Krii7y Stories

How do you get Scared by a Person in Makeup?

Prompt: I showed up to this haunted house alone because I thought I wouldn't be scared but now I am and I might be holding your hand.

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      "Alright, welcome to the Misfits' haunted house. Due to it being Halloween, and us just wanting to sell all of the tickets tonight, 10 people will be brought into the house at a time. You will then be separated into pairs. After the house, you will regroup with your initial group, hopefully, and head towards the Zombie Survival Lands. Do not touch any of the actors and they will not touch you, keep moving forward, and for the love of god, don't take any of the props," a tall male announced towards a crowd of people waiting eagerly in line before entering through the doors that concealed the horrors. The wind was brisk as groups waited for the haunted house to open for the night.
      "Five more minutes, Jaren, you can do this," a brunette hyped himself up, slightly bouncing from side to side as a way to not lose circulation in his legs. Of course, when he finally had time to go to a haunted house it was on Halloween and all of his friends had already made plans to go to parties or something along those lines. He slightly regretted going by himself, but it was too late to turn back now. He got to the grounds way too early and was in the first group of people to enter the house.
      One more minute. Fog began to seep through the cracks in the door and from the bullet holes in the windows. It was a surprisingly amazing haunted house for the price he paid, but then again, he's only seen the outside.
      A small buzzer went off and everyone in front of him turned to look at the door. A new man wearing a crusader helmet emerged. "Alright, the first ten people come forward. Follow the zombie and listen to him, and try not to get bitten." Jaren followed the three people in front of him, watching as the short male lightly tapped each person's shoulder and press a small clicker. Once he was in, he looked around at the cramped hallway he was in with 9 others and a person in creepily realistic zombie makeup. Beside the sickly appearance, he looked immensely bored.
     "Alright you cunts, quick lay down: each of you will be paired with another person and will be taken to a door where your guide will be waiting. Do not go in until you are told. Follow your guide, don't touch any of the actors, scream as much as you like, and don't get lost. I swear if you get lost..." he sighed at the last part, looking behind him quickly and began counting people off. "You and you, door number one," he pointed to the door that had scratches on it. "You two, door number two." This door had neon glow paint and a colorful ax sticking out of it. "You," The zombie finally pointed at the brunette, "and you, door number three." He steadily made his way towards the door that looked like a hospital door, but the glass was punched out and it had blood smeared at the bottom and sides. He looked up at the person he was paired with. He had some height against Jaren, long and fluffy bleach blond hair, and he was wearing a black and white striped shirt that reminded him of BeetleJuice.
    He must've caught Jaren staring because he said: "Sup, I'm John."
    "Ah, hello. I'm Jaren. Ready for this?" He nervously chuckled out the question.
    "Yeah. Been here a few times before. It's not that bad." John's words reassured him a bit.
    The same man that the Canadian saw at the beginning of the night emerged from the door and was now dressed in a doctor's coat. His height added to the intimidation of the getup. It had blood stains on it and was ripped severely around the bottom and at the cuffs.
    "Welcome, welcome, newcomers. I'm your doctor, Fitz." His accent was thick as he handed the two clipboards with papers on them. He then patted his pockets and handed them pens. "Please print your names on the wavers." They did and handed them back to the tall male. He turned towards a small speaker next to the door and pushed a button. "Patient 117, Jaren Smith, diagnosed with anxiety, and patient 119, John Keyes, diagnosed with depression now entering the building. Play nice." The Aussie smiled towards them and opened the door, beckoning the two to enter the dimly lit hallway.
    John took the lead, stepping over scattered papers. The brunette brushed quickly past the doctor giving him a dazed look and caught up to the other. It was quiet, besides the occasional creak and groan.
    They finally made it to the end of the hallway, only to be awarded with another door covered in 'caution' tape. The blond looked around, his eyes landing on something behind Jaren. He could feel his heartbeat speed up as he turned around. He was met with a dangerously close man with puffy, dark hair. He had noticeable black circles around his eyes and a twitch in his hands.
