As I gripped Nick’s shirt, I shrieked, “I can’t see anything!”

We were a group of seven trying to tackle “Black Out”, a pitch dark haunted maze. Out of all of us, the only brave beings were Nick and Dominic.

The smell of fear surrounded us, or rather, was it the smell of urine?

I turned around when I heard Maddie and Maria scream.  I was trying to see what happened, forgetting that I wouldn’t see anything. Someone was holding a flashlight at chest level. We could see the neck and the collarbone of this emaciated creature. Every rib bone was clearly defined. I could see the top of the ribs. I began to shake in terror. I tried to walk away, but Nick was blocking the route and he would not budge. I squeezed my eyes shut until I felt his shirt tug my arm forward.

“I am so scared!” Maria screamed.
“Boo!” Dominic yelled while grabbing Maria, causing her to shout.
“Dom,” Kris said, “ that wasn’t funny.”
“Yah, Dominic!” Maria scolded.
Dominic said throughout his laughter, “ It was kind of funny, but I am sorry Maria.”
“If you guys are scared, just laugh at what scares you,” Kris said.
“Okay,” Maddie said hesitantly.
“I’ll try it,” I said.

Okay, just laugh at what scares you. That seems like a logical idea. Hahaha… that makes no sense at all! What will that do? It’ll keep the monsters away! I don’t think so!

“Ahh!” Nick scouted in pain.
“What?” Karen said.
“Don’t touch the walls,” he yelled back, “they will shock you!”
“Hahaha!” I laughed in fear of the tasering wall.

The thought of falling, tripping, face planting, or being zapped by the wall scared me.

I tried to remember the warm touch of my Mom before we walked into the darkness, her gentle hand on my back reassuring me that I was going to be fine. I kissed her cheek and walked through the doorway. Missing her safety inspired me to want to get through this.  I continued the journey.

I see a light flicker, and a face with horns on it appeared right beside me. I hear Maddie scream, and I feel as if my ears are going to burst. Maria was crying in the background with Karen, her grandma, trying to comfort her. These horns were not the ones that you usually would wear with a headband in a devil costume. These were the ones that are prosthetics and look real with makeup. There were six on top of its head--three on the left and three on the right. The head was green and the horns were tipped in yellow. Its yellow eyes with specks of green and the blood red lips were enough to finish the fright.

“I love your horns,” I said nervously. She nods in response. 
“Did you just say that you like her horns?” Maddie asked in amazement.

“Yeah, they were cool,” I stated, a bit shocked at what I just said... Why would I say that? Well, those horns were really amazing.

Nick pushed on another wall to reveal the exit. The light touched my skin, and I felt the relief. It charged through my veins and throughout my body. The maze was a mixture of fun, fear, and brutal. The darkness was bloodcurdling. I was glad that we found the exit because a little part of me was wondering what would have happened if we never get out. I ran to my Mom when I saw her sitting next to my Grandfather on a bench waiting for us to finish. She had huge smile when she noticed me running towards her. She stood up and gave me a big hug.

“That was so much fun!” I exclaimed, a bit out of breath.
“That’s great!” my Mom said.
“I was so scared,” Maddie stated.
“Did you have fun though?” my Mom asked us.
“Boatloads!” Maddie and I both said, looking at each other. I grabbed my Grandfather’s hand, and we started to walk towards the next haunted house called “The Slaughter House”.
“So, how was it?” he asked.
“Amazing!” I proclaimed. 

This brave group marched on to conquer the remaining five haunted houses.