A Walk in the Dark

©2000 Allison Ellis
All rights reserved.

"Chicken!"

"Little baby ought to go back home to mommy!"

Joey trembled at the thought of having to go through with it, but he didn't want to have to face not doing it either. His ten-year-old heart pounded within his chest as he blinked back what might have been tears, although he dare not even think it. The guys would crucify him for sure.

"Ah, come on," one of them whined angrily. "If he don't wanna go then forget him. He can sit around and suck candy apples and get his face painted with the rest of the girls!"

The group of boys, clad in costumes and brandishing weapons of every conceivable type, hurried toward the front entrance of the corridor. It was marked with a brightly written sign proclaiming the creepy message: Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. They weren't scared. They were laughing and pushing each other to see who got to go through first. Nicky Walker had established himself at the front of the crowd and seemed to be holding his own at maintaining this position. Miss Richards was trying to exert some control over the situation by smiling sweetly and asking for their tickets. Only three boys had them, sending the other two back to the far side of the room to obtain theirs. The remaining few engaged in a push-and-shove battle to upset the balance that the bigger boy had established, but Nicky, despite their best efforts, did not budge.

Miss Richards, dressed as a proper Snow White, eyed the clock on the vestibule wall. There were still ten minutes left before the hallway was officially opened for business, but that never stopped the overeager from lining up beforehand. Some years the line started as early as half an hour before, but that was before they decided to open the haunted house up later than the actual school party and the kids had formed a tidy little toy-soldier line around the block. But in the last few years the kids seemed to be thinning out entirely. They were more interested in the slash-a-thon that was going on at the cineplex across town. Three movies for six bucks apiece every year at this time and the kids loved it. She could already hear them comparing notes out on the playground. Yeah, but did you see the HEAD?

The whole thing sickened her, and she straightened the red bow on her head that fit perfectly against her own black hair and forced a smile at the eager young faces. The clock was ticking away and she found herself anxious to get the line moving so she didn't have to think about it. Halloween was never one of her favorite holidays, not even when she was a child, and how she had gotten roped into taking tickets this year was as much of a blur as her own birth.

The clock looming across the hallway sounded a heavy thwick as the big hand rounded to the hour. Terror time had begun.

She forced the smile again as she took the tickets that were thrust from chubby hands. "Watch your step," she called as the first handful entered the shredded garbage-bag entrance. "And stay together so you don't get lost."

Nicky Walker was already bounding down the dark hallway. The reflective tape that was stuck to the back of his costume had all but flickered out. Miss Richards frowned at the sight of it disappearing into the blackness as sounds floated from the depths of the gaping hole. She had never liked the haunted house. Never entered one and never expected to be working one. In that moment she felt less like Snow White and more like the farmer leading the sheep off to slaughter.

And for some strange reason, a dark smile rose on her lips.

Joey Myers stood across from the craft table set up with paper scarecrows and cross-stitched baskets that held candy corn. He knew those baskets well. His mother had made almost a thousand of those over the years. During April the house was plagued with Easter bunnies all wearing lunatic smiles. November brought turkeys that were followed by assortments of reindeer and elves at Christmas. They polluted the front of the refrigerator with their cheerful, moronic faces and large empty bug-eyes staring out at nothing.

He hated those eyes. He didn't even feel comfortable going into the kitchen in the middle of the night for a glass of water. They were everywhere and they were always staring right at him.

But it was stupid to be afraid of those little plastic things made with dime-store yarn. Everything was stupid. There was nothing to be afraid of. That was what his father had always said.

He watched the kids in the cafeteria make their rounds. Several older girls were over at a booth where one of the third-grade teachers was doing a hokey fortune teller routine. A large bush of red curls was trying to escape from beneath a very loud scarf that was wrapped around her head and she was doing her best to mesmerize the girls, either with her flamboyant jewelry or her acting. Joey wasn't impressed so much by the performance as much as he was by the fact that the girls were actually buying it.

The gypsy caught Joey out of the corner of her eye and winked, brandishing a large smile. Joey smiled back quickly and then looked to be certain no one else saw.

He can get his face painted with the rest of the girls!

Joey darted out of direct sight to the vestibule. Several kids were standing in line for the haunted house but none of them were aware of anything other than the fact that they were next. Another group had emerged into the florescent lights, their pupils swollen from darkness. They were breathless and red-faced, trying to speak but finding no words in their dry throats. They leaned against the wall and grinned in lunacy, wanting to laugh but no laughter came. Wanting to speak but unable.

