Hello dear readers, this is a post on behalf of a dear friend.
You can check out his stuff on Curensea at:
https://www.curensea.com/hollowfantasy
or on his SubscribeStar account at:
https://www.subscribestar.com/hollowfantasy
I will probably be posting more of his work as time goes on,
I hope that you find it as fascinating and artful as I do.
Enjoy!
The Girl Who Walked Straight Into Hell
An old, abandoned amusement park on the edge of a nowhere town. Rusted roller coasters and empty stalls. Impossible to resist for a group of reckless teenagers. Jack and his friends have decided to stay the night. They know not the hell that awaits them.
A brief introduction. Jack. A man with more questions than answers. An unfortunate affliction that often leads to misery. Zack. A man of manipulation and deceit, unable to see the value of human lives. Sarah. A rather innocent girl, and always by Jack’s side. She is highly dependent on others, Jack in particular. Lucy. One who knows no boundaries, only the thrill of excitement. She is fickle, both cruel and kind.
Four friends enter into the dreaded labyrinth. As they enter, the gates shut behind them and a light fog settles over the park. An eerie presence follows their every footstep.
It seems mundane enough. It’s old and dying but nothing more than that. They follow the path laid out for them and it leads them to their first step down a dark path.
A gradual decline. It is unclear how far down it goes. As they move further in, the park slopes further and further into a dark abyss. As they move deeper into it, the fog lifts. Taking its place, an ominous, red glow. Like fire. A dark force creeps its way into their minds.
Zack and Lucy are unaware of the change, detached from reality as they are. Unhinged, you might say. Jack and Sarah, on the other hand, are both susceptible to the madness of this place, holding each other tightly. Jack’s curious and open mind leaves the door wide open to the influence of such a place. Sarah, pure and innocent, has no defense. Every step of her life, she has been shielded from evil. And here it will be her undoing.
She and Jack have been friends their whole life. And while Jack slowly changed over the course of time, as all do, he has always shielded her from the world. She is as defenseless as a child. And it is all Jack’s doing, for better or worse.
Lucy’s eagerness for adventure opens her up to the influence of this place. She is too excited. Her pace quickens, and soon is enveloped by the park, beyond the range of visibility. Something prevents Jack from calling out to her. Something Jack is all too familiar with.
Fear. A force Jack has yet to conquer. All his life, he has survived with quick thinking and a clever mind. Both of which are useless in this place. He must overcome his weakness, or face the consequences.
Zack too, has been taken in. In stark contrast to Jack, Zack has no fear. He never had. And this makes him a perfect conduit. Zack the person slowly fades away, as evil floods his body.
Zack was often accused of not being human. He cared for nothing but his own amusement, often at the pain of others. But he was never one to get his hands dirty. A man of manipulation and no regret. And now he has paid the ultimate price for it.
Now there is no Zack. Just a thing that resembles him. A punishment fitting his crimes. He lived his whole life without empathy, without compassion. So now he has nothing. He is nothing.
Jack and Sarah walk just a few paces ahead. They are unaware that evil eyes that once belonged to Zack, are glaring into them. Shrill howls and shrieks surround them. Otherworldly monsters beyond the barriers of the park. Just what is this place?
Jack and Sarah’s panic increases, as Zack’s pace quickens.
Unexpected. Sarah is thrown to the ground. Dark, smoky hands wrap tightly around her throat. Jack attempts to stop him but is immediately dealt with. His strength is unreal, amplified by dark influence, and attempts to fight back are meaningless.
A lifeless corpse is all that remains of Sarah. The thing that was Zack turns its gaze on Jack. Jack makes his peace with what’s about to happen. Sarah was gone anyway, he figures. But if anyone is going to kill Jack, it isn’t going to be Zack, no matter what force possesses him.
Jack and Lucy had a strange relationship. Jack and Sarah’s was as simple as they come. A perfect couple without problems, a fairy tale. Perhaps that’s why.
Like a moth to flame, Jack had always been drawn to Lucy. Wild, untamed, dangerous. For Lucy, the line between love and hate was near nonexistent. In equal measure, she tore him down and built him back up. It was at times, a terrifying display, like a great wolf playing with its food.
And Jack loved every minute of it.
Like a monstrous beast, Lucy charges in out of the abyss. Strong as the darkness had made Zack, it is nothing compared to Lucy. She had always been wild, but this is something else entirely. She tears him limb from limb. Like a savage animal. In truth, this is what she’s always been. An monster locked in a cage. Now the door has been unlocked, and the key thrown away.
You couldn’t call it a match or even a fight. The second Lucy charged in, it was over. See, Lucy may have been hard to deal with, but she had one thing most people, and especially Zack, didn’t. Loyalty.
The thing that was Zack now lies dead. Lucy helps Jack to his feet. Dark smoke rises from Lucy’s body. Zack and Lucy were both consumed by the darkness. But the thing about Lucy. No one told her what to do. Ever.
There’s still further down to go. For all they know, the park keeps going down, straight into hell itself. Jack decides to head back to the surface. He’s had enough. Sarah’s death was far more than he was prepared for. But Lucy? She’s staying.