"So, are these games still happening?" Lindsay asked.

Jeannie grabbed the card on the table and flipped it open. A fancy font spelled out the words "In Progress".

"So let me guess..." Greg started, sarcastically. "You are a part of this oh-so-mysterious group that organizes all these games?"

The Guide stared at him for a long while.

Just when Jeannie began to feel uncomfortable he slowly shook his head.

"No. The kin are a.....very particular group of people. We are not affiliated."

"Okay. I still find it hard to believe a bunch of fairy tale monsters get together every year to play a children's social deduction game with a human."

"They don't have to be monsters." Hanna threw in. "There are lots of people with weirdo Powers that are very monster-like."

"Yeah." Lindsay agreed. "Wouldn't surprise me at all if a group of fucked up psychos who like to Larp as monsters get together once a year and do shit like this. Even the bees could be because of someone who can fuck with animals. Wouldn't be the first time."

"Who can say?" Jeannie said with a shrug and put on her best Skull Knight impression. "But as much as I liked these stories, I'm here because of what your website promised me. So I hope for your sake that the best is yet to come."

"Oh, of course it is." His eyes glinted. "Worry not, the main attraction will begin soon. But first, I have one last story to tell."

Greg groaned and the Guide's grin stretched wider.

"Have no fear, brat." Angel cooed. "This is a short one. Pinky promise."

For the first time, the Guide stood up from the table to begin his tale.

"A long, long time ago, long before any of you were born there was a man. One might say an ordinary man, at least as ordinary as one can be. On a certain night, he was out, prowling the streets with a few of his very best friends. A night just like this one. Halloween."

Jeannie was a bit confused. Up until now, he had had a very specific style of telling his stories. But this one was completely different. His voice had taken on a much more somber tone as well.

"It was by chance that they stumbled upon it. A Halloween attraction. One none of them had ever seen or heard of before. This excited him to no end. He urged his friends to take part, no, insisted that they do. And though some were hesitant at first, all eventually agreed. And so they entered. Of course, things went wrong."

He turned to the window, looking out at the trees as the train passed by them.

"Or maybe they went right. It depends, as it often does, on who you ask. One by one he lost his friends. Until eventually, only three were left, him included. But even that was too good to last. He saw his best friend stripped down to the bone. The flesh carved off with dull, rusty implements that had not been cleaned in decades, or so it looked. Then, his fiancee left him too. Melted into nothingness, right before his eyes. It was over. He knew it was. But just as that realization hit him, just as he was about to accept it, the ride stopped. And his survival instinct kicked in. He couldn't die. He just couldn't. He broke open the door and ran out into the streets. Into freedom. But he was not at home anymore. No, he was not. It was...a city, maybe....but giving it any kind of descriptor feels wrong......He wandered in this strange place for so long. So, so long. Sometimes he thinks he never left."

His speech went quieter the farther he got into the story, and with every word it seemed a bit of light left his eyes until, at the end, only two sickly, grey, dead orbs were left.

Then, all at once, it returned.

"And there it is. Look, kids."

The children turned to look out the window. A heavy fog hung outside, clouding everything in a thick blanket.

But sometimes, for just a few seconds, Jeannie could see something deep within.

At first, she thought of buildings, but she had never seen buildings in that....shape before. No, shape was the wrong word. As she was thinking about it she was hit with a sudden burst of vertigo. The longer she stared into the fog, the more intense it got. After a minute she slinked away from the window and closed her eyes until her senses returned to her.

"Where are we?" Hanna asked, shaking her head and swaying a bit.

"I-I know this area. There is nothing like this anywhere around here. I-I have to get Matt. This is weird."

Kim laughed loudly and slapped Greg on the back.

"Calm down, you pussy. This is what you wanted, isn't it? Stuff other than stories? This is all just part of the show, and it's cool. Really cool."

"I'm glad you like the ride." Angel whispered, suddenly sitting next to Kim. Maybe it was just a bit of residual vertigo, but Jeannie could've sworn the mummy's proportions were a bit...off.

"Because you're never going to leave it." The bandages around Angel's arms loosened and wrapped themselves around Kim's wrists. She tried pulling away, but the bindings held tight.

"What the fuck are you..aah.....AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" The teenager's earpiecing scream caught everyone off guard. A dull sizzling sound could be heard coming from the bandages and after a few seconds of screaming and confusion, Kim's hands slouched off her arms and fell to the ground.

Everything was silent for a moment.

And then chaos broke out.

