Attraction

Vicki rose on her elbows and swept her hair away from her face. She turned a grin upon Brian. He smiled back, admiring how cute she looked with her tongue pressed to the back of her teeth. Brian had noticed it was a habit of hers, something she did when she snickered. He couldn't believe what a thrill it was to have fucked her in public, in some room they shouldn't be in. Vicki's eyes shifted, and her smile faded. She saw something. Brian started to follow her gaze....

The entire room was flooded with blinding white light. Brian blinked. His eyes stung. Someone had flipped a light switch. Shielding his face he turned to scan the room.

He remembered Vicki's yelp... then the scream that followed. Something stung him in the neck. Bewilderment flooded his mind. Brian slapped a hand over the side of his neck. He turned. It felt like he was floating. Numb. He was numb. He couldn't even feel it when his knees buckled. Brian fell away. He saw the figure beside the table. He saw Vicki stumbling away from the table, tugging at her tights.

The strobes were gone. Now the flashes came when he blinked, fighting to stay conscious. The strange figure in the apron. Vicki trying to run. An arm flying into her face. Vicki collapsing.

The person... the man standing over him... the mask... table... cold... why... Vicki... help....

****

She blinked. The room was bright as hell. Florescent light. Her head throbbed like a tennis ball was bouncing in her skull. The soreness in her jaw may have woken her. Her fingers touched her face gently as she opened and closed her mouth. There was a clammy, nasty feeling at the crotch of her tights. Brian... sex....

The memories hit her like a speeding truck. Panic seized her chest. She glanced up into the most horrible face she'd ever seen.

Vicki tried to scream, but the sound was weak, and she wound up coughing. Kicking her feet, she scrambled backward across the floor until her back hit the cold tile wall.

"Oh hey, honey!"

The man's voice was cheerful, but had a slight rasp. Vicki stared wide-eyed into the person's face. He was older. Much older. The tan skin of his face was scarred and pock marked. He had eyes so blue they looked grey. The mask... he wore a surgical mask. Vicki had seen him... the doctor... the actor!

The doctor glanced at his wrist, though he wore no watch.

"Why, you were out for all of... fifteen minutes! I'm so glad you've come out of it!"

Vicki trembled and recoiled. She studied the ugly balding man fearfully. Long tangled grey strands of hair rimmed his spotted head. It had to be a trick. It had to be part of the show. She could tell he was smiling beneath the stained surgical mask when he spoke.

"And not a moment too soon, my dear."

The man stood. She recognized the apron, the black leather apron she'd seen earlier. Vicki studied him fearfully.

"What's g-going on?" She demanded feebly. "Is this some kind--"

"You know, one of my profession doesn't always have access to the type of clientele one really needs to excel." The hideous man stepped slowly around the metal table in the center of the room. He acted oblivious to Vicki's words. "You just can't find good volunteers for the kinds of things I want to explore. It's all about will and knowledge, you see? And I wanted to tell you two how much I appreciate the wonderful and exciting opportunity you've given me tonight."

Vicki's eyes darted about the room. Moisture gathered in her eyes, even though a tiny part of her still suspected it was all a twisted trick. She thought of her bossy, rude sister. Was this her little scheme? David's? The man spoke with an air of normalcy, but the kindness in his voice seemed wrong. Misplaced. Or ill placed. To Vicki, it all sounded too much like mockery.

The "doctor" stopped beside the metal table. He waved a single hand over the table top.

"Your friend here agrees with me," the doctor told her. "Why, he's volunteered himself as the initial subject!"

Vicki felt a cold twist of dread in her chest. She rose to her feet and looked at the table. Her horror was confirmed.

"Brian!"

Her scream was ragged and broken. She darted toward Brian's body on the metal table. Her right arm felt like it was nearly jerked from its socket. With a frantic glance back, Vicki was horrified to see the leather strap on her wrist and the chain that held her to the wall. In that terrible moment, her very mind snapped. Vicki wailed and sobbed at the sight of Brian's motionless body on the table, while she jerked with both hands at the single restraint on her wrist.

"I'm afraid he's not very responsive in his current state, dear," the doctor called to her politely. "It's the sedatives, you see?"

