The echo of the stranger’s words plays in my mind.“I’ve come to give you a gift or, rather, to return one.”
I take a step back from Asher and claim my drink with a shaking hand. My mind is still reeling, and when Asher looks at me, his entire demeanor changes.
“What guy, Pops? What the fuck is going on?”
I take a long sip of the creamsicle bliss, and stare at the interior of this dark and forgotten house. “I don’t know, but one thing’s for sure. We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
CHAPTER TWO
It’s the sign of a true best friend that when you tell him a bizarre story about the world freezing and a stranger electrocuting you with a touch and transporting you from a Halloween party to a haunted mansion, he doesn’t even bat a beautifully long-lashed eye.
Asher doesn’t question my logic, my sanity, or my sobriety. He simply hugs me and reassures me that no matter what the world throws at us, he’s here and we’ll face it together. Everyone deserves an Asher.
I twist, holding up my phone. “I’ve got no signal. You?”
He pulls out his cell, shifting it in the air. Only the faintest glow of moonlight spills into the foyer through a tall stained-glass window over the door. “Nope. Nothing.”
I slide my phone back into the thigh pocket of the stretchy shorts I’m wearing under my costume.
The place is dark, dusty, and gives off haunted slaughterhouse vibes like every horror movie ever seen rolled into one. It’s terrifying to think about how we got here, but what makes my skin crawl with hot nettles is wonderingwhywe were brought here.
“Is this a Halloween prank thing?” Asher steps over to the door and grabs the smooth brass knob. He gives it a turn, and the door swings open again without a fight. “Huh, I was half-expecting to be locked in.”
I move to stand next to him, and the two of us peer through the opening. It’s still the middle of the night, so the covered front porch and the stairs leading down to the landscaped walkway are all dark.
“I say we flee this creepiness and go find an all-night McDonald’s. We can use their free Wi-Fi to figure out where we are and feed our need for drunk calories.”
“An excellent plan, P. Let’s get the hell gone.”
I’m already moving, already stepping forward into the frame of outside.
And then something verynotnormal happens: my foot keeps moving, but I don’t. It’s like walking into a glass door I didn’t see. There’s a soft pressure across my shins, and then my thighs, and my whole body says, ‘Nope, hard stop’.
There’s no pain. No impact. More like refusal.
I try again. I even get fancy and do a little hop. Why not? The extra momentum might help. It doesn’t.
The invisible resistance stretches, but doesn’t let me step beyond the threshold of the front door.
“Huh.” I step back and give Asher access to the doorway. “I don’t think we’re allowed to leave.”
Asher reaches past me to test the air with his hand. He pushes at it, the skin on the back of his knuckles going white with his efforts. He frowns, tries again higher, then lower, then sideways. “Is it a force field?”
I shrug. “I have no idea how to explain it.”
“Maybe it’s a static barrier… or magic space jelly?”
“Space jelly? That sounds super scientific.”
He grins, which is ridiculous and comforting. “It’s a working title.”
We spend a full minute doing the adult equivalent of those cats on YouTube batting at invisible boxes. The door is open. The world is right there. We just can’t go out into it.
“Okay.” I let the door swing gently shut, and it settles into the frame with a soft click. “So not locked, but we’re trapped just the same.”
Asher rubs his knuckles, looking alarmed. “Maybe we’re not prisoners and there’s a… policy about leaving in the middle of the night.”
My brain trips over that. “Whose policy?”