Kim's screaming intensified and both Hanna and Greg joined in. Lindsay flew up from her seat and fled to the adjacent car, while the others were still trapped between Angel and the Guide.

"I hope you're still enjoying the ride dear." the older man laughed as more and more bandages wrapped themselves around a sobbing Kim. She tried to grow herself, but that just gave Angel more to latch on to.

"Noooo! Please, stop hurting her! Help!" Hanna wailed.

Jeannie's heart was beating a mile a minute. She had to do something, or they would all die. She frantically looked for a way to escape when her eyes landed on the table. Of course!

She made sure that the Guide was distracted looking at Kim before she lunged forward, grabbed the lighter, and flicked it on. Immediately all light in the train car was extinguished and a wave of bitter cold washed over her. Even the moonlight was barely able to penetrate the darkness.

"RUN!" She screamed and heard the other two scramble for safety. Before she followed she opened the pocket for sweets that was built into her costume and reached in the direction she remembered the other objects being in. She managed to grab what she needed and ran off.

Kim's screams were getting weaker, but Jeannie forced herself to ignore them. When she reached the car door she was pleased to hear the other two had waited for her.

"I'll open the door." Hanna whispered, and after a bit of fumbling in the dark, she managed. The three hurried into the next car, but Hanna called for a stop after a few steps.

"Can you hear that?"

Hanna was right. Someone was crying. Jeannie closed the lighter cap and illu illumination returned to the world. Jeannie gasped in horror when she saw what had made the noise.

In front of them laid Lindsay, missing her left foot. Blood was everywhere and the trail led to the missing limb lying next to what looked like a guillotine blade.

"Hanna....Jeannie...." she cried as she noticed the others.

"Oh my god, Lin! What happened?!" Hanna yelled, in tears herself.

"I don't know....I think it was a trap....I felt something.....hit my chest and then.....the pain.....in my leg....."

Hanna pulled her into a hug and softly stroked her hair.

"We're going to make it Lin. Together. Can you still fly?"

The maimed girl nodded.

"I think so..." she moaned.

During that time, Jeannie had pulled out one of the objects she had saved. One-half of the Kittum glasses. She ripped the helmet from her head and threw it away. Carefully she held the lens in front of her eye. Through the glass, the terrified, yet determined girl could see a number of thin, shiny threads that were not there before.

"I think I can lead us through this. Follow me."

As fast as she felt she could, Jeannie maneuvered through the maze of strings, careful to leave enough room for potential missteps. The others followed behind her, Hanna holding the floating Lindsay's hand.

Once they were through, Hanna threw herself around Jeannie and hugged her tight.

" If you were a boy I would kiss you right now."

Jeannie gently pushed her off.

"It's too soon to celebrate. Let's concentrate on getting away first."

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Hanna nodded and was about to reply when they heard a loud "Matt!!!" and Greg ripped the car door open.

"He must've seen him through the window." Jeannie mumbled to herself and the three girls followed him in.

They didn't make it more than a foot before they froze.

Even without the lighter, it was almost pitch black in here. But there was a source of light. Jamie's Daylighter costume bathed two seperate spots of the dark car in short bursts of brightness every few seconds.

"Nonono..." Hanna whimpered and pulled both of her friends closer.

Jamie's left arm showered the top half of his own body with light. Or what was left of it. Blood was running from both his mouth and a gaping hole in his throat. His eyeballs were gone.

His left arm meanwhile gave the kids a good look at Matt.

He was sitting in a seat. Or rather, he was sitting in Mr. Sinus' lap, who was sitting in a seat. His robot costume had been broken open and half peeled off.

In his chest there was a huge hole where his heart was supposed to be. Half of his face was gone. Gnawed off by the looks of it, but his tongue remained. It was visible through his cheek. His left arm was held up by Mr. Sinus.

The conductor was barely visible, his uniform blending in well on the blue chair. Horrible chewing sounds could be heard coming from his mouth.

"Matt!" the elder brother wailed.

"Greg." the younger replied.

Jeannie held her breath. A cold shower ran down her back.

His one intact eye focused on Greg.

"Don't worry, big brother. Mr. Sinus has been so hungry over the last year. So unbelievably hungry. You couldn't even imagine. I'm glad I can help him out. In fact, why don't you come help out too? All of you can! There is room enough for everyone."

"G-guys, let's just go..." Jeannie urged. "We have to move on."

"No! I can't go without my brother! I won't!"

Hanna let go of her friends and put a hand on Greg's shoulder.

"Your brother is dead, There's noth..."

