Dead End: Midnight Hollow by Penn Cassidy (free novel 24 TXT) 📗

I nearly staggered when the sight of her wild orange hair and bright eyes rounded the corner. It was Pip, but there was something incredibly different about her. Normally, the aunties were a little eccentric. They wore bright clothing that Maddie always called ‘hippie chic.’ But today, she wore something that straight up looked like one of my homespun Halloween costumes.

Her floor length flowing dress was layered in fabrics of burnt orange, purple, and dark green. It had pearl buttons down the front and bell sleeves that covered her ring clad hands. Her ginger hair, that matched my own as well as Fe and my mother’s, was loose and curly. Straight hair must have been a trait passed down on my father’s side.

“Oh, you brought us company!” A bright smile stretched her red painted lips. It took a moment to realize her cheeks and forehead were covered in patches of white powder. “Just in time, really. Come on in.” She waved us over towards the kitchen.

“No offense, ma’am, but maybe it’s not a good idea…”

“Not a good idea for what, dear?” She turned back around, looking at Jason in question.

“It’s been a really fucking strange day… Something weird is going on, and we need answers,” he said, sounding more and more unsure the longer he spoke it out loud. He even glanced at me for a second, looking lost.

Yeah, a lot of things had happened. That was an understatement. As if the year 2020 hadn’t already been a shit show. A deadly virus had swept through the world like a storm, riots claimed the streets, giant bugs swarmed for a month or two, hurricanes struck the Gulf Coast, people forgot what it was like to walk in the sunshine, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen the inside of a restaurant. So in hindsight, I should have expected something ludicrous like this to happen. At least we got to go to a carnival, so yay for that. The universe decided it had more fuckery in store yet again.

Norman pushed forward with a glare at Auntie Pip. “Tell us what the hell is going on with this town. We left for five hours and came back to a freak show. What happened in those five hours?” he demanded, looking worse by the second as sweat rolled down his temple.

“Don’t talk to her like that,” I snapped at him. Norman looked at me with wide but bloodshot eyes. He still looked like he was seconds away from passing out.

“Yeah, don’t talk to her like that!” Jessica echoed on my shoulder, my own little cheer squad of one. I would have fist bumped her if she had hands.

“Show a little fucking respect,” I added, mostly for his benefit. Pip was a nice lady and she had a true heart of gold, but he needed to wipe that sass from his tone before that kind smile flipped upside down. I’d been on the other end of Auntie Pip’s scoldings, and I shivered just thinking about it.

“We’re all running out of patience. Someone needs to start talking right now.” His eyes burned into mine, emerald green swirling with gold like a flickering flame. “I don't—” His deep voice stuttered. “I don’t feel right. I feel cold…” He shivered as if to emphasize his point.

Come to think of it, Norman was looking even paler by the second. There were tired looking bags under his eyes that weren't there before, and his lips were bloodless, making the stark black of his hair stand out in striking contrast. He didn’t look right at all.

“Oh, dear…” Auntie Pip clicked her tongue, her blue eyes suddenly clearing. Her smile dropped. “I knew something like this would happen. Your parents should have prepared you a lot sooner, October.”

We stared at her in confused bewilderment. “What’s going on, Auntie?” I asked. “You’re acting weird. Did you drug us with the tea again?” I eyed her up and down before moving on, because she’d learned the last time what happened if she slipped something into my tea. I got my revenge by returning the favor. “You have no idea what we went through just to get here from the bus. Which, by the way, is still stranded out by Farmer Orson’s farm.”

“Oh dear…” she said, wringing her hands together in worry.

There was a sudden squeaking noise and a heavy thud from the other room. Wet slaps of something moved over the floor, coming closer by the second. I saw my auntie roll her eyes and hop out of the way. My eyes bugged out of my head, and Maddie gave a yelp, jumping back at least three feet as an honest to god vampire bat hopped around the corner.

“Get it, get it, get it!” Maddie chanted with a loud screech, crouching slightly behind Freddy with wide eyes that looked even bigger now that her hair was so dark.

I looked at my auntie. “Explain, please!” I begged, so tired and fed up and questioning everything that had happened in my life.

There was a small chuckle in my ear, and I felt Jessica’s spindly legs sweep my neck. I shivered. I was never going to get used to feeling her against my skin.

“Tell you what,” Pip clapped her hands together, “how about we put on a pot of tea and have ourselves a civilized little chat, hmm?”

She completely ignored the little creature flopping on the floor. Something wet slopped off its skin, and it was visibly attempting to shake off its hairy body. For a second, my heart sank for the poor little guy.

“Lady, we don’t have time for tea—” Jason started with a command in his tone, but Auntie Pip’s icy glare cut him off.

“Hear me now, boy, the next time you call me anything other than Auntie or Madam, you’ll find yourself out of this house so fast, your ass cheeks will catch fire,” she warned, but everyone knew Jason was always her favorite.

She snapped her fingers, and we all jumped