Into the Shadows
Chapter 2: Anticipation
It wasn't until seconds after they were on the highway that Cleo moved her head just an inch away from Viktor's and asked, "Whatcha doin'?".
Viktor nearly hit the vehicle's ceiling, dropping his phone in the process. When he retrieved it from under the seat, the words "GAME OVER" were spelled out clearly and largely across the screen. "You made me lose, jerk," Viktor complained, looking up miserably at Cleo.
"Sorry," Cleo murmured, looking down apologetically. This lasted about three seconds, and then she looked up, her eyes wide with excitement, and asked, "Can I play?!"
Viktor sighed and relinquished the device to Cleo, who immediately began to concentrate on the game. As Viktor settled into the seat, gazing idly out the window, Cleo began to add obnoxious sound effects to the otherwise quiet game.
All of a sudden, Viktor felt someone punch him in the back of the head. He spun irritatedly around, meeting a pair of cold grey eyes, with strands of blue hair falling over them and thin eyebrows arched downward in anger above them. Stella said to Viktor in a low, sincere voice, "Don't encourage her, or I will kill you."
Interpreting Viktor's expression as one of defiance, Stella clenched her jaws and raised her fist. Rolling his eyes, Viktor took the phone out of Cleo's hands.
"Hey!" Cleo protested, looking first at Viktor, then at Stella. "Fun-sucker," Cleo said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Stella grabbed onto one of Cleo's braids and tugged, causing Cleo to shriek. "One more comment and I rip all of your hair out of your head." When Stella let go, Cleo didn't make a sound, but rubbed her head and pouted.
Viktor wasn't intimidated. "I don't get you," he stated, with no expectations of learning anything from her response. "Why the whole jerk routine?"
"Because she's a savage," Anders said under his breath from the driver's seat. With his attempts to keep the peace, he hadn't intended for anyone to hear him, but Emily did. She laughed and made her own addition.
"And probably on her rag."
Stella hadn't heard Anders, but she heard Emily. "Shut up!" Stella yelled. "I swear to God, you all better shut the fuck up. No one talks, no one dies. Is that—?"
"Stop," Drew said. It might have been meant as a shout, but the syllable was only spoken louder than Drew's usually very quiet voice, which he reverted back into after he had everyone's attention. "Anders said no fighting."
Stella glared at him, but Drew only returned the glare, so instead of choking the life out of him like she wanted to, she groaned loudly and leaned back into the seat.
Anders spent a minute internally reprimanding himself for having started a fight. It was times like these that taught Anders to keep his mouth shut. Somehow, he always forgot. "Emily, would you mind getting me a cigarette?" He had to take the edge off his stress somehow.
She took Anders' cigarettes and lighter off the dash, lit one, and handed it to him. He put it between his lips and inhaled deeply, then blew the smoke at his window, which he had mistakenly thought was open.
Emily noticed the smoke thickening the stuffy air in the van, and started cranking her window open to let it out. As she watched it seep through the crack and mingle with the fog outside, Emily wondered once again why her friends had chosen today, of all days, to go to an amusement park.
Viktor coughed as poison crept into his lungs. "That shit's gonna kill you, bro," he scolded.
Anders nodded. "Yeah. Want one?"
"Totally," Viktor laughed, reaching for the pack of cigarettes in Emily's lap.
"Hey, get back!" Emily yelled, holding them out of his reach. "You're underage!"
"I'm older than you!" Viktor scoffed, jumping up into the seat with Emily.
Anders shouted, "Whoa! I'm driving here!" but Viktor paid him no mind.
Emily screamed as Viktor sat in her lap. "Only by a month!"
"A month and nine days!" he corrected her and pulled her arm toward him so he could take the cigarettes.
Tugging her arm out of Viktor's grip, Emily stuck the pack of cigarettes down the front of her hoodie. "There," she said, pleased with her brilliance. "Now you're not gonna smoke them."
"You wanna bet?" Viktor started ripping Emily's clothes off, but he didn't get very far because Anders reached over and pulled him off the seat. He landed between the two seats with a thud.
"Hands on the wheel!" Stella hollered, making Anders remember that he was still operating a vehicle. He also felt a sharp pain in his right leg, which made him realize that he had dropped his cigarette in his lap. Beneath the cigarette was a small hole clean through his khaki pants and a red mark where his skin had started to burn. Anders quickly picked the cigarette up and put it out in the ashtray on the dash.
Rubbing his back, Viktor moved to his own seat. "I was just messing around..." he murmured.
"Damn," Anders whispered.
"What?" Emily asked, readjusting her clothes and putting the cigarettes back on the dash.
