We Discovered Something Horrifying at Our Favorite Amusement park | Scary stories from The Internet

“In two miles take exit 19 for Valley Park Drve  South. ” Siri chirped from my sister’s phone. “Charlotte, turn that off. 

I know where I’m going. ” “You sure about that? I mean…it  has been a couple decades, Mark.

” “Please, like I could ever forget where Adventure  Valley is. Come on, we spent every summer of-“ “There it is! ” I swerved briefly into the  oncoming lane as Charlotte thrust her arm in front of my face to point excitedly out the  window.

“There’s Adventure Valley! Oh my God, what ride is that? That coaster,  it was called ‘Steel’ something, right?

No, no, wait, that’s  Mayhem Mountain, isn’t it? ” I gently pushed my sister’s arm out of my face  and back over to her seat. I couldn’t fault her for her excitement while I was trying so hard to  control my own giddiness.

It felt like we were kids again, yelling and bouncing in the back  seat of my parent’s car as the first shining rails and wooden planks of the park’s roller  coasters came into view above the treetops. “That’s the Steel Viper. ” I told  her.

“Mayhem Mountain’s on the other end of the park. And that wooden  coaster over there is the Excalibur. ” “Oh yeah!

I remember those!  I was always too much of a wus to ride the viper but I rode  the shit out of the Excalibur. ” “Well, Charlotte, you’re an adult now. 

I think it’s time to take on the Viper. ” “As long as the contractors have tested  it and given it the okay, I’m in. ” That was really the question, wasn’t it?

We  didn’t know which rides had been inspected and cleared and which ones hadn’t. I sent  up a silent prayer that Mayhem Mountain was counted among the rides that had. I’d  left Brandon several voicemails asking about it since he was the one in charge  of everything.

But with how fast things had been moving since we’d bought the park,  I couldn't fault him for being a busy man. If you'd told 12 year old me that my  crazy, hyper, wild-eyed friend Brandon Decker would end up graduating cum laude  from Northwestern business school I would have laughed in your face. Brandon?

No way.  Tyler, maybe, but never Brandon. In fact, half the reason I think he choose a business  designation was because of Adventure Valley.

When the park closed in 1989 Brandon had  gathered us all together in his basement and, with a gravitas and solemness I’ve never seen in  him before or since, asked us to make the pact. At the time the promise had been the most serious  vow that five 12 year olds could ever make. High off of an entire summer of Adventure Valley  fun, we agreed, with all the ceremony of a meeting of parliament, that we would one day come  together and buy Adventure Valley Amusement Park.

Of course, back then we’d planned to just buy it  and ride the roller coasters into the ground. We decided which friends from school we would  let in and which enemies would be barred from the gates. It had always been our park,  and it was only right that we should have it.

It had taken twenty years but we eventually  did fulfill our promise. With a hell of a lot of pushing from Brandon (and a sizable offer of  collateral from Tyler) the bank had agreed to give us the multi million dollar loan toppppp buy,  repair, refurbish and reopen the park. The size of the loan that the six of us were responsible for  gave me nightmares for several weeks.

How would this place ever turn a profit? It had been closed  decades ago after operating in the red for several years. The county had experienced a high number  of runaways and missing persons in the area in the last years of the 1980s.

The entire region  was on edge as the cases mounted and people in the area became depressed and suspicious of each  other. It had absolutely killed park attendance. But seeing the first cresting waves of  roller coasters rails through the trees made me all but forget about  my financial worries.

This was Adventure Valley for Christ’s sake. If  we opened the gates, people would come. “There!

There, there, there – that’s  our exit! ” Charlotte squeaked. I pulled off the interstate and took a left  under the bridge.

Less than a mile later we came upon the acres of the park’s parking lots  to our right. We turned in and drove all the way up to the front near the gates where  several other cars were parked – a Lexus, a Mini Cooper, an old Chevelle and a Honda  Civic – another rental car like ours. “Looks like we’re the last  ones here,” Charlotte said.

She was right. As we pulled up  next to the Lexus I noticed a group of people standing next to the  ticket booth, waving to us excitedly. “Oh my God, is that Tyler? 

