Dr. Creepen's Dungeon - S2 Ep63: Episode 63: Theme Park Horror Stories

Episode Date: January 6, 2022

Our terrifying opening story is ''A Friendly Reminder that Sleep isn't Necessary'' by R.L. Rogers, kindly shared directly with me and read with the author's express permission.  https://www.facebook.com/rlrogersauthor/  https://twitter.com/TheRLRogers Today’s second tale of the macabre and bizarre is ‘Mayhem Mountain’, a fantastic original work by C.K. Walker, shared with me via NoSleep and narrated here for you all once again with the author’s express permission. https://www.reddit.com/user/The_Dalek_Emperor/ https://www.facebook.com/ck.walker00

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please contact Connix Ontario at 1866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Welcome to Dr. Creepen's Dungeon. They do say that life is like going to a theme park. Make sure you get your money's worth by going to all the beautiful lands and the scary rides. And at the other day, you know you'll be safe. And it's all about great memorable experiences. Or is it?

That's the question posed by tonight's two stories. Later on we have the wonderful Mayhem Mountain by C.K. Walker. But we begin with a friendly reminder that sleep isn't necessary by R.L. Rogers. Now, as ever before we begin, a word of caution. Tonight's tales may contain strong language, as well as descriptions of violence and horrific imagery. That sounds like your kind of thing. Then let's begin. It started with me watching TV.

I was watching cartoons when the screen went to static. I got up from the sofa and tried resetting the... the cable box, but it didn't work. I tried turning the TV off and on again, but the remote wasn't working either. As I sat back on the sofa, accepting defeat in my battle against bad cable, the screen suddenly changed to all white. After a moment of me staring, a woman walked on screen and turned to face the camera, her hands holding one another and her elbows propped out, parallel to the bottom of the frame. She wore what looked to be an old-fashioned bright red diner cap with a white lining. It matched her bright red dress that flowed down and outward.

She wore bright red lipstick that matched the rest of her outfits, and her unusually blonde hair was braided and fell to her front left. Hello, this is a friendly reminder that sleep isn't necessary. Today, we at Daydreamers amusement park are happy to finally unveil our most prestigious pass to date. Starting this Saturday, the no-sleep pass will become available. This is our long-awaited all in one pass. For 99,99, you get the time pass, which allows you to stay in the park from the minute it opens to the minute before opening

the next day. The ringleader pass, which allows unlimited rides on all rides, including a fast lane pass to bypass those pesky long lines. Also, access to the No Sleep Pass exclusive Midnight Fright Tour. For the next two minutes, be one of the first seven callers and claim a free no sleep pass for use this Friday. A whole day before this pass is available to all. Call the number on your screen and start daydreaming today. I'd never been to an amusement park, but I'd always wanted to.

So when the number popped up on screen, I didn't hesitate. I quickly pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed the number on screen. It only rang once before an automated message thanked me for calling and informed me I was the fifth caller. It said for me to claim my no-sleep package, I had to first speak my name into the phone. Lucas Wolfe, I spoke into the phone. the voice then asked me to speak my address finally it asked me to type in my age to make sure I was eligible the message then went on to inform me that an automated text would be sent to my phone

with the address of the park along with the time I should arrive on Friday morning I didn't care that I'd never heard of this part before all I cared about was being able to finally go to an amusement park and that I was getting to do it for free I'm excited. I posted about my success online. Shortly afterwards, my friend Jamie replied. She had won the last free pass.

After chatting about our excitement, we decided we would carpool. The rest of the week went by in the blink of an eye, as I waited with bated breath for Friday morning. On Friday morning, I woke up to my alarm at 2.30 a.m. Jamie would be at my house for three. and then we would venture out on the five-hour ride to the park. Already feeling the excitement coursed through me, I jumped out of bed,

threw on my clothes and ran down to the kitchen to grab a snack before hitting the road. When Jamie pulled up, I was waiting for her at the edge of my driveway. I hopped in the car, gave her a hug hello, buckled up, and turned on the radio as we began to drive off. Right before the on-ramp to the highway, we stopped at a 24-hour coffee and bagel shop for breakfast. Jamie swung the car around the building so we could go through the drive-thru, wasting as little time as possible getting back to the drive ahead.

We ordered coffee and bagels and got back to the road. Once on the highway, we turned up the music and jammed out the whole ride there. As we pulled into the parking lot of the amusement park, we noticed the other winners of the free passes at the day. already arrived. Other than us and them, no one else was parked in the parking lots. I thought that was strange. It was an amusement park after all. Jamie parked the car and we got out to wait with the others. After a few minutes of waiting, a woman dressed similarly to the one in the commercial approached the gate from within the park. She was smiling, clearly excited that all seven of us had

made it. Welcome to Daydreamers Amusement Park, she began. I apologize if you've been waiting long. I was busy getting ready for the day. My name is Jess, and I will be your personal attendant today. Anything you require, I will do for you. And don't worry about food, drinks, or paying for any of the games. As a special thanks for being the first to no-sleep pass holders, everything is complimentary for the duration of your stay. She seemed way too enthusiastic about her job. She opened the gates and let the seven of us in. First she guided us over to the restrooms in case any of us needed to use it before

adventuring through the park's seemingly endless number of attractions. As she led us to the first area of the park, filled with small kiddie roller coasters and games, a thought occurred to me. She never checked to make sure we'd actually been the ones to win the free passes. I shrugged it off and assumed nothing of it, just a strange little detail atop an endless pile of fun to be had. Eventually, I started to notice more and more people in the park. I suppose everyone thought it would be packed at opening hour and waited a bit to come. After about an hour in the park, it was packed.

every ride, every game, every food stall and brake area, all filled with countless numbers of people. Thankfully, our free passes came with the ability to bypass the lines, making us the priority over everyone else. Even as a young adult, I felt like a god. Younger me would have let this go to my head and rub it in at least one random person's face, but I didn't. I did, however, feel quite humble. When noon came around, Jess led the group to a food area reserved just for us. As we ate the free food being given to us, Jamie pointed out a man in a yellow shirt that was staring at us.

