"Please don't force me to ride that buggy train again!" I pleaded with Amber, stepping back a little before standing firm near the ghost buggy-train. Amber, my girlfriend, loved chemistry, and science was her favorite subject. But if you asked her what she wanted most, it was exactly what we were doing now.
"I'm sick of it!"
I didn't understand her fondness for this type of entertainment. Personally, I saw no enjoyment in it. It was a total waste of time! No matter how many times we argued, her wishes always prevailed, leaving us both disappointed. I couldn't grasp why she always wanted to go to places where ghosts were the main source of entertainment. It was weird, but I loved her.
Anathea, Amber's best friend—her "sidekick"—was short-haired, energetic, and friendly. She always supported Amber's trip ideas. Anathea wasn't alone; her boyfriend, Lucas, was with her. So, she was busy and couldn't entertain Amber's disappointment.
"Mearko, why are you standing there so long? This train will be full soon."
"Are you afraid of ghosts?" Lucas said mockingly, his tone irritating. I hated people who judged me literally. I knew we'd just met, so I decided not to argue with him. Besides, I didn't even know him. But the moment he looked at me, he really think I am afraid of those things.
"What—?! Me... afraid of ghosts? Shut up!" I ignored him for a few seconds, staring. I'd never seen him before, but he seemed formal and a bit of a fashionista. His jacket, for instance, was an expensive brand.
"So, come here and sit," Amber said simply.
"I am not afraid of those things!" I told Amber, but I really intended for Lucas to hear it. He just snubbed me.
"Okay... Enough murmuring... it's so annoying!" Amber spoke again.
"Yeah, we better hold our breath... And see what's going on out there!" Anathea was so excited. I admired her energy, knowing we were about to enter the horror castle.
'No option!' I whispered in my head. The entrance looked like a cemetery gate. The pumpkin lanterns looked weird, but I wasn't surprised. I was tired of seeing those things again and again.
"Ugh!" I sighed. I wasn't interested in horror house rides. 'But no choice!'
"Okay!" I submitted. Since I had no choice, I presumed to sit willingly. I had no alternative; like it or not, I had to fill my seat and stick with them. I didn't have time to refuse. Maybe my loyal subconscious mind was willing to obey her whatever she wanted. I sat calmly, but my face was serious, as if I'd come from an unexpected battle—and lost.
Sometimes, I didn't understand why we needed this kind of place just to fit into our relationship, or why we were dating in the wrong place. There were plenty of places just for two lovers, but our relationship felt weird. I couldn't hug her romantically because of all the disturbing ghosts, you know? I couldn't hold her hand because she was fighting with a ghost. Or there were times I wanted to kiss her, but a ghost would make her jump. What kind of date was this?
Since I entered this relationship, I'd disliked all types of horror houses in our area.
I wished they never existed anymore.
We always argued, though she was beautiful, there was no denying that. She had long, curly hair and wore an expensive jade necklace. Speaking of which, her mother owned a jewelry shop in the city, so she could afford an expensive school. I knew she wanted to be a chemical engineer.
My eyes burned as I watched the banner: "CASTLE GHOST." Ghost? I sat more formally and stared at the word—
Ghost.
It was funny to think that when I was a kid, people spooked me with that word. It took me years to realize that ghosts weren't real.
Later, when the ride was full, the engine automatically started. I felt the vibration. It sounded ready. I had already buckled my seatbelt.
"Hey, guys, there's smoke!" Anathea exclaimed.
"It's glycol," my girlfriend said. "Primarily propylene glycol, C3H8O2... and sometimes diethylene glycol, C4H1O3. But propylene glycol is very common and considered safe."
"Oh yeah, I see! There's no irritation." Anathea wondered.
My eyes showed a poker face as I steadily watched her, emotionless. I saw that she was cute, though I felt weird hearing chemistry in this situation.
'A walking encyclopedia!' in the ghost castle.
"What?" my girlfriend asked me. I kept staring at her.
"Don't look at me like that!"
"Is it necessary to explain it scientifically? I mean, you could simply say... the smoke effect has no carbon dioxide; it's just haze smoke."
"Oh, don't tell me, you hate complex terminologies, isn't it?"
"What?" I said. "I didn't say that!" I quickly replied. "What I mean is—look at this place... is it a chemistry lab?"
"So... what are you pointing out... that I'm weird?" she said. "What's wrong with my explanation of the glycol thing...?"
"I'm just advising you." I said.
"Well, thank you... If you have no good word to say... keep it all to yourself, and please stop pissing me off!"
