I’m in
the basement. Why am I in the basement? That’s, like, rule number one of horror
movies: don’t go into the basement. I’m going to be the first one to die . Way
to go, self.
Of
course, the only reason I’m down here
is because everyone else is too drunk to make it down the steep stairs without
killing themselves. Serves me right for throwing a Halloween bash, I guess.
I thought
that this would be a good idea. For one, it would give everyone an excuse to
dress up—even the people who pretended that they were “too cool” for the
holiday. For two, I’ve never actually thrown
a party before—lame, I know. But Halloween seemed like the perfect opportunity
for a first run.
I
didn’t anticipate, of course, the power cutting out halfway through the
festivities. The lights, the music, everything went black once we blew a fuse.
The drunks didn’t seem to mind—they’re still enjoying themselves upstairs,
telling ghost stories with flashlights and scaring the crap out of each other.
My
house, my party, my circuit breaker.
Everybody seemed to assume that I’d go down and fix it myself…despite my
absolute hatred of this damp and musty basement.
I find
the box easy enough, as well as the switch to start the party up again. I hear cries
of protest upstairs when I flip it, but oh well. I’m not partying in the dark.
I turn
around and almost bump into a figure behind me. I let out a shriek and jump
back, heart pounding. I take a breath to calm myself once I get a good look at
the mask—it’s from one of those movies that came out, like, twenty years ago,
with the white face and the open-mouthed look and the black, oval-shaped eyes.
I know immediately that it’s Jared—he’s the only one here wearing it.
“Jared,”
I say with a scowl, “go back upstairs to the party.”
He
turns around and walks away without a word. Jerk.
I
rejoin the party shortly after, where everyone directs their moans and groans
toward me.
“Sorry
to burst your bubble,” I say sarcastically. “By the way, Jared? Totally not
cool.”
“What?”
“You
scared the crap out of me down there!”
He
lifts the mask off his head. “I’ve been up here the whole time,” he says.
Everyone nods along, agreeing with his statement.
“So…if
it wasn’t you…” I feel the candy I’ve been eating all night churn in my stomach
and rise into my throat. “Who was it?”
A blood
curdling scream does more than enough to answer my question.
~~
Until later,
- Justyne
