This Is Halloween! | By : Need2ScreamNow Category: Singers/Bands/Musicians > Avenged Sevenfold Views: 1120 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I do not know the members of Avenged Sevenfold. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
“Welcome to Podunk, U.S.A.” Jimmy said rolling his eyes.
“Look! It’s even got one of those signs that give the population!” Johnny turned around in the booth trying to get a better look at the time grayed sign as they passed it and laughed, “Holy shit, where the fuck are we?”
“I just fuckin’ told you. Podunk, U.S.A.” Jimmy said indignantly. Matt roused himself from his place on the couch and shook his head, “We’re in Cramer.” He yawned. Zack came out of the bunk section rubbing his eyes, “What the hell are you guys yellin’ about?” he murmured tiredly. Matt sat up on the couch and he gratefully plopped down next to him and almost immediately started to doze off again.
“Johnny’s yelling, not me.” Jimmy said. Johnny kicked him under the table. Brian continued to read his well worn novel and ignored the noisy pair he was sharing space with. Matt scooted closer to Zack and used his shoulder as a pillow as he tried to resume his nap, “You’re both yellin’.” He muttered. Brian snorted and put his book down and rubbed his eyes.
They rolled into motel’s parking lot ten minutes later and Brian felt like he would be safer sleeping on the bus. The Jo-Ann Motel was something straight from a horror movie; the neon letters of its name were glowing a very, very faded pink when they should’ve been a cherry red. Some of the letters looked like they were burned out; the last ‘n’ was slowly falling backwards onto the roof. It would probably take the rest of the name with it when it finally collapsed. The road sign’s ‘Vacancy’ light flickered and parts of the letters were burned out giving the word an abstract quality.
The motel was a time worn slate gray color that, at one time, had probably been a deep blue. The white trim on the windows and doors, that had probably given the hotel a homier feeling, were now chipped and peeling and the homey feeling was replaced with uneasiness. The parking lot and small sidewalk were cracked and covered with weeds and wind blown trash and leaves that made it look deserted and unwelcoming.
There was a light on in what Brian assumed to be the office, and a shadow glided past the window; other than that the place looked empty.
“Matt, I’m rooming with you.” Johnny announced after looking the place over, Matt gave him a confused look; Johnny preferred to sleep by himself, “Why?”
“Because I don’t wanna be raped by some inbred hillbilly.” He deadpanned. The others stared at him for a moment before they broke out into fits of laughter. Jimmy sat down on the floor and tried to get his breathing under control and Brian felt a little light headed from the lack of stable oxygen and sat down too. Zack hugged Johnny close still laughing, “We won’t let any creepy inbred hillbillies rape you Johnny.” He kissed his temple and snickered.
“Okay,” Matt panted, “who wants to sleep alone tonight?” the sentence was laced with laughter. Jimmy raised his hand and pulled himself to his feet. He reached down and practically dragged Brian up too.
“Well, since we’ve got that settled, let’s go check into this hillbilly suite.” Zack said grabbing Johnny’s arm; Matt snickered and led the way off the bus.
Inside the threat of being raped by an inbred hillbilly took on a new dimension of reality. Brian felt himself sober a little as he walked in; he shot a look over to Jimmy; he looked like he was starting to reconsider sleeping alone.
Like any good horror movie hotel the floors creaked and settled as the walked and the fierce fall winds moaned and whistled over the roof like a living thing. The threadbare carpet was a greenish brown color; Brian guessed it was probably supposed to be a grass green but with the years of passing feet its color had been muddied beyond recognition. The faded yellow wallpaper was an atrocity in itself, the abstract design reminded him of a retirement home; the grime covering it made him think of a retirement home for the demented.
Ahead of them Billy and Paul from Good Charlotte were also looking around apprehensively. Billy said something to Paul and they both looked up at the ceiling; Paul’s face was confused for a moment and then his mouth dropped open. Billy hid a laugh behind his hand and waved Avenged Sevenfold over.
“What?” Matt asked quietly, Billy didn’t say anything but pointed to the ceiling. As one they all looked up.
The ceiling was dirtier than the walls and Brian had the distinct feeling that the rooms were not going to be any better. Yellow water stains left their outlines all over the ceiling, cobwebs hung from the corners and the fluorescent lights. Above him was a larger water stain, he stepped back a little thinking the roof would cave on him at any moment and froze. The stain had a shape. As he stared at it the shape became clearer and the random patches of dirt and dust turned into eyes, ears, a nose, and a mouth. There was a man’s face on the ceiling; his mouth opened in an unheard scream.
Billy and Paul stuck close to their band mates as they finished with their check-in and headed down the hall. Brian knew his eyes were huge and he edged closer to Jimmy, “Holy Christ.” The lanky drummer muttered. Brian wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him a hard squeeze, “Maybe we should all share a room.” He said half-jokingly. Matt turned around and looked at Jimmy asking silently if he still wanted to room alone. The tall man shrugged minutely and Matt nodded and turned back to the man working the register.
