Adventures for All

I stood there silently on a patch of wet grass, barefoot, my toes starting to go numb. I could feel thick, heavy water droplets splashing down on my body and a sharp pain shooting across my abdomen. I was wearing a white hospital gown stained red and no amount of rainfall could get rid of the thick, dark red blood splattered across the fabric. 

An eerie silence filled the night as I stood there in the dark. I’ve never seen Adventure for All without the colorful blinking lights on the enormous ferris wheel, the ringing of laughter and excitement filling the air, the sound of crunching with every step from the crisp fall leaves and popcorn carelessly spilled by kids racing around the park trying to hit every attraction in one night. 

It was a city tradition to come to Adventures for All every October for their annual Halloween-themed specials. Everyone in our city came to the park in October at least once, maybe a few times. Everyone from awkward couples on first dates and parents pushing their toddlers around in strollers with their tweens running along behind them, to sweet old couples slowly walking around the park and drinking Adventures for All’s prize winning hot chocolate, and high school students parading around the park like they owned the place. 

A tradition I have destroyed. No one in their right minds would want to come back here again on the off chance they don’t shut down the park for good.  

The news would break all headlines tomorrow. I could see it already. “Illegal Scheme run by Adventure for All Employee”. “47 Murders Committed at Adventures for All Amusement Park.” 

In the distance I could see the red and blue lights flashing dimly, barely visible through the fog. I could hear the high pitched “wee woo” sounds getting louder by the second. 

Three vehicles pulled over and ten policemen stepped out. In the distance, I could see several more sirens on the way. 

Two of the officers walked approached me and started asking questions while the others made their way through the wooden doors of Bloody Mary’s Horror House. 

I was gazing at the sirens and my eyes glazed over, unfocused as I watched the blinking blue and red circles while I robotically answered all their questions. 

Yes, it happened here in the park. Yes, it happened at night, at around 10pm. Yes, he was dead. 

I heard footsteps behind me, and turned around quickly to see the policemen emerge from the wooden doors wheeling out a stretcher with a large white body bag. The bag was zipped shut, but I could clearly picture every detail of his face - his wavy, light brown hair falling just short of his eyes, a few faded freckles sprinkled across his face, and those piercing blue eyes that could stop my heart. 

They had arrived. They had arrived and I was still alive. 

It was all over. 

5 days before

I sat anxiously on the wooden stool, one hand clasped around the stem of my glass. I took a large salty gulp of my margarita, and the bitterness of the tequila filled my mouth. 

I glanced down at my phone again. It was 8:32pm. No texts, no missed calls. 

I didn’t realize how quickly I was sipping on my drink until I was brought back to the present by the sound of my straw noisily sucking air. Embarrassed, I ordered another drink. 

I opened my phone again to check his profile for the tenth time while I was waiting for my drink. Jason, 26. 6ft. tall and 5 miles away. Thick black hair combed over to one side and teeth so straight he definitely had braces as a child. 

I glanced around again, failing to find anyone matching that description. 

8:37pm. 

I sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to show. We were supposed to meet at 8pm and he was well past the grace period.

The first date I’ve had since Aaron, a no-show. Aaron was my boyfriend of three years when I found out he was cheating on me with the receptionist at his work. My first instinct was to scream at him until my throat was hoarse, and tell him to leave and never come back. 

Well, I did scream at least. His parents had both died in a car crash earlier this year and he hasn’t been the same since. I figured I should cut him a little slack. People cheat on their significant others all the time and get past it.

We were trying to work through things until he suddenly disappeared out of my life. No text, no call, nothing. 

I was a little worried after the first week and found the receptionist’s number online. She said she hadn’t heard from either but they had gotten into a huge fight since he neglected to tell her he was in a relationship. I figured he took the easy way out, disappearing and refusing to face either of us. 

I was interrupted from my thoughts by a soft tap on my shoulder that made me involuntarily flinch. 

“Is this seat taken?”

“What?” I asked, becoming aware of my surroundings once again. 

“Is this seat taken?” the voice repeated. I turned around and shifted my gaze upwards to find a tall man leaning down towards me. 

It wasn’t Jason. The man had wavy brown hair, a little longer than Jason’s hair appeared in his pictures, and strikingly bold, blue eyes. He was conventionally attractive, like he could be the romantic lead in a movie. 

Before I could say anything, he slid onto the stool beside me, his knee grazing my thigh. 

“Hey I’m Nick. What’re you drinking?” he asked, already flagging down the bartender.

“Margaritas but already have another one coming.” 

“Alright, next round’s on me.”

