Haunted House Party: Seven Minutes

Darkness surrounded the old-growth forest and an unnatural chill emanated from the sides of the old van, beating back the attempts from the struggling heater. The warm air from the front vents twisted with the cold, swirling and mixing before being forced down to the floorboards.

Leah sat in the back, watching the others from the third row of seats. The grotesque shapes of bent trees with reaching arms passed as dim shadows in the darkness beyond her window. She shivered, rubbing her upper arms while leaning away from the windows.

"Can you turn up the heater?" the girl asked loudly.

"It's up all the way," their driver, Troy, answered. Still, he reached out to turn the knob just in case. The silver glitter on the sleeve of his costume reflected the light of cellphones from inside the car before he put his hand back on the wheel and slowed.

"Doesn't bother me," Tanya purred from the passenger seat. She raised her arms and her bosom swelled. Leah rolled her eyes when the girl's left nipple peeked out from the thin lapis bra. Her Princess Jasmine costume was see-through and the girl flaunted it. A leather collar encircled her neck to complete it. She touched it when she brought her arms down. "And you're even wearing clothes. Why couldn't you bring a costume like Soon Bok?"

"That's not my name," came a muffled voice from the second row of seating. The tiny girl with silky black hair had her shirt up over her head, fighting to get it off without bumping anyone. Red peeked through in flashes as she struggled. "Nobody look! Nobody- okay, I've got it."

She tugged at the costume she wore beneath her long sweater and then shivered. Glossy red strips of fabric covered her meager breasts. They ran down to a bikini bottom and up to a ring below her neck, where they were tied together. Long white collars, also attached to the ring, lay against her shoulders to complete the outfit.

Her nipples were hard in the cold air and they pressed against the red outfit.

"Tonight, I am no longer Soon Bok," the girl said with an air of haughtiness that was betrayed by the fierce blush on her cheeks and the trembling smile she held. Her hand started to reach for the red straps but she held them back. "I am... Sin."

"Oh lord," Leah sighed.

"You should've been Vampirella, Jennifer," Tanya said, looking over her shoulder at the other girl sitting in the second row. "Or some other vampire."

"Because why?" Jennifer asked, her thin eyebrow arched in curiosity. She wore a tight black latex costume with a yellow iconic bat symbol across her slim chest. A loose yellow belt and black boots completed the look.

"You're- You-" the girl fumbled.

"Batman," Jennifer said bluntly. "I'm Batman."

"Batgirl, you mean," John said from the back. He nodded his head lightly while his thumb and index pointer tapped out a silent rhythm on his Spiderman costume.

"No, I said what I meant," the girl retorted. Her voice took on a gravelly undertone. "I'm Batman."

"Should've been a vampire," Tanya said again. "You like to wear black. And- umm- you're-"

"What?" Jennifer asked again. "I'm what?"

"Nothing, never mind," Tanya said quietly.

"So why aren't you wearing a costume, Leah?" Jennifer asked, turning to look at the other girl. Her eyes dipped down to the small silver cross the girl wore at her neck. "Too religious?"

"No," Leah said, looking once more through the windows. She touched the cross briefly and it seemed to shine despite the lack of light. "It's just all 'slutty slave princess' and 'slutty cleaning maid' and I'm tired of it."

She fidgeted for a moment, on the cusp of speaking again before closing her mouth. But her expression firmed and she decided to continue after all.

"I know you think it's stupid and don't believe-"

"Hey, whoa," Jennifer said, palms up and flat. "Yeah, no, I don't but that's your business. Don't go preaching to me and I won't tear down your flimsy beliefs. We're cool."

"Why'd you come?" John asked. Both of his hands tapped against his thigh, moving higher and lower. The drummer never seemed to relax and it was worse when he had a pen or pencil in his hand.

"I like parties," Leah shrugged. "I thought it'd be fun."

"It will be," Troy said from the front. He slowed and turned to go around an obstacle in the path before straightening the wheel once more. "Jake is running it and I've been to his parties before. They can get a little crazy but I'll try to keep an eye on things."

Their driver adjusted himself as subtly as he could while glancing at Tanya. The girl in the passenger seat pretended not to notice but a sly smirk crossed her lips.

