Eat, Pray, Vomit

Prologue

"Oh my God, you guys, my mom is texting me from Peru!"

Taylor, a 27-year old brand ambassador for floral-scented masks, had just been checking her phone. Her announcement interrupted the conversation her gay bestie Walt had been having with two of their mutuals. The four were standing in line for the latest trend in Los Angeles: an adult haunted house. Feeling a bit awkward around these two people Walter had just introduced her to IRL, Taylor had been glancing down at her phone when she saw her Mom's excited text.

Mom 6:34 PM: Just landed in São Paolo. Met this amazing journalist on the flight and, great coincidence, she is heading to the same ritual ceremony. Wish me/us luck!

The taller of Walt's two friends — an artist named Dan who always seem to wear a mischievous smirk — took an immediate interest in Taylor's news.

"What is your mom doing in Peru?" He asked Taylor.

Walt, who enjoyed his slightly exaggerated reputation for sass, responded before Taylor could. "Her mom is going through some sort of midlife crisis. She started dating her yoga instructor, and suddenly she has gone all new age. She's headed to South America for an agua calientes ritual."

"Ayahuasca!" Taylor corrected him. "Not agua calientes. And she is not dating that fool Paul anymore, didn't I tell you? Oh my God, Walt, keep up!"

"Wait, then who did she go to Peru with?" replied Walt.

"And what's agua caliente?" added the shorter of Walt's two friends, a non-binary film student from USC named Squad. The trip to the haunted house had been Squad's idea.

"It's called ayahuasca," Dan repeated Taylor's correction. "Ayahuasca is this like natural indigenous drug that gives you these amazing psychedelic journeys, but only after making you projectile vomit everything in your system."

"Projectile vomiting? Gross?! And you are letting your mother take this?" Asked Squad, alarmed, turning to Taylor.

"It's not like she asked my permission." Taylor replied "And OMG don't be so judgy." She was thumbing a text as she spoke to the boys.

Tails 6:36 ZOMG Mom! Major. Who is this lady? Get her name for me so I can Google stalk her OK? 

Mom 6:36 Google stalking? That's not polite!  I would never!

Tails 6:36 ...

Mom 6:37 OK You win. Its Rebecca C. Brennan. Or is it Rebekah? Find out what you can! Okay we're getting off the plane. TTYL?

Tails 6:37 😬 ... When do you meet the shaman? You'll tell me if he's hot right?

Mom 6:38 Taylor! Behave!

When Taylor looked back up from her phone, the line had inched closer to the entrance of the haunted house. She realized, with a bit of a twinge in her stomach, that she had actually not been to a haunted house in well over half a decade. Not since she was basically a child. The group was also apparently feeling a bit antsy, although all eager not to show it.

"So this is the kind of haunted house where they can touch you, right?" Dan asked nervously. Poking his friend in the side he added, "Like, be careful Walt, you might get raped!"

"What?" Demanded Walt, aghast. "Raped?!"

"I mean, they only rape guys, right?!" asked Squad, fumbling through their phone to look up the info on the haunted house.

Taylor snorted, somewhat amused by the sudden embarrassment and abject fear. "Don't anyone get their panties in a bunch. Nobody is getting raped. It's all just pretend! Yes, they can touch but they don't hit or do any damage. And they certainly don't rape anyone. Where do you think we are, anyway?"

"Please turn off all cell phones and hand-held devices!" A ghoulish voice announced over the loudspeaker. "And abandon hope, all ye who enter here!"

The group fumbled with their phones and as they did, a ghoul ran up and gave Walt a jump scare. He yelped and the others snorted. Then they clambered up onto the flatbed truck, along with a dozen or so other giggling tourists, and headed towards the haunted house.

The attraction itself was unremarkable. There was of course no rape, mock or otherwise, the touching was mostly in the realm of a tickle, and the scares were all somewhat predictable. Taylor had almost written off the whole affair when, as they entered the final barn, she caught the sound of that song emanating out of the speakers.

That song. She thought. Of all things for them to be playing in a haunted house. Against her will, she instantly got that eery, creepy sense of deja vu. The song that had been playing that awful day. It wasn't a hit, just an earworm that had inserted itself into her memory banks on the worst day of her life. It was like PTSD whenever she heard it, and now she was hearing it in a place where she could not get away.

Taylor felt a little nauseous. She wanted off, now. But that was silly. They could literally see the end of the ride. One more house. How could she possibly stop the ride and make a scene now? She was a grown woman, not a child. She could just plug her ears. She looked at the boys and noticed, to her irritation, that they all had huge grins on their faces. This was just a fun time to them, when for her ...

She turned, saw the theme of the final house they were entering, and screamed ...