SHE: A Collection of One Shots [H.S.]

003. Devil's Woods

TW: knife/blood play, choking

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Chapter song:

RUNRUNRUN by Dutch Melrose

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Sleepy Hollow, New York

October 31, 2020

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Halloween night; my favorite night of the year.

There's something so addicting about the bite of the cool, fall air, the thick energy of fear hanging heavily around you, and being able to pretend, for just one night. Pretend to be someone, or something, else; anything but the person you see when you look in the mirror.

The fear that you willingly submit to as you creep through a haunted house is cathartic. It allows you to take your power back when you consent to, or maybe even beg for, the terror overtaking you. When the world around you is completely out of control, at least you have this one thing you can control, even if it's just for a few hours.

Devil's Woods is the most notorious Halloween attraction in all of New York.

People come from all over the country to walk through the haunted maze, one that could easily take up to four hours to escape. If you don't get lost in the darkness due to your own faulty sense of direction, the actors are there to ensure you get caught in their labyrinth of terror. The only available lightsource is the moon, so if the Halloween-night sky happens to be cloudy, you're forced to weave through the pathways blindly, leaving you even more vulnerable to the impending jump-scares.

Personally, I crave that sort of thing. I love the adrenaline that courses through my veins when I sense that something terrifying is about to happen. I love the natural high I receive when someone dressed as a chainsaw-wielding psycho sneaks up on me from behind, forcing me to run into a dead end. I love the dopamine-fueled heat that rushes between my thighs every time my fight-or-flight is triggered.

I love it all.

Tonight, the energy in the chilly, autumn air is electric, everyone's excitement buzzing around me. The walkways through Devil's Woods are crowded with people making their way to and from the maze, and the various fried food stands that are available. Mac and I got here late, around eleven o'clock, so the crowd is thinning out. Hopefully that means the line won't be very long.

"I would kill for a deep-fried oreo right now," Mac hums, staring hungrily at a paper plate full of cookies.

"Don't worry, we'll get you all the fried oreos you want when we get out of the maze," I assure her with a laugh, looping my arm around hers to pull her through the crowd.

"What's the theme this year?" She asks.

"Slashers," I respond with a smirk.

Each year, Devil's Woods switches up the theme of their maze. It's to keep people on their toes, so they don't know what to expect. This year is my favorite so far.

When we reach the line for the attraction, I groan at how long it is.

"So much for showing up late to avoid the crowd," Mac huffs, crossing her arms in front of her chest. I chuckle at the way her bottom lip juts out in a pout, shaking my head.

Glancing around, I notice all the actors dressed as characters from different slasher films. I've always been more drawn to those types of scary movies. It elicits a different kind of fear in me, a realistic fear.