He wasn't moving or even blinking. He just stared. Someone else in the group noticed the man and informed Jess. She looked over to the man and waved her hand as if she was. shooing him away. Like it was an order from a general, he suddenly turned and walked off. Japie and I couldn't help but laugh at the man's unusual behaviour. As the day progressed, we continued riding the rides, eating snacks and chugging down sodas. By the time the park began to close for the other guests, all of us had pretty much had our fill of fun and games for the day.

Jess noticed our fatigue and offered us the chance to have an hour break outside of the park to do what we wanted Jamie and I decided to go back to the car for the duration of the break I scrolled through social media with my feet up on the dashboard Jamie decided to look up more about the park

she only managed to find the park's website page the following is a brief history of the park from the website The first daydreamers amusement park, founded by R.L. Rogers, was constructed in 1987. Rogers was fond of his childhood memories of going to amusement parks. As he grew older, he wanted to build a park, the likes of which were never seen before. In 1997, he came up with what is now famously the Midnight Fright Tour.

A park transformed after hours into a complete horror show. He had every ride, game and booth rebuilt, so that during the night everything could be transformed into the perfect horror show. Sadly, in 2004, a fatal accident occurred during one of the Fright Tours, and it had to be shut down permanently. The Fright Tours had become the biggest attraction to the park, and losing them had caused the park to be shut down within the same year. Talks about rebuilding the park have taken place. but nothing has come of it yet. Wait, Jamie began. Did they just forget to update the page,

or did someone else buy the rights for the park's name? I don't know, I replied, curious myself. We should ask Jess when we head back in. Jamie bookmarked the webpage, and we return to watching videos and going through our social media. When we re-entered the park, It was a little past ten. We regrouped with Jess and the others by the bathrooms

we'd first stopped at when we arrived earlier in the morning. Two members of our group hadn't come back yet, Mr. Grovewood and Miss Lancy. We waited for them another ten minutes or so before continuing on with our evening. With just five of us now, Jess led us across the park to a small building. We were going to be given a small video show of the various tours

they do for the midnight frightor. As we entered the building, we were led through a small hallway and into a room off the end of the corridor. Upon entering the room, Jamie and I noticed that only five chairs had been set up in the room. We hadn't seen Jess inform anyone

that the other two hadn't come back. Again, I thought it was unusual, but shrugged it off. Maybe I'd missed her, called someone. Either way, I didn't care much. All I was thinking about was having the time of my life. As we took to our seats, Jess flicked a switch on the wall. A light came on from a projector on the ceiling.

We watched the video being projected on the wall opposite the door. The video showed all the kinds of fright doors that they did. One was a type of manhunt. Another was something similar to your average haunted house. My favourite of all, though, was something they called body exit. This game consisted of starting in one of the rides, specifically the one that spins you and you stick to the wall. You would spin for maybe five minutes straight, come out and then do a few shots. If you were old enough, which Jamie and I were, along with everyone else in the group.

The goal was to become as disoriented as possible. Then walk the now transformed horror-themed park in an inebriated state. Of course, we would have a guide with us so that nothing would go horribly wrong. This particular tour ends with the member of the group being tagged, attacked, by a killer clown hiding somewhere in the park. That guests would then be brought to a ride that was basically a giant water slide with a raft. This would be them exiting their body,

or dying. It all sounded amazing. When the video concluded, Jess stood in front of us and asked which tour we would like to experience. The group was unanimous in selecting the body exit toll. She accepted our requests and asked that we wait here in the room for the next hour so they could set up the park for this particular tour.

The next hour, the whole group was in a state of anticipation. of the fun and fright to be had. The time went by in the blink of an eye. When Jess re-entered the room an hour or so later, she asked us to follow her to the beginning of the tour. We made our way a short distance through the park to the ride they called Brain Masha. This was the ride where you spun and stuck to the walls.

As we entered the cylinder of the ride, we hurried to take our spots along the wall. after Jess closed the door behind us and we slowly began to spin she took to the ride's announcement mic this is a friendly reminder that sleep isn't necessary she began to truly feel the effect of this tall we first need to get those brains a little mashed up to do this i will need to turn the ride's speed up to its highest setting. Is everyone okay with that? The group gave cheerful woos and yes. Jess accepted our answer and thanked us for joining her this evening. As the ride began to spin faster and faster, I felt the centrifugal force on me become stronger and stronger.

As it got even faster, it became almost impossible to keep the back of my head flat against the wall. I had to turn my head. My face now towards Jamie, who was a short distance away from me, we attempted smiling at one another, but all of a sudden the ride hit a dead halt. We all went flying to our relative right. I slammed my head off the wall and hit the ground hard. After recovering and making it to my feet, I noticed everything. everyone standing around one of the members of the group who was lying still on the floor.

Upon closer inspection, I saw his head turned all the way around. He had hit the wall and broken his neck completely. He was dead. He began screaming for Jess to open the door and get help, but our cries were met with no reply. A few minutes of this, and the door finally. opened. Jamie and I agreed that we would go find help. As we exited the ride, we were met with a thick fog that had completely enveloped the park. Trying to remember the way to the parking lot, we scrambled through the fog, looking desperately for anything we could remember as to get

an idea of where we were. Nothing looked familiar to us. We spent a few minutes running around through the fog, finally spotting something yellow further ahead. As we walked closer, we realized it was the man who had been staring at us earlier in the day. It's you, I exclaimed. What the hell are you doing here? I have come to warn you. You have chosen and chosen wrong. You're at the mercy of the park now. The man spoke in a monotone voice. What? What are you talking about?

Someone just died. We need help. Jamie screamed at the man. It didn't matter, though. The man took a few step backwards into the fog, vanishing from sight. I ran forward to grab him, but my outstretched hand grabbed at nothingness.