He turned, tears in his eyes and punched her in the face. Blood began flowing out of her nose. Jeannie immediately knelt down and looked her over.

"He's not dead! Didn't you hear him just now?! He spoke! Can dead people speak?! He isn't dead! He can't be!"

Matt's eye settled on Jeannie as she helped a distraught Hanna back up.

"Trying to flee is pointless. Mr. Sinus can be very fast if he wants to. I should know, hehe. It's better to just accept your fate. And hey, helping the less fortunate is a good deed, isn't it?

.Jeannie swallowed hard and reached into her pocket as she took a step forward, toward the conductor.

"Jeannie, what are you doing?" Lindsay hissed. Hanna desperately reached for her friend but she took another step out of reach.

"I-If I h-have to die, I w-want it to be over q-quick. So do me f-first."

Matt half-grinned as the conductor let go of his arm.

"Mr. Sinus hasn't tasted a girl in forever. They are so much more tender."

Jeannie hesitantly continued on, the smell of blood and raw meat invading her nostrils. She came to a stop in front of him.

"Go on!" Matt demanded. "Offer yourself up!"

She took a deep breath, raised her fist, and moved it into the black void beneath the conductor's cap.

The air around her hand became warmer and warmer with every inch. Then, something touched her. Something wet. That was her cue.

She let go of the cold, marble-like sweet she had kept in her hand and drew it back as quickly as possible. Mr. Sinus' jaw snapped shut at an astounding speed, ripping part of the skin off her knuckles.

She let out a cry and stumbled backward, but instead of the slick, fleshy ground, she fell into Hanna's arms.

"Got you."

"What.....what have you...." Mr. Sinus croaked but fell still before he could complete his sentence. At the same time, Matt's mutilated body froze up, then fell from the monster's lap, limp.

Greg immediately ran over and grabbed the corpse by its shoulders.

"Matt! Matt, are you okay?! Get up!"

But the boy remained silent.

Just then, the train came to an abrupt halt.

"What's going on..." Lindsay whispered.

A scream from Greg drew everyone's attention.

Matt hat sat up. And so had Jamie.

"This is our stop." the younger brother whispered as the doors of the train creaked open.

Jeannie looked outside. The thick fog spilled into the car and she could see the same strange....buildings from earlier.

Matt and Jamie shambled to the exit. Jamie went first. Before he jumped, Matt turned around one last time. "You coming, Greg?" And was swallowed by the fog.

"Y-yes, o-of course."

Jeanie grabbed him by the shoulder as he tried to leave.

"Don't! It's a trap!" She desperately tried to hold him, but he was just too strong. With little effort he pushed her aside.

"I won't leave without my brother."

She watched helplessly as he disappeared in the fog.

"Girls.....I think I'm getting off here too." Lindsay almost whispered.

Both Jeannie and Hanna immediately protested.

"Are you crazy, Lin? What are you going to do out there all alone?"

"This place is wrong! It's evil! You'll never leave it again!"

The flying girl hugged both of them closer.

"Look, I'm not going to be of much use in here. And it's not like I'm going to fly around aimlessly in the fog. Once I'm out I'm going to follow the rails to the next station. Then I'll go straight to a hospital. I'm going to be fine, alright?"

"Please don't..." Jeannie begged, but Lindsay was already at the doors.

"Hey. I love you both, okay? So you better survive." She forced a smile, though all of them knew it wasn't genuine.

"Same to you." Hanna whispered. They watched as their friend too was swallowed by the fog..

The second she did, as if it had waited for this moment, the doors closed and the train got into motion again.

Hanna moved to the door they came from and peeked through the window. Her eyes widened.

"We have to go! Angel is done with Kim and coming this way! Hurry!"

Jeannie nodded.

" Look, I have an idea. Go to the very back and hide under one of the seats. Leave the rest to me."

Hanna looked at her for a second but then agreed. She ran and hid, while Jeannie prepared her plan.

First, she took off her right gauntlet and threw it to the side. Then she picked out a spot with a lot of leftover gore. Pools of blood and small piles of raw meat. She took out the lighter in her left hand and lit it. The room barely darkened at all. But that was okay. Now came the difficult part.

After taking a deep breath she laid down in the mess on the ground and stopped moving. While she waited, she repeated a mantra over and over in her head.

For the first time in her life, let her Power be useful for something.

Not long after she was done the door was thrown open.

"Come on out, children. Angel would like to have a word with you."

Jeannie heard the mummy approach. Her heart felt like it was about to explode.

"Sinus, you awake? Course not. Lazy bastard."

