"Where are we??" Debbie Monroe complained. Rick Bount gripped the steering wheel of the van tighter. "I said only another ten minutes or so." He growled through clenched teeth. "I thought this was a shortcut Rick." Angela Childs joked. Wilson Jermait gave Angela a wink and shouted "Yeah, shouldn’t we have been in Las Vegas an hour ago?"
The four friends plus two more in the last two seats had all decided to spend their spring break in Las Vegas, when Rick found a "shortcut". But they shortcut had them delayed by almost 2 hours. Debbie groaned. She looked over at Rick. "Don’t tell me we’re lost!" Angela chuckled. They were fighting as usual. Rick was going out with Debbie, but not a day went by that they didn’t have some type of argument. Jessica Night and Anthony Rather hardly ever said anything. Angela was Jessica’s friend, but she was deathly jealous of her. Jessica always had the best luck with the guys. Jessica with her long red hair blue-gray eyes. Angela thought Jessica was extremely lucky. Anthony was such a cutie with his spiky blond hair and piercing green eyes. But Angela didn’t have a crush on Anthony or anything, she just wanted a boyfriend.
Wilson gave Angela a nudge and pointed to the backseat. An enormous grin was across his handsome face. Angela peered over her shoulder and saw that as usual Jessica and Anthony had their tongues down each others throats. Wilson chuckled and exclaimed "Alright already! Get a room you guys!" They ignored him. Wilson rolled his eyes and Angela wondered if they even heard him. Angela and Wilson had been best friends since preschool. They were always together and did almost everything together. Wilson loved Angela as a close friend, and Angela loved him just as much. But on a much different level. She peeked over at Wilson. He was looking out the window, his soft brown hair falling across his eyes. He was staring at all the…well he was just staring out the window. Angela sighed and started to daydream. Her daydreams almost always involved Wilson finally seeing her as more than just a friend.
Angela sighed and closed her eyes. In this dream it was Wilson driving the car with Angela in the passenger seat. Suddenly he stopped the car and slowly turned to her. His deep brown eyes searched her light hazel eyes. Suddenly understanding came across his face and he touched Angela’s dark brown, wavy hair. She tentatively raised her fingers and stroked his smooth soft cheek. Then he leaned forward and gave her the most passionate, exciting, breathtaking kiss she had ever--"RICK LOOK OUT!!" Someone shrieked. Angela gasped as they suddenly smashed head first into a tree.
***************************************************
Angela opened her eyes slowly. Something warm was trickling down her face. Confused she reached up and touched it. Her fingers came away stained red. A scream started to work its way up her throat, but she choked it back and quickly glanced around the car. Debbie was waking up. She had a huge gash across her forehead and it was dripping blood. Then Debbie seemed to remember what happened. She looked at Rick and gasped. Angela followed her gaze to him and she had jam her fist in her mouth to keep herself from puking her guts out. Rick had been thrown through the windshield. He was lying on the hood of the van, his face was all slashed up and bloody.
Debbie started to speak, but instead she screamed and her scream bore through Angela’s head like a rusty screwdriver. Debbie clawed at her seatbelt , trying to rip it off her but before she could, her eyes rolled up into her head and she passed out. Angela shut her eyes tight, trying to drive the scene from her mind. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her from behind, and the long awaited scream finally escaped from her mouth. Angela spun her head around and let loose a breath or relief. It was only Wilson.
"Wilson…" Angela started, but he had opened the car door and shakily stepped out. Angela climbed out after him, and Anthony and Jessica followed her, unharmed but scared as hell. Wilson opened Debbie’s door and tugged her seatbelt off, then pulled her out of the car. He lay her gently on the ground and felt her pulse. He looked up at Angela. "Her pulse is strong, she’ll be ok." Angela nodded, a tear trickling down her face, mingling with the blood. Wilson looked over at Anthony, who had his arms wrapped protectively around Jessica, who was sobbing quietly. "Help me with Rick?" He said softly. Anthony nodded. He whispered something to Jessica and she nodded her head, not looking at him. He kissed her forehead and walked over to the front of the van. Angela crept over to Jessica and she looked up at her. Tears ran down her slender face and she held out her arms and Angela gratefully embraced her.
