SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Ninety Four Rose drove a few miles away from the party to an old abandoned building. “There were a lot of different haunted houses,” she said to them. “But I chose two that were nearest to the party so we wouldn’t have to go all over the city. This one is supposed to be a haunted insane asylum, I think.” “Well, Alan should fit right in with the cow costume then.” She ducked when Alan tried to grab her. Rose parked the car and looked at him. “You sure wanna do this?” she asked. Alan gave her an odd look. “Well, yeah, why would you think I wouldn’t?” he said. “Because you get bored at haunted houses.” “Yeah, but I’ll just have fun listening to the two of you scream at the top of your lungs,” he said, poking her arm. “Once again, I reiterate, I’m fine. I am more than happy to go through boring things with the two of you; I’m enjoying your company and the fact that you two are having fun. Now, are we gonna go in or are we gonna do something else?” Rose turned off the ignition and put the keys in her purse. She glanced at the cow costume and giggled. “Now you look ever more bizarre without the makeup and the hood,” she said. “It’s quite comfortable, actually. You’d be surprised. It’s nice and warm. Perhaps If I got rid of the udders, I could turn it into jimjams.” Rose grinned and pinched one of the udders. They laughed when Alan pretended to be aroused. “Ooooh. Yes, Rose, milk me! Milk me now!” he moaned. Awinita fell over in the back seat, laughing. “Shut up, you pervert!” Rose said, slapping his arm. “I swear, you have sex on the brain 24/7.” He tousled her hair and leaned over to give her a kiss before all of them climbed out of the van. Rose was surprised at how much Alan could tune out when he really wanted to. There were several people pointing and laughing and snickering at him while they stood in line to get in but he seemed oblivious to it all as he talked quietly to Awinita. Rose couldn’t understand why there were laughing at him when most of the people who were laughing were in costume as well and looked just as goofy. But she understood that to most people Alan resembled a scrawny, nerdy geek and she figured they were laughing at that as well. But even though the rest of the world might think he was a geek, Rose thought he was absolutely gorgeous and she wouldn’t trade him for any steroid-addled muscleman. Still, she hovered nearby not entirely trusting the men who were ogling her. She had gotten rid of the balloons before they got out of the car but that didn’t stop them from leering at her. It surprised her how little patience she had now for men like that but after being with two men who didn’t do that to her, who treated her with respect and made her feel loved and cherished, it was an annoyance to her and she wished fervently that the assholes who were making crude remarks under their breath and sniggering would just grow up and act like adults. She rolled her eyes and moved closer to Alan. She smiled when he put his arm around her while he continued to talk to Awinita. She focused in on the conversation ignoring the snickers and idiotic remarks about how a geek like Alan landed a babe like her. I’ll tell you how, he acts like a gentlemen, she thought. “Line’s moving, Alan,” Awinita said. Alan glanced around him and moved up in the queue slightly. This was the opportunity the idiots had been waiting for. “Hey, Poindexter, is the babe with you?” one of them said. “Yes, she is,” he said simply and turned back to Awinita. Rose glanced over her shoulder and saw how peeved they were that he wasn’t taking their bait. She gave them a smug smile and turned her head around. She smiled to herself when she neared closer to Alan’s side and felt his arm tighten around her. There was a moment of tension when she thought they might cause trouble but then a man stepped outside and told them to go ahead and go inside the building. Rose relaxed when they went inside and she and her friends moved up to the head of the queue. She glanced at the entrance when she heard a woman’s scream from somewhere inside. “Hear that, Awinita?” Alan said to her. “That’s a preview of what Rose is gonna do once she gets in there!” “Oi!” she said as they laughed. She rolled her eyes when she heard the jerks screaming obscenities at something. “Grow the hell up, will ya?” she muttered. “Huh?” Alan said, confused. She shook her head. “Not you, the gits that were in front of us. The ones with the IQ of a