“Do you ever miss it?” Audra said.
“Not even a little.” He looked at his ink-covered arms. If you’d told Vince that day in the basement that he was going to grow up, get married, have twins, and become an accountant, he would’ve flipped you off and called you a conformist. But things changed and time went on. You couldn’t stay the person you were in your twenties forever.
He looked at the clock. They’d been driving just over four hours. If the GPS was to be trusted they should have already been there by now. He wondered if he’d typed in the wrong address, wondered if they’d taken a wrong turn somewhere.
Then he saw the park.
It came from nowhere. One moment he’d been looking at the same lifeless trees and faraway mountains, then the scenery changed somehow, as if he’d blinked and travelled fifty miles instantly. His foot pressed down on the gas pedal in response. His heart skipped a beat from excitement, like a child on Christmas morning.
He turned to Audra. He could tell from the look on her face that he wasn’t imaging things. It was not a mirage. Her mouth hung open. She took off her sunglasses. She looked, dare he say it, happy. Honest to God happy. He liked her smile, wished he’d seen more of it these last few years.
Even Tim and Andrew had taken notice, both of them mumbling something about how cool it looked. There was not a single curse word or punch thrown between them.
And he agreed. It looked damn cool. Heavenly even.
From here he could see a Ferris wheel, a half dozen log rides, and more roller coasters than he could count. In the middle of it all was Dream Castle, a fairy tale structure that looked more like movie special effects than reality. He saw the water park and the go-carts, and if he squinted hard enough, he could just make out what looked like a giant robotic tyrannosaurus rex, the entrance to his favorite exhibit.
The entire park seemed to shimmer and it was as if no time had passed at all. He was a boy again, free of the worries that came with adulthood. It was his birthday week and he was a king for the next seven days.
He thought again of the redneck and couldn’t help but laugh. The guy had been just as dumb as Vince had first thought. The park was anything but closed. It was damned hard to deny what lay in front of him.
The GPS told him to turn left. The closer he got to the park, travelling higher and higher above the speed limit, he noticed the trees were not as bare, the mountains not as far, like Spring had just spun through town at the last moment. The temperature finally matched the scenery and the scenery was breathtaking.
After another five minutes of driving, he pulled into the closest parking lot, circled a few times to find a spot. He cut the engine, the Live Today song ending abruptly, and crackled his knuckles, barely able to contain his excitement.
He opened the door and waved Audra and the boys on. “We’re here.”
***
The place was massive.
Audra looked at the map near the entrance while Vince spoke with a man at the ticket booth. The park was set up like a giant circle. Their hotel, called the Roaring Twenties because of its theme, was on the lower right corner of the map, just a few minutes’ walk from the front gates. The water park was along the far center wall, the log rides were to the left, the dinosaurs to the upper right, which were close to the haunted houses. The castle was dead center, rising above every other attraction like a New York skyscraper. Its highest peak should have been visible for miles, though she hadn’t spotted it until they had nearly arrived.
“Holy shit, this place is giant,” Tim said pushing his brother aside and pointing to the places he wanted to visit, which included just about everything.
She was about to reprimand him for cursing but thought better of it. Vince was busy with the tickets and calling attention to it would only make it worse, enforce the behavior. And to be quite honest, she didn’t much care if her children swore.
“Isn’t it great?” Tim said, elbowing Andrew.
Andrew grunted. “I guess. Seems okay so far. Could still suck though.”
It was hard to hear over the screaming children. Their voices echoed everywhere, unable to contain their happiness. Audra wasn’t sure how the higher-ups had pulled it off. She had not seen one commercial or advertisement, had only heard the news from Vince. The entire park was packed with families, all of them snorting with laughter and hurrying along to the next spot on the map. You would have never known the place had been shut down for two decades.
You could almost forget about the rumors.
Welcome to Scream Woods, home to cults and monsters and dead bodies and, if you believe every story, extraterrestrial life forms! We were gone for a while but we’re back from the grave. Hope you’re ready to have the most fun you’ve ever had.
It was hard to imagine anything bad had ever happened here, though if she closed her eyes and cocked her head to just the right angle, the screams of joy started to resemble screams of a different kind. Pleas for mercy, begging for the pain and the suffering to come to an end, and praying for a quick death. She had to tell herself she was being ridiculous before turning her attention toward one of the spinning rides. It put her mind at ease to actually see the children screaming, to put a face with the sound so it didn’t match her thoughts.
“We’re all set,” Vince said, tapping her on the shoulder. “Let’s get going. Hotel’s this way.” As if she could miss the sprawling structure.
She took two steps backward, holding her chest.
“Did I scare you?”
She nodded, breathing shallow breaths, and ushered the boys along toward her husband and the hotel. Vince practically skipped past the ticket booth.
She stayed a few feet back during the trek and remembered her promise to herself. Not that it had been far from her mind to begin with.
If this didn’t work, she would go through with it this time. She’d pack her belongings into a suitcase, not unlike preparing for this trip, only she wouldn’t stop at the highway this time.
She would not turn the car around until the life she had not chosen had vanished from her rearview mirror.
Chapter Four
There were four hotels at Dream Woods, all of them with a different theme: a rustic lodge, a pirate ship, a futuristic sci-fi building, and the Roaring Twenties. From outside their hotel looked more like a casino from a hundred years ago. Even the employees were dressed as gangsters and flapper girls. Two oversized antique slot machines lay on either side of the front entrance.
They made their way through the doors to the front desk. The lobby reminded Audra of the entrance to an upscale gentleman’s club in Atlantic City. The light was dim and the walls were dark oak. She expected to see politicians lounging around, a cigar in one hand, a glass of scotch in the other.
She set her suitcase down and rubbed her hand. It was starting to feel stiff and her fingers had gone numb. As the pins and needles began to spread through the skin, she looked up and noticed there was something wrong with the woman behind the desk.
The woman smiled at Vince and took his credit card for incidentals. She was dressed like an old movie star, with a feather sticking out of her graying hair. Her face was too pale, the color of newly polished teeth. Her skin was wrinkled to the point of no return. Her eyes didn’t seem to look in any particular direction. Her movements were robotic, unsteady, and when she turned toward Audra and the boys, Audra took a step back.
“Are they yours?” Her voice sounded just as synthetic. Its tone resembled a dying speaker, robotic and distorted.
Audra cleared her throat, nodded. “They sure are.”
“What are their names?” She eyed them both as if she were hungry.
“Tim and Andrew.” She put a hand on each of their shoulders. Not to embarrass them but to protect them.
“Well Tim and Andrew, I bet you’re going to have so much fun during your stay. Kids just love it around here, even boys your age. There’s something for everyone at Dream Woods. Do be careful, though. You might fin
d yourself never wanting to leave.” She smiled, her lips stretching much too far across her pasty face.
“I know that feeling,” Vince said.
Audra imagined the woman’s face slipping off like a Halloween mask, revealing something else beneath, something that wasn’t bone or muscle, something altogether foreign that her mind could not make sense of.
The woman—Doris, according to her nametag—typed away on the keyboard. “Today just might be your lucky day, Mr. Carter. It looks as though your room has been upgraded.”
“Upgraded? How do you mean?”
“Consider it a promotion. We’ve only just opened back up and we’d like to give everyone who stayed here as children a little gift for coming back all these years later, for not forgetting about us.”
“Does it cost extra?”
“No, no. It’s completely complimentary.” Her skin threatened to slide off at any moment. Audra wanted her to shut up. She’s hiding something, Audra thought without knowing what the words meant.
“I can’t thank you enough, Doris.” Vince took the room keys and pointed toward the elevators. “Shall we? Looks like we’re on the top floor. How about that?” He did not seem the least bit skeptical, did not wonder how Doris had known he’d been there as a child. Had he told the woman of his first stay? Audra hadn’t been able to focus on their conversation but something told her the topic hadn’t come up. Perhaps they’d spoken over the phone when he’d booked their trip. It seemed like a rational explanation but it didn’t sit right with Audra.
“I trust you’ll enjoy your stay, Mr. Carter, but if you need anything—and I mean anything your heart desires—please don’t hesitate to ask. We live to make our customers happy.” Doris cocked her head and winked. Audra shivered. Neither Vince nor the boys looked skeptical. Surely they could sense something was off about the woman. Surely they could see she didn’t seem entirely human. If they were scared they gave no indication. They grabbed their luggage and walked away like everything was normal, leaving Audra alone with the attendant for a moment.
Doris tapped her long and dirty fingernails on the counter. Her hands looked like gloves one size too big for her real fingers. Audra was reminded of a snake getting ready to shed its skin for the season. “Mrs. Carter, I don’t mean to be forward but it looks like your family’s having all the fun. Do try and enjoy yourself as well, won’t you?”
Audra nodded. Her throat had become dry. “Yes, I’ll try.”
“Would you like a suggestion, some advice, though I know I might be overstepping my boundaries?”
Audra tried to swallow. “Advice?”
Doris nodded, a smile still wrapped around her face. “Don’t go leaving them just because you’re too selfish to put up with the real world.”
Audra’s mouth hung open. She shook her head. Her ears were ringing. “What did you just say?”
Doris went back to typing on the computer. “I said hurry along or you’ll miss out on the festivities. Don’t forget to try our restaurant and lounge. Best wings in the state and the drinks are quite affordable.”
Audra picked her bag up and hurried toward the elevators.
She thought about looking back but she was afraid what she’d find.
***
The room turned out to be two rooms. The master suite had a California King bed, a dark oak desk, and a coffee maker that looked more expensive than their car. Attached to their room was a slightly smaller suite with two double beds. The walls were mahogany and the lamps looked old fashioned, something straight out of the decade after which the hotel was named. The owners were not kidding around with the theme.
Vince tossed his bags onto the bed and collapsed backward while the boys explored their room. The exhaustion of the day came over him. Though the trip had only been a little over four hours, he felt like they’d travelled across the world, like he was jet-lagged and couldn’t wrap his mind around the new time zone. His eyes were heavy and he would not mind taking a nice long nap, then waking up refreshed and ready to go.
But there was no time for napping, not when he’d finally returned to the greatest place on earth. He’d kept his promise to his younger self after all and he was going to enjoy every moment of the next week.
He yawned and stretched, stood up and looked through the open doors to the balcony. A breeze blew into the room, ruffling his hair and helping to dry the sweat on his skin.
Audra was leaning over the rail and taking it all in. The late afternoon sun gave the park a preternatural glow, making everything look orange and rusty. He grabbed his camera from his bag, steadied himself at the door, and snapped a photo of his wife and the park, two things he loved more than the world, though he knew at least one of them did not love him back. Not anymore.
“Having fun?” He studied the picture on the screen. The image was muddy and dark.
“So far, so good. Tired though.” She did not turn around.
He snapped another photo. This one was better, less blurry, what he hoped to be the first of many this week. “Want to see?” He handed her the camera.
“Okay.” She brought the screen close to her eyes, examined it. “Not half bad. From behind, I still look like I’m in my twenties. Except for the love handles.”
“I think you’re beautiful.” He grabbed the camera back from her, and before she could protest, he snapped a third photo, this time of just her face.
“Delete that one. Now.”
He shook his head, studying the screen. “It came out nice. Besides, you can’t expect to avoid every photo for the next week. You’re bound to be in a few.”
“You know I don’t like my picture taken, especially when I’m not expecting it.”
“That’s when you look the best.”
She took the camera, looked at the new picture, and deleted it. “I beg to differ. I look like a woman in her thirties who used to be a punk rocker but now wears mom jeans.”
“What’s wrong with mom jeans?”
She laughed, though not because she thought he was funny.
They grew silent as they both looked at the park. The roller coasters sounded like planes taking off and the voices of patrons were distorted from this high up. He could not wait to explore the place as a family. They were going to make memories this week, good ones that would last a lifetime. “We’re going to be okay, you know. Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
She smiled and grabbed his hand. “Let’s get moving. I’m hungry. You must be too and we don’t want you getting cranky.” She gave him an emotionless peck on the cheek and went back inside.
He stayed out there another few minutes, feeling the breeze on his face and telling himself the trip would fix everything.
Chapter Five
By the time they were done unpacking it was evening. They explored a few gift shops and bought souvenir or two. It was too late, they decided, to do much more than that, so they took Doris’ suggestion and went back to the hotel’s restaurant, home of the world’s supposedly best wings.
Half of it lay indoors, with a few slot machines along the far wall and a chandelier that sparkled in the light. Just like the hotel itself, the dining room was straight out of the 1920’s. It was one-part speakeasy, one-part ballroom. When Vince had first stayed at Dream Woods there had only been two hotels, a fancy one and a budget one. He’d stayed in the latter and enjoyed himself just fine but this…this was something to behold. He was glad he had his shitty job. He may have had to wear long sleeves all year but it allowed him to stay at a place like this.
It was amazing how the owners had managed to build so many new additions and keep the whole operation under wraps. He wondered how they’d done it so quietly. Had no one driving this way noticed the construction crews and newly erected buildings? Were the locals just as oblivious as the man at the gas station?
The other half of the restaurant was located outside, a courtyard with three fountains and another old-fashioned bar. They opted for the second option. The air ha
d cooled to a comfortable temperature, good enough to eat outdoors, though it was still humid.
The waitress, her face plastered with make-up like the lobby attendant, and her hair bobbed stylishly, escorted them to a table next to the closest fountain.
The menu was extensive and pricier than any place they’d gone in the last five years. He ordered a steak and a beer and told Audra and the boys to get whatever they wanted. Money was not an option this week. If Audra knew how much he’d set aside for the trip, she would’ve killed him.
“Can I get a beer?” Tim asked.
“Ask your mother.”
“Really?”
“No. No beer.”
“Can I get dessert then?”
“That depends,” Audra said. “Let’s check that blood sugar of yours.” She unzipped her purse and reached for the glucose meter.
Andrew whined, his face in his hands. “Do you really need to do that in front of everyone? It’s embarrassing, like we’re eating with a freak.”
“Watch your mouth,” Audra said. “You’ve been giving your brother shit the entire trip. Lay off.”
“Language,” Vince said, looking around to see if anyone had heard. He suspected it was already a strange site. A mother and father, both covered head to toe with tattoos, swearing in front of their children and stabbing their diabetic son’s finger. He wondered what the others thought of Audra’s grim reaper tatt on her upper arms, a scythe in one hand, the other flipping the middle finger. Or if they honed in on the politician on Vince’s forearm, standing at a podium and making a speech while a mushroom cloud rose in the distance.
He didn’t care either way. He had grown accustomed to the stares and wasn’t this place for everyone? Could he not come to Dream Woods without worrying about being judged? Everyone was welcome here. That’s what Sebastian the mascot bear had said in those ancient commercials.
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