Jesus, he’s lost some weight, he’s so skinny now! And Brandon’s losing his  hair. Holy shit, is that Koji?

Koji got hot! ” “Calm down, Paris Hilton, these guys are  my friends. They’re off limits to you, same rules as when we were teenagers. 

Besides, half of them are married. ” “Really…which half? ” I raised an eyebrow at Charlotte and  shook my head in amused bewilderment.

My little sister never had  outgrown her boy craziness. “Wait, who’s that? ” Charlotte  asked as we got out of the car.

“What? That’s Scott! You know Scott.

” “Not Scott, Scott looks exactly  the same. The girl next to Scott. ” “Oh.

” I had put this off so long that I’d actually forgotten to tell my sister at all.  “That’s Dani, Scott’s girlfriend. ” “Dani as in Danielle Burcher?

” “Well…yeah. ” My sister gave me such a horrified  look that you’d think I’d betrayed her to her death. But it was fleeting  and quickly replaced by a sly smile.

“Fine by me. I’m sure she’s not  the same person she was in high school. We’re all adults now,  right?

Now come on, let’s go! ” A sigh of relief escaped my chest as  I slammed the car door and followed Charlotte over to the entrance. Though  I saw most of these guys every year, seeing us all here together, standing at  the ticket booths of Adventure Valley, brought me a sort of happiness I  hadn’t experienced in many years.

“Mark-Lantice. I can’t believe it. ” Tyler had  an edgy, commanding voice that probably made his many employees shudder and scatter.

But I knew him  like a brother so his bravado just made me laugh. “Can you believe it? ” I asked as  I gave him a hug and a slap on the back.

“Back at the front gates. $15 a  day doesn’t seem so ridiculous now. ” “Pfft, $15 a day, my ass.

” Brandon  said as he shook my hand. “By my math, it looks like we’ll be charging about $65 a day. ” “I’ll pay it!

” Charlotte  smiled as she gave Koji a hug. “Are people really going to pay $65 a day? ” Koji asked.

“Even Disneyland only charges $85  and there you get access to two parks. ” “How could I forget,” Brandon shook his  head. “One of our investors works for the mouse.

Pity they won’t let you  design any artwork for this place. ” “Come on, man, I’m not an  artist, I’m an engineer. ” “Don’t you mean imagineer?

”  Charlotte winked at him. Koji sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, I do.

” As Brandon and Charlotte teased Koji I made  my way over to the side of the ticket booth where Scott and his girlfriend were conversing. I  didn’t know why Scott was being so standoffish but I thought it might have something to do with the  investment. Scott, the least well off of us six, worked at his dad’s collision shop and hadn’t  had a whole lot of money to invest.

I thought maybe he was embarrassed about the money but  now, watching him lean against the booth with slowly shifting eyes, I realized it wasn’t that  at all - Scott was just stoned. Same old Scott. “What’s up, Burnout?

My brother. I haven’t seen  you in like 15 years, how about a bro hug? ” Scott smiled and pushed off the wall  to come give me a quick hug.

“Hey, how’s it going, man? Shit, look  at you. What is your diet, man, rabbit food and lettuce?

You’re not gonna  get any ladies with that skinny body. ” “Your mom doesn’t seem to mind. ” “Hey, Mark.

I’m Dani. Do you remember me?  Dani Burcher?

” Scott’s girlfriend gave me a shy smile and stuck out her hand so  we could engage in a stiff handshake. “Yeah, I think so. You were in my  sister’s class, right?

Charlotte Lantice? ” Dani had the decency to look embarrassed.  “Yeah, but we weren’t really friends.

” That’s putting it lightly, I thought. “We were freshmen when you  guys were seniors. ” She added.

“Yep, I do remember that. ” Maybe I should just get it over  with. I called Charlotte over and the re-introduction of the  two girls, while awkward, was over pretty quickly to everyone’s relief. 

We were all eager to get into the park. It was odd not stopping at the window for tickets  and even odder to walk around the rusting turn-styles of the front gates. I delighted in  reminding myself that we owned this place now.

