I wanted to leave as soon as we entered the parking lot. We drove under a giant awning that read "VALCREST HILLS HORRORFEST" and I felt chills surge through my body as fluently as the blood in my veins, my skin began to crawl and my mind went crazy with all the insane directions this night could go.

"Don't be scared babe," Reassured Lenny. He ran his right hand along my left thigh and gave it a light squeeze.

I chuckled under my breath and looked out the window with embarrassment, passively watching as a group of High Schoolers moved to the side to avoid Lenny's car. "That obvious?"

Lenny nodded and shrugged. "That obvious. You've been a mute ever since we got on the freeway."

"I just don't get the appeal of these. Horror movies I can kind of understand but why would you voluntarily put yourself into a situation like this?" To be fair I didn't get the appeal of horror movies either, but Lenny had been dying to come here, so I figured I had to show some support.

"Well I mean they can't touch you or anything, they're harmless. It's in their Employee Handbook...I think."

"Yeah, but they can still pop out of a trash can and scare the shit out of me," I muttered as Lenny parked the car.

"I mean if you don't want to do this we can go home. I know you've been hesitant the entire time."

I shook my head. "No. No, it's just me being stupid. Me...you know overthinking things."

"There you go. It'll be fun. I promise," He paused. "And if anyone messes with you I'll provide dinner for them. A Knucklesandwich with a side of Punch." He lifted his right fist for Knucklesandwich and his left for Punch.

"You're an idiot," I said through a smirk.

"No? Not a fan of them? Not going to call them out if someone tries to attack you."

"I hate you," I said through a laugh as we exited his car.

A thick sheet of orange fog spilled out of the Valcrest Hills Town Square and into the parking lot. I could see red and orange lights as they laser beamed into the air in schizophrenia. From inside I could hear the screams of girls and guys followed by uproarious laughter. Bland and generic horror music filled the sky and set the mood for a night I wanted nothing to do with. Lenny grabbed my hand and we walked through the parking lot, towards the entrance. To my personal hell for the next couple of hours.

I could see three well-built men in blood-covered butcher outfits standing just before the entrance, revving their chainless chainsaws. Groups of teenagers did their best to fan out away from them, dreading their inevitable attack.

"Oh my God. That's amazing!" Lenny hissed. "Holy shit they look just like Leatherface!"

I tightened my hand around his and dug my face into his shoulder. I felt so stupid, but I was literally screaming on the inside and we hadn't even paid the admission to get in.

"They're harmless Elena. Look their chainsaws don't even have chains or anything." Lenny said through a laugh.

"I know." I groaned. My words were muffled by his shoulder.

"Here, we'll take it slow and let them scare someone ahead of us alright?"

I nodded my head, my left eye covered by his shoulder, and just as I was about to verbally respond one of the guys screamed and lunged forward at a group of girls. The girls screamed and howled, running in different directions like ants to bug spray.

"Ah! Perfect! Let's pay for admission!!" Lenny said. He darted forward with me tagging along behind him. We made our way through the bargain bin Leatherface's and got in line.

Standing in line I had a clear view of The Valcrest Hills Horrorfest. There were four or five large tents throughout, each with various mazes. To my left, a group of guys cautiously made their way around someone who was inspired by Michael Myers. As a little girl dressed in white with black hair draped over her face threw her hands out to scare a couple off to the right. The screams and laughs of patrons were so loud that I could barely hear the music over the speakers.

Lenny paid and squeezed my hand to snap me out of my daze. "You ready?"

I gave a reluctant nod and we entered. My hand was so tightly wrapped around his that I had to give him credit for not resisting or pulling away. Maybe I would take him up on his Knucklesandwich with a side of Punch counter defense offer. We made our way through the fog, Lenny looking around like a kid in a candy store with my face so firmly placed into his shoulder that I was sure it would leave an imprint of some sort. And then, from the corner of my eye...I saw him.

