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For the next few moments, my mind was some place far-off. It was like the very sound in the air was dampened, and everything I heard was outside a pair of headphones I wore. None of it felt real, like I was watching an event unfold in a videogame. Yet, this was no videogame. This was real life, and I was watching people get killed right in front of me.
It wasn’t until a man grabbed my shoulder that I snapped out of it.
“What?”I said dreamily.
“I said, watch out!” He pulled me to the side just as I felt a whoosh of air beside me. I looked into the mirror to see a skeleton wielding an axe, turning back in my direction. It appears this man had saved me from getting a good axing.
“Th-thank you,” I spat out.
“C’mon. Everybody head for the exit!!” We all began to rush the front of the train where there was an exit to the next atrraction and the door that the conductor left out of.
“Which one?” I said, as we approached. The man looked at both doors for a moment, then tried the door to the left only to find it locked. He pushed against the door as if testing it then kicked at it. The door didn’t budge an inch.
“I think it’s reinforced.” Someone was already trying out the door to the next room, but it was locked too. He came over and kicked that door and found it was loose. All the while, our ghostly reflections were terrorizing other passengers or slowly making their toward us.
“Alright, someone help me bust it down!” As he and another man began to kick the door together, I realized that I didn’t see Paul.
Oh, shit, Paul. I forgot about him in all the ruckus.
“Jim!” A voice whispered near me. I whipped my head around to see Paul underneath a seat.
“Paul, what are you doing?” I said.
“Get down!” He said, and I listened.
“Why are we down here? We can’t get away.”
“They can’t hurt you down here.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. All I know is, a zombie had a hold of me and I fell to the ground. I waited for him to start chowing down on me but he never did. I could see him from a downward angle in the mirror...he was looking all around like he couldn’t see me anymore.”
“Weird.”
“I know. Nothing’s gotten me yet.”
“Your reflection.”
“Wait, what?”
“It’s your reflection. We can only see them in the reflection, so they can only hurt us when we’re shown in the mirror.”
“Huh? Weird.”92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCPMIEOhl8
WHAM!
The sound of splintering wood drew our attention back to the exit.
“Everybody let’s go!” The two man yelled as they ushered everyone out.
“Hey kid, c’mon!” A lady said, reaching her hand down to me. I took it, also hoisting Paul up with me. We ducked down past the aisles and made our way through the door. Just as we exited, we looked back to see the last person left alive. It was a teenager dressed as a scarecrow weaving and dodging. He kept his eyes locked on the mirrors as he danced towards us.
“Duck down!” Paul yelled...but it was too late.
His head whipped to the side by some force, and we could make out a Frankenstein in the reflection. We watched on in horror as bites, slashes, and claw marks appeared all over his body by some unseen force, and in the reflection you could now only see a gang of undead monstrosities converging on one victim. Days later, my mind still echoed his blood-curdling pleas for help.
“Shut the door! Let’s go,” a man leading the group commanded. Paul saw the look in my eyes as we managed the get the door to stay in place. We half-expected the ghouls to come after us, but we knew the laws governing them shouldn’t allow them to hurt us.
“There was nothing you could have done for him,” Paul said while putting a hand on my shoulder. “Sometimes it comes down to luck. See?” He held up a piece of his superhero cape, which showed some obvious shredding.
“I’m glad you’re okay Paul.” I said, feeling like my own voice wasn’t coming out of me.
“I’m the one who got us into this to begin with.”
“Don’t be like that. You couldn’t have known.”
“Yeah.”
We caught up with the rest of the group, who were all talking frantically.
“What the hell was all that?”
“I don’t know, but why are thry trying to kill us?”
“Why does anyone kill people?”
“They’re lunatics! How can they do this and get away with it?”
Paul and I stayed silent and listened in. According to their count, there was only nine of us left. Nine people died in the train car. The long, dark hallway stretched on forever, leaving us only with the dark thoughts- the sheer and utter confusion, the horrible screams, puddles of blood, that feeling of no longer feeling safe.
Finally, we came to the end of the hallway, and the leader of our group (Tad was his name) inched the dooor open with his fist raised. Anti-climactic as it was, there was no one waiting for him on the other side. Just his own reflection. In fact, a lot of reflections.
“Oh, c’mon. More mirrors?!!” An older teenage girl said.
We all cautiously stepped in, eyes darting around for any dark beings. Nothing happened, so we ventured on, albeit with high anxiety. It was your standard-issue mirror maze, complete with headaches and eye strain. After a minute or two of traversing the maze, we thought we might be out of the woods. Then....
