16. Strange Neighbors

It had been five years and still there were numerous warnings all over town about an unknown man who had fled police custody. He had been accused of committing a string of murders involving the rape and torture of a few women in nearby Valley Falls. Every girl had been warned of the dangers of being out alone at night and urged to stay in pairs and stay within brightly lit areas if they had to go out at night.

It was one day before Halloween and everyone was dressing up as their favorite horror movie monster or sexy pirate to hit the parties all over town. Tia usually worked late and could never find enough time to just be with friends but tonight was different. Tonight she promised she would meet up with a few friends in town for a conference at a bar before they made the flight back home.

Rushing home, she got dressed and headed out to meet her friends.  It was almost midnight when she finally called a cab to pick her up. More than a little drunk, she stumbled up the walkway towards her front door. Her neighbor Ted had been in his garage everyday that week getting the place ready for Halloween. Every year he hosted a small haunted house on his property that was always the talk of the neighborhood; at least the kids really seemed to enjoy it. Tia smiled at him as she headed inside and he waved at her, hatchet in hand as he moved back inside his garage.

Halloween came and Tia had the honor of being visited by ghosts and ghouls all shapes and sizes accompanied by their parents, some dressed equally as scary. And as the night winded down she’d given the last of her candy out and turned off her light. Peering outside her door, she saw her neighbor Ted preparing to shutdown his haunted house for the night and had an idea; she wanted to see what the draw was herself! “Is there time for one more customer?” she asked as he was shutting the garage door.

Ted turned with a smile and shrugged as he pulled opened the door and let her inside. “The monsters inside won’t touch you, don’t touch them. It’s a maze so use your hands to guide you through and you should come out on the other side on my back porch. Have fun!” He instructed as he closed the door down behind her. 

Tia started through the dark, creepy room, guided by half walls and plaster Ted had built to funnel the groups through. She shivered in fear at the sudden feeling she was not alone. She felt as though hostile eyes were watching her from every menacing shadow that painted the room and she quickened her pace. Eerie music was being played on speakers above her and coupled with the pitch black darkness of the garage her mind started playing tricks on her. Was someone breathing heavy on her neck or was that wind? Are there footsteps mimicking her movements or just the pounding of her heart in her ears?

Either way Tia didn’t hope to find out. She started to run, forgetting the tips Ted had told her about using her hands as guides. Her heart pounding fiercely, she was certain that someone was following her. Tia turned another corner triggering many dark objects to jump out at her adding to her terror as she reached the end of yet another aisle. Doing her best to peer through the murkiness, Tia came to a complete halt. Something was standing at the end of the next aisle and seemed to be moving towards her.  

She was right! Someone else was in here with her! The person moved closer and closer and Tia screamed afraid of what he would do once he reached her. The door had been closed behind her, the only way out was forward. She bit her lower lip as the person’s face became clearer within the room in front of her and laughed when she saw the string attached to the mannequin. Her heart was racing and she started to feel a bit foolish. She was scaring herself more than Ted’s corny Halloween decorations. With trembling hands, Tia pushed forward, fumbling with dark walls as she tripped on her own feet to make it out of the house. 

Finally she saw the light from Ted’s back porch and pushed through the curtain at the door. The moment she did the unmistakable metallic scent of blood flooded her nostrils as the door swung open. Her only warning before her eyes came upon the horrible scene outlined in Ted’s backyard. Numerous bodies of women lay scattered around; some decapitated, some burned and even a few swinging from trees above her. Blood was spattered all over the walls and grass of his home and Tia tried to process what she was looking at.  

She slipped on a pool of blood and fell beside the skinned upper half of another body. The woman was positioned beside a bag of mail and looked familiar. Then she realized it was their mail carrier who was reported missing just a month ago. Her throat was slit from end to end and blood pooled under her dead body.

“She was my finest masterpiece,” Ted’s voice boomed from behind Tia. “The way she screamed as I peeled her skin from her face; magnificent. But hearing the way you screamed inside that garage, I think you can do better!” It was then she realized who her neighbor really was. A black shadow fell across her face as Ted moved forward, knife in hand raised to come down on her. Tia screamed but the sound was drowned out by the overwhelming Halloween music playing over the speakers. Next year, she would be on display in his hall of horrors haunted house; his finest masterpiece.

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