After wishing the twins happy birthday, we entered the house. The room was packed with people in their colorful costumes.
"Now, why didn't I think of painting my face?" I whispered to Juliana.
"I was thinking the same thing," said Juliana.
Various types of food on silver platters was spread on the long buffet table in the corner of the room. My eyes went directly to the five tier tower cake in the middle of the table. I couldn't wait to grab a piece. After a long, torturous minute, we gathered by the table and sang Happy Birthday. The twins had the first bite. Everyone headed to the real food area. Juliana and I made a beeline for the cake. My mouth watered at the sight of the thick buttercream icing. Juliana plopped a slice on my plate and I dug my fork into it.
"This is so delicious," I said.
"Can't wait, can you?" teased Juliana.
"I've been wanting to eat birthday cake for days." I took another bite and some of the icing dripped from my lip.
Juliana laughed.
I licked my lip and smiled. "I better sit down before I make a mess."
"Take my cake," said Juliana. "I'll get us some real food."
I took her paper plate and found a seat outside under a blue umbrella. Someone must have just set the tables and chairs out here. They weren't there when I wandered around earlier. Juliana came out with a big glass plate filled with pasta, chicken, potato salad, and two big steaks.
"Do you plan to eat all that?" I asked.
"You and I can finish this for sure," she said, as she handed me an empty plate. "Take whatever you want."
"You must be hungry." I took one of the steaks and some pasta.
Juliana finished the food on her plate and pushed her cake toward me. "I can't take another bite."
I laughed. "I won't be able to move after eating all that."
"Like you said, I was hungry," said Juliana. "I hate this time of the month."
I sighed. "Let's not talk about that. I don't like it either." I pulled the cake closer to me. "Are you sure you don't want it?"
Juliana nodded.
I finished it in three bites. "Okay," I said. "Now, I'm done eating."
Michael appeared from out of nowhere in his Top Gun outfit and kissed Juliana on the forehead. He pointed at the empty plates and frowned. "You ladies didn't wait for me?"
"Sorry, babe," said Juliana. "We were starving."
I rubbed my not so flat belly. "Not anymore."
Juliana stared at Michael. "Now, you look yummy."
Michael laughed. "I'm all yours."
"Behave," I said.
"Yes, Ma'am," said Michael. "I'll be right back."
Juliana grinned. Michael came back with a plate full of food and finished everything in less than five minutes. Watching him eat wore me out.
"How did you eat that fast?" I asked.
"I don't understand it either," said Juliana. "I need to enjoy every bite."
"Hmm…" Michael stared at her.
"Okay, people." I said. "Let's keep it PG13."
Michael smiled. "Let's go inside. My sisters are itching to play the game."
"I thought they'd been playing games all day," I said.
"Yeah," said Juliana. "I saw they played foosball, pool, horseshoes, and water gun."
"They said they have the biggest game this evening," said Michael. "Game Finale."
Juliana and I glanced at each other.
"What game is it?" I asked.
"They won't tell me," said Michael. "Michelle said it will be lots of fun."
"Oh goody," said Juliana. "We better not be late."
We entered the side door and everyone already gathered by the big stage. Oh yeah, a few people sang karaoke on the stage earlier. Some were very good. Some, I wouldn't dare judge. It could be the alcohol singing.
Holding a microphone, Michelle giggled on the stage. She must have said something funny and we missed it. The audience laughed. An older guy dressed in black long sleeve shirt and black pants stood between her and Marilyn. When she stopped giggling, Michelle went on.
"A big thank you to Jon Gritt for letting us host our 21st birthday at this beautiful ranch house," said Michelle.
"Also thank you, Jon, for planning our game finale this evening." Marilyn winked. "It'll be so much fun." While clapping her hands, she jumped up and down.
My mind wandered far and wide as to what these two had up their sleeves. From the way they grinned at each other, it didn't look good.
"Are you excited about the game?" asked Michelle.
Most of the crowd yelled yes.
"Tell us already," cried Michael.
