Ava lay on something soft—a mattress? Was she finally at home, in her own bed? Was the nightmare finally over with? Ava snuggled in closer to the pillow her head must be resting on, relieved. Her throbbing headache was finally gone, and she was ready for things to be back to normal. Ah yes. This was nice, but then she was aware of something poking her. The demon? Ava opened her eyes, panicked, but the thing poking her wasn’t the demon. It was a strange girl, and the world spun around her, making her sick and dizzy. She lay in a bed, but it wasn’t her bed, and she didn’t recognize the girl poking her. She had short black hair and deep brown eyes and a very small, pretty face.
“Oh, hello,” said the girl. “Sorry for waking you up.”
Ava sat up with a start and clutched her head. Why was the world spinning? It made her dizzy. She felt like she’d just spun in circles, even if she hadn’t. She saw she was on a bunk bed, high, high above a cement floor below, and there were bunk beds all around her.
“Where,” said Ava. “Where am I?”
The girl frowned. “You’re strange.” She giggled.
So the nightmare wasn’t over with. She must still be in it, but what had happened to that weird fog place and the demon and Ezzie?
Ava couldn’t see a ceiling. Above her the world expanded into blackness. The light was dim and brown, like wet mud, and Ava willed the world to stop spinning, but it didn’t stop. She didn’t know if she’d be able to move without falling over the bunk bed onto the hard looking cement ground far below.
The girl knelt on the bed beside her. She wore a white night gown. She was very small. Ava wondered how old she was. She couldn’t really tell.
“What’s your name?” the girl asked. “My name is Sunflower.”
Sunflower? Seriously? What kind of name was that?
“Ava,” she said. “The world won’t stop spinning.”
“The world always spins here,” said Sunflower. “We don’t get visitors very often.”
“Oh,” said Ava, not really knowing what to say. “What is this place?”
“Oh, it’s wonderful here!” Sunflower smiled. “As long as you don’t fall to the third floor.”
Ava thought of the cement far below.
“What’s on the third floor?” she asked.
“Danger.” Now the girl frowned. “But you won’t fall there.”
“Am I dreaming?” Ava asked. “Where’s the fog place?” Where was Ezzie? Somehow she’d fallen into a completely different world. How was she going to get back? “How can I get back?”
Sunflower giggled. Ava wished she’d stop giggling. It was fucking annoying. This whole situation was fucking annoying! What had Mark given her? Why wouldn’t the world stop spinning.
“You’ll get used to the spinning,” said Sunflower, as though she could read Ava’s thoughts. “Come on. I’ll show you to the fun booths!”
“What the fuck is a fun booth?” Ava asked. “I don’t want to go to a fun booth! I want out of here!”
Was she laying in the fog somewhere? Lost and dreaming, with the demon lurking nearby? She didn’t feel the demon’s presence. But dread did fill her when she looked at the cement floor, down down below.
“Oh you’ll like it!” said Sunflower, smiling. “Come on. I’ll help you. I’ll introduce you to the others. They’ll be so excited to meet you! Like I said, we never get visitors, and the ones we do get always fall to the third floor and are gone for good.”
Gone for good? That didn’t sound promising. What if this third floor was the only way out? Ava willed herself to wake up, but she didn’t, and the world continued to spin, and she felt dizzy and sick. At least her throbbing headache was gone though. She wondered how long she’d been out of it.
“Is that the only way out?” Ava asked.
Sunflower frowned. “I don’t know what you mean. I’ve never been there before. You don’t go to the third floor. It’s off limits.” Sunflower held out her hand. “Now come on!”
Ava didn’t know what else to do, so she took Sunflower’s warm and soft hand and tentatively tried to stand up with her, but the constant spinning made her fall to her knees on the soft, bare mattress.
“You can’t stand?” Sunflower asked.
What kind of stupid question was that? Of course she couldn’t stand. The room was spinning.
“Of course not!” she said, clutching her head.
“Can you crawl?”
Ava could crawl.
“I’ll crawl with you! It’ll be fun!”