Brandon gave us a tour of the park. Now so much  of the geography – we all knew that inside and out – but of the hypothetical layout and  reorganization of the park as he saw it. “The Excalibur is going to need the most  amount of work, according to Rich.

” (Brandon’s head contractor). “A roller coaster made of wood  exposed to the elements for all these years…we’ll keep as much of the original structure as is  safe but we might have to rebuild most of it. ” “Do we have the money for that?

” Scott asked  loudly from where he walked behind us with Dani. “Yeah,” Tyler said. “We have the money for that.

” “Ah, Mr Moneybags. That Mini dealership treating  you good? ” I nudged him hard with my shoulder.

Tyler stumbled but kept enough composure to  push me back into a passing churro stall. “Those six BMW dealerships  are treating me very well. ” “Well enough to serve as the sizable  collateral we needed.

” Brandon added. “So,” Charlotte ran up behind us and threw her arms around Tyler and Koji.  “Can we…ride some rides?

” “Are you kidding? Why do you  think we’re here! ” Tyler laughed.

“I’m just here for Mayhem Mountain. ” I said, clapping my hands and rubbing  them together eagerly. Brandon threw up his hands.

“Alright, fine! I thought you guys would be interested  in how your investment is coming along. ” Koji snorted.

“All we’re interested in is  the projected ROI and, more importantly, which rides have passed safety inspection! ” “Oh,” Brandon stopped walking  and tried to look annoyed, and, failing that, he smiled. “A little  over half of them are rideable.

” Suddenly everybody was talking at once. “Is Steel Viper open? ” “Yep, that one’s on.

” “What about Snapdragon? ” “That one is good to go, too. ” “Renegade Falls?

” “The water’s not on. ” “High Roller? ” “Yes.

” “Space Spin? ” “Oh yeah. ” “Power Tower?

” “They’re doing the inspection this week. ” There was only one ride I really cared  about – mine and Brandon’s favorite. “What about Mayhem Mountain?

” “Yes. ” He answered to  collective groans from the rest. Mayhem Mountain had always been our thing. 

The others had always been happy to ride High Roller and Snapdragon into exhaustion,  Brandon and I always split off toward the end of the day to ride Mayhem  Mountain into the twilight hours. “Ugh,” Charlotte shuddered. “I hate that ride.

” “It’s boring as hell,” Koji agreed.  “I helped design something similar for Disneyland Hong Kong. We put it  in Fantasy Land, for fucks sake.

” “Hey, that ride is awesome. It’s long and it goes upside down,” I argued. “Charlotte  is even too scared to ride it!

” “I’m not scared of that ride, it just  gives me the creeps. Something about it, just, I don’t know, seems off. ” “Alright, look.

We’ll start at this end of the  park and work our way towards the back. That way we can ride every ride that’s passed inspection  - including Mayhem Mountain. ” Brandon said.

“And Snapdragon,” Tyler added  and the others nodded excitedly. “Yes, every ride. And of course we can ride  them, you know, as many times as we want.

” “Hell yes, brother. ” Koji high-fived Brandon  and we headed down the street toward Space Spin. Our progress through the park was blissfully  slow.

Everyone wanted to ride every ride multiple times and one person always had to  stay in the loading area to operate the ride. It only took an hour or two to forget that I was  a fully grown 35 year old man. Being back here, running through the line-ways with my friends, arguing who got the first row of the first  car, it was like being 12 years old again.

Still, my eye was constantly drawn up  over the buildings into the distance, to the back of the park where the high, gleaming rails of Mayhem Mountain shone in the  unobscured sun. There would be no arguing who got front row on that coaster - it was me  and Brandon. It was always me and Brandon.

Charlotte, Tyler and Koji  were the most like children, constantly running ahead and arguing  over which ride to get on next, yelling back to ask Brandon if this one or  that one had been cleared by the contractors. Brandon and I held back from the group a bit,  discussing ideas and possible improvements for the park. Scott and Dani took up the rear of  the group, quietly talking and lighting joints.

When we arrived at the Enterprise, a  simple ride that consisted of spinning cars on a circular track, I offered to flip  the switch while the rest of the group rode to excess. The Enterprise always made me  sick when we were kids. Brandon offered to stay on the platform with me to chat  while everyone else rode the ride.

