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Kim turned off the highway down a poorly maintained side road and brought the car to a stop next to several other cars where their friends were waiting. " You're late" said Heather. " Sorry" said Kim, " I wasn't exactly sure where I was supposed to turn off." " We took a ten minute detour down some horrid back road" said Laurel, rubbing her back. Clover noticed a new guy standing by Seth, " Oh, some introductions are in order" said Kim, " Clover, this is Max Pressman Seth's cousin from San Francisco." " Hey" said Max, a smile on his face, " I specially came up for this little adventure." " We're crossing into forbidden territory huh" said Clover. " Well now that everybody is here" said Charlotte, " shall we." Now with the gate insight with the sign, No Trespassing Upon Penalty of Law, nobody dared move. Now every gruesome tale came in vivid colour to each who stood there, they all could feel the eyes of Smiling Jack staring down at them, his sick scared face twisted in an eternal smile. Laurel looked up at Alex, and they clasped hands. Together the pair bravely walked to the gate and gently vaulted over. " You guys coming?" asked Alex. First Kim and Clover started, followed by the rest and one by one they made their way over the first totem and started towards Land of Lights. After walking for a few minutes through the night they saw the old Land of Lights sign. The sign once was ringed with light bulbs which had all been long since removed or broken and over the words Land of Lights had been sprayed painted, Smiling Jack Welcomes You To Hell. Laurel stopped and took a picture of this second totem before catching up with the rest who had started to crest the hill. They stopped and looked down at the Land of Lights. The moon was full and high in the night's sky giving the entire amusement park as strange blue glow. The buildings were derelict, years of wind, and rain had taken their toll but it was still there minus some of the larger rides which had been dismantled and taken with the carnies as they fled. They slowly made their way down the hill and passed through the ticket booth into the park itself. " We're going to go find the Nightmare House" said Laurel, " I want to see what condition that place is in." " I want to go to the beach" said Kim, " Clover you want to come?" " Sure" said Clover. " Let's all not go too far" said Charlotte. " Not a bad idea" said Seth. " Let's go explore" said Laurel. Laurel and Alex went off to the north, thinking that was where the Nightmare House was located. Kim and Clover went west to find the beach. Charlotte, with Seth and Max in tow went towards the boardwalk leaving Heather, Derek, and Jill to explore the midway. Kim and Clover made sure they were far out of sight before holding hands. They slipped off the boardwalk and made their way down to the beach. They crested a dune and found a nice smooth rock to sit on. Kim produced a shiny chrome flask and unscrewed the cap. " What is that?" asked Clover. " One hundred percent grapefruit juice" said Kim, " you think I would start drinking here? All we would need to do is kiss and we would be automatic slasher bait." Clover giggled, " I'm so happy with you" she said. " Me too" said Kim, " it is like there was something missing in my life and you've filled it." " Let's be slasher bait" said Clover. " Agreed" said Kim. The pair embraced and gently kissed one another. They slowly laid back on the rock and continued to softly kiss. " We're so slasher bait" said Kim, " wanna so skinny dipping?" " No" said Clover, " that water is probably cold as hell, besides I didn't like the look of that other guy Seth brought with. He is a real perv." " He is" said Kim, " nice night though." " The moon is sure beautiful" said Clover. " It is a beautiful night" said Jill. " Unless Smiling Jack is a werewolf" said Derek. " God this place is a dump" said Heather, looking into another empty booth, " I bet the rats here are huge." " Speaking of huge" said Derek, " shouldn't you go back and meet our surprise guest?" " Yah, he's probably here by now" said Heather, " I'll run back up to the entrance." Heather turned and left the pair. " Great idea" said Jill, " come on." Jill grabbed Derek by his jeans and hauled him into the nearest stand. It was the ring toss complete with pegs and plastic rings. Jill plucked one of the rings off the pegs, " Can you think of a place to hang this?" she asked. " I can think of a few" said Derek. Jill pulled her t-shirt off and tossed the ring at Derek. " I've never done it in a haunted amusement park" said Jill. Derek grinned as the pair laid down. A pickup came to a screeching halt sliding through the loose gravel of the entry and almost colliding with the other cars parked