Page 2 of Stay Scared

HALLOWEEN FINALE: MAKE IT COUNT.

The sender is Jessa, my editor at Fright Circuit. She signs every message with a single initial even though her name appears directly above it. I once asked why, and she told me mystery tested better.

I open the email.

Salem Sterling,

We need one final feature before the season closes. Your traffic is down thirty-four percent from last October, and two sponsors have asked to review placement after the finale. The board wants a feature that can lead the site through November.

Choose the location, but it must be exclusive. No recycled walkthrough or press-night package. Find something people can’t get from ten other creators.

If the finale misses the target, we will need to reduce your monthly guarantee beginning in December.

Make it yours.

Regards,

J.

I read the last paragraph again. The monthly guarantee keeps the rest of my work from becoming an endless parade of sponsorships. Losing part of it wouldn’t ruin me overnight, but it would force changes I have spent years avoiding.

I close the email, then reopen it. I begin a reply, delete I’ll have something by Halloween because it says nothing, and type, I’m arranging an exclusive now.

It’s just me trying to buy more time with a lie. My coffee is still cold, the Hollow Harvest review still needs a title, and I still don’t have an exclusive.

I search for late-season attractions. The larger parks sent invitations weeks ago, but every package only offers escorted access and limits filming. I widen the search to extreme haunts and private overnight experiences. One attraction runs out of a warehouse and offers simulated kidnapping. Another has a waiting list that extends well past Halloween. Neither will turn my channel around enough to matter.

A message icon appears on my channel dashboard. For one second, I think the blocked number found another way in, but this notification comes from the business inbox attached to my site. The sender field is blank, and the subject reads:

YOU WANTED SOMETHING REAL.

I open it. There is no greeting.

Salem Sterling,

Crimson Night is accepting one participant for a private overnight experience on October thirty-first.

There will be no audience, approved route, press escort, or edited package.

If you remain inside until dawn, we will pay the completion fee. We will release footage from the attraction to you for unrestricted publication.

Review the attached waiver before accepting.

Your audience believes you’re impossible to frighten.

We want the opportunity to correct them.

Beneath the message is a black rectangle stamped with a dark red emblem. Four elongated marks cross its center. They resemble scratches until I notice the shape formed between them: closed amusement-park gates.

DECAY BRIGADE presents

CRIMSON NIGHT

FINAL GIRL PROTOCOL

A button waits beneath the title.

ACCEPT INVITATION.