Miss Richards shot the boys a stern glance. "Boys, you'll need to settle down before you go anywhere else. We can't have anyone getting hurt." She eyed them all tensely. "Where's Nicky?"

An older boy was sitting on the floor with his hands in his lap. His breathing had slowed down to a steady pant. "H-h-h-he----m-m-m-m," he broke into sputtering laughter, "must be h-h-hidin' back there."

"Prob-ab-ly waitin' to sc-sc-scare somebody," mocked another. They looked from one to the other and broke out into hysterics, their laughter ricocheting off the tiled walls, driving Snow White to cover her ears.

Miss Richards watched silently as they stumbled down the stairs and ran giggling into the cafeteria. Her senses regained, she accepted the tickets from the next smiling group. "Never you mind Nicky," she grinned at them. "I'm sure he won't bother any of you."

Joey watched the second group go through. And the third. And the tenth. Nicky never emerged. At least Joey never saw him. The other kids rushed through the exit, some with peals of laughter and some in sheer terror. All of them said the same thing. It was the scariest thing they'd ever seen. Much better than the slash-a-thon at the mall.

Miss Richards had left to get a glass of punch. She saw Joey watching from the corner and asked him to watch the door for her. She promised she'd only be a few minutes and told him that if anyone came he was to collect the tickets and put them in the empty milk carton on the floor. Each ticket was numbered and one was going to be drawn at evening's end for a prize. It was important that ALL the tickets be accounted for.

Joey nodded that he understood and took position at the front of the hallway. Most of the kids had gone through already so there was little for him to do but stand in front of the large dark mouth with garbage-bag fangs and read the sign. Abandon hope...

He wasn't happy about having to get too close to that. It looked like it might swallow him up at any moment. But Miss Richards had stood there all night and all those kids had....

Joey remembered Nicky. Nicky still hadn't come out.

He stared at the black hole in front of him that opened up to God only knew what. God and those other kids who weren't scared. The ones who weren't babies. The ones who probably wouldn't have to sleep with the light on tonight. Yeah, they knew.

And he knew that Nicky Walker was still in there. Probably hiding behind some stairwell waiting for some poor kid to come by. Someone who was already scared by the Gila Monster or whatever might be lurking around in that thing's stomach. He was probably waiting for him, too. Joey remembered the image of his taunting face from earlier...

"Chicken!"

"...with the rest of the gurrrrrlllssss."

He closed his eyes and covered his ears with his hands. It helped a little. The voices were gone and so were the mocking faces. Even the fanged mouth was gone, although Joey knew it would reemerge once he allowed himself to reenter the world. But the darkness was good there, and Joey allowed himself to slip into it for a moment or so until he felt a hand brush against his shoulder.

"Are you okay, Joey?"

He jumped with fright and was certain that his ten-year-old hair had turned white just like in the movies. He had sense enough to not scream, but in doing so had bitten his tongue so now he tasted blood, which was already beginning to turn his empty stomach. In all that had happened, he had forgotten to eat.

Miss Richards looked down at him from behind two large plates. "You were a thousand miles away. I'm sorry if I startled you, but I thought you might be hungry." She placed the paper plates on a nearby niche housing a small jack o'lantern that was winking steadily. "I wanted to thank you for watching the door. I'm sure you would rather go through than stand here, but I hate to ask just anyone else to take tickets."

Joey nodded and helped himself to several small cookies and a handful of potato chips. The knot in his stomach eased a bit and he began to feel better than he had all evening. He forced a smile in return.

They sat there for several minutes sharing treats without tricks or even words when finally Snow White broke the silence.

"Joey," she began, studying the hands on the clock, "Have you seen Nicky tonight?"

He shook his head. He hadn't since he went...

In.

Neither spoke for several more minutes. Snow White went on studying the clock, deep in thought. When she finally spoke, Joey knew full well what she had in mind.

"Joey, could you go in for me?"

Joey fought hard not to cough. A small bit of cookie had become slightly lodged in his throat and he didn't want to be seen with tears in his eyes. He held his breath for a second to see whether his heart would stop beating, but his will remained persistent and it continued its fierce drum solo.

"I could go in," Snow White explained quietly, "but we're not supposed to. We're supposed to call Mr. Bellman and have him take care of any...problems." She broke off at the end, looking around to see if anyone else was listening. No one was. She continued, "Mr. Bellman isn't in a very pleasant mood this evening. At least he wasn't. I'm not even sure that he's still here."

