“We’re
going to ride the Merry-go-round after this ride.”
“Is she
always like this?” Justin was kidding, to an extent. He had
been to Bramplingtonshire’s World Of Funny Fun Fun with Stacey and Ben
at least once every summer since the second grade. Stacey somehow
always managed to get her way as far as picking and choosing the rides.
“Then
we’ll all have lemon ices.”
“What
if I don’t want one?” Justin felt like being a pain, even if it put
Stacey in a bad mood. Ben shook his head. He had found over the years that
it was better to agree with Stacey than to contradict her.
“We always
eat lemon ices every year. What….you aren’t going to have a lemon
ice this year?”
Justin
shrugged. “I don’t know, I haven’t decided.”
“Fine.
I’ll just eat mine in front of your face like this.” She mimicked
eating a lemon ice about an inch from Justin’s face. He gave her
a quick kiss and she lightened up.
“Hey
we’re next! The doors are opening!” They slowly moved along with
the line of people entering the Bramplingtonshire’s World Of Funny Fun
Fun Haunted Mansion. Ben was being his usual quiet self so Stacey
kidded him. “Maybe we better hold Ben’s hand. He’s always afraid
of this ride.”
“Hey
its those heads under glass. The eyes always seemed to follow me.
I got a little scared when I was seven.”
Justin
joined in poking fun. “And eight and nine, and umm…last year when
you were 15…”
Stacey
laughed.
“All
right laugh it up. Someone is afraid of the log ride.” Ben
looked at Stacey.
“I just
hate getting wet. I’m always the one that gets drenched and I have
to spend the day with wet shoes, shirt, hair…”
Ben then
turned to Justin. “And someone is afraid of The Little Creatures Underground
Cave.”
“Hey
that cave has been around for 50 years. I think it’s the same water.
It stinks. It gags me getting splashed.”
“I think
it’s the little creatures and their big heads all singing in unison.
‘Welcome boys! Welcome girls! Welcome to the Bramplingtonshire’s World
Of Funny Fun Fun Little Creatures Cave!”
Justin
clapped his ears. “NOOOOOOOO…Make it stop!!!!!!” They
all laughed.
As the
car approached they stepped in and the heavy metal bar dropped down in
place.
Justin
made a few ghostly laughs as the car entered a large set of swinging doors
into a dark room. As the doors closed from behind the room became
pitch black.
Stacey
whispered as she clutched Justin’s arm. “This is very creepy. I can’t
see either of you at all. Its like its been totally redone.
We’ve never been in this room before.” They could feel the car moving
slowly forward and turning. There were sounds of doors opening.
The air became very cold and a set of doors slammed behind them making
them jump. The car stopped abruptly.
“Why
are there no lights??” Before Ben could finish his sentence the room
was filled with dozens of human heads under globes staring at them and
speaking loudly to them as if tormented. “Release us!” they moaned
and begged. Dim lights from the heads allowed them to see each other.
“Where
is Justin???” Stacey was frantic. “I was holding his arm… I
thought. Who’s arm was I holding???” No one sat next to her.
“Who’s arm was I holding just now before the lights came on???” Stacey
shivered. “JUSTIN!!!!!!!” But it was clear that Justin wasn’t
in the room they were in.
“Justin
must have stepped out of the car in that last room. That’s all I
can figure. I can’t stand those heads wailing at us. When is
the car going to move on?!.” Ben was very uneasy. Instead the car began
spinning in place. At first it was very slow and from Stacey and
Ben’s vantage the heads were surrounding them, lights swirling, as they
moaned extremely loud. They were both very dizzy. But the spinning
continued to speed up until they had to grip the bar so hard to stay in
the car that their fingers were in pain. Neither could speak except
to scream and hang on for dear life. It was like a carnival of terror.
When the car finally came to a stop they realized they were in yet another
room that looked like a parlor. “Maybe we should get out”, Ben suggested.
Stacey panicked. “And walk out of here? I wouldn’t know which way
to go. This is all new. No Ben, I’m really scared.” But
Ben jumped out anyway. “I’m not staying in that thing if it starts
spinning again. I actually got sick on it and I’m so drained I don’t
think I can hold on the next time. We’ll be thrown from the car.
If it starts moving forward again and the doors open I’ll get back on.”
Stacey
was too afraid to be by herself and jumped off also. Suddenly the
car dropped quickly through a trap hole in the floor. Then the floor
boards shut back in place. They stood stunned. “Now what
are we supposed to do?!? We don’t even have a car to finish the ride with!”
Stacey was frantic.
“Maybe
we can open these doors by ourselves. They have doorknobs.”
Ben attempted to turn one which opened easily. A corridor with lighted
candles laid ahead. “Should we go?”
“I guess.
I don’t know. Just don’t leave me Ben.”
“I don’t
intend to. Come on. Give me your hand.” They began walking
down the corridor which led them around a corner. From there they
could see another door. Ben opened it easily. It appeared to
be a library. As he stepped into it, though, the candles all blew
out and darkness descended again. Stacey tried to move forward, but
could feel herself being pulled back by the waist from behind. Simultaneously
Ben was being pulled forward.