"Hey guys... Stop quarreling," Anathea interrupted our conversation. "The gate is about to open!!"
The gate slowly wound open with a squeaky sound rumbling in my bones. Darkness splashed into our eyes. Lights appeared one by one. Then the gate automatically shut down. 'Hmph! I-am-not-surprised...' Practically every horror house did the same effects—so, no!
I heard calamitous thunder effects, then the howling of a werewolf, and witches chanting. A lot of sound effects made my mood chaotic. "It is a total waste of time!" I said angrily.
"What are you saying?" my girlfriend replied. "Are you angry?"
"Hey, you two... just calm down, go with the flow... everyone here is enjoying." Anathea smiled. "Just be..."
"Yeah, and I'm almost deaf!"
What on earth were they shouting for? Those were just humans masked in horror costumes. With horrifying cosmetic artistry—were they dumb?
(A few minutes later)
"Mearko... can I—hold your hand?" She coldly held my hand, her eyes blinking in fear, and I felt her shaking at that moment. She was like a child abandoned in the middle of a dark forest. Her beautiful grayish eyes looked at me, begging for help.
"What are you afraid of?" I said. "They're just fake!"
"You're acting weird, though," she said. "You will regret this."
"What do you mean?" her friend Anathea asked her. Anathea sat in the back seat right next to us, with her boyfriend, Lucas.
"Hmph... just forget it," she replied. "He disappointed me!"
"What?" I asked shortly. "Did I do something that would get you off?"
"You ruined my day, that's it!"
"Guys, here we come to the exciting part!" Anathea energetically cheered. She held tight onto her boyfriend's shoulder like an octopus. "Zombies are coming here! Sweetie, hug me!"
Oh, how sweet... I looked at her side and watched her. "Stop that!" She was irritated.
"I thought you were afraid of those zombies?" I said. "Do you need a hug?"
"No thanks!" She ignored me. Now she was acting weird. So I let her ignore me; maybe she wasn't happy right now.
The lights flickered dramatically, while a deep, amplified voice played a crazy line. Zombies agonized in pain. They were many in each cage, moaning and stretching their hands. When the ride passed each cage, the cage automatically opened, letting all the zombies chase us aggressively. People were panicking, shouting intensely as if they were seeing real zombies. With a three-meter gap, zombies dramatically sped up, maintaining the three-meter distance.
"Sweetie, look, they're chasing us!" Anathea was horrified. "We're too slow!" She panicked.
"Don't worry, sweetie pie, I'll protect you!" Lucas answered.
Everyone was panicking except the two of us. We were out of context. Zombies, panicking people, lovers... We—were both in a different world at that moment! However, the unexpected moment brought us back to a point of unexpected surprise.
"Why did it stop?"
"W—what happened?"
"The light disappeared!"
"Ah~"
We thought it was all part of the horror house ride. The zombies' moaning disappeared too, leaving silence and shock. Everyone grabbed their phones and lit up the surroundings. Horrifyingly, the zombies' faces were almost glued to our faces. When Anathea turned on her phone, she shouted loudly upon revealing the position of zombies with pale skin and blunted corneas suddenly appearing on her face.
"Zombieeeeeeee!" Anathea wildly shouted, impressing all the zombies to react more dramatically. The aggressiveness of the zombies created an intense commotion among the passengers; they attacked everyone by acting to grab passengers' hands. While they were doing a typical zombie act, I saw another two zombies, as random lights spotted them coming. Then they intentionally held my girlfriend's hands, causing pain to her wrists. Though she might feel the pain, she ignored it as if it were just a play. She closed her eyes because she was afraid, resisting her hands from the zombies who were trying to grab her forcefully.
"Hey, that's enough!" I shouted at the zombie. I still didn't know their unseen intention, but it didn't respond. The lights still hadn't appeared. I could barely see what exactly they were, but the movement of their gestures or hands made me understand that it seemed to be a man's strength. Another zombie came with the same intention. I heard a man mumbling, "Hurry!"
"Ouch!" my girlfriend reacted unexpectedly.
"Hey, what have you done—?" My girlfriend suddenly lost consciousness. "Amber! Wake up!" I turned on my phone, but someone grabbed it and threw it away. I realized it wasn't a play... It was... a kidnapping!
I punched a zombie in the face, making him stumble back, but the other one was able to pick up Amber's body after removing the seatbelt on her waist. He was strong enough to carry her on his shoulder. I loosened my seatbelt as fast as I could just to stop him, but someone blocked me, forcing me to fight.
