Authors: Todd Loyd
Dark Ride (8 page)
Chapter 19
The first three rooms have been relatively devoid of anything all that startling. The trip through the Forrest begins slowly; it was designed that way. The masterminds behind the reformat had deliberately planned to make riders feel a false sence of security before the real haunting starts.
Jack knows that the biggest scare of the ride is looming through the next set of doors. Even after having been in the Little Red Riding Hood room countless times, Jack continues to always be startled. This is his least favorite room in the ride. Normally, he would duck down a little and turn his head away from the impending appearance of the Wolf, but tonight, he has to act brave. Somehow, he will have to face the rolling predator. At least he can take a little delight in watching to see what Amy will do when the beast appears.
“The children split up to see what they could find,
But before Jill knew it, she was in a bind.
She did not know she would be attacked that day,
And Jill, in her red riding hood, ran and barely got away.”
The narrator stands among dense trees that mostly fill the room, giving way briefly to a small clearing. The train approaches the clearing and slows down a little on the tracks. Jill, the plastic girl, is also supposed to represent Little Red Riding Hood. Her little mannequin stands up to the right of the tracks in the clearing.
Jack informs Amy, “From here on out, a bunch of villains narrowly miss the kids, and the tailor saves them in the end.”
Jack's tour guide lecture helps to ease the tension of what is on the horizon. Gripping the iron bar he prepares to be startled, thinking, “
Don't embarrass yourself again.”
He tenses up. His hands grip the bar. He had not actually looked at the Wolf in dozens of trip because it is just so vicious looking. The massive hideous wolf should soon be rolling along a track and pitch down just above the riders' unsuspecting heads. Mason points to the spot, and Jack closes his eyes instinctivelyâbut only temporarily. He quickly opens them again, fearing Amy will laugh.
Brace yourself
, Jack tells himself
. Here it comes
. Bravely turning to face the impending beast, he
grips the bar with resolve.
Do not turn away
, he thinks and says, “Okay, Amy, here it comes Amy, here it comes.”
The sound of a snarling growl fills the air. The tension is so thick. Jack hears a whispered
“yelp,” like that of a pup, escape from Amy's mouth.
There is a flash of light and thenâ¦.
Nothing
.
No wolf?
thinks Jack
.
The light reveals empty tracks and gears where the beast had been anchored for years.
Mason turns to Jack, yelling from the front car, “What happened, where's the wolf?”
Jack turns to Clyde.
“I don't know, captain. We think some pranksters took him away. He's probably in some dorm room as we speak.”
“So we missed something big, right?” Amy asks.
“Yep, the best scare in the whole ride.” Jack, as much as he feared the wolf, is utterly disappointed. “I can't believe someone could steal that thing.”
“I know. That wolf is so heavy. Must have been four or five guys. How they got him out without anyone knowing baffles me. Gwen just discovered him gone yesterday. Makes me downright angry.”
By this point, Clyde is talking loud, almost shouting over the sound system. “I mean people these days. Just think they can take anything they want. We've been dealing with this crud a lot lately, people wantin' to grab themselves a piece of the park before it closes, I guess. They may think it's cute, but it's stealing.”
Ouch
, thinks Jack.
Is Clyde on to us? No, he couldn't be.
Amy sulks, “I finally get on this thing, and I'll never know what I missedâthis stinks. I hope they catch whoever stole that stuff. It's just so wrong.”
Amy's disappointment and condemnation settle it for Jack. Even if Mason were angry for the rest of his life, Jack decides he will not be taking anything out of the ride tonight. The golden goose is only a couple of rooms away. But, with Amy beside him and Clyde behind him, Jack realizes that there is no way he could pull this off.
The ride continues to the next room. Another narrator dummy with its large book mimics the lines of the story.
“Jack finds a beanstalk large enough to climb.
He scales the stalk to see what he can find.”
This room, much smaller than the others, is filled by the massive green stalk. The train rolls around the perimeter and moves upward on the rising track. The next set of doors open to reveal the inside of what is supposed to be the interior of the Giant's lair, the room containing the goose.
“So, we went up the beanstalk, and now we're in the Giant's castle. I'm tracking,” Amy happily chimes.
In the room, oversized tables and chairs and a huge bookcase are designed to give riders a dwarfed feeling. In the corner to the right are scarier props, such as a stack of bones and skulls, brought in to create chills. To the immediate right is a tremendous fireplace, complete with a “fire,” created by red paper over a fan. It is adorned by a rake and shovel, and next to them is the Golden Goose.