Ava didn’t appreciate Sunflower’s enthusiasm.
The bunkbeds were all squished together. Ava crawled after Sunflower, over the soft, bare mattresses, and the bunks squeaked and were rickety, as though they were all on wheels. She’d been at the very end seemingly, a mere rollover onto the third floor, far far below, and the thought made her sick. They came to a cement wall and a narrow doorway. They crawled through, down a narrow hallway with soft, brown carpeting. The world still spun, but Ava felt safer being away from those rickety bunks and with walls on either side of her. She wondered what a fun booth was, but figured she’d find out soon enough.
“We’re almost there! Oh I’m so excited!” said Sunflower, who crawled ahead of her. “Are you excited?”
“Not really.”
“You should be. You’ll like it here!”
Ava highly doubted that.
They came to a large, cavernous room, with a jagged cement ceiling. Wallpaper—all floral and stripes—peeled on the walls, and large brown couches were squished together on either side. Large booths—black and polished—rose in the center of the cavernous room, and the floor was covered with more of that brown carpeting. The booths were enclosed, with only a narrow entryway. Ava thought those must be the fun booths Sunflower had spoke of.
There were three other girls in the room, all in the same white nightgowns as Sunflower, and all three with the same short black hair. They all looked identical. Ava doubted she’d be able to tell them apart.
“Can you walk now?” asked Sunflower, giggling. “I’ll introduce you to Daffodil, Violet, and Tulip.”
Daffodil, Violet, Tulip, and Sunflower? Ava was noticing a theme here. The room still spun, making Ava dizzy, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to stand. She could barely manage a crawl.
“I don’t think so,” she said.
“That’s okay. I’ll crawl with you to them.”
They crawled to the three identical girls, and all three faces brightened when they saw them, and they giggled. Ava didn’t know how much more giggling she was going to be able to stand.
“A visitor!” the one in the middle said.
“What’s her name?”
“Why are you crawling, Sunflower?”
They giggled some more.
Ava thought she was going to be sick.
“Her name is Ava,” said Sunflower. “I’m crawling because she can’t stand.”
“Oh! That sounds fun!”
“We’ll make her feel at home too!”
And all three got on their hands and knees too.
“Ava, that’s Tulip—”
Tulip smiled.
“Violet—”
Violet giggled.
“And Daffodil!”
Daffodil waved.
There was no way Ava was going to be able to tell them apart or remember who was who.
“Where did you come from?” one of them asked.
“The fog lands?” said Ava. “I need to leave here. I have to get back.”
“She was sleeping on our bunks. I poked her awake! She was awfully close to the edge!” Sunflower declared.
“Oh. That’s not good.”
“The third floor is dangerous.”
“All three of our other visitors fell there and were gone.”
The three girls sat back and blinked their deep brown eyes and smiled at her in what must have been admiration, though Ava didn’t know what they were admiring.
“I wanted to show her one of our fun booths!” said Sunflower.
“Oh! She’ll like that!”
“Seriously, I want to leave. I need to go back,” said Ava.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The world spun and spun.
“Oh!”
“We don’t know how you can go back.”
“Maybe a fun booth will show you.”
Ava doubted that, but it was worth a shot, and these girls were pretty persistent about her going into one of those tall, shiny enclosed booths.
“Come on!” said Sunflower, taking her hand. “I’ll help you to one.”
“Well, okay,” said Ava, just wanting to close her eyes and will the spinning to stop. She half crawled with Sunflower.
“You’ll like it. I promise,” said Sunflower, as they stopped in front of the narrow opening into one of them. She let go of Ava’s hand, and Ava touched the side of the booth, surface cold and smooth beneath her fingers. She’d have to stand to get into it, so she put both hands on the side of the opening to steady herself. It was a very narrow opening. She was happy she wasn’t morbidly obese or she’d never fit. She had her doubts this fun booth would show her anything at all, but the girls weren’t offering any answers. All they seemed capable of was giggling and insisting she go in one because she’d like it and that the third floor was off limits and they rarely got any visitors. They were annoying.