He was gone. What the hell is? is going on here? Jamie shouted hysterically. She crouched down and began to weep. I bent down, wrapping my arms around her to comfort her. In the blink of an eye, what was meant to be a day of fun and fright had turned into true horror and death. When Jamie finally managed to calm down, we decided to find our way back to the group. We made our way through the fog, trying our best to remember which way we'd come from. Eventually, we found it. As we walked through the open door to the ride, we were met by Jess, standing in the center of the cylindrical ride.

The rest of our group lay motionless on the ground. Were they unconscious, or were they all dead. The thought sent a chill down my spine, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. Jess looked at us, her hands behind her back, and a smile stretching across her entire face. She took a few steps forward. As if the walls had just been shadows, other people emerge from the walls of the right. all looking exactly like Jess in every way they stood in equal distances apart from one another behind her in unison they spoke this is a friendly reminder that sleep isn't necessary the jest that had been with us the whole day continued right after the two of you are not fit to continue the tour. I can't

ask that you exit the park immediately. Jamie and I just stood there, motionless, in shock of everything that was transpiring before us. What was all of this? The nightmare? An extremely well-choreographed prank?

Or was something far more menacing happening? A moment of silence passed. Jess's face became angry In a harsh tone And much louder than before She continued Did you not hear me

You are not fit to continue That's all You must leave the park at once Another moment of silence passed It was almost as if we couldn't move We had become stone in our fleshy bodies Jess took another step forward Her face began to transform in front of our eyes

What had been her beautiful young woman Was now a disfigured monstrosity As if her neck had turned into rubber Her head extended from her body And stopped right in front of my face If I'd had the ability to move I could simply have leant forward an inch And be touching her nose with mine

She uttered one word in a demonic growl. Lee, Like we were on the end of a bungee cord, Jamie and I began flying backwards, swinging left and right through the park. As we flew through the front gates, they slammed closed. When we stopped,

we were right in front of Jamie's car, still facing the park. We watched in awe, as the fog grew thicker and higher. As the fog began to cover even the tallest rise of the park, we watched as what looked to be a massive worm, dived upwards out of the fog and then back down into it. It let out a loud, earth-shaking groan as it dove.

Feeling like we were not in control of our bodies, or perhaps as some sort of instinct, we turned around and got in the car. as I sat down onto the comfortable leather seats of Jamie's car I began to cry uncontrollably Jamie did as well after calming down from our hysterics I smacked myself in the face a few times

and looked back towards the park trying to wake myself up as if this was all just a nightmare I pulled out my phone and tried to call someone but it had turned off and wouldn't turn back on Jamie's phone was the same The park, cloaked in fog, still sat in front of us. It was all too real. It had all actually happened.

Jamie looked at me, then looked back towards the park. She turned the car engine on and we drove home. Rivers is the place. Put a smile on your face. Bet on the sports you love with BetRiver's sports book. Take a chance! Must be 19 plus, available in Ontario only. Please play responsibly.

If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-866-531-2,600, to speak to an advisor, free of charge. In two miles, take exit 19 for Valley Park Drive sound. Siri, Cher, from my sister's phone. Charlotte, turn that off. I know where I'm going. You sure about that?

I mean, it has been a couple of. a couple of decades mark. Please, like I could ever forget where Adventure Valley is. Come on, we spend every summer... There it is. I swerve briefly into the oncoming lane as Charlotte thrust her arm in front of my face to point excitedly out of the window.

Oh, there's Adventure Valley. Oh my God, what ride is that? That coaster. It was called Steal Something, right? No, no, wait. No, that's Mayhem Mountain, isn't it? I gently pushed my sister's arm out of my face and back over to her seat. I couldn't fault her for her excitement while I was trying so hard to control my own giddiness.

It felt like we were kids again, yelling and bouncing in the back seat of my parents' car as the first shining rails of wooden planks of the park's roller coasters came into view above the treetops. That's the steel viper, I told her. Mayhem mounts on the other end of the park. That wooden coaster over there is the Excalibur. Oh yeah, I remember those. Oh, I was always too much of a wuss to ride the viper, but I rode the shit out of the Excalibur.

Well, Charlotte, you're an adult now. I think it's time to take on the viper. As long as the contractors have tested it and given it the okay, I'm in. That was really the question, wasn't it? We didn't know which rides had been inspected and cleared, and which ones hadn't. I sent up a silent prayer that Mayhem Mountain, was counted among the rise that had.

I'd left Brandon's several voicemails asking about it since he was the one in charge of everything. But with how fast things had been moving since we'd bought the park, I couldn't fault him for being a busy man. If you told 12-year-old me that my crazy, hyper-wild-eyed friend Brandon Decker would end up graduating cum laude from Northwestern business school,

I would have laughed in your face. Brandon, no way. Tyler may be, but, never Brandon. In fact, half the reason I think he chose a business designation was because of Adventure Valley. When the park had closed in 1989, Brandon had gathered all of us together in his basement and, with gravitous and solemnness I've never seen in him before or since, asked us to make the pact. At the time, the promise had been the most serious vow that five-12-year-olds could ever make. High off of an entire summer of Adventure Valley,

fun, we agreed with all the ceremony of a meeting of Parliament that we would one day come together and buy Adventure Valley Amusement Park. Of course, back then we planned to just buy it and ride the roller coasters into the ground, and we decided which friends from school we'd led in and which enemies would be barred from the gates. It had always been our park, and it was only right that we should have it. Well, it had taken 20 years, but we eventually did fulfill our promise. the hell of a lot of pushing from Brandon and a sizable offer of collateral from Tyler. The bank had agreed to give us the multi-million dollar loan to buy, repair, refurbish and reopen the park.

The size of the loan that the six of us were responsible for gave me nightmares for several weeks. How would this place ever turn a profit? It had been closed decades ago after operating in the red for several years. The county had experienced a high number of runaways and missing persons in the area. in the last years of the 1980s, and the entire region was on edge as the cases mounted, and people in the area became depressed

and suspicious of each other. It had absolutely killed park attendants. But seeing the first cresting waves of roller coaster rails through the trees made me all but forget about my financial worries. This was Adventure Valley, for Christ's sake. If we opened the gates, people would come. There, there, that's our exit. Charlotte squeaked.

