“Okay. Then I say yes. Go ahead, boys.”
The boys started to go forward when Mr Ghoul stopped them. “Oh no! Not alone, it’s too terrifying without an adult.”
“Come on,” Dean said under his breath. “Give me a break here. Let the kids on the ride. I’m sure a few plastic dummies and glow in the dark sheets won’t give them too many restless nights.”
Mr. Ghoul’s smile faltered, and Dean thought he saw a flicker of rage bubbling below the surface.
“I’m sorry mister, all children must be accompanied by at least one adult.”
“Fine.” Dean snapped. “I’ll go with them.”
They set off towards the train, and Mr. Ghoul again held up a restraining arm.
“Ahh, I don’t think you understand sir. Mr. Ghoul requires each child to be accompanied by an adult.” As he said it he slid his eyes towards Dean’s wife. “Nice rabbit.” He said with a wink.
“Look, just forget it.” Dean snapped, and was about to walk away when Tommy spoke up.
“It’s okay, Mr. Jones, I don’t mind waiting out here.”
“Tommy, come on!” Alfie whined, but Dean saw in the boy’s face that he was spooked, and didn’t want to embarrass him anymore.
“Alfie, if he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t have to. Come on, I’ll go on with you.”
Alfie glared at his friend, who in turn shifted and looked at the ground.
“So, it’s just the two of you then?” Mr. Ghoul said with his usual wide grin.
“Yeah, just us,” Alfie said, shooting his friend another pained look at his apparent betrayal.
“Okay then.” Mr. Ghoul said, clapping his hands together. “Please sign the disclaimer, and then proceed to the first train car.”
“Disclaimer?” Dean said with a snort, finding the entire process, and the larger than life, Mr. Ghoul, ever more irritating. Unperturbed, Mr. Ghoul pulled a rolled sheet of paper out of his jacket and handed it to Dean along with a pen.
“The disclaimer states that you are entering the ride of your own free will and that Mr Ghoul and all known subsidiaries are not responsible for anything that happens to you whilst on the train. Please sign and initial on the bottom for yourself, and on behalf of the child.”
Dean shook his head, scrawled his initials and handed the paper back.
“There. Good enough?”
Mr. Ghoul checked the document, rolled it up and slipped it back into his pocket.
“Go ahead and board the train, sir.” Mr. Ghoul said, standing aside and showing Dean and Alfie to the train.
Alfie climbed in the small wooden car first, and Dean somehow fitted in beside him, his legs coming up to near his chin. As he sat and waited, Dean noted that it wasn’t a train at all and that the other cars behind them were separate and unattached. Ahead were twin black double doors which were set under the ghastly clown face which would set them on their way as soon as the ride began.
Dean looked across to his son, who was waiting with nervous anticipation. Dean hoped that he wouldn’t have built his hopes up too much following the overblown performance of Mr. Ghoul, as he was sure that once they were underway, only disappointment would follow. Another couple climbed into the car behind them, and a short time later, Mr. Ghoul walked to the front train and grinned at Dean as he lowered the safety bar across them and clicked it into place.
“Enjoy the ride, folks.” He said, flashing a grin.
Ghoul moved to the car behind and repeated the process, then walked to the control panel by the doors.
“Here we go folks, prepare to be horrified!”
He pushed the start button, and the train jerked forwards and began to move towards the grinning, one-eyed clown above the entrance. Dean flashed a quick glance to his wife, and couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked as she stood with Tommy waving in the morning sun. He had a sudden urge to get off the train, sure that if he didn’t, he would never see them again, but he knew it was stupid and was instead about to wave back as the car bumped through the doors and enveloped Dean and Alfie in darkness.
***
It was as Dean expected. Cheesy music accompanied the rickety train as it moved past cheap, plastic models of vampires and demons, which moved pneumatically when they neared. They rounded a rendition of the Frankenstein monster, complete with flashing lights and jerky robotic arm movements, and then came to a path with two doors. The pre-recorded voice of Mr. Ghoul echoed around the dark confines of the ghost train.
“And now, we move to the personal horror section of our ride. Be afraid, be very, very afraid!”
Dean shook his head, trying to place which movie Ghoul had lifted the ‘be afraid’ line from as they bumped through another set of doors and came to a halt.
“And here, on our left, we see young Tina Robinson.” Ghoul’s voice boomed over the speaker system.
Dean froze at the name; sure it was a coincidence until he saw it. The darkness to the left had illuminated to show a bedroom scene. Now the animatronics had been replaced with live actors, although actors wasn’t the correct word. Dean was looking at a younger version of himself, and the girl sitting on the bed was indeed the Tina Robinson he knew, the girl he hadn’t seen since high school. His stomach rolled and he gripped the handrail tightly, unable to tear his eyes from the scene.
It was a bedroom; Tina’s bedroom, accurate down to the smallest detail. Tina sat on the bottom of the bed, nervous and afraid. The younger version of Dean swaggered towards her, and he heard the impossible – an exact transcript of the conversation that they had had that day. It was impossible, he knew that, but nevertheless it was playing out in front of him. Her saying that she didn’t want to, him pressuring her and telling her if she didn’t, one of her friends would.
Dean flicked his eyes to his son, who was staring open-mouthed. He knew, of course, he had seen photographs of his father when he was younger, and he too knew that they were in a very unique ghost train indeed.
Ghoul’s voice blasted over the speaker system, causing Dean to utter a short yelp.
“Tina said no, but Dean knew best, so he forced the issue.”
As if on cue, his younger self slapped Tina across the face and started to force himself on her.
“He got his way, even though she didn’t want to. Then guess what happened?”
The scene faded to darkness and Ghouls voice was continued in a whisper.
“Poor Tina got knocked up, but Dean didn’t want a kid, so he threw her down the stairs and she lost it.”
A screaming, blood covered foetus appeared inches from Dean’s face as he peered into the darkness, accompanied by Ghoul’s cackling shout.
“SAY HI, DADDY!”
Dean screamed, and tried to get free of the car, but the bar was locked tight against his legs. The grotesque image faded, and the car moved on as Dean stared into the darkness.
“Dad! What’s going on?” Alfie asked, his voice sounding both hollow and afraid in the darkness. Dean had no answer and waited as the train delved further into the black.
“Next up, on your right.” Came Mr. Ghoul’s voice “Is another of Dean’s sordid little secrets. This one takes place back in the summer of nineteen eighty two, when, after a drug-fuelled night out, things took a bad, bad turn.”
As before, the scene illuminated beside the car, which came to a halt. Dean glanced over his shoulder, but the other cars had gone in a different direction, and they were alone.
The scene was a dark alleyway. Rain fell from grey skies, and apart from the murky light from the overhead street lamps, it was bathed in shadow. Dean watched as he — a younger version as before — staggered down the alleyway, drinking a beer straight from the can.
His modern day equivalent couldn’t help but watch. Whatever this was, it was more than just a simple ride. Whatever he was watching wasn’t a set, or actors dressed up in costume. He was looking into a window from the past. He could feel the wind on his skin, accompanied by the occasional splatter of rain. He c
ould smell the earthy stench of urine and rotten food seeping out of the alleyway. And because he knew what was coming, he understood that he couldn’t let his son see it.
“Look away Alfie, cover your eyes.”
Alfie stared at his father in the gloom and then looked past him to the scene unfolding behind him.
“I want to see it.” He whispered.
Dean pulled the boy close to him. Covering his eyes with one hand and pressing the other against his ear.
Pain jabbed into his spine from the seat, causing him to scream and release his grip on his son. He tried to lean forwards, but the restraining bar held him firmly in place. He screamed and squirmed as his son looked on.
“No Dean. The boy must see. He must know the truth.” Mr. Ghoul’s chastising voice said as the pain subsided.
“Please, he doesn’t need to see, it was a mistake, I...” He trailed off, and then looked at Alfie.
“Just remember it’s not real. Can you do that son?”