“Jack found where the Giant did roam.
He knew pretty quickly he should go home.”
Although the narrator's voice is audible, the builders had not bothered to place a mannequin here.
“But before he fled, his eyes spied a surprise.
He thought to himself, I could escape with a prize.
Yes, a goose made of gold next to a fireplace rake
Just waiting for a boy like Jack to snag and take.”
Scotty had often complained that the ride should have had a real goose since in the story it was not a statue of a goose that laid eggs. Jack knew this complaint was more about Scotty showing off his knowledge rather than a serious complaint. He figured that surely Scotty must know some artistic license is required on a ride like this.
The goose itself is small and painted gold, the kind of ornament you could buy at a crafts store. As the train rolls by it, Jack feels a tug at his heart. He broods,
There it goes. Mason is never going to let me live this down.
“Is anything going to happen in here?” Amy wonders out loud.
“When we get past the table, we will hear steps and the table will rattle. Bats will fall down on wires.”
“Oh, I hateâ”
The train makes a sudden jolt. The dim lights flicker once, a second time, and completely shut off followed by a blurring of the sound effects before they whine and go silent.
With a sparkle and crack, two small emergency lights spur to life, but they only provide enough light for Jack to see outlines of shapes. Behind him, Clyde grumbles, “Dagnabit, here we go again.”
Chapter 20
The Braddocks roll toward home after their brief outing.
“I really thought we had you two on the ropes,” Wallace Braddock confides to his wife from behind the steering wheel.
“Oh, please! You guys haven't beaten Freda and me in months. I was just about to play the Queen of Diamonds when Freda ran to the bathroom. I hope she's okay.” Brenna comments, assuring her husband that her team had been in control.
“Yeah, I haven't seen anyone turn that green since the last time Jack ate your tuna casserole.”
Brenna eyes her husband, not pleased with the implication. “Wallace, I don't think my dish had anything to do with Freda's spell.”
“No offense, dear, just putting two and two together.” Wallace grins trying to lighten up the tension.
“Well you can keep your investigation to yourself, Sherlock.”
“I'm just saying.”
“You're being a jerkâeveryone loves my casserole. Just because Jack got sick onceâ”
“Twice.”
“Oh, stop it, Wallace. You're really getting on my nerves.”
“I'm just playing with you, dear.”
She knows full well he is not playing at all and that this is just his way of avoiding further escalation. Still, Brenna decides to let him off the hook by changing the subject.
“I wonder how the kids have gotten along tonight?”
“We've only been gone a couple of hours. I am sure they have been wonderful, those two angels. I bet they're baking cookies and playing Monopoly, as happy as clams.”
“Wallace, would it kill you to spend more time with them?”
“Why do you want to start that again?”
“Because, you never spend time with them. Maybe if their father would take some time and give them more attention, it would help ease whatever it is that they are going through.”
“Honey, they're teenagers. What they're going through is natural. Brothers and sisters fight.”
“I didn't fight with my brother like that.”
“Give it time, Brenna. When Blair leaves for college in a couple of yearsâ”
“A couple of years? I can't deal with this for two more years.”
The two drive in uneasy silence for a bit.
“I was too hard on them today. I should have let Jack go to the park. The whole time we were at the Zuckermans' I couldn't help but think I took something away from him.”
“There you go again. Look, we baby them too much. He has to learn from this. Perhaps the whole reason they fight like they do is because we have looked the other way too often. No, do not second guess yourself tonight. It was the right thing to do.”
“I know, but I just feel so bad.”
The vehicle rolls into the driveway.
“Well, since we're home early, I might write a letter to the mayor. It's high time I contacted him instead of just writing to the paper.”
Wallace's keys jingle as the door is unlocked.
“It's Friday night, Wallaceâ¦oh, never mind.”
“What?”
Inside, everything appears to be in order to Wallace and Brenna, at least downstairs. They perceive no signs of fighting, and Blair's music blasts away upstairs.
“I'm going to check on the kids,” says Brenna.
The door to Blair's room is cracked, and Brenna looks in.
“Honey?”
Blair is texting away on her phone, oblivious to her mom. The blaring music is not coming from the stereo but the headphones gracing her daughter's head.
“Blair, you're going to go deaf!” Brenna yells and thinks,
She's in her own world. Didn't she know she was grounded from everything? I'll take the phone away tomorrow. Too much drama for one night.