sponge,” she said. He frowned. “It bothers you that they’re in there being idiots?” he said. “I just hate guys like that. The ones that need to act like adults.” “Tell me about it,” Awinita said. “I noticed them giggling at Alan.” “They were?” They nodded. Alan shrugged. “Eh, I don’t care, let them laugh,” he said. “They don’t know me and I don’t know them.” “Well, I’m glad they’re gone, they were trying to chat me up while you were talkin’” “Well, it’s a good thing they kept their little hands to themselves then because I would have broken them off at the wrists if they had touched you,” he said. He thought for a moment. “Was that what they meant when they asked me if you were my girl?” “Yes.” “Like I said, it’s a good thing they kept their distance. If they lay hands on you; they’ll live to regret it.” “Guys?” They looked over and saw the man leaning out of the entrance. “Your turn,” he said. Alan let go of Rose, turned around and put his other arm around her as the three of them headed inside. Rose wasn’t that impressed. The Haunted Cavern had been scarier. So far, she hadn’t screamed at anything, a fact that was not lost on Alan. “You don’t like this one?” he said. “Not as much as Haunted Cavern. It’s not as scary. So far most of the stuff we’ve seen is people lying in bed in the rooms and being pretend tortured. No one’s really jumped out or tried to grab us or something like that.” “Well, it doesn’t make that much difference to me but I hate that you’re not enjoying yourself. How about you, Awinita?” “Yeah, I agree, I wish there were more surprises. Haunted Cavern is more professional than this is,” she said as Rose nodded. “This is just something that was put together for Halloween on a shoestring budget or something. I just hope the other one is more impressive.” “Yeah, me too. If the other one’s like this, I’d rather go and find Resurrection Mary,” she said. They passed by one room and looked in. A man was lying on a gurney getting a pretend lobotomy with an ice pick while he screamed bloody murder. Alan sighed and turned away. “I’m beginning to see your point. Where’s the fun if it’s not gonna be interactive?” he said. “Even if someone just jumps out in a sheet and screams boo, at least that’s something.” The corridor got narrower, blocked off with sheets on either side. Alan put his hand on Rose’s shoulder when she was forced to get in front of him and Awinita got behind him. They walked through the makeshift hallway while strobe lights flashed overhead. Suddenly without warning, a man in a straitjacket jumped out between a gap in two sheets and screamed at Rose. Alan giggled when Rose finally let out a scream. “There ya go, someone finally did something,” he said as they man went back through the sheets. “’Bout bloody time,” Rose muttered. At the end of the corridor was a set of stairs. They climbed up to the second floor into total darkness. “Alan?” Rose said, groping around. “I’m right behind you, Starlight.” She felt his hand on her shoulder and he gave it a squeeze. “Awinita? Are you alright?” “Yeah, I’m right at your back, I think.” “Are they gonna turn on the bloody lights anytime soon?” Rose said. Just then, she felt someone reach out and grab her breasts. “Alan?” “Yeah?” “Did you just touch my breasts?” “No, I have my hands in my pockets.” There was a pause. “Why? Did someone just touch you?” he said, angrily. “Yes.” She heard his angry breathing and she suddenly had a pretty good idea who had just done the groping. Suddenly, the lights came on, blinding them momentarily as several people dressed as orderlies menaced them with fake knives and axes. Rose studied their faces. All of them had surgical masks on but she could tell none of them were the boys. She glanced around at Alan who was jerking his head around searching for them with murder in his eyes. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for the boys, they were nowhere to be seen and the orderlies finally backed off letting them through a door into another corridor. As they walked along, Rose looked back and noticed Alan was scanning every inch of the hallway and rooms for any sign of them. He glanced back at Awinita. “Stay close just in case the perv brigade is nearby,” he said to her. “Gotcha.” “Alan, you’re not gonna hurt them if you see them, are ya?” Rose said. “Rose, making fun of us is one thing. Fondling you in a dark room without your permission is another. I hope for their sake they decided to run out of here. If I find them, it won’t be pretty because I will give them a taste of just what the “geek” can do.” To Rose’s immense relief, they got through the rest of the haunted house without further incident and headed back out to their car. Once they were inside and the door was shut, Alan looked at her as she sat in the driver’s seat. “They touched your breasts? That’s all they touched?” She nodded. “It’s a good thing,” he muttered. She started up the car while Alan settled back in the seat and let the anger go. Rose glanced at him while she backed out and headed down the driveway. She could see him relaxing but there was still a trace of anger in his eyes. She smiled; glad that Alan knew how to treat her and didn’t pull idiotic stunts like that except when he was doing his playful teasing. It made her feel secure knowing he was protecting her and would defend her from others if necessary. She thanked God that all they did was touch her breasts. She hated to think how berserk Alan would have been if they had done more. She used the Onstar and punched in the address for the other haunted house. It was nearing 9:30 now and she hoped it wouldn’t take very long to get through it. They still had the cemetery to go see and she was exhausted and eager for a hot shower, preferably with the man she loved. They reached the other haunted house ten minutes later. They parked and got out. This one was a large brick house. There was a tiny queue leading down a set of brick steps from the front entrance and Alan and the others got in line. A couple of the men further up in the line turned and looked at Rose but this time Alan caught them eyeing her with interest and gave them a warning look. They instantly turned back around and Rose took Alan’s hand. He gave it a little squeeze. Unlike the last one, the line moved quickly and they found themselves going through the house with less than a ten minute wait. This house was much smaller, more confined which meant the scares were more in your face and Rose actually found herself enjoying it more than the asylum. She heard Alan giggle every time she or Awinita screamed but she knew he was doing it out of affection and not because he was being an asshole. They turned a corner and headed upstairs. Once they reached the second floor they passed by a bathroom. “Oh good, I gotta go in the worst way!” Alan said, starting to step over the rope that was strung across the bathroom door. Just then a man dressed as a ghoul stepped into view and glared at him from the other side of the rope. “Oh! Sorry, mate, didn’t know this was occupotto. I’ll find another loo then!” he said as Rose and Awinita laughed. “Do you really need to go that badly?” Rose asked. “Yes, I haven’t been to the bathroom since before the party and the punch and snacks finally caught up with me. If I don’t find somewhere to relieve myself, my bladder’s gonna burst.” “Better speed up, Rose, he’s gonna blow,” Awinita said. She laughed when Rose suddenly sprinted ahead. “Oi! Get back here, missy! I can’t run with my bladder filled to the brim!” he called out. Rose stopped and turned. Just then a man dressed as Dracula leaned out of a room beside her. “BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” he screamed. She studied him for a moment and then looked at Alan. “Come on, you wanna get to the loo or not?” she said, ignoring the dirty look Dracula was giving her. She looked at the incensed vampire. “Sorry, mate, bathroom emergency. But you really are very scary, honestly!” She stuck her tongue between her teeth and hurried off down the hallway. Alan and Awinita heard the man mutter to himself under his breath as they ran past him. Ignoring the people in the other rooms who were screaming and howling and trying their best to scare them, they followed Rose to the other end of the corridor and back down the stairs. “Come on, love, gotta get your bladder emptied!” she called back. “It’s not that big of an emergency!” he yelled as Awinita howled with laughter. “You can slow down and see the house if you want, it’s not gonna rupture in the next ten seconds!” Rose stopped halfway down the steps and giggled as she let her friends catch up with her. “I was only teasing about my bladder threatening to blow,” he said, stopping right behind her. “I can wait until you get through the haunted house.” “Eh, I really do wanna get through here and get to the cemetery. I’m tired,” she said. “It’s been a long day of driving and partying and having fun and I’m ready to chuck it in.” Alan