The man working, Chad according to the name embroidered on his vest, looked like the inbred hillbilly Johnny was afraid of. He smelled heavily of tobacco and his dirty blue shirt was rife with singes and stains. His thinning and greasy brown hair was slicked back showing off the dull skin of his head. He looked Matt over once and then asked for their name in a bored tone. His teeth, the ones that were left, were stained brown and spotted with black and his gaze seemed as empty as his tone. Zack caught the life in his muddy brown eyes though and he moved a little closer to Matt as if his presence would somehow ward off the dread coiling in his stomach. Johnny rested his head on his shoulder and Zack relaxed a little as his warm body chased away the cold of the hallway.
“When did it get so cold in here?” he asked looking around for the vent that was blasting cold air on him. He felt Johnny shiver, “I dunno.” He mumbled. Chad gave him a look that made Zack question whether or not he had asked about the temperature or unicorns; then he slapped the counter and guffawed, “That ain’t the air conditioner, that’s the ghost!”
Zack blinked, “What?” he said, disbelief coloring his tone. Chad shook his head still chuckling, “That’s our ghost, Miss Lulu. She died here about fifty years ago, and she ain’t left yet.”
“Wonderful, that’ll be my room.” Johnny murmured low enough for only Zack to hear. Zack stifled a giggle and reached up and hugged Johnny’s head close for a moment.
“How’d she die?” Jimmy asked. He was a sucker for ghost stories. Chad looked pleased to have an interested audience and while he finished processing their check in he talked.
“She died in her sleep, but they don’t know what killed her. The coroner said it looked like a heart attack, then he said it looked like a stroke, then he changed his mind again and said someone strangled her. But he was a drunk anyway so the police went with the first thing he said and shipped her body home.” He handed Matt some papers and leaned forward on the desk, dropping his voice to a scheming whisper, “Here’s the thing though, for the next two years anyone who slept in her room ended up dying in their sleep. Miss Lulu was pushing on eighty years old so no one thought twice about the heart attack but a month after they sent Miss Lulu back a girl barely twenty years old went out the same way. Coroner said she looked just like Miss Lulu on the inside; couldn’t tell if it was a heart attack, stroke, or strangulation.”
“The owner actually held a séance in there a couple years ago, that’s how we found out Miss Lulu was still here, but they also think they found a couple of evil spirits.” He looked them over carefully, Zack was listening to the story with a passive interest but he really just wanted to go to bed. Like Jimmy, Johnny loved a good ghost story and Zack felt him look around the small area. Matt fought back a smile, he didn’t believe in ghosts but Jimmy would be cranky if he missed out on a good story because he laughed at the clerk. Brian stood next to him glaring down the hallway. Matt turned a little, not only to hide the smirk that was twitching his lips but to see what had riled his friend. Nothing in the hallway stirred.
He gave Brian a confused look but the guitarist was either ignoring him or didn’t realize Matt was staring at him. Gently he nudged the unresponsive man and Brian lightly shook himself and gave Matt a questioning look.
“What are you glaring at?” he asked quietly as he took their check in papers from the clerk and turned down the hall. Brian shrugged but didn’t say anything. Matt sighed but let him keep his peace; he was too tired to deal with the guitarist’s more secretive moods. Johnny glided up on his other side silently; Matt wrapped an arm around his shoulders and held him close while they walked. He could feel the tension in the smaller man’s shoulders.
“What’s wrong with you?” he sighed. He refused to be the only one that wasn’t scared by Chad’s story. Johnny looked up at him with disbelief, “You can’t feel that?” he glanced at Brian and the guitarist gave him a curt nod. Matt looked back and saw Jimmy and Zack glancing around nervously. Nothing in the hallway was remarkable. The dirty yellow wallpaper and muddied green carpet were unchanged from the entrance area. He glanced at the white/gray doors. The paint was peeling and dirty but he hadn’t expected the place to get cleaner. He shrugged, “I don’t feel anything.”
Brian gave him the same disbelieving look Johnny had, “You’re serious? You don’t feel like you’re being watched or followed? You can’t feel how cold this hallway is?” he grabbed Matt’s arm and held it up; goosebumps prickled the flesh. Matt looked at his arm surprised, he hadn’t noticed the temperature until Brian said something, now he realized it was freezing. He looked around again as they approached their rooms and now he could feel what had his friends on edge. Someone was watching him, he swept his eyes down the row of doors on the opposite side of the hallway looking for any telltale sign of someone peeping at them but all stayed quiet.
