Chapter 14

POV Coraline

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

She scrutinized me with her big, wide eyes.

Lucy had already asked the same thing at least three times, even though I had tried to reassure her each time. I was stuck in my house until further notice. That was what Adam had implied when he warned me not to leave any clues about my location or appear in public. In general, I didn’t like going out much, but the fact that it had become an imposition bothered me.

It made me want to leave.

"I think it’s too soon to go out in public," she retorted. "And the cops definitely won’t be happy about escorting you to an amusement park full of teenagers."

"They’re going to think I’m an asshole for leaving the house so soon, aren’t they?"

Her gaze softened.

"No one will judge you for trying to distract yourself a little. Everyone is hoping you’ll be okay."

"Everyone is hoping I’ll be okay, but the moment I show the slightest sign that I’m trying to move on, I’ll be treated like a heartless bitch."

"Don’t say that," she protested, but without much conviction—because she knew it was true.

I smiled.

"People like to pretend they want to see others happy, but the moment you show a bit of happiness, sympathy turns into hatred."

She seemed to agree since she didn’t comment. Good. That was good.

"It’s a traveling carnival that’s never been to New Hope before. For someone who loves amusement parks as much as you do, it’d be a shame to miss it. Today’s their last day in town."

She bit her lip, thinking.

Almost two weeks had passed since Andrew’s death, and I, focused on being alone for as long as possible, hadn’t stepped off my property once—except to go to the supermarket. The truth was, part of me buzzed with excitement at the chance to forget my life for a moment.

And I loved amusement parks.

In the end, she gave in, drawn to the idea of helping me get a little distraction. I knew I had won before she even said anything.

"You’re going, aren’t you?"

Her smile grew in sync with mine.

"One hour," she warned. "Just one hour."

We snuck out through the back of my house without telling the cops we were leaving. That would avoid drawing unnecessary attention while we had a little fun. It was important to note, of course, that anything that happened while we were out would be a huge problem since Adam Mortimer had been adamant about the police escort—which Lucy had fought tooth and nail to get.

A murderer was after me, and I wasn’t supposed to be reckless.

Adam had also kept his promise of getting me a walkie-talkie. The day the officers arrived, they handed me a radio and taught me how to use it. Basically, I could press a button and call for help if I needed it, since we had direct contact through the radio as long as it was within a few miles. That night, though, I left it under my pillow before heading out because there was no reason to bring it to the park.

When we got there, I felt a little alarmed.

Pandemonium was exactly what I would expect in a horror movie. Built on an abandoned lot in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, the park was the epitome of neglect: nearly empty, with small groups of teenagers scattered around the tiny space. The rusting rides and peeling paint made the lack of maintenance evident. Pandemonium didn’t even live up to its name—instead, it was just a lifeless place.

What kind of amusement park felt this depressing?

The heavy, dark cloud covering the late afternoon sky didn’t help the park seem any livelier. The grounds lay bare beneath a brewing storm, threatening to ruin a night that already didn’t seem too promising. It was the perfect setting for a low-budget horror film—or an accident involving old, failing rides.

Maybe I was crazy, but seeing the park falling apart only made me want to stay longer.

Deep down, I think I was desperate to feel something—even if it was fear.

I preferred fear over feeling nothing at all.

At the top of the entrance arch, where Lucy and I waited for our tickets, the park's name flickered nonstop, some bulbs broken, a letter missing. When we stepped away from the ticket booth and she saw me staring at the lights, her enthusiasm wavered.

"This was a bad idea, wasn’t it?" She waved the tickets in the air. "We shouldn’t have come."

I smiled at Lucy with genuine excitement.

"No, it’s perfect."

She widened her eyes.

"Nothing better than a sketchy place to make me forget my problems." I laughed. "If I’m busy worrying about falling off one of these old rides, maybe I’ll forget for a bit about my almost-dead boyfriend."

My almost-dead boyfriend.

A cruelly accurate description.

Lucy didn’t laugh at my self-deprecating joke, but she didn’t scold me either—which was progress. Instead, she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the park.

Inside, the mist sprawled across the ground like fire spreading along the edges, refusing to lift. The few visitors were scattered in the lines for the available rides, which weren’t many.

"Where to first?" she asked. "Roller coaster, arcade, haunted house?"

"Roller coaster, maybe?"

Lucy nodded, smiling.

"Alright. I’ll grab some popcorn. You hold my spot in line."

"You’re going to eat before getting on the roller coaster?"

Her incredulous voice stopped me.

"I can’t handle heights on an empty stomach."