They stood there hugging. Wilson and Anthony carefully pulled Rick off the hood of the van. They laid him on the ground and Wilson took his pulse. Then frowning he listened to his heartbeat. He sighed and looked at Anthony. He said something in a low voice that Angela couldn’t hear. They stood up and walked over to the two girls. "Rick is alive. Barely, but he is alive. But who knows how long he is going to be unconscious." Wilson informed them. Jessica stepped away from Angela and fell into Anthony’s arms again. He held her close. "What are we going to do now?" Jessica whispered, her face pressed into Anthony’s chest. They all looked at each other. Angela gazed around. There seemed to be nothing around them but desert and the long highway they had been driving along. Angela wondered where the tree had come from in the first place. It was the first type of shrubbery they had seen in hours. What a horrible coincidence that they had to crash right into it. Wilson seemed to be staring at Angela and she suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. But he was staring past her. Angela turned around and saw the house. The huge, ugly broken down old house that would soon change all their lives. Forever.
***************************************************
"Maybe someone there can help us." Wilson murmured. "Are you sure we should go in there?" Angela asked. "Well we can’t just stay here." Wilson answered. "You’re right." Angela murmured. "I’m sure someone in there can help us." Anthony added. Jessica shivered. "Do we have to?" She asked. "It looks scary." "Oh come on." Anthony said. Nothing bad will happen." Wilson and Anthony moved toward Rick’s body. Wilson grasped his arms, while Anthony took his legs. Angela walked over to Debbie who was waking up for the second time. She helped her to her feet and put her arm around her shoulder to steady her. Jessica followed behind Angela and Debbie. A minute later they were all standing on the rickety porch of the house. Jessica crept forward and knocked three times on the door. Everyone heard the knocks echo loudly. "Knock again." Anthony said. Jessica obliged. Nothing.
"Open the door." Jessica slowly raised her hand and pushed the door open. It creaked loudly as it opened. The foyer of the house was covered in what seemed to be years old dust and cobwebs. "Hello?" Angela called out. "Hello….Hello….Hello….Hello?" Her voice called back. "Anyone here? Anyone here…. Anyone here…. Anyone here…. Anyone here?" Angela looked at Wilson and shrugged. "Well, we can’t just stand here all day. Go in." Wilson snapped. Tears stung Angela’s eyes and she lowered her head and stepped inside. The ceiling of the house seemed to go on and on. The chandelier at the zenith of the ceiling was covered in cobwebs. A spider silently dropped down from it, as if to inspect the intruders. Then as quickly as it appeared, it climbed out of sight. Angela shuddered. Everyone else had entered after her and Angela jumped when Jessica touched her shoulder. Angela led the way up the dusty staircase. When she reached the top, she peered around, looking to see if there was anyone who lived here. But there was no one.
"It doesn’t look as if anyone has been here in years." Wilson observed. "We should find someplace to put Rick." Angela spoke up. "Wilson and I will find some rooms we can all stay in. You girls stay here." "We’ll be right back." Wilson added. They carried Rick down a hallway and disappeared out of sight. Jessica started to wander a little. Angela followed her, gently pulling Debbie along with her. They found a fancy room that could have been a parlor, or a living room of some sort. There was a huge fire place with a strange looking metal object. "What’s that?" Angela asked. Jessica glanced over. "I think it is some kind of rotisserie thing." "Like with roasted chicken?" "Yeah." Jessica snapped her fingers. "A spit. That’s what it’s called. Angela nodded and gazed around some more.