I flipped the switch to turn the ride on and  as the cars spun away from the loading area, the Enterprise’s signage came into  view. I sighed. All day I had been trying to ignore the bright graffiti  sprayed all over the park but the words painted over the signage for the  Enterprise were impossible to ignore.

Where did the missing kids go? And the rest of the graffiti in the park was  much the same. Most said things like: “Where are they?

”, “Runaway Row”, “Find Ryan Kinskey”,  and “The Missing are now Dead”. Similar sayings could be found in town sprayed across a few  dilapidated buildings in the industrial district. Brandon’s eyes avoided the sign but I  could tell he was thinking about it, too.

“Do you think the reason they  shut this park down, I mean, do you see that being an issue for park  attendance? ” I asked as casually as I could. Brandon was quiet for a few moments as he waited for the ride to slow to a stop so  he could flip the switch again.

“Nah, I don’t think so. Low attendance issues  aren’t actually what shut the park down. ” “They aren’t?

” This surprised me. “Nope. When we were negotiating the sale of the park, I was given access to the  park’s financials in the 80s.

” “So they weren’t operating at a loss? ” “Oh they were. But this park has operated  in the red since opening day in the 70s.

Half of their revenue was being fed back  into something called ‘county services’, whatever that is. The bank couldn’t tell  me and believe me, I tried to find out. ” “County services…” I mused.

“Yep. Bizarre. And according to the  paperwork the park was closed because the owner didn’t want to live here anymore. 

And he couldn’t be bothered to wait for a decent offer on the property so he just  sold it to the bank for next to nothing. ” “So he was a rich guy. ” I leaned back against  the railing to stretch my back.

“And an idiot. ” “Yes – to an extreme in both cases. The  owner of the park was Abel Bissette.

” “Abel Bisette? Related to that  French billionaire, I’m guessing? ” Brandon nodded.

“Michael Bisette. He built this  park for his son in the 70s. Abel was never really what we would call ‘business inclined’. 

I’ve always heard him described as ‘simple’. ” “I can’t believe the son of a  billionaire lives in this area. ” “Well, not anymore.

He moved on decades ago. ” I shook my head in disbelief. Who would ever have  thought that our simple little park was owned by a famous billionaire’s son?

Hell, I may have  even sat next to him on rides and had no idea! “You guys want to go again? ” Brandon yelled to  the others as the ride again came to a stop.

“I’m ready to move on,” Koji yelled  back. “Anybody want to ride again? ” “Nope!

” a chorus of voices replied. It was near 5 o’clock when we finally  arrived at Mayhem Mountain. As the sun began to set a familiar panic and urgency  welled in the pit of my stomach.

It took a moment for me to realize that we didn’t  have to leave when the park closed this time – because the park didn’t close. We  could stay until sun-up if we wanted to! As I eagerly approached the turn-style for  Mayhem Mountain Tyler spoke up behind me.

“Listen, can we run into town and grab  something to eat before we ride Mayhem? ” “You really want to ride Mayhem  after we eat? ” Asked Koji.

“Good point. ” “There’s only one loop,” Dani rolled her eyes. “Two,” I said.

“Don’t forget the inline roll. ” “Yep, two. ” Scott answered.

“Plus it’s a two  minute ride. If your food isn’t sitting well, you’ve got a long wait ‘til it’s over. ” “Look,” I said, “Let’s ride  it a couple times and then go eat.

When we come back we’ll see how we feel. ” Everyone nodded and we started walking through  the line-ways up to the platform. When we reached the loading dock, I was excited to see our  favorite green car sitting on the track.

“Front seat! ” Brandon and I yelled simultaneously as the train cars came into view  and everyone behind us groaned. “I’m staying here,” Charlotte said. 

“I’ll just work the launchpad thingy. ” “Still scared after all these  years, Char? ” Scott teased her.

“Shut up, Burnout. ” Scott laughed and tousled her hair before  running and jumping into the first car behind Brandon and I. Dani got in  next to him and then Tyler and Koji took the second car.

