30 Day Holiday Challenge Day 2- Halloween Haunt Event

 The full moon peeked over the top of the buildings as darkness cloaked the streets. Only the flickers of flames and flashlight lit the path. The roar of chainsaws drowned out the sound of screams as people fled away from their attackers. Men laughed as their friends scurried away from the fiends doused in blood and other unrecognizable fluids while women shrieked then laughed as their conversations were interrupted by a cloaked figure lunging at them from the shadows. 

It was utterly boring.

"If I may, what demon are you intending to mimic," Aeron questioned the actor who was snarling and lunging at him in a failed attempt to frighten him. "Based on the coloring, placement, and shape of your horns, I would say you are a nightmare demon even though you are quite small compared to their 8 foot frame. And while you have the temperament of a grief demon, you smell like a crypt demon.”

Although his face was securely hidden behind his mask, the actor’s frustration showed through his stiffened shoulders and rigid spine. With one last swipe of his hand, the demon cosplayer roared once at Aeron and limped away towards an unsuspecting group of pre-teens that had slipped away from their parents. Their ear-piercing screams set off a roar of laughter among the other patrons and seemed to help the actor soothe his bruised ego.”

“Hmm must be a lethargy demon.”

Fortunately, the other actors seemed to sense that Aeron would be a worthless target and left him to wait for Harper’s eventual return in peace. Hell could benefit from paying more attention to the human world; the women’s restroom is the ultimate test of patience and self-control. And the frequency in which humans need to relieve themselves is utterly ridiculous. The fact that women also have to deal with blood as well as the remements left behind after their body has leeched the nutrients out of their consumables…truly evil.

“Hmm maybe I could design a punishment room for the misogynistic men that is based on the ‘women’s restroom’. There would be blood of course. Oh, and perhaps an eternal line.But how to recreate the fear of…”

“Hey, I’m back!” Harper jogged over, dodging a hoard of giggling girls heading into the bathroom. The eternal line continues. “Did I miss anything exciting?”

“Just an actor who was doing a poor imitation of a lethargy demon.”

“Lethargy demon? Are you saying that the reason I’m so tired is because of a demon?”

“Unlikely. My presence alone would be enough to scare other demon’s away from you. Most likely you experience fatigue is that the human body is both strangely incredibly weak and also very resilient. You all can endure many dangers and trauma but a single change in routine can also cause your body an unproportionate amount of discomfort. It is fascinating to observe how your bodies work.”

“...I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.”

“Perhaps it is both.”

“Suuure. We’ll go with that.” Harper shakes her head and rolls her eyes before curling her arm around his. “So where should we hit up next? We’ve still got 5 more mazes to do and only another 2 hours before closing.”

The two began to wander down the pathway, heading aimlessly towards the next collection of attractions. Word of Aeron’s encounter with the imposter must have spread, for the rest of the imitators allowed them to cross the area without any interruptions. “I must confess that I do not believe we will be able to accomplish mastery of this event tonight.”

“No, unless everyone else suddenly leaves there is no way we can visit all 5 in that time frame.”

“Well, if you would permit me to…”

“No. Absolutely not. No cursing or brainwashing anyone tonight. Save it for those who deserve it. Like if we see some guys harassing women on our way out or something. But not as a way to skip ahead in line. Now if there are some drunks in line who…”

The demon struggles to keep the corners of his mouth from turning up as he listens to Harper ramble on about who would be acceptable to curse and in what situations. For centuries he has found humans to be beneath him and only served as a source of amusement: similar to a pet. Yet, this woman continued to surprise him and make him grateful that she was the one to release him from his prison. What other human would not only have the courage to stand up to a demon when its actions are in direct violation of her own beliefs but would also have the compassion to compromise instead of insisting that a 1000 year old creature change its ways. Truly remarkable.

“So it’s up to you since this is your first time,” Harper continued as Aeron rejoined their original conversation. “But I was thinking we could get in line for the ‘Wrath of the Surgeon’s Ward’. Apparently the plot line is about this surgeon whose family member dies because of the long transplant list or something like that. And so he kidnaps the people who enter his hospital and performs transplants where he replaces their healthy organs with those of a zombie thus creating more zombies.” She shuddered but, in contrast, had a large grin on her face. “It is supposed to be really gruesome but also really detailed and realistic. So it should be a must-see for us, if you want to go try it.”

“I do love the gruesome. Lead the way my dear.” The two walked quietly for a moment, watching as the actors searched for their next prey. “I am not sure if I ever told you this, but before I was so rudely sealed away, I retained a pet zombie.”

