Scared to Death

  “Because he’s a softie for Bella. Were you even there during lunch?” Emily said. She squinted her eyes at Karissa. “They kept making googly eyes at each other and smiling like idiots. Sey’s got the hots for the new girl, and I don’t want him to ruin it for us. If we tell him our plan, he might tip her off.”

  Karissa swallowed down the jealousy that was creeping up her throat. She hadn’t noticed Sey looking at the new girl. Seething, she realized that now she definitely wanted the girls scared. And she didn’t care if Arabella got scared to death.

  Chapter Five

  “Hey, Sey,” Bella greeted as she slipped into Sey’s beat-up Mustang. She quickly felt stupid about the rhyme, but Sey didn’t seem to notice. He just gave her one of his gorgeous smiles—the ones that made the dimple on his right cheek appear—and pulled away from the curb.

  “Hey yourself,” he replied. “This should be fun, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah,” Bella replied with a sigh. She wasn’t so sure. The only reason she had agreed to come on this outing was to be near Sey, who had volunteered to pick her up. She hated cemeteries, and she was still unsure about her new friends.

  Bella sunk deeper into the leather seat of the Mustang, enjoying the warmth coming from the vents, and noticing just how clean the car was. “Smells nice in here,” Bella said, quickly feeling stupid yet again. What is this, a commercial??

  “Oh, that’s not the car, that’s just me,” Sey said and shot her a flirty smile. She was glad he didn’t think she was a complete moron for having said that. When his eyes were back on the road, Bella took advantage and shamelessly stared at his profile.

  She felt like she could stare at him forever. His sharp jawline, his soft lips, his thick hair… And he was a perfect gentleman, too. How was it that this nice guy ended up friends with a group of bullies?

  Well, bullies maybe wasn’t the right word, but they definitely spent a lot of time putting each other down and trying to scare each other. Bella felt like she could never relax around them. If it wasn’t insults being hurled her way, it was some type of gag spider or fake vomit. Bella had nearly fainted when Mike pretended to poke his eye with a fork the morning before. What he had really done was stab a creamer cup, the white puss-like liquid draining from his face. Bella hadn’t known at the time, and was quick to scream. They were quick to laugh.

  “They’re not so bad, you know,” Sey said, and it brought Bella back to the present moment. “My friends, they’re not so bad,” Sey repeated when he saw Bella’s look of confusion.

  It was like he had read her mind. “Oh, I didn’t… I mean…” Bella began to say, but then stopped. She did think they were pretty bad, and she wasn’t about to lie to Sey.

  Sey chuckled, one hand on the steering wheel, the other leaning against the window. “Seriously, they’re not so bad. They just have this weird thing going on for October. They’re trying to scare each other and post it online. It’s silly, really. But they mean no harm.”

  Bella nodded. “Is that why we’re going to the cemetery? To scare each other?”

  Sey switched hands on his steering wheel. “They want to try a séance. Don’t worry, probably nothing will happen. Those things are fake, anyway.”

  When Bella didn’t reply, he added, “What’s wrong? Are you scared?”

  Bella laughed nervously. “Of the séance? No. Of your friends? Well, maybe a little bit.”

  Sey reached out his hand and grabbed Bella’s, making her heart leap in her chest. His hand was big and warm. He held her with strength and gentleness, all at once. For a moment, his hand was all Bella could feel.

  “Don’t worry,” Sey said, glancing over at her, then back at the road. He gave her hand a tender squeeze. “I got you.”

  Chapter Six

  “This is going to be crazy, guys,” Emily said in excitement as she spread out a picnic blanket with Keith. “I kind of feel bad for her, though.”

  “Well don’t,” Karissa cut in acidly. Emily shot her a questioning look. “I mean, you yourself said cruelty is our game. That’s all it is, a game. She’ll get over it.” Karissa tried to sound casual, but it was too late. Emily was giving her a very pointed look with a smirk.

  “So… suddenly you don’t feel bad about scaring her?” Emily asked. “Just like that?”

  Karissa looked away.