Alfie nodded, but Dean could see well enough that it was just a token gesture. His eyes were focused on the alleyway behind his father. He wanted to see, he wanted to know what was going to happen. Knowing that he couldn’t stop it, Dean turned back and watched.
His younger self staggered down the alley, his white shirt open to the chest. He was soaked to the bone but seemed not to have noticed, as he was singing loudly to himself.
There was an old hobo sitting in a doorway, trying to protect himself from the downpour. He didn’t look up at the younger, drunk Dean. Instead, he pushed himself further into the dark recess. Dean passed him, flashed him a glance and then stopped, turning towards the cowering hobo.
“What’s your name old man?” He slurred.
The hobo didn’t respond. He lowered his gaze and pulled his filthy blanket further up his body.
“Hey, I’m talking to you.”
Still, he didn’t speak. Dean took a last drink from the can and tossed it aside.
“You think you are too good to talk to me, eh old man?”
The hobo shook his head, still refusing to make eye contact. Dean laughed, then took a two-step run-up, and kicked the old man in the face. The sound was sickening and crisp, and Alfie let out a sharp gasp as his younger father fell on the defenseless old man and began to punch and kick him, laughing all the while.
“Dad, stop it,” Alfie screamed. But Dean couldn’t answer; he was watching himself beat a defenseless old man for no sane reason. The scene faded, and again they were sitting in darkness.
Mr. Ghoul's voice was now chastising, and Dean could imagine the sneer on his face.
“The poor old homeless man didn’t do anything, and yet, you Dean, took it upon yourself to beat him… to death.”
“That’s wrong, he didn’t die, besides, I didn’t mean it!” Dean was sobbing, and could feel the burning eyes of his son on him in the darkness.
“Oh, no, he didn’t die right away. He suffered. He cowered there, broken, bleeding and afraid, left in the cold and rain. He lasted a few hours, and then the bleeding on his brain killed him.”
“No, it’s a lie...”
The man appeared in front of the ghost train, illuminated by a single spotlight. His face was bleeding and misshaped, and his eyes were shadowy opaque pools. He grinned, showing his broken teeth.
“Why did you kill me?” He whispered.
“I didn’t mean to, it was an accident, please, you have to believe me.”
“Murderer.” The old man spat, and then the light faded away, leaving Dean and Alfie in the dark. Dean was breathing in shallow gasps, his eyes darting as he looked into the darkness for whatever came next.
The train clicked to life, and they moved forwards, pushing through another set of double doors and into a long, thin room. People lined both sides, all of them standing in silence and staring at the ghost train as it moved forwards. Dean stared at them, shaking his head as the train moved on.
“Who are they?” Alfie asked, staring at his fathers' haunted face in profile. Dean stammered, but before he could find a response, Mr. Ghoul answered on his behalf.
“These, young Alfie, are the people that your father has wronged in his life. People who he stepped on or kicked aside to give you and your mother the perfect little bubble that you live in. Women he had affairs with whilst your mother was pregnant with you. Former friends, who he scammed, cheated and manipulated for his own personal gain.”
Dean looked at them, and they looked back, the silence in the corridor broken by the steady clack clack of the train car as it rolled forwards.
The car came to a halt at another set of double doors.
“Time to get off the train now.” Mr. Ghoul’s voice echoed through the room.
Dean grabbed at the restraining bar, as Mr. Ghoul’s laughter echoed through the room.
“Not so fast. Not yet. Just the boy for now.”
Alfie’s restraining bar lifted. He looked at his father, then hopped out of the train, standing on the platform with the people from his father’s past.
“Let me out, you hear me let me out,” Dean yelled, shaking at the bar and trying to squirm his way free. “Alfie, go get help, tell your mother to call the police...”
He stopped speaking, watching as Mr. Ghoul pushed his way through the crowd. He stood beside Alfie and folded his arms as he shook his head.
“And so ends our ride.” He said, smiling at Dean.
“What happens now?” Dean asked, his voice trembling.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
Mr. Ghoul smiled and turned to Alfie.