We pulled the shoulder  restraints down and they locked in place. “Ready? ” Charlotte asked.

“Yep! ” Brandon yelled back,  “Send the car through! ” Charlotte pulled the lever  and the brakes disengaged.

As the car moved forward I turned to Brandon. “Did we get the green car on purpose? ”  I yelled to him as the coaster clacked around the load platform and began the  clattery climb up the first lift hill.

“Yep! We sent cars through here all morning but I made sure Rich knew to leave the  Green Machine in the loading bay. ” “Awesome.

” As the train climbed up the lift hill I  made no attempt to hide my utter glee. I looked out over the expansive park and couldn’t  believe it was mine. Every track, every car, every turn-style, every screw, from the front  gate to the overflow parking lot in the back, it was all ours.

How I wished I could go  back in time and tell a young me waiting in the two hour line for Mayhem Mountain  – one day, you will OWN this place. And as we crested the hill and the train fell into  the first drop, I realized I essentially had gone back in time. At least, I was screaming like  a 12 year old, as was everyone else behind me.

We dipped into the first tester hill and then  banked hard and up to the second lift hill. We dropped from there, down into the vertical  loop, banked around a set of gift ships, up briefly and then down a small hill into  the inline roll. When we arrived back at the loading bay we were all screaming and  whooping.

Charlotte didn’t even have to ask, just smiled at us and sent us through again. We went twice more before we finally  got off the ride. Koji walked over to check out the control panel while  the rest of us taunted my sister.

“You sure you don’t want  to go, Char? It’s awesome. ” “Nah, I’m good.

I have no problem being  the carny for this ride. ” She laughed. “Come on, Charlotte, just one time.

One time  and we’ll leave you alone. ” Tyler urged. “No, no, no, no, no.

No way. Not interested.  I’ll ride anything else, though!

” “Hey, do you guys know what  Track B is? ” Koji asked. “Track B?

What do you mean? ” Brandon walked over to Koji at the control board and  raised an eyebrow. “That’s weird.

” “It’s probably just the track  they use to get the cars into the storage bay,” Scott said with a shrug. “No,” Koji said. “That’s called a transfer  track.

Track B has to be something else. ” “Yeah, well I’ve been on this ride enough  times to know that there is no other track. ” “Yep,” Tyler agreed with me.

“He has. ” “So…should we try it? ” Brandon tested.

“Hell no. ” Said Charlotte. “If you don’t know  what Track B is that means the contractors don’t know about it either.

Which means it hasn’t been  inspected in at least 20 years. That’s suicide. ” “Look,” Koji said, “if Track B exists then even the most incompetent of engineers would  have found it during an inspection.

” “And Rich cleared this entire  ride,” Brandon nodded. “It’s probably just the ride in reverse. We’re good.

” “Well, we’re in,” announced Scott  from the other side of the track, though Dani didn’t look  quite on board with the idea. “Mark? ” Tyler asked.

“Yeah, I guess I’m in. What the worst that could  happen: we get funneled into a repair bay? ” “Alright, then I’m in too.

” Tyler said hesitantly. Koji shrugged. “Here goes nothing.

” He flipped the switch over to Track B and  a moment later a loud metallic scraping some distance away filled the park. The sound  lasted almost a minute. I studied the familiar silver roller coaster under the pink sky of the  setting sun but I saw no physical changes to the track.

I looked over at Brandon and a shrug  of his shoulders told me he didn’t either. “Shall we? ” Scott asked, gesturing to the train cars we’d just disembarked.

I gave  Charlotte a questioning look but she shook her head emphatically no.  So it was just the six of us again. “It’s only right you two take  the bow of the ship.

” Tyler gave a mock salute. “Oh Captains, my captains. ” I laughed and hopped into the right side  of the front row.

Brandon crawled into the seat next to me. Tyler and Koji  got in behind us and Scott and Dani took the back. We pulled the shoulder  bars down and they locked into place.

“Are you sure about this? ” Charlotte  asked when everyone was settled. Dani said something from her place a few rows back  but all I heard was Brandon yelling “Pull it!