Nobody knew what was happening between Amber and me during that blackout. They all had their own moments fighting with zombies too. I heard Anathea screaming, but I realized the more critical the situation was, the more I lost a chance to save Amber. No one knew she was abducted by masked zombies except for me—I didn't want to escape the sight, not in any chance.
I tried to chase the kidnappers... blinded with no lights there, bumping many times into unknown objects on my way. But, surprisingly, the kidnappers never once bumped into anything along the way. Maybe they wore special gear in the dark, that's the only thing I answered to myself. I struggled to follow them, though, thanks to the red light emitting from their gear, like an LED dot. I could follow them through and through.
"Someone is following us!" the man said to the man who carried Amber's body. The guy who lifted Amber was tall; I estimated him around 6'2" or 5'9" with a bulky chest. While his comrade was estimated to be 5'4" or 5'3", I guessed.
"What?! Did Cannor have no match for that guy?" he said angrily. "Then, stop him!" His voice had a deeper, husky, strong baritone.
"Okay." But this one, the 5'4" guy, was a bit unpleasant to hear.
So, I readied myself to counter the guy. I saw them like a silhouette in my view, which made me prepared for his possible attack. I studied his movements; he seemed to wallop a punch. Ahem. Yeah—speaking of that—I worked out in the gym every Saturday with my friends. My biceps were strong enough to knock down normal people with skinny bodies like him.
I read his movement with no fear of him hurting me, and neither did I... I wouldn't give you mercy! Eat this punch! Whack!
"Bullshit!" He angered. I saw him touching his lip, and I knew there was blood on it. Well, whose face wouldn't be wounded by my striking punch? I'm sure he was angry... with that punch!
He attacked me again without analyzing the situation, like a typical drunkard who loved pain.
Me—Hmph, I wouldn't let any finger touch my skin. Oh—I loved action! Yes, it was. This fist of mine, built to punch bad guys! Hoo hoo! Oyeaa! Whooop! Toink!
"Shit, you're dead meat!" He took a knife from his pocket. "Oh, interesting.... I never tried to learn self-defense before, but oh~ the video! That's right! Something like this or this or.... whaa....??? I forgot! I just saw that video tutorial last month... How could I skip learning that? Anyway... let's see what I can do. Well, maybe it will be a heaven's sake—if I survive.
"Woah... Calm down, you bald!" I teased him. Well, I definitely couldn't see him exactly because it was dark; I only relied on the light ahead of us as an exit point. It was a silhouette!
"What did you call me?! Argh! I will kill you!" His voice was now rough and unfriendly, but I still heard the pitch.
Well, this one was sort of... "Pretty-pretty cool!"
He swung his knife, almost hitting my shirt. As a quick response, I grabbed his hand, twisting his shoulder, momentarily dragging him down, and kicking him in the face. "Sleep well!"
Oh, I did it! That video was still intact in my memory. Such a smart move. One point to myself—oh no... my Amber!
I ran as fast as I could, just to look forward to Amber's rescue, but I never arrived on time. She was gone! The kidnapper had escaped my sight. I almost lost hope, thinking she wouldn't be saved from the kidnapper's hand. My head bent down as a way of regret and heartbreak. However, as I stood up and my ear leaned into the surroundings, my hearing perimeter picked up an unknown chaotic noise. I heard them, but not clearly, so I walked steadily to search for the source of the noise. Then, I came upon a door. I stopped. I sensed chaos behind the door. Dangers might be a Pandora's Box behind that door. —I heard a noise... something like agonizing in pain. A man begging for mercy! But still, I couldn't see what was really happening; there was still a big wooden door in front of me blocking the scene. For Amber's sake, I had to take a risk—I had to know! So, I didn't hesitate to open the door, but then, when I opened the door, a shocking gunshot killed a man who sat on the ground near the black vehicle van. My eyes witnessed the death of the kidnappers, freezing myself instinctively. Then, the killer stood up, wearing black jeans and high stilettos. Her sexy body was covered with a black jacket too. When I tried to look at her face, she was about to wear a helmet, so I never had a chance to see her face. But I could describe her appearance: she had straight, long hair. But amazingly, she didn't even try to point a gun at me. Maybe she knew I wasn't one of the kidnappers? Then she walked gracefully to her motorcycle, a high-level motorcycle—I guessed.
When she started her motorcycle, she gave a sweet message by saying, "She is lucky," then she rode away speedily. She meant that my girlfriend was lucky, but I didn't know if she was referring to me as Amber's boyfriend or if she was lucky because the kidnappers didn't succeed in kidnapping her.
