The Caverns of Carnage

“Let me go! Let go!” screamed Nakia.

“I’m not touching you!” I exclaimed.

We were standing outside the entrance to the Scream Park. It was entirely night now, and the streetlamps that weren’t burned out projected little circles of white light onto an empty, cracked sidewalk. Trees surrounded us, and I could just barely make out the sounds of the rides in the distance.

The environment seemed warmer and more peaceful than ever after the vapidity and destruction of the place we had just left.

“I remember this place.”

Both BloodLust’s had gone back with us, the future one holding onto Nakia’s arm, who shoved him away quickly.

“It works like a magnet,” I gasped.

“What?”

“The Blood Orb, it works like a magnet. To jump from one place to another you don’t need to be wearing or touching it yourself; it’s enough if you’re touching someone who’s touching it.”

Now that he was back in the present, the future BloodLust looked different.

He was much paler than he had been; so pale that most of his intimidating demeanor was gone.

He stooped and seemed to be finding it hard to breathe, as if this air suffocated him.

“I don’t think your powers work here.” Nakia smirked. “Like his didn’t work in the future.” She pointed at Pietro.

The future BloodLust leered nefariously, and flicked his hand towards a security guard.

In an instant, the guard’s head swelled up until it was the size of a pillow, and burst in front of our eyes, causing a mass of blood, flesh and bones to fall onto the pavement, as the guard’s body slumped onto the ground.

BloodLust moved his hand, and the guard’s skull hovered over through the air towards him.

He contorted the bones, until the skull fit on his face, and he placed it over his head.

Immediately he seemed to regain his strength, and stood up taller than any of us.

“Give… me… the two Blood Orbs.” He sneered at me. “Now.”

Pietro inched up behind me and whispered in my ear, “Run…”

I sprinted through the bushes, Nakia and Pietro running close behind.

We ducked through a multitude of shrubbery and streetlamps, and found ourselves standing in the center of the theme park, with the Ferris Wheel and main roller-coaster close by.

“Nakia? Gabe?” called out a voice suddenly behind us. Me and Nakia turned; Lorraine was standing with Jared and Ryan.

“Where were you two?” Lorraine yelled. “We were so worried!”

Nakia and I rushed over towards them.

Pietro walked towards us. Jared and Lorraine backed away quickly.

“It’s fine, he’s okay.” I said. “I told you, it wasn’t his fault. The Blood Orb was corrupting him, speaking of which…” I held up the two Orbs, and explained the entire situation to them.

Jared, Lorraine, and Ryan stood there dumbfounded.

“Okay, I have so many questions…” Jared started.

“Nah, no time.” I cut him off. BloodLust is looking for the Blood Orbs, and we need to keep it away from him until I think of something.”

“Blood Orbs?”

“One from the present, and one from the future.”

Suddenly, a loud bang rose up from the top of the Ferris Wheel.

BloodLust stood on top of the wheel. He drew out his sword and brandished it.

I nudged everyone, and we crouched down next to a popcorn cart.

BloodLust’s raspy voice called out to the entire park.

“I want you to listen very carefully, Gabriel Coleman. I know you hide within this park. Before this night is over… I will have killed you. Give me both the Blood Orbs… or before I kill you… I will make you endure pain so inconceivable, you will beg for death. In due time, I will grant it… so if I was you… I’d hand over the Orbs.”

Immediately there was an uproar. There were screams among the crowd of people, some of whom clutched each other, looking at BloodLust in terror. People fled in all directions in terror.

“I have an idea,” I whispered back to everyone. I pointed at the Mirror Mansion.

We crawled over to the building, and we slid inside, and slumped next to each other inside the illuminated hall.

“This is where I-” Pietro began.

“Yeah, we know…” Ryan interrupted. It’s the building you blew up, which killed all those people.

“Gabe, any ideas?” Jared asked.

“No…” I grimaced. “We need to stall him.”

I handed one of the Blood Orbs to Lorraine, “You keep these safe,” I said.

Ryan pulled out a backpack. It was the one I had brought from the hotel. The one with the chainsaw.

“Will this help, by any chance?”

I grinned at him. He smiled back, and all of us sneaked out of the building.

Ryan kept the chainsaw held upward, making sure not to create any noise.

Behind us, Lorraine suddenly screamed. BloodLust had swooped down at Lorraine, grabbed her by the hair and was leading her to the stage where the puppet show was usually held. I glimpsed Ryan, Nakia and Jared trying to stop him, but he shoved them aside.

BloodLust shoved Lorraine onto the hard wooden stage, and she let out a groan.

“Long time, no see…” BloodLust snarled at her. She held up a shaky arm… and punched him in the face.

“Now… now… you’re going to have to pay for that.” He laughed, and swung his armored arm at her face . He did it with such speed that she had no time to duck. Lorraine fell onto the floor. She touched her fingers to her nose; blood was dripping from it.

