We reached the very top, where I could see the entire city stretching into the horizon. There was a brief pause, a moment to catch my breath, to feel the hammering of my heart, and to prepare for the impending fall.
A hard click echoed, and we went down.
The wind was almost solid, parting my lips and making my hair trail behind like a comet's trail.
There was screaming and there was crying from the others on the ride, my heart was pounding vigorously, threatening to jump out of my chest, with each twist and loop, and even if I could, I don’t think I would hold back the enormous smile on my face.
Soon my screams joined the others, and adrenaline coursed like magma through my veins. The world regained some of its lost splendor, a vividness that I didn’t notice missing, a memory that I was starting to forget being brought back.
Sadly, this did not last forever, our ride reached its end, the adrenaline still coursing but losing a lot of its momentum.
I wanted to stay more, to feel that thrill non-stop, but as my heartbeat came to a steady rhythm I remembered about the many other rides. There's the upside-down rollercoaster; the one that looks like a pendulum, and the rollercoaster that goes underwater, below the aquarium. All held incredible potential that I wanted, and I wanted to go on all of them.
"You really love here," Mom playfully stated, imitating a princess's voice as she let out a joyful scream.
"It was so much fun, Mom! Can we come here every day?" I pleaded, giving her the biggest puppy eyes.
A warm smile spread across her face as she considered, "Oh, my adventurous little one," she chuckled, "As much as I'd love to, we can't come here every day. But how about this? If you continue to be a good girl, I promise we'll come back here on your next birthday, maybe earlier if you're a really good girl."
My eyes sparkled with anticipation as I imagined the thrill of returning to the rollercoasters on my special day. It was a promise that filled my heart with joy, and I couldn't help but give Mom’s hand a tight squeeze "I'll be a good girl. No! I'll be the bestest of girls to ever girl!"
A smug grin appeared on Mom's face "Oh... and would you mind telling me how?"
My confidence waned "I'll... Eat all my greens, and, and..." I rummaged through my mind, looking for something more to say, "Help you clean."
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I was worried that she would not be ready for this, she looked very apprehensive about the idea of leaving the house, I'm so happy that I was wrong. Diann almost refused to come without Cassandre but he was a good man, lying to her so that we could spend time together.
For all his childish acts that Diann loved, he was an adult who knew how to read a room.
Diann's look of fierce concentration disappeared when something caught her eye, and she quickly dragged me. The cotton candy barely touched her hands before disappearing into her mouth by the handfuls.
"It's that good?" I teasingly asked as the cotton candy disappeared before we even left the stand.
"Uncle makes it better," she responds absentmindedly while eying where to go next.
We continued to hop from one line to another, exploring each attraction the park had to offer. The sheer excitement of it all made it the perfect day, the smile never faltering or leaving Diann’s face. The happy moment was only spoiled by the knowledge of how we got this opportunity.
"Look at this!" Diann exclaimed, pointing at the mirror before her; her reflection distorting, transforming her into a wavy and towering creature.
"All shall fear me and grovel at my feet," she proclaimed, making faces and showing her teeth in a failed attempt at being menacing.
Quickly, I retrieved my cell phone and began recording. She moved from mirror to mirror, skillfully imitating the villains from her beloved toy commercials that disguised themselves as cartoons.
As we began to leave the house of mirrors, my legs gave out.
-THUMP-
Stumbling forward, I held onto the door frame to stop my fall.
In an instant, Diann's head snapped towards me with an intensity that seemed to make an audible snap. The joyful smile gone from her face as if it never existed, replaced by sheer horror.
"It's okay, I just lost my footing for a second. Just give me a second," I assured her, trying to maintain a steady and reassuring voice.
But Diann's panic only grew, her eyes darting frantically around us, her expression growing more horrified with each passing moment.
-THUMP- -THUMP- -THUMP-
"Mom, this is that same feeling!" Diann's voice was shaky with fear, "We need to run! We need to hide!" With an unexpected strength, she seized my arm and began pulling me back inside the house of mirrors.
Firmly setting my foot down, I stopped us, refusing to let her drag me any further as I hugged her firmly in place, trying to calm her down, "Remember what we taught you," My voice was steady and composed,
"Take a deep breath and try to stay calm. I'm right here with you." I demonstrated deep breaths, guiding her to do the same.
My heart vibrated, it felt like it would burst at any moment, and a tingling spread through my whole body, together with a ringing in my ears.
Diann's panic persisted, her breathing becoming quicker and shallower. I gently patted her head, offering comfort and reassurance as I hummed a soothing tune, and gradually, she began to calm down, although the fear still lingered in her eyes as she sobbed into my chest.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
"We still have time to hide," Diann's tear-streaked face pleaded with me, "Please! we need to hide!" I gave in and we searched for a more secluded spot, a dark corner where we could conceal ourselves.
We huddled together, my arms wrapped protectively around her, my hands gently stroking her hair as I hummed a calming melody.
The thumping in my chest grew more intense, making my stomach churn and the persistent buzz deafening while I could sense the mounting unease in Diann by the intensity of her shaking.
It took a while for me to notice, but Diann's hair started to fall in clumps, revealing unblemished, pink skin that was unsettlingly soft to the touch.
A thousand thoughts clashed in my mind as I tried to understand what was happening. The confusion eventually gave way to fear as I tried talking to Diann and received only stone-cold silence.
This can't be a nightmare,
With trembling hands, I turned Diann towards me, only to be confronted by a shocking sight.
Her face was gone, replaced by a smooth, unblemished piece of black glass, and behind the glass, a vibrant liquid swirled, rising to fill the void where her features should have been.
