Chapter 3 – Chap 3

The next morning was when the doctors at the hospital let me leave. Sean drove me back to the haunted house so I could drive my car back home. It took so long to get the paperwork done and process my health insurance that before I was even close to leaving, I managed to update what I guess is called a blog. It kept me from being bored out of my mind. When we got into the parking lot, Sean looked at me.

“Hey Shane, you gonna be okay man?” He asked me as he put a hand on my shoulder. I looked back at him. There was something about us being so close together in the car that made me nervous. And not a bad nervous either. It’s hard to describe… I nodded, and smiled softly.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine Sean. My stitches are gonna be a bitch to deal with but I should be able to make it to work tonight.” I said softly. He chuckled and shook his head.

“That’s good. I just hope no more weird shit happens tonight. Like we work for a haunted house mate, all the crazy spooky shit should be fake!” He joked. I tried not to laugh as he leaned back in his seat. He took his hat off and played with his hair a bit. This was the first time I saw him without his hat. It made me realize just how attractive he was.

The young Irish man had dark brown hair that in certain lighting, could easily look like black hair. It was short, the sides and back shaved slightly and a small amount of bangs, all parted to the right side of his face. His facial hair looked to be a bit darker and was a small beard. Longer than my facial hair for sure, which was basically stubble. I ignored the thought, shrugged and looked towards the building.

“Yeah I guess… I’m shocked your parents haven’t been forced to shut down or even close the place for a day.”

“It’s part of the lease contract deal when Mom and Dad got the place and all the shit they needed to open it up. The only way they’ll do an unscheduled closing is if we become a possible harm to the community. And since that Zack guy killed Brock and then killed himself, we didn’t do any harm to the public.” He explained to me. I mean… I guess that makes some sense.

“Could also be the building’s history. Maybe because of all the shit that’s happened over the last hundred years or whatever, the authorities think that the history itself is a warning to go in at your own risk.” I suggested an explanation. Sean nodded. I stretched and got out of the car. “I’m gonna head home, try to get some rest before tonight’s shift.” I didn’t really wanna head home just yet, but it was the responsible thing to do.

“Good idea mate. Look, you have my number so if you need anything just shoot me a text or a call okay?” He said after I shut the door. I nodded, waved bye, and got in my car to go home. Driving with stitches I learned was annoying as all hell. The itching and burning I felt was aggravating. I have sensitive skin which is probably why whenever I had to use my hands to grip something for a certain period of time, it felt like I had a row of mosquito bites on them.

When I arrived for my shift later that night, I learned that we weren’t going to be having a meeting about the whole thing that happened last night. So I went into the break room, and made myself a cup of coffee. Back when all of us were first hired, Adriana, Sean’s Mother, got a list of everyone’s favorite snacks, drinks, and coffee flavors. She somehow managed to implement that list into the break room.

I started making my usual go to coffee. A caramel vanilla cream flavored K-cup used with the biggest cup selection on the keurig. Once the machine finished filling the mug with its contents, I would add two to three or sometimes even four scoops of sugar and two plastic spoonfuls of vanilla caramel creamer. After stirring it all and mixing it, I sat down at the table. It wasn’t until after I took the first sip that I noticed something. Somehow… the coffee was black. And not the usual black coffee, I meant the actual color of black. What was really strange and confusing about it, was that it tasted like my usual coffee and even smelled like it.

Sean came into the room whistling and noticed me staring at the mug. He cringed, made a disgusted noise, and then made his way to the tray of shortbread cookies, or biscuits as he called all kinds of cookies.

“Eck, don’t try to get me to kiss you after drinking that tar looking shit.” He mumbled before taking a bite out of a small cookie. I assumed he was joking, but that still didn’t stop the flush of hot red that covered my cheeks. I never thought about kissing him before. Actually I never really thought about kissing anyone before. But now I was thinking about it. I tried to act cool, looking away.

“Heh, guess the machine needs to be cleaned..” I said softly before sipping away at my coffee. I figured sipping would keep my mouth shut, and prevent any chance of embarrassing myself. Sean sat near me, still snacking on cookies. He waited until he finished before speaking again.

“Whatever man. I guess if you can drink it without gagging the color ain’t changing the taste.” He said as he looked at me. “How are your hands doing?” I finished my sip and shrugged.