I pulled off the interstate and took a left under the bridge. Less than a mile later we came upon the acres of the park's parking lots to our right. We turned in and drove all the way up to the front near the gates where several other cars were parked.

Alexis, a Mini Cooper, an old Chevel and a Honda Civic, another rental car like ours. Looks like we're the last one's here, Charlotte said. She was right. His report up next to the Lexus, I noticed a group of people standing next to the ticket booth, waving to us excitedly. Oh my God, is that Tyler?

Jesus, he's lost some weight. Oh, he's so skinny now. Branden's losing his hair. Holy shit, is that Kogi? Wow, Kogi got hot. Calm down, Paris, Hilton. These guys are my friends. They're off limits to you.

Same rules as when we were teenagers. besides half of them are married. Really? Which half? I raised an eyebrow at Charlotte and shook my head in amused bewilderment. My little sister never had outgrown her boy craziness. Wait, who's that? Charlotte asked as we got out of the car.

What? That's Scott. You know Scott. Not Scott, no. Scott looks exactly the same. The girl next to Scott. Oh, I put this off so long that I'd actually forgotten to tell my sister at all. Yeah, that's Danny, a Scotts girlfriend.

Danny as in Daniel Bircher? Well, yeah. My sister gave me such a horrified look that you'd think I betrayed her to her debt, but it was fleeting and quickly replaced by a sly smile. Fine by me. I'm sure she's not the same person she was. in high school. I mean, we're all adults now, right? Come on, let's go. A sigh of relief escaped my chest as I slammed the car door and followed Shard over to the entrance. I saw most of these guys every year,

seeing us all together here, standing at the ticket booths of Adventure Valley, brought me a sort of happiness I hadn't experienced in many years. Mark fucking Lantis, I can't believe it. Tyler had an a commanding voice that probably made his many employees shudder and scatter, but I knew him like a brother, so his bravado just made me love. Can you believe it? I asked as I gave him a hug and a slap on the back. Back at Front Gates, $15 a day doesn't seem so ridiculous now. $15 a day, my ass, Brandon said as he shook my hand. By my mouth, it looks like we'll be charging about 65 a day.

Oh, I'll pay it. Charlotte smiled as she gave Koji a hug. Are people really going to pay $65 a day? Koji asked. Even Disneyland only charges 85, and there you get access to two parks. How could I forget? Brandon shook his head. One of our investors works for the mouse.

Pity they won't let you design any artwork for this place. Oh, come on, man. I'm not an artist. I'm an engineer. Don't you mean imagine here? Charlotte winked at him. Koji sighed and shook his head. Yeah, I fucking do. As Brandon and Charlotte tease Koji,

I made my way over to the side of the ticket booth, where Scott and his girlfriend were conversing. I didn't know why Scott was being so standoffish, but I thought it might have something to do with the investments. Scott, the least well-off of us six, worked at his dad's collision shop and hadn't a whole lot of money to invest. I thought maybe he was embarrassed about the money,

but now, watching him lean against the booth with slowly shifting eyes, I realized that wasn't it at all. Scott was just stoned. Same old Scott. Hey, what's up, burnout? My brother, I haven't seen you in like 15 years. How about a hug, bro?

Scott smiled and pushed off the wall to come give me a quick hug. Hey, how's it going, man? Down, look at you. Watch your diet, man. Rabbit food and lettuce. You're not going to get any ladies with that skinny body. Your mom doesn't seem to mind.

Hey, Mark. I'm Danny. Do you remember me? Danny Bircher? Scott's girlfriend gave me a shy smile and stuck out her hand so we could engage in a stiff handshake. Yeah, I think so. You were in my sister's class, right? Charlotte Lanty.

Danny had the decency to look embarrassed Yeah, but we weren't really friends That's putting it lightly, I thought Yeah, we were freshmen when you guys were seniors She added Yeah, I do remember that Maybe I should just get it over with I called Charlotte over

And the reintroduction of the two girls While awkward was over pretty quickly to everyone's relief We were all eager to get into the park It was odd not stopping at the window for tickets, and even odder to walk around the rusting turnstiles of the front gates. I delighted in reminding myself that we own this place now. Brandon gave us a tour of the park. Not so much of the geography, we all knew that inside out, but of the hypothetical layout

and reorganization of the park as he saw it. The excalibus going to need the most amount of work, according to Rich. Brandon's head contractor. A roller coaster made a wood exposed to the elements for all these years. We'll keep as much of the original structure as is safe, but we might have to rebuild most of it. Do we have the money for that? Scott asked loudly from where he walked behind us with Danny.

Yep, Tyler said. We have the money for that. Oh, Mr. Moneybags. That mini-deal ship treating you good. I nudged him hard with my shoulder. Tyler stumbled. but kept enough composure to push me back into a passing chiro stall. Those six BMW dealerships are treating me very well.

Well enough to serve us the sizable collateral we needed, Brandon added. So, Charlotte ran up behind us and threw our arms around Tyler and Koji. Can we write some rights? Are you kidding? Why do you think we're here? Tyler laughed. well, I'm just here for Mayhem Mountain. I said clapping my hands and rubbing them together eagerly.

Brandon threw up his hands. All right, fine. I thought you guys would be interested in how your investment's coming along. Gogi snorted. All we're interested in is the projected ROI, and more importantly, which rides have passed safety inspection. Oh, Brandon stopped walking and tried to look annoyed, and failing that he smiled a little over half of them are rightable suddenly everybody was talking at once

oh is still viper open yep that one's on what about snapdragon that one's good to go to Renegate falls the water's not on high roller yes space bin oh yeah power tower doing the inspection this week. There was only one ride I really cared about, mine and Brandon's favourite. So what about Mayhem Mountain? Buck, yes, he answered to collective groans from the rest.