by the gate. The doors were flung open, several empty beer cans falling out as three guys stumbled out. " Good job of driving faggot" said Mark Thorton, " you're such a lightweight." " Blow me ass" said David Manstein. " Will you two fairies shut the fuck up" said Trent Downing, " give me another beer." " What the fuck are we supposed to do here?" asked Mark. " We're waiting for Heather to show up so I can surprise Kim" said Trent before draining another beer, " so don't be dicks, I want to get her back." " Why don't you just go after Heather?" asked David, " her boobs are bigger." " So is her ass" said Mark. " Where is she?" asked Trent, " I'm not going to stand around here all night." " Calm down, fuck your dick is impatient" said Mark, " have another beer, you'll be screwing Kim soon enough." Trent leaned against David's pickup and opened another beer. Heather lit up a cigarette as she cut through the amusement park heading for the entrance. She had gotten lost twice already, one time she almost ended up on the beach. Heather came around a corner and saw somebody walking into the funhouse. She scowled, fucking Trent, that jock jackass couldn't take one single instruction. No wonder the football team was such a loser. He was supposed to wait up by the car for Heather to bring them down to meet Kim. Heather threw her half smoked cigarette down and marched into the funhouse to give Trent a piece of her mind. " Trent" she called out, " I told you to stay up by the gate, surprises don't work when Kim's brother or his freaky vampire girlfriend see you before I can get you to Kim." Heather marched deeper into the funhouse, her image being distorted as she went. Heather turned the corner and saw him, he wasn't Trent. She took a step back to run like hell but his arm lashed out. He grabbed a firm hold of her jaw, clamping on like steel. Heather felt her jaw slowly cracking under the mighty grip, as she flailed trying to escape. Then came a glint of cold steel that gleamed in the low light of the night flashing in Heather's eyes. The hard and sharp blade cut through Heather's throat, her blood spraying on the mirrors. Heather struggled for a few more brief moments, her movements becoming sluggish, her eyes rolling back in her skull. She finally became still, he finally released her. She collapsed on the floor, he smiled at his good work, it had been too long, he feared his skills had become rusty from disuse but he now knew they were as sharp as the day he first started. He cleaned his knife on her expensive sweater and prepared to hunt again. " So that is it huh" said Alex. " Yep" said Laurel. The pair stood in front of the Nightmare House, the house where it all happened. It was tightly boarded up, unlike the other buildings around all the boards were still firmly in place, not even Mother Nature would have anything to do with it. " Ready?" asked Laurel, snapping a few pictures of the exterior. " Let's find our way in" said Alex. The pair walked towards the house of horrors and slowly climbed over the rot iron fence. They circled the building hoping to find a missing plank or one weak enough to break. They found what they were looking for on the rear of the building where two boards had been knocked from one of the windows. Alex pulled the other boards free and they climbed in through the window, the glass long broken. In interior was dark, and close, a putrid smell of mold, and rot filled the heavy air. They turned their flashlights on and scanned the room. It was once a store room, plastic ghouls once hung on several hooks on the wall, but they had all since rotted away into colourful piles on the floor. A host of plastic weapons, axes, butcher knives, swords, even two chainsaws sat covered in dust. Ropes, cloth, and other odds and ends were piled on the floor, long picked apart by rats and other creatures in search of bedding. Laurel crossed the store room and pushed the door open. The hinges creaked in protest as the interior of the Nightmare House appeared. In the room ghosts and ghouls, now draped in cobwebs and a heavy layer of dust. It gave the room an extra creepy feel, a real haunted, haunted house. " Come on" said Laurel, " I think Smiling Jack's lair was in the basement." The pair started through the room, pushing their way through the heavy cobwebs towards the center of the house. They went from room to room, the plastic monsters, drizzled with fake blood were no longer terrifying, the real horror was in their minds of what lurked behind these rotten ghouls. Laurel was looking in what was once a torture chamber when Alex called out, " I think I found it." Laurel turned from the doorway and saw Alex standing next to a half open door that his flashlight revealed to contain a stairway going down. " Ready?" asked