"WHO ARE YOU AND WHY WON'T YOU DIE?"
That voice.. its so loud.. it almost sounds like its coming from inside of me now. I start looking around - nothing but darkness. Arrgh, seriously... someones shining a spot light right into my eyes. Well that was a nasty suprise! During my brief case of blindness from the intense light, I hear the sound of footsteps, approaching me slowly from all directions. Clearly, I'm surrounded by now. My eyes start to regain focus, just enough to make out the siluettes of at least a dozen people - one stands alone at the front of the crowd, just an arms length away from me. When my vision regains clarity, I start to recognize a few of the people in room with me. They're all Carneys.. but they look a little different this time.. I don't remember them having tails before, neither do I recall them having horns extending from their foreheads. At the front of the group stands the well groomed supervisor from the Ranger ride. He looks different too.. he looks incredibly pissed off!
"I'm going to ask you.. just one more time," the supervisor said angrily. "Why won't you die?"
"No.. you answer me.. why the heck are you tryina kill me??"
The Demonic Carneys gasp and take a step backwards. They stare at me in disbelief, as though they have never seen someone challenge their supervisor before. Their boss stood there for a moment cracking his whip like tail - he seemd to be puzzled by something.
"So.. uh.. tell me kid.. how old are you exactly?"
What a strange, seemingly irrelevant question to be asked in a place like this.
"Not that I see why it's any of your business.. but I'm 31."
The room went silent and a look of utter confusion swept over the Demons faces. The supervisor looked stunned too. Within moments, he regained his composure and continued to speak.
"Well then.. it seems that we've come to a bit of a stale mate here kid. Oh.. how rude of me, allow me to introduce myself," the Demonic supervisor took a bow. "My name is Mr Borax, I'm the head Demon and manager of this.. Carnival of Souls as it were."
"Carnival of... of souls?" What is he going on about?
"You see kid, this Carnival has a few.. side ventures going on. A bit.. of cash on the side, if you know what I mean. If you hadn't already figured it out, we work for the big man downstairs." Borax extends his hand out and points his claw like finger to the floor.
"Hell isn't what it used to be you know. It costs souls to keep the place running. As you can imagine, in todays society, with all the day to day depravity and lack of moral standing, the average persons soul isn't worth diddly squat!" I'm beginning to understand whats goin on now.
"That's why Mr Satin himself decided to set up these Carnivals and have them placed around the globe. The Carnivals lure in kids, we scare them to death and take their souls - maximum soul profit with minimal effort." Well that explains everything... or does it?
"Yeah.. ok. I guess that all makes sense.. but why me. What do you want with me?
A large smirk sweeps accross Mr Boraxs face.
"Ah yes.. you! We seem to have hit a bit of a snag here with you huh! You see.. just as most rides have a minimal age limit, this park seems to have a maximum age limit. Don't get me wrong.. we've been doing everything in our power to try and kill you. It would seem however that you're immune to us and our powers."
Mr Boraxs smirk seemed to go up a notch and he began to chuckle.
"So.. at the risk of embarrassing you, I have to ask.. aren't you a little old for Carnival rides?" The Carnys in the background also started to snicker quietly amongst themselves.
"Ummm.. no! I've always loved Carnival rides. Wait.. are you telling me that the Alien, the pedo kid, the Meat man and the kids in the fun house were just a part of some plan to scare me to death? Like, They weren't even real?"
"Thats right.. well.. everything except for the Ghost train. The meat factorys real. Lets just say that Mr Satin likes to keep his fingers in a few different pies."
"That guy in working in the factory..?"
"Oh yeah.. so I see you've met Dave? Real nice guy. Makes great Jerky. We love his work."
Everything makes sense now. So I know why I'm here and how I've survived all of this torture.
"So, what happens now?"
Borax looks unsure. "Well kid.. thats just the thing isn't it? You're too old for us to kill and you know all of our secrets."
Borax stands there, whipping his tail and rubbing his chin for a few moments.
"Tell me kid.. after all the near death experiences, why did you continue to go on our death traps.. ehem.. rides?"
I reached down and grabbed the remaining 37 bucks worth of coupons from my pocket.
"I'm a bit of a tight ass I suppose... and I've still got a few coupons left."
Borax stares at me with a completely blank expression. The room is silent once more. Geez.. this is awkward... was it something I said?
"Bwwwweaaaaaaahahahahahahahahaha!"
Borax bursts out laughing. The Demon Carneys soon follow suit and I find myself surrounded by maniacal laughter.
"Hehehe... seriously kid... you are just too much." Borax lets out a few more chuckles before resuming. "Ok kid.. so you like Carnival rides huh? Well then.. I know exactly what we're gonna do with you."
Borax takes a few steps closer until he's standing right over me.
"We're gonna take care of you... yeah.. we're gonna take care of you... FOR GOOD."
Sometime in the near future-
Oh man, I love Carnivals! Turns out that Borax wasn't such a bad guy afterall. In exchange for my silence, he's given me a magical wrist band that grants me free access to any Carnival ride on the planet.. any time I want! Oh yeah, he also gave me a job. So, if you're under 25 and love Carnivals, why don't you come along with me to the next one? Entry is free...... *Wink* *Wink*