So Ava got on her knees, then managed to stand and kind of fall halfway inside of it. It was a tight squeeze, and she was happy she wasn’t claustrophobic.
“You’ll have fun. We promise!” She heard one of the flower girls say as she managed to get all the way inside.
She sorta fell into a bucket seat and was relieved there was a place to sit. All around her was pitch black at first, which she appreciated, but then the thing lit up and bright white light nearly blinded her. Then a bright red bird flew past her vision.
And she saw and felt Mark—touching her, penetrating her, and it hurt. Mark smiled at her slyly, and Ava recoiled. She didn’t want to relive this. What kind of fun booth was this? This wasn’t fun!
“Oh, you’re so tight,” said Mark, his voice coming from all sides of her. “That was good.”
She felt the sticky cum on her face, smelled it, and wanted to blow her nose. She wanted out of this thing, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t see the way out—all she saw was Mark’s chubby face, smiling at her, and she wanted to punch that sly grin off his face. She wanted to kick him in the junk again, but then the scene changed and she was in her parents’ brightly lit kitchen and her mom stood there.
“You’re like a whore, except you’re not getting paid,” her mom slurred, and Ava saw wine.
The wine pooled around her, blood red and sickly sweet.
“No, mom,” she said, wanting to cry all over again.
The wine rose to her lips, and she had no choice but to choke on it, on its sweetness. She didn’t want to get drunk again. She didn’t want her throbbing headache to come back. She didn’t want to hear her mom again, saying those awful words to her, and then the scene changed and she was in Elizabeth’s dark car. Her old, rusted Toyota corolla, and she tasted vomit in her mouth. She smelled cinnamon. She felt Elizabeth’s lips on her own, soft and moist, and Elizabeth’s kiss made her wet. Confusion and fear filled her. Elizabeth’s kiss felt much different than Mark’s slobbery kisses. It was soft and subtle, and she wanted more of it, and this time she got more of it. She tasted Elizabeth’s mouth, felt Elizabeth’s trembling hands on her face.
“I’m sorry, Ava. I shouldn’t have done that. Not now,” she said.
But this time Ava didn’t run away. This time she kissed Elizabeth back, despite how her own mouth tasted like vomit and she was self-conscious of it. This time she returned Elizabeth’s kiss, and the kisses only made her want more. Elizabeth’s mouth was sweet and tasted like sangria for some reason, but Ava didn’t care. Her sexuality confused her and scared her, but she wanted Elizabeth. She wanted to feel Elizabeth’s hands on her body. She had to get home. She had to get out of this place. Despite Mark and her parents, she needed to get back to Elizabeth. She needed to get back to that kiss. She needed to apologize for just running away like she had.
Even if she was confused and scared.
And suddenly the confusion and scaredness consumed her and she couldn’t face this. Not now. Not with her spinning head and those flower girls and this strange world she’d somehow found herself in.
She just couldn’t!
And then she was running away again, the chilly night air around her and the muted stars above.
She had to get out of here. She had to get out of here. She had to get out of this booth. She had to somehow get back to Ezzie and the rollercoaster and her way back to her reality. Even if it meant facing Mark and her mom again. She had to get back no matter what, even if she was scared and confused, the fear icy cold and reminding her of the demon and its sharp claws and glowing red eyes, staring at her through the fog.
“I want out!” she whispered.
The bright white light blinded her again, and she saw that red bird, flying past her face, except this time it was a whole flock of birds, their wings soft and oily on her face, and gentle, and Ava realized they were the same color as sangria, and then all became pitch black again, and she sat in that bucket seat, in heavy, spinning silence, and she thought the fun booth must be over with, though it hadn’t been very fun.
She felt her way to the narrow opening on the side, and now she saw the dim bright light of the cavernous room beyond. Elizabeth’s kiss had been nice.
Her mom’s voice echoed in her mind.
“You’re a whore…”
Mark’s voice echoed in her mind.
“Oh, you’re so tight…”
And Elizabeth’s quiet voice echoed in her mind.
