23
The Haunted Castle
Dogboy and Cindy hopped down off the loading dock onto the tracks that steered patrons through the dark halls of The Castle.
“This all goes around in a circle, right?” she said, swirling her finger around in the air. “You go right, I’ll go left, and whoever finds him first calls the other one.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Dogboy said. “That’s how they always get ya’ in the movies. When you split up.”
“Too scared to go alone, huh?” Cindy said.
They headed left down the tracks until they came to the first set of plywood doors. Dogboy pushed one. It held firm. He wedged his feet against one of the wooden rails then pushed against it. The additional force was enough to open the door a few inches.
“Go on,” he said. “Quick. It’s gonna snap shut.”
Cindy slid through the gap then helped hold it while Dogboy did the same. When he let go, the plywood snapped back in place. The room grew dark. Dogboy held out his hand, projecting an orange light on his fingertip to light their path. He looked between the statues as he went, searching for a glint from Osbert’s spectacles.
“So seems like your powers are acting pretty normal,” Cindy said. “What really happened? Where’d that old guy take you?”
“I said I’d tell you later,” he said as he peered underneath the table.
“C’mon. You can trust me,” she said, pulling out “Disappointed, sad friend #2,” a look she reserved for people who weren’t telling her what she wanted to know.
Dogboy sighed and pulled off his mask. “You know that word I mentioned earlier? Willowwood?”
“From the poster?” she said.
“Yeah. Turns out that old guy was him in disguise. He told me my dad— that he knew he was going to die that day. That he did it anyway.”
“So you were right,” Cindy said, taking his hand.
“If it’s true,” he said. “Willowwood seemed like the kind of guy who’d do just about anything for a laugh. He says he’s the guy who gave them to my dad way back in the 80s. He might be lying about that too, but whatever he did to me sure fixed things. I’ve never felt more in control.”
Cindy gave him a kiss then pulled his mask back down. “That’s a relief. If you kept hurting people, I was gonna have to turn you in myself.”
“You wouldn’t,” Dogboy said.
“Nah, I wouldn’t,” she said. “I wouldn’t let you get away with it either though. So where is he now?”
“He’s gone. He said he’d contact me later. See he dared me that—”
The serving dish flew up off the table straight at Dogboy’s head. He grabbed Cindy and crawled under the table, careful to avoid the pistons that rocked it back and forth.
“What was that?” Cindy said.
“Beats me,” Dogboy said.
“It’s me, D.B.,” came a familiar voice. “Your old pal Willowwood. I heard you telling stories out of school. Bad, bad Dogboy. Never trust a girl like that. She’s lying to you, babe.”
“Like I’m supposed to believe you,” Dogboy yelled out from under the table.
“If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask her?” Willowwood said.
Cindy chomped on a chunk of her hair without thought or motive, hoping that pretending you were invisible was enough to make it so.
“I don’t need to ask her,” Dogboy said. “I know I can trust her. You’re just some weird guy who showed up. She’s been with me since this started. If we make our own luck, I made mine rotten, but she helped me fix it. I’m not giving up on her, and I’m not giving up on my dad. I’ll keep quiet about the gifts you gave me, but go away. We have crooks to stop.”
“Ah, an impossibly brave speech from our hero,” Willowwood said. “Who am I to stand in the way of your big showdown? Go play with your little friends. I’ll be watching.”
The cutlery clanged to the floor, and the humid air that the imp brought with him thinned out.
“So that was him,” Dogboy said as they crawled out from under the table. They walked up to the next set of plywood doors. Dogboy pulled it back and they pushed ahead into the room of mirrors.
“I meant what I said back there before you know,” Dogboy said.
“Yeah, it was real nice. You’re a great friend, Bron—”
“Hey, look. There’s a big hole in the ceiling,” Dogboy said, running underneath it to investigate. “I wonder what could have done this.
“Maybe look down?” Cindy said.
Dogboy did. The ball he’d sent Hot John after was in the tracks. He knelt down and absorbed it back into his hand.
“Wait, if that’s here,” Cindy said, looking back behind the mirrors. “And that big dinkus was supposed to chase it…”
“Brava, dear girl,” Osbert said as he emerged from behind an oval mirror. “We were going to let you go… For now… But your sweetheart had to go and act clever.”
Osbert threw a glass vile at their feet. It burst, smoke drifted up into their eyes and noses. They both gagged as they fell to the ground.
Dogboy reached out for Cindy’s hand. The imposing form of Hot John appeared in the mirror behind her as he drifted off to sleep.
