No title yet but i promise its worth it

Chapter One: The Fair

The abruptly harsh winds started to settle down, leaving the crisp orange and brown leaves scattered among the entrance of the Georgia state fair. As he stumbled through the archway decorated in fall garland and calligraphy letters, Elliot questioned if the wind had even happened. Not a single person at the fair turned their heads as the wind brought in a man who seemed to have popped up out of nowhere. Elliot glided through the candy and food vendors desperately searching for answers under the dark winter sky freckled with glittering stars.

Something clicked in Elliot's mind as a familiar voice pierced the air, "El! Where have you been, we've been looking all over for you!" The voice belonged to a small blonde girl in her teens. Elliot recognized her right away: Lydia, his wife. Except they are both younger now, like they were brought back to his junior year of high school. With one quick glance around, Elliot finally realized where (and when) he was. The Georgia state fair of 1987, his first date with his soon to be wife, and the day that has haunted him ever since.

"Hello? Elliot?" Lydia waved a hand in front of his face trying to wave him out of his daze.

"Oh Lyds, sorry I just...I just went to find the bathroom..." Elliot trailed off, still trying to figure out why he was brought back to relive the worst night of his life.

"What's that in your hand?" Lydia questioned. He forgot about the object in his hand. The object that had brought him back in the first place. It was a pocket-sized rectangular device with a small calculator-like screen on it. The top half of the device was grayish silver and the bottom half was black. The small screen on the device was a dull olive color that seemed to be glowing. Right above the screen was a sharp looking logo for some company called StrakhTech. Right below the screen is a small circular button that looks made to fit a finger pad.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Elliot dismissed her question as he stuffed the device into his back pocket.

"Oh, okay. Well, we were just about to head off to the fun house. You ready?" Lydia's words sent his mind back as he recalled what happened that night in the fun house.

Gloomy clouds strolled into the sky as the group headed towards the fun house. The strong scent of over buttered popcorn and fizzing soda filled the air. Elliot recalled the eerie feeling he felt walking with the group. The entrance of the fun house was the mouth of a clown face that stared down at them like it knew all their secrets. Like it knew the dark side that the group of kids were hiding. Like it knew that a few minutes inside the fun house, their dark sides wouldn't be hidden any longer. Elliot couldn't be scared in front of his friends, though. So, as much as he hated it, he entered.

Snapping back to reality, Elliot finally spoke up with a timid voice, "Hey guys, maybe we should go to the carnival games instead." He held his breath, nervous about what his friends would think of him chickening out. But then, he thought, what would it matter if it meant he could avoid the terrors of that night.

"I think that is an amazing idea, El! Maybe you could win me some prizes." Lydia exclaimed as she batted her eyes at him. Elliot sighed with relief as the rest of the group agreed with him. Maybe he was brought back to prevent the horrid thing from happening. He was able to live in the moment and not think about it. About 20 minutes later, Elliot and his friends had won their partners a few stuffed animals and plush dolls. Elliot was especially proud of the fluffy white teddy bear he had won for Lydia. He knew he would never forget the smile on her face that spread warmth through his body on that chilly night.

After sitting down with their new prizes, Elliot and Lydia looked at each other. Elliot saw that sparkle in her eye and new that this was the moment. He closed his eyes and leaned in for a kiss as she did the same, but where her lips were supposed to be, there was nothing. Elliot opened his eyes to see a faint image of Lydia fading right in front of him. He frantically reached out, trying to hold on to her, but there was no use. She was completely gone. His head spun as he looked wildly looked around. Just like Lydia, his other friends started to fade out of sight. He looked some more and saw that everyone at the fair was fading.

Not only were the people fading, but the dark winter sky, once filled with stars, started to turn colors. It was no longer a blackish-blue, but rather a soft, light blue littered with white clouds. The trees, once bare from the coming winter season, now spotted with full green leaves. The vibrant lights of the fair were now off (even some bulbs were busted) and the warm colors of the vendor booths had faded to washed out, dirt streaked boards with occasional spots of mold. Elliot now sat alone at the same bench (but with more vines crawling up the legs of it) in a place he once knew but is now wilted and depressing.

"WHY," Elliot screamed to no one, "WHY ME, WHY NOW, WHY THIS?!" He was lost and more confused than ever.

"Why did you let them Eli?" A voiced whispered from behind him. Elliot turned around but he only saw the eerily vacant skeleton of a fair. "Oh El, you knew it was wrong, why did you let them do this to me..." the voice spoke up now and he could tell where it was coming from: The fun house.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know they would go that far. We never meant for it to happen." Elliot stammered as he let a tear fall from his eye. "I wanted to save you. I really did. I-I... I didn't mean to..." At this point he was sobbing, but not out of sadness. He was crying out of fear. Fear for his life and what the voice from the fun house will do to him. Elliot's stammering came to a halt as he saw something emerge from the mouth of the fun house. A rotting corpse crawling towards him. Elliot tried to scream but nothing came out. He knew there was nothing he could do to save himself.

The last thing Elliot ever did was take the device from his back pocketand throw it into the mouth of the fun house hoping nobody else would pickit up and suffer the same consequences as him.