Leaving Blair to her domain, Brenna takes ten steps down the hall and to the right to Jack's room. She slowly opens the door and sees her son sleeping like a baby. She thinks,
That's it, Jack, get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow.
Shutting the door behind her quietly, Brenna cannot help but chide herself again for prohibiting the boy from enjoying the park one last time.
Chapter 21
“Okay, kidsâsit tight, don't panic,” says Clyde. He thinks,
Why did I ever agree to this? I knew this would happen.
Clyde reaches into his work belt and pulls out his trusty flash light. Clicking the red button near the nozzle, he waits for the stream of white light to cut through the darkness.
“Look, I'm going to lead you out of here, back the way we came.”
“Can't you just fix it? I mean we're halfway through the ride.” Jack's voice is full of emotion, crushed and disappointed.
“Jack, there's got to be a short somewhere. Gwen and I thought we had found the wire giving us all the fits, but now I'm not sure. We're basically grasping at straws.”
“But the powerâit's been coming back on.”
“Yeah, but so far, only after we jiggle a few wires at the box. It's not an exact science. For all I know, the power just comes on when it feels like it.”
“Clyde, let us wait here. You can go mess with the box. If, or better yet when, the power comes on, we can finish the ride.”
Clyde knows this is an exaggeration, but he can't blame the boy for trying.
Amy chimes in, “Clyde, what could go wrong?”
That was the wrong thing to ask, and suddenly the old man is re-established in his firm stance.
“I can't just let you kids sit in here in the dark.”
“Clyde,” responds Jack, “There are four of us, and we're not kids. I know this ride better than anyone, except you. Just let us finish, please. This is our last ride, ever.”
The box is only a couple of rooms back, and Clyde tells himself,
The kids are right. The power has been cutting back on all night. What would it hurt to let them finish? There are four of them.
He says, “Okay, look, it's not like I am going to lose my job over this. It's everyone's last ride. I'll make a deal with you. Sit here in the cart, and then when the power comes back on, finish the ride. If the power shuts off again stay wherever you are and I'll come get you.”
“Thanks, Clyde!” They each say with various degrees of sincerity.
Climbing out of the ride, Clyde is at peace with his decision to comply with the will of the riders but reminds them again, “Stay put. If the power does not come on, I need to know I can find you here.”
“Sure thing, Clyde!” Jack calls. All four teens nod in unison.
Walking away, Clyde gives one last look back at the teens.
Better make this quick
, thinks Clyde, who second guesses himself, wondering,
This is the right thing to do, isn't it?
One last time for emphasis, he tells them, “I mean itâ¦stay in the cart.”
Chapter 22
“I don't like it,” Mason offers dramatically.
“You don't like what?” Scotty inquires gullibly.
“Don't you guys think the old man was a little too eager to get outta here?”
“Don't be ridiculous, Mason, I begged him to let us stay,” Jack retorts. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, I don't knowâ¦like, maybe the old man set this whole thing up. You know, to get us all in here by ourselves.”
Jack knows this tone. Mason is trying to scare them.
“I bet this is exactly what happened to Douglas Finch. The old man lured him in, then deserted him in the dark. Just like in one of those horror movies, he hunted him down and offed him, hiding his body somewhere in the ride.”
“Okay, that's enough, Mason. I told you that's just a myth,” Jack defends.
“And I told you, Finch really did disappear.”
“If Clyde had something to do with it, don't you think the cops would have figured that out?”
“I don't know, Jack. You ever watched CSI?”
“Mason, just be quiet, you're not helping.” The tone in Amy's voice gives away her feelings. Jack can see Amy is not comfortable with the present situation. She is rubbing her hands together and scanning the room.
Taking the opportunity to look around the room himself, Jack's eyes slowly become accustomed to the dim lighting. The room has never looked so frightening to him. His eyes check every corner.
Scotty has his cell phone out, providing just enough extra light to make some of the room's objects visible. On the fireplace, Jack eyes the goose.
There it is for the taking
, he thinks. In his wildest dreams, this could not have been set up for him more perfectly. Now the moral dilemma begins anew, for he could easily get off the ride. It almost seems like this is meant to be, but Jack still wonders what Amy would say.
From the front of the cart, Jack hears an iron bar jiggle. Turning to see what's going on, he can see Mason slide up and force himself out of the cart.