"Thanks to you children," Anders began, with a raised-eyebrow glance at Viktor, "We missed our turn."
"You say that like it's my fault," Viktor said innocently.
"Okay, Vikky!" Stella put on her best enthusiastic facade, smiling and patting Viktor's head. "We need you to be a big boy until we get to the theme park! Can you do that?"
Cleo giggled. "Yeah, grow up, Vikky Quickie!"
"What a coincidence; that's my sister's nickname," Viktor chuckled.
"Yeah, and that doesn't make it totally obvious she's related to you or anything." Stella rolled her eyes.
"You should talk!" Viktor retorted. "Babe, the world has seen more of you than it can bear." When she looked puzzled, he added, "The birthday suit episode?"
"That was one time!" Stella defended herself.
"Ummm..." Drew said softly, cutting Stella's and Viktor's argument short. "You said we missed the turn?"
"Yeah," Anders confirmed. "I'm gonna go around."
"Okay." Drew nodded, taking off his glasses and squinting at something out of the windshield. "But... why does that large structure up ahead look mysteriously like a roller coaster?"
Everyone looked up at the structure Drew had pointed out, and, sure enough, a frighteningly tall roller coaster loomed over the road, casting an eerie, fog-distorted shadow upon the pavement. As Anders drove farther up, the entirety of Shadow's Play came into view—carnival rides galore, as far as the eye could see.
However, the freaky thing was, the whole place looked dead. Not that anyone had expected long lines, but the park should have at least been getting some kind of business. They all found it odd, but decided to themselves that their eyes were playing tricks on them. After all, the sky was covered with a thick layer of fog. Who was to tell what was real and what was a mirage?
Anders parked the car, and Emily was the first to jump out. Immediately, the wind whipped her hair all around her face, and she felt the need to keep a grip on the door to avoid the wind blowing her tiny self away.
"You okay, Emmy?" Anders asked, shouting to be heard over the wind. He walked around to Emily's side of the van, picked her up as though she were weightless, and lifted her onto his back. Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into his dreadlocked head, smiling complacently. Anders always made her feel safe.
Viktor was next to get out of the van, followed by Cleo, Drew, and Stella. Once Stella had slammed the sliding door shut, the wind died down a bit. "Well, what are you pussies waiting for?" Stella asked. "Let's go."
With that, they all walked up the amusement park's entrance.
Viktor nearly hit the vehicle's ceiling, dropping his phone in the process. When he retrieved it from under the seat, the words "GAME OVER" were spelled out clearly and largely across the screen. "You made me lose, jerk," Viktor complained, looking up miserably at Cleo.
"Sorry," Cleo murmured, looking down apologetically. This lasted about three seconds, and then she looked up, her eyes wide with excitement, and asked, "Can I play?!"
Viktor sighed and relinquished the device to Cleo, who immediately began to concentrate on the game. As Viktor settled into the seat, gazing idly out the window, Cleo began to add obnoxious sound effects to the otherwise quiet game.
All of a sudden, Viktor felt someone punch him in the back of the head. He spun irritatedly around, meeting a pair of cold grey eyes, with strands of blue hair falling over them and thin eyebrows arched downward in anger above them. Stella said to Viktor in a low, sincere voice, "Don't encourage her, or I will kill you."
Interpreting Viktor's expression as one of defiance, Stella clenched her jaws and raised her fist. Rolling his eyes, Viktor took the phone out of Cleo's hands.
"Hey!" Cleo protested, looking first at Viktor, then at Stella. "Fun-sucker," Cleo said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Stella grabbed onto one of Cleo's braids and tugged, causing Cleo to shriek. "One more comment and I rip all of your hair out of your head." When Stella let go, Cleo didn't make a sound, but rubbed her head and pouted.
Viktor wasn't intimidated. "I don't get you," he stated, with no expectations of learning anything from her response. "Why the whole jerk routine?"
"Because she's a savage," Anders said under his breath from the driver's seat. With his attempts to keep the peace, he hadn't intended for anyone to hear him, but Emily did. She laughed and made her own addition.
"And probably on her rag."
Stella hadn't heard Anders, but she heard Emily. "Shut up!" Stella yelled. "I swear to God, you all better shut the fuck up. No one talks, no one dies. Is that—?"
"Stop," Drew said. It might have been meant as a shout, but the syllable was only spoken louder than Drew's usually very quiet voice, which he reverted back into after he had everyone's attention. "Anders said no fighting."
Stella glared at him, but Drew only returned the glare, so instead of choking the life out of him like she wanted to, she groaned loudly and leaned back into the seat.