Mayhem Mountain had always been our thing. The others had always been happy to ride Hirola and Snapragon into exhaustion. Brandon and I always split off toward the end of the day to write Mayhem Mountain to the Twilight Ham Mountain. Oh, Charlotte shutters. I hate that ride.

It's boring as hell. Koji agreed. I helped design something similar for Disneyland, Hong Kong. We put it in Fantasyland, for fuck's sake. Hey, that ride's awesome. It's long and it goes upside down, I argued. Charlotte's even too scared to ride it. I'm not scared of that ride.

It just gives me the creeps. Something about it just, I don't know, it just seems off. All right, look, we'll start at this end of the park and work our way towards the back. That way we can ride every ride that's been passed, including Mayhem Mountain, Brandon said. Oh, and Snapdragon, Tyler added, and the others nodded excitedly. Yes, every ride. And of course we can ride them, you know, as many times as we want. "'Hell yes, brother.'

"'Cohsie high-fired Brandon, "'we headed down the street towards space-spin. "'Our progress through the park was blissfully slow. "'Everyone wanted to ride every ride multiple times, "'and one person always had to stay in the loading area to operate it. "'It only took an hour or two to forget that I was a fully grown "'thirty-five-year-old man, "'being back there, running through the lineways with my friends,

arguing about who got the first row of the first car. It was like being 12 years old again. Still, my eye was constantly drawn up over the buildings into the distance, to the back of the park where the high, gleaming rails of Mayhem Mountain shone in the unobstured sun. There'd be no arguing who got front row on that coaster. It was me and Brandon. It was always me and Brandon.

Charlotte, Tyler and Colji, were the most like children, constantly running ahead and arguing over which ride to get on next, yelling back to ask Brandon if this one or that one had been cleared by the contractors. Brandon and I held back from the group a bit, discussing ideas and possible improvements for the path. Scott and Danny took up the rear of the group, quietly talking and lighting joints. When we arrived at the Enterprise, a simple ride that consisted of spinning cars on a circular track, I offered to flip the switch while the rest of the group rode to excess. The Enterprise always made me sick when we were kids.

Braddon offered to stay on the platform with me to chat while everyone else rode the ride. I flipped the switch to turn the ride on, and as the car spun away from the loading area, the Enterprise's signage came into view. I sighed. All day I'd been trying to ignore the bright graffiti sprayed all over the park. but the words painted over the signage for the enterprise were impossible to ignore where did the missing kids go and the rest of the graffiti in the park was much the same most said things like where are they runaway row find ryan kinkski and the missing are now dead

similar sayings could be found in town sprayed across a few dilapidated buildings in the industrial district Brandon's eyes avoided the sign but I could tell he was thinking about it too do you think the reason they shut this park down I mean do you see that being an issue for park attendants I asked as casually as I could Brandon was quiet for a few moments

as he waited for the ride to slow to a stop so he could flip the switch again No, I don't think so. Low attendance issues aren't actually what shut the park down. They aren't? This surprised me. Nope. When we were negotiating the sale of the park, I was given access to the park's financials in the 80s.

So they weren't operating at a loss. Oh, they were, but this park has operated in the red since the opening day in the 70s. Half of their revenue was being fed back into something. called county services, whatever that is. The bank couldn't tell me, and believe me, I tried to find out. Hmm, county services, I mused. Yep, bizarre. And according to the paperwork, the park was closed because the owner didn't want to live here anymore.

And he couldn't be bothered to wait for a decent offer on the property, and so he just sold it to the bank for next to nothing. So he was a rich guy. I leaned back against the railing to stretch my back. and an idiot yes to an extreme in both cases the owner of the park was abel beset what abel beset related to that french billionaire i'm guessing brandon nodded michael beset he built this park for his son in the 70s abel was never really what we could call business inclined i've always heard him described as simple can't believe the son of a billionaire lives in this area. Well, not anymore. He moved on decades ago. I shook my head in disbelieve.

Who would ever have thought that our simple little park was owned by a famous billionaire's son? Hell, I may even have sat next to him on rides and had no idea. You guys want to go again? Brandon yelled to the others as the riot came to a stop. I'm ready to move on. Coji yelled back. Anybody want to ride again? No. The chorus of voices replied. It was near five o'clock when we finally arrived at Mayhem Mountain. As the sun began to set, a familiar panic and urgency whirled in the pit of my stomach. It took a moment for me to realize that we didn't have to leave when the park closed this time,

because the park didn't close. We could stay until sunup if we wanted to. As I eagerly approached the turnstile for Mayhem Mountain, Tyler spoke up behind me. "'Listen, can we run into town and grab something to eat before we ride mayhem?' "'You really want to ride mayhem after we eat?' asked Koji. "'Ah, good point.' "'God, there's only one loop,' Danny rolled her eyes.

"'Two,' I said. "'Don't forget the inline roll.' "'Yep, two,' Scott answered. "'plus it's a two-minute ride. "'If your food isn't sitting well, you've got a long wait till it's over.' "'Look,' I said, "'let's ride it a couple times and then go eat. "'When we come back, we'll see how we feel.'

Everyone nodded, and we started walking through the lineways up to the platform. When we reached the loading dock, I was excited to see our favourite green car sitting on the track. "'In front seat,' Brandon and I yelled simultaneously as the train cars came into view, and everyone behind us groaned. "'I'm staying here,' Charlotte said. I'll just work the launch pad thingy. I'm still scared after all these years, Sharra.