Lights bloomed in the car as they returned to their phones. Troy hummed softly with both hands on the wheel. The drive was surprisingly treacherous with rocks jutting from the dirt road. And it was so dark. He kept thinking he saw things moving on the side of the road and he would tense, ready to slam on the brakes but it would pass and he'd see nothing more than a rotting branch stretching out as if to touch him.

The tip of the crescent moon appeared, painfully bright. It seemed to burn through reality itself against the void of the night sky. No stars twinkled above and no clouds could be seen but Troy knew they must be there as more of the moon started to show. Once fully visible, he found it hard to focus on. And disconcerting. As if it were an open wound on a screaming victim. He shook his head at the thought, wondering why it came to him and tried to focus on the road instead.

The house appeared suddenly. Sullen and dark. Imposing in the eerie silence with the cars parked around it as if they were supplicants, kneeling in adoration. Or terror.

"I don't see any lights," Tanya said as she leaned forward. Her voice was hushed and she hugged her arms while licking her lips. "Shouldn't there be lights?"

"There's cars," Troy told her as he pulled into an empty spot next to a sleek BMW. "Probably just curtains or something. My granddad lived in an old house and I swear the curtains each weighed a ton. You couldn't even hear anything once you were inside. Blocked out everything."

Leah's breath formed a ghostly ring on the window next to her when she bent to look at the house. She gasped as a deep chill settled beneath her breastbone and her hand instinctively went to the cross she wore. It burned her hand but she held it tight and the pain ebbed.

Soon Bok tugged at the handle of the sliding door next to her. It groaned on old wheels but finally slid open.

"Fuck!" the girl gasped as a rush of cold air invaded the van. "Wr-wr-wrong costume i-idea today. I'm going in!"

The driver and passenger doors opened as everyone filled out behind Soon Bok. She squealed and dashed through the grassy parking lot until she reached the entrance.

"Somebody heeeeelp," the girl whined piteously when she struggled with the massive double doors.

Troy walked faster and they both strained to open the doors.

Jake stood rooted within the foyer, open mouthed and vacant-eyed. Troy blinked and Jake bowed with a wide smile.

"You're the last of us," Jake said. His voice boomed but sounded strained, as if the very air was being forced through his lips while his tongue and mouth worked to form words. The sentence started strong but slowed to a wheezing hiss.

"Hey Jake," Troy said. There was a smell that he couldn't place as he stood close to his classmate. His mind worked at it over and over but the only thing he could think of was something like pond scum. Rancid pond scum. "Where is everyone?"

"With us," Jake replied. His pupils consumed his eyes, black colorless holes floating on a sea of white sclera tainted by a rash of broken blood vessels. "Here."

"Uh, okay," Jennifer said, glancing around. The tips of her black hair bounced against her pale neck. "Dude, it's not my place to say anything but maybe lay off whatever you're on."

"I'm full to the brim with it," Jake groaned. "It consumes me."

"Yeaaaah," Jennifer said while looking back at her classmates. Soon Bok hid behind Jennifer, barely concealed by the other girl's slightly larger body. Her fingers clamped against Jennifer's arm painfully tight. "We can tell. So, uhh, where's the 'no drugs' part of the party?"

"Behind me," the boy hissed, twisting his arm backwards until it bent to an impossible degree. "Nearest the source yet further than I was. More will join soon."

"You're laying it on thick," John grumbled. His right hand tapped his hip while he looked around Jake to see the door.

Beneath the wide stairs lay a door steeped in oily shadows.

"You go first," Soon Bok said, gently shoving Jennifer.

"Troy drove us here," Jennifer told her, leaning back. "He can lead."

"Oh, fine," Tanya sighed while rolling her eyes. "I'll go."

The girl adjusted her transparent, cerulean outfit before stalking past Jake. The baggy leggings billowed around her. The matching top she wore was separate, barely covering her chest and leaving her midriff exposed. Her lean, tanned back flexed as she mixed her steps up and purposefully began to sway her hips. She paused with a dramatic twirl, her hands clasped above her as she shook and the thin metallic rings clinked against her wide waist. Her shoulder-length curly hair bounced against her back and shoulders.

Facing forward once more, she hummed one of the songs from the Aladdin movie until she reached the designated door. Tanya turned, twisted the handle and bumped it with her hip before spinning into the room.

"She never turns it off," Leah sighed.

"No she does not," Jennifer agreed. She walked and Soon Bok followed, her hand still clutching the other girl's arm.