“Ahhh!!” The scream came from the front, and we strained to see what was happening.
“Tad!!!” The voice of another man was heard, the one that helped Tad kick the door down. We watched a torso and a pair of legs seem to disappear around the corner in front of the man.
“It got Tad!” A girl at the front screamed.
“What’s going on?” The lady near us called. Her name was Stacy, the one who helped Paul and I escape the train.
“Did you see that?!” The girl continued on. “Some thing pulled Tad into the mirror.”
“No way...” A teenage boy near us began, then looked to the side and screamed. A reptilian hand reached out of the glass and grabbed his arm. He was quickly dragged into the mirror, and was gone.
“This can’t be happening....” Stacy whispered, one hand at her mouth. Then, all hell began to break loose as hands started reached out of the mirrors and pulled people in. Some struggled out of their jackets and slipped away, but not all were so lucky.
“What do we do?” Paul said, then I got an idea.
“Stacy, how heavy is your purse?”
“What?”
“Can I see how heavy your purse is?”
She got a strange look, but handed it to me anyway. I tested the weight, then nodded my head.
“Cover your eyes,” I told Paul and Stacy. Holding the purse by the strap, I reared it back and slammed it into the nearest mirror. The mirror shattered just as a hand shot out if it, and it dissolved instantly.
“Break the glass!! Break the glass!” We hollered. For the next three minutes we heard shattering upon shattering. The floor was littered, no...covered in glass shards. Thankfully we wore some decent shoes. Working as a team, we safely made it through the maze and stood outside the exit door.
We all look tired, spent from all the exertion. It was now down to five of us: There was Stacy, the nice woman who’s been watching over Paul and I. A teenage girl named Saylor with her older brother Derrick. Then of course Paul and I.
With all the glass scattering, we tended to each other’s wounds, using our clothing as makeshift bandages. I didn’t notice until Stacy made one for Paul that he had a cut on his arm. We spoke quietly as we deliberated the next plan of action.
“So, what about the next room? Do we go ahead?” Paul asked.
“Room? Don’t you mean, challenge?” Derrick commented. “I feel like this has been some crazy survival competition. Anyone else?”
“An awful competition.” Stacy added.
“Oh, man. You mean like a haunted house version of Squid Games or something/” Saylor chimed in. It was a decent comparison, but the idea of it just seemed weird.
“But why? Why a random group of people? Wouldn’t we have some better connection if that was the case?” I said. That got them thinking.
“Whatever the case, we know there’s going to be some kind of obstacle.”
“What if we just don’t do it,” I added. Everyone looked at me funny. “No, I mean. What if we just stay here? Wait it out. Make them come to us.”
“That’s so brilliant, it just might work!” Paul said.
As if in response, the lights began flashing and we heard a hissing sound.
“What is that?” Stacy said.
“Snakes, oh God please don’t let it be snakes.” Said Saylor.
“No, it’s gas! Everyone through the door!” Derrick shouted and pushed open the door with his shirt over his nose. We barreled through and promptly shut the door behind us. Ahead of us was a thin hallway that opened up further ahead. Giving a contemplative glance to each other, we shuffled forward until the hallway opened up into some sort of tunnel.
“Please don’t tell me we’re in the sewers,” Saylor whined. Ignoring her, I squinted my eyes in the dim light. We all jumped back when we were hit with a flash of light. Arms shielding from the brightness, we slowly lowered our arms to take in our surroundings. The tunnel opened up ahead, with various Halloween decorations on the sides. In the middle area was an open train car with five rows of two seats.
“Well, who would have thought there’d be a tunnel ride? I guess it’s a small world after all,” Derrick commented with a smirk. As dumb as his joke was, I had to chuckle to alleviate the stress that was weighing me down. It seemed Paul felt the same.
“Laugh all you want, it’s the little things that kill.” Stacy muttered.
“You guys are weird. Let’s just get out of here.” Saylor rolled her eyes. “Before we die, that is.”
I sheepishly moved forward with everyone, surveying my surroundings for any other possible option. Moving on an electric track gave us no other choice but to use the actual car to move forward.
“They meticulously planned this. All of it.” Paul said as he tightened the bandage on his arm. “Whatever their end game is, I wonder if they expect anyone to survive.”
“Only one way to find out,” I mused.