“I’m sorry, Ava, I shouldn’t have done that…”
And she still tasted sangria on her lips and smelled Mark’s cum, and cinnamon.
She sorta managed to fall out of the booth, back into the cavernous room with the brown carpeting and jagged roof and brown couches squished together. The room spun and she clutched her head and fell to her knees.
“See! Wasn’t that fun!” Sunflower said, smiling at her and giggling.
“No,” Ava managed to say, willing the taste of sangria off her lips. And the taste of Mark’s cum. “That wasn’t fucking fun at all!”
Why was it called a fun booth anyway?
That hadn’t shown her the way out of this strange world she’d found herself in. It had only made her relive her past, and shame overcame her. The shame made her sick.
Sunflower frowned. “Oh,” she said.
She needed to get out of this weird spinning world, but she didn’t know how. These girls didn’t know. The booth hadn’t shown her. All she knew was that these other visitors had fallen to the third floor and disappeared forever, so maybe this dreaded third floor was the only way out. Maybe she had to go there, even if the thought of that cement floor far far below the creaking bunk bed had filled her with dread. Maybe that was the only way out. Maybe she had no choice but to go there. Or maybe she was just screwed and there was no way out and she’d be stuck here forever.
That thought was unacceptable.
There absolutely had to be a way out.
“I need to get out of here,” she said.
“But there is no way out. I don’t know what you mean,” said Sunflower, her pretty face solemn.
The other flower girls whispered amongst themselves.
The world spun and spun.
Ava tried to stand, but fell to her knees. She’d have to crawl her way out of here. She could not walk. She was too dizzy.
“There has to be a way,” she said. “How did the other visitors leave? The third floor?”
The girls all gasped and frowned. No more giggling, and Ava was grateful for that, though their frowning wasn’t reassuring.
“You can’t go there,” said one of them—Violet or Daffodil or Tulip. Ava really couldn’t tell which one.
“It’s off limits,” said Sunflower. “They fell, and were gone. It’s dangerous.”
“We’ve had only three visitors, other than you.” The flower girl who said that giggled. “Sunflower found them. At the very edge of the bunkbeds. Where she found you.”
On the edge. So they’d almost automatically fallen to the third floor. Icy cold terror filled Ava when she realized how close she’d been, but if these other visitors had gone to the third floor, maybe they’d found their way out. That must be the only way. She had to try.
“I have to go there,” said Ava. “How can I go there without falling?”
She didn’t like the idea of having to fall. It was too far. She’d break her legs or her back or her head.
“Falling is the only way we know how,” said one of the girls. “There is no other way.”
Then Ava guessed she’d have to fall and risk a few broken bones. She had no choice. She needed to get back to that strange vampire girl Ezzie and the rollercoaster and her link back to reality. She had to go. She couldn’t stay here! She didn’t want to stay here! Sudden urgency filled her, and she crawled, through the constant spinning, towards what she thought was the hallway back to the bunkbeds. Maybe there was a ladder or something, though she doubted she’d be able to crawl down a ladder, but she had to at least look for one. All bunkbeds had ladders damn it!
“You really don’t want to go there.”
“All of our visitors leave us!”
“Stay here and go in a fun booth again!”
The girls all spoke behind her, but Ava ignored them and continued crawling. She came to the narrow hallway thankfully, and the walls on either side of her comforted her some. It was better than that cavernous room. She stopped briefly and clutched her dizzy head, then continued crawling. She was getting out of here. She came to the creaky bunkbeds.
“You really don’t want to do this,” said a sudden voice in her ear, and Ava started, but it was just one of the flower girls. Ava assumed it was Sunflower. She looked at her solemnly.
“There has to be a ladder,” said Ava.
She started over the creaky bunkbeds, over the bare, soft mattresses with white pillows. Again, the bunkbeds felt like they must be on wheels or something, and Ava crawled carefully, Sunflower still at her side.
“I don’t think there’s a ladder,” said Sunflower. “At least, I’ve never seen one.”
