Dark Ride (36 page)

Chapter 136

As the entire bizarre scene plays out before Jack, who moments ago had been lulled into a dream like stupor, he is revived by the sudden action taking place and watches as the paper falls into the fire.

The Queen furiously screams at the wolf, “Vile creature! You will pay for your insolence!” Then she turns to her accomplice and says, “Victor, once we have disposed of the book, perhaps you can find an interesting method of repaying the beast?”

“With pleasure, your excellence!” replies Victor, standing behind the fire, a catlike grin across his face.

Jack is just able to make out his friends who are standing to his right. All of them are staring blankly at the wolf, who is lying on the floor, immobilized by a spell. Then an odd thing happens. As the paper, now in the fire, quickly wrinkles to ash, Jack finds that he is able to move his arm. So, he also attempts to wiggle a foot, and it responds.

The page
, he thinks,
it had to be the page! That's my story the
wolf knocked free into the fire. Of course! The Queen said she would burn her book and be free from the words that bind her. This must be happening to me. But, what do I do now?

Acting cautiously, Jack decides to remain still for the moment, surmising that it will be better if the Queen doesn't realize he can move
.
He then waits for his chance to strike
.

The Queen turns her attention to the agitated kids and confidently addresses the assembly, appearing to have regained her composure.

She says, “A page has been burnt. One of you should be free. Are you playing games with me, children? The time for games is over.” In a low voice, the Queen, without taking the time to cycle through the pages, begins another incantation in an effort to quickly imprison whoever was set free by the burning page.

Jack knows he has to act. He thinks,
If only it was not solely up to me. I wish the narrator were here to help.
Suddenly, the Queen's incantations stop. She seems distracted.

“I see I'm a little late for the party,” Jack hears someone say. He recognizes the voice and realizes it's the narrator's.

Chapter 137

The narrator approaches the witch, who is looking much more hideous than glamorous. She takes a few steps toward the man, erasing most of the distance between them. Her face is blood red, and the green aura surrounding her is burning brightly.

The Queen says, “You are too late! The prophecy is fulfilled. I have read the words of their stories! And I hold the book—my book!”

The narrator responds in a hushed voice, “You have no clue, my dear. You never did. You cannot change what has been set in motion.”

“But you are wrong. I hold the book! My book!” the Queen says with a cackle.

“When you entered the woods long ago, you thought you could change things then, but—”

“You will no longer control me,” the Queen admonishes.

“I never decided your fate. You made your own choices,” the narrator responds.

While trying to pay close attention to the words being exchanged, Jack can feel the rising heat from the fire. He's working on connecting the dots of their conversation with the information he already knows. Jack looks over behind the fire at Victor, or Douglas Finch, who is looking very concerned. A thought pops into Jack's head:
Was the Queen just someone else who entered the woods?

“Quit trying to trick me, old man! I won't let you do that again. Your time has passed.”

Jack notices the witch has relaxed a little and figures she must feel confident that she has finally won.

Then the narrator's voice increases in volume, and he says, “You decided that your story would be about controlling others, so that is why you are trapped. You are no longer welcome here. Your last attempt at controlling your pawns has failed. I will take the book now.”

Like a child protecting a toy from another, she pulls the book to her side and holds it tightly with both hands.

The witch says, “No, you will not have it! It is mine. The prophecy foretold of this day, the day of my victory!”

Then, turning to the fire just a few yards away, she deliberately walks toward the flames.

Chapter 138

The Queen picks up her pace toward the fire, and the narrator is doing nothing to stop her.

Jack wonders what is going to happen and questions why the narrator isn't taking action. The fire is just to his left, and as the Queen nears it, Jack decides it's up to him and that he must get the book away from her. He hopes that as a result of her squabble with the narrator, the Queen has forgotten that one of them is free.

The Queen draws dangerously close to the fire. She casts a malicious look at the Narrator and then holds the book out in front of her with one hand while keeping the three remaining papers in the other.

“The book will burn,” the witch says. “You cannot stop—”

Jack launches into action. He grabs the book with both hands and pulls with all of his might. Alarmed by the sudden movement and attack of the boy, the Queen flails, and the papers containing the stories of the other teens fly upward. The inertia makes the Queen lunge forward, and she loses her grip on the book, which Jack now has in his clutches as he spins to the floor.