Scott teased her. Shut up, burnout. Scott laughed and tussled their hair before running and jumping into the first car behind Brandon and I. Danny got in next to him and Tyler and Koji took the second car. We pulled the shoulder restraints down

and they locked in place. Ready? Charlotte asked. Yep, Brandon yelled back. send the car through Charlotte pulled the lever and the brakes disengaged as the car moved forward I turned to Brandon did we get the green car on purpose I yelled to him as the coaster clacked around the low platform and began the clattery climb up the first lift hill yep we send the cars through here all morning but I made sure Rich knew to leave the

green machine in the loading bay awesome as the train climbed up the lift hill I made no attempt to hide my utter glee looked out over the expansive parking couldn't believe it was mine every track every car every turnstile every screw

from the front gate to the overflow parking lot in the back it was all hours oh how I wished I could go back in time and tell a young me waiting in the two-hour line for Mayhem Mountain one day you will own this place as we crested the hill and the train fell into the first drop i realized they essentially had gone back in time at least i was screaming like a twelve-year-old as was everyone else behind me we dipped into the first tester hill and then banked hard and up to the second lift

hill we dropped from there down into the vertical loop banked around a set of gift shops not briefly and then down a small hill into the inline roll. When we arrived back at the loading bay, we were all screaming and whooping. Charlotte didn't even have to ask, just smiled at us and sent us through again. We went twice more before we finally got off the ride. Kochi walked over to check out the control panel

while the rest of us taunted my sister. You sure you don't want to go, Sharra? It's awesome. "'Nah, I'm good. "'I have no problem being the Carney for this ride,' she laughed. "'Oh, come on, Charlotte, just one time. "'One time and we'll leave you alone,' Tyler urged. "'No, no, no, no, no way, not interested.

"'I'll write anything else, though.' "'Hey, do you guys know what track B is?' "'Cogie asked. "'Track B? What do you mean?' Brandon walked over to Koji at the control boards and raised an eyebrow. Hmm, that's weird. It's probably just the track they used to get the cars into the storage bay. Scott said with a shrug.

No, Koji said. That's called a transfer track. Track B has to be something else. Yeah, well, I've been on this right enough times, so there is no other track. Yep, Tyler agreed. with me. He has. So,

should we try it? Brandon suggested. Fuck no, said Charlotte. If you don't know what track B is, that means that contractors don't know about it either, which means it hasn't been inspected in at least 20 years. That's suicide. Look, Koggi said,

if track B exists, then even the most incompetent of engineers would have found it during an inspection. And Rich cleared this entire ride, Brandon nodded. It's probably just the ride in reverse. We're good. Well, we're in, and out Scott from the other side of the track,

though Danny didn't look quite on board with the idea. Mark? Tyler asked. Yeah, I guess I'm in. What's the worst that could happen? We get followed into a repair bag? All right, then I'm in too. Tyler said hesitantly. Koji shrugged,

Here goes nothing. He flipped the switch over to track B and a moment later a loud, metallic scraping some distance away filled the path. The sound lasted almost a minute. I studied the familiar silver roller coaster under the pink sky of the setting sun, but I saw no physical changes to the track.

I looked over at Brandon and a shrug of his shoulders told me he did neither. "'Shall we?' Scott asked, gesturing to the train cars we'd just disembarked. I gave Charlotte a questioning look, but she shook her head emphatically, no. So it was just the six of us again. Well, it's only right you two take the bow of the ship. Tyler gave a mock salute. Oh, captains, my captains.

I laughed and hopped into the right side of the front row. Brandon crawled into the seat next to me Tyler and Koji got him behind us and Scott and Danny took the back he pulled the shoulder bars down and they locked into place Are you sure about this Charlotte asked when everyone was settled

Danny said something from her place A few rows back but all I heard was Brandon yelling Pull it The brakes released and the train rolled away from the platform and into the twilight of dusk. The lights had lit up on the track while we'd been arguing, and the roller coaster looked absolutely beautiful.

I was filled with awe and reverence at what this place truly meant to me and my friends. It was a symbol of our youth and innocence and blissful ignorance of the world. It was her own little bubble of happiness. The coaster again climbed the lift hill, and from the top Brandon and I studied the track, In those few seconds I saw no difference. Brandon looked over and I shook my head at him disappointedly. By the time we reached the vertical loop halfway through the ride,

it was clear that there was no track B. But it was hard to be upset because I was still on Mayhem Mountain and still found it an impossible challenge not to smile. We banked around the now brightly lit gift shops, up the small tester hill and back down to the inline roll. except the inline roll was suddenly above us we'd missed it instead the track now descended into a large square hole in the ground behind the gift shops and we were headed directly into it i was in too much shock to scream or even move the black hole swallowed us in an instant and we descended into complete darkness i felt a comfortable pressure should leave my shoulders and realize that the shoulder bars have been released.

I gripped the front lip of the ledge of my seat and heard the terrified screams of my friends behind me as the coaster suddenly spun into what felt like an in-line role. I was too scared to do anything but hold on for dear life, though some part of my brain registered that the G-forces of the roll probably would have been enough to keep me in my seat if I'd let go. Probably. We came out of the inline roll and dropped again, hard. As the roller coaster dropped, the room suddenly lit up around us, and I saw the track below arcing up into a light tester hill.

As we hit the bottom of the hill, the shoulder bars lowered mechanically. The car went over the small tester hill and then brake to start up another tall lift hill. I took my first breath since dropping through the ground, and looked around, tuning out the screams of Danny and Tyler behind me. We were in what can be described as a cavernous room, and I only assume it stretched to the farthest reaches of the park above. There were lots of vertical loops, high drops and sharp curves, that put the track perpendicular to the ground.

Throughout the entire sub-level building, lamps dotted the wall every 30 feet. They put out a dreary yellow glow, as far as the eye could see. But many were burnt out and in parts the track disappeared into darkness. But in the dull yellow edges of the light, I saw

something that registered in me a horror beyond death. Far away from us, in a section of shadowy track. I saw the high crest of a peak hill which reached almost the ceiling of the giant room. And then the track just

ended suddenly feeling the horrible reality of the world outside my mind began to bleed in danny was screaming uncontrollably tyler was crying bawling even cogie was yelling at brandon who was looking straight at me hitting my leg hard and repeating my name as the cast continued to climb i finally gave him my attention i didn't want to be alone in the fear anymore What is this? Was all I could think of to say. We have to get off this ride. We have to get off this ride, Mark.

