Page 5

Near the final stretch, I paused beneath a string of dim amber bulbs and listened. Nothing seemed wrong, which was exactly what I wanted.

The final scare room sat inside the largest enclosed structure near the attraction exit. I had redesigned it this year to control sight lines more tightly, forcing guests to commit to the room before the last effect revealed itself. The walls were rough timber and painted panels, deliberately unfinished in a way that had taken an unreasonable amount of finishing work to achieve.

The door stood where it should, and the cue light outside had been switched off.

I stepped inside.

The smell reached me before I understood what I was seeing.

Our fake blood smelled faintly sweet and chemical. The smell in the room didn’t.

The room’s low work lights were still on, enough to show the shapes of the set pieces and the pale edge of the exit curtain. Something dark spread across the floor near the rear wall.

Justin was lying in it.

For several seconds, I couldn’t connect the man on the floor with the person who had been arguing about barriers less than two hours earlier.

My lungs tightened until breathing hurt.

“Justin?”

The name came out quieter than I intended.

He didn’t respond.

I moved closer, then stopped myself before crossing the last few feet. His body lay partly turned onto one side, one arm bent at an angle that looked wrong. Blood soaked the back and shoulder of his jacket and had pooled beneath him across the painted floor.

Beside him lay one of the realistic slasher props from the room: a knife, its blade streaked dark red.

I knew that prop. I had approved it, handled it during setup, and told the scenic crew exactly where it belonged.

My fingers had gone numb by the time I pulled out my phone.

The emergency dispatcher answered, and training I didn’t have gave way to instructions I could follow. She asked whether Justin was conscious, whether I could see him breathing, whether anyone else was inside the room.

I answered as steadily as I could.

When she told me not to disturb anything unless I needed to attempt lifesaving aid, I stayed where I was and described what I could see.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

I turned sharply enough that my shoulder struck a piece of scenery.

Rick stood in the doorway, his face changing the moment he looked past me.

“Stay there,” I said. “Please. Don’t come any farther.”

He gripped the doorframe instead.

“Is that Justin?”

“Yes.”

The word barely made it out.

Rick swore under his breath, then backed away and began ordering staff clear of the area.

Sirens came from the road several minutes later.