Marilyn wrinkled her nose. The butterfly's body on the tip of her nose moved up and down. "All right, we shall reveal our game for this evening."
"You'll be driven to the other side of the woods." Michelle pointed to the backyard. "The goal is to return to this house in one piece."
"Did she say in one piece?" I whispered.
"Okay, I don't like this game already," Juliana whispered back.
"What's hiding in the woods?" the woman in a pirate outfit asked.
"You'll find out soon," said Marilyn.
"Is it scary?" asked another girl in the crowd. "I don't like to be scared."
"Don't be scared," said Jon, the owner of the house. He turned to the girl. A black cape hung from his shoulder.
"Is he a Vampire or something?" I asked.
"That or Dracula," said Michael.
I sighed.
"Okay, to tell you the truth, there'll be some bad, scary folks out there," said Jon.
A handful of the crowd groaned. Juliana and I included.
He held out his hands. "But there'll also be handsome men and gorgeous ladies to show the way."
"Sexy ladies?" asked a guy in clown outfit.
"Of course," said Jon.
The men moaned in delight, including Michael. Juliana elbowed him in his stomach. He chuckled and kissed Juliana's head.
"There'll be some obstacles along the way," said Jon. "Just watch your steps."
"Oh no!" cried a few people.
"But you'll be well rewarded," said Jon.
"That, you will," said Michelle.
"You won't go in alone either," said Marilyn. "You'll be in groups."
"And you have to collect five bottles of… drinks along the way." Michelle held up her five fingers.
"Beer?" someone asked.
"You name it, we have it," said Jon.
"How many bottles do you have out there?" someone asked.
"A lot!" said Jon. "I almost emptied my cellar."
Someone groaned from across the room, but I couldn't see who it was.
"So, once you have your five bottles, you can come back," said Michelle.
"The best part is whatever bottles you found are yours to keep," said Jon.
The crowd cheered.
Michelle giggled. "Just be watchful of the Zombies."
Some gasps filled the room. Juliana and I stared at each other with our eyes as big as silver dollars.
"Oops," said Michelle. "Sorry."
Marilyn laughed. "It's okay. They'll find out soon enough."
"They are about sixty of us in this room," said Michelle. "We can split up into ten groups of six."
"Are you joining us?" one of the girls up front asked.
"Of course," said Marilyn. "We won't miss it for the world."
"Do you know where the bottles are?" asked a guy in a pink shirt. "I want to be in your team."
"No," Michelle made a face. "Jon hid them and he won't tell us."
"I have to be fair," said Jon. "Since you'll be splitting into a group of six, the winning team gets to pick the sixth bottle from my cellar. So each one of you will have a bottle to enjoy."
The cheering grew louder.
"You're mighty generous, Jon." Marilyn smiled. "Okay, do you want us to pick the group for you or you pick your own?"
"I'll pick my own," said Michael.
&nb
sp; "Very well, then," said Michelle. "Take a bag as you leave this room." She pointed to a table by the side door full of colorful cloth drawstring bags.
"What are they for?" asked Michael.
"For the bottles, of course," said Marilyn.
I picked a white one. Juliana chose the purple bag and Michael grabbed the black one.
"Oh," said Marilyn. "Don't forget to grab a flashlight as you enter the shuttle and we'll meet up on the other side. And please leave your purses and cellphones behind. We don't want you to lose them in the woods."
I groaned as we stepped away from the crowd. "I don't have the stomach for this."
Juliana rubbed her belly. "I don't like Zombies."
"You ladies will be fine," said Michael. "We're in this together."
"Who else is going to join us?" I asked.
"I'll find someone," said Michael. "We'll be fine."
"I sure hope so," I said. "I pray so."
Chapter Five
Michael left Juliana and me to find three more people to join our group. I leaned against the stucco walls staring at the woods. My heart pounded with fear.
"I know the Zombies aren't real," I said, "but I still don't like to be attacked by the Undeads."
Juliana stood on my right. "Who does? I'm sorry for dragging you here."