Vicki screamed until she was hoarse. She pulled on the chain in the wall until her body was so weak that she slid to the cold tile floor. Through blurry eyes, she watched the doctor as he sorted through objects on a cart beside the table. She screamed louder when he held a scalpel up to the light.

"Don't worry," the masked man told her. "He'll still get to experience the sensations of being a part of something... wonderful."

The doctor replaced the scalpel on the cart. He strolled around toward Vicki, at which point she scrambled away from him as much as she could. The man bent to grab something from the floor. An extension cord, she realized. Why? What the hell was he doing? It was all a joke. A cruel trick. It was a stupid haunted house, that's all it was!

"Please... please," Vicki sobbed. "We're scared, we're scared, you can let us go, please please please! Let us out!"

The doctor chuckled. His grey eyes studied her. "Scared?" He said. It was the first time he'd actually acknowledged her. "Honey, scared is just the idea. It's not the whole story."

Again he spoke with that false kindness. To Vicki it was menacing. The doctor squatted low and took her wet chin in his fingers.

"Scared only works... if it's all, a part, of the show," The doctor recited slowly. "That's all this is! It's a show? Just a show, right?"

Vicki looked at him. A show? Was this all fake? Was Brian in on it somehow? David? Amber? It was a trick! Her idiot friends must have done all this. That's what he was say--

Her head whipped violently to the side. The knuckles had caught her right in the jaw. The backhanded strike made her dizzy. Wearily, she winced at the enraged scream in her ear.

"Are you enjoying the show!"

Vicki wasn't sure if her head hurt from the bellowed scream or the blow to her head. She tasted metal in her mouth, her own blood. Vaguely, she was aware that the man was walking away toward the table. Vicki coughed and spit red onto the floor. It was then she noticed the faint orange splotches on the tile. The man was fumbling with something on the cart behind her. She wanted to protest.

The calm friendly banter began again.

"Well, if we're clear on the purposes and intent going forward in this procedure," the man said in a sort of sing song tone, "then I see no reason why we need delay. Hmm?"

Vicki turned her head. He had something in his hand. What was that thing? She saw him sliding up the sleeves of the stained and tattered undershirt that he wore beneath the black apron. The doctor reached over and flipped a switch. The room went black. She heard another switch. The strobes above flashed brightly. The doctor looked menacing before. In the frame by frame blinks of the strobes, he was a nightmare. He stepped forward and grabbed some sort of handle on the wall to her right.

"Remember," the doctor said, "it's all just part of the show!"

In the flashing lights, Vicki watched the horrid man pull on the handle. She was shocked to see a whole panel of the wall slide away to reveal a long rectangular strip of glass. It was a window, Vicki realized.

The startled faces on the other side of the glass looked all too familiar. They smiled and peered in at the dark room. The crowd covered their mouths when they beheld the scene. Some of them teased each other and laughed. Others pointed in at Vicki and grinned in amazement.

The show. The haunted house. The stupid haunted attraction. Vicki cried out to them for help, but she knew it was useless. She had become just another very detailed scene.

She jumped and scrambled on the tile when she heard it. The whir and whistle of a spinning blade. A wave of cold dread shot down her spine. Vicki beheld the terrible man in the apron as he taunted the crowd. Swinging his arm, he skipped the blade of the skillsaw across the window. There were some kind of bars or rods across the glass, which sent sparks skittering about the room when the blade made contact. Vicki screamed.

The man turned and stepped around the table. The crowd of faces reeled in horror, cheered the madman on, and cringed at what was about to happen. Vicki couldn't bear it. She turned away and tugged with all her might on the leather strap on her wrist. She couldn't even think. The whirring of the saw behind her drove her into mad fits of screaming. The shrill sound itself hurt her ears, and reverberated in her skull unbearably.

The sound changed. The blade had slowed like it was cutting something. Vicki felt the warmth hit her clothes, her neck, her hair. Shaking her head and screaming, she planted her feet against the wall and pushed with all her might. The strobes flashed in her eyes. In wach blink of light, she saw the mist flying. The warm spray hit her cheek now. She tasted that nasty metallic flavor again. Her arms were painted red. Behind, she could hear the maniacal laughter of the doctor at the table.

The leather strap on her wrist slipped. A glimmer of hope took flame inside her. Gasping, she frantically worked at the strap with her free hand. The blood... it was helping... she was free!

