The rides were all Halloween themed. Though, I doubted that’s how they started out. A haunted ship rocked back and forth. It had clearly started out fun and tropical but was now attempting a spooky ghost ship, flaking paint revealing the tropical colors beneath.

  I walked past kiosks selling Halloween themed trinkets and costumes scattered around all sorts of secondhand rides. With venders selling caramel apples, pies and the like. The park was giving off the right ambience despite the tacky refaced rides.

  The large hay bales and old farm buildings in the back gave the theme park a nice touch of authenticity I was not expecting. Acters in cheap costumes were scattered through the park as well. Witches, werewolves, vampires, scarecrows, directed passersby and accepted tickets and soled goods.

  I found my way to a cider shop and sat down in an empty stall ordering a glass along with a piece of raspberry pie. A brake was nice after successfully transferring the creature to my basement.

  So, the seasonal theme park was indeed real. Monsters were not all that realistic, nothing here was. A fine place to take the family I suppose.

  The pie was good, cider fresh, the calm smell of fall rested around me, cut fields brought the honey golden harvest moon. I sat content watching it slowly move in the nights sky back dropped by far away stars. A Groop of high schoolers tore by laughing on their way to the haunted corn maze. A family bobbed for apples. The toddler laughed at his dad every time his face came out in a different funny expression. “What brings you out of your dark woods?”

  Red slipped into the seat next to me. Her pail skin was contrasted by dark, cherry red lipstick. She wore a black witch’s hat, carrot orange flannel, jeans and cowboy boots. She fit the place well.

  Shifting in my warn leather coat I took a long sip from my cider, “Your looking good Red.”

  She gave me that sly smile of hers. Ignoring my compliment. “You’re not here for the apple cider.”

  “It’s good, nice and crisp. Have you tried it?”

  “Not yet.”

  “All get you a glass.” I stood up and walked over to the counter. In the short time it took to get the glass I scanned the open room and the patrons mingling in the park beyond. Nothing seemed off.

  Coming back, with the tall plastic cup, I settled down acrost from Red not returning to my seat next to her.

  “I don’t bite.” She said as I slid the glass over to her.

  “What are you doing here, Red?”

  She leaned back in her chair. Sipping on her straw. “I am having fun, enjoying an evening out with some of my friends and who do I see sitting all alone completely out of place. You’re not on a date, are you?”

  “No.” I took another bite of pie.

  “Should me and my friends head out? I don’t want them caught up in whatever you have going on.”

  “You and your friends should be fine, the spookiest thing I have seen all night is you.”

  “Thanks.” She touched her witch’s hat. “I was trying really hard.” She paused studying me as I ate the last bit of pie. “You really came here alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “And there’s nothing here?”

  “Nothing in particular, no.”

  “Well, I won’t take up the rest of your night.” She went to slip out of her seat but paused, she was certainly up to something. “Do you want to join me?” She asked that sly smile had returned.

  “What to do mean?”

  “You know, walk around the park look at things, appear to be normal.” She said it like what I was doing wasn’t normal.

  She stood up, I got up following. Might as well see what she was up to. We walked through the park, Red leading, me watching.

  “Did you find the creature that tried to kill grace?” she asked. As we weaved through the crowd.

  I glanced at her, taking my scanning eyes off the people around us. “I did, It was some sort of, worm.”

  Red glanced up at me. Green eyes holding mine from beneath the brim of her witch’s hat. “She was slashed and stabbed by iron. Doesn’t sound like the kind of thing worms do.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I smiled, remembering the bulging black eye that had peered out at me from the inside of the sun-bleached skull. “They weren’t regular worms.”

  “No.”

  “I don’t think they were after her in particular. If that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Seems a strange coincidence. Not everyone likes her.”

  I looked back to the crowd, “Grace was looking for trouble in the valley. She found it. I don’t know how intelligent the creature I killed was, but she stepped into its hunting ground. I don’t think it knew what to do with her when she didn’t start decomposing.”

  “Smith was pretty frustrated, after finding her.” Red remarked.

  “So was I.” We turned, it seemed she was leading me to the fair’s wheel on the far side of the park, away from the front and the parking lot. It’s old tee cup buckets were redesigned into jack o lanterns.

  “Was looking for it worth the risk?” she asked. “Being that close to the Sinew? Having it catch your cent?” She wasn’t looking at me when she asked the question. Last time she had wanted to see my reaction.

  I stopped; we were almost at the fair’s wheel. “It worked out.” Something was starting to feel off, I couldn’t quite place my finger on it. There was a hollowness in my chest that wasn’t there in the cider shop. I looked at Red. She was looking at the turning fairs wheel.