The ancient looking furniture was made from maroon colored velvet, and covered in layers of dust. There was another chandelier like in the foyer, this one bigger. A huge mirror was across the mantelpiece of the fireplace, along with several brass figures. Angela picked one up and examined it. It looked like some kind of creature that she couldn’t recognize, with a horrible looking scowl on its face. Suddenly light bathed the room and the figure shone in her hand. Angela turned around to see that Jessica had opened up the large drapes, revealing enormous windows. Angela tried to smile, but it was a feeble attempt. Jessica didn’t even attempt to be cheerful. Something moved out of the corner of Angela’s eye. She whirled back around to the mirror. Just her reflection. But something seemed odd. Angela saw Debbie in the mirror, sitting on the dusty couch. She was staring into space but there was a strange blotch on her face. Suddenly Jessica shrieked, causing Angela to drop the brass figure. Angela whirled around to face Jessica. "What? What?" She cried. "Debbie’s face! Look at her face!" Angela looked at her face and saw that blotch again. Then she realized what it was. It was a tarantula crawling on her face! Angela shrieked with horror.
"Debbie!!" screamed Angela. Debbie wasn’t moving. She was just sitting there as if nothing was happening! "Debbie! Debbie! What’s wrong with you?" Jessica screeched. The tarantula crawled slowly across her cheek to her chin then down to her neck. Still Debbie did nothing. Her deep blue eyes stared past the tarantula, past Angela, past life. Angela looked frantically for something Anything. She grabbed a poker from the fireplace and creeped up to Debbie. The tarantula touched her light blonde hair with one prickly leg. Then it seemed to look right at Angela. Angela screamed as it drove its fangs into Debbie’s throat, and still she did nothing!! Angela raised the poker baseball style and swung, knocked the tarantula from Debbie. She raised the poker over her head and stabbed downward, but she missed and the tarantula scuttled away, disappearing from sight. Jessica was standing by the drapes, her hands raised to her face breathing heavily. "Debbie!" Angela gasped. They both rushed toward her and Jessica fell to her knees in front of Debbie.
"Why doesn’t she move? Why doesn’t she talk? What’s going on?" Jessica cried. Just then Wilson and Anthony rushed into the room. "What’s wrong? What happened?" Anthony asked breathlessly. "We heard screams and rushed back as quick as possible." Wilson added. Jessica stood up and ran to Anthony and collapsed in his arms. Angela felt a twinge of jealousy but pushed it away. "A huge tarantula crawled on Debbie and bit her. Then it crawled away." Angela explained. Wilson looked worried, he knelt beside Debbie and examined her neck. Debbie still was unresponsive. Wilson waved a hand in front of her face, then snapped his fingers. Nothing. "She’s been like that since the crash." Jessica muttered.
Anthony stroked her hair. Wilson sighed. "Well….nothing we can do. We just have to hope that the bite wasn’t fatal." "We found a long hall back there." Anthony said pointing. "There are at least 10 bedrooms, 5 on each side of the hall." Let’s all go back there and establish who sleeps where." Jessica raised her head in horror. "You mean we have to sleep here tonight?!" She cried. "We have to. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and we couldn’t find a phone anywhere." Angela sighed. "Well let’s go." Wilson said, and pulled Debbie to her feet. He pushed her gently and she walked. Anthony and Jessica followed him. Angela turned back to the mirror, then looked down at her feet where she dropped the figure. It looked different somehow. Was it smiling? Angela shuddered and hurried after them.
***************************************************
Anthony was right. There were plenty of bedrooms. Rick was lying on the floor, propped up against a door. He was breathing slowly, but still unconscious. Wilson opened the door to his room and laid him on the bed. Anthony and Jessica took the room next to him. Wilson’s across the hall from Rick, Angela’s next to Wilson’s and Debbie’s next to Angela’s. Angela decided to explore her room. She slowly opened the door and entered her room. It was dark and beautiful, but in a creepy way. The furniture was similar to the furniture in the parlor. Velvet and dusty. The beds were canopies and the sheets maroon satin. She crept further into the room, but left the door wide open. There was a old fashioned looking desk and a large wooden drawer, both made out of mahogany. The bathroom had a porcelain bathtub and sink and both had brass handles. Suddenly she felt a chill, as if someone was staring at her.