” The brakes released and the train rolled  away from the platform and into the twilight of dusk. The lights had lit up on the  track while we’d been arguing and the roller coaster looked absolutely beautiful.  I was filled with awe and reverence at what this place truly meant to me and my friends. 

It was a symbol of our youth and innocence and blissful ignorance of the world. It  was our own little bubble of happiness. The coaster again climbed the lift hill  and from the top Brandon and I studied the track but in those few seconds I saw no  difference.

Brandon looked over and I shook my head at him disappointedly. By the time  we reached the vertical loop halfway through the ride it was clear that there was no Track  B. But it was hard to be upset because I was still on Mayhem Mountain and still found  it an impossible challenge not to smile.

We banked around the now brightly lit gift shops, up the small tester hill and then back  down to the inline roll. Except…the inline roll was suddenly above us. We’d missed it. 

Instead the track now descended into a large, square hole in the ground behind the gift  shops – and we were headed directly into it. I was in too much shock to scream or even  move. The black hole swallowed us in an instant and we descended into complete  darkness.

I felt a comfortable pressure leave my shoulders and realized that the  shoulder bars had released. I gripped the front lip of the ledge of my seat and heard  the terrified screams of my friends behind me as the coaster suddenly spun into what felt  like an inline roll. I was too scared to do anything but hold on for dear life though some  part of my brain registered that the g-forces of the roll probably would have been enough to  keep me in my seat if I had let go.

Probably. We came out of the inline roll and dropped  again - hard. As the roller coaster dropped the room suddenly lit up around us and I saw  the track below arcing up into a light tester hill.

As we hit the bottom of the hill the  shoulder bars lowered mechanically. The car went over the small tester hill and then  braked to start up another tall lift hill. I took my first breath since dropping  through the ground and looked around, tuning out the screams of  Dani and Tyler behind me.

We were in what can be described as a cavernous  room and I only assume it stretched to the farthest reaches of the park above. There were  lots of vertical loops, high drops and sharp curves that put the track perpendicular to the  ground. Throughout the entire sublevel building lamps dotted the wall every 30 feet.

They put  out a dreary, yellowed glow for as far as the eye could see. But many were burnt out and  in parts the track disappeared into darkness. But in the dull, yellow edges of the light I  saw something that registered in me a horror beyond death.

Far away from us, in a section  of shadowy track, I saw the high crest of a peak hill which reached almost the ceiling of  the giant room. And then the track just…ended. Suddenly I felt the horrible reality of the  world outside my mind began to bleed in.

Dani was screaming uncontrollably, Tyler was crying,  bawling even, Koji was yelling at Brandon who was looking straight at me, hitting my leg hard  and repeating my name. As the cars continued to climb I finally gave him my attention. I  didn’t want to be alone with the fear anymore.

“What is this? ” was all I could think of to say. “We have to get off this ride.

We  have to get off this ride, Mark. ” “I know, man. ” “We’re going to die.

” “I know, man! ” I yelled as we reached the top of  the lift hill and dropped over the other side. I squeezed my eyes shut until I felt the shoulder  bars once again release and I bit my lip to keep from crying.

I opened my eyes and choked as  I watched the track ahead of us bend up into a vertical loop. I reached up and tried to pull  the shoulder bar down but it was locked in place. “Hang on!

Hang onto the seats! ”  I yelled as loud as I could. As we approached the loop I felt the  brakes engaging, slowing the car, and a tow cable catch beneath my feet. 

We were being pulled up through the loop, but too slowly for gravity  to keep us in our seats. As the train began to invert I  felt my feet rise from the floor of the car. My hair fell over my face and  my butt left the seat.

I closed my eyes and tried to block out the screams of terror  from behind me. I concentrated on my death grip on the ledge of my seat as we rounded the  track. We remained upside down for what felt like eternity.

Finally the pressure began  to ease, my butt dropped to my seat and my feet to the floor. The white noise subsided  from my ears and I heard Koji’s screaming. “Tyler!

he fell out. he fell,  he’s dead, man, he’s dead. ” “He hit the track down  there.

” Brandon yelled at me, wide-eyed and crazy looking. I was  finally seeing the Brandon from my youth. The shoulder bars descended  again, this time locking in tighter.