There had to be one. All bunkbeds had ladders damn it. She came to the very edge, and dizziness and vertigo hit her when she stared down at that cold looking cement far, far below. The third floor. Where the other three visitors had gone. She felt along the side of the bunk, feeling only metal and rust and emptiness, and then her fingers touched something smooth and wooden. A ladder? Sudden relief filled her. She’d just climb her way down. She felt a rung, then another one. It was a ladder. She was right! Now she just had to climb down it. She looked downwards. The ladder seemed to extend to the cement far below. Now she just hoped she’d be able to climb down it without falling from the spinning and her dizziness.
“Yes there is,” she said triumphantly.
“You don’t want to climb down there,” said Sunflower, sitting back on her knees.
“I have to,” said Ava.
She was urgent and determined, and she tentatively swung one leg over the bunk bed, feeling the first rung with her boot. She clutched the side of the bunk and swung her other leg down, then had to stop for a moment. She wanted to clutch her head. When would this constant spinning ever stop? She felt sick, but she didn’t have time to barf right now. Sunflower frowned at her and sighed.
“Why do they always leave us,” she said, seemingly to herself. “It’s fun here!”
“No it’s not,” said Ava, remembering that fun booth and shuddering. The shame made her nausea worse. She closed her eyes and found that helped some and began climbing down the ladder, the rungs smooth and slippery beneath her hands.
“You’ll regret it,” said Sunflower from above her, but Ava ignored her and continued climbing downwards, until there was nothing but cold emptiness around her. She gripped the rungs so tight she was sure her knuckles were white. She was so terrified of falling, of losing her grip and falling to the cold cement below her. And the rungs of the ladder were slippery, and since her eyes were closed against the spinning she couldn’t see where she was placing her feet. She struggled. This was hard. Would she ever reach the bottom?
Ava opened her eyes. Above she saw Sunflower’s small face, staring down at her and frowning, and below her she saw the cold cement of the third floor. She was almost there. Just a little bit to go. She clutched the ladder and leaned heavily against it. The spinning only seemed to be getting worse. Ava closed her eyes against it and continued her descent. This had to be the way out of here. It was the only way she could go.
After what seemed like an eternity her feet touched something hard, and she was at the bottom. She’d made it! Relief filled her, but then cold dread, and an emptiness when she realized how far away she was from Sunflower and the other flower girls. She backed up, away from the ladder, and dizziness overcame her and she fell hard on the cement, on her ass.
“Fuck,” she muttered.
The world around her spun, and she was vaguely aware of arched doorways on the walls, on either side of her, covered with bright blue curtains, and she was certain something was watching her. There was something behind one of those curtains, and cold dread filled her. Was it the demon? Had it followed her here? The icy cold dread had her immobile, and she didn’t think she’d be able to move anyway. She lay on her back, as the curtained doorways spun around her, and the bunk on the top of the ladder and Sunflower were shadowed in blackness. She had to move. Behind one of those curtains was the way out of this strange, spinning world. She was sure of it, but she was immobile. The spinning sped up, and Ava felt like she was going to spew. She closed her eyes against the spinning, but she was still dizzy and sick. She tried getting to her knees, but fell over, back on her back. It was pointless. She should just give up.
And then there was Ezzie. Her hair bright and pink and gaunt face and strange, purple eyes. She knelt over her.
“Come on,” she said.
“I-I can’t move,” said Ava.
“Give me your hand.”
Ava gave her it, and Ezzie’s hand was cold and bony and much different than Sunflower’s warm and soft hand had been. Somehow it cemented her, and she was able to sit up when Ezzie pulled on her.
“Take my waist,” said Ezzie. “And hold on.”
Ava took Ezzie’s waist and held on and realized there was a thin, white rope tied around it. Ezzie’s waist was narrow and bony, her hips pointy, and Ezzie pulled on the rope. It was so hard, not to give in to the fast, spinning dizziness, but she held onto Ezzie tight as Ezzie pulled them. The curtained doorways only spun faster, but somehow Ezzie’s presence comforted her from her icy terror. She held on tight as Ezzie pulled them through brown muddiness, out of the spinning world, and back into chilly fog and emptiness.