Malefison

by Braxton Husk

  Malefison

  Braxton Husk

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 1

  Rose was absently aware of the smell of brewing coffee, as she began to worry.

  “I don’t think it’s such a good idea to go on a trip right before we have the baby.”

  She was a beautiful young woman with lovely brown hair that was always styled in curls, with the occasional bow. “Nonsense, this will help you relax. After all, the baby isn’t due for another two weeks,” said William.

  William was a handsome young man with a strong jaw, and slicked back black hair like the style from the movie, Grease, or the 1950s.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Rose said with a worried look on her face. “But what if the baby comes early?”

  “It’s nothing to be afraid of. If he or she comes early, then I’m sure there will be an emergency room somewhere close,” William said, trying to keep Rose calm.

  “But, by the way, why didn’t we go get an ultrasound?”

  “Oh, I just wanted to be surprised when the baby was born …” Rose froze and looked at William.

  “It’s … It’s coming!”

  “Oh no, oh no, no, no!” William cried, with sweat dripping from his slicked back black hair.

  “Hold tight! I’m gonna go get the phone to call an ambulance!”

  William dropped the clothes he was about to pack and ran to the kitchen to grab his phone. Rushing back to the living room, already dialing 911, he stopped. Rose was just sitting there, calmly packing her clothes again.

  “Wait, what? What … what happened? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, Will, I’m fine. You would have known that if you weren’t screaming like a banshee to grab your phone. I yelled out I was okay.”

  “Oh!” William said with an embarrassed look on his face.

  Sweat was still dripping down his chin, until it was about to hit the carpet.

  “Well, then …” said William, wiping the sweat off his face.

  “Just get back to packing. Isn’t the plane leaving this morning?” Rose asked, with a confused look on her face.

  William turned to look at the clock on the wall. It read 6:30 a.m.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot it was so early, because of all the rushing that you might be having the baby, right here on the spot … no big deal.” William said, chuckling a little as he said it.

  “But we’re not flying. Where we’re going is only a few miles away.” He threw his phone onto the couch, hoping it wouldn’t hit the side and bounce off onto the floor.

  “Geez, Will, you’re gonna break your phone one of these days if you’re not careful,” Rose said sternly.

  “Okay, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” He frowned at Rose like she was his mother.

  “Where are we going again, exactly?” asked Rose curiously, still packing her clothes into a suitcase that was about to burst.

  “Disneyland!” William said, with a massive smile on his face.

  “Okay, hon, but isn’t that place a little too … I don’t know, childish for us?”

  “No! It’s the happiest place on earth!”

  A few hours passed and it was finally time for William and Rose to get into the car. William saw something shining on Rose’s neck. It was a necklace with a four-leaf clover symbol on it.

  “What’s that?” William asked, as he reached over the center console and put half of the necklace into his palm to examine it. “How come I haven’t seen this before?”

  “Oh, I usually keep it inside my shirt, just in case,” Rose said, looking at the necklace smiling. “It was my mother’s.”

  “Oh, the Evil Queen?” William said, giggling.

  “Shut up,” Rose said, giggling as well.

  “But seriously, I loved your mom. She was always so nice,” William said.

  “Yeah, looking at this necklace just brings back so many memories,” Rose said, as she started tearing up.

  William thought to himself, oh yeah, I forgot about the hormones.

  “It’s okay. She’s in a better place now, but now we’re going to a better place, too! Disneyland!”

  William pressed the gas pedal as they headed down the driveway.

  “Wow, you seriously are really excited about this, aren’t you?” Rose asked smiling, wiping the tears off her face.

  “Yup!” William said, driving down the road, taking a corner turn down the street, which led to the exit of the suburban neighborhood where every house had the same features.

  “We’re here!” William shouted, entering the parking lot of the resort and parks.

  As they exited from the driver and passenger sides of the car, Rose struggled to get out. William ran over to help her out. After checking in and getting their room key, Rose sat heavily on the bed as William put the luggage in the room.

  “Okay, let’s head to the park,” said William, as they walked to the entrance of the Disneyland resort.

  Rose couldn’t help but get excited, but she kept it to herself. Rose and William looked at the train station’s clock. It read 12 p.m. Right on time, the Disneyland train blew its horn. Rose jumped and William laughed.

  “Geez, that was loud,” Rose said.

  “Yeah, just like your shirt!” William let out a laugh.

  Rose lightly punched William in the shoulder.

  “I’m just kidding. You look beautiful.” William kissed Rose on the forehead.

  “Oh, yeah, here!” William said, pulling tickets to the park out and handing one to Rose.

  “Aww, it’s Minnie. She was always my favorite,” Rose said, smiling and giving William a warm hug from the side.

  “Sorry, I would have given you a front hug, but you know, I’m kinda pregnant.” Rose giggled at the same time as William.

  “Yeah, I got Mickey Mouse. He was always my favorite.” William said, smiling as he stood on his toes to look over the crowd and see how much longer the line was going to be.

