rubbing right here.”

“
No problem.”

Should have waited to
switch.

The dark hallway narrowed and the
floor dropped a few inches. Shelley squealed and squeezed Cam’s
hand. He felt just as startled but he didn’t let her see. Creepy
violin music shrieked out of hidden speakers.

Shapes in the shadows squiggled
against the walls and a wicked laughter erupted through the hidden
loudspeakers as they walked further through the funhouse. The floor
suddenly rose several inches, throwing off the four teens. Shelley
clutched Cam and he pulled her in for a kiss.

“
You’re awful,” she said
through a wide grin.

Colored lights burst through the
hallway. Shelley took a step away from Cam, her expression falling
as she stared at him.

“
What’s wrong?” he
asked.

Shelley reached past Cam and pulled
Mac away from Brandon.

“
Hey!”

Shelley’s nostril’s flared. She pulled
out her cell phone and turned it into a makeshift
flashlight.

“
What are you doing?”
Brandon asked.

“
Trying not to freak out,”
Shelley said. “Before, when you bought food, Mac spilled some chili
on his shirt.”

Oh shit! Shit shit shit!
Threat level damn!

Brandon pulled back and examined Mac’s
shirt. “There’s a chili stain right here.”

“
And none here,” Shelley
said, tugging on Cam’s shirt. “You assholes switched, didn’t
you?”

“
It was the first time!”
the twins protested. “The ultimate compliment!”

“
Screw off!” Shelley shoved
her phone back in her pocket and ran out of the
attraction.

“
I hope the two of you are
happy sharing your pathetic life together,” Brandon said. “Wait up,
Shell.” He hurried after her, leaving the twins alone in the dark
corridor.

“
Huh.”

“
Yeah, huh.”

“
Could have gone worse,”
Mac said.

“
True.”

Air jets blasted their
faces.

“
Let’s go.”

Amid the cackling ghouls, fog and
strobing lights, they finally reached a bright light at the end of
the corridor.

“
Next time, we don’t share
when food’s involved,” Mac said.

“
Or how about you’re not a
slob next time?” Cam asked. He would make it up to Brandon somehow,
after he gave him some time to cool off. Mac was screwed with
Shelley.

Cam’s left forearm tingled. He reached
out and felt it radiating heat.

“
What?” Mac asked as he
rubbed his right arm.

“
It’s nothing. Let’s get
out of here.”

The brothers found the well-lit room
was the start of a mirror maze.

“
Of course,” Cam said. His
eyes were drawn to the dozens of identical images. Half of them
sported the chili stain that had given them away.

“
Least the chili dog was
good.”

“
True.”

Mac slammed his fist against the
funhouse mirror that twisted their images inside and out. The glass
cracked like spider webs but stayed in place.

“
Why’d you do that?” Cam
asked.

“’
Cause I’m pissed
off.”

“
Good point.”

Cam found his arm floating to his side
like it was a magnet. It lifted on its own and bumped into Mac’s
arm.

“
What are you doing?” Mac
asked.

“
Nothing.” Cam yanked his
arm free, but found it took more effort than he’d expect. The heat
grew and it was like he was cutting through molasses separating his
arm from Mac’s.

“
How do we get out of
here?” Mac asked.

“
It’s a maze set up for
kids and old drunks to navigate. Shouldn’t be too hard,” Cam said.
He turned to his side and walked straight into a mirror.

Mac spun Cam around and pointed out a
clear path.

“
Thanks. I really thought I
was going to get Shelley’s legs open tonight.”

“
I’m torn. Would have been
nice to have access, but I didn’t want to lose that bet,” Mac said.
As they slowly made their way through their reflections, Mac’s arm
jumped out and smacked into Cam’s.

“
What are you
doing?”

“
Nothing. Static
electricity?”

“
Don’t be an idiot,” Cam
said. “Mirrors don’t generate static.”

“
Ok. What is it
then?”

Cam shoved Mac away with all of his
strength but he barely created any distance. “Stop being
difficult.”

“
I’m not doing anything,”
Mac grunted.

“
Sure. Let’s get out of
here.”

“
Should we split up?” Mac
asked. “To cover more ground?”

“
Never,” Cam
said.

“
True, we rock. Let’s try
this way.” Mac started down one walkway, his hands extended to keep
from bumping into the mirrored walls.

Cam followed right behind his brother.
As they navigated the maze, slowly approaching the thumping
carnival music outside, Cam’s forearm tingled. He scratched at it
but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Once they emerged from the
maze into the balmy night, he found red splotches along his arm. He
couldn’t tell if they were from his scratching or something
worse.

“
Can we go home now?” Cam
asked.

“
Our dates?”

“
Ditched us and can find
their own way back to town.”

“
True. Bitches. Let’s go,
bro.”

