“We’ve heard about the Nightwatchers and the Burned One, what about this Marylin Princess?”

  “She was a local celebrity – during the 60s. She started her career in this very park, performing on stage and doing crazy tricks. You know the sword swallowers and the rest of those lunatics at the Outer Realms expo, she was an early version of that.” John flicks his light back around to the front. “Of course, with stardom there is woe and misery. She was a cut above the rest, so of course one of her assistants got jealous of all her fame and decided that she would kick the bucket. Literally.”

  John continues on.

  “She was on a unicycle, doing some fabulous tricks and stunts – except the tire was a bit on the rough side. It went pop and she fell hard – her injuries were severe, more than anticipated. They couldn’t get her to the hospital, she died on the scene, and everyone put it down as a freak accident.”

  “What happened to her assistant, did she take over her old position?”

  “That was her intent. However, she didn’t get a chance.”

  “I’m guessing she fell to.” Vukosava concludes.

  “Yep, not from any old pce, the Ferris Wheel.”

  “You know, this pce is really freaking morbid for a park, why would anyone even go here?”

  “Hey, that’s the business.” John kneels down setting up a music box.

  *The Paranormal Music Box will detect anything moving in the 180 degrees in front of the device, which includes both the living and the dead. It is triggered when anything passes around it and will light p the red LED light and start pying a creepy tune.

  “We’ll give this bad boy a moment to calibrate.”

  The tune going off, with a tiny lever spinning round and round.

  “For a bit of a demonstration.” Amber walks over it, getting it to py for a couple seconds.

  “To help with communication, we have these very handy fshlights.” Harley holds up two of them. One red and the other blue.

  *Fshlights. Investigators twist the cap, so the light barely makes contact, then invite spirits to turn it on or off. The idea is that a spirit can complete the circuit and use the light to communicate yes/no.

  After setting up the fshlight adjacent to the music box. The group is ready.

  “Are there any spirits down here in the rollercoaster?” John asks.

  A scream goes down the tunnel, as to who it could belong to, it’s hard to tell. There are three main entities they’re dealing with, the Burned One, the Marylin Princess and the Nightwatchers. It’s going to be an eventful night, hopefully it just stays here. It doesn’t branch out to the forest. Her mind is racing with possibilities – what is going to happen tonight? Is it just going to be the entities from Starfall Cliffs or is it something else entirely? She cannot shake the notion that something is going to go wrong. She needs to act soon. But she doesn’t know what to act against.

  The fshlights turn on for a moment before there power is completely cut off.

  It takes a moment for the group to recover from the sudden bckout. Their own equipment cops a hit too.

  “What the hell was that?” Nathen asks loudly.

  As they get their lights back on, Vukosava can see out of the corner of her eye, a dark silhouette goes across the end of the tunnel, before fading away into the night. It’s another entity, but the description most likely wouldn’t fit the Nightwatchers, the Burned One or the Marylin Princess. There is something animalistic about it.

  Her instincts were getting clearer, along with her senses. Her body couldn’t avoid changing either; she’s growing taller and stronger. She can feel it. She’s been dismissing it – calling it a te growth spurt. Her mind is wrestling with this information, trying to understand it.

  Vukosava could lift things easier, run longer without tiring. She could see things at night as clearly during the day. These changes couldn’t be kept back with reason and logic. She couldn’t bear to face the facts that she’s also part of the paranormal. A supernatural creature hurt by silver, no, correction, part-werewolf hurt by silver.

  “You know what, let’s finish the tunnel and take a break.” John pces a hand on her shoulder, no doubt he can feel her heartbeat bouncing throughout her body.

  The rest of their journey in the tunnel ends pretty quickly. Vukosava couldn’t pce a lot of focus on it. In the past, she’s engaging with entities and spirts – whether they are malevolent or mysterious. Delving into their historical backgrounds, when did they start causing trouble for the locals and the people working on the grounds. She’s always keeping a very efficient and methodical mindset to research and uncover important facts.

  “You know for a first night, that went pretty well.” Nathen says.

  “In comparison to the other bullshit we have to deal with, I’d agree with that statement.” Harley is wanting to continue going over the grounds, but she doesn’t want to cause any drama. “So, let me run down the list of weirdos we’re chasing, we got the Burned One or Man, the Marylin Princess who really wanted to get payback on her envious bitch rival and to top it all off, we got creepy ass kids running around.”

  “You really do have a remarkable way of summarizing everything.” James snorts loudly.

  “It’s a gift I’ve honed over the years, along with all the typical bullshit I spout. Anyways, let’s hit the sack and get back into it tomorrow.”

  One by one, everyone falls asleep safely in one of the spare administration rooms. It’s well set up for any visitors that want to stay over. Only two of them are staying awake for the time being – John and Vukosava.

  “You want to take a moment – while the cameras aren’t rolling?” John probs gently. “I know you got a lot on your shoulders.”

  “I’m trying to get over it, John, I really am. But it keeps going.” Vukosava heads outside, looking over the entirety of the theme park. With the accumution of decades and decades of hard work. It’s something she could never dream of, heading to a pce like this.