  “Oh, I know…” Emily stood and placed one hand on her narrow waist, the other held her index finger to her chin. “Could it have anything to do with the fact that Sey was all too eager to give her a ride today?”

  Keith looked up at the two girls, sensing the tension descending upon them.

  “Shut up, Emily,” Karissa spat.

  Emily laughed loudly. “You do like Sey! Are you freaking serious? There’s no way.”

  “You have a crush on Sey?” Keith asked innocently. Karissa glared at him and willed herself to breathe steadily, although she could already feel her face and ears turning red.

  “You should totally forget it, Karissa,” Emily said with a dismissive wave. “You guys have been friends for too long. He doesn’t look at you that way anymore. That window of opportunity is closed.” Emily slapped her hands together to emphasize her point. “You’re like a little sister to him now. You’re Baby Sis Kariss.”

  Karissa wished she could advance on Emily and rip her pouty smile right off her face. Her words stung Karissa, but Emily wasn’t completely wrong. The opportunity to get Sey to notice her seemed to be closing fast.

  There was no way Karissa was going to let that window close. No way would she allow herself to be friendzoned by the guy she had been swooning over since the sixth grade. And that’s why tonight had to go perfectly.

  Once she scared jumpy, twitchy Arabella away from the group, nothing stood in her way.

  When Karissa didn’t say anything else, Emily and Keith went back to laying out the blanket, and bright white lights flashed over their bodies as a car pulled up to the cemetery. “They’re here,” Keith announced.

  Karissa tried to relax her body posture as they all approached the vehicle. What she really wanted to do was pull Arabella out of the car through the window by her hair. She could see her face through the windshield, sitting all cozy in the passenger seat of Sey’s car. It should have been her, not Arabella, inside his Mustang.

  “Are you ready to get scared??” Emily walked over to Sey as he exited the car. She held her hands up, making claws and growly noises. He just laughed and shook his head.

  “Don’t get too excited, Emily” Sey said as he bumped fists with Keith in greeting. “These things never really work.”

  “Hi, Bella,” Karissa said as Bella stepped out of the car. She didn’t know why she felt the need to greet her, when deep inside she just wanted her gone. “I’m surprised your mom let you come.”

  Bella closed the door and shoved her hands in her pockets. “Why?”

  The group walked together amongst the gravestones, heading towards the picnic blanket. “Because, aren’t you like fourteen? Is it past your curfew?”

  “Um… I’m sixteen…” Bella replied in her usual shy tone.

  Ugh. Why couldn’t the girl ever speak up? “Oh, I thought you were fourteen!” Karissa said with a forced friendly laugh. As she walked past Bella, she added, “I mean, you’re just so flat-chested, it’s hard to tell.”

  Karissa felt good dropping that bomb on Bella, especially since no one else had heard. The girl simply looked at her in disbelief, opening and closing her mouth like she was trying to formulate words. Nothing came out, and Karissa gave her a beaming smile.

  The group busied themselves grabbing items from a plastic bag that Emily had provided. They set out stones in a circle, and placed candles around the blanket.

  “Is Mike coming?” Sey asked as he lit one of the candles with a cigarette lighter.

  “He’s supposed to be here soon,” Emily replied.

&nbs
p; Karissa grabbed a candle and sidled up next to Sey. She looked up into his gorgeous green eyes. “He text me about an hour ago, so I don’t know where he could be.”

  Sey’s face was illuminated by the flickering light of the orange candle. But instead of looking at her, he looked at Bella and said, “I wonder if he’s okay.”

  Karissa couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted Bella gone, and she wanted her gone now. She stood up and grabbed her phone from her pocket to send the text message that would get the whole thing started.

  Chapter Seven

  Emily was having waaaaay too much fun already. Karissa thought she was so slick, when in fact she was entirely transparent. Emily had even heard Karissa’s remark about Bella’s non-existent boobs. The girl had practically sneered right into Bella’s ear. Poor girl.

  Emily tried to hold back a smile. There was Karissa, getting up in a huff and poking at her phone, no doubt setting the plan in motion early.

  No wonder Sey didn’t like her. She was wound up tight. Lucky for Emily, she had a front row seat for when that tightness would spring free.