Vicki scrambled to her feet. In the flashing light she saw the door. In her frenzy, she slipped on the wet tile and crashed painfully on her side. Her elbows throbbed. She struggled to catch her breath, but Vicki was up in a flash. She collided with the door, jiggling the knob and crying out in frustration when it would not open. Locked... the bastard had locked her in.

"Where are you going, my dear?" The taunting, friendly voice sent chills through her body. "The procedure has only been started! We can't allow you to leave the operating room!"

Vicki beat her fists on the door and wailed in terror. Turning, she saw the doctor had resumed his gruesome show. The strobes cast their horrible lightning strike effects across the room, creating a nightmarish image that was scorched into Vicki's mind. His back was to her as he worked at the table. The screech of the saw seemed to never end. Occasionally, the madman would release the trigger and fling something at the glass, where the crowd still looked on. They laughed, screamed, covered their eyes, hid their faces in their boyfriend's coat, but all watched the scene as the doctor performed.

Scanning the room, she searched for something. Vicki sobbed and felt along the walls, not daring a look at the table. She prayed there was another way out. The thought crossed her mind to attack the lunatic at the table. That thought was shattered quickly when the skill saw screeched out again. She couldn't bear that awful sound or the idea of coming close to that saw.

The wall moved... a door! She blinked for a second at the outline cut right into the wall. Then, she dashed into the darkness of the corridor ahead. Behind her, the doctor still yelled taunts at her.

"You're leaving?" He called as the skill saw slowed and grew silent. "You haven't been properly discharged!"

Vicki charged ahead.

"Not in there! You don't want to go in there!"

She saw the half open door ahead. It was the only place to go in the straight corridor. Gasping for breath, she burst through into the room beyond. Frantically, she searched the dim area, trying to figure out where to go.

Vicki's heart sank. She saw the long windows that ran along two walls of the room. The rows of beds were all too familiar. There in the center of the room, a single lamp glowed. She couldn't look at the twisted figure on the bed. Vicki couldn't calm her breathing. Her heart felt like it would burst in her chest. She pulled the wet strands of hair from her eyes, but yelped and sobbed when her red soaked hands touched her face.

Faces stared in at her. The people!

Dashing across the room, she flew against the glass and beat her palms on the window. The people on the other side jumped back... and laughed. Several peered in at her in awe. Some of the young women cowered in the men's embrace. One guy even tapped the window and made a fish mouth at Vicki. She screamed at them and beat the glass, smearing it red.

"Help me!" She cried.

The people looked on, entertained.

"You... you d-don't under... stand!" Vicki screamed at the top of her lungs between sobs. "You don't understa-a-and!"

It was useless. The people on the other side of the window weren't going to help her.

She froze when she heard the whistling. The tune from the hallway made her tremble.

Vicki's eyes darted about the room. Beds. Small metal framed beds. That's all she had. She shot a terrified glance at the hallway. Without thinking, she darted toward the far corner of the room, the darkest area there was. Her knees hit the floor and she began to slide herself under the bed in the corner. It was her only hope. She shivered on the tile floor and waited.

Gasping. Gasping. Vicki couldn't stop breathing so hard. She covered her mouth with her hand. She felt the warm blood on her face. She panicked. Blood was on the floor! She hoped the dark would hide the red streaks she had made on the tile.

For several seconds, nothing happened. Silence. Something touched her back. Her eyes widened even more. Pressure again. Right in between her shoulders. Someone was on the bed. Of course they were. More actors... or murderers. She remembered seeing them earlier. Her heart sank as she remembered being on the right side of the glass, standing with Brian and her friends. That seemed so far away from reality to her now. Trying to stay calm, she peered out from under the bed toward the door she'd entered.

Nothing. There was no one there. The faces on at the windows watched in anticipation. Vicki saw a girl point. Her eyes darted back to the door.

Beaneath the row of beds, she saw a pair of feet step into the room.

Vicki opened her mouth and bit down on her hand. She tried to breath through her nose. He was coming. He was coming. He was coming. He was coming. He was coming....

"Oh, now, where did you go, my dear?"

Such an innocent voice. It made Vicki quiver. A tear streaked her cheek.

The black shoes moved. She watched them wide eyed. The doctor stepped between the rows of beds. She couldn't see his face. Just his feet. His legs.