"It's okay," I said. "We're in this…"
"What is it?" Juliana glanced to my left.
"Michael's back with three people. Do you know them?" I asked.
"Jesse, the tallest guy, is Michael's best friend," said Juliana. "I don't know the other two."
Michael approached with Jesse and his two new found friends. Jesse wore white shirt and shorts. The outfit reminded me of what Michael had on when he was driving the shuttle. I wondered if Michael dragged him out here. The other two must be a couple. The guy wore a dark green hood over his head like Robin Hood. His stunning Lady Marian wore a sky blue velvet dress with lace inset panel. Her royal blue velvet Juliet sleeves mixed beautifully with the sky blue velvet draped hanging cuffs.
"This is Jesse," said Michael, introducing his best friend.
Standing at 6 feet 3, Jesse was the tallest in the group. He waved and said, "Hello, everyone."
"This is Sonia," said Michael, pointing at Lady Marian.
"Hi," said Sonia.
Then, Robin Hood flipped back his hood and revealed his brown surfer hairdo.
No way! I sucked my breath as if I had seen a ghost… No, not a ghost, but an Angel. Not just any Angel... MY Angel.
"I'm Andrew," he said. "We're glad to join your group."
When he introduced himself, my brain froze. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"No, we're glad to be in your group," said Juliana. "Don't we, Elrenia?"
I nodded. "Yes," I croaked like a frog.
"This is Elrenia." Michael pointed at me.
I waved and tried to smile. Andrew tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at me.
"Shall we go?" Michael wrapped his arm around Juliana's waist. "Oh, and this is MY Juliana."
Juliana's face turned red. "Hello," she said.
Sonia held on to Andrew's arm, as they headed toward the shuttle.
Jesse scratched his buzzed head. "Hmm…"
This is awkward, I thought. I lifted my head to look at him. "Why do I feel like we're being dragged to go on a blind date?"
"That's exactly how I'm feeling right now," he said.
We laughed.
"Did Michael drag you out here?" I asked.
"Yes," he said with a smile, flashing a set of white teeth. "How can you tell?"
I pointed at his shirt. "Michael wore something similar earlier."
"I didn't expect to play games," he said. "Michael told me to show up and drive chicks around."
"Sorry," I said.
"Nah," said Jesse. "It'll be fun hanging out with you guys. And we get to beat up the Zombies."
Juliana glanced over her shoulder. "Are you serious? Can we really beat them up?"
"I just said that so he'd come," said Michael.
"I didn't hear that," said Jesse.
As soon as we got off the bus with our drawstring bags and flashlights, the twins pointed to two big boxes with a round hole in the middle.
"Stick your hand in there," said Michelle.
"Heck no," said Jesse. "What's inside?"
"Nothing's going to bite you, Jesse," said Michelle. "They're paintball handguns."
"Why the secrecy?" asked Michael.
"We can't find the same color guns," said Marilyn. "So we have quite a variety."
"Who wants to go first?" asked Michael.
"I'll go." Jesse stuck his hand into the hole and pulled out a pink gun. "Awesome. Does this color look good on me?"
"It looks good in your hand," said Marilyn.
"Whoa," said Michelle. "A disturbing image just popped in my head."
Jesse groaned, and we laughed. I went next and grabbed a dark green one.
I handed it to Jesse. "Give me the pink one," I said.
"I don't mind," said Jesse.
"I like pink," I lied, but pink looked better on me than him.
"Thanks," said Jesse. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You're a life saver."
For a second, I felt someone watching me. I faked an itch on my forehead and turned around. Andrew stared at me before headed toward the box.
I cursed myself for not speaking up earlier when I saw his face. Now, I didn't know how to break the silence. He must have thought I was one ungrateful person and regretted helping me.
Juliana approached me and pulled me away from the others. "Do you have something to tell me?"
"Huh?" I asked.
"I saw the look you gave Robin Hood," said Juliana. Before I could reply, she went on. "Don't feel bad. I stared too." She grinned. "And I saw the way he looked at you. Have you two met or something?"