  Rose and William finally made it to the front of the line a few minutes later.

  “Finally, I’m starving. Can we get something to eat before we hit any of the rides?”

  “Sure, I know of a great place,” William said.

  Rose handed her Minnie Mouse card to the cast member scanning the barcodes, and William followed soon after. As they walked under the railroad through a tunnel with posters of popular Disney rides, Rose and William heard a faint, “When you wish upon a star …”

  As they entered the park, they saw the Emporium and walked around it to see Sleeping Beauty’s Castle standing high and proud over Disneyland.

  “Wow! It looks more beautiful than I remember!” Rose said with a jolt of excitement.

  “I knew you would love it!” said William, while he was having his own little moment taking in the scenery.

  Rose ran into the middle of Main Street, shouting at William to take her photo in front of the castle. Wearing an old Disneyland short-sleeved shirt from when she was a kid, Rose stood with her belly poking out. It was a good thing she bought a large back then.

  Wearing blue jeans and sandals, her beautiful brunette hair tied up into a bun, she looked radiant. William pulled his Polaroid camera that was hanging around his neck for safekeeping from his chest.

  “Got it!” William shouted.

  “Okay, Tinker Bell, let’s go eat at that place I was talking about,” said William. As they walked down Main Street, Rose was amazed with how beautiful all the scenery
was. They finally arrived at the end of Main Street, where to the left they saw the Corner Café.

  “This is it!” William exclaimed.

  “Yes, I can seriously go for a hot dog right now!” Rose replied.

  There was no line when they walked in, so William began to order.

  Rose cut him off, saying, “Hi! I would like two extra-large hot dogs, two cold pickles, a large order of French fries, and a large Pepsi, please.”

  “Okay, then … Just give me a small order of French fries.”

  As they sat under an umbrella in front of the restaurant, William grabbed a map of the park to plan out their day.

  William said, “How about we ride Peter Pan’s Flight first, It’s A Small World second, Storybook Land Canal Boats third, and …”

  William looked up and noticed that Rose had already eaten one and a half hot dogs, the whole order of fries, and one pickle. Plus, she had drunk two-thirds of the Pepsi.

  As she was about to take another bite of the hot dog, she looked up at William and said, “What are you looking at?” She laughed, and William quickly looked down at the map.

  “You know I’m just playing, Will,” She said, still giggling.

  “Yeah, well you looked like you were about to chuck what was left of your hot dog at my face.”

  They both laughed hysterically, while people watched them as if they were crazy.

  While Rose was putting what was left of their food into a trashcan near their table, William got up to join her. Rose and William soon started walking down Main Street once again. The road curved left and then right into a circle that surrounded Walt Disney’s Partners statue, where Walt and Mickey were holding hands while gazing onto Main Street. William decided to walk up to the statue and take a picture of it. Once he was done, Rose and William walked around the statue where they saw the drawbridge leading to the doorway for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Rose and William both looked through the entrance of the castle to see the King Arthur Carrousel. They looked at each other as William grabbed Rose’s hand, and they walked over the drawbridge, through the castle corridor, and into Fantasyland.

  As both Rose and William walked through the part of Fantasyland directly behind the castle, they saw the rides — Peter Pan’s Flight, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, and the King Arthur Carrousel — right in the heart of the Disneyland Park.

  Chapter 2

  “What ride should we go on first?” Rose asked, looking at all the rides Fantasyland had to offer on the Disneyland map.

  William looked at the map and said, “Let’s go on It’s A Small World.”

  “Not yet. That’s all the way in the back towards Toontown. Let’s pick something close, then we can make our way down there as we go.” Rose pointed to the ride on the map.

  “Okay, then, what ride should we ride first?” asked William, while people walked around them.

  “Peter Pan’s Flight!” Rose shouted.

  “I loved that movie so much when I was a kid!” Rose said excitedly.

  “Now you’re in the spirit!” William exclaimed, getting very excited as well.

  As they walked over to the ride, they noticed there would be an hour’s wait for it.

  “Dang, a whole hour, Will. Should we pick a different ride?”

  “Not to worry. Look at the card I gave you at the front gate.”

  “Okay …?” Rose said, with a confused look on her face.

  “Look closer,” said William.

  Rose looked more closely at the card and saw that it read “FastPass.” Rose let out a big cheer as she hugged William.

  “I thought we should get FastPasses since we were gonna be here for a while!”

  “Well, you thought right,” Rose giggled.

  Rose handed her card to the cast member scanning the FastPasses, and William followed suit. Not very long after, they arrived at the beginning of the ride. William entered the boat-themed vehicle first, so that Rose would not have too much trouble getting out of the ride once it was over.

  “Wow! That was beautiful!” Rose squealed.

  “What was your favorite part? Mine was the scene where you were flying over Big Ben in London.”

  “Mine was where we were flying over all the mermaids.”

  After a few more rides, they had another bite to eat near the Haunted Mansion, where Rose once again ate a ton of food to fill her stomach and the baby’s as well. Soon, they were done eating and headed towards the Haunted Mansion ride. As Rose and William entered the front gates of the ride, grim grinning ghosts sang along the line. As they snaked through the line, Rose began to grow nervous.

  “WELCOME FOOLISH MORTALS TO THE HAUNTED MANSION!” the ghost host bellowed.

  One painting on the wall went from a normal-looking portrait of a man into a rotten-looking painting of a decomposing corpse.

  “Please make your way into the gallery,” said the ghost host.

  “Everyone move into the center of the room and fill in all the … dead space.”

  “Hmmmm,” the ghost host chuckled.

  Rose grabbed William’s hand and held it tightly. William looked into Rose’s eyes and said reassuringly, “It’s fine, it’s just a ride.”

  The walls began to stretch as everyone looked around at the four very different pictures. One was a young girl with brown hair, holding an umbrella. The next was an older man with a brown beard and a black suit. Another was a man with a top hat, bushy sideburns, and a dark brown suit. Finally, there was a kind-looking old lady with brown hair tied into a bun. She was also holding a rose.

  “Is this haunted room actually stretching or is it your imagination? Hmmmm …” The ghost host said, as the walls stretched taller and taller.”

  The portraits began to stretch as well, revealing the true meaning of the painting. The young girl’s portrait grew into a girl on a high wire above a hungry crocodile with razor-sharp teeth. The next was the sad man in the black suit. He was now wearing red and white striped underwear, and socks, as he sat on a barrel of dynamite with a candle above to light the rope connected to the barrel.

  Next to him was the man with the top hat and bushy sideburns. He was sitting on the shoulders of an old man with a blond mustache, and blond hair slicked to the side. The old man was wearing a faded red suit with a beige vest and a black bowtie. That man was also sitting on another man’s shoulders with a black suit, brown hair combed over to the left and right, and sideburns that connected to a bushy beard at the end of his chin. He was the last man in the tower of very different looking men.

  Next to the very bottom man was a sign that read: “QUICKSAND,” and was exactly where the sign and the tower of multiple men were stuck. The kind-looking old lady began to look very suspicious when she was sitting on a grave with a stone replica of a man with a unique mustache and an axe that was buried in the man’s bald head. The grave read: “REST IN PEACE, DEAR BELOVED GEORGE.”

  “As you can see, this chamber has no windows … and no doors.”

  “Which gives you this chilling

  CHALLENGE!

  “TO FIND … A WAY OUT!

  “Muahahahaha!” said the ghost host.

  Rose held William’s hand even tighter.

  “Geez, my hand is gonna be red when this ride is over!” said William, starting to laugh a little.

  “Sorry, I’m just scared,” Rose said, leaning into William.

  “Well … there’s always my way …”

  The lights suddenly went out, and a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning came from the ceiling. Everyone in the room looked up. A man was hanging from an old rope, with lightning flashing through the windows that surrounded him. A lady screamed as the lights came back on, and the ceiling returned to its former look.

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely,” the eerie voice said.

  “The real chills come later … now as they say, look … alive.”

  As Rose and William walked down a dark hallway lined with paintings, they noticed that t
he paintings would change into a darker, more decrepit scenes, when the lightning flashed through the windows. Rose and William eventually made it to the Doom Buggies. The ride slowly and gradually made its way up a stairway that led to a never-ending hallway. A few more eerie scenes and a few minutes later, they made their way to the graveyard.

  About halfway through the graveyard, Rose and William noticed a strangely out-of-place coffin. The lid was open to the left, leaving the interior of the coffin exposed to the elements.

  When the safety bar was raised, Rose and William began to walk back to the castle.

  “Uh, I don’t feel so good …” Rose moaned.

  “Did the ride make you dizzy or something?” William asked.

  “I don’t know, but I think we should go,” Rose said, beginning to have pains in her stomach.

  “But the fireworks are about to begin. We can’t miss those!”

  “Wait … okay, I think I feel a bit better,” Rose said, still holding her stomach as the pains died down.

  They began walking towards the castle. A few minutes later, the speakers announced that the fireworks were about to begin in just a few short minutes.

  As they entered Main Street, William said, “Just in time,” smiling broadly while staring at the castle lit up with multiple colors.

  A few short minutes later, the show began. A firework that looked like a shooting star shot over the castle, as a boy began to sing:

  “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.”

  “Wait, Will, we need to go, NOW!” Rose shouted.

  “What? What’s wrong?” asked William.

  “It’s coming! And I’m not kidding this time!”

  Rose began to scream in pain as fireworks burst over the castle. She began to breathe heavily.

  “Okay, let’s get you to a hospital. Just stay calm,” William said, trying to notify a cast member to help them to the front gates to leave.

  A few cast members noticed William shouting for help and Rose screaming in pain.

  “Can you help us get through the crowd? My wife is about to have our baby!” William shouted, as the people around him began to stare even more than they already were.