Preview into "Fear: The last outing"

By:Adam Perez-Pinon

​An Original story composed by two dream of Horror and Anventure:
 
Jacob’s high school days blurred into graduation. As he walked on stage, he struggled to smile, consumed by the uncertainty ahead. Though the applause resonated, he felt the weight of impending change.
 
After the ceremony, he met his friends Alisha, Teresa, and Natt. Teresa, the bold leader, wanted to plan a long-awaited road trip at her house. Jacob hesitated, knowing he had to ask his parents first.
 
When his parents approached, their pride was clear. His father hugged him tightly, and his mother’s eyes sparkled with joy. “We’re so proud of you,” they said. Jacob, however, hid a secret. When he asked about the trip, his mother agreed if all parents approved. Excitedly, they piled into Teresa’s car.

During the drive, Teresa was unusually quiet. When Jacob asked, she admitted feeling pressured by her mother’s expectations. “She acts like I need my life figured out already,” she sighed. Natt encouraged her to relax, but Jacob empathized with her struggles and fears of failing.
 
At Teresa’s house, they brainstormed destinations, with Alisha suggesting New York and Natt joking about extreme adventures. Jacob, lost in thought, barely engaged. Sensing his distraction, Teresa asked, “Jacob, you good with New York?” He nodded, though he wondered what he was truly escaping—his friends, family, God, or himself. Later, after the others left, Jacob and Teresa watched a movie, comforted by the soft glow of the projector. His father’s firm voice replayed in his mind, reminding him of the expectations he dreaded.

Chapter 1:
The next morning at church, Jacob felt suffocated by the sermon. Each word pierced him, reinforcing his sense of wrongness. As the priest spoke, he gripped his Bible, trembling yet unable to pray. Why did God make him feel this way? His mother’s gentle touch brought him back. She smiled, unaware of his internal turmoil. He returned a fragile smile, feeling it might crack. As the pastor spoke of sacrifice, Jacob questioned how long he could continue hiding.
 
On the way home, his mother asked about the sermon. “It was… thought-provoking,” he murmured, heart aching with an unspoken prayer: Forgive me, Heavenly Father, for being who I am.

That night in bed, Teresa’s and Alisha’s words echoed: Are you okay? What if everything changed? Would his parents still see him the same? By Monday morning, they were ready for their last adventure together— the road trip.
 
Chapter 2:
As the sun set, Jacob, Natt, Alisha, and Teresa cruised a lonely highway on their road trip from Miami to New York. After hours of driving, they found an old yet grand hotel with a flickering sign and decided to stay the night.
 
Inside, the lobby blended antique elegance with modern restoration. A tall, unsettling concierge greeted them, handing over room keys with an eerie smile. As they took the elevator to the third floor, it ascended on its own before they pressed a button.
 
Their rooms, were dimly lit and smelled of cigars and mothballs. Restless, Jacob persuaded the group to explore. He and Alisha wandered into an abandoned restaurant, while Teresa and Natt explored a vast library. Teresa found an ominous book titled A Guide to Manipulate the Mind and Space. Ignoring Natt’s warnings, she took it, only to realize the room had turned into a maze. They placed the book back, making an unknown deal with it.

​Meanwhile, Jacob and Alisha met the concierge again, whose shadow stretched unnaturally as he warned, “You must follow the ordeal made or stay here for eternity.” Spooked, they fled to their rooms, where the group shared their unsettling experiences. Teresa revealed the book’s demand: they had to confront their deepest fears.
 
As anxiety gripped them, Natt checked the time—it hadn’t changed. Looking outside, Alisha noticed something stranger: no cars, no signs of life, just an endless night. The realization hit them all- they were trapped.

Chapter: 3 
The friends lay in bed, lost in thoughts. Jacob stared out the window, recalling a camping trip where the moon never moved. When Natt teasingly suggested Jacob show them the Grand Restaurant, he hesitated but agreed if they all went together. In the eerie hotel' s dim light, they reached the Grand Restaurant. Dust covered the abandoned room, with a broken chandelier above and a cracked mirror reflecting their worried faces. Teresa fixated on a haunting portrait whose hollow eyes followed them. Then a familiar voice broke the silence.

“Didn' t I tell you this place was off- limits?” The concierge appeared, his smile unnerving. “Leaving is no longer an option,” he whispered to Jacob. “You have fears and secrets, don' t you?”

Jacob froze, caught in a trance. The concierge grinned and turned to Alisha, pressing a finger to her forehead. “And you… what is your fear?” Helpless, she whispered, “Spiders.” Instantly, walls came alive with skittering legs. Seeing the chaos, Natt bolted. “I' m not dealing with him,” she muttered before vanishing into the halls. Teresa, panicked, tried to shake Jacob from his daze, but his eyes were dull silver. As spiders swarmed Alisha, Teresa acted fast, throwing Jacob over her shoulder and fleeing.

The hotel twisted around her, doors shifting and hallways stretching. She finally reached their room, slamming the door and dumping Jacob on the bed. Desperate, she threw freezing water on him.

His eyes flickered back to brown. “Where are we?” he murmured. Tears in her eyes, Teresa hugged him. “The hotel. Natt ran, and Alisha is with the concierge.”

As Jacob gathered himself, he recounted his nightmare of waking up alone at home, feeling abandoned by God. “I felt like my faith was slipping. My parents screamed—‘HOW COULD YOU? SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT.’”

At the hallway' s end, he found an empty picture frame that once held an image of Christ—a mirror reflecting his worst fears. “I' ve lost everything,” he sobbed. Then he woke up, safe in Teresa' s arms. “I' m scared,” he whispered.

Teresa held him tighter. “I know. But I' m here.” As they caught their breath, one thought loomed—Alisha was still with the concierge.

Chapter: 4 
Natt, disoriented and lost in the eerie hallway, tries calling Teresa, only to hear the phone ringing nearby. Following the sound, she stumbles into an old Scottish-style dungeon, where she finds five hooded figures surrounding a table. Among them, Teresa reveals herself, accusing Natt of abandonment.

Shocked, Natt watches as her parents remove their hoods, warmly beckoning her forward. Hesitant but longing for comfort, she approaches—only to be restrained by her father. Alisha, Jacob, and the concierge stand among the hooded figures as Teresa lifts a knife, chanting while slicing into Natt.

Suddenly, she experiences an out-of-body moment, witnessing herself reentering the room. Just as Teresa raises the blade again, Natt screams and blacks out, only to awaken at the dungeon entrance, memories erased. Drawn once more to her father’s embrace, she begins the cycle anew, trapped in a purgatory of guilt and betrayal—until she either finds redemption or is freed by another.