1
The ad had been very clear. You book at least two nights in the Jack-O-Cabin and become honorary mayor of Hell for the entirety of your stay. It was a funny little gimmick in Allie’s mind. She would be attending a two-day seminar in a small rural town called Kembroke during the 30th and the 31st, and damn if she wasn’t going to book the place just because it was the cheapest accommodation in the entire area.
Allie arrived at four o’clock in the afternoon of the 29th, just a half hour after the check-in time indicated in the website. Her Uber stopped just outside the forest that surrounded the town on every side and informed her that this was the address she’d provided at the train station: 31 Bleak Road. She thanked him and got out.
The afternoon was true to the place’s name: it was bleak to say the least. Fog rolled around in every direction, making it hard to see past the fingers of her extended hand. It was too quiet, and the chilly air made her shiver. There was a small wooden sign in the ground next to the road that announced: Jack-O-Cabin in big gothic letters, and below that: Come along. Allie took a deep breath and started walking down a dirt path that seem to lead into fog and nothing else. She’d walked about fifty meters when the first jack-o-lantern lighted up. It made her jump.
“What the—” Two yellow, triangular eyes regarded her from the ground next to the path, a crooked smile below them and she understood what it was. “Oh, haha nice trick.” She plodded on.
As she continued down the path, more jack-o-lanterns came to life, each with a different color light inside. There was one with big, turquoise eyes and a grimace, another one with slits for eyes and a shy smile, the green, angry eyes of another one made her look away, and the red smile of the last one almost made it look cute.
The one with the red light was leaning against the side of a quaint wooden cabin at the edge of the main forest, were the trees were closer together. It was made of wood. Two windows looked out toward the path she’d come from. A wreath of dead twigs hung on top of the door; the roof was painted a deep crimson color, and a small spire protruded from it. At the top of the spire, a wrought iron hook, or at least that’s what it looked like to Allie. It was hard to make out from the ground, what with all the fog.
Allie approached the house to knock, but the door flew open as she raised her fist. For the second time she was startled and almost lost her balance.
“Sorry,” a male voice said from inside the cabin. “Was it the mask? I always think it’s overkill, but then don it anyway.” A hand grabbed her shoulder and stabilized her. “Better?” the voice asked. Allie nodded.
The man in the doorway smiled shyly. He was tall and pale. His nose was long and crooked, and his deep amber eyes regarded her in the soft glow of the jack-o-lanterns and the light flooding from the house. His front teeth were too big, his smile a bit crooked, and his hair was greasy and long, bound in a ponytail that fell over his shoulder. Even with all those mismatched features, the man was strangely handsome. In his left hand he held a giant jack-o-lantern mask, which he had removed after startling Allie with the door.
“Great! Sorry again,” he told her. “Allison Guerrero, right? Come on in.”
Maybe it was an illusion, maybe it was because of the fog, but the cabin looked bigger on the inside. It included a parlor, a fully-stocked kitchen, with a table for two, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The parlor was small but cozy, with mismatched couches and chairs and an old springy sofa dominating in the middle. The kitchen was a bit more spacious, with a big metal door that she presumed lead into a pantry. The bedroom included a medium-sized closet and King-sized bed, which left little to no space around it, but that was okay. The bathroom stood in stark contrast with the rest of the house. It was made of tile instead of wood, and it was the only place with fluorescent light, which hurt her eyes after all the soft light outside.
The man, Nathan (he didn’t provide a last name), explained how everything worked and set the ground rules. Then he turned to leave. “Bye, Ms. Guerrero. I’ll come back for the key in the morning after tomorrow, just before check-out. Oh, by the way,” he turned back toward her. “Congratulations! Mayor of Hell for two nights!”
“Wha—oh, that, yes. Thanks.”
“We need to make it official, of course. Stay here.” Nathan rushed out of the house and returned a couple of minutes later with a candelabra, a book of matched, a small black mantel, and a small needle. He set the mantle on top of the kitchen table and then set the candelabra on it. It had three candles that were almost entirely consumed. He lighted them with a match and then addressed Allie again.
“Come, we need to do the initiation.”