As the last strands of hair slipped from her head, leaving behind a seamless, round surface of pinkish material, I realized that her entire body was transforming. She had become a figure made of the same material, devoid of any human features. Only the glass screen remained, hauntingly beautiful yet utterly alien.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING!? ARE YOU OKAY!?" I screamed in desperation, but my cries fell on deaf ears. There was no response, no reaction.
Panic engulfed me as I grappled with the terrifying reality before me. Only now I noticed the once-lively sounds of the world outside had faded into silence, leaving behind a chilling emptiness devoid of even the hints of wind.
I rose to my feet, still cradling Diann in my arms, her weight had diminished to the point where she felt almost insubstantial. Holding onto her tightly, I sprinted out of the house of mirrors, desperate to escape the unfolding nightmare.
Diann struggled to break free from my embrace, but her strength seemed to have faded. As we reached the exit, her hands shot out, clutching the door frame, and refusing to let go.
With all my might, I tried to pry her hands away, edging my fingers below hers, unhooking them one by one, but I witnessed something horrifying.
A wave of vibrant liquid flooded out of her shoulders, quickly covering her arms and making me let go of Diann in a burst of fear. The liquid reinforced Diann's slim arms, into bulk, awkward appendages that were too large for her body. The frame cracked as her fingers dug into the wood.
"I don't know what's happening, but please… stop! We need to find someone who can help you." I pleaded as I went back to trying to open her hands but getting nowhere.
Looking around, I noticed that everything had come to a standstill. The world had turned monochromatic, painted in shades of gray.
My already clouded mind became nothing but noise, trying to understand the scene too out of the normal.
"Is this... One of those events?"
Realizing that I couldn't force her to release her hold on the door frame, I reluctantly let go of her and frantically called out for help, reaching out to the people around me, but their stillness and silence were unnerving. After my efforts got me nowhere, I got close to the screen where Diann's face should be.
"I will go and find help. You stay here and be a good girl, wait for me," I mouthed each word carefully, hoping she could understand. I began to walk away, shouting for help in the hope of finding someone who was not frozen in time.
It took less than a dozen steps for me to hear the faint sound of light footsteps, when I turned to the sound, Diann clung to my leg, her hands still possessing their bulkiness, though I noticed that the liquid filling the screen was no longer reaching its full capacity.
Walking was hard, her hands were big enough to hold onto my thighs and still hit one another if I walked normally, forcing me to waddle around with wide steps. It was an eerie experience, moving through a place teeming with people, yet devoid of sound and motion. It felt as though I had become trapped within a photograph.
We walked for what felt like hours, even with Diann's seemingly weightlessness, the awkward walk made the wandering intensely tiring on my legs, together with the jolts of pain that already followed me for weeks, made it a miserable experience.
Suddenly, one of Diann's hands lets go of my legs, pointing east. I follow her hand, and there before us is the entrance to the zoo where people are frozen in various poses, desperately attempting to squeeze inside, while animals are caught in mid-action.
"Do you want to see the zoo?" I ask, knowing that I'll get no response.
It's then that I finally hear something, my head turns with an audible snap as I see frozen people tumbling like dominoes, and I see someone moving.
Filled with hope, I sprint towards the figure, ignoring the burning and jolts that make me stagger, shouting and trying to capture their attention. The person freezes mid-stride, their gaze fixed upon us. Without hesitation, they turn around and begin to run towards the zoo entrance.
"Wait! We're lost! Do you know what's happening to the people?" I call out, hoping for answers. Yet, my questions go unanswered as the person ignores me and disappears into the zoo's corridors.
I sprint after the person, determined not to let any potential help slip away. As we run, Diann releases her grip on me and runs alongside me, keeping pace effortlessly, even having to slow down so she doesn't overtake me.
It's not difficult to keep track of the person, their presence standing out like a moving figure in a photograph.
We navigate through toppled bodies and fallen objects, heading towards a dead end. We arrive at the reptile enclosure, where snakes and lizards are frozen mid-slither behind the glass walls.
The person looks around, searching for an escape route, but finds themselves encircled by the glass on all sides. Taking a closer look, the person looks quite young, with shoulder-length dark blonde painted red at the tips, and their light blue eyes reveal a mixture of fear and anticipation.
"Ple-please... spare me," the person stammers, his voice trembling. "I can be very useful to hunt the others."
"I... don't understand. Hunt others? What exactly is happening?" I ask, perplexed as I stop, giving him some space.
"So, you're new?" The person's eyes take on a strange glow, and a newfound confidence emanates from their posture as they take hesitant steps towards me, "Let me explain. Every now and then, you'll experience a peculiar sensation. The world freezes around you, presenting opportunities for survival, whether it's running, hiding, or even taking advantage of the frozen chaos, like pickpocketing." I notice their bulging pockets, filled with phones and watches.
His transformation in demeanor takes me by surprise, but not as much as the words leaving his mouth.
While I try to understand what he's saying, he lunges at me. A knife seems to appear on his hand as he moves with purpose.
Caught off guard, I react too slowly, barely being able to take a step back as the blade sinks near my stomach, sending a surge of pain and adrenaline flooding through my veins.
My instincts kicked in and, fueled by the pain and a few self-defense classes, I delivered a powerful punch to his face. He blacked out for a second, and as he stumbled, I seized the opportunity to grab his head and delivered a forceful knee strike to his face, forcing him to let go of the knife as I pushed him.
My heart felt like an engine in my chest, and my blood sounded like a raging river in my ears. Each breath was filled with an electric feeling. "What the hell was that?" Fury and disbelief mixed in me as I struggled to process what happened.
My mind raced as a shiver ran down my spine, and a phantom feeling gripped my heart. Without turning around, I felt a presence behind me, judging my worthiness to exist.