“Alright. Stitches itch like hell sometimes but could be worse I guess.” I answered. He nodded before reaching over and grabbing one of my hands. I stared at him blankly as he observed my hand.

“Hmm, doesn’t look infected.”

“Oh, it’s not that. My skin is just really sensitive. Hell, I can’t even use my hand to smooth out clean cat litter without the skin getting red, irritated, and slightly itchy.” I explained, my voice slightly nervous. Why was I making such a big deal out of this? He was just checking my hand, he wasn’t trying to flirt or anything… Was he? Sean let go of my hand and raised a brow.

“You’re allergic to cat litter?” He asked me curiously. I sighed and shook my head.

“No, that’s not it. Like I said, sensitive skin.” He smirked at me, causing me to tilt my head. Why was he looking at me like that?

“So your a sensitive lad eh?” I gave him a look, sighed and shook my head.

“You know Sean, your a smartass sometimes.” I told him, making him laugh.

“What do you expect? I’m Irish, it’s in my blood to be a smartass.”

“Is it also in your blood to be a jackass?” I teased with a soft snicker. He rolled his eyes.

“Says the jackass that said I had pretty eyes last night.” I blushed deeply, and looked away, using the bill of my hat to help hide my face.

“S-Shut up dude…” I mumbled to myself. He laughed, getting up and patting me on the back.

“I’m just fucking with you Shane, calm down.” Once I felt the blush fade, I looked up at him and nodded. An alarm on my phone went off, signalling it was time for us to head to our posts, and start another night of work.

The Murder Modders came back tonight. They claimed that they wanted to be the first ones to go through the whole place, since last night there were too many people for them to get any decent footage in the empty rooms. I honestly didn’t know that there were any empty rooms. I thought every room in the building had some form of a theme and actors or props in them. Guess the set designers and construction crew didn’t wanna completely rebuild a room.

We had a normal affair of customers afterwards. Or I guess technically you could call them tourists. At one point, I let a small group of teens that looked like they were on a double date of sorts. I’ve never really been on a double date, or even a normal date myself, but I’ve seen enough movies, read enough books, and played enough video games to know what one looked like. I thought it was weird that people in a relationship would wanna spend time together inside a haunted house and getting spooked. Wouldn’t it be better to just save their money and hang out at home? I don’t know.

At some point after they went in, I heard what sounded like an animal whining. It sounded like it was coming from the employee smoking station. It was a fence decorated as a zombie zone. I looked ahead, saw that no one was coming up, and decided to see what was happening. When I got in, I saw a dog or maybe even a wolf. He had black fur with small hints of a dark grey. He appeared to be stuck in a hole in the fence, needing help. He looked up at me as I approached him.

“Hey there, look I’m gonna help you out okay?” I said calmly as I started to carefully move the wiring of the fence. Once he was out he jumped on me, making me fall to the ground. I was worried he was gonna attack me but he started licking my face. I assumed he was thanking me. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Heh, your welcome.” He got off of me and I stood up. He didn’t have a collar, or any sign of an owner.

I gave him a quick head pat before heading back to my post. When I got there, I saw that he was following me. “Do you wanna go home with me?” I asked him curiously. I’ve wanted a dog of my own, but with all the things happening at work, I haven’t had time to look into it. He barked happily, which I took for a yes. I smiled at him. I walked over to my car, pulling out a grey and black bandanna with paw prints. It was something I had from the dog I had back when I lived with my parents.

I tied around the black dogs neck. He looked happy, wagging his tail rapidly.

“How about I call you Shadow?” I asked him. He barked and nuzzled my hand. I went back to my post and Shadow stayed with me as I worked. He didn’t attack any tourists and behaved well. I would give him pets and messed around with him whenever things went dead. He kept me company and it felt nice.

Around two in the morning, a tourist had a panicked look on her face as she pointed upward.

“There’s someone on the roof!” she shouted, causing me to look up. I couldn’t tell who it was, but I knew it wasn’t normal. No one ever goes on the roof except for the set designers when setting up decorations. I looked over at Shadow.