“What? Look, I think it’s fun and a nice twist to do this for the season, but I have a seminar tomorrow, and I could use some sleep.”
“It’s just a quick ceremony, c’mon. I can kick you out if you don’t comply with the conditions, you know.”
Allie doubted that was true, but she didn’t want any trouble, so she agreed. “Okay, but please make it quick.”
“Whatever you say ma’am. Now, repeat after me: Recipienti pignori…”
“Recipienti pignori…”
“Obligo animam meam ad vitam aeternam…”
“Obligo animam meam ad vitam aeternam…” There was a loud fwoosh in the cabin as the candle flames grew longer and shot upward.
“In tenebris caecisque latebris…”
“In tenebris caecisque latebris…” A window flew open and crashed against the wall, letting in the fog and a gentle breeze with it.
“Qua duce sequar. Mando velit...”
“Qua duce sequar. Mando velit...” The breeze turned into a mild wind and the flames started trembling, but they weren’t extinguished.
“Et vox mea Scripturae…”
“Et vox mea Scripturae…” The flames grew stronger and starter turning a deep violet shade. Allie didn’t know exactly why, but she thought, weird, that color wasn’t in any of the jack-o-lanterns.
“Voluntatis est intentio eius...”
“Voluntatis est intentio eius...”
“Et hoc saeculo.”
“Et hoc saeculo.”
“Et hoc saeculo!”
“Et hoc saeculo!”
Nathan reached out and held her arm, hard. With the needle, he punctured her thumb. Fresh blood oozed and he collected it in his cupped hand, smearing the mantel with it. The wind turned into a gale and finally overpowered the flames; they were left in complete darkness. The window rebounded from the wall and slammed shut.
Allie felt her way along the wall until she found the light switch. The cabin flooded with light once again, but Nathan was nowhere to be seen. She was alone. She felt jittery. Whoever had come up with this whole idea of the Mayor of Hell charade was onto something. People who were actually looking for this kind of Halloween scares would be thrilled to come here, but they weren’t really for her. And, even though she knew everything had been a show, she couldn’t help but feel scared. She was alone, just outside an unknown forest in a small town, and suddenly spending a couple hundred dollars more in a regular hotel next to City Hall didn’t seem so crazy. Allie made herself some hot chocolate from the public stash in the cupboard and went to sleep. Everything would look better in the light of day.
Allie slept well and woke up with fresh energy. She looked out the window and was pleased to find a clear forest with birds chirping and insects buzzing, several colorful flowers sprinkled here and there. Everything would be ok, she thought cheerfully while she scooped Lucky Charms into her mouth. Bleak Road didn’t look as bleak as last night. As she exited the cabin, she looked up at the steeple and at the hook ornament on top of it. Then she noticed a scripture below it: Gloria enim condemnabitur. She didn’t understand it, but Gloria and condemnabitur sent a chill down her spine. Somehow, those words didn’t sound right in the same statement. Allie backed down the dirt path and left in a run.
She attended the seminar and enjoyed herself. She chimed in with new ideas and answered all questions correctly when needed. She even volunteered when the presenter asked if anyone wanted to provide feedback at the end of the event. She couldn’t wait to return tomorrow.
Things got stranger after that. The seminar ended at 4:30, and she decided to walk back to the cabin by herself. The cabin was just a couple of kilometers away from the complex where the seminar took place, and she could use some exercise. She’d been walking for about twenty minutes when a man shot out of an alley and grabbed her hand. She turned and quickly grabbed the mace from her pocket, spraying him in the face. The man doubled down and she ran as fast as she could. From the next alley, another man emerged. He was burly and tan, and wore sunglasses and a balaclava. She raised her hand to mace him, and he raised his in turn, holding a gun. “Do it and die,” he said. “All we want is your money. Go ahead.”
Allie was about to retrieve her wallet from her purse when she felt something leave her body, like a shadow. She suddenly fell light as air, as if she were able to float just by jumping. “Quick!” the man urged her. But she stopped and gaped. Behind him a huge translucent mass was forming. It was at least two meters told. Its eyes were empty sockets and its mouth was a dark hole. It smiled and a long tongue protruded from it, like a slimy snake, tasting the air for its prey. Allie’s eyes got as big as saucers and her jaw dropped, which made the man turned. As he did, the creature’s tongue licked his cheek and a deep, somber voice said, “drop the gun, big guy.”
