A scream ripped from my throat. The safety bar wasn’t just hot - it was sizzling. I could feel the heat baking my skin even from an inch away. Little wisps of smoke curled up from the red-hot metal.
Maya let out a terrified whimper, trying to shrink away from the bar, but there was nowhere to go. We were pinned.
The ride operator, the thing with the glowing eyes, just stood there, that terrible, stretched-out smile plastered on his face. “The first ride is always the warmest,” he rasped, his voice like sandpaper. “It gets you ready for the fun.”
My mind was racing. Think, Josh, think! This wasn’t a prank. This wasn’t special effects. My legs were about to be cooked.
I yanked my foot up, trying to kick at the bar, but the heat was too intense. I could feel the sole of my sneaker starting to melt. The smell of burning rubber filled the small chamber.
“Let us go!” I yelled, my voice cracking.
The creature’s smile widened even more, if that was possible. “But you just got here. You haven’t even tried the Dippin’ Demons. They’re to die for. Literally.”
He started to laugh, a dry, rattling sound like stones in a tin can.
That’s when Maya did something unexpected. She had been clutching a half-eaten lollipop, the super-sticky, cherry-flavored kind. With a terrified sob, she flung it right at the creature’s face.
SPLAT.
The sticky, red candy smacked right into his glowing left eye.
He stopped laughing. His smile twitched. A hiss escaped his lips, and he brought a long, pale hand up to his face, trying to claw the sticky mess away. “You little brat!” he snarled, his voice losing its playful, sinister tone and turning genuinely angry.
For a split second, he was distracted. And in that split second, the red glow on the safety bar flickered. It dimmed from fiery red to a dull orange.
It was my only chance.
With all my strength, I shoved upwards on the bar. It was still incredibly hot, searing through the fabric of my t-shirt sleeve, but it budged. With a groan of rusty metal, the lock popped open.
“Go!” I screamed at Maya, pushing her out of the cauldron. She scrambled out onto the grimy floor. I tumbled out right after her, my arm screaming in pain where the bar had burned it.
The creature lunged for us, his face a mask of fury, but we were already running. We bolted past him, toward a dark opening at the back of the chamber. I didn’t know where it led, but anywhere was better than here.
We burst through the doorway and stumbled back into the theme park.
But it wasn’t the same park we had entered.
The sky was no longer a fake twilight. It was a deep, blood-red, swirling with sickly green clouds. The calliope music was still playing, but it was warped and distorted, like a record being played backwards. And underneath it, I could hear them. Screams. Not screams of joy. Real, terrified screams.
The other guests were still there, still shuffling, still smiling. But now I could see their eyes. They were wide and empty, like dolls’ eyes. And they weren’t just wandering anymore. They were all moving in the same direction, like zombies, drawn toward the center of the park where a huge, volcano-shaped roller coaster called ‘The Inferno’ was shooting real flames into the sky.
“Josh, I want Mom and Dad,” Maya cried, tugging on my shirt. Her face was pale and streaked with tears.
My own fear was like a cold, hard knot in my stomach, but I had to be the big brother. “I know, Maya. We’ll find them. They went to get soda, remember?”
I pointed toward the concession stand shaped like a little imp. It was dark now, its windows like vacant eyes. “Come on.”
We ran, dodging the shuffling, smiling people. They didn’t seem to notice us. Their attention was fixed on the rides, on the screams. It was like we were invisible.
We reached the ‘Scream Soda’ stand. It was deserted. A sticky puddle of something dark and purple was on the counter. But it was what was on the ground that made my blood run cold.
Mom’s purse.
It was lying on its side, its contents spilled out. I saw her lipstick, her keys, a crumpled tissue. But her wallet was gone. In its place was a single, heavy coin. It was black and felt cold to the touch. I picked it up. On one side was the winking face of the Demon Land devil. On the other was a single, engraved word:
PAID.
A new wave of terror washed over me. This was a payment. A payment for what?
“Where are they?” Maya whispered, her voice trembling.
I didn’t have an answer. I scanned the horrifying park, my eyes darting from the fiery roller coaster to the spinning teacups that now looked like they were filled with shadows instead of people. Where would they take them?
Then I saw it. Across the plaza, past a twisted-looking funhouse called ‘The Devil’s Playground,’ was a ride I hadn’t noticed before. It wasn’t fast or flashy. It was a slow boat ride, with a sign that flickered ominously above it: A Tour of Your Future!
And standing in the short line for the ride, shuffling forward with the same blank smiles as everyone else, were two figures. One was tall, wearing Dad’s goofy Hawaiian shirt. The other was smaller, in a floral dress, clutching a purse that looked just like Mom’s.
It was them. It had to be.
But their faces… they were turned away from me, but I could see their movements. They were slow. Stiff. Unnatural.
“Mom! Dad!” I screamed, starting to run toward them.
But as I yelled, their heads turned. Slowly. Too slowly.
And the faces that looked back at me were not my parents’ faces. They were pale, thin, and stretched into wide, predatory smiles. Their eyes glowed with a faint, red light. They were two more of them.
My heart hammered against my ribs. It was a trap. A trick.
I skidded to a stop, pulling Maya back behind me. The two figures turned away again and continued their slow shuffle onto the boat ride. As they disappeared into the dark tunnel, the ride’s sign flickered again. But this time, the words changed. They no longer read ‘A Tour of Your Future!’
Now, they read: WELCOME, NEW RESIDENTS.