Joey nodded sympathetically. Old Bellman wasn't the kind of guy you wanted breathing down your neck. He wasn't what they called 'student friendly." He wasn't the kind of guy who called you sport, or pal or even (ugh) champ. He didn't say much at all unless there was a problem and then the guy had plenty to share with you. Sometimes, in several different languages. Joey didn't like Bellman any more than any other kid, but Bellman didn't like anyone less than Nicky Walker.

"It would be a big help," she pleaded with eyes that melted his preadolescent heart. "Don't worry about a ticket," she winked slyly, "it's on me."

Joey's imagination ran wild with images of being the white knight and saving the beautiful handmaiden from the wrath of the evil king. He had always thought Miss Richards wasn't as creepy as the rest of the teachers. She was younger and prettier and always wore her hair down long on her shoulders. She wasn't like Mrs. Hadley, who wore bifocals and a bun as tight as a pincushion. Mrs. Hadley never smiled when she was teaching fifth-grade English. Miss Richards beamed through history so that you were always surprised when the bell rang and sent you out of your seat.

Now that smile was just for him.

He heard himself saying it before he could think.

"Sure. No problem."

Miss Richards beamed again. Her face could melt Antarctica, he was certain. A couple more minutes and he thought that maybe some of those stupid animated birds might flit in through the window and begin singing some song like in those dumb cartoon shorts on his little sister's videos.

"Thank you, Joey," she said softly, patting him on the shoulder, and then turned her attention to the thing's gaping mouth. She reached out and gently swept part of the fangs to one side. "Thank you...and be careful."

With the first step, he wondered if will alone could truly keep one's heart beating. He wasn't sure, but in any case Joey felt it couldn't possibly hurt to yield on the side of caution. He had only taken five steps inside when the fangs dropped back down, putting him in almost complete darkness. Almost, aside from a few glowing objects tacked to the walls, although they weren't quite like walls anymore. They'd done some big job of decorating, that was sure. Someone had spent a lot of time wrapping the walls with something that looked like moss.

But Joey wasn't appreciating the work. Joey was busy reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, as it was the only thing he could remember, to numb his brain, which was already racing with the sights and the

Smell...

It did smell different. Like something wet. It reminded him of the mouth of the old creek after a rain. Not a good spring rain that made everything fresh and clean. Like after the water lays too long in The Drop. When the green stuff starts to grow and the bugs come out. That smell.

Joey led forward with the toe of his right foot. Booby traps, he reasoned. Houses like this always have booby traps. He was relying on information from the movies as pure fact. Joey had never done the Haunted House thing. He'd always tried but was never able to go through with it.

Things were changing all over.

He walked the hallway in monastic silence. Nobody was there. He'd managed fifteen feet without seeing a soul and, as far as he knew, the place was normally oozing with creepy stuff. His pupils widened to adjust to the darkness and he was able to focus on a few things in the corners. Empty chairs. Empty chairs positioned for the grown-ups...

Monsters...

...to sit on while they wait for the kids to come barreling through. They'd come in so fast that their eyes didn't have time to adjust to the difference in light. They wouldn't see the chairs or the things that would jump out and

Grab them!

Joey stopped in his tracks. His head slowly turned and he scrutinized the sides of the hall. He saw things as they really were. The moss was nothing but straw stuck to something on the tile. The same green tile that lined the alcove where he and Snow White were enjoying a nice plate prepared by the Keebler Elves. It reminded him of those "Behind the Scenes" things they show on TV where they tell you how they made the movie look so real. Same thing. All the creep stuff was still here but...

After another ten feet, Joey's hesitant footsteps fell on something. His thoughts now interrupted, he stopped short and tentatively offered a small kick. More of a nudge, actually. The object slid several inches and then flopped to one side. It fell directly beneath a fake torch that gave off some light, although not much. Joey stepped forward into the small circle of light and picked it up.

It was a shoe, torn badly on one side. Ripped was a better word, really, as the canvas looked as though it had been caught in something. Like something had tried to take a...

Bite...

Joey held the shoe for several seconds before dropping it. Its impact in the silence was as deafening as the jets that flew over the field past I-20. His dad had taken him there once to see them before they made their final descent in the nearby airport. He remembered the way the noise had burned his ears. That's what was happening now.