“We gonna find any more of your buddies on our way out?” he said.
“Nah, man. They told us to wait here. Said they’d be back after they took care of that dog brat and his girl.”
“Dogboy?” Axle said. “Then the girl’s gotta be Cindy.”
Jennifer nudged Nuncio. “I totally told you she’d, like, save us and stuff. Who’s the dope now?”
“Guess you were right, cuz,” Nuncio said. “To celebrate when we get outta here you can help me explain it to your mom.”
“Oy,” Jennifer said.
The speakers chirped on. “My dear brothers,” said Osbert’s voice. “It would behoove you to make your way to the Demon’s Dare coaster in Enchanting Town. We have Dogboy here with us, and we intend to make him pay. The death of Dogboy is only ten minutes away. Don’t be late.”
“I thought they was supposed to save us,” Axle said, giving the thief one more zap. “Where’s this ‘Demon’s Dare’?”
“Look behind you, guey,” Nuncio said, pointing at the entrance across the way. The roller coaster rose high into the air. The dark purple tracks wound around them like a serpent wrapping around a branch.
Axle stared up at the sign: TAKE THE DEMON’S DARE — WILL YOU SURVIVE THE NIGHTMARE? The eyes drawn on it were strange bulbous things. The purple-red veins painted on them seemed to pulsate, and the pupils opened and closed at a set interval.
A square monitor clicked on. Music played as the title text came up on the screen— CURLEYWORLD MEMORIES. Music played over the sound of children laughing as historical footage ran underneath.
“Curleyworld was founded in 1957 by Zeph Curley,” said the film’s narrator. “Zeph started his life as a simple crawdad hunter in the swamps of Louisiana. His mother always used to say…”
The five of them stood there, entranced by the documentary. Axle couldn’t shake the feeling that they had something important to do, but he couldn’t stop watching long enough to figure out what it was.
Somewhere, within the tangle of boards making up the coaster, Willowwood laughed.
Hot John pulled the lap bar over his legs, jerking it back up to make sure it locked in place. Osbert leaned over the main engine that drove the chain pulling the cars. He slid the silver cap over a cylindrical motor, one of two mounted to the engine. He turned to face his enemy while cleaning his hands with an old gray cloth.
“With my modifications, the ride’s acceleration will increase by approximately thirty percent. Sadly, according to the specs I found…” Osbert held up a thick black binder labeled DEMON’S DARE. “They’ve only performed stress tests at twenty percent. Interestingly enough the effects of the ride on the human body were only tested with a ten percent increase, and they only went around three times. Thirty percent and unlimited rides should turn your brains to mush if I’ve done the math right.”
“I’ll break free, then I’ll come find you,” Dogboy said. “You’ll never see that jerk Andrus again.”
“Oh, the little pup finally has some bark to his bite— but it comes far too late,” Osbert said. “Jonathan, press the switch and send them off to their demise.”
Hot John grabbed a big metal box with two buttons (red and green) off a hook on the wall. He smiled then mashed down the green button. The cars jerked forward. Click, click, click underneath as the chain spun around the gears. The cars rolled forward several yards then started the steep climb to the top of the first hill.
Dogboy pulled at the lap bar, but it wouldn’t budge. Maybe I can use my energy to dissolve it, he thought. No. If it melts, the coupling between the cars Cindy’s going down.
Little markers mounted on the steps running alongside the track noted the current height. They were at forty feet and climbing. If only I had more time, he thought.
Silence fell. The color drained from the world. Everything stopped. Another one of those new powers I guess. He leaned down to look for a bolt or screw that would release the lap bar. Nothing. When he sat back up he noticed the burning in his chest, like it was folding in on itself. I… I can’t breathe. Oh crap. Crap. Time in? Time go? Time start?
The familiar click of the chain returned, the color came back into the world, and the train continued up the hill. Dogboy took a few quick breathes. Guess I’d better plan that a little better, he thought. He reasoned that if he paused time then immediately dissolved the lap bar he’d have enough time to grab Cindy before he passed out.
He imagined time stopping. It did. He put his hands on the lap bar, which glowed orange then drifted away like dust.
The coupling seemed fine but it was hard to tell since time was at a standstill. He started it back up for a half second, gulping in a breath as he verified the car was still attached.
Time out.
He hopped down to her car and dissolved the bar holding her in. That done, he put his arm around her waist. His chest felt like it was about to explode.
Time in.
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