“LORRAINE!” yelled Pietro and Jared together.

Ryan rushed over to me. He held the chainsaw I had brought from the hotel in his hand.

“Do it.” I told him.

There was blood on Lorraine’s hands, blood flowing from the open gash on her cheek, blood pouring down her neck, and on her dress. BloodLust turned around, all snarling teeth and fiery eyes.

“Say hello to your father from me…” he snarled.

Lorraine struggled to speak. “T…te…tell him yourself.”

BloodLust’s hand wrapped around her neck.

Nakia rushed onto the stage and threw herself at him, trying her best to uncurl his fingers from Lorraine’s neck, but they remained tightly clamped around her windpipe.

“HELP! He’s going to strangle her!” Nakia yelled.

Behind BloodLust, Ryan stepped onto the stage, holding the chainsaw. BloodLust didn’t notice him coming. He was still on top of Lorraine, his wild eyes through the skull helmet wide and psycho, his fingers wrapped around her neck. Lorraine’s face was turning blue now, and her eyes had rolled back.

Ryan steadied his feet and tightened his grip around the chainsaw’s handle. He raised it. And pulled the trigger. It took a few tries before the chainsaw turned on.

BloodLust looked up.

Ryan swung with all his might, and BloodLust screamed. He let go of the Blood Orb, and Ryan picked it up.

The chainsaw was jammed in his head, but it seemed to do very little damage.

“YOU LITTLE BRAT!” BloodLust pried the chainsaw out of his head with ease, and kicked Ryan onto the ground. He looked up, petrified, at BloodLust’s grinning face.

“I think it’s time,” BloodLust said, in a falsely sweet voice “for the puppet show!”

He swiped his fingers through the air at Ryan, who was unable to move a muscle. He screamed. A piercing, ear-splitting scream.

Deep, bloody gashes and incisions were carved down the length of Ryan’s arms and legs. As BloodLust flicked again, one long strand of sinewy muscle tissue leaped up out of each incision.

They tightened, and Ryan, still holding onto the Blood Orb was lifted from the ground. His terrified eyes bulged as he was brought over by BloodLust to the roller coaster tracks, being manipulated at the end of his strings like a marionette.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as BloodLust made him walk up the tracks.

“Let’s go, we need to help him!” I yelled, and the rest of us rushed up to the edge of the roller coaster tracks. Jared hoisted Nakia onto the bottom of the tracks, and with her hands on the side, she and I started climbing up.

Ryan was almost at the top now, at the highest point of the tracks. He teetered on the edge dangerously, the Blood Orb still tightly grasped in his hand, his sinewy strings reaching up towards the sky.

“The roller coaster is almost eighty feet high, if he falls he won’t survive.” called out Pietro.

Ryan swayed on the top precariously. He looked back, eyes pleading and glistening with tears in the light of the full moon. BloodLust, laughing maniacally, drew back his hand — and slashed out, slicing Ryan’s strings.

Nakia and I screamed at the same time.

We both hurriedly climbed down the roller-coaster tracks in haste, and at the last few meters, I jumped. I landed with a thud! on the ground and scrambled to my feet. It was fine, I thought, Ryan was fine…

I reached towards Ryan before Nakia. He was sprawled face up, the moon reflected in his shining, brown eyes, staring at the sky, before they turned to me and Nakia. His arms and legs were bleeding, deep gashes revealing torn muscle and cracked bones. He finally let go of the Blood Orb, and it rolled over to the ground

“Ryan—no—HELP!” I roared towards Jared and Pietro,“HELP!”

Ryan’s eyes looked first at Nakia and then at me, and his lips trembled with the effort to form words.

“Gabe, t-thanks for being there when I n-needed you the most…”

“Ryan what are you-”

“I couldn’t ask for a b-better friend…”

And then with a slight shiver Ryan became entirely still, and his eyes closed.

“RYAN!” I shouted, “RYAN!”

I fell to my knees, my breath coming in heavy wheezes. Jared grabbed me from behind, holding me back.

“There’s nothing we can do, Gabe-”

“Just call an ambulance, or a doctor, anybody!”

“It’s too late, Gabe —”

“We can still save him, just need an ambulance-”

I held onto Ryan’s limp arm tightly, struggling firmly and viciously as Jared, Nakia and Pietro tried to pull me away…

“There’s nothing we can do, Gabe… nothing… he’s-”

“HE ISN’T DEAD!” I howled with a surge of fury. “He’s just unconscious, if we get an ambulance…”

Pietro walked over to Ryan’s body and placed his fingers on Ryan’s wrist, checking for a pulse. He looked at me with sad eyes and shook his head. “He’s gone…”

Unfortunately, the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are left unspoken.