Just some dumb old shoe. Some stupid shoe, that's all. Just stuck there to make you trip. Probably just...

Joey looked back over his shoulder. The shoe was still there, turned upside down with its bottom staring up like a fish. It was just a shoe, but he didn't like it.

What he didn't like even more was the Nicky was in there somewhere. He had begun to realize that the spook house was over for the night but that all the "creepies" hadn't quite left the building. Nicky was in there. Probably watching him. Most likely ready to jump out when he wasn't looking.

But Joey was looking.

He was nearing the lower half of the hallway. It turned to the left and continued out toward the blazing red EXIT sign that glowed like a Get Out Of Jail Free card. He breathed deeply and inhaled the damp smell that seemed to grow thicker the further he went. Whatever he smelled seemed to be right in the turn.

I pledge allegiance to the flag...

His feet slowed. Every footstep grew louder and drowned out the conga beat in his chest. He could feel himself break out in a cold sweat despite the chill that had swept though much of the building on fall days. Something was not right. Something was...

...and to the republic...

...in the corner something caught his eye. Something was cowering under a small card table that was turned on its side. Something that wasn't moving very much but was...

Waiting.

Joey stole a quick glance in the direction he'd come. The hallway was black save the glow of those plastic torches. He slowly backed up into the side of the wall and cautiously tiptoed past the table where he saw....

One nation under God don't look, don't look, don't look...

One white sock stood out in the darkness. The other foot appeared to be wearing the match to the missing

mauled

shoe that he had left lying more than thirty feet away. He didn't want to do it. Didn't want to bend over and look. Didn't want to see who or what might be sprawled under there and maybe something jump out and grab him by the leg, pulling him down beneath the table.

To get his imagination under some type of control, Joey concentrated on Snow White and her request. He licked his lips nervously and tasted blood. He saw her pleading eyes and knew what he had to do. If he never came back, he still had to look.

Nicky Walker lay beneath the table. His head was turned to the wall but Joey knew him from his costume, or what was left of it. The bottom of his shirt was tattered and his pants were pulled askew to one side. He appeared to be sleeping until Joey touched his shoulder.

Nicky turned with a jolt. His face snow white in the darkness, his eyes blazing with fear. Even in the shadows Joey realized that Nicky didn't look right. He didn't look like the same kid who had taunted him earlier.

Joey was about to speak. About to ask what was he doing anyway and that Miss Richards was really mad, which wasn't exactly true but what did a goat-head like Nicky care anyway? He was just about to pull him out from under the table when Nicky grabbed him by the foot and pulled him down.

"Hey, lemmego!"

Nicky just stayed there, balled up and saying nothing. His hand gripped Joey's leg like a claw and nothing Joey did could pry it free. He sat there and stared at the fright that was his schoolmate and waited.

"Come on. Bellman's going to be pissed if he finds out." He wasn't scared anymore. He was mad. The show was over and it was time to go home. He had done it. He had gotten through most of the tunnel and knew the end was just around the corner and he had had enough. He had promised Miss Richards that he would get Nicky...

But Nicky didn't want to go. In fact, Nicky didn't look like he was in a hurry to do anything but cower under the table. Joey looked down at him for a second and huffed. Good. Serves him right, being scared. But I'm leaving. Let him sit here until the lights go out and they lock the doors. Let HIS mommy come looking for him.

But the thought was quickly drowned out when he looked back into those hollow eyes. Something had scared him. Gotten hold of him, really, from the looks of things. Joey didn't know what but he didn't like the looks of it and he still didn't like that...

...smell...

...turn in the hallway. All at once something seemed to be terribly off center. It reminded him of a foggy camera lens. Things seemed blurred around the edges and he could feel his heart creeping up into his throat.

He grabbed Nicky's arm and tugged with all of his strength. Nicky outweighed him by a mere ten pounds but all of it was dead weight. His eyes remained fixed on the corner, never blinking.

Joey played tug of war with the limp arm for several seconds before getting the boy to his feet. The white sock was clearly visible in the dim light and Joey saw that it was torn, as well. He quickly looked the boy over from top to bottom and stepped forward toward the corner.

Nicky's eyes snapped to attention. He clawed Joey's arm, nails digging into pale flesh, creating red streaks that would not be visible until much later to prove to Joey that it had been no dream. He whipped Joey around in a circle to face him. "Not there!" He whispered, never taking his eyes from the corner. "Back."