In silence, we boarded the train car. Derrick and Saylor occupied the first row, Stacy in the middle, then Paul and I in the fifth row. We figured if something came after us, it’d have a harder time getting us all at once. Then again, it may do absolutely nothing as we had no idea what was in store for us. A nearby control panel housed the switch that sent us on our way, so Derrick flipped it before jumping back to his seat.
The car ride was lacking anything of note at first, as we cruised along to some stock Halloween sounds and music. Tombstones with “YOUR NAME HERE” and other cheesy sayings were littered around the sides, along with fake grass and dead trees. The lights flashed along to the music, and in a different situation it may have been enjoyable.
“Is it bothering anyone else that nothing’s happening yet?” I said about thirty seconds in.
“Do you have to always say what you’re thinking?” Saylor cut me a stare.
“Saylor, cut it out. We’re all dealing with this together.” She seemed none too happy with her brother calling her out, and I gave her an equally sharp stare in response.
We rode along and noticed the lighting was changing to a steady red hue. Then, the Halloween music faded out and a different song faded in that gave me the chills.
“Welcome to our tunnel of death,
tunnel of death, tunnel of death,
welcome to our tunnel of death,
no survivors!
We’ll kill you then chop off your head
off your head, off your head,
kill you then chop off your head
even children!”
Maybe it was the childish tune of “London Bridge Is Falling Down,” the phrases being repeated, or maybe it was the words themselves, but this song that would normally be funny was making my heart race. Stacy gave us a look of worry, and we returned an equal glance. As we moved further along, the high pitch of the song began to lower its pitch with each refrain. By the time we saw the new decorations, the song had become the macabre chant of some deep-voiced demon.
As we rounded a corner, some animatronic animals came into view.
“I like horror, but these things are the real nightmare fuel,” Paul commented.
“I never knew you didn’t like animatronics,” I responded.
“You never asked.”
“These things are like Five Nights at Freddy’s,” Saylor squeaked. Despite being in mortal danger, we couldn’t help but laugh at Saylor’s ridiculous musings. Simultaneously, we dreaded passing the creepy things. The smiling bear waved at us, its large claws ferocious in the crimson light. My throat ran dry as I waited for it to decapitate us with its claws.
Continuing on, we were starting to wonder if the people that designed this whole thing were just messing with us now. They put us through literal hell, only to give us a final attraction that does nothing but psychologically toy with us. I knew it was complete rubbish, but deep inside I hoped it was true. The thought of being back in my room with my controller in my head as I stared into my TV like a zombie seemed a million miles away.
A scream from the front pulled me from my fantasy.
“Oh my God!” Derrick and Saylor stated with sheer terror and panic in their voice. As we rounded yet another corner we got a good look at the source. There was another set of animatronics, consisting of some animals but with one difference. One of the robotic monstrosities was humanoid, playing a guitar with....with Tad’s face draped over part of his creepy, hard plastic face. On\the other side of the tunnel, a raccoon raised its arm to wave, and someone’s arm was jammed onto the animatronic’s arm.
“What the.....” Stacy began.
“That’s so sick.” Paul normally meant this for something that he loved, but this was so very different.
“They’re mocking us,” I thought aloud.
“Maybe we’ll be outta here soon.” Paul commented.
Just as we thought it couldn’t get worse, all the lights and music went out at the exact moment. Saylor could be heard screaming from the front. Her thought reflected our own. Our car had stopped where the animatronic things were on both sides of us. This was no coincidence.
Then, the lights flickerd on. In the brief flash of light, I saw movement to my right.
“They’re moving,” I thought. How could it even be possible without power? Then again, not much of anything we’ve experienced that night should have been possible. There was another flicker of light, and more movement.
“Oh my God, they’re coming!” Saylor screamed.
“Quiet, Saylor! We need to hear!” Derrick’s voice had enough venom in it to scare a cobra. Yet, she wouldn’t shut up. She just kept sobbing and yelling, and the dark thoughts that sometimes occupy my mind wished they’d just finish her off so we wouldn’t have to listen her anymore. Unfortunately, we didn’t have to wait long.
The lights began flickering more and more, and I could see a badger was getting closer and closer to me. Thankfully the train car was still moving, but it was so slow these things would have plenty of time to rip us apart.
“Jim, should we....?”
“No, we’ll get electrocuted.”
“But the lights....”
“The cars moving, so we’re sitting ducks.”
Even though we were now desensitized to Saylor’s screaming, the next one I heard was on a whole other level. The scream turned my head to the front of the car, just in time to see a grinning cat grab Saylor by the throat and lift her in the air.
