image [https://i.imgur.com/kNTEQ1k.png]

The tickets would look lively if not for the blood on their back. Sophie picked one from the floor and headed to the door before her. Winnie followed, pretending bravery. As for Saskia, she compressed her eyes and hands repetitively before going after them, fearful.

There was a poster almost covering the whole door. It was one of the ugliest things that Sophie had ever seen: three women with their heads covered were dressed in purple dresses behind a white rectangular box bordered by purple stars where the text was. In pink capital letters, it said “One bloody ticket per person!” and slightly on top of it, written in cursive, was “kids pay double”, probably written much later with a pen.

“Someone needs a better graphic designer,” joked Winnie.

“T-The number of tickets was perfect,” said Saskia, trembling.

“They quite literally came from the sky,” Winnie rested her hand on her hip. “Besides, T has been sending us messages since we arrived at the house. It wants us to go in.”

“To the park?” asked Saskia.

“The ball,” Sophie answered, indifferent.

Without much thought, Sophie opened the door.

On the other side, they could see a forest of dried trees very different from the previously found cedars. Then, the vault’s walls started to shake, followed by the weird noise of a string being pulled. Sophie observed the entrance, for a few seconds, before going but Winnie and Saskia did not do so immediately.

Sophie did not even wait for them, she just adventured herself in the forest but they could still see her from the door.

Suddenly, the walls began to move, ready to crush the poor girls’ flesh and bones. Saskia, who did not wish to be turned into a human patty, rushed through the door and reached Sophie in a minute. However, Winnie stayed behind, waiting for something to happen.

“Come on, get out! You’ll end up dead!” Saskia screamed.

“I want to see something magical,” she said.

“You have time for that later,” Saskia tried her best to convince her, “Please—”

In a split second, Winnie caught herself looking at her right side, with a strange expression. She took something out of the wall and ran through the door. When she gave her back to it, and was already out in the forest, something from the interior of the vault hit her left shoulder, causing it to explode in a throbbing sensation.

From the forest’s side, the door looked odd: it was not attached to any wall, so it was just an open door in the middle of nowhere that, if not for magic — or something similar —, would not lead anywhere. Only Saskia noticed as the door shut itself, and a hole opened before it. Except the hole was not merely a cavity in the ground but a big red mouth with sharp teeth and a long monstrous tongue that swallowed the door ferociously.

This time, Sophie ran to Winnie’s side, ignoring Saskia who was crying again. Winnie was falling on her front but Sophie was already there to catch her, so nothing terrible happened. She would be fine.

Her shoulder had a terrible look: a silver arrow — like the one Winnie had in her hand — was stuck deeply inside it, blood was coming out in absurd quantities, and there were glowing crimson marks that looked like veins surrounding the wound. Winnie’s face was pale, she felt dizzy and a groan escaped her lips when Sophie tried to help her stand.

“Be strong, Winnie, we have to reach the park,” Sophie gasped for air as she tried to remain calm. “It won’t take long. I promise.”

“Maybe T can help us,” said Saskia, walking behind Winnie in case Sophie needed help with her balance.

They walked through the dried forest until they saw lights on the horizon. Then, there were no more trees, just a deserted area with large bones from gigantic creatures, and thick dark thorns with some black and red roses blocking the way to the sides. The only path they could follow was to the main entrance.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

They stopped by the closed iron gates under a big sign that read: “Mhabi’s Never Everland”, but only “Ever” was not lit, while the rest sparkled in an alternation of purple and blue. From the gates, they could see everything inside the park seemed gloomy despite being in perfect condition.

“Please! We need help,” Sophie shouted desperately at the gate, using her free hand to shake it. “T!”

Nothing moved, nor made a noise.

“We have tickets!” Sophie cried; it was her last chance to save her friend. “Three tickets for Mhabi’s Never Everland. We want to see the Masquerade.”

A breath of relief left Sophie when the gates slowly opened, making a sharp, metallic squeal followed by the echo of the metal under stress. She forced herself inside, carrying Winnie who was almost unconscious, and prayed for something to happen. Something magical. Instead, what she heard was a female high-pinched voice saying:

“Welcome to Mhabi’s Never E-E-E-E-E-Everland! I hope you enjoy your stay!”

A loud laughing noise pierced their ears. Then, a dark purple machine with neon-green letters forming the words appeared on their right, after the place was hit with minor blue electric discharges.

