Author's Game Entries

*Task Two: It

"All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel..."

The first lines of the familiar nursery rhyme echo throughout Nicola's empty head, the dull sound of a child's piano being played accompanying the music. Each ding of a piano key being hit is directly followed by a dull thud, like someone had hit the key too hard. As he listens, the thuds gradually start to speed up and grow louder, to the point of even drowning out the music itself. It sounds like a heartbeat. It sounds like a heartbeat. His heartbeat.

With a sharp gasp, Nicola bolts upright abruptly, his eyes wide and his heart thudding frantically in his ears. It takes a long moment of hyperventilating breaths before he realizes that everything had just been a dream. He's completely fine, since it was just a dream... Just a dream.

He lets out a slow breath to calm himself, only for his throat to clench up again at the memory of Jessica. That wasn't a dream. She really is dead and they really are trapped here in the carnival. Nicola feels his panic returning as these thoughts whirl around in his head, dragging him back into a perpetual state of fear.

Scrambling to his feet quickly, he's about to make a dart for the fence-line when he realizes he's not anywhere near it. He's not even outside anymore. He stumbles somewhat, disoriented, his eyes widening as his head whips around to take in his surroundings. The last thing he remembers is the body, everyone screaming and running, and then... Nothing. What happened? Had he fainted?

A lump grows in his throat as he comes to this conclusion; it's highly probable. He's always been a wuss when it comes to anything horror related. But... The real question is, how did he get in here? Did someone drag him in here to save him? To leave him to die?

As he looks around the dark room again, he almost screams when he suddenly comes face to face with another person. They look horrible, with mud stained and crumpled clothes, and a mop of messy hair paired eyes so wide behind their glasses they look like dart boards. Oh.. wait. That's just him. Nicola tries to force his heart rate to calm as he takes a step forward, watching as the figure mimics his actions. It's just a mirror.

He finds four other reflections of himself as he looks around the in the dimly lit space, all looking back at him with the same scared expression; like little rabbits caught in a bear trap. With a slow steadying breath, Nicola focuses his gaze on the ground again. If these are mirrors, and he's in the carnival, then this is clearly the Hall of Mirrors. Thus clearly there has to be a way out, if it's just another attraction.

Looking back up and behind him, hoping for a clear exit in sight, his spirit drops as he's met with the same image of himself again. Whoever brought him here must have really pulled him deep into the hall if the exit isn't close. This thought draws out a sigh from him, before he finally looks around for the one dark spot in the wall without him reflected in it. There's only one way out, and it's through there; though this maze.

As he steps through the entryway into the next hallway, Nicola freezes up as a slow, soft twinkling sound of an old wind up toy fills the air. His heart flutters in his chest and his eyes grow wide, it's the same tune from his dream. The song seems to seep through the walls, and around every crack of the mirrors. There aren't any words, but the rhyme is still so recognizable that he could have sung along if he wanted too.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the tune reaches its end. 'Pop! Goes the weasel.' Goes the song in Nicola's head, just as the wind up of the toy is complete. He tenses up as he waits for something, anything, to happen next; like a child waiting for the Jack in the box to pop out at any moment.

His anxieties are fulfilled as the door he hadn't even known was there shuts with a sharp click, cutting him off from the room he'd been in before, while also cutting off the little bit of moonlight that'd managed to sift in through there. He's practically in complete darkness. As he looks around frantically for some better source of light, he feels the familiar sickening feeling from the gate crawling over him.