“Sit down, Mason,” says Amy with newfound courage brought on by nerves.
Mason rubs Lucky's head as he passes the second cart. He strolls around the room and says, “I always wanted to be able to just get out and explore this place. What about you, Jack?”
There is an unmistakable emphasis on Jack's name.
Mason is suggesting somethingâsomething more than just getting out of the cart
, knows Jack.
“Jack, don't leave,” Amy pleads. “Clyde said to stay put. What if the power comes on and you're not on the ride?”
Now Jack is in a quandary. He must choose between disappointing Amy and irritating Mason. And, he has already pushed it with his friend. His eyes rest on the goose; he knows what Mason is getting at. It is a challenge and the golden opportunity. Before, with Clyde behind him, there was no way he was going to get his prop, but now it is almost like the ride wants him to take something.
“No worries, Amy. If the ride starts back, I'll jump in. It's not like this thing is very fast.”
Risking the scorn of Amy, he squeezes himself from behind the bar and joins Mason near the fireplace. Amy's glance is painfully disapproving.
In low tones, Mason whispers to Jack, “Now is your chance. I saw you looking around. This is perfect. I can't believe we're having so much luck. Did you see me grab the badge?”
“Yea, you almost got us busted. That mannequin thing almost fell over.”
“But it didn't.”
“What gave you the idea to snatch that badge?”
“I don't knowâit just called out to me, like, âHere's your chance.' I knew the old man wouldn't see.”
The old man
, thought Jack
.
Just moments before, he had resigned himself to not steal anything. If Clyde found out, Jack would be devastated.
Still
, Jack thought,
This is a clear cut chance.
A chance to get the goose.
They are closing the ride. It's not like anyone is going to miss something now.
“Jack, you don't even have to worry about anyone seeing like I did. This is a lay-up. You can get whatever you want from in here with no worries,” says Mason.
The phrase “no worries” brings Jack's eyes to Amy, and he tells Mason, “I don't want Amy to know.”
“Why not?”
“I just don't want to drag her into this, okay.”
“Jack, you sure are acting all protective and stuff of her. What's going on?”
“Nothing, I just mean, in the unlikely case that we get busted, she should not get in trouble. She's not in on this. Got it?”
“Okay, I'll go over and distract her. You get what you want and come back when you're done.”
With that, Mason strolls over to Amy. Jack can make out the small talk from where he stands.
“So what do you think about the Enchanted Forrest, Amy?” Mason rests an arm on the side of the train, coolly making conversation.
Scotty has left his seat, as well, and is walking around looking at the table. Jack wonders if he is searching for his prop as well.
With Mason taking Amy's focus off of him, Jack goes to work. Moving backwards, he slips his hand around the neck of the goose. The goose lifts easily. He had thought it could have been glued down or something, so he is relieved. Turning his back to the train, he glides his other hand over the golden statue. It is smooth and solid, weighing about as much as one of his mom's 10-pound aerobic hand weights. Unzipping his backpack, the goose slides in easily.
“Jack, what are you doing?” asks Amy. She has turned her attention back to him.
Did she see me?
wonders Jack, who turns back towards the girl with the goose tucked away inside the backpack. He replies,
“
Just walking around a bit. Always wanted to do this. In all my years of riding this ride, I have never gotten to just walk around. It's pretty cool. You should come outâuh, what do you see over there Scotty?”
“You guys need to get back in the cart now.” Amy starts to sound like a broken record.
“Come on, sis, lighten up,” Scotty calls.
“No, you lighten up, Scotty. You guys are going to get us all in trouble.”
Jack shoots a wink towards Mason to let him know that the mission is accomplished. A feeling of satisfaction washes over Jack. In his wildest dreams, Jack could not have imagined how perfect everything has fallen into place. He has the object of his desire, and Amy is none the wiser.
Detaching himself from his small talk with Amy, Mason gives Jack a nod toward Scotty.
“Let's go see what Scotty's up to,” Mason says, which Jack understands as code for “Let's help Scotty find something.” Mason and Jack walk over to the other boy standing underneath the oversized table.
With a spark, a grind and a flash of the dimmed lights, sound crackles through the speakers. The train lunges forward.
“Guys!” alerts Amy.
The power is on. The boys are caught flatfooted standing twenty feet away from the train. All three boys dash to the carts, but they cannot catch the little vehicle. All Jack can do is catch Amy's scolding and frightened gaze as she disappears through two large black doors.