“Are you T? Can you do something for our friend? Please?” Saskia asked politely. “We can do anything!”

“A-A-A-Anything?” the way the voice spoke — like it was constantly mocking them — began to infuriate Sophie. “Baby, I wouldn’t promise that if I were you.”

“Please,” this time it was Sophie who requested. “We will do what you want if you help our friend.”

“You would’ve done what I wanted anyway, Soph,” she said in a way that sounded like she was throwing herself at Sophie. “Besides, it is just the consequences of one's actions! Didn’t she want magic? There you go! Puff! Magic that will stay with her forever! The best kind.”

Sophie was confused about having her name exposed but did not move. In fact, she did not care about what they would do with her as long as her friends were safe.

“Everyone makes mistakes. I’m sure she has learned her lesson now,” Sophie sighed. “Please, I’m begging you.”

“Okay, okay,” she sighed too. “If you beg like it, you make me feel like a bad person if I stay put. Get her through the door.”

Instantly, a vermillion door emerges from the ground, inside a big mouth that licks its lips before disappearing in a pink fog, leaving just the door behind. Inside there was only red mist, nothing else to be seen. Sophie carried Winnie to it with difficulty but before she could cross holding her, Sophie was ejected out of it. She was left to watch as her friend went through the door as if she was falling from a bridge facing the sky, her arm extended in Sophie’s direction, and her eyes closed shut.

“No, my little butterfly! You must stay! You cannot see me yet, I’m still in my nightgown—” she grasped extravagantly as if she had a realisation. “Unless that was what you were hoping to see!”

Sophie could not help but roll her eyes.

“Thank you for your kindness,” she said, ignoring her pride. “What can we do while we wait?”

“Just—” the voice paused as if she was thinking what to say. “I wouldn’t recommend walking around without a ticket inside the machine, but I cannot let you put it there yet. You must wait for your friend!”

Sophie sighed, took Saskia’s hand and walked to a stone bench near the entrance. If that thing did not want them walking, they would not walk. It was kind enough that it helped Winnie after her stupidity took over.

Time passed and they kept staring at the closed red door before them. They did not talk, but Sophie allowed Saskia to cry with her head resting on her shoulder while sitting on the bench. The things they went through to get to that park were gruesome, chaotic and bloody, and she could not blame the girl for being afraid, she was too. The difference was that Sophie had to hold on a little longer.

“I want to go home,” Saskia whispered against Sophie’s shoulder. “I want my dad.”

She brushed her hand against the poor girl’s leg but said nothing.

Then, the red door opened and Winnie walked through it. Like before, the door was swallowed by a gigantic mouth that no one seemed to pay attention to.

Winnie was looking at the floor, brushing slightly her left arm. Sophie hastily got up and touched Winnie’s chin to see her face. She held her breath as she noticed Winnie had a white medical eye patch with a black rose drawing covering her left eye. She knew something was not right when Winnie slapped her hand when she began to approach her shoulder.

“I’m fine. Stop treating me like a child, Sophie,” she said, walking towards the machine.

“After what you pulled? You are a child, Winifer. It was a mistake to worry about you.”

“C-Can you not fight? P-Please?” begged Saskia, trembling.

Again, the same female voice was heard:

“Oh, my butterfly, you have to work on those anger issues of yours. Your friend there couldn’t stop whispering your name while getting treatment. She even said she was sorry for someone you deeply cared about. Poor thing. Give her a break, she just lost something very important.”

Sophie turned to Winnie with a weird expression.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Winnie stared at the floor again. “I shouldn’t have done that. It was stupid.”

Saskia was curious about one thing that they had not discussed yet, so she had to ask:

“What did you see?”

“Nothing. I was asleep the entire time, but I could hear them and I had a dream,” Winnie got lost in thoughts. “It’s not important now. We must find our way home.”

With that, they all stared at the Amusement Park tickets and sighed. It was time to explore the park for real.

“Put the ticket inside the machine on your right and be ready to have your soul read!” said the female voice.

As instructed, they put the tickets inside the one after the other. This time Sophie was the last one; to assure herself the others would be safe. As she inserted the ticket, her eyes started to feel heavy, and so did her whole body. Suddenly, she fell into complete darkness.

The only thing she remembered was a bell ringing stridently and a cold male whispering:

< Once the bell rings, you die >