Devil's Gateway

Chapter Nine

"Wrong choice, Trevor," the deep voice announced.

The words echoed off each of the horses, breathing life into each one. Their fragmented bodies twitched. A stampede of hooves stomped the floor, shaking the ride. 

My breath hitched in my throat, sounding like the squealing of my heart's brakes. 

The clown stood up from the horse it sat on. A hungry glance twinkled in its eyes as sharp, jagged teeth protruded from its mouth. Between its lips, a snake-like tongue flickered into the air. 

The horse I sat on let out a twisted neigh. Slowly, the broken head turned in my direction. Nostrils flared angrily as the beast released several huffs. Yellow eyes sent a paralysis over me.

"Bring him to me, Nicola. It's been too long since I last feasted," Fred ordered with an eagerness in his voice. 

I wanted to crack a joke. Anything to trick myself into believing this was impossible.

Nothing, however, would come out. The reality of the situation had sunken in and I knew there was nothing I could do to prevent it.

Iron bars shot from the horse's body, wrapping around my skin like a straight jacket. 

Splintering wood sounded as the horse ripped its body from the pole. A black liquid seeped from the open wound on its side. Still, it trotted forwards towards Fred.

Like a prisoner led to the execution chamber, I was forced forward knowing my fate.

"Thank you, Nicola."

Fred towered over me. Up close, I noticed that the polka-dots on his outfit were not polka-dots at all—they were splatters of blood. Pieces of grey flesh were wedged in between his teeth. Compliments of his last victim if I had to take a guess. The hair on top his head radiated heat. Sweat collected on my forehead, rolling down in small beads.

"You played the game well, Trevor. But now your soul is ours forever. Welcome to eternal hell."

I wanted to speak.

To fight back.

But nothing.

I could smell the rancid breath as his mouth opened. Rotten fish mixed with the smell of rust slipped past his teeth.

Nausea pricked my stomach, turning my insides to gelatin. The overpowering scent rushing every ounce of bile towards the surface. Fred's shoes received most of the vomit.

"You ignorant human!" he spat.  His eyes flared from excitement to anger in a moment.

Words still eluded me. A horse had my tongue.

He wiped the edges of his shoes off on the floor. Some of the liquid lingered.

"No more distractions." He retracted his lips again, exposing his layers of pointed teeth.

I could feel the warmth of his breath as his mouth came down over my head. Thick salvia oozed down my scalp, mixing with the sweat on my forehead. A pinching sensation pierced my skin.

Finally, my voice resurfaced as a bellowing cry.

Red trickled down my face, running off my eyelids. The taste of rust stung my tongue.

Like an old car being compressed into a compacted cube at a junkyard, my head felt like as if it was ready to bust under the pressure of Fred's jaws. Black dots crept into my vision, starting at the edges and steadily making their way towards the center.

And then the pressure lifted.

Am I dead?

"Holy shit that was ugly!" I heard a feminine voice exclaim.

Great, now I was hallucinating. 

"Trevor? Is that you?"

Allison?

"Here let me get you out of this."

A blurred figure moved in front of me. The restraints around me loosened, until I could feel the cold air kissing my skin.

"Damn, it messed up your head pretty bad."

"Allison?" The words left my lips without my permission.

She couldn't be here. Just another hallucination. Maybe the clown's teeth were poisonous, and it wanted to play with me for a little while longer before finishing the job.  

"No, it's me, Kara—your realtor."

Her outline transformed into a person. Her blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail. The mascara and eyeliner she wore had smeared down her cheeks.

"Kara? Wha—what are you doing here?"

"I was supposed to meet you at the house remember? I saw the door open and went in. What the hell is this house?"

Her finger tips grazed my tender flesh, making me wince. The numbing sensation of shock was wearing off. My scalp throbbed. Warm liquid matted my hair to skin.

Kara shed her white cardigan. The material still looked in good shape compared to my clothing.

"You've gone through the rooms too?"

She wrapped the fabric around my head. Glancing over her shoulder, I saw the clown laying motionless on the ground. A bunch of syringes stuck out of its neck.

"Rooms? You mean to tell me there is more than one? I've been stuck on a Tilt-A-Whirl for the past hour. I've always despised those kinds of rides. Needles filled with some kind of poison stuck out from the sides of the cars. So, if I leaned to far one way, I was screwed."

"That's all? You didn't go through any other rooms?" I asked baffled.

"No," she shook her head, "have you?"

"This is my seventh room," I whispered.

How could this only be her first room?

"How many are there?" she asked.

"I don't know," I admitted.                      

"What is this place?" she pressed.

Why did she think I had all the answers?

"I think it's a portal to hell."

"Is there a way out?" Her pink frowned.

"I think so, but you have to make it through the rooms." I sucked in a sharp breath. The throbbing had turned into a roaring thunderstorm.

"Well two heads are better than one, right? Let's stick together," she suggested, extending a hand out towards me. 

"I think we have to ride more rides. I don't... I don't know if I can," I admitted.

Her blue eyes ran over my injured body. "I'll help you through it." A smile spread across her face. 

I looked up at her, studying her for a second. Trust was not something I gave away willingly in this place. I had known Kara for years from our years in the field. But did I know her well enough to trust her with my life?

"Okay," I said, grabbing her hand.

It was a chance I would have to risk.

Total Word Count: 12,097