I fucking know, man. We're going to die. I fucking no, man. I yelled as we reached the top of the lift hill and dropped over the other side. I squeezed my eyes shut until I felt the shoulder bars once again release, and I bit my lip to keep from crying. I opened my eyes and choked. as I watched the track ahead

bend up into a vertical loop I reached up and tried to pull the shoulder bar down but it was locked in place hang on hang on to the seats I yelled as loud as I could as we approached the loop I felt the brakes engaging slowing the car and a tow cable catch beneath my feet

we were being pulled up through the loop but too slowly for gravity to keep us in our seats as the train began to invert I felt my feet rise from the floor of the car my hair fell over my face and my butt left the seat I closed my eyes and tried to block out

the screams of terror from behind me I concentrated on my death grip on the ledge of my seat as we rounded the track we remained upside down for what felt like eternity finally the pressure began to ease my butt dropped to my seat and my feet to the floor. The white noise subsided from my ears and they heard Koji screaming.

Tyler, fuck, he fell out. He fell. He's dead, man. He's dead. He hit the track down there, Brandon yelled at me, wide-eyed and crazy-looking. I was finally seeing the Brandon from my youth. The shoulder bars descended again, this time locking in time. lighter. We came out of loop and sped up and down several tester hills. I tried to study the track ahead of us as we went through the safer parts. I thought I saw water reflecting off the metal rails somewhere in the distance. Brandon sobbed in his seat. Mark, what are we going to do? I don't want to die, man. I don't want to fucking die. I don't know. I don't know what to do. I'm sorry.

I'm scared too, I answered him. We banked around another corner of the room, and the shoulder bars released again. This time we dove into a curve that put the left side of the train parallel to the ground, and it was a long drop. I gripped the edge of the seat tightly as before, but this time I kept my eyes open

and was able to catch Brandon as he began to slip out of his seat. By the time the train righted itself, I couldn't tell who'd been lost. Most of the screaming behind me had turned to loud sobbing or silence. The shoulder bar didn't re-engage, and I felt the car's brakes slow with the train down again. I didn't have to look to know what was coming next. It was another inverted loop. This one was tall and large, and I could tell we'd be upside down for even longer.

Someone behind me began screaming again, Danny, I think, as I tried to take measured breaths and position my hurting hands back under the lip of the seat. Brandon did the same and looked over at me as the car started up the loop with tears streaming down his face. I don't want to die in here, man. I shook my head back at him because I could think of nothing to say. I felt tears leave my own eyes as we reached the tipping point. point of the loop and my feet again left the floor. Before we were even completely upside down, I felt my back begin to slip down the seat.

I thought if I lost my grip, I could try to grab for the shoulder bars when I fell out of the car. The car suddenly stopped and I opened my eyes to see we were completely inverted. I grunted loudly at the pain and immense effort it was taking to keep my grip on the seat. The car started to move again, slowly, and I heard Brandon say something to me. I looked over at him just before he slid out of the car. One second he was there next to me, and the next he was falling, falling away from the car. I saw Brandon try to grab the shoulder bar on the way out, but he couldn't keep his grip on it.

I watched him fall, and I saw him break his back on the track below, and he saw him break his back on the track below, and he stopped moving. I stared down at him as the car continued to move slowly around the loop and he stared back up on me, dead or dying. By the time the car hit him

on the way out of the loop he was completely gone. The shoulder bars re-engaged and we went through a dreadfully long period where nothing happened. We were secured in our seats by the restraints as the coast spent what felt like several minutes

racing over hills, banks, curves and even an in-line roll. Without the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I felt the shock begin to wear off. It was replaced by a panic and fear unlike anything I'd ever experienced. And I decided that that was the point of this section of the track, to build and facilitate an unbearable fear. I felt the brakes engaged finally, and I looked ahead to find the loop.

We were surely entering, but there was none. We were high, almost to the top of the ceiling, and we slowed to a stop on a straightaway. Directly ahead was a drop, and at the bottom of the hill, a series of four different tracks, with a transfer stack just before they split off. Each track had five or so feet of colour, red, orange, green and blue,

before racing off in different directions. I felt an urgent shaking of my shoulder and turned around to hear what Colgi was saying. Which track are we connected to? I looked at the transfer stack. Green. Where does green go? It was hard to hear him over the sound of Danny's sobbing from the second car. I tried to trace the green track through the building, constantly losing it and fighting it again. I wasn't sure, but it seemed to end at the lift hill.

I'd seen earlier. The hill with no track at the top. It entered that hill. I yelled back at him and pointed. Danny cried louder. Fuck. While we were stopped, I wrapped my hurting hands together.

As I looked down at them, I noticed something new in the car. At some point a small blinking panel flipped over in the wall at the front. It had four colored buttons, an old analog timer. The timer was so old and damaged that the numbers were clearly changing.

I couldn't see how long we had. We get to choose, I said, and explained what I was looking at. Can you see which track ends where? Koji asked. I followed all the tracks as best I could, but the rails circled and slid in between each other. It was hard to tell which track went where.

I think the blue track ends in that big pool in the corner. The red track ends in a wall and the orange one just drops into a hole in the floor like the one we came down here through. I think. There's no way out, dude, said Scott from the second car. His voice was unsettlingly calm. They're just telling us how we're going to die. No, we can still find a way out of this, I answered quietly, more to myself than to him. "'Choose the pool,' Scott said,

"'and I could hear the tears in his voice. "'I've heard drowning isn't an awful death. "'I've heard it's calming at the end.' "'No. "'Choose the hole in the floor,' said Koji. "'It's possible it drops down into another cavern like this. "'There might be more track, which means more time, "'to figure out how to live.'

"'You don't think we'd be the first to choose that option, do you?' "'Scott asked him. "'No one's... that went missing ever came back. There's just more death in that hole. I don't want to die like this, Kobe begged, and at least it's a chance. Danny was still whimpering in the back and offered no suggestion. It seemed the decision was up to me and I had to make it fast.