Joey looked forward and then glanced behind him. Back? Back was further and would take longer and bring them out in front of Miss Richards and everyone else. Normally, Joey would have loved to steal a few more minutes with Snow White but now all he wanted was to be out of this mess and back home watching the late movie and scarfing down popcorn.

He stepped forward slowly. Nicky began to moan and pull back. If he was going to get out he would have to do it alone. Joey pushed Nicky's arm from his and took another step. Some guy, he thought. Scared to death of his own shadow.

That was when he saw it, although he wasn't ever entirely sure that he had. Even years later, when the lights went out and it visited him in the occasional dream, he wasn't sure that it had ever actually been. But on that night it was there and it was waiting.

He saw the eyes first, glowing in a swirling mist of green he'd never seen in any Crayola box before. They were yellow. And just below them was the sound of a hiss erupting from a sparkle of teeth. It was the smell, he was certain, and it smelled like decay and darkness and pain and anger all wrapped up in a big bag of shit.

The thing lunged forward three feet and erupted into an empty wail before Joey realized he'd been pulled back off his feet into the dark. He turned to face Nicky who had regained his composure in enough time to keep him from becoming lunch meat.

"I told you!" Nicky screamed. "Now come on!"

Joey didn't hesitate. Nicky had him by the arm and pulled him back up the hallway. Past the plastic medieval torches and folding chairs. Past the paper bats that hung from the ceiling. Past the cardboard tombstones that marked the creatures who had come out to play earlier.

They ran without realizing their feet were even touching the ground. Out of the corner of his eye Joey could still see something behind them. His peripheral vision had never been too good but now it seemed absolutely amazing. Whatever he had seen was still there and right behind them. He could see it if he wanted to but couldn't will his head to turn.

But he could smell it and it was getting stronger.

Something caught his foot and he skidded forward about four feet before landing on his shoulder. He saw the shoe lying on its side no more than six inches from his face, its side savagely torn open and its canvas strings dangling like reminders of the violent act. In an instant he was on his feet, jerked back up by Nicky, and they ran at full throttle toward the gaping mouth. Its fangs no longer looked menacing but inviting, and Joey remembered nothing but holding his breath as he dove through its opening.

Miss Richards wasn't at the entrance when both boys came skidding through, Joey on his knees tearing out his new Levis and Nicky on his side leaving a nice burn where his shirt had already exposed his stomach. They felt grateful, laying there waiting for their chests to explode and the darkness to come back, afraid the thing down the hallway would creep out and steal them away. But the darkness didn't come.

Joey sat up first and crawled over to Nicky. They looked at each other in silence before checking to see if anyone had witnessed their escape.

The alcove was empty. Snow White had disappeared with whatever Prince Charming might have come along and swept her up. Joey stuck his head around the corner to view the cafeteria. A few people were walking around but, for the most part, the room had pretty much cleared. He could hear the faint sound of music upstairs in the gym where the older kids were having their annual dance. The ones his age had gone home and were safe and sound, tucked into their beds or on the couch watching the motion-picture monsters who weren't real by a long shot.

Joey rose to his feet and helped up a very bruised and sad-looking Nicky, who stared right into the jowls of the hallway. He looked very far away. Joey stood beside him and peered into the black hole.

The lights were out and there was total darkness. The smell was gone. Only silence emerged from its bowels. For a moment Joey tried to remember what he saw. If he had actually seen anything at all.

Nicky spoke first. He gently shoved Joey's shoulder in a manner of all young boys. "Let's get out of here," he whispered. Joey nodded, not needing to be told twice. They turned tail and ran down the stairs and out into the night air. Into the safety of the parking lot.

They didn't look back once that night. They didn't see the eyes that watched two young boys fly out into the evening toward the safety of their homes. Its appetite lost for the time being and its shape shifted back to a more pleasant being, Bellman stepped out from the doorway, back to a world where the boogyman is no more than some forty-year-old. nearly out of work actor trying to support his habits. Where the lights come up and dispel ninety minutes of terror. Until the lights go out again, leaving one...

Alone...

He picked up what was left of the shoe, his gaze never leaving the point where the two small shadows had disappeared into the depth of the night. There would be others, he told himself. So many more like the last. Of that he was certain. And next time he would be more careful.

The hallway behind him was silent, as was the parking lot that stretched into the darkness. But despite the disappearance of his star players, this movie would play again. His gaze was as firm as Snow White's smile.

Only with a little less charm.

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