Off balance, the Queen trips into the fire. Immediately, she hops back out but not before the flames have licked at her robes. Before long, she is overpowered by her fiery attire: the green light that had once enveloped her is now a violent orange, red, and yellow blaze. A sudden rush of activity and chaos fills the room as Victor rushes to her aid.

“My Queen!” he calls out while wildly patting at flames with his hands. The Queen is now a picture of panic—dancing, rolling, and jumping as the man beats at her body.

As a result of the chaotic situation, the Queen's holding spell is broken. Immediately, the wolf regains his feet, begins snarling, and looks wildly around the room: first at Amy, then at the narrator, and then at the Queen and Victor.

Meanwhile, the fire is still wrapped around the Queen, who cries out in pain as Victor continues his efforts to stifle it.

Jack was watching this from his vantage point on the ground, but his attention has been redirected to the snarling wolf with drooling teeth barred, and Jack sees that the creature is staring at Amy.

Chapter 139

In spite of his attempt to save the kids, the wolf still wants the girl. In fact, the impulse for her is actually stronger now than it had been earlier. Before, he had stood in obedience to the Queen, respecting her power, but with her presently being occupied by her predicament, he considers going after the girl. At the same time, though, he cannot resist the urge to feel empathy for the teens.

A voice in the wolf's head tells him,
You could still have her.
It is the shattered plate that he has reformed in his imagination.

The plate calls to him,
You need her—I need her.

But the Queen, she was using us…it was she who—”

Forget that! You have no time for this. Do it now!

During this period of indecision, it is Jack who acts first. The wolf is surprised as the boy stands up, collects the papers in the air, and delivers them to the fire. The wolf watches him warily and realizes that he must strike now before the pages burn and the girl can run.

“You must fight the desire within you,” says the narrator to the wolf. “You, too, can start anew.”

“I must have the girl,” responds the wolf, instinctively barring his fangs for the old man to see.

“No, you must control the urge. This is not who you are.”

The authority of the man's voice surprises the wolf.

“But she is all I have ever wanted.”

“No, she is not. You once made a foolish choice, and you ended up here in this world. You were imprisoned by the Queen.”

With the mention of her, the wolf redirects his gaze from Amy to the hapless witch. He sees that the flames have subsided and she is being assisted by Victor, who is cradling her fallen body.

“You were trapped in the ride,” continues the narrator. “You were a simple attraction for people to fear, until the day she could use you as a pawn. Then, when she sensed the time was near, you were released to help the Queen realize her schemes. She wanted them to fear you and run to her, to fear you and embrace her.”

The wolf knows this is true, but in spite of the new reality, he still wants the girl. He considers that he can wait a little longer and see how things play out.

His attention turns to the Queen and Victor, who is helping her to her feet, and he beholds a ghastly sight. The Queen's face is scorched. One of her cheekbones is exposed, the flesh devoured by the licking flames. The wolf is not sure what is more surprising: the fact that the Queen is still alive and now on her feet or the hideous state of her body.

Chapter 140

Jack watches as Douglas Finch assists the Queen to the door of the gingerbread house. In spite of her pitiful state, Jack feels little sympathy for the woman who had attempted to enslave them all. He wonders,
Is she going to get away? Is the
narrator just going to let her walk?

As the Queen and Victor proceed to the door of the palace, a mutilated jaw lowers from the witch's mouth, and she weakly says in a low raspy voice, “This is not over yet. I will have revenge.”

Then she coughs and gives a moan of pain. Her gnarled body is assisted by Victor as they proceed toward the door, but once they arrive at the threshold, she stops and turns back with a wild look that's apparent even through her horrid features. It appears as if she is muttering something, and she painfully straightens herself and attempts to lift an arm.

“We have had enough of that,” the narrator speaks coldly. “Leave us.”

Resigned to defeat, she sags back down into a pitiful hunch and disappears through the door of her palace.

However, before Victor can pass into the house as well, the narrator calls out, “Douglas Finch.”

The duplicitous man stops halfway through the door.

“It is not too late for you,” the narrator asserts. “Your story is far from finished. She does not have to control you any longer.”

Douglas looks at the narrator and also at the kids. Then for a second, the man looks into the house at the Queen before looking back at the narrator. With a frown of resolve, he turns and shuffles through the door to rejoin the witch.

Next, turning to the wolf, the narrator reminds the beast, “This also applies to you.”

The wolf does not react. He simply stands there with his eyes on the man.