***

I couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk to him. I felt like I was talking to an old friend. I told him about my family - how my dad died when I was really young, and how my mom was in a nursing home unable to recognize me. I told him about how I had found Aaron cheating on me and how it was hard for me to trust others. 

I didn’t realize I was doing most of the talking, that while I was spilling all my secrets to him, he hadn’t told me anything personal apart from his name. He was just so charming, I didn’t think twice. 

We continued talking for hours unaware of how much time had passed. Before we knew it, they were announcing the last call. 

Nick leaned over to the bartender and asked to put my drinks on his tab.

“I can pay for my own drinks,” I offered. 

“I insist,” he grinned, flashing his teeth. “Anyways, are you free Friday night?” he asked. “I want to take you out,” he eyes twinkled mysteriously. “I work at Adventures for All. I can get us in for free. I can guarantee you, it will be an unforgettable night.”

Something about the way he held my gaze for a little too long made me want to say no. But before I knew what I was doing, I blurted out yes. 

“What’re you doing tonight?” he asked, trying to push his luck. 

“I live a few blocks down,” I said standing up and grabbing my purse. 

“Perfect,” he smirked, putting his hand around my waist as we walked out of the little bar. We arrived at my apartment and left behind a trail of clothes as we made our way to my bedroom, forgotten in the moment like the black haired boy I never met.  

2 days before

He was already standing at the admissions gate with two tickets in hand when I arrived. His face lit up when he saw me and he waved me over. 

As we walked through the gate, I felt a wave of nostalgia as I’d been coming here since I was a little kid. 

“Let’s go on the ferris wheel first. I’ve ridden it every year since I was 3.” I burst out. 

“Alright then,” he teased. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to disrupt such a long-standing tradition.” 

I grinned and, grabbing his hand, practically ran to the ferris wheel. We got on and I started feeling butterflies in my stomach as we slowly started lifting off the ground. 

For a split second I saw an unrecognizable look on his face. Almost angry, like he wanted to hurt me. It disappeared as quickly as it came. I shook it off and enjoyed the view from the top. 

I felt him staring at me and turned. He locked his eyes with mine. 

He leaned in closer to me and kissed me, slowly and passionately, rocking our compartment in the process. I was too happy to be concerned we may fall out. 

When we got off the ferris wheel, I felt like I was floating despite having two feet planted firmly on the ground. 

He looked over at me and smirked. “I was thinking… are you ready for some real fun?” 

He grinned wider. “Let’s go through Bloody Mary’s… you know that haunted house?”

I hesitated. 

“Come on, there’s nothing to be scared of. I’ll protect you,” he laughed. 

He took my hand and led me into the house. I gulped loudly but didn’t look back. 

*** 

I survived the first 10 minutes of the horror house without freaking out too much. The sign out front said the experience lasts about 25 minutes, so I still had quite some time left. 

Before I had any time to react, a petite girl dressed as a zombie jumped out in front of me clutching a fake chainsaw. I screamed and tightened my grip on Nick’s hand. 

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. 

He laughed. “You don’t need to apologize. You really don’t like haunted houses do you?”

I hesitated for a second. “I’ve only been to Bloody Mary’s once before… and that was with Aaron. I don’t know… it just feels a little strange coming back here.”

“Yeah, I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t disappear on you or ghost you,” he reassured me. 

Wait did he say ‘disappear’? 

“What?” I asked, trying to maintain my level. 

“I said I won’t disappear on you like Aaron, or ghost you like that guy from the bar. Although, I am thankful that Jason didn’t show up or we probably wouldn’t be out here today,” he laughed. 

I stopped in my tracks and my body froze. 

“I never told you his name was Jason.. Or that Aaron disappeared,” I said, my voice wavering. 

His expression grew dark and angry, a look I recognized from earlier tonight. 

A few moments of silence passed before he relaxed his expression and laughed, “Sure you did! Maybe you just had one too many margaritas that night. But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll remember every detail of tonight.” 

I remained silent as we continued further into the house. As we continued walking, I was caught off-guard by an eerie silence. I noticed it had been at least 5 minutes since we had seen a disguised actor and I was starting to feel anxious. 

We reached a turn, he grabbed my arm and abruptly turned off-path, leaving me confused and a little paranoid. 

He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small keychain with several old rusty keys. He reached behind a white sheet with fake blood splatters and inserted one of the keys into a barely visible hole and the lock clicked. A hidden door, camouflaged by the wall decorations opened up, and he pulled me inside with him. 

We were in a poorly lit corridor that seemed to be inclined down. The walls had eerie white plasters across them. We walked for about a minute to find a door at the other end. He unlocked the door pulling me behind him, and closed it shut.