Alex. Laurel stopped, she wasn't sure. Before this all seemed a big myth but now being in Smiling Jack's lair she wasn't sure but she'd come this far. They looked down at the stairway, it didn't look that sturdy. " I'll go first" said Laurel. " I should" said Alex, " just in case it can't hold my weight." " Just don't fall" said Laurel, " I'm not hauling you back with a broken leg." Laurel kissed Alex, and he stepped on the first step. The entire stairway groaned like he'd just stepped on the tail of a great beast. Alex carefully braced himself against the walls as he took the next step. The stairs groaned and creaked with each step but he was able to reach the bottom. " Can you see anything?" asked Laurel. " Yah" said Alex, staring around the corner. Laurel gently made her way down the stairs and looked at what Alex's flashlight had illuminated. It was the lair of Smiling Jack, very little actually remained, the police had taken it all as evidence for his trail that never happened. It was surprisingly clean, no huge amounts of blood or collections of bones. An air of fear filled the entire room, even after twenty years it still hung heavy making both extremely edgy. Laurel took out her camera and snapped a few pictures, but her hands were shaking so bad they were all blurry. She was about to try again when they both heard a strange noise from behind them. They both froze as they listened to strange clicking noise. Laurel casually picked a rock off the shelf and spun around. On the floor a big rat stared at them with its beady red eyes. " Get out!" shouted Laurel as she hurled the rock at the rat. The rat bolted, just avoiding the rock by inches and ran for cover. The rock clicked off the cement floor and broke a hole into the wall opposite. " Great, now we'll have to pay for repairs" joked Alex. Laurel showed her flashlight at the hole, and slapped Alex's arm. " Wha?" asked Alex. " There is something in there" said Laurel. She rushed over and used the butt of her flashlight to crack the wall open. The old plaster quickly crumbled from the fierce blows. Laurel pulled the wall away revealing a opening. Laurel felt a thrill race through her as she saw the red cover of a notebook inside the recess in the wall. Laurel dropped her flashlight and reached in to pluck the notebook from its resting place. " Look" said Laurel, " holy shit this must have belonged to Smiling Jack." Alex leaned over, his flashlight shining on the notebook as Laurel carefully lifted the cover. The notebook was old, the pages yellowed, the writing faded, several of the pages had been chewed by rats. " Can you see anything?" asked Laurel. " I can see a word or two" said Alex, " maybe we'd be able to see more if we had better light." " Let's go" said Laurel, " this place is creepy." Charlotte waited until both Seth and Max were in the old boardwalk building before making a run for it. Seth was bad enough alone, but now with his friend Max, it was impossible. Seth had done nothing but hit on her. She gave him credit for being so persistent but this was too much. She'd been turning him down since 8th grade but he never seemed to get it. Charlotte slipped between two of the boardwalk buildings and carefully climbed over the fence. She hurried towards where they entered, she wanted to meet up with Laurel or Kim, at least they wouldn't hit on her. She was passing the funhouse, one of the few buildings that remained complete in the entire park when something caught her eye. She carefully slipped in one of the empty carnival game booths and waited just to make sure it was Seth or Max. Charlotte saw him, he was huge, clad in a black shirt and blue jeans. He walked into the funhouse. Charlotte scowled, that is why Heather had us all come here. She was planning to scare us, she should have known. Probably got Trent or some other football player to dress up and scare them. The only thing that was missing from that guys look was the hockey mask. Charlotte decided to skip unmasking the fraud slasher, let Heather have her fun for now. She waited until he had disappeared in the funhouse before climbing out of her hiding place and starting off once again for the entrance. " Fuck waiting for Heather" said Trent, hurling another empty beer bottle off into the brush, " I'm going." " Yah" said Mark, " let's go see this pile of shit." The trio got up and started down the hill. They pushed one another in the hopes of knocking each other off balance. Finally David and Trent managed to push Mark off balance and sent him rolling down hill to both David and Trent's amusement. " Fags" coughed Mark as he laid at the bottom of the hill just inches from the ticket booth, " god you are such assholes." " Shut up" said David. Mark got up, " This is the place huh" said Mark, " big