   "My, my, it's so nice to have three new friends!" His voice was surprisingly deep, but it did nothing to mask the small giggles that past his lips. "I'm Racc! Look at the little raccoons playing around us. Aren't they so cute!" He looked around at nothing. Jaren started breathing harder, backing up towards the door. He watched as Racc danced with thin air.
    "Hey! Come on Racc! Get away from the patients." The tall doctor appeared out of nowhere and pulled at the dark haired male.
    "But Ima miss my new friends." He pouted as he waved towards the two. He was pushed into a door and their guide locked it.
    "Sorry for the wait. Please follow me to your rooms." Fitz hastily began walking back where they came from, making a sharp turn left into a doorway that had plastic flaps dangling from the top. The brunette subconsciously moved closer towards John, brushing their arms together.
   "You getting scared?" The blond asked nonchalantly. Jaren shook his head quickly, moving away. He jumped back when a face appeared behind a broken window; said face began banging against the wall, moaning something about letting them out. The shorter male let out a shriek and clutched onto John's arm. He pressed his face into his bicep, cowering away from the arm that attempted to grab him. He heard the blond laughed slightly, but he didn't pull away.
    Jaren continued to blindly follow, attempting to tune out the screams that were being thrown at him. "Come on, Jarbear, won't you come and join us?" One laughed next to him, leaning in further to try and gauge a response out of him, but he already had half of his body pressed against the other male.
    "Oh! This is pretty cool! Look through here. They're trying to treat schizophrenia." Fitz pointed through a glass window. Jaren let his eyes roam upwards for a few seconds,  watching as a person was shocked on a chair. He shrieked and intertwined his hand with John's, urging him forward and away from the terrors. John happily obliged and began walking forward, following their guide.
    "Is the little one getting scared?" Fitz said, glancing to look behind him. "Don't worry, we'll arrive soon enough."
    They continued, passing by a man with colored hair that was screaming something in different tones. One voice was feminine, talking about having a morning mimosa, another was a serious voice telling them what to do. He repeatedly screamed Jaren's name over and over, which freaked the fuck out of him.
    "Oh dear, seems like we don't have any available room for you two. Eh, you guys are fine though. I'll let you free this time!" The brunette finally opened his eyes, seeing the exit door and sighing with relief. "Thank you for coming, and John, you're supposed to be working." The taller male looked at the blond with an unamused look.
    "We agreed Halloween was my day off. Mason is doing a swell job looking bored and guiding people to the different houses." They shared a look, and Jaren was confused, but glad that he could leave. They both exited the haunted house to regroup outside. They were the last two people out of the house, and all of the other patrons stared at them.
    "Who's up for zombie killing?" John said and the group nodded collectively, turning to the narrow walkway that had a sign that read 'Zombie Lands'. Jaren began to walk, but was stopped when the body he was still latched to didn't move.
    He quickly released his hand and moved back a few steps. "I-I'm so sorry," he laughed to cover his embarrassment. "I didn't know that his house would be that terrifying and kinda held the thing that was closest to me. Sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
    "No, you're fine, man. Would've shaken you off earlier if you bothered me." He shrugged, smiling lazily.
   "Also," he coughed, trying to break the awkward atmosphere, "What was that interaction between the guide and you? Do you guys know each other?"
    "Yeah, I work here as the person who places people in the groups Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I got Halloween off so here we are."
    "Oh, that's actually really cool."
    "Yeah, and the reason they kept calling your name is because of the paper you signed at the beginning. In all of the houses they call out your name so the actors can scare you more. That's also why they didn't scream at me." John pulled out a vape out of his pocket and took a hit, blowing it out into the cool air. "Hey, if you're willing to stay around until about 1 in the morning, I can introduce you to the actors. Some of the houses close before that time."
    The brunette thought for a bit, mulling over if he had anything going on. "Sure. All of my friends are out at parties so staying here for a few hours isn't that bad." John grinned and beckoned him towards the zombie lands.
    "Great, we can kill time by watching the security cameras. It's great watching people scream," John laughed and earned a playful push from Jaren.