"I think the house wants us to go this way," Kara said beside me. Her arm wrapped around my shoulder, supporting my weak body. 

Looking ahead, large walls had erected, blocking off most of the fairgrounds. The only clear path lead to the wooden roller coaster. I trailed the arches of the wood. The beams looked feeble and rotted. I couldn't even see some of the peaks because they went so high.

We had walked for three minutes and I was already exhausted. I needed a break. I was ready to revive Fred and allow him to finish the job. The pulses of pain coming from the wounded flesh a top my head was enough to drive anyone insane.

"Can we take a break first?" I asked. As much as I admired her gung-ho attitude, I just couldn't keep up. If she was smart, she would leave me and worry about herself. Something told me that her fighting spirit would be snuffed out rather quickly if she went through everything I had experienced.

"Of course," she agreed. She walked me over to the curbside and eased me down.

"So," she asked with hesitance in her voice, "what all have you gone through? I think I am still in denial over where I am. I feel like I'm in a bad dream."

"Demons, dolls, Leviathans, spiders, and claustrophobia... now killer clowns and scary carnival rides. I am just ready to get out of here."

"How... how are you still going?" she asked. Her jaw had slacked open slightly at the mention of my trials.

"I promised Allison I would be home at six. I wonder how long I have been in here?"

Did time work the same in here as it did on the outside? Had I been in here hours? Days? Years? How long had I been in this "Hotel California"?

"I don't know," she admitted. Her mouth still hung open.

"I just want to get out of here."

She nodded, brushing a stray strand of hair that had snuck out of her pony tail behind her ear. 

"I would kill for some motrin right now."

The cool breeze blew the scent of caramel in my direction. My stomach groaned, wanting to have something—anything to satisfy the craving. I could practically taste the caramel apple on my tongue. The sweet and salty taste making my mouth water.

"That smells delicious," Kara whispered.

"Probably poisoned." I laughed.

"You can't trust anything here can you?" she wondered.

I could see the house already diminishing her spirit. 

"No." I shook my head.

"Is that why you hesitated earlier?" 

She had noticed. 

"Yes," I confessed. "This house has done nothing but tease me with hallucinations of Allison. It loves to watch me squirm like a bug under a microscope. I thought it was another trick when I saw you."

"I am so sorry," she said sympathetically.

"Let's just get out of here alive. After that, margaritas on me. Sound like a deal?"

"Deal." She stood up, reaching her hand out to help me up. "Well let's go and beat this house."

I grabbed her hand, ignoring the popping of my joints and bones. A grunt passed my lips as I made it fully onto my feet.

We walked along the brick pathway, drawing closer to the decrepit coaster. Large planks of wood sat on the dead grass.

"So, let me guess, we have to ride it?" Kara asked.

"Remind me to take you to Vegas once we get out of here with all these lucky guesses," I joked. Now that the danger wasn't breathing down my neck, my humor had returned.

"Deal." She laughed. "Are you scared of heights?"

"Terribly." I gulped.

Flashbacks of Allison laughing until she cried as a I screamed like a baby on our third date popped in my mind. How could I turn down a romantic Ferris Wheel ride with a beautiful woman?

It was one thing when the rides were controlled properly and had the necessary restraining equipment, but when the ride should have been demolished years ago—yeah, I was scared.

"Are you tall enough to ride?" she joked.

I looked over at the sign and sighed. "I'm tall enough to 'die' apparently." The word ride had been scratched out and replaced in blood lettering was the word die.

"Great. I wish I could have that margarita now."

"Stick with me. We will get it," I reassured her.

I wish I could reassure myself.

We climbed the decaying wooden steps with caution. The structure creaked under the soles of our feet. The wood felt hollow. I expected to fall through at any given moment.

We were at least two stories up when we reached the loading bay. The car waited for us. Tempting us to take a seat and let the horror begin. Each seat only had room for one person. The red cushions torn to shreds. No seatbelts. No handlebars. The exterior metal was warped, with jagged edges sticking upwards towards the cars.

"I don't think I can do this." Kara went stiff against my shoulder.

"That is your choice," I warned, "but this house doesn't like to be disobeyed. It sends things after you if you wait."

"Trevor!" A deep voice resonated throughout the park, sending a chill down my spine.

Fred was back.

"We need to hurry," I urged.

Her eyes had widened at the sound of his voice. Her lips parted slightly, seeming to mutter incoherent thoughts to herself.

"H—He should be dead," she gasped.

"Nothing stays down long here. Kara, we need to risk it. It's the only way out of here."

Her eyes scanned mine, seeming to search for a better solution than the one in front of her.

"You just took down a killer clown," I encouraged. "You can handle a killer coaster."

This brought a slight smile to her face.

"Okay. Let's do this before I change my mind."

She helped me into the first car, taking her seat right behind me. I could already feel my heart strapping in for the dangerous ride. The car started forward as the chains underneath clinked.

"Hold on tight. What ever you do don't let go," I instructed. My knuckles were already turning white from the grip I had on the seat.

"Okay." I could hear the fear in her shaky voice.

The car began its ascent towards the first peak. I took a quick glance back, seeing Fred climbing the stairway. His head hung low, a determined look in his eyes. He was not a happy camper.

"Come on, come on," I muttered at the coaster. I wanted to put as much distance between Fred and us as possible.

We climbed. And climbed. And climbed until we were touching the clouds. The whips of grey clouds shone in the moonlight. Goosebumps trailed my skin as the icy air coated my skin. My teeth started to chatter.

A glance down made my heart fall. The ground below was a grey blur. Tiny, dim lights looked like small stars. A heavy pressure fell onto my chest. Like the dark room, I felt like I was suffocating. Yes

The crescendo came into view. I was both relieved and terrified at the drop. Relieved because the descent would propel us further away from Fred. Terrified that this drop could be the last thing I experience.

"Ho-old on t-tight," I said through chattering teeth.

The car rolled over the peak, and for a second, I worried that it would race backwards. The car, however, lurched forward. The wind blinded me. Water poured from my eyes as the frigid air stung. The wind felt like thousands of needles pricking my skin.

My heart had officially left my chest, exiting out my mouth in screams of terror.

I could hear Kara's screams as well.

The drop felt like it would never end. The sensation of weightlessness overcame me. My body started to rise off the seat. My fingers gripped the cushion with every ounce of strength I had left.

"Hold on!" My scream was lost in the wind.

The car's nose came off the track for a moment, before it came crashing back down on the wood. The car groaned as it wrapped around a sharp bend. The force of the curve threw me against the sharp edges of car's the metal.

I sucked in a breath as the jagged edge cut into my skin.

The bend straightened out, coming upon a loop.

Shit.

I dug my fingernails into the cushion. Never in my life had I gripped something so hard. I thought my hands were going to fall off.

I didn't have time to warn her. The speed the car traveled didn't allow it.

I felt myself leave my seat. For a second, I was falling as the blood rushed to my head.

Thankfully, my grip kept me locked into place.

But Kara wasn't so lucky. Her scream behind me felt like a knife in the heart. As the car came down from the top of the loop, I watched her body falling in midair, before landing with a sickening crunch on the track. The cart hit her body straight on, showering me in a scarlet bath.

I tried to play back what had just happened. She couldn't be gone. I just found her.

The car went up another peak, smaller than the first. Numbness had washed over me. Both from the cool air, and from the shock.

Another tight bend.

Then, I saw my death coming up ahead. A large gaping hole lay in the track ahead.

No way to stop it.

The car went airborne.

And deeper into the rabbits hole I went.

Overall Word Count: 13,702