Anders spent a minute internally reprimanding himself for having started a fight. It was times like these that taught Anders to keep his mouth shut. Somehow, he always forgot. "Emily, would you mind getting me a cigarette?" He had to take the edge off his stress somehow.
She took Anders' cigarettes and lighter off the dash, lit one, and handed it to him. He put it between his lips and inhaled deeply, then blew the smoke at his window, which he had mistakenly thought was open.
Emily noticed the smoke thickening the stuffy air in the van, and started cranking her window open to let it out. As she watched it seep through the crack and mingle with the fog outside, Emily wondered once again why her friends had chosen today, of all days, to go to an amusement park.
Viktor coughed as poison crept into his lungs. "That shit's gonna kill you, bro," he scolded.
Anders nodded. "Yeah. Want one?"
"Totally," Viktor laughed, reaching for the pack of cigarettes in Emily's lap.
"Hey, get back!" Emily yelled, holding them out of his reach. "You're underage!"
"I'm older than you!" Viktor scoffed, jumping up into the seat with Emily.
Anders shouted, "Whoa! I'm driving here!" but Viktor paid him no mind.
Emily screamed as Viktor sat in her lap. "Only by a month!"
"A month and nine days!" he corrected her and pulled her arm toward him so he could take the cigarettes.
Tugging her arm out of Viktor's grip, Emily stuck the pack of cigarettes down the front of her hoodie. "There," she said, pleased with her brilliance. "Now you're not gonna smoke them."
"You wanna bet?" Viktor started ripping Emily's clothes off, but he didn't get very far because Anders reached over and pulled him off the seat. He landed between the two seats with a thud.
"Hands on the wheel!" Stella hollered, making Anders remember that he was still operating a vehicle. He also felt a sharp pain in his right leg, which made him realize that he had dropped his cigarette in his lap. Beneath the cigarette was a small hole clean through his khaki pants and a red mark where his skin had started to burn. Anders quickly picked the cigarette up and put it out in the ashtray on the dash.
Rubbing his back, Viktor moved to his own seat. "I was just messing around..." he murmured.
"Damn," Anders whispered.
"What?" Emily asked, readjusting her clothes and putting the cigarettes back on the dash.
"Thanks to you children," Anders began, with a raised-eyebrow glance at Viktor, "We missed our turn."
"You say that like it's my fault," Viktor said innocently.
"Okay, Vikky!" Stella put on her best enthusiastic facade, smiling and patting Viktor's head. "We need you to be a big boy until we get to the theme park! Can you do that?"
Cleo giggled. "Yeah, grow up, Vikky Quickie!"
"What a coincidence; that's my sister's nickname," Viktor chuckled.
"Yeah, and that doesn't make it totally obvious she's related to you or anything." Stella rolled her eyes.
"You should talk!" Viktor retorted. "Babe, the world has seen more of you than it can bear." When she looked puzzled, he added, "The birthday suit episode?"
"That was one time!" Stella defended herself.
"Ummm..." Drew said softly, cutting Stella's and Viktor's argument short. "You said we missed the turn?"
"Yeah," Anders confirmed. "I'm gonna go around."
"Okay." Drew nodded, taking off his glasses and squinting at something out of the windshield. "But... why does that large structure up ahead look mysteriously like a roller coaster?"
Everyone looked up at the structure Drew had pointed out, and, sure enough, a frighteningly tall roller coaster loomed over the road, casting an eerie, fog-distorted shadow upon the pavement. As Anders drove farther up, the entirety of Shadow's Play came into view—carnival rides galore, as far as the eye could see.
However, the freaky thing was, the whole place looked dead. Not that anyone had expected long lines, but the park should have at least been getting some kind of business. They all found it odd, but decided to themselves that their eyes were playing tricks on them. After all, the sky was covered with a thick layer of fog. Who was to tell what was real and what was a mirage?
Anders parked the car, and Emily was the first to jump out. Immediately, the wind whipped her hair all around her face, and she felt the need to keep a grip on the door to avoid the wind blowing her tiny self away.
"You okay, Emmy?" Anders asked, shouting to be heard over the wind. He walked around to Emily's side of the van, picked her up as though she were weightless, and lifted her onto his back. Emily wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into his dreadlocked head, smiling complacently. Anders always made her feel safe.
Viktor was next to get out of the van, followed by Cleo, Drew, and Stella. Once Stella had slammed the sliding door shut, the wind died down a bit. "Well, what are you pussies waiting for?" Stella asked. "Let's go."
With that, they all walked up the amusement park's entrance.
♠ ♠ ♠
I probably didn't revise this quite enough. :/