"Well, remember the day I had a flat tire?"
Juliana nodded. "Uh-huh." Then, her eyes grew big. "He's the Angel… Your Angel?"
"Lower your voice," I said.
"Is everything okay?" asked Michael.
"Yes," I said. "We're fine. Just splendid."
Chapter Six
The glowing lanterns hanging from the trees gave the woods a feeling of eeriness and enchantment. Fireflies flying between the branches eliminated my fear of the Zombies. At least for a little while.
"This view is amazing," I said.
Michael shone his flashlight over the trees. "Look at the ribbons hanging from the branches."
"They look like blood," said Jesse.
"Thanks for ruining my nice view," I said.
Jesse chuckled. "Sorry."
"I wonder how long it took them to put this together," said Juliana.
"Now I see why Grandpa wouldn't let me help with the party," said Andrew.
"This place belongs to your grandfather?" asked Juliana.
"Yes," he said. "He designed the blueprint for the house and all."
"The ranch house is out of this world," I said.
He glanced at me for a while and smiled. "Thanks."
"He's out of this world," whispered Juliana into my ear.
I fought the urge to laugh.
"I prefer your condo in L.A.," said Sonia.
Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled at his Lady Marian. "I know you don't like the woods much. Thank you for coming along."
"So you know your way around these woods then, right?" asked Jesse.
"I'm familiar with it. I explore the woods once in a while when I visit Grandpa," said Andrew.
A group of people screamed from behind us. All of us turned.
"Oh no," said Sonia, clinging to Andrew.
My heart pounded hard. If it beat any faster, I would keel over.
Juliana glanced left and right. "I think we should run," she said.
"Agreed," I said.
We ran farther from the screams. Another group sp
ed past us.
"The Zombies are right behind us," cried one of the girls. "Run faster." She grabbed her friend's hand and split up from their group.
Juliana and I looked at each other and yelled, "Run!"
After a few minutes, we stopped running. The wood grew silent. I scanned the surrounding. Something glittered on the ground caught my eye. I approached it. Wedged between two giant roots was an old brown wine bottle.
"I found it!" I cried.
Juliana hugged me. "Yay!"
"Four more to go!" said Michael. "We can do this, people."
Jesse gave me a high-five. Sonia smiled. We started to move again. I slowed down to put the wine bottle in my bag.
Andrew walked beside me. "Well done," he said.
"Thank you," I said.
"You're the girl at the beach, right?"
So he remembered me. "Yes," I said.
"I'm sorry for not recognizing you when Michael introduced us," he said. "You look different."
I tried to remember how I looked that day at the beach. I hadn't worn any makeup and hadn't done my hair. Yikes. "No, I'm really sorry for not saying hello. I didn't realize it was you until you pulled down your hood."
He smiled. "Glad we meet again."
"Same here," I said. "Any idea what kind of bottle I've just found?"
"It looks like some red wine. You'll have to try it."
Sonia called out for Andrew.
He turned to me. "We'll talk again later."
"Okay," I said and watched him return to his girlfriend's side.
Andrew led the way. Jesse and I took the rear. After a few minutes, they stopped.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Jesse and I walked toward the front. A long golden haired woman in light green flowing dress headed toward us. The glowing lantern in her hand showed her pretty fair face. When my eyes caught sight of her elfin ears, I blew a sigh of relief.
"She must be a nice Elf," I said.
"She could also be a mean one," said Jesse.
"True." I placed my finger on the trigger of my paintball gun.
"Greetings," said the pretty Elf.
"Greetings," said Andrew.
"I love your dress," said Sonia.
"Thank you," said the Elf. "Welcome to the Forgotten Forest." She handed Andrew a silver pouch.
Andrew hesitated. "What's in it?"
"You're cautious and wise," said the Elf with a smile. "Inside this pouch is a special powder. When you approach a dangerous zone, spread this around you in a circle, the bad souls can't touch you."
Andrew took the pouch. "Thank you."
The Elf turned around and disappeared into the woods.
"That's pretty creepy," said Jesse.