They used a small VFD in the smack middle nowhere.

Gritty red bricks and slanted broken metal tiles gave it this certain aesthetic feeling

of nostalgia mixed with neglect.

There were five other cars parked outside when we arrived.

They knew one of the others from school.

One of them, Ken, I had talked to.

He was pretty chill and I figured it would just hang near him after my parents left.

The five of us were standing there awkwardly for a moment alone and almost considered

making a run for it.

They wouldn't know, I told myself, or might not even care.

Each of us was told to bring a costume from home, something that represented the fear

that we were trying to overcome.

I had brought a skeleton one from an old cartoon that was once giving me nightmares.

Ken was wearing a lab coat like he was a doctor.

The two girls were both dressed as witches, twins, and I could hardly tell them apart.

I'm Melody, and this is my friend Jen.

Is this your first chance to experience Asher's Grove?

The girl said with a giggle.

Something about her laugh seemed off.

Before I could answer, we heard a shuffling of feet from the front of the building.

It sounded like a clicking noise, like clinking and clanky way of walking, and a moment later,

I realized why.

...