John glanced around the interior while tapping against a faint beat bumping from the headphones resting around his neck. Just ahead of him, Troy watched Tanya steadily until she was out of sight. He sped ahead and the rest of the group to catch up to her.

"Come on, Sin," Jennifer laughed, taking Soon Bok's hand away from her arm. She held the girl's hand to bring her into the room.

The opulence within made the group stop and stare. A huge fireplace roared from the far end of the room, blasting waves of heat strong enough to force the group to step back. Black leather couches and chairs dotted the room with tables laid out in between. Ice buckets were set atop each table, perfectly centered with a constellation of wine glasses surrounding them. Three bottles of wine rested within each bucket, their dark green glass dull in the shifting flames.

"How is that ice not melting?" Jennifer asked as she plucked at the top of her costume to air herself off.

"I don't care. Chilled alcohol sounds amazing right now," Tanya said. She went to the nearest table to grab a bottle. The cork stopper, already halfway out of the bottle, popped off easily and she poured herself a glass. The currant colored liquid seeped out of the glass.

Troy sat next to the table in a black loveseat as the others arranged themselves nearby. Tanya sipped at her wine cautiously and then nodded as she took a deep pull.

"There's room here if you want," Troy told the girl, tapping the space next to him. She pretended not to hear as she walked around their furniture.

The heated air from the fireplace swarmed over them, tugging at their clothes and hair as if they were a million greedy hands begging for their attention.

"Leah?" Jennifer asked, a second bottle in hand. It was angled over a glass next to hers as she looked up at the uncomfortable girl opposite her.

"No, thank you," Leah said, shaking her head. She fanned herself while licking her glossy pink lips but then spoke up again. "Well, maybe a little."

"Cool," Jennifer said. "Nothing for our designated- what are you doing?"

"What?" Soon Bok asked. Her finger was frozen on her face. Wine darkened the skin surrounding her mouth and she smiled mischievously.

"What do you mean, 'what'? What are you doing with the wine?"

"I'm a vampire," Soon Bok sniffed while tapping her lips and cheeks a few more times. "Look. It's blood."

"I think you've already had enough," Jennifer laughed.

"Nooooo," the other girl cried as she shoved the glass against her lips. She tilted her head back and her throat worked as she swallowed. "Gah. It burns."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Tanya asked after completing her mini tour.

"Coke-head Jake said others will be here soon," Jennifer said. She frowned at the memory of it, biting her lip briefly before taking another swallow of her wine. "I think. I think that's what he meant. This is good stuff."

"I'm already bored," Tanya groused while refilling her glass. She sat on the arm of an empty chair. Even slumped, her stomach was flat and hard after years of gymnastics.

"Well, everyone's drinking," Leah said while reaching for the third bottle. "We could find some paper and do a tipsy pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game."

"No, thank you," Tanya said, raising her leg to rest against the other knee. She bounced it slowly while looking around.

The heat was oppressive but it had faded the more she drank. Yet it was still present. Surrounding her. Caressing her. Slipping beneath the tiniest of gaps in her clothing. Forcing itself past her lips whenever she opened her mouth. Slipping down her throat to warm her chest and fill her head with a warm buzzing sensation exacerbated by the wine she was drinking.

Soon Bok giggled as she accidentally knocked her glass against an empty bottle. It thumped against the table and spun to point at the fireplace.

"I've got it," Tanya said with a wide smile.

They turned to her and then followed her eyes to the bottle.

"No," Jennifer said.

"Yes," Tanya replied.

"What are we talking about?" Leah asked before slowly sipping her wine. Her eyes were wider than before and the cross lay against skin reddened by the fire and the alcohol.

"She's talking about playing seven minutes in heaven," Jennifer told her with a shake of her head. Once more, the sharp ends of her hair brushed against her neck and ears. This time, she found herself breathing out as the sensation sent a tingle down her spine.

"Isn't that the-"

"Kissing game? Yes," Tanya affirmed, licking the bottom of her teeth before biting her tongue gently.

The fire crackled in the silence that followed and even John's restless fingers grew still. The heat had battered their wills before the wine broke them down, leaving them open to the suggestion that began to infect them.

"Sin doesn't kiss," Soon Bok said, touching her wine-stained lips. "She bites necks and drinks blood. So, if I can do that, I'll play."