My eyes were mesmerized watching her drive her motorcycle, like she was modeling the motorcycle in my eyes. If that was the case, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. I didn't expect someone like her, a real woman doing heroic deeds. Her body was like an angel, but she was a deadly woman. I was still thinking of her...
But reality snapped in front of me, feeling guilt—I forgot that my girlfriend was still lying unconsciously in the van. 'Amber!'
I quickly ran to her, checking her pulse and nose air breathing. Luckily, she was still alive, though she was sleeping. "Amber... Amber..."
I pulled her away from the crime scene. I heard an incoming car. So, we hid immediately. I tried to find out more, but I couldn't clearly see them in a whole scope. I saw a luxurious car stop near the kidnapper's van. A man, more likely 30 years old, stepped forward to the dead man. Many bodyguards were following him; maybe he was the boss or a master of the gang.
"Are all dead?" the man simply asked.
"Yes, Sir, except for this man."
"He is still breathing."
"Tell, who did it?" he reluctantly asked.
"I-I don't know." He quickly shot him with a silencer gun. "Useless!" he blasted.
"Everyone, clean all the mess!" the bodyguard said. "Sir, you can go back to the car."
"We have failed to bring the new subject to my lord... Her anger is like a bite of hell!" He took a call. So, I knew it; he wasn't a boss. I really thought he was the one. Well, look at how securely they were guarding that man; he was more like a president. I assumed he was the grand prince or a son?
"My lord, we have a problem... the operation has been interrupted—we don't know who the hell that was. Don't worry, we will fix it. Of course... I know it is our responsibility, but unfortunately... we didn't expect this unexpected tragedy. They are all dead."
"Let's go, everyone!" he said.
"Wait a minute!" He stopped as he sensed something nearby. He looked at the door. "I think I was hallucinating. Let's go."
"Oh thank God, he never inspected behind the door." Now I could relax and breathe. I heard them driving away. Amber was still unconscious; I guessed the sleeping drug injected on her was too strong. I carried her on my back to a safe place, with visible light and people. There, I saw Anathea running toward us with her boyfriend.
"Mearko?" she said. "Mearko, where have you been? We were so worried; we searched for Amber and you after the blackout. We thought both of you were kidnapped by those zombies."
"You knew it?" I was shocked. How did she know it? Is it possible she noticed those bad guys doing evil things with Amber?
"Well, obviously we were attacked by those zombies, right? I really thought they would eat me alive... Or take away my beloved Lucas, but no way—Lucas fought back and saved me from those terrifying zombies." She giggled. "He is my knight in shining armor!" She wriggled ticklishly. Oh~ I expected too much.
"Did zombies tell you to hide from us?" Lucas said. "Then, if that is true... Not funny at all... We're worried." And this one too. Sigh.
"Yeah!" Anathea added.
"I'm sorry... But, it is a long story, during that blackout."
"What? Long—?" She burst. She held her breath. 'Here we go again!' "Don't tell me, you're doing mystery, huh?! I mean chemistry—" She said. "Oh, I'm so jealous!" She blushed.
"What are you talking about?" I said coldly. "We were indeed encountered, uh—" I suddenly held my tongue, confused and undecided. If I told the incident, no evidence would prove that there was a kidnapping attempt, or they might think I made up stories as an excuse.
"What...? Tell us...go on," Anathea impatiently said.
"Seriously?" Lucas said. "Are we going to wait longer until it erupts like a volcano... for those unthinkable stories or excuses?"
"Nothing," I said shortly.
"What?!" Anathea reacted with shock. "What do you mean... nothing?" she added. "I'm sure Amber will answer me correctly."
"It's already late... We better go in a—" I said, but she interrupted me. It was supposed to be... 'In a hospital.'
"No... I should ask Amber what happened there!" She insisted. "Amber, wake up!" She tried to wake her up, but nothing happened.
"What did you do to her? Why isn't she waking up?"
"Nothing—she just lost consciousness during the blackout. Ah~maybe over fear?" I reasoned out. "I tried to find a clinic, but I can't find any clinic here. We must go to the hospital." I just made a strong excuse to stop them from questioning me.
"Yeah...We should!" She panicked.
"I'll drive the car!" Lucas said. "Mearko, bring her to the car."
"Amber's body is cold!" Anathea touched Amber's body from her neck, hand, and face. "Is she going to die... She's barely breathing!" She was worried.
"There's a hospital nearby in this place... We will take 30 minutes." Lucas searched for the hospital through his Google Maps. "Let's go."