She ducked out of the bathroom and looked nervously around the room. No one. But she had no desire to be alone. She quickly strode out of the room to join the others. Everyone else was in Rick’s room. They had taken towels from the bathroom and tried to clean off the blood. But it z had already dried and caked, so it wasn’t coming off. "What are we going to do about food?" Jessica asked softly. "We’ll have to find the kitchen." Anthony answered. "Let’s go now." Him and Jessica started out the door. Angela followed them, but stopped in the doorway. "Are you coming?" She asked. Wilson sighed. "Yeah. But I want to tell you something first." Angela’s heart fluttered. She wasn’t sure why. "I-I’m sorry. About before. When I yelled at you." Wilson said, still looking at Rick. Angela felt her eyes tear and wiped them quickly before he could notice.
"I’m just scared. About everything. I try not to let on, but I really am." He finally looked up at Angela and her heart went crazy as she saw that he was crying. She wanted to comfort him, but didn’t know what to say. She had never seen him cry before. Then she realized she didn’t have to say anything. She slowly walked over to him and put her arms around him. He buried his head in her hair and she could feel his chest rising and falling as he tried to control his tears. Despite everything that had happened in the last 2 hours, Angela couldn’t help thinking that this could turn into something really good after all. Wilson raised his head and she saw the tracks of his tears. She reached up and brushed them away. He smiled. "Let’s go join Jessica and Anthony, before they eat all the food." "If there is any food at all, you mean." Angela said smiling. He chuckled and they left the room.
***************************************************
A few minutes later Angela and Wilson found their way to the kitchen, where Jessica and Anthony were searching every possible hiding place for something edible. The kitchen was the only normal looking place in this house so far. It had tile floors and a wooden table, with Formica counters and cabinets. A big refrigerator was in the corner of the kitchen. Angela walked over to it and looked inside. It was empty except for a box of baking soda.
She sighed. Wilson had started searching through cabinets too. Finally Jessica found something. "What is it?" Anthony asked. "A box of cookies." She replied happily, but when she opened it she shrieked and dropped it. A family of cockroaches scurried out of the box and took shelter in a hole in the wall. Jessica burst into tears. Anthony hugged her close and tried to calm her down. Angela felt she too would be in hysterics if something didn’t go their way. Luckily something did. "I found a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter." Wilson called out from across the room. He glanced at Jessica and added, "They’re both unopened."
Jessica’s tears had subsided to sniffles. They opened the boxes and took 5 crackers each. They had to save some. For breakfast in the morning, Angela thought. And then for lunch, and again for dinner and again for breakfast and….Stop It! Angela ordered herself. She took a bite out of a cracker. It was fine. Suddenly a someone knocked loudly on the kitchen door. Angela jumped and dropped her food. The crackers broke into crumbs on the floor. She glanced over at Wilson who’s mouth had dropped open. Jessica’s chest was rising and falling again, as if she would start screaming again at any moment. The person knocked again. Anthony found his voice first. "W-W-Who’s there? Debbie?" H-Hello?" Wilson slowly crept toward the door. Angela tried to grab his arm and pull him back, but he shook his head and moved closer to the door. Knock. Knock. Knock---Wilson reached the door and yanked it open. There was no one there. But there was a letter stuck to the door of the kitchen, held in place by a long pin.
His hand trembling, Wilson pulled out the pin and removed the letter. He walked back to where the others stood, reading it silently as he stepped. When he reached them he started reading the letter out loud. "My Dearest Guests. I Am So Sorry That I Cannot Greet You In Person. But I Must Wait Before Introducing Myself To You. In Time We Will Meet. But Those Crackers Are Not The Meal You Should Be Eating. Please, Feel Free To Use My Luxurious Dining Room. I Have Prepared A Feast For You. The Main Course Shall Remain A Surprise. Signed, Your Host" Wilson lowered the letter, a perplexed look upon his face. "Should we go?" He asked. Anthony shrugged. "Why not?" He took Jessica by the hand and led her out the kitchen door. The door swung open and close as they past through it. Angela and Wilson followed behind them. Angela opened the door and stumbled into Jessica. They were standing there staring at the wall.