  Moments after Karissa pocketed her phone, a man’s scream was heard in the woods. The baritone voice was Mike’s, and it was time to move.

  “Oh my god, did you guys hear that?” Emily said, trying to sound worried. She was giddy and failing miserably, but that didn’t seem to matter. The looks of concern in Bella’s and Sey’s eyes were real.

  “What… what was that?” the new girl stuttered.

  “Yo, I think it came from over there,” Keith said as rehearsed, pointing in the direction of the dark woods. “I think that sounded like Mike.”

  At the mention of Mike’s name, Sey stood up. “You stay here,” he said to the girls. “Keith, do you want to come check with me?”

  “We’ll all go,” Karissa said bravely. “We’ll be safer as a group.”

  Sey nodded and led the way into the woods where the sound had come from. Keith scrambled past him to lead them to the trap, “It definitely came from this way.”

  As they followed, Emily stole glances at the new girl. She stayed right behind Sey, and there was no doubt that the girl had a crush on him. The way Sey held his hand back, as if to shield Bella, told her that he liked her too. Emily wondered if anything had happened in the car on the way to the cemetery…

  Karissa was fuming, and Emily didn’t know what the big deal was. Bella was about to be scared to death and right out of the group. There was no way such a sweet and innocent girl would stick around after what they had planned. Karissa would have plenty of time to pounce on Sey then.

  “Oh my god!” Bella’s cry echoed in the woods. She covered her mouth with both hands.

  Emily followed Bella’s eyes and cringed. They had been too good.

  Slumped at the base of a thick tree was Mike’s body. He sat with his arms hanging limply to the sides, his chin pressed down onto his collarbone. Fake guts, gore, and blood burst forth from his abdomen.

  But, wait a minute… that wasn’t exactly the plan. Mike was supposed to be fake-hanged from a tree. They had spent all night looking up how to do it. Bella would be shocked, then Mike would spring to life as Keith recorded the whole thing. That had been the plan Emily explained to them in gym class.

  Emily shot Karissa a questioning look, but the girl’s eyes were glued to Mike’s gutted body, hungry and excited. Emily quickly glanced back at Mike, who was still as a rock.

  “Keith…?” She whispered from the side of her mouth. “What’s going on—?”

  The sound of motors revving cut her words short. Everyone jumped, then froze when the noise suddenly stopped. The silence and fear became heavy.

  “What was that?”

  Three men crashed through the bushes, holding up and revving enormous chainsaws. They wore black ski masks and leather jackets, barely visible against the dark night. Emily had barely any time to ascertain this before the three men started to advance on them.

  “Run!” Sey screamed as he grabbed Bella by the arm and took off. Emily followed next, panic rising up in her chest.

  My boyfriend Mike is really okay. This is just a prank… This is just a prank… She thought, but it was hard to think with the loud noise the machines were making, and with her heart pounding so loudly. She ran as fast as she could, which wasn’t very with her stupid choice in shoes—platform heels.

  What is going on? What went wrong?? Am I going to die???

  Maniacal laughter broke through her frightened thoughts and she slowed down her run. Not that she had gotten very far. Emily froze as the men with chainsaws ran right past her, chasing Bella and Sey down the path that led to the cabin. Keith tried to keep up with his camera.

  “What the…?”

  Emily looked back to see Karissa bent over in laughter. Mike was standing up and brushing off dirt and sticks from his bloodied jeans.

  “Karissa? What the hell is going on?!” Emily approached Karissa and gave her a hard shove. “What the hell was that? That wasn’t the plan!”

  “Oh, shut up,” Karissa said, shoving Emily back. “Your plan was too tame, so I had to change it. And it’s not over yet, so let’s go.”

  “Babe, it’s just a joke,” Mike said, but Emily gave him a hard stare. He should have told her. No, he shouldn’t have let Karissa change the plan at all! Karissa took off towards the path, and Emily followed with Mike.

  Emily could hear the chainsaws up ahead. “Karissa, who are those guys?”

  But Karissa didn’t answer. She just kept moving forward, a wide and sinister smile plastered onto her face.

