I loved my fiance, Cindy, and I know she loved me back. We spent our time together whenever we could; we were almost inseparable. Whenever we had a fight it would only take a good night’s sleep to bring us together again. I still remember the times when she would smile so tenderly I could just hold on to her forever.
It was Halloween night, and I surprised Cindy by taking her out to a haunted house for a frightening endeavour.
“Oh, come on, do we have to go? You know how much I hate being scared.” She said.
“Dont worry, I’ll always be by your side and you can come into my warm embrace.” I teased.
“Sure, whatever you say, my knight in shining armor.” She scoffed while rolling her eyes away from me.
“Come on, it won’t be so bad. It’s only going to be an hour of our time, I promise, babe.”
“Fine, I suppose it won’t hurt to be scared once in a while, but I swear to god it better be one hour only, ok hun?” She smiled and gave me a peck on my lip.
“Yeah, I promise, I even got the tickets from Groupon for 10 dollars each. They most likely use cheesy props and costumes, anyway.”
We dressed up and drove to the location. It was an old house with a scarily unmaintained front lawn that looked like no one has lived in it for years. I found it perplexing that there were no signs or any Halloween decorations present. I knew something strange was going on, but I thought it was normal since it was a haunted house attraction after all. As I parked the car, Cindy grabbed my hand which sat atop of the stick shift.
“I’ve changed my mind, John. This is a terrible idea. I don’t think we should’ve come here.” I caught her staring at the house, almost as if in shock. My hand moved on top of hers and I put some pressure on it.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to chicken out now that we’ve driven here.” I stated with a grin.
“No, you don’t understand, John. It feels like we’re in danger, even though we’re all the way out here. I dont know how to explain it except that it just gives me the creeps.” She said.
“Then it’s doing its job, isn’t it?” I snickered just as though a child who has thrown eggs at a house.
“Look, if you don’t like what’s inside, we’ll go. Just try it with me, please.” I pleaded with her.
“Sometimes you’re an asshole, but I guess if it’s with you, I’m willing to try.”
“That’s my girl,” I said with approval, clutching her hand tighter.
We rang the doorbell together. After a few minutes, a gentleman wearing a suit opened the door, greeting and ushering us to the hallway.
“Welcome to the flueric house of horrors. We pride ourselves on traumatizing our victims.” He said with a smile and bowed before us. We looked around the old, dilapidated room. The floors squeaked, the walls were old and stained. An ancient light inundated the entire house with its uninspiring light.
“Well, this isn’t looking much like a house of horrors, pal.” I gave him the Groupon tickets, which he inspected and punched a hole through.
“That’s because it isn’t. It’s a house of trauma.” The gentleman toothily grinned menacingly.
Taken aback by his smile, I looked at Cindy, who grabbed my arm.
“Uhhh, sure.” I said anxiously as I looked around the room to avoid losing my composure.
“You can start your tour by taking the door on the left, which will lead to the basement. I hope you have a great time.” This time he was grinding his teeth together, making an infuriating noise that seemed painful.
Strangely, he only ever looked at me. He never looked at Cindy. With Cindy grabbing my arm, we walked towards the door on the left as instructed and descended downwards into the basement. It smelled of sulfur and rotting meat that maggots would thrive off of. We could barely see because of the basement light flickering as we advanced to another door in front of us. Blood covered the walls, the stench seemed to get stronger as we neared the door. We passed through another section full of dead bodies that was far too realistic for my liking.
The god-awful stench assaulted our senses; we spent most of our time covering our noses and holding our breath. As we went further into the house, it got hotter and strange scribblings on the walls appeared. The basement ingratiated its hellish designs and features into our minds. Little did we know a sexual deviant also designed the place. Further ahead, we encountered rooms full of decadent and niche sexual content that only desensitized individuals could enjoy. The stench turned into a sweaty hive, giving us further incentive to cover our noses. It was enough to revolt me and change my mind about this damned place.
Cindy stopped and held on to me stronger than I could have ever known.
“John, I don’t want to continue anymore. This place is freaking me out. Can’t handle that awful smell.” Cindy was almost in tears, her eyes were watery.
“Alright, we don’t have to continue. Let’s turn back.” I was glad and finally in agreement with Cindy. I could no longer enjoy the place.
We made an about face and hurried through the sections we had seen before. However, it seemed, we kept going back to the same rooms over and over as if in a loop. And then an unfamiliar door appeared to us and we went through it. The new room was pleasant. It was like an oasis in a desert of depravity.
it was then that we met him.
“Welcome to my humble abode. My name is lucifer and unfortunately it seems you’ve fallen into my home.” The man said. He was tall and well dressed. Cindy and I took a step back. Admittedly, we were cautious because of the things we have witnessed. Lucifer looked at Cindy as if she was a piece of meat. I guided Cindy to hide behind me to get out of his gaze. Looking annoyed, he focused his eyes on to mine as I mentally prepared to engage him.
“Listen, we just want to get out of here. We won’t tell anyone, not a soul.” I said in a stern tone.
“Oh?” he replied
“I don’t think you understand why you’re here and why you don’t have any leverage to negotiate in the situation you’re currently in.” He took a step closer, clasping his hands together, smiling.
“I need the girl behind you. I think her name is Cindy, is it not?” The room turned dark and the man’s eyes turned red. In the dark, only his eyes were present. Two floating, red eyeballs stared at me.
“Give the girl behind you to me and I’ll let you go safely. I need new wives to birth the anti-Christ.” A guttural voice boomed throughout the room.
Not even thinking about what he said, I replied with a sharp, “No.”
“I never needed your permission, anyway.” A red light suddenly came back on. Lucifer’s human figure had transformed into that of the devil. A grotesque bastardization of the human body. I knew I could not fight him and yet I tried. Something primal had kicked in inside of me and I let it out. Adrenaline burst forth as I grappled and danced with the devil, as if possessed by something inhuman. At the end of it all, all I could hear was Cindy’s screams and cries as she saw me single-handedly beaten down by the devil. I blacked out.
I remember waking up on the front lawn of the house. My head throbbed and my body ached with every single movement. It took a significant amount of willpower just so I could walk. Cindy was no longer with me, but the house was. I tried to open the door by the handle, but I could not. In a fury, I kicked it open. The house was no longer lit, but dark, the ancient light never was. There was no gentleman in the main hallway. The house was in a state of major disrepair.
I then went down to the basement. Nothing, there was no stench, there were no decorations, there were no bodies, there were no doors, there were no rooms. Just one big empty basement.
I could not find Cindy. On that day, I swore to god my allegiance and my undying will to find my beloved Cindy.