She shot me a side glance.

"Don’t take too long."

I crossed the short distance between the roller coaster and the food stands, only to find the popcorn booth abandoned. Even though the lights on top were still flickering, there was no one inside to serve me. I leaned against the counter for a moment and waited, glancing around to see if someone was approaching.

In the meantime, I noticed I was being watched.

A man, about a hundred meters away in my direction, stood leaning against the staircase of the haunted house. He seemed to be staring at me.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a black leather jacket and matching pants. From where I stood, I couldn’t be sure if he was really looking at me or who he was—since he was wearing a cap.

Given my recent trauma with big, creepy men, I figured it was best to leave. So, I gave up on the popcorn and went back to the roller coaster line.

There were about four, maybe five, people ahead of Lucy, which meant we still had another round before it was our turn. I tapped her shoulder, calling her attention, and she turned around abruptly.

Lucy inspected me.

"You didn’t bring popcorn."

I smiled.

"There was no one at the stand."

"And why did you take so long?"

"I was waiting for someone to show up."

She gave me a look of disbelief.

"Shall we?"

I looked up and watched the old metal structure moving along the tracks.

The shrill sound.

The desperate screams. The haunted faces.

At the top of the tracks, a giant clown head stared down at me. It had a bizarre grin that nearly reached its oversized eyes, along with ghostly pale skin. The faded colors only made it look even creepier. Looking at it gave me a terrible feeling—a bad memory.

Andrew.

"You know what? I think I’m too nauseous for the roller coaster. Want to go on something else?"

Lucy shook her head.

"No way."

"I’ll wait for you here, then."

She huffed and left me in line.

I looked around. My attention was caught by the flashing red lights on the other side of the park—the haunted house lights. I glanced back at the roller coaster and saw Lucy smiling at a girl beside her in the seat. She made friends so easily.

This would take, what, ten minutes? Maybe?

I tapped my fingers against my thighs as I decided—not that it took long, because I overheard a group of people talking a few feet away. They were discussing the panic attack the youngest girl among them had had inside the haunted house. I decided to check it out.

From a distance, I eyed the eerie, run-down structure before me. The haunted house was built from wood and coated in cheap fluorescent paint to resemble an old, abandoned building. It was completely red, with a little fence made from scraps of wood. From the front, it looked small, but I knew it was a long structure with many rooms, eventually leading to a tiny exit door at the back where visitors emerged after the tour.

When I got in line, there were a handful of teenagers ahead of me who would probably be my company inside. From here, I could see the hanging bodies in front of the house in detail. They were so realistic that I had to look away.

Inside, it didn’t seem like there were any lights—or at least, that’s what they wanted us to think, judging by the broken windows swallowed in darkness.

The line moved quickly, and soon it was my turn to enter. Of the group that had been waiting with me, only two people remained. It would be just the three of us. The two girls in front looked back at me and smiled politely. I smiled back.

A masked man stood at the house’s entrance, waiting to guide us. The girls giggled when he touched one of their shoulders and gestured for us to go in.

The moment we stepped inside, I regretted it.

The first room was an announcement of the bizarre experience that awaited us.

We stood in a dimly lit hallway, illuminated only by red lamps, with rows of bodies lined up as if they were waiting for us. Some were deformed yet still recognizable as human, while others were too mangled for me to guess what they had once been.

At the end of the hallway stood another figure, less disfigured, wearing a black hood that covered its body. It was standing still in front of the door that would lead us to the next room.

I assumed it was there to scare us.

Once we all passed, it would probably scream loudly and lunge at us.

I hoped it would at least try to be a little more original than that.

The girls ahead of me were already frightened, which made sense for their age.

Maybe I was just too old for this kind of thing.

I was about to turn back when I was caught off guard.

The figure blocking the door didn’t move. Instead, the mangled bodies lining the hallway sprang to life and rushed toward us.

Startled, I screamed, which only made one of them reach me faster. The other girls were also separated, each dragged away by one of the house’s monsters, kicking and screaming.

My attacker pulled me past the hooded figure at the door and into the next room.

Unlike what I expected, the other girls weren’t there—because the room was a small antechamber with three different doors, each likely leading to a separate section of the house.

When I realized I was alone in that tiny, dark room with a stranger, all my previous disdain for the attraction morphed into something far more real.

The monster behind me grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the first door.

Very realistic, I had to admit.

But then, suddenly, his grip vanished.

He had let me go.

When I turned around to look for him, he was already gone.

And just like that, I was left alone in front of a door, in the middle of the dark.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside.