You Are The Apple of My Eyes

Chapter 658 Don't Be Afraid

Before they could even start walking inside, the music in the background had already scared them. Rainy was particularly frightened as she trembled in her boyfriend's arms.

"Interactive 3D Audio. The haunted house is really a big deal." Aron looked at the four girls with worried eyes. "Austin and I searched about it online. It's really scary. There are all kinds of strange things in there, like Sadako, the female ghost coming out of the TV. There's blood everywhere; it's so terrifying."

"Is it really that scary?" Rainy said, her voice trembling.

"We haven't searched it online," her boyfriend said. "Rainy's too afraid. Is there a way for us to back out?"

"Yes, yes. There's a switch here we can press that would alert the management of the haunted house. They'll lead us to a safe passageway where we can exit." Aron looked around but couldn't find the switch. "Michelle, do you know where it is?"

"I do." Michelle approached the wall and pointed at the switch. "Do you want me to press it?"

"Yes, please. My boyfriend and I won't be joining you anymore. I hope you guys have fun." Rainy finally calmed down. "It's different from the haunted house that I've been to before. Just listening to the eerie music and the screams is enough to give me goose bumps."

Robin nudged Debra with his elbow. "What about you? Are you still going to join us or what?" Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

"Of course. I'm not a coward!" Debra straightened her back. "I'm a little scared, but I'm also curious since I've never been to a haunted house before."

Lydia was stunned. "Haven't you been to one before?"

"No." Debra shook her head and took a deep breath.

"How could you have the courage to go to such a horrible haunted house if you've never been to one before?" Aron was shocked. "Debra, you're so awesome."

The others also gave her a thumbs-up sign. Seeing her friends believe in her made Debra more courageous. "Don't worry. Michelle, press the button. Let Rainy and her boyfriend leave first."

"Okay." As soon as Michelle pressed the button, two security guards came over and led Rainy and her boyfriend towards the exit.

Now only eight of them were left.

Aron walked in front. "I'll take the lead. Follow me and don't fall behind. I heard there's a revolving door somewhere in the haunted house. If we don't stick together, we might get separated."

"That's right. The last time I came with Nini, we went in with another group. After a while, they all disappeared. They must've walked through that door and left us. If Nini hadn't been holding my hand, I probably would've been separated from her too," Michelle said.

Lydia looked at Michelle. "Michelle, do you want to hold my hand?"

"I want to hold your hand!" Debra immediately ran towards Lydia and grabbed her hand. "You go to the other side, Michelle. Lydia is brave. She's been to haunted houses before, so she's not afraid."

"You three girls walk in the middle while Aron takes the lead. Austin and Leon will stand on either side while Kane and I will be behind. We'll protect all three of you, I promise!" Robin said with a smile.

All of them nodded in agreement apart from Austin. "I'll be on the back alone. Leon, take care of Michelle. The last time we went here, she was so scared that she cried!"

"I didn't cry!" Michelle shrieked.

"Yes, of course. You didn't cry." Lydia smiled. "You almost cried."

"Exactly." Michelle pouted and snorted like a child. "I don't need Leon's protection! I'm not scared, okay?"

Leon reached out his hand and touched his nose. He hoped that he would be invisible to the ghosts in the haunted house.

He had been quite nervous all this time.

'Stop overthinking, ' he told himself.

Now that he knew that the ghosts in the haunted were only people, he wasn't that scared anymore.

Then he remembered that ghosts were once human beings!

The thought terrified him even more.

Despite his raging anxiety, Leon followed them into the house. The creepy music was playing as shrilling screams echoed across the entire haunted house. Thanks to the constant flashing of the incandescent lamps along the corridors, they saw bloody palms and scratches imprinted on the wall, as well as words like "save me" and "she is here." The terrifying atmosphere made everyone shiver.

Out of nowhere, a cell phone rang. It wasn't too loud, but it was very creepy.

"Whose phone is that?" Debra asked.

"Don't mind it. It's probably not ours." As soon as Austin finished, the phone stopped ringing. Everyone exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Debra, your phone is on the floor."

"Wow, am I really that scared to have dropped my phone?" Debra bent down to pick up her phone.

"Debra, what phone are you talking about?" Michelle looked puzzled. Suddenly, the light in the corridor turned off, and everything became pitch black.

"Debra, if I remember correctly, your phone was hanging around your neck. How could it fall?" Lydia's throat lumped.

Debra's face turned pale. "Then, who was talking to me just now? That sounded like..."

"It was me." A voice imitating Robin's voice came from the phone she was holding.

Aron hit his own forehead. "Ghost!"

"Ah!" Everyone started to scream in terror. The phone in Debra's hand lit up. A ghost's face appeared on the screen.

