Excerpt from The Lesson by Joyce Ward

Check out our April horror story The Lesson by Joyce Ward.

Amazon: http://goo.gl/UnjjBQKobo: http://goo.gl/OntNvK

EXCERPT

Pam wound along the endless passageways, lost and confused, like a rat in a maze. And perhaps she was. “Are you sure this is the way out of our nightmare?”

Frustration shoved its way to the surface of her emotions. Exhaustion zapped her strength, her tenacity, and the musty smell in the hallway caused her migraine to return with a vengeance. She didn’t know how long they’d been searching but giving up became a viable option

Directly ahead was a wooden ramp. At the top of the ramp, another door with a sign above it. Exit. Her stomach somersaulted.

“Stay here. Let me check it out first.” He held up his hand to prevent her from coming with him. He sprinted up the ramp and eased the door open far enough to peek through, then reared back. “You’ve got to come check this out.” Without looking at her, he motioned for her to join him.

By now, she was so tired of doorways and hallways which seemed to lead nowhere. She grimaced and leaned against the wall. Her ankle hurt and, before hiking up the long incline, she needed reassurance the climb would be worth the effort.

“What do you see?” she said. “And it had better not be another wild goose chase.”

Would this be one more place where things weren’t what they seemed? Or could it be, as she feared, one more doorway leading to another maze?

“No, babe. This is awesome.” Wonder sounded in his voice. He elbowed the door open. “It’s a huge stage…in a theater.” He crossed the threshold and disappeared from view.

She stepped onto the ramp. It creaked. She grabbed hold of the wooden railing and dragged herself toward the door. Suspecting a trick, she held her breath and followed him inside. She came face-to-face with a deep green, velvet curtain. But no Kevin.

In no mood to play games, she called out, “Quit screwing with me, Kevin. Where are you?” Her voice sounded confident and commanding, but her knees trembled.