"Do we really need to play this game?" The madman cooed. "I promise you the procedure will be over and done before you know it. I could make it so you don't, feel, a thing."

Vicki recoiled when she saw his head.

The doctor had bent over. He was looking under the beds. He'd find her. He'd find her. He'd find her. He'd find her....

The doctor rose. His boots scuffed the tile when he walked. "You'll have to forgive me, my dear. Your friend will have, eh... just a bit of a scar on his midsection. Sometimes these things are unavoidable. You understand I'm sure."

A rush of panic hit Vicki when he knelt down. He'd just stuck his head under a bed down the way... on her side of the room.

The doctor's balding head turned her way. Vicki held her breath.

He'd see her... he'd see her... he'd see her, see her, see her, see her, see her....

The doctor stood again. He was walking. Those boots kept getting closer. She had to do something. Vicki's eyes shot over to the bed beside hers. An idea formed in her head. It terrified her.

"No need to be nervous, dear."

The man knelt again, peeking under a bed across the way. Vicki wasted no time. She crawled on her belly to the next bed. She could only hope he didn't hear her. She froze when she had completely hidden herself under the bed frame. Vicki glanced at the man. He had flattened himself to get a better look under the beds on the opposite side of the room.

Vicki crawled again. Every second her body was not hidden, she felt like a bright spotlight was shining on her back. Reaching the next bed, she looked back toward the doctor to see him stand. She heard people beating on the glass. Hot anger flared inside when she saw a young man pointing toward her bed. Vicki swallowed and watched the boots at the end of the room.

She heard a loud sigh. The boots turned. Vicki froze in horrified panic when she saw the man walking briskly toward her bed. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for her doom.

He'll get me... he'll get me... god, he'll get me, he'll get me....

The footsteps passed. They continued on. Vicki's eyes shot open. The man was heading for the door. She was about to let out her breath when the boots stopped by the door to the hallway.

"I'm afraid the show has to continue, my shy friend." The man was giving up! "After all, I can't force the procedure upon you if it's truly not what you wish."

The faces at the glass watched. A few of them actually looked disappointed.

"If it's your choice to commit yourself to this institution in here, I'll not stop you," the doctor went on. "I'll check in on you, my dear. Until then, know that you're in the best of company."

Vicki watched the boots disappear through the door. Her heart sailed. She exhaled, quivering beneath the bed. Her mind raced. How was she going to get out of this? Would that glass break? It felt almost plastic, like plexiglass. There had to be a way out.

Something clamped around her ankle. Before she could react, Vicki was dragged out from under the bed. She screamed and clawed at the tile. The faces at the glass cheered. Searing pain washed across her scalp as someone jerked her upright by her blond hair. Her eyes, wide with terror, beheld the scene in the room.

They were getting up.

The people in the beds rose to their feet. A haggard man standing to her left regarded her with a bored expression on his face. The woman that squatted on the bed beside him licked her lips and rubbed her crotch through her tattered hospital gown. A bald man violently jerked free of his restraints and rose from a bed nearby. He shook his head and let out a shrill scream. When his head snapped around, his wild eyes shot right to Vicki.

"Play... play... come to play...."

Vicki craned her head to look at the person clutching her hair.

"Playing... all playing... playtime...."

The voice was deep. Hushed. Menacing. Like the growl of a dog, the grumble of a lion.

"Playtime... thumbs... all thumbs... naughty, naughty hands...."

Vicki saw the source of the voice. Red hair crowned his head. His face was pale. He was smiling... no, his face was smiling. It was paint. Smeared red nose. Dark eyes like a shark, the hollow stare of a predator. The knife in his other hand glistened. The faces cheered behind the glass.

"Naughty girl... like thumbs...."

She saw his painted face. Now, he smiled wide, baring his yellowed teeth.

The group of lunatics closed in. Vicki screamed.

****

"That place was the shit," Aiden said. "Those fucking actors are badass. How did they find so many?"

David spread his arms wide. "Did I not tell you? I do my research."

"I take my hat off to you man," Aiden replied. "Tara's gonna have nightmares dude."

Tara rolled her eyes. She stopped in the parking lot and glanced back at the warehouse. "Um... wait," she said. "Aren't we forgetting somebody?"

The group turned. David sighed and rubbed his sinuses.