fucking deal." Mark threw his empty bottle at the booth. It shattered into a million sparkling bits. " Let's find Kim" said Trent. Kim and Clover walked up the rickety stairs from the beach to the boardwalk. " This place isn't nearly as creepy as I thought it would be" said Clover. " This place is still creepy" said Kim, " I'm just happy we really didn't run into Smiling Jack." " Kim!" came a loud voice from the far end of the boardwalk. " But I think I just found something even worse" said Kim. Trent, Mark, and David ran down the boardwalk to the pair. " Hey babe" said Trent. " What are you doing here?" demanded Kim, " I thought somewhere in our last conversation the words I never want to see you again came up." " But you can't stay away from me" said Trent, " we both know it." " Trust me Trent I can" said Kim, " I've moved on, found better people who don't treat me like a sex toy." " Like who, this slant eyed bitch here?" asked Trent. " Yes Trent, her" said Kim, " she is my girlfriend." " Whoa" said Mark. " Dude, that is hot" said David. " Shut the fuck up both of you" snapped Trent, " you're what?" " I'm a lesbian Trent" said Kim, " you really helped me learn what a fool I was, thanks." " Dude, you turned her queer" laughed Mark. " Yah, some sexy machine you are" laughed David. " Shut up all of you!" shouted Trent. Trent looked at Kim, an unbridled look of rage burning in his eyes. " I think you better leave" said Clover. " Shut up slant" said Trent, " this is all your fault, you did this to her. I'm going to make you pay for that." " Stay away from her Trent" said Kim, trying to get in between the two, " you're drunk, just leave us alone." Trent grabbed Kim and threw her hard against the wooden wall of the old arcade. Clover grabbed his arm and to everyone's amazement she twisted his arm around. Clover forced Trent to the ground, " She said leave us alone" said Clover. Mark surged forward and sucker punched Clover in the chest. Clover stumbled backwards, and stumbled. She hit the boardwalk hard, the boards groaning underneath her. " Leave her alone!" shouted Kim, hitting Mark as hard as she could. Mark squeaked and grabbed his nose as blood began to pour from both nostrils. " Let's go" said Trent, " we aren't done yet." The trio stalked off, leaving Kim and Clover on the boardwalk. " You okay?" asked Kim. " I'm okay" said Clover. Kim helped Clover up, she took once stepped and winced in pain. " I'm fine" said Clover, " just a little sore. Let's go back." Kim nodded and the pair went the opposite direction hoping not to bump into Trent again. " Oh Derek" moaned Jill, a big smile on her face, " oh baby yes!" Jill climbed off Derek, " Told you this place would make it better" she commented, playing with her little gold cross. " Yah" said Derek. Derek grabbed his jeans and got up. " Babe, where are you going?" asked Jill, " are we done?" " No babe" said Derek, pulling his jeans on, " I gotta piss." " Hurry back" said Jill. Derek climbed out of the ring toss and looked for a private place to take care of his need. Derek wandered up to the funhouse, the first place that had a decent wall. Derek walked around the fun house. As he rounded the corner and found a good place. He was about to open his pants when he heard someone come up from behind him. " Couldn't wait huh" said Derek. He turned and saw who it was, a bright glint of a knife flickered in Derek's flashlight beam before it was driven in him. Derek felt the blade slice into him, a hot electric sensation of pain burned up and down his spine. Derek let off a loud pained scream which echoed into the night. He punched Derek hard in the throat, Derek's scream was quickly cut off. He flung the back door to the funhouse open and hauled Derek inside. Derek had just regained his wits when he felt the knife slit through his cheeks. Derek tried to flee but his body felt like it weighed a ton, it was impossible to move anything. He felt the blade slit through his other cheek, the cool autumn air flow into his mouth mixing with the hot blood pouring down his throat. Derek let off one last gurgle before he became still. Laurel and Alex were wandering through the dusty Nightmare House looking at the rotted ghouls and ghosts when they heard a pained screamed echo through the wooden building. " What the hell was that?" asked Laurel. " It sounded like a scream" said Alex, " think somebody got hurt?" " We better check" she replied, " just in case." " Yah" said Alex. The pair climbed back out their entrance from the Nightmare House. They rounded the building when something ran straight into Laurel. Alex reached out to steady her but in the end lost his balance and all three crashed to the ground. " Hiya guys" said Charlotte. " You hear that scream too?" asked Laurel. " Yah, I thought