"What are you doing?" Angela asked. Then she saw. A huge arrow was painted on the wall. In red paint. It was still wet and dripping down the wall. "Is-Is that paint?" Jessica whispered. Wilson touched it tentatively. His fingers came away stained red. He raised his hand to his nose. "It doesn’t smell like paint, and it’s warm." "It’s blood?!" Angela gasped. Wilson nodded. "I’m pretty sure." Anthony growled and still holding Jessica’s hand, strode angrily down the hall in the direction of the arrow. "What are you doing?" Angela cried. "Who does this guy think he is? Scaring us like this! I’m gonna find this guy, and if he doesn’t explain himself, I’m gonna beat the crap outta him!" Anthony shouted as he walked. Wilson and Angela hurried to keep up with him. They kept following the arrows.
There were about 5 or 6 more arrows, all red and dripping, before they came to the dining room. The room looked almost exactly like the parlor. It had the huge fireplace and mantelpiece. The same brass figures and chandelier. The large windows and maroon velvet drapes and the furniture in the same color. The only difference was that there were no stairs leading to the room, and in the middle of the room there was a big mahogany dining room table and chairs. Blood red satin tablecloths and napkins. Brass silverware and glasses. There was a big fire in the fireplace. The ember guard was across it, but Angela could feel its warmth. The wine glasses on the table were filled with a dark red wine. Anthony shrugged. "Let’s sit down." Jessica tightened her grip on his arm.
"Are you sure it’s safe?" She asked. "Looks safe enough." He replied. He led the way to the table and picked up a card. "Your Dinner Is Warming In The Fire Place. Enjoy." He read. "Let’s check it out." He walked over to the fire place and tried to pull the ember guard back, but it was too heavy. Wilson came over and began to tug too. Angela followed Wilson but stayed a little behind, observing the fireplace. That brass figure. It looked familiar. It looked like the one in the parlor, but it was familiar in another sense.
"Weird." She murmured. Finally Anthony and Wilson pulled the ember guard back completely. When Angela saw what was there she felt herself slip away. She couldn’t see straight. She couldn’t think. "Oh my god!!" Wilson cried. Rick. Rick was jammed through the spit and was rotating in the fire. His clothes on fire, his skin sizzling. As Jessica began to scream, Angela fainted.
***************************************************
Angela slowly regain consciousness. First all she could see was black. Then the world became very blurry and distorted. Finally she began to see shapes clearer and clearer. Finally she saw Wilson’s face. He was looking at her with concern. She looked around and realized she was lying in her bed, in her room. Wilson was sitting on the bed beside her. She sat up slowly. "W-Wilson? How’d I get here---?" Then she remembered what happened. The fire place. Her eyes widened and she started to scream wildly. "No!! No!!! Rick!!!!!!! Nooooo!!!" She started to cry as Wilson hugged her close to him.
"Shhh. Shhhhh….it’s ok Angela." He murmured. Through her tears, Angela looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "What’s going on here? Who would do such a thing?" She sobbed. Wilson shook his head. "I don’t know." Angela lowered her head and cried against his chest. Even though she was scared out of her mind, she felt safe in his strong arms. "Please don’t leave me alone. Don’t leave me." She whispered. "Okay. I won’t." They sat there on the bed for about 15 minutes. Angela felt herself drifting off to sleep. She had never been so in love with him than at this exact moment. She longed to run her fingers through his dark hair and kiss him, but she would never dare to. But she didn’t have to. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her softly. It hardly seemed real. After a moment he raised his head again. Angela heard herself say, "Am I asleep?" "Not yet. Why?" Wilson whispered back. "Because I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life." She murmured and fell asleep.