The steps came nearer and nearer. Suddenly, Angel's voice came from right in front of her. The mummy had bent down and was staring directly in her face. It took all of her strength not to move.

"Good Job, Sinus. Very clean. Maybe you aren't a total lost cause yet."

Angel was done with her and prepared to move along. This was her chance. Quickly but carefully she held the black flame of the lighter to the bandages around Angel's feet.

They caught fire immediately.

The Mummy shuddered.

"Why is it suddenly so cold."

It took a few steps for the realization to set in.

"Wait...no....it's too cold.....my...,aaahh...Aaaahhh....AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

The scream started low but went higher with every second. Soon, it transitioned from human agony into uncanny, otherworldly screeching. The bandaged monster ran back to the door it came from, frantically wrenched it open, and rushed out.

"Now, RUN!!!" Jeannie screamed, scrambled to her feet, and raced to the other door. She grabbed Hanna by the hand and pulled her through. Before they continued further she pulled out the lens and observed the new car. Strings abound again. She led Hanna through the array of traps faster than she was comfortable with. When they reached the other side, the door they came from swung open.

The Guide stepped into the car. And he wasn't smilin. He held a piece of a frozen bandage in his hand, glaring at the girls with quiet anger.

Taking massive steps he walked forward, tripping one trap after another. A knife was launched into his neck, a metal spike pierced his foot and a huge cleaver split his head in two. But none of that slowed him down.

The exhausted teenagers resumed their escape, running as fast as their legs could carry them. Luckily, that seemed to have been the last trapped car. They probably hadn't expected anyone to make it this far.

But despite that, no matter how much they tried, the hulking footsteps of the Guide came nearer and nearer.

Jeannie looked behind her. He was right there. Almost at arm's length. Just a few more steps and he'd have them both. Hanna seemed to have realized the same. She called Jeannie's name.

"Promise me.....to keep running...and not look back.....okay?"

Jeannie said nothing.

She said nothing as Hanna stopped in her tracks.

Said nothing as the Guide caught up to her.

Nothing as she heard her scream.

She just ran.

If she stopped even for a second, contemplated anything that happened just now, she would be unable to go on.

So she ran.

Hanna's scream accompanied her on her from car to car until it abruptly stopped.

She had to resist the urge to throw up.

It wasn't long until the heavy footsteps returned. Hanna had been a distraction, nothing more. Now it was her turn. She tried to speed up, to run faster, but no matter how hard she tried the thumping steps came closer and closer.

Just when she thought it was all over she saw it. A door unlike any of the others. It stood wide open, and beyond she could see the rails outside.

The driver's compartment.

She gathered the last vestiges of strength left within her and sprinted forward into the small room. Something whizzed past her and impacted the window. The Guide must've thrown something after her, but she had no time to figure out what it was, With the rest of her energy she slammed the door shut, and pressed the small red button in the middle. The electric locks sprung into action. She was safe.

She sat there for a while, back to the door, catching her breath. But when the banging started she retreated into the chair.

Finally, she allowed herself to cry.

The tears came and came, and when she noticed what it was that had been thrown after her, they came even harder.

On the ground beneath her lay Hanna's roughly severed head. A bit of spine was poking out from the neck. She was staring at Jeannie with her dull, lifeless eyes.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't cry." the head replied, which made Jeannie sob even harder.

The banging got louder and louder.

"Open the door." the head continued. "If you open the door, you can stay with me here. We can be together forever. Is that not what you want? BFF?"

"No! I want to live!" Jeannie cried.

"And leave me behind? After I sacrificed myself for you? What kind of friend does that?"

"Please stop! I'm sorry for what happened to you! I really a-am! B-but.....I d-don't w-want to d-d-die!"

The head sighed.

"Oh Jeannie, always so stubborn. But that's why I like you. If you want to live, you should look up. Out the window. You may have more of a chance than you think."

She didn't want to listen. This....this thing was only here to torture her more. But still....it was Hanna.

She cautiously lifted her head and couldn't believe what she saw.

The train station.

They were back at the train station. Gradually, it began to slow down. The platform was empty. No sign of her or anyone else's parents.

"This is your only shot, Jeannie. If the train gets moving again, there will be no escape."

She nodded and wiped her tears. Carefully, she moved to the door, pulled out the black pen, and took off the cap. The razor-sharp nib glinted in the moonlight.

"Hey." the head whispered and Jeannie turned to look. "Take care of Anna."

She nodded. "I promise." She steeled herself as best she could and exactly as the train came to a full stop, she unlocked the door.

It flung open immediately.