“Shadow, do you think you can guard the entrance while I go check things out?” I asked him desperately. He barked, getting out of his sitting spot and sniffing around the tourists. I assumed he was checking for passes or something. That was close enough to a yes for me. I ran inside, heading for the stairs. I grabbed my pager, knowing I had to notify the other guards.

“Guard dispatch this is Shane. A tourist saw a person on the roof, and I’m going to check to see what’s going on. There’s a dog at my post, don’t harm him. He’s mine.” I explained as I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. When I finally made it to the roof, I stood still long enough to catch my breath. I looked over at the other person. He was standing on the edge and looked like he was about to jump. “Hey!” I called out as I stepped closer. He turned towards me. It was Carlos. He was the guard in charge of the angel and devil room. For some reason his eyes were glowing white and his security uniform looked like it was torn and splattered with paint.

“You ignorant fool!” He shouted at me in a voice that was definitely not his. It was so much deeper. “This man is a sinner! He must fall to his death and repent, or suffer in hell!” From what I’ve heard, Carlos was in prison before he got out and got the job here. He was convicted of a false accusation, so I didn’t understand what was so bad about that made him wanna jump.

“Carlos, what the hell are you talking about? You weren’t guilty so it’s okay. Look come down stairs with me and we can talk about it all.” I said calmly. He growled loudly, not liking my answer.

“That’s what he wants you all to think! He’s a manipulative killer. He almost murdered your angel but my spirit has stopped him.” He shook violently and grabbed at his head. He cringed and whined.

“S-Shane… I’m sorry for what I did. Please just get this man out of my head. I don’t wanna die!” he said in his normal voice. I got closer to him, getting ready to pull him into safety.

“Silence Maggot! Your damnation is inevitable!” The deep inhuman voice shouted. He turned around and jumped, but I moved fast enough to catch him by his arm. I was on the edge and using my feet to keep me from falling.

“Come on Carlos! Whatever you did, we’ll forgive you. You already did your time, you don’t have to do this.” I tried desperately to reason with him.

“This man is a Monster! A creature that drinks a crimson water that is the essence of life! You will see the truth before he dies!” Before I could say anything else, he pulled up and bit my arm. I screamed as I felt his teeth Pierce through my skin, feeling as if my blood was being sucked somehow. I instinctively let go and cringed. Carlos was gone. My reaction caused me to lose my footing and almost fell completely, but I caught the ledge last second. I was crying out for help without even realizing it. I was desperately using my legs and feet to try and pull myself up, but they kept slipping. I could hear Shadow barking like crazy, though it wasn’t as loud because of the distance.

“Shane!” I heard somebody shout. I was panicking too much to even process who it was. I didn’t care, I just hoped it was someone who would help me. Whoever grabbed my hands and pulled me up. We both fell back onto the roof. I looked up and saw that it was Sean who saved me. I hugged him tightly, not caring what he thought anymore. I can’t believe that it took a near death experience to make me realize… that I had a crush… feelings for the Irish man. I realized I was shaking violently as I felt his arms wrap around me.

“Sssh, it’s okay Shane. I got you. You’re safe now.” He whispered softly. His warm embrace and soothing voice helped calm me down a lot. I felt the need to tell him how I felt about him, even if it was bad timing. Though when I opened my mouth, I couldn’t find the words.

“S-Sean.. I… I…” he then used one of his hands to take my hat off and pet my hair.

“I know Shane. I know.” I looked up at him. That wasn’t enough for me. I needed actual confirmation that he knew what I meant. God only knows if I’d be able to tell him when the adrenaline rush leaves my body.

“P-Prove it…” I mumbled, part of me hoping he didn’t hear me. That’s when he did something I’d never thought he’d do. He took his hand, putting it on my cheek and making me look at him. And then.. He gave me a small kiss on the lips. I tried to kiss back, failing and kissing his neck by accident. I blushed deeply and hid my face. “Sorry..” I mumbled, embarrassed about what I did. He just smiled and kissed my forehead.

Sean took me and Shadow home that night. He said he was going to spend the night. I tried to tell him I was fine, but he knew that I wanted him to stay. I was still shaky. I took my jacket and work pants off, wearing a T-shirt and shorts underneath. Sean changed into shorts and a tank top. He helped me get comfy on the bed before cuddling me. I fell asleep in almost an instant. I’m pretty sure, that was the best sleep I had my whole life.