When Angela woke up later, she was still sitting up in Wilson’s arms. But her heart woke up before her brain did. "I had the nicest dream. I dreamt that Wilson finally kissed me and we fell in love and---" Then she opened her eyes and saw he was still there. She felt her entire face burst into flames. "Oh god." Angela grumbled. Wilson smiled. She covered her face with her hands in utter humiliation. "Angela…" Wilson said smiling. "What?"
"It wasn’t a dream." Angela uncovered her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, he kissed her. But this time she was fully awake and knew that he was kissing her. She started to return the kiss and run her fingers through his hair when suddenly she heard shrill screams coming from across the hall. Angela and Wilson leapt off the bed. Wilson grabbed Angela’s hand and they ran down the hall to Jessica’s and Anthony’s room. Wilson opened the door and they rushed inside.
"Jessica! Anthony!! What’s going---? What’s happen---?" Wilson and Angela started to shout, but then they saw who or what was there. A disgusting monster. Its face dripped green slime and blood was gushing from its mouth. Its eyes were red eyes that seemed to stare into Angela’s soul and rip it to pieces.
It was Debbie.
***************************************************
Debbie was standing in the middle of the room, slime and blood dripping from her face. She had ripped Jessica’s throat open and was eating her alive. Anthony lay on the floor, ripped to shreds. Dead. "Debbie---" Angela gasped.
Debbie turned to her and glare at her with those horrible red eyes. "I’m not Debbie." It growled. "But---" "Debbie died when the tarantula bit her." It rasped. "I was that tarantula." "What?" Wilson stuttered. It grinned and Angela could see its rotten, blood stained teeth. Suddenly the door slammed shut, locking them inside with this thing. Angela gasped. "I live here all alone. Years go by without eating. And I get veeeery hungry. Every once and a while some lucky people get to be my dinner!" It chuckled. "Thanks for volunteering."
"B-But why did you take Debbie’s body?" Angela whispered. "Why not? If you were a tarantula for hundreds of years, you would want to take someone else’s body too. It’s very annoying to be a tarantula. Hard to get around. But enough chitchat. I’m starving. " It snarled. It leapt at Angela and bit deep into her throat. Angela screamed. "Angela!! Angela!!! Angela!!" Wilson screamed. "Angela! Angela!! Angela!!" "I’m dead! I’m dead! Nooo!! Nooo!" Angela screamed. "Angela!!!" Slowly Angela opened her eyes. Wilson was looking down at her. Concerned, but then seeing she had woken up, relief spread across his face.
"What happened?" Angela whispered. "We crashed into a tree." Wilson said softly. "Rick is badly hurt. He’s unconscious. Debbie fainted and when we crashed, you hit your head and I guess you blacked out." Angela sighed. "It was a dream. A dream." She smiled. Wilson helped her up off the ground. "What was the dream?" Angela thought for a moment. "You know, I don’t remember." She said. Wilson shrugged and smiled. Angela’s head throbbed, but she was ok. Wilson and Angela walked over to where Anthony and Jessica were standing. "Rick is alive. Barely, but he is alive. But who knows how long he is going to be unconscious." Wilson informed them. They all looked at each other. Angela gazed around. There seemed to be nothing around them but desert and the long highway they had been driving along.
Angela wondered where the tree had come from in the first place. It was the first type of shrubbery they had seen in hours. What a horrible coincidence that they had to crash right into it. Wilson seemed to be staring at Angela and she suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. But he was staring past her. Angela turned around and saw the house. "Maybe someone there can help us." Wilson murmured. "Are you sure we should go in there?" Angela asked. "Well we can’t just stay here." Wilson answered. "You’re right." Angela murmured. "I’m sure someone in there can help us." Anthony added. Jessica shivered. "Do we have to?" She asked. "It looks scary." "Oh come on." Anthony said. Nothing bad will happen."
THE END