I knew I didn't want to die by dropping off the track and I didn't want to drown, but perhaps the quickest death was the wall. more than likely we'd all be killed instantly less suffering less time to think about our fate but the truth was i wasn't entirely positive which track ended where it was all educated guesswork and my time was up the orange let's go down to the second floor if there is one scott and danny said nothing and cogi choked out the last words i would ever hear him say Push it before it chooses for us. Before I could think about it any longer,

I pushed the orange button and committed us to whatever death it led to. We heard the metallic scraping of the track transferring below. Once the orange track was securely connected, the brakes on the car released and the train rolled slowly toward the drop. Danny started screaming again. As we dropped down the hill, I got a better view of the orange track. There was a vertical loop ahead

and didn't look as high as the others that we'd been through. In fact, it looked like there was a chance the fall wouldn't kill us. If it wasn't an optical illusion and if the shoulder bars disengaged for that loop, we might have a shot of living through this. I yelled back to everyone behind me.

Let yourself fall out of the loop, the one up there. No one responded. to me, which didn't matter because I didn't think I'd have the courage to let go of the seat anyway. We raced along the track in and out of banks and curves. At one point we passed along the pool, I looked down. Below the water's surface, the track ended above an even deeper pool, and I could see the shadows of several coaster cars at the very bottom. I suddenly felt the brakes engaged, and I realized we were coming to the loop. I tested the shoulder bar by pushing up on it, but it stayed locked.

I was somewhat relieved in that moment to know that I wouldn't have to make the decision to fall out now or gamble on the orange track, but suddenly the restraints released. As we started up the loop, I gripped the lid of the seat tightly and turned my head back to look down. It looked like we were very high, and I only hoped the ground was the loosely packed dirt that it looked like. I had to choose now, the fall or the hole. I chose the fall.

As I began to slide up the seat, I yelled at the others to let go and fall out of the car. Then I closed my eyes and let go. I felt my hair cracked the shoulder bar on the way out. It wasn't like a slow motion fall. It was over before I'd realized I'd even let go. One moment I felt an intense pain as my head hit the bar, and in the same moment I realized I was on the ground. I hadn't even had the time to realize the possibility of hitting the track below or get run over by the cars. I opened my eyes in time to watch the car speed over the track above me, while the pain didn't hit me all at once.

I had one long, blissful second before I felt it, and then I was in agony. I'd hurt my body was so in shock that I wouldn't feel much of the pain, but I felt it all. I concentrated on keeping my eyes open and trying to catalogue the damage. There was blood on my clothes, but I didn't know what part of my body it was coming from. I heard screaming as well, but I didn't know if it was in my head or coming from my friends as they approached the end. I didn't want to move. Didn't think it was safe to move, but I knew I had. had to, if only to pull out my phone. With trembling fingers, I pulled the thing from my pocket

and brought it to my face, trying to focus on the screen. But it was shattered and refused to even turn on. I threw it away from me, and then I realized the silence. Their ride had ended. With a great amount of effort, I rolled over onto my stomach and dragged my broken body across the ground to where I thought I remembered seeing the hole. I crawled for what seemed like hours and maybe it was. Sometimes I tried to stand or even kneel, but the pain in my back and ribs was too great. I passed out several times from shock and pain, but eventually made it to where the track disappeared into the ground. I pulled myself to the edge and looked down inside the hole. The track ended just below the surface. It was a natural shaft with walls made of rock.

I didn't know how deep it went, and I didn't want to. It was a fate I'd only narrowly escaped. Then I thought my friends were down there. Maybe, maybe someone had survived. Koji! My voice echoed loudly down the shaft. No answer. sir. Scott? Nothing. I reached for a nearby screw and dropped it down the hole. It took half a minute to land and when it did it was with a tink as it hit something metal. The small sound echoed up the shaft and out into the cavernous room and I realized this place was built with acoustics in mind. I rolled over onto my back and studied everything I could see from where I was, staving off my body's desire to pass out again. I felt nothing but numbness when I finally saw what I was

looking for, a long panoramic window in the far wall. I knew what track B was for, and I finally let myself slip away into the darkness. I remember very little of my rescue. There were lots of people in uniform and my sister yelling and pain, lots of pain. I was in an hour. I was in an hour, on the way to hospital but I remember I passed through the room behind the window at some point and from my stretcher through the chaos I saw in that room a single chair facing the window it was covered in a deep layer of dust I was never visited by anyone official let alone asked to give a statement Charlotte stayed by my side at the hospital for months while I recovered she wouldn't say much about that day although she

finally did tell me something she said that they wouldn't let her ride with me to the hospital and that someone offered her a ride on that drive she'd been spoken to by two people who would convince her to never speak of what had happened and to convince me of the same whatever they threatened her with had her begging me to agree and i did at the time i am still to this day learning to walk without aid. I never saw a Mayhem Mountain again. The loan defaulted, and a Venture Valley was brought up by an unknown LLC,

which bulldozed it and built a block of apartments over the top. They're still empty to this day. I don't like the dark anymore. It reminds me of the horror my friend's experience as they looked down and saw the track end before they disappeared into that hole. I try not to think of what they must have. felt as they fell down the shaft in complete darkness,

strapped to a roller coaster, waiting for the terrible end. I wish I'd chosen the pool, if only to save them from that fate. As for the billionaire son, he was only simple in the fact that he was a man of simple tastes, and he still is. I looked him up once, only a few years ago. He owned several amusement parks now. all sizable but small enough to be popular only in their specific regions in fact one's not very far from where I live now

I thought about going many times just to check just to see but then I realized that I probably didn't need to search all the rides in the park to know because I know that somewhere in that park some ride in some corner has a track B. And so once again we reach the end of tonight's podcast. My thanks as always to the authors of those wonderful stories and to you for taking the time to listen.

Now I'd ask one small favour of you. Wherever you get your podcast from, please write a few nice words and leave a five-star review as it really helps the podcast. That's it for this week, but I'll be back again same time, same place, and I do so hope you'll join me once more. Until next time, sweet dreams and bye bye.