  “Do you want to?” she asked. Nodding at the ride.

  I glanced around trying to find whatever it was that was bothering me. “It’s a crisp night isn’t it.”

  “It is.” She smiled. Waiting for my response.

  I looked back at her, “Sure.”

  She turned and I followed her to the short line. My anxiety was starting to grow, there was not a quick way off the creaky thing. Why was I so nervous? I looked at Red. She was a beautiful woman.

  The starch thought hit me; I had definitely killed more beautiful women then gone on dates with them. True, they had all been monsters, at least as far as I knew. I didn’t know what Red was up to, if she were up to anything at all.

  I was still looking at her when the man asked for our tickets. I dug into my pocket and pulled out the universal pass for two. We climbed into an orange painted tee cup and I forced myself to look any direction other than Red’s. She had settled back on her side of the farice wheel and was slowly sipping on her cider, smiling from the corner of her lips as we slowly rose into the air.

  To the front of the fairgrounds fast movement cought my eye and I watched as Smiths big truck aggressively pulled out of the parking lot. Aw, she had brought me here so her friends could leave in peace without the risk of running into me. I understood now. Though the understanding didn’t stop the unease in my gut.

  “Didn’t want me to run into smith again?” I asked. Nodding at the dissipating taillights. Red smiled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I thought we were here enjoying this pleasant ride.” She gestured with her cup at the people below.

  “Hum.” I sat back.

  “You’re not really good at this kind of thing.” Red sounded a mused as we slowly began rising for a second rotation.

  “Good at what?”

  She looked more amused. “What do you do in your off time when you’re not hunting, doesn’t seem like you go on dates.”

  I smiled. This was a date, was it? “No, no dates.” We rose 5 more feet, a soft echo drifted from the west. Aw, that’s what the pit in my stomach was responding to. I waited five more feet and the echo repeated. Faint, low, and almost dead.

  “Well, what do you do?” Red asked again.

  “I sharpen knives and load bullets.” This would be our last trip around the fairis wheel. I needed to go.

  “So, your always working? That explains a lot.” She muttered the last part.

  “Yes, in fact I got a whiff of something. As we have been going around. I’m going to have to leave when we reach the bottom.”

  “What is it?” she swirled the ice in her cider cup. “You’re not just making something up are you?”

  “No this has been,” I didn’t know the right word. “Different.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Glad to bring you, some variety.”

  We had risen another five feet, and the dark echo softly called again, hunger. Famished hunger. “It’s coming for me.” I didn’t realize I had said it out loud.

  “What is?” Red sipped the last bit of apple cider from her cup. Her eyes flicked over the vast ground beneath us, my change in mood seemed to have put her a little on edge.

  “Morgan, don’t worry it’s not close. But I need to go.”

  Red looked over at me. Expressionless, for the first time this evening.

  Stepping off the fairs wheel Red discarded her cup in the trash. She looked at me, went to say something but stopped herself, thinking it over. We stood there for a moment. “I need to go.” I turned and began walking away. I didn’t look back.

  I was just about to my truck, when I caught a glimpse of pink glimmering eyes from the thick woods that surrounded the carnival. I started walking towards them, but as I aproched they vanished to the sound of rustling brush. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the contacts.

  Red didn’t pick up. So, I called grace. She answered on the second buzz.

  “I was wondering, when you were going to call.”

  “Those things, which were after Loren and amber, I just saw one in the woods. You need to call your daughter and tell her to find me in the parking lot.”

  “All call you back.” Grace hung up.

  I waited hand in my jacket, fingers around my 1911.

  Grace called back a minute later. “Amber is safe. How did you know she was at the carnival?”

  “We ran into each other. Those things are still after her. You’re going to need to figure a solution without me. The Sinew is after me. My hands are full.”

  There was a long pause, from her side of the line. “Are you sure? You left it in Utah, it couldn’t have picked up your sent from this far way.”

  “It’s coming for me grace. Something’s changed, I don’t know what, but I know it’s coming for me and is only a few days from finding me.”

  “We can get you on another plane. There is the Glade in Ireland you could…”

  “If it can track me acrost the states then who to say it can’t find me in Europe. That’s a lot of dead people in between. If you don’t hear from me in three weeks you’re not going to.” I hung up my phone and climbed in my truck. She tried calling me back several times, but my mind was made up. My plan would either work or it wouldn’t.

  I wanted more time, but after recognizing the Sinew’s call in the mountains of Utah and Idaho, I understood. I would rather force the encounter and die; I couldn’t take the feeling of dread that had been my constant companion over these last three years after Victors death.