“I don’t think we should be going in here,” I said panicking. “Let’s just get out here.”

“Don’t worry, they don’t care if I bring guests to the back,” he assured me.

I tried to pull away and he gripped my arm so tightly I could almost feel the bruises forming. 

“You’re hurting me!” I exclaimed. “Let go of me!” 

I slapped him in the face with my free hand. He looked shocked for a second and then his expression darkened. 

I turned around and quickly made my way towards the door. I started turning the door knob, when I felt his hand crush my fingers. In a swift motion, he pushed past me and locked the door. He grabbed me by the waist, lifting me over his shoulder and proceeded through the creepy room. 

I was kicking and screaming. 

“No one can hear you now,” he said darkly. I struggled, but his grip was too tight for me to get loose. He stopped in front of a white door with a small red plus on it. He placed me roughly on the ground in front of him and turned me to face the door. He held me from behind tightly with one hand and held his keychain in the other. 

I felt the hair on my back rise as he whispered in my ear. “I have something special to show you.” 

He unlocked it with a small red key, and pushed me inside. He reached to the side and turned on a light that almost blinded me. I blinked for a few seconds adjusting to the bright light, and froze.  

I gasped audibly as I examined the contents of the room. The walls were white with no visible windows and machines and computers lined the walls. In the center of the room was a small bed and a rolling side table with different sized scalpels and other things I didn’t realize. 

My eyes began pooling with tears, and my brain was clouded by fear. My mind raced with so many questions. What is happening? What is he going to do to me? What is this place?

I knew I had to get out of there as soon as possible. But before I could react, I felt a cloth cover my face, and started feeling drowsy. I fought to keep my eyes open, but after a few seconds, I succumbed to the darkness. 

1 day before

My eyes felt heavy as I tried to force them open. My vision was blurry and I could barely make out a figure in front of me. 

I felt a soft mattress underneath me and my body felt so heavy. I felt something restraining my wrists as I tried to lift my arms. 

I couldn’t open my eyes for a second longer and sunk into the mattress. 

Today

I woke up suddenly and was almost blinded by the pain. My head was throbbing and I felt a sharp pain below my rib cage, the surrounding area around my belly incredibly sore. 

I lifted the hospital gown and saw a piece of white tape stretching down my abdomen. Where are my clothes? I slowly peeled the tape off, and couldn’t help but wince at the pain. My body filled with fear as I saw a long incision on the front side of my belly. 

A tube was stuck into my arm and I pulled it out gently. It left a little prick, and my eyes followed the tube to a small container that read morphine. There was a small side table with a folder and clipboard. 

I opened the folder and saw a list of names accompanied by records of other patients. I scanned down the list and my eyes flashed on two names. Aaron Riggs, 25. Kidney and Liver. 

Jason Pierce, 26. 2 Kidneys. 

I saw a timer on the side table counting down, 25 minutes remaining. I wasn’t supposed to be awake yet. He’ll be coming soon to check on me. I have to get out of here now. 

I snapped the metal piece off the clipboard and grabbed the medical records and quietly tiptoed toward the door. I gingerly opened it and peeked outside. No one in my line of sight. 

I made my way towards the door, undetected and turned the lock open. The door creaked open loudly and I cringed. I heard footsteps, and made a run for it. 

“Hey! What are you doing, you bitch?” I heard Nick scream from behind me. I was halfway through the hallway. I could hear his footsteps getting closer. I was almost to the door, just 5 feet away. But Nick was faster than me. 

He grabbed my waist and pulled my down. He fell on top of me, straddling me and closed his hands around my neck. 

He pressed harder and I was struggling to breathe. I tightened my grip on the metal piece I was carrying from the clipboard. 

I stabbed him in the throat repeatedly with the metal piece, fighting with every ounce of energy I had left. The third time, I broke through his skin and he loosened his grip on me. The fifth time, I pierced through his neck and blood started pouring out onto me. He was screaming in pain. 

I pushed him off of me and watched as his blood pooled out under him. I flinched as I reached into his pocket and fished out the keychain and my phone, covering both in bloody fingerprints. 

I ran through the last door, leaving Nick behind. I sprinted through the haunted house as quickly as I could. I walked out through the door and pulled out my phone. 2:17am. I dialed 3 numbers with shaky fingers. 

“911 what’s your emergency?”

“Someone’s dead. Adventures for All Amusement Park. Come quickly please,” I said my voice trembling. 

I clutched the records against my chest, protecting them from the rain, and stood there waiting.