The Haunted Lagoon
The road was dark; the music was low and somehow reminded me of frogs. We were destined for the Haunted Lagoon.
“I’m scared…” Heather, my best friend whined.
“It’s not scary, I think it’s kind of cool.” I said while looking at a rubber skeleton with tattered and torn clothes, with its mouth agape. The sign below it warned that letting go of the safety rope would result in a similar fate.
Screams filled the night air and chainsaws roared.
“You guys better not count on me to save you,” Alex said with her slight German accent and a nervous grin, “I’m such a scaredy-cat!”
Melissa gave her mother an annoyed teenager look.
“Happy birthday Mel.” Kayla whispered, huddling up to the five of us and away from the cold. She rubbed some flower from my nose, a sign of our baking cookies just a few hours before.
A Grim Reaper appeared from the shadows, his scythe gleaming brightly with fresh blood. He spoke not a word, but handed us a rope.
Kayla and Melissa were up in front. Then it was Heather, then me, and Alex stood at the back.
The Reaper walked with painfully slow, even steps as we wandered through the woods. He led us through a cave full of snakes and spiders that hung from the ceiling and walls.
Then came the madwoman.
Her voiced screeched in high pitched tones, her skin was sickly pale, and her eyes seemed to pop out of her skull.
“Helloooooo my pretties!!” She wailed. Her apron, barely concealing her girth was decorated in blood. “Will you help me bake?”
She cackled while we huddled in fear. We looked to the Grim Reaper for help, the only solidarity to our terror, but he silently stood at a locked gate.
The cook danced about mixing bubbling concoctions and came up to us with a cup full of green liquid.
“Isn’t anyone dying to try it?!?” She screamed in our faces.
No one wanted to get too close to this mad cook. She held a bowl full of gooey material at us.
“The key’s in there…” She whispered to Melissa.
She gulped, conquering her fear, and reached her hand in the bowl, pulling out a key.
“I suppose we should put this in the fridge…” She said after Melissa wiped her hands, still holding the green liquid.
She hobbled over to the small refrigerator, smiling evilly at us, and opened the door.
A girl sat in the cold box. Her skin was a deathly pale and she was crumpled into a twisted heap. She opened her dead eyes and let out a horrifying scream.
We all screamed at the same time and bolted towards the gate.
We rushed through; huddling behind the Grim Reaper as he led us on, his painfully slow steps never wavered.
There was a stream that intersected our path, so we crossed an old, creaking bridge.
As we walked along the rotting planks of wood, I couldn’t help but let my mind run wild with gruesome, nightmarish thoughts.
A hand shot out of the darkness and grabbed my foot. I jumped and screamed, causing the rest to scream too as we ran across.
We entered an open gate to find a beautiful witch hovering over her cauldron.
I looked over to see the most horrifying creature I’d ever seen.
It looked like a dog, only pure evil, an evil I can’t describe.
Its hackles were raised and it eyes almost glowed a bright yellow. Foamy drool fell out of its mouth. I froze the moment I saw it.
I can’t remember what the beautiful witch said but she pushed the bowl towards me and I cried. I remember she was really kind.
“I can’t! I can’t!” I said hiding my face in Alex’s arms.
Everything around me was a blur, only the beast held my attention.
I wanted to scream, to run. I was hysterically afraid. Fear coursed through my entire body.
The Grim Reaper led us on, into a barn where flashing lights could be seen from the window.
I can’t remember what was in the barn, for I was hid myself in heather’s hood. I seem to recall boxes and blood and a bald guy.
Soon after, the Grim Reaper led us once again into the darkness.
We heard a distant pounding, a thu-dump thu-dump, thu-dump thu-dump.
We turned to see a giant horse, midnight black, with a headless rider upon it who brandished a scythe.
He swung his weapon over our heads, missing by only a few inches.
We ducked and screamed in response, and huddled up, avoiding the deadly object. We hid within each other as the horse turned and charged towards us again.
The end was near, and glorious. Then men with bloody chainsaws jumped out and ran after us. We ran, screaming our heads off and jumped into the van.
We laughed at each other and cried in fear. We drove home, the adrenaline fading, to enjoy memories and the haunting nightmares that soon followed…