“What the hell?” he muttered. Johnny nodded and pressed a little closer to his side. A door two down opened and they all jumped. Benji peeked out and squeaked in fright when he saw them in the hallway. He jumped back and then reappeared only a second later with a faint blush on his cheeks, “Sorry guys, didn’t know you were there.” He mumbled in embarrassment. Joel looked out next and snickered nervously, “Way to go Benj.”
Usually Benji would’ve rolled his eyes and brought up one of Joel’s embarrassing moments but he stayed disturbingly quiet and scanned the hallway. Matt found the moodier twin’s lack of response more unsettling than the invisible eyes that continued to watch him.
“What’re you two doing?” Brian asked quietly as he also looked around again. Joel took the question with another nervous snicker, “Uh, well, I’ve decided that the bunks are cleaner, less creepy, and more comfortable than this place.” He grabbed his brother and pulled him into a crushing hug, Benji swore and smacked his leg but didn’t try to get away, “And I’m goin’ with him ’cause he’s afraid of the dark.”
Joel snorted, “Bullshit, you’re the one that doesn’t wanna sleep in here alone.”
Benji looked like he was planning a scathing retort but only shrugged and relaxed more into his brother’s tight embrace.
Someone shrieked and then another door clicked open and Billy, Paul and Dean scrambled into the hallway slamming the door behind them. The others jumped when they’re loud entry disrupted the unnatural silence of the hall.
“What the hell are you guys doin’?” Joel asked finally releasing his brother to turn around and look at his flustered band mates. All three started talking at once resulting in a confusion of noise. Joel held up his hands, “Whoa, whoa. ‘Kay kids, one at a time now.” He said, probably mimicking his mother because Benji snickered. Paul and Dean looked at Billy and after a second he hesitantly started talking.
“Dean was gettin’ ready to go back to his room and so we were standing by the bathroom talking about how creepy this place was. Paul and I thought it would make a great backdrop for some really creepy music and art and, and I looked over ‘cause I feel like someone’s watching me, and there was a guy. There was a guy hanging from the ceiling in front of the TV.” He moved closer to Paul and glanced at the door fearfully.
Matt opened his mouth to ask if they hadn’t only seen a shadow or some trick of the light when Brian made a strangled sound and jumped back into Zack. He pointed down the hall and Matt felt his stomach drop. At the end of the hall there was a man hanging from the ceiling. Billy, Paul and Dean turned and silently turned back and started running for the front door. Joel and Benji right behind them.
Vaguely Matt was aware of Brian and Johnny leaving him but he stayed where he was and watched the hang man drift closer in terrified fascination. His feet never touched the ground; he drifted forward jerkily as if the rope he hung from was catching on the various pipes and wires hidden by the plywood of the ceiling. His slate gray suit pressed and fresh looking from his guess he thought they looked like something from the nineteen thirties or forties. His hair was a pale brown and parted down the middle; now that he was closer Matt could see the details of his face. The sickly purple pallor of his skin from the lack of oxygen, his eyes bulged from their sockets and his jaw was slack.
Someone grabbed his arm and he was dragged away from the apparition, he broke out of his terrified stupor and stumbled behind Brian as he tried to get his legs to work again. The air was growing colder, he could see his breath puff out in front of him and he was certain if he turned around the hangman would be there, reaching out to grab his collar. Finally his legs decided to listen to him and he sprinted for the doors milliseconds behind Brian. He didn’t look back and he didn’t slow when he reached outside. In the parking lot he could see the buses ready and waiting.
Johnny opened the door and they both leapt onto the bus; the door was slammed and locked behind them and then the bus was moving heading for the main road. Matt fell forward in the small walkway and let terrified shivers ripple through his body. The bus was quiet save their hard breathing.
After a moment Matt weakly rolled onto his back and pushed himself into a sitting position. Brian was next to him still shaking. He pulled him onto his lap and kissed his cheek, “Thank you.” He whispered his voice still hoarse with fear. Brian wrapped his arms around his neck and held him tightly as he continued to shake. Zack and Jimmy were curled on the couch; Jimmy staring at a distant point and Zack looking out the window behind him. Johnny stood by the table shaking and looking around the room.
Zack turned back around and started when he saw Johnny so close. He uncurled himself enough to reach out and grab Johnny’s hand and drag him over. Johnny collapsed onto the couch next to him.
They were quiet a little longer and then Jimmy’s quiet voice broke the scared and tense silence, “Next time,” he whispered, “Johnny feels like he’s gonna be raped by an inbred hillbilly we’re sleeping on the bus. No exceptions.”
They were quiet a moment after the quiet declaration then Matt snickered quietly and Brian snorted and soon they were all consumed with relieved giggles.
A/N: Bwahahaha! So the ending is stupid, but I’ve got bigger fish to type ^_^ But there’s my Halloween story. Happy Hauntings peeps!
Thanks for your reviews! *Hands out candy*
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