it came from over here" said Charlotte. " Who do you think it was?" asked Alex, helping the pair up. " Probably Heather" said Laurel, " she probably saw one of those rats or broke a nail." " Come on, lets go find out" said Alex. " Sorry this whole thing has turned into such a nightmare" said Kim, tears welling up in her eyes, " I knew we shouldn't have come, it was a stupid idea." " Its okay" said Clover, " the beach was real nice, and I got to beat up a football player. It isn't all the bad." " Yes it is" said Kim, " I knew if Trent ever found out my life would be total hell." " So what if Trent knows" said Clover, gently wiping the tears from Kim's eyes, " you don't need him, Heather or any of them. You have me, and I have you." Kim smiled, Clover was the only person who could make her feel this good. " Thank luv" she said, " thanks for everything." The pair leaned close to share a quick kiss when a scream echoed through their ears. " What the hell was that?" asked Clover turning her head. " Probably just Heather" said Kim kissing Clover's cheek, " bet Trent just gave her the bad news. I think it is time we gather up Alex and Laurel and leave." " Agreed" said Clover, " I think we need a long hot bath." " Dude she ditched us" said Max, " I thought you said she was into us." " She is" said Seth, " she just likes to play hard to get, so everybody doesn't think she puts out." " She is so fuckin hot" said Max, " are those real?" " Yah, they all hers" said Seth. They pair looked into the next empty boardwalk building, " Let's head back man" said Max, " maybe she is up by the cars." " Yah, this place is a real let down" said Seth, " I was expecting more than just a bunch of empty buildings and some big ass rats." " Maybe the rats ate this Smiling Jack loser" said Max, " let's go." The pair started up the small flight of stairs and headed through the park when they heard a loud scream. " Sounds like somebody is having a great time" said Max. Kim and Clover saw Alex, Laurel, and Charlotte heading towards them. " Hey guys" said Kim, " what the hell was that?" " Somebody screamed" said Alex, " Heather maybe." " Trent and his shitheel buddies are here too" said Kim. " I knew it" said Charlotte, " I saw some big guy sneaking around the fun house after I ditched Seth and Max." " I am the only one here who thinks somebody is trying to play a joke on us?" asked Laurel, " might be the reason why Heather dragged all of us out here." " She screams and we're all supposed to come running" said Clover. " Not us" said Laurel, " I found me an old moldy notebook in the Nightmare House I want to get home and see if I can read it." " Us too" said Kim, " this place is way overrated." " Yah, the people here suck" said Clover. " Trent I assume" said Laurel, " you've met Trent now." " Wish I didn't" said Clover, " talk about a walking prick." The five of them started for the exit just as Seth and Max caught up and they started for the exit. Jill slid into her jeans and pulled her bra on, where the hell was Derek? Did he run into Heather and she was taking his time? Jill got out of the ring toss booth and started in the direction Derek had gone. Jill rounded the corner and saw something walking into the funhouse. Sex in a fun house, kinky thought Jill with a big smile. She adjusted her bra and sauntered inside. " Derek, Derek where are you?" she called out. Jill rounded a corner, " Sex in a fun house, I didn't know you were so adventurous" she purred. She rounded the next corner and suddenly her feet slipped from underneath her. She fell forward landing in a sticky puddle. " Fuck what the hell is this?" asked Jill, wiping the sticky ooze off her face, " god it is going to ruin my makeup." Jill fumbled for her lighter in her jeans. Jill flicked the little red Bic lighter and realized that she was covered in red paint. Jill looked at the paint and it suddenly hit her, this was no paint, it was blood. She dropped her lighter and ran as fast as she could, she had to escape. " So what is in the notebook?" asked Kim. " I don't know yet" said Laurel, " it is really faded, I'll probably be able to read a word a page but it was owned by Smiling Jack. This will go great in my book." " HELP!" screamed Jill. They all turned, their flashlights illuminating Jill, who was covered in blood. " What the hell happened?" asked Alex. " In... the... funhouse..." she gasped, " blood... blood... everywhere." " Are you okay?" asked Charlotte, " god, she's covered in blood." " Is somebody hurt?" asked Clover. " We have to go" said Kim, " we can't leave." " Agreed" said Alex, " Jill can you show us where you found the blood?" " Funhouse" she said. " Come on" said Laurel, " we better hurry." ************************** Continue To The Shocking Conclusion Cast of Characters |