“You have seen, and you understand. Now, you must choose.”
“Choose what?” Alfie said, taking a cautious step away from Mr. Ghoul.
“His fate.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Either he goes free, or he is punished for his deeds.”
“Punished how?”
Mr. Ghoul nodded towards the large black double doors.
“You understand this isn’t just a ghost train, don’t you Alfie?” Mr. Ghoul said.
“Son, don’t listen to him, make him set me free please...”
Ghoul snapped his head towards Dean and pointed at him, the veins bulging out of his neck as he screamed. “You keep your damn mouth shut until I tell you to talk.”
Dean recoiled, and tried to push himself back into the seat, as Ghoul turned back towards Alfie, and smiled, his voice now back to its normal register.
“As I was saying, this isn’t an ordinary ghost train. We were waiting for your father to come because he needs to be punished.”
“Waiting for him?”
“Oh yes. We have waited for a very, very long time.”
“What will happen to him?”
“Only what he deserves.”
“Will you kill him?”
Ghoul grinned and shook his head. “No. Death is too good for some people. We will teach him to live the right way.”
“But I won’t see him again, will I?” Alfie said, a single tear tumbling down his cheek and rolling off his chin.
“Don’t waste those.” Mr. Ghoul said as he handed Alfie a tissue. “Save them for somebody who is worth crying for.”
Alfie took the tissue and wiped his eyes. He looked at his father, then back to Mr. Ghoul.
“You said I had to choose.”
“Yes. You see, we can’t just take him. It’s in the disclaimer.” Ghoul patted his jacket pocket. “If you choose to forgive him, then the two of you will walk out of here right now and that will be the end of it.”
“Okay.”
“But, be sure that you genuinely do forgive him, because if you don’t, one day, it will be your turn to ride the ghost train.”
“And what was the other choice?”
“You walk out of here, alone right now and leave him here. Let us do our job. And we will see that he is punished, and better still, can’t hurt anyone ever again.”
; “But he’s my dad; he’s not a bad man.”
Ghoul nodded, then leaned close and whispered in Alfie’s ear.
“Tell that to the homeless guy.”
Alfie swallowed, and then looked at the double doors.
“What’s through there?”
“Nothing for young eyes like yours, Alfie.”
Alfie nodded, and then looked at his father.
“I’m sorry dad, but you need to pay for what you did. You always told me that people need to be responsible. And I think you need to do the same.”
“Alfie please help me I...”
Dean’s protests were silenced by a glare from Mr. Ghoul, who then turned towards Alfie.
“You are a good boy, Alfie, and you did the right thing. Now go home, and live a good life. Don’t make me have to come and see you in the future. Okay?”
Alfie nodded furiously, as his father started to pull at the restraining bar.
“Good. Now go, back to your mother. Live well, and know that you did the right thing.”
“I want to see, I need to see what’s behind the door first,” Alfie said, forcing himself to look Ghoul in the eye.
Ghoul sighed and shook his head.
“No, you don’t. What lies behind there isn’t for the eyes of the innocent. Go now, and let us do what needs to be done.”
Alfie looked at his father, their eyes locking.
“Bye, dad,” Alfie said, and then turned towards the exit door, which was behind Mr. Ghoul. He heard the click clack of the train as it started to move, and as the doors opened, and despite the warnings, he couldn’t help but look.
***
Sally and Tommy were waiting outside the ghost train, watching a colourful clown craft balloon dogs for a group of toddlers when they heard the scream. Sally knew straight away that it was her son, and turned towards the sound, dropping her ice cream at the sight of him as he pushed his way out of the ghost train’s exit.
He charged towards her, eyes wide and frightened, skin ashen. She saw that he had wet himself, the front of his jeans now a growing shade of darker blue. He had gone onto the ghost train a young, brown-haired boy, and come off a shambling, white-haired, shrieking thing. He slammed into her, clutching her so hard that she could barely breathe. She lowered him to the floor and tried to silence his pained screams.
At The Edge of Night - 28 book horror box set - also contains a link to an additional FREE book Page 36