“What’s
happening Ben?!?”, she screamed. “Something has me and is pulling
me back! Help me!!”
“Hang
on I’m trying!!! Something is pulling me too. I can’t hold
on!!” They felt their grips being pulled apart. The door slammed
shut between them and all that could be heard was the metal clicking sounds
of locks.
Stacey
fell to her hands and knees in terror. “Help me somebody! Justin!!
Ben!!” The candles relit and Stacey could see the corridor she was
trapped in once again. She tried to open the door, but it was
locked. This time, though, she could see what appeared to be a two-way
mirror into the library on one corridor wall. Ben was inside trying
to find an escape. She pounded on the glass but he couldn’t see her
or hear her. She watched as he stood right in front of her examining
the mirror. Then she noticed what appeared to be ghosts shadowing
behind him. She pounded on the glass again. The ghosts slithered
up from behind gusting at Ben’s neck and then disappearing. Each
time Ben felt the hot breathes on his neck he turned quickly to see nothing.
Then a wall of spirits swirled and rushed full force towards Ben slamming
his face hard against the mirror, holding him there. Stacey screamed
in terror as she watched a stunned Ben collapse to the floor. It
was then that she realized that they could be in the corridor with her,
also. She turned and ran back to the parlor door. It remained
unlocked. She opened it and the center of the room sat the car again.
The player piano was pounding out music loudly. The walls seemed
to be now oozing with a redish liquid. She could hear someone trying
to unlock another closed door with very loud keys. Misty voices were
whispering her name in her ear. “Stacey…. Stacey… you may not leave
us…. Stacey”. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would
burst. The car jerked and then began moving forward very slowly on
the track. With no other recourse she jumped on. This
time though the bar was very hot, almost too hot to touch. It jolted
forward and she fell back into the seat which was also very hot.
She stood up and tried to steady herself as the car approached a set of
closed doors. Would it open? “Please open... please…” It opened to
a room filled with swirling ghostly winds and hideous loud laughing. She
was knocked down onto the hot car floor and could feel hands reaching into
her, pulling and scratching her legs. Suddenly she realized the car
was rolling down a steep drop. She managed to hold onto the hot bar
of the car as it careened straight down. Only sheer strength kept
her from being separated from the car. And then with a hard crash
the car submersed into cool water. Stacey fell onto the car floor
soaked, but with some relief. Swiftly large doors in front of her
opened into sunlight. The ride was over. Stacey pulled herself
back onto the seat as it slowly rolled to the end. She could see
people lined up talking, waiting their turn. A father and his young
son emerged from the car behind her. "That was fun Daddy! Let's go
again!" Her heart was still pounding, she tried to catch her breath.
With shaking legs she exited the ride and found her way out the entrance
and to the first park bench to sit. It was a nightmare.
“STACEY!!!!!!”
She looked up to see Justin running towards her soaking wet, his t-shirt
torn and his ear bleeding. They clutch each other hugging.
Justin
was confused. “What happened to you two in there? How did you get
out here???”
“Us??
What happened to you, Justin??”
“When
the lights came on after that first dark room, you two weren’t in the car
with me. I was alone and in a kitchen. Gees, Stacey, you should
have seen it. Carving knives were flying by me from every direction.
It was like these ghosts were having a utensil war. One clipped me
on the ear. I finally managed to shimmy across the floor to a dumbwaiter.
I climbed inside and pulled myself up to the master bedroom, which is an
entire other story. I’ll tell you later... But what about you???
What happened??”
“I don’t
know. There were these heads, and ghosts, and I was going through
a corridor, too. I couldn’t find my way out. But anyway, finally
I saw the car moving again so I jumped in. I could barely hold on.
The metal bar was so hot. Everything was moving blindingly fast and
I closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them I was suddenly
going down a long drop and hit water at the bottom hard. I swear
the car left the track. I could have been killed. We could
have been killed Justin. My heart is racing. It was terrifying...
Even now my hands, my entire body is shaking....look.” She showed
her trembling hands.
“My gosh
Stacey, ...I've never been on anything that frightening.... afraid for
my life like that.”
“I know…I
know... It was...it was...so incredibly excellent.”
“Are
you kidding??? This was the most awesome ride I've ever been on in
my life!”
“Should
we go back again?”
“Are
you kidding?! Come on! Let's get in line again now. I"m not going
to take that crap from any ghosts and it looks like its going to be at
least a 45 minute wait. There's a stairway to the some sort of cellar
chamber I want to check out this time. We need to work on a plan.
But wait, what about Ben? What happened to Ben?? Did you see
him?”
“Oh my
gosh Justin, I had to leave him! He was trapped unconscious in the
library last I saw.”
“What???!
Poor dude... OK first we go in there and get him, but then its reunion
time for me and a few soon to be even deader ghosts.”