Cam let his brother drive as he fumed,
staring at the carnival in the rearview mirror.

“
And we paid for their
tickets!”

“
Don’t worry,” Mac said.
“After Shelley collected for the class trip I took out a
tenner.”

“
What?”

“
Why should we have to pay
for two tickets? That’s racist against twins. You can’t tell me
you’re upset about that?”

“
Well yeah, only ’cause I
took out ten, too,” Cam said.

They shrugged in unison and Cam gave
up staring in the mirror. Along the way, he felt his left arm
pulling away from his body, like it was being controlled by the
steering wheel. He lost control of it and he smacked against Mac’s
arm so hard they spun into the other lane.

“
What the hell!” Mac pulled
the car back.

Cam’s heart beat wildly but he
couldn’t keep his eyes off his arm. It was stuck to his
brother’s.

“
I’m not doing it,” Cam
said.

“
Did something spill on you
in the funhouse?”

“
No. I don’t think
so.”

“
Well I didn’t swim in
glue,” Mac said.

“
Just get us home.” Cam
tried leaning away from his brother but their arms wouldn’t
disconnect.

By the time they reached their house,
they were touching from elbow to wrist. Mac parked the car and both
boys opened the doors. Cam immediately realized he’d have to climb
through the driver’s side and follow Mac inside.

“
Slow down a sec,” Cam said
as he climbed past the steering wheel.

“
We need some glue remover
or something,” Mac said.

“
Something.”

They ran inside, shuffling through the
door, and into their bathroom upstairs. They examined their arms in
the light and couldn’t see anything wrong.

“
Here, let me try
something,” Cam said. He grabbed his forearm with his free hand and
pulled, the cords in his biceps straining. Mac followed his lead
and tugged on his own arm.

They finally pulled apart with a
ripping sound. Tears formed in Cam’ eyes and he rubbed at the red
flesh. Skin and hair fell to the floor. Cam felt like his body had
been set on fire. From the expression on Mac’s face, he felt the
same.

Cam squirted soap on his hand and
rubbed it over his sore forearm.

“
You think we got something
on us?” Mac asked.

“
Probably. I don’t
know.”

Mac stripped off his shirt and kicked
out of his jeans. He shucked his briefs and turned the shower on,
saying, “I’m not taking any risks.”

“
Good call.”

Mac stepped under the showerhead and
grabbed a bar of soap.

Cam scrubbed his arm under the faucet
but nothing came away except more skin and hair.

“
Maybe Shelley sprayed me
with something. Does she carry mace?”

Mac stepped out of the shower and
started toweling off. “How would I know?”

“
You’ve been dating for
weeks.”

“
So have you, technically.
Get in the shower before the mace or whatever seeps into your pores
and leaves you with T-Rex arms.”

Cam threw his clothes on the pile of
his brother’s and stepped toward the shower. As he did, Mac’s leg
shot out and connected with Cam’s. It felt sticky warm as their
calves were crushed together.

Both boys bent down and tugged but
they couldn’t pull apart. Cam could barely process what was
happening. He looked into his twin’s eyes and recognized the
mirrored panic.

Their legs pushed inward even further
than was possible. Cam couldn’t tell where he stopped and Mac
started. Ankle bones crushed and merged, hairy skin wrapping around
muscle. As ten toes merged into five, Cam couldn’t even tell
anything was wrong with the leg they shared.

Cam’s mind went frantic. How could he
stop it? What was happening to them?

The boys’ knees were drawn together
and as they tried to pull away, their hands grew sticky and bonded
together.

The force pulling them in on each
other grew even more aggressive. Cam couldn’t even process folding
in on Mac. His sweaty body was rocked by a cold shiver even as his
tears burned like hot coals sliding down his cheeks.

The frightened buzzing in Cam’s mind
amplified like sudden feedback.

Fingers clawed at flesh. Cam’s or
Mac’s, neither could distinguish. Frantic screaming, fingers
pushing against skulls. Screams. Cam’s thoughts blended with Mac’s.
They fought every agonizing second as they lost the single most
important person in their lives.

Someone rapped gently on the bathroom
door.

“
Honey, you all right in
there?” their mother asked.

They were incapable of speech as their
vocal cords fused into one.

“
He’s fine,” their father
said. “Maybe he wouldn’t be like this if he socialized more. That’s
what happens when you’re an only child.”

“
Too late now to give him a
brother or sister,” their mom said.

Naked twins became one writhing nude
boy on his bathroom floor, crying in the fetal position.

2. AD
INFINITUM

Scott Clark,
Scotland

I
write my story on and on and on and off, ad infinitum. I had a
dream the other night about a guy looking for litter in an old pool
of inflatable toys and it weirded me out. I think about this when
I’m writing but it doesn’t really go anywhere because when I was
younger I missed some important lessons. That’s why I still write
about books, so I’m told.