Something stood before her.

Something that resembled the Guide, like an abstract caricature resembled reality.

She wasted no time. With a primal scream, she jumped up and sunk the pen into one of its many eyes. Both grey and red liquid sprayed onto her, but regardless she plunged the pen in again and again. Once the creature was out of eyes she turned and ran as fast as she could.

It gave chase, screaming and blindly flailing around itself with its myriad appendages, but it was too slow. With a heaving sob, Jeannie stumbled out of the train, onto the platform, and into the arms of her mother.

"Sweetie, is everything alright?"

"Mom?!" The girl threw her arms around her mother's waist and cried.

"You poor thing." she cooed and stroked her daughter's hair. "Was this really a good idea?" she asked her husband, a bit irritated.

"Well, they told me she may act like this after the ride. They are very proud of their craft."

"Where are the other parents?" Jeannie asked after she had calmed herself down a bit. Her heart was broken for her friend's parents. For Anna. For the other families who lost their children today. She knew she would have to talk to the police too. It was all just too much.

She was still clinging to her mother when her father asked "What other parents?"

The question sent a shock through Jeannie. A subtle dread built up inside her gut.

"The parents of the other children...." she said decoupling from her mom. That's when she noticed something on her mother's clothes.

Nothing.

They were perfectly clean.

"Didn't you say she was the only one who showed up?" her mother asked while Jeannie took a step back and looked down at herself. Nothing, again. Her costume was pristine. That's when she noticed that she was wearing both her helmet and gauntlet again as well.

"Yeah. And boy was that pre-ride talk awkward. I felt really bad for them, actually. So much effort and just one customer."

"B-but, what about Lindsay and Hanna?" Jeannie stammered.

"I don't know any Lindsay, but do you mean Anna? She gave you the ticket as a present, remember? That's why she's not here."

.

She desperately shook her head. "No! I mean Hanna, her twin sister!"

Her parents looked at each other.

"They really did a number on her, didn't they?" her father mumbled while her mother established eye contact.

"Honey, Anna is an only child."

She took a step back. "No....."

A low chugging sound startled her, causing her to turn around. At the door of the train stood the Guide, Hanna's head held in his arm, and Mr. Sinus behind him, both waving as the train departed.

With a smile.

-------------------------------------

One Year later, October 30th.

Jeannie smiled as she entered the school grounds.

This time of year brought a lot of painful memories, but acting mopey about it would only arouse more suspicion. One half-year of weekly mandatory psychiatrist visits was enough. She didn't need anyone thinking she relapsed. Not that anyone at school knew how bad things had gotten, not even Anna, but minimizing risks was always the smarter option.

Things had been difficult, at first. For a long while. But she had found her own ways to deal with it.

She kept a diary now. At least that's what she told her parents. In reality, she was writing to Hanna. She'd never read it but......pretending helped a lot.

And things weren't all bad. Sure, mostly bad. 99% even. But you gotta hang on to even the smallest thread.

The pen hadn't been of much use to her yet, but both the lighter and the sunglasses had become indispensable to her. Getting the shades fixed had been no problem, and she barely ever took them off now.

The lighter was more situational useful, but when it was it came in clutch every time.

Her and Anna's relationship had evolved too. They were best friends apparently. It took a while to get used to it. Anna and Hanna were very different people, after all. But it worked out.

She sometimes had her pretend she was Hanna. A little role-playing game she invented. She had a character too, but that one was just made up.

Was it a bit weird? Sure. Did it help coping with last Halloween? Definitely.

She walked up to her classroom but raised her eyebrow when she approached her seat. A letter was lying on her desk. One was on Anna's too. Strange. She sat down and ripped it open.

Everything inside her broke at once when a ticket tumbled out. A letter was accompanying it. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled it out with shaking hands and began to read.

Dear Jeannie,

Wow. Has one year passed already? I hope you remember all the spooky scary fun you had on last year's Halloween hit attraction, A Ride To Nowhere.

You will be pleased to know that despite the unfortunate circumstances of the last ride we have decided to keep on truckin' and keep our streak going.

As the indisputable star of last year, you are of course invited to partake as the Guest of Honor! You can will even bring a friend, isn't that a hoot?

We promise you that we have updated our security and taken great measures to ensure that what happened last year won't happen again.

We are overjoyed to have you with us on this year's spooktacular adventure to Nowhere.

With regards,

The A Ride To Nowhere Team

P.S.

Don't worry about showing up at the right time or place. We'll come get ya.

See you tomorrow. And Happy Birthday. ; )