“Saylor!!!!” Derrick shouted, beating on the hard plastic arm. There was a sound of something whistling through the air, and there was a lumberjack burying an ax into Derrick’s head.
“What do we do??” Stacy spoke up despite her sobbing.
“We die,” Paul commented, and I suspiciously looked to him. It didn’t sound like my friend to say something like that. We all stood very still, and soon we could only hear a choked gurgling from Saylor. I put my head between my legs, afraid I was gong to hyperventilate.
“I gotta get off this thing!” Stacy shouted, and I only heard Paul object. There was a clamoring of footfalls and then I felt the sizzle in the air that I assumed to be Stacy’s burning flesh. I felt the train car bump from running over her fried corpse. I was shocked back to reality when I felt a heavy weight slam into me.
The lights still flickering, I opened my eyes to see Saylor’s corpse slumped against me. I looked up to see that cat with the Chesshire grin staring down at me with emotionless poise. Paul was curled up in a fetal position beside me, rocking back and forth. All I could register was that stupid, horrible, and childish rhyme repeating over and over until....
The next thing I knew, Paul and I were standing outside the mansion and we watched a group of people walking towards it. My first instinct was to warn them, but I was so happy and confused to find myself out of danger that I could think of one thing.
“Run.” I stated, and before my mind could catch up with me my feet pounded the pavement until I got home. My fear of that place made me flee so bad I didn’t even realize until after I got home that Paul wasn’t with me when we left the fairgrounds.
“That’s the story you’re going with?” The office stated, a tinge of judgment in his delivery.
“Yes. I won’t tell you anything different, because that’s what happened. Crazy as it sounds.”
“Okay. And what happened with Paul after you got out?”
“I dont know....I just heard they found him pacing the fairgrounds....mumbling to himself.”
“Well that is unfortunately true. Some of the stuff he’s ranting about....it sounds like some of what you told me, but that doesn’t mean that your story is legitimized.”
“What about the mansion, the attraction? Have you talked to any of the owners?”
“That’s just the thing, Jim. We interviewed as many of the festival workers as we needed to and none of them recall a horror amusement show being hosted there.”
“It was there! What about the other people with us?”
“Do you know their full names?”
“No....”
“Then I can’t say. We’re still looking into everything. That’ll be all for now.”
“You can go ahead and say I’m crazy. I know how it sounds.” My tears stung my eyes, knowing what kind of punishment could be handed down to me for how Paul turned out.
Unknown to me though, the officer stepped away to converse with his partner.
“Anything new?” A female officer asked.
“Well, he sort of corroborated some other facts of the case, but we can’t make heads or tails of anything definitively.”
“What do you know?”
“Well, I can tell you that at least eighteen people have been reported missing in the last two days. The first name and descriptions that Jim gave us of them match up. Been more ever since.”
“Odd....so you think he made this whole haunted house attraction up, too?”
“That’s where it gets weird....so I told you no one we talked to recalled any kind of horror attraction being there, right? So we go there, we track down where Jim indicated the house was supposed to be at. And I’ll be damned if the grass wasn’t pushed down in that area. Almost like something was there at some point but was later moved.”
“You gotta be shitting me.”
“Shitting you, I am not. Even Paul, who’s barely said much of anything coherent, kept pointing to the same damn spot. And then there’s the blood on their clothes...a partial match on DNA belonging to some of the missing people.′
“You think those boys killed some or all of those people?”
“I don’t think it’s likely. I honestly don’t know what the hell to think. Simply put...I don’t know what’s going on in Sullen Oaks, but I certainly don’t like it. I’ll update you with more info as I get it.”
“Okay. Follow up on any leads.”
“I hear ya.”
The officer returned, and chit-chatted with me a little longer.
“Well, just so you know no charges are being pressed. It looks bad, but I have no reason to believe you or Paul are responsible for those missing people, okay?”
“Okay....”
My despondent tone put the officer at a loss for words.
“It’s going to be okay, son. We’re going to find out what happened.” He leaned in and softly put his hand on my shoulder. With my head down, I didn’t notice him glancing quickly to the side before he said one last thing to me.
“And next year, make sure to bring more friends my way, okay?”
I slowly raised my head, taking in the officer smiling eerily.
“Just remember, only twenty at a time!”
A shiver washed down my spine as the policeman exited the room and stole one last glance before he went out the door...
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