"Not me, thanks," Leah told them. Her eyes were locked on the bottle and the single drop of wine hanging from the neck. The words seemed to come from a thousand miles away and she felt like she was both present in her body and projected backward, staring at the entire room. She shook her head and the room spun briefly before righting itself. Her ears burned as pinpricks tickled the back of her head.

Jennifer looked up around the room. Four doors, smaller than the one that lead to the room but equally as dark, sat at the four corners. They were lacquered with an elaborate gold trim along the edges.

"We even have our closets," Tanya said.

"Why are there four?" Jennifer asked, shaking her head slowly. "Who the fuck needs four closets in a single room?"

"We- we don't have to do this," Troy spoke up. His Adam's apple bobbed while he snuck glances at Tanya.

"-do it," Leah said quietly. They all looked at her and she pulled into herself, digging her elbows into her stomach as she hunched over. "I'll do it."

"You?" Tanya asked, honestly surprised.

"I'm not a prude!" Leah lied. Her lips moved as if she couldn't control them but she wanted to do it. She hated the idea that her classmates judged her based on her faith. She believed, strongly, but she wasn't her parents. She wouldn't let it shackle her and drive every single decision she made.

Tanya laughed, hand against the wide leather collar at her neck.

"Go on, then," she said. "Do it."

"I will," Leah said, staring at the fallen bottle as if it were a viper.

Thus, she was surprised to see her hand reach out. She touched the green, label-less bottle and stared at her distorted face in the curves. The flames from the fireplace reflected strangely and seemed to appear behind her head. Despite being recently chilled by the ice cubes, the bottle was warm to the touch.

They all watched her, spellbound by her decision as she twisted the bottle and then spun it gently. It wobbled while it rotated, the neck dipping and raising in a sinuous wave. Their pupils widened as they watched it, mesmerized by the light racing along the bottle in a hypnotizing pattern, shrinking and growing as it faced towards and then away from the fireplace.

It slowed, dipping once more to deposit the last drop of wine on the table before stopping.

"Huh," Jennifer said as she stared into the open mouth of the bottle. It took a conscious effort to claw back from the daze forced upon her.

"Well," Leah said, swallowing hard as she followed the line of the bottle to the girl sitting off to her left.

"I mean-"

"You don't have to-"

The two girls spoke at the same time and then stopped.

What did I do? Leah asked herself. She remembered volunteering. She remembered wanting to do it. But now, faced with the result, she hesitated.

"Look, really-" Jennifer started to say.

"P- pick a closet," Leah told her, looking away to stare at the bottle once more. She breathed deeply and her lungs burned from the heated air. The movement pushed her breasts forward and her shirt brushed against her body. She breathed out suddenly as all the little nerves along her sides and belly begged for attention. Just beneath the center of her bra, two little bumps formed on her shirt as her nipples twisted, the skin gathering and pushing outward as they hardened.

I'll do it, she told herself. I'm not my parents. I'll do this. I want to do this.

"Fuck it," Jennifer said quietly. She stood and walked past Leah's chair, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. The other girl meekly followed as the rest of the group watched in astonishment.

The closet door opened to darkness. For a moment, Jennifer was taken aback but she stepped inside and Leah closed the door behind her. She was sure she could hear her own fluttering heart beat in the imposing silence. The room felt impossibly vast until Leah's hand brushed against her, reminding her of her presence.

Jennifer opened her mouth to say something. To tell the other girl that this was stupid. To tell her that she would lie for her and say they'd done it. To-

Hands held hers. Trembling but warm and smooth. She felt Leah come closer and now she was uncertain.

Warmth, close to her face. The sweet smell of honeysuckle. The thick, heady scent of wine filling her nose. As near as she was, the darkness was complete.

Lips on hers, dry but soft. A quick peck.

Unsatisfying.

Jennifer leaned in, letting Leah's hands go to hold her properly. Finding her lips again she kissed, hard this time, and the other girl sighed as she opened her mouth. The sigh stretched into a moan as their tongues touched.

Deep within her brain, the pounding, throbbing, buzzing noise cracked and frayed. She could almost pick out notes from an impossibly beautiful symphony playing at the edges of her mind.

The closet was a formless void and darkness covered the two girls as they groped each other and a wave of heat swept over their bodies.