Harper must have found the news shocking for her foot hit a crack in the sidewalk and sent the woman stumbling forward. “I’m okay,” she exclaimed as Aeron’s hand curled around her elbow and helped her get back in order. “Really, I’m fine. I just…really? You ‘retained’ a zombie? Like you owned it?”

“Yes, he was my pet.”

Aeron glanced around until he noticed a little alley-like area that was free of company. With the hand that was still wrapped around her elbow, the demon gently pulled his human companion out of the way to give her time to process. Her mouth flapped open and shut several times as she tried to formulate an appropriate response. After a minute of thinking and rethinking she finally says “I know this is going to be a dumb question but what do you even feed a pet zombie?”

This time the smile won the contest of wills as Aeron glanced over at his girlfriend. “Well, as the name implies, brains are typically a favorite of zombies but any form of meat and muscle tissue will do.”

“Urg.” Harper threw her head back and groaned. “See, I told you it was a dumb question.” There was a little pause in their conversation as they maneuvered around a chainsaw-toting clown chasing a group of men who had dashed off and abandoned the women in their party the moment they laid eyes on the jesters. The clowns took special delight in chasing one of the men who was so concerned with his own survival that he would grab the shoulders of those passing by and throw them at his attacker. 

“So,” Harper continued after they had wandered past the spectacle and made it to the queue for the maze. “Do you know what happened to your zombie while you were locked away?”

“Sadly, no. But it is unlikely that they allowed him to live… well, not live but remain reanimated. Zombies are notoriously troublesome as pets. Loyal and intimidating if trained correctly but wild and destructive if in the hands of the weak.”

“Wow. Actually more like a cat than I would have thought.”

“Indeed.” Aeron glanced up at the line then reached down and grabbed Harper’s hand. “It looks like we are next to enter this ‘Hospital of Horrors’. Let us see how their interpretation of zombies compares to their failed attempts at making realistic demons.”

Their zombies were even less believable than the demons. Too much blood and not enough decomposition. Really, without a proper owner, these creatures should have had limbs falling off and large pieces of their flesh missing. They were too intact for the type of owner this mad surgeon was being portrayed as. Once again Aeron was disappointed that the attraction was so different from what he had known before. 

Hmm, maybe this is what Harper describes as homesick. Fascinating.

As they excited the attraction, a deep, unsettling moan caught Aeron’s attention. With a slight tug on Harper’s hand, the demon led the two of them back behind the maze to some kind of staging area. And in the center of the space was a large cage with a genuine zombie inside.

“Oh you poor soul.”

The zombie was younger, maybe in its twenties, and in fairly rough shape. Tufts of hair were missing and the torso had many abrasions, some deep and missing chunks of flesh. But with some carefully crafted spellwork and balanced diet, the zombie could be nursed to health.

Aeron took one look at the glassy, despondent look in its eyes and turned to Harper. “My love, look at this poor zombie. We cannot let him stay here. He is so depressed and ill. Could we please take him with us.”

“Wait, this is a real zombie? Wait… take him with us? We can’t take a zombie with us! Like, first of all, this is a guy! Like a human. Can’t own humans. Not only is it morally wrong but also illegal.”

“Ah, but it is not human anymore. Its soul has long passed on. It is purely a pile of meat being controlled by electrical impulses and parasites.”

Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say as Harper’s jaw dropped open. “Parasites?? Oh my god, I am going to end up with the next ebola. Oh my god!” Her face paled as swung around to face Aeron. “What would happen to my cat? Like is it going to eat him? Oh my god, what would happen if Sherlock ate the zombie? Would he get parasites? Oh my god, my cat is going to die.”

Aeron was both confused and a bit scared; he had never seen Harper spiral in such a way. The demon in him loved to see the chaos that such a simple action has caused but the ‘boyfriend’ side of him was quite frightened to see such a level-headed woman descend into madness so quickly.

“Harper,” he said gently as he placed his hands on her shoulder to ground her. “Nothing will happen to Sherlock. I will cast spells on the zombie to prevent it from attacking you, your guests, your neighbors, and your cat. I will handle its feeding and grooming. You have nothing to worry about. All I want to do is give this unfortunate soul some dignity and affection in its afterlife.”

“If Sherlock doesn’t like him after a month, he’s gone.”

“Agreed.”

“Even if his soul has passed on, he will be treated like a human and not a pet.”

“Of course.”

“And if anything happens to my cat, you and him will face my wrath. I love that cat more than anything, even you, and nothing will save you if he is harmed in any way.”

“I understand.”

“...Okay. But you are in charge of figuring out how we are going to get him back out to my car without anyone noticing.” 

The smile once again returned as Aeron gazed at the woman by his side. How did he manage to find such a fascinating, compassionate, yet terrifying human? And what did he do to deserve to keep her at his side?

Mysteries for another day.