  “You don’t know what else is going to happen, is that right?”

  Vukosava lets out a breath. “Yeah, the increase in height, that could be put off easily. A te growth spurt, for men it’s during the ages of twelve to fifteen. With women it works different, but both genders can get a te boost to their physical stature.”

  “It’s the other stuff. That’s not easy.”

  “That’s right. Usually, in most situation when dealing with entities or resolving issues reted to them. I’ve been using my mind to do so; all the information I’ve cultivated over the years. Onn the ptform and before it - during my school years. Yet there’s something else going on – I can feel danger, not just from here, but out there.”

  John gives a small smile.

  “Why have are you smirking?”

  “Because it’s fitting, we’re getting away from that castle, and there’s still shit that isn’t finished.”

  “I suppose you’re right. In the tunnel earlier, I saw a shadow.”

  “That’s not surprising in a pce like this.” John is trying to keep her calm, she can tell.

  “I can’t say this with any kind of certainty, but I’m certain that there’s a third party out here. From the forest. It didn’t belong to any of the entities that linger on these grounds.”

  “I know you too well to doubt what you’re saying.” John remarks lightly. “Do you want to meet this third party?”

  Vukosava looks over to John. “That’s a damn big leap right there.”

  “Call it the power of deduction, clearly it wanted you to see it. None of us could.” John points out. “It was too dark for our eyes anyways.”

  “Are you comfortable with this, or are you good at acting?” Vukosava asks sharply.

  “No, I’m not comfortable with this – I don’t want anything to happen to you.” John takes her shoulders with his two hands. “I wouldn’t forgive myself if that went down.”

  These words soften Vukosava words. “I appreciate that, John, I really do. But you have a point – I’ve been fighting with myself, and I can’t keep stepping on my own toes.”

  She takes hold of his right hand gently.

  “What are you going to do then?” John’s stares at her intently, not taking his eyes off her.

  “We’ll have a busy day tomorrow continuing our investigation of Starfall Cliffs. I want to get this video done – or at least as close as it can be.” Vukosava is listing off her priorities. “Everyone stays safe and doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  “That should be fine, after all we’ve all learnt from our mistakes.” John releases her. “If that ‘shadow’ appears again, you’re going after it?”

  “I need to know. I need to put my restless mind at ease. I need to understand these instincts of mine.” Vukosava turns to look at him. “Obviously, I’ll need to do that alone.”

  “That’s a bad decision and you know it.” John isn’t the same buffoon, he’s gotten smarter.

  “I know it is – but there’s something within me that grows weary of using my mind. My intelligence.” Vukosava is running off of emotions and feelings, not facts. It’s a weird, yet strangely comforting pce to be in.

  “I’m going to be honest with you, Vics. But this makes me nervous. What if this silhouette you saw earlier is a dangerous thing that wants to hurt you?”

  “It would’ve had the perfect opportunity to do so when the tunnel went dark. But it didn’t, whatever it is.” Vukosava is returning to rationality. “I know what it sounds like – but I have to do this. What if there’s another Red Queen, another powerful entity that threatens the world we live in? We can’t just rely on our mental faculties.”

  “You think things are going to spiral out of control that badly?”

  “Yes.” Vukosava answers simply.

  John doesn’t say anything, he’s interlocking his fingers together. “You really don’t stop, do you?”

  “I know I drive you crazy, but I can’t stop thinking about what’s going to happen next. The Red Queen is only the beginning.”

  “You’re probably right. In any case, why don’t we get some shut eye?”

  As they settle down for the night, Vukosava continues to have a hard time falling asleep. She reflects on the Outer Realms expo; a recent tragedy can give fuel to an already strong fire. Occultists, Cultists, Wizards, Witches and all manner of folk that make deals with dark entities and spirits, that draw on despair and rage. They could profit greatly from the tragedies of the state.

  But that begs the question, is she on their radar? Do they sense something ‘off’ about her?

  “There’s no way of knowing.” Vukosava whispers quietly to herself.

  She struggles to go asleep, the quarters they’re in feel restrictive and custrophobic. It’s the first time she’s gotten hungry to go outside at night and allow herself to roam freely. Without anyone else around – but it’s a dangerous and foolish idea. There could be any number of possible dangers afoot. It’s hard to not be constantly active, her mind isn’t the easiest thing to turn off. It’s like a light switch hidden behind a door.

  Vukosava continues shuffling around for at least fifteen minutes. Finally, she forces her eyes shut, refusing to open them. Eventually, her body concedes.

  -

  “She’s getting restless, isn’t she?” A dy remarks from the safety of the forest. “Where you that concerned that you’d risk exposure, Moeris?”

  “You would sit by?” Moeris is impatient. “I’m certain that we’ve been followed.”

  “Who told you that, Moeris, your herbs or the ghosts that you commune with?”

  “I have spoken to some of the spirits that linger here. This park is a burial ground to many.” Moeris folds his arms. “They can feel it too, Vivienne.”

  The dy doesn’t take kindly to the usage of her mortal name. A constraint of the past, but also a reminder of what she once was. “Moeris, you were not meant to go – you didn’t have the leave of the Usurper.”