  Chapter Eight

  Karissa’s heart pumped with adrenaline and excitement as she entered the cabin. A musty smell filled her nostrils, and if it weren’t for the joy she felt at the moment, the cabin would have totally creeped her out.

  The cabin was a monochrome of brown colors. Abandoned and old, the tattered curtains on the windows allowed just enough moonlight in to make it eerie. The moon’s glow cast sinister shadows that played tricks on the eyes. Antiques and old paintings decorated the space, giving her the feeling of having stepped into another time.

  “Call them off!” Emily was yelling at her over the sounds of chainsaws.

  Karissa snapped out of her thoughts to glare at Emily. “No,” she stated flatly. “I won’t. And you,” she looked over at Mike. “Who else is recording?”

  “Uh…” Mike seemed flustered, which looked odd with all the blood and gore on him. “Maybe we should call it off. I think I just heard Bella scream. She sounds pretty freaked.”

  “Who. Else. Is. Recording?” Karissa repeated over the loud chainsaws, not because she hadn’t heard Mike, but because she didn’t care.

  “Um, Keith set up some cameras upstairs, then I was supposed to record the rest.”

  “How long have you been in on this??” Emily demanded.

  “She said we were all in on this!” Mike said, raising his hands in defense, pointing at Karissa. “I thought we had changed the plans.”

  “We are all in this now, so get to recording,” Karissa hissed at Mike, which made him scramble and leave the dim room. Karissa started making her way deeper into the large cabin, towards the direction of the chainsaws and screams.

  But not before Emily grabbed her elbow and yanked her back. “Hey! What is wrong with you? The pranks and the website are a team effort. We’re a democracy. You don’t get to decide everything! My plan was fine! This is too much!!”

  Karissa ripped her arm out of Emily’s grip. “Don’t touch me. This is what’s going to get the website noticed. This is what’s going to go viral. Not your boyfriend’s stupid gags, not sneaking around my back yard, and certainly not your dumb ideas.”

  Emily’s mouth opened in disbelief. She had to shout to be heard over the commotion. “I thought we were all having fun! It’s just for fun!! And real chainsaws, Karissa? Who are those guys? What if the
y actually hurt someone??”

  “I don’t care.”

  Emily was stunned, her pretty eyes searching Karissa’s face. Her face had not changed, but somehow Emily felt like she was suddenly looking at a different person. “You don’t—”

  The chainsaws stopped all at once, and there was a brief moment of silence before the girls heard glass shattering. Confused, they ran upstairs, where they could now hear items breaking and guys hollering.

  When they reached the top hallway, they were nearly ran over by the three men who had been wielding the chainsaws just moments before. They ran out of the master bedroom, yelling “What the hell was that??” and “Let’s get out of here!!”

  “What did that weirdo do?” Karissa asked and rushed towards the master bedroom, Emily in tow. Right inside the door was Keith, frozen in place, his knees shaking like they were about to buckle. Karissa fumed when she saw he was pointing the camera to the ground. “Film her you idiot!”

  Glass shattering right behind Keith made him snap out of his frozen state and run out of the room. “The camera!” Karissa called after him. Stupid Keith had ran out with the camera that was supposed to record the whole thing. And where in the world was Mike??

  “Um… Karissa…”

  Karissa turned to look at Emily, who had her eyes glued on something towards the bed. Karissa followed her eyes and squinted. Was she really seeing…?

  Bella stood on the bed, bathed in the moonlight that flowed from an enormous glass window to the left, and skylight right above her. She looked like she was hovering inches above the mattress. Her arms were extended to her sides, palms up, and as she raised them slowly, the knick knacks, lamps, and items in the room raised slowly as well.

  Once Bella’s arms reached high above her head, she moved them forward in one quick motion, pointing at the two girls. The items that had been floating moments before started hurling towards Emily and Karissa.

  Emily shrieked and dove to the ground, a shower of broken porcelain raining down all around her. Karissa moved quickly to the side, trying to see and understand what was happening in the barely visible light. A brass candlestick slammed into her shoulder, making her cry out and stagger back.