"That was a ghost calling us." Before Aron could even finish what he was saying, Debra had already tossed the phone away. She ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.

Robin cursed under his breath. "Fuck! Debra, stop! Don't run! You'll be separated from us!" He started chasing after her.

"Damn it, Robin!" Kane shouted as he ran after them, too.

When he realized that everything was descending into chaos, Aron followed their lead and chased after them as well.

Only four of them were left in the darkness.

Michelle's jaw slacked open as she tried to find the words to speak, but none would come out. 'They were so fast!' she thought.

Like Michelle, Leon was also out of words. 'Why do I feel like laughing?'

Austin was speechless as well. 'I just told them about this! But they didn't listen. Now, they just fell into their trap.'

"What should do they do now?" Lydia asked worriedly.

"Aron's with them. They'll be just fine." Austin calmed down and walked towards Michelle and the others. "Let's keep going. If we're lucky, we might see them again."

Lydia followed Austin while Michelle walked with Leon. With Leon by her side, Michelle wasn't afraid at all. She looked around and inched closer to Leon.

Michelle's aroma was so relaxing that it helped ease Leon's anxiety.

"Michelle, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Leon. But let's not talk now. Let's wait until we're out of this darkness." Even though Michelle told him to stop talking, she continued to speak. "People in this haunted house are so talented that some of them can imitate other people's voices. Just now, I thought it was Robin who reminded Debra that her phone was on the floor."

Leon took a deep breath and said, "There are so many skillful people here. Sadly, they're doing something that's unworthy of their talents."

"I don't know. Maybe they get paid really well since the haunted house is a famous attraction and the tickets here are very expensive." Michelle paused and stopped in her tracks. "Leon, wait."

"What's wrong?" Leon's heart began to sink.

"Lydia, Austin, are you still here?" Michelle called out their names, but no one answered. "Oh no, Leon, they might have got separated from us!"

A chill ran down Leon's spine.

On the other side, Austin said the same when they found out that Michelle and Leon were no longer behind them. "They probably got separated from us."

Initially, they were one group. Then they were divided into two, then into three.

A pale orange light coming from the door flickered in the darkness. Thanks to it, Leon saw Michelle, who stood very closely to him. He saw that she wasn't frightened at all. Rather, she looked quite excited!

"Leon, if I'm not mistaken, there is a TV in that room, and a woman playing as Sadako, crawling out of the TV."

Taking a deep breath, Leon reached out his hand towards hers. "Come here, Michelle. I'll hold your hand."

"Thank you, Leon." Michelle took Leon's hand but was surprised that it was cold.

She had held his hand in the past, but it was never this cold.

Right now, it was as cold as snow.

The last time she came to the haunted house with Nina, her hands and feet were also cold because she was afraid.

Suddenly, she remembered Wynn's post in his WeChat Moments—"I have a friend who is afraid of the dark and ghosts. He is afraid of haunted houses and horror movies the most. However, he has to keep his tall and strong image, so no one knows."

"Leon." Michelle lowered her eyes and held his hand.

"What? What's wrong?" Leon saw that Michelle was looking at her feet and thought that she was scared. "Don't be afraid. I'm here with you."

"Okay," Michelle replied softly. Her long eyelashes were marred with teas, and she felt her eyes go misty.

When they were about to reach the door, Leon was so nervous that he didn't notice the subtle change in Michelle.

As they stood before the door, Leon was able to see what was inside the room. It was in total disarray, with black cloth hanging on the wall.

The TV with Sadako was right behind the black cloth. They figured that the trick would start as soon as they entered the room.

Michelle held back her tears and looked up with a smile. "Leon, I have something for you. With it, you won't hear any noise."

Leon looked at Michelle with a pair of puzzled eyes. "Okay." Although he seemed calm, he wanted to ask her why it took so long for her to bring that up. Because of that, he had been needlessly scared to death by wailing ghosts, which almost gave him a heart attack.

Michelle took out two pairs of earplugs from her bag and handed one to Leon. "They can isolate the sound from outside and you won't hear anything. Nini has asked someone to make them for me."

When Michelle came here the last time and almost cried, she swore to herself that she would come back here again. Nina was worried that she was going to cry again, so she asked someone to make two pairs of earplugs for her.

The reason why so many horror movies were scary was because of the background sound effects. If the sound was removed, the movies would only be half as terrifying.

When Leon put on the earplugs, the world went quiet. As a result, everything became less frightening.

Michelle took out a small Bluetooth speaker from her bag and connected it to her phone. She also took out a bag of ketchup. With her back turned, she let the ketchup ooze and placed some on her face.

Leon didn't see what Michelle was doing with her face. He only saw the ketchup on her hands like blood. His eyebrows twitched. He understood what was happening.

Everything had been planned from the very beginning.