The man fired instead, but the bullet went through the creature and came out the other side without dealing any damage. The thing chuckled heartily. “You have just made your last mistake.” Its maw grew to a size big enough to accommodate two watermelons and it swallowed the man in one gulp. Then it turned to Allie. “Go on, we’ve got this.” She didn’t have to be told twice. As she turned the corner, she looked back and saw that another creature was toying with the first man, tossing him from hand to hand.
When she arrived at the cabin, the fog was back, even though the day was sunny everywhere else. As she started down the path, she felt the heavy things return to her body. She doubled her steps and reached the first jack-o-lantern, which brightened with yellow light immediately. But this time, as soon as it turned on, there was a sound added to the mix: screams. Hysteric screams. She ran faster. With each jack-o-lantern she heard a new voice added to the harmony. She tried to make out what they were saying among the senseless screams, and then she did: HELP. Allie was at the brink of utter panic. And then the final blow: she remembered a thought she’d had yesterday during the ceremony: there is no violet light in any of these lanterns. Her heart sank. She thought there would be one soon enough. She had to get out of here.
Allie reached the cabin and darted in to pack her bags. She threw all her clothes and toiletries in helter-skelter and went back to the parlor, where she requested an Uber to take her back to the train station. To hell with the seminar, she wouldn’t be caught dead in this town after today. The app told her that her driver would arrive in five minutes, so she rushed to the door to leave.
A voice spoke from the kitchen, “leaving so soon?” Allie froze. Shit. She’d been so close.
“I—I was…” she stammered.
“No excuses, darling. You are not going anywhere. You are still mayor of Hell. Your term isn’t over yet.”
“I don’t want this. I’m leaving. Now.” She turned. Nathan was sitting at the table, half hidden by the darkness.
“No, you’re not. You think I can run a business with people running away when they please.”
“You can keep my money, I don’t care.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”
Yes, she knew it. But her mind hadn’t exactly had time to wrap around the idea that he was the actual mayor of Hell. Up until about an hour ago, she’d thought this was all a fun charade to attract tourists. “Those lanterns outside. They are—”
“—people who didn’t comply with the contract and left before the end of their stay like you’re doing now.”
Allie regarded him coldly. “No. No, I don’t think so. I think they are people who completed their term and didn’t know what they were signing up for.”
“Well, why don’t you stay and find out?” Nathan smiled. “What do you have to lose? You’re doomed either way…”
Allie tuned him out. He was explaining what was going to happen to her, but she didn’t care. She was focused on getting the hell out of here. She searched for her mace in her purse behind her back, but then remembered that she’d dropped it in the street. Her hands happened upon the next best thing and she grabbed her keys.
“…come here,” Nathan was saying. “Don’t be scared.”
Perfect timing. She approached him, and as he reached out his arms to grab her shoulders, she stabbed one of his eyes with her key.
“AAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOWWWWWW, you bitch!” he screamed, enraged. Allie ran, taking only her purse with her and nothing else. There was no time.
She was greeted by a racket of screaming voices mixed with car honks. Her Uber was hear. She had to hurry. Behind her a crash as her host burst through the door, hot in pursuit. She redoubled her pace. Behind the curtain of fog in front of her she could just make out a blinking light. She was almost there. Behind her, Nathan was gaining. She could hear his loud steps coming for her, for her eternal plight. She lunged for the handle when the car materialized and got in.
“Let’s go, please. DRIVE!” The woman behind the wheel was startled into action and drove away almost immediately. Allie looked out the back window and saw a creature waving his fists at the car, his face wan and yellowish, a key dangling from his left eye, his hair wispy and white. He wondered how she could’ve thought he was handsome the day before.
Allie turned back to the front and sighed. The woman at the wheel chuckled softly, her tongue protruding like a snake at the same time.
“Where to, miss?” she asked.
