Being Shot

P h o t o #15 - A Devil And A Heartbeat

P h o t o #15 - A Devil And A Heartbeat

I wrapped my hands around my arms, trying to warm myself with the jacket I just slipped on as I walked out of the little shop. I looked around, noticing how most of the parks customers were replaced from happy families to crazy, obnoxiously loud teenagers as the day progressed. I had an itching feeling that sat right at the bottom of my gut, teling me that something was going to happen anytime soon.

As soon as dusk fell onto the park, chilly air rose off of the lake and now the air is filled with cold water vapor. Luckily, there was a souvenir store right in the middle of the park, where Kayla had kindly bought me a navy blue jacket with the parks mascot, a tiger with a blue baseball cap giving a thumbs up, on it.

"Hey, what about this one?" Kayla had snickered as she pointed to the bright orange tiger on the jacket that basically glowed under the bright lights that lit up the store.

"Okay." I shrugged, which earned me a weird look from Kayla.

"Really?" She turned her vision towards the jacket once again with her eyebrows arched in confusion, then looked back to me. "You sure?"

"Yeah," I began simply, "You're nice enough to buy me a jacket. I really don't have a right to be picky."

"Aww," Kayla cooed as she latched her arms around my waist. "Emma, you are so sweet!"

I scratched the back of my head, not knowing how to respond to the complement, but definitely feeling a tiny, cheesy smile finding it's way to my lips.

Just as we were about to make our way into the next shop in the mall strip, green smoke filled the air above us. My pulse raced as the gleaming stars of the early night began to fade into a emerald hue that clouded above our heads.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cooper's face split into a wide grin. "It's starting!"

I took a deep breath, my eyebrows arching in confusion. "What's starting?" I ask, racking my brain for any memories that could connect to this situation. I remember coming here in the summer time years ago, but never during Halloween time. So, I never knew what happened here during the spooky holiday. And it wasn't even Halloween yet, so what could be going on?

The people that filled the park began to cheer all around, even my group starting hollering and putting their fists in the air (heck, even Elliot was fist pumping the air. Even though his face didn't show his excitement, if he was feeling any, that is).

"Peasants," A low, throaty voice called out through the speakers that were bolted high on poles that lay scattered across the park. The male continued in his sadistic tone, "Welcome. You are now all our prisoners. Let's see how many of you can survive a night at Fifth Castle Amusement Park's annual Devil's Playground."

A shiver ran down my spine as I heard his voice say the last two words. I had never heard of this tradition. My eyes hurriedly flicked to Kayla, who stood next to me, basically squealing her head off in excitement.

"U-Uhh," I struggled a bit to keep my voice steady, not wanting to let the shock seep through my tone, "What are they talking about exactly?" I pointed my finger towards an empty speaker hovering above us. It seems the monstrous sounding man was done speaking to us.

Her pink lip-glossed lips formed a perfect 'O' shape at my question. "You don't know what the tradition is?"

Her voice traveled towards the fours boys, who all turned towards us, their energetic faces (yes, like I said, even Elliot's, just a little bit) quickly turning into sly smirks. I was sure I've had enough of "traditions" in my short lifetime, so just the sound of the word had the hairs on the back of my neck on end.