nodded. “Then let’s hurry this up so we can go see if we can see the ghost and then get back to base,” he replied. He put a hand on her back while the three of them went down. At the bottom they reached a landing and noticed that the doorway beside them was roped off and a door leading to the basement was standing wide open. “Guess we keep on goin’ down,” Alan said. They went down the creaky stairs. Reaching the bottom they found more sheet walls similar to what was in the other haunted house. They followed them to another door and entered a pitch black room. As soon as they entered, someone closed the door behind them leaving them alone in the dark. “Okay, now what?” Alan said. “Where do we go?” Awinita said. They groped around in the dark looking for the way out. “If I trip and break my neck, I’m suing em,” Rose muttered. They froze when they heard what sounded like a car motor starting. “Okay…that’s weird,” Rose said. They heard an engine rev, then suddenly there was a bright blinding light illuminating the stone wall in front of them. The three of them turned around and saw the front end of a Mack truck with its headlights on. Alan stared at it, bored. “Is this supposed to be terrifying or something?” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. Someone revved the engine for a minute and then they cut the ignition and the lights switched off. They looked around when someone opened a door and they were led out into a smaller room and up a short flight of stairs through cellar doors the led out into the yard. “Wheee,” Alan said, spinning his finger in the air. “I think I’m gonna make it my life’s mission to find a haunted house that will actually scare me. So far all of them have been pants. But then again, I have worse things than that swimming around in my memories.” Rose patted his arm. “Do you really need to go, love?” she said. “Yes, I do.” “Okay, we’ll stop at a restaurant then before heading on to Resurrection cemetery.” “Okay, this is it, I guess,” Rose said when they came upon a darkened cemetery. She slowed to a crawl and stopped along the side of the road. She parked the van and they all stared ahead looking for any sign of Mary. Alan looked over at the black iron bars of the fence that surrounded the perimeter. In the moonlight, he could make out a few old gravestones. He shifted slightly, scanning the inside of the cemetery, hoping he would be able to catch a glimpse of Mary walking the grounds. He sighed when he didn’t see anything. “Apparently Mary is out partying again,” Alan said. “I don’t see hide nor hair of her.” He looked back at Awinita. “You said sometimes people pick her up along the side of a road?” “Yeah.” “Maybe that’s where she is then because she’s certainly not here!” he replied. Rose put the car in gear and very slowly inched along the road while Alan and Awinita stared into the cemetery. Suddenly, Alan saw a flash of light. “Rose, stop!” he said, holding out his hand. Rose hit the brakes. Alan looked at Awinita. “See that?” “The flash of light?” “Yeah.” “Yeah, it went behind a tombstone, I thought.” Rose parked the car and looked with them. “Where?” she said. “A ways back,” Alan said, pointing. “Probably about halfway back in the cemetery.” “Bollocks and naturally I had my eyes on the road when it happened,” Rose muttered. She put her hand on Alan’s back and leaned forward trying to catch a glimpse of it. “I don’t see anything,” Rose said. “Maybe that’s it,” Awinita said. “I…” “Wait, I saw light on a tombstone for a second,” he said. “And it wasn’t the moonlight.” “Where?” Alan pointed straight ahead. “You don’t really think Mary’s wandering around in there?” Awinita said. “I don’t know. I…oh, crap!” The two women looked at him when he gave out a frustrated sigh. “What? What is it?” Rose said. “Someone’s in there with a sodding torch, Rose, I just saw their head bob up above a gravestone for a second. That’s what the light was, their torch.” They groaned. “I guess whoever’s in there is trying to find Mary?” Awinita said. “Or they’re up to no good. Either way, it’s not a ghost,” Alan said. “Bollocks!” Rose patted his leg sympathetically. “Would have been a capper to the evening, Rose, if we really had seen her,” he said. He sighed and smiled at Rose. “Come on, guys, let’s get back to the hotel room. I’m knackered too and I doubt we’re gonna see her,” he added. Rose nodded. She put the car in gear and eased the van back out onto the road.
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