Thus far, Jack had been fixated on the grim scene so much so that he had forgotten to check on his friends. Now, he sees Mason doubled over and holding his stomach, and Scotty looking around and waving his arms, apparently delighted at his ability to move. Then his eyes rest on Amy. He doesn't go to her immediately but simply watches her.

Amy says, “Mr. Wolf?”

Jack is shocked by this but not as surprised as the wolf, who, wideeyed, is obviously taken off guard so much so that he takes a step back.

Amy continues, “I just wanted to thank you for helping us.”

The wolf quietly examines her, then looks to the others, and rests his eyes on the old man.

Chapter 141

The wolf appears unable to move, though the witch's binding spell is no longer affecting him.

Now Amy walks toward Jack. She starts crying.

There is a lump in Jack's throat that feels to him to be the size of a bowling ball. He stands his ground, not knowing exactly what is to come.

The girl's arms wrap around his waist, and her head nuzzles into his chest. “I'm sorry,” she sobs.

He wants to scream, “No!” but holding back this urge, he simply whispers, with his mouth close to her ear, “No, I'm sorry.”

For the first time since entering the ride, he embraces her in full view of the others. Immediately, he quickly looks over to Scotty and Mason, but then chides himself for caring what they think about it. With unabashed
freedom, he kisses her on the forehead. Together, the couple stands in silence as the others watch for what seems like an eternity.

Amy looks up into Jack's eyes and says, “I'm sorry I treated you like that tonight.”

Jack quickly responds, not wanting her to feel any blame, “No, I'm sorry. It's my fault, remember? I got you into this mess.”

Amy knows this is a sincere apology, and her tears dampen his badly torn shirt.

The embrace continues in silence until Mason cannot hide his disdain any longer, “Barf, are you serious? All that mushy kiss-and-make-up stuff right in front of us?”

Scotty's eyes are the size of saucers, indicating that he's finally in on the secret.

The narrator approaches the couple and says, “Well, you acted very bravely, Jack.”

The boy relinquishes his embrace of the girl and takes her hand. Then Jack looks up at the narrator and says, “Thank you. If you had not come when you did—”

“Well, you asked me to come.”

Jack is confused, thinking,
When did I ask for help?

Scotty approaches the narrator now, holds out a hand, and says, “Thanks, uh, Sam, right?”

“Yes, and thank you, brave apprentice. You all have truly done something marvelous here today.”

“But we were the ones who stole your book,” Jack admits while glancing over at Mason, who is still standing awkwardly just a few steps away from the others.

“Yes, that…well…,” the Narrator acknowledges.

Jack proudly hands the book to the narrator and says, “Here, we are giving it back now. I am truly sorry.”

Jack waits for the response. The narrator simply looks at the book and then lowers it in one hand to his side. No words follow.

From the corner of his eye, Jack watches Mason, and he wonders,
Is he going to say anything? Thank the man? Anything?

Mason sees Jack watching him and finally speaks, as if he has to, asking, “So do we get out now?”

How can he be so ungrateful?
Jack thinks
.
He shakes his head at Mason, letting him see the disappointment.

The narrator responds, “Well, the story is not finished yet.”

Jack asks, “The story is not finished?”

“Why, yes, you still have a little way to go.”

The narrator, with book in hand, turns to leave.

This new revelation crushes Jack, and he can tell the other teens are exasperated as well. He asks himself,
Is he really leaving us? What more do we have to do? Is this because we didn't follow his rhymes?
Jack looks at the wolf, whose eyes still remain focused on Amy, and the boy wonders,
If the narrator leaves, what will this beast do
?

Nervously, Jack begs the narrator, “Don't leave. Stay with us; help us.”

“Well, Jack, I would, but you still have some things to do on your own.”

“Like what? You've never really come out and told us what you wanted us to do?”

The narrator looks into Jack's eyes and says, “You have to make things right.”

“But how? Just tell us, please.”

“Jack, just think about it. You need to make amends. I cannot do it for you.”

The tone of the narrator makes it clear to Jack that the conversation is over.

Amy clasps Jack's hand and tells him, “We can finish this, Jack.”

A little frustrated by the last few words of the Narrator, Jack watches as the old man approaches the entrance to the passageway from which the wolf had emerged.

Then, just as the man is about to disappear, a loud
crash
echoes through the room. All four teens, the wolf, and the narrator are jolted by the sound.

Soon, another
crash
is heard, and then, another. Each time, the floor shakes and the walls vibrate.

“What is going on?” Jack yells.

Amy cries, “What now?”

A thunderous voice says, “Fee fi fo fum!”