A man lurched out of the fog, crawling on all fours, moving across the pavement like a human spider. He moved like one of those body contortionists you see on America's Got Talent. His arms bent in an uncomforting way, his legs moving before his arms in an inhumane fashion. He crawled towards us at an alarming rate and I couldn't even find the time to scream. It got stuck in my throat and came out as a choked gasp. The man brushed past my legs and looked up at us. His face was deathly pale, his eyes were covered by black and glossy contacts, and fake blood stained his cheeks and mouth. He let out a screech and more blood oozed out of his mouth, dripping onto the pavement by our shoes. He shot out a disfigured hand and let out an ear-piercing scream, before scurrying off.

I couldn't scream, I couldn't move, I felt like pissing myself. I could feel my body trembling and I hoped to God that Lenny didn't see how scared I was. I wanted to leave this place, I wanted to be as far away from here as possible, that guy scared the living shit out of me.

"Holy shit! That was fucking incredible! How did the city get the budget for this?? This is absolutely bonkers. That was like movie quality right there!" Lenny exclaimed.

"Oh my god, that was disgusting," I muttered.

Lenny laughed and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "Harmless Elena. They're harmless. Let's go get a drink yeah?"

I gave him a nod and a smile. I was a lightweight, maybe the right amount of drinks would make me cut loose and blackout. Wake up in my room tomorrow with no recollection of this stupid and horrible evening. We made our way to the drinks line and I could see the man crawling back toward us. I could feel his eyes on not just us...but me specifically.

"Oh my god. He's coming back," I groaned.

The man crawled forward and stopped a few feet away from us. Crouched on the ground like a rabid Spider-Man. More fake blood dripped from his mouth, as his torso began to contort back and forth as though he were about to throw up. He began to snap his jaws at us. Lenny pulled out his phone and snapped a picture, which caused him to go "feral" and dart towards us.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" I screamed as he darted at us. He hissed and growled, swiping both of his double-jointed hands in our direction.

Lenny howled with laughter and stood in front of me, snapping more pictures as he scurried off to our right.

"Oh my god. Seriously. Fuck that guy." I said with a tremble in my voice.

"Is he really bothering you that much?" Lenny asked. I could see the sympathy in his eyes, the worry on his face.

I forced a laugh and shook my head. The guy was bothering me, and I didn't know why. Everyone else in line seemed to be having a blast and I was on the verge of just running out of the park and back to the car.

"I'm just...a big scaredy cat," I confessed.

Lenny's facial expression didn't change as we made our way to the window to order drinks. "Alright...I mean let me know if you want to go. I'm not mad at the idea."

Lenny paid for a round of beers, I made sure to get the strongest one and we moved out of the line. I took a drink and let the alcohol do its work in regards to calming me down. I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but I was willing to try.

"There he is again," Lenny said.

I took his word for it. I decided not to turn around and look, I figured if I played into his antics he'd keep on harassing us. So I ignored him like he was some creepy and ugly child. I could hear a group of girls scream from behind me as they took pictures of him.

"I can tell you're not having..." Lenny started.

And then I heard him scurry up behind me, I could feel his body just inches behind mine. I watched in slow motion as he stood up, as his shadow grew large off of Lenny. I could feel his warm breath on my right ear, I could smell the sweat off his body. He let out a screeching growl that caused every hair on my body to stand. I felt my insides jump and lift my shoes off the pavement. The beer ejected from my cup in slow motion, washing past my face in an arch before splashing to the pavement. I screamed so loud that my chest burned with the fires of fear.

"Hey! That's enough man knock it off!!" Lenny shouted. He moved around me and stood in front of the man, pushing his chest out, his free hand tightening into a mighty fist, his veins pulsating throughout his forearm. He had a look of pure rage on his face.

The man stumbled backward, almost tripping over his feet, both hands shooting up in defense. A startled low-pitched wheeze escaped his lips as he fought to re-establish his footing. I noticed a tremble in his hands, and a quiver in his lips as he firmly planted his feet. A look of worry and sorrow on his face, as more fake blood, ran down his chin.

"Whoa, hey dude, no need to yell. I meant no harm. Just doing my job here man."