We came out of the loop and sped up and down  several tester hills. I tried to study the track ahead of us as we went through  the safer parts. I thought I saw water reflecting off the metal rails somewhere in  the distance.

Brandon sobbed in his seat. “Mark, what are we gonna do? I don’t  wanna die, man.

I don’t wanna die. ” “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.

I’m  sorry, I’m scared, too. ” I answered him. We banked around a corner of the room and  the shoulder bars released again.

This time we dove into a curve that put the left side  of the train parallel to the ground – and it was a long drop. I gripped the edge  of the seat tightly as before but this time I kept my eyes open and was able to catch  Brandon as he began to slip out of his seat. By the time the train righted itself, I couldn’t  tell who’d been lost.

Most of the screaming behind me had turned to loud sobbing or silence. The  shoulder bar didn’t reengage and I felt the car’s brakes slow the train down again. I didn’t  have to loop to know what was coming next.

It was another inverted loop - this one was tall  and large and I could tell we’d be upside down for longer. Someone behind me began screaming  again, Dani I think, as I tried to take measured breaths and position my hurting hands back  under the lip of the seat. Brandon did the same and looked over at me as the car started  up the loop with tears streaming down his face.

“I don’t wanna die in here, man. ” I shook my head back at him because  I could think of nothing to say. I felt tears leave my own eyes as we reached the  tipping point of the loop and my feet again left the floor.

Before we were even completely upside  down I felt my back begin to slip down the seat. I thought if I lost my grip, I could try to grab  for the shoulder bars when I fell out of the car. The car suddenly stopped and I opened my  eyes to see we were completely inverted.

I grunted loudly at the pain and immense  effort it was taking to keep my grip on the seat. The car started to move again  slowly and I heard Brandon say something to me. I looked over at him just before he  slid out of the car.

One second he was there, next to me, and the next he was  falling, falling away from the car. I saw Brandon try to grab the shoulder bar on the  way out but we couldn’t keep his grip on it. I watched him fall and I saw him break his back on  the track below and he stopped moving.

I stared down at him as the car continued to move slowly  around the loop and he stared back up at me, dead, or dying. By the time the car hit him on  the way out of the loop, he was completely gone. The shoulder bars re-engaged and we  went through a dreadfully long period where nothing happened.

We were secured in our  seats by the restraints as the coaster spent what felt like several minutes racing over  hills, banks, curves, even an inline roll. Without the adrenaline pumping through my  veins, I felt the shock begin to wear off. It was replaced by a panic and fear unlike  I’d ever experienced.

And I decided that was the point of this section of track: to  build and facilitate an unbearable fear. I felt the brakes engage finally and I looked  ahead to find the loop we were surely entering but there was none. We were high, almost  to the top of the ceiling and we slowed to a stop on a straightaway.

Directly ahead  was a drop and at the bottom of the hill, a series of four different tracks, with a transfer  stack just before they split off. Each track had five or so feet of color – red, orange, green and  blue – before racing off in different directions. I felt an urgent shaking of my shoulder and  turned around to hear what Koji was saying.

“Which track are we connected to? ” I looked at the transfer stack. “Green.

” “Where does green go? ” It was hard to  hear him over the sound of Dani’s sobbing from the second car. I tried to trace  the green track through the building, constantly losing it and finding it again. 

I wasn’t sure, but it seemed to end at the lift hill I’d seen earlier. The  hill with no track at the top. “It ends at that hill,” I yelled back  at him and pointed.

Dani cried louder. “Fuck. ” While we were stopped I rubbed my hurting  hands together.

As I looked down at them I noticed something new in the car. At some point  a small, blinking panel had flipped over in the wall at the front of the car. It had four colored  buttons and an old analog timer.

The timer was so old and damaged that though the numbers were  clearly changing I couldn’t see how long we had. “We get to choose,” I said and  explained what I was looking at. “Can you see which track ends where?

” Koji asked. I followed all the tracks as best  I could but the rails circled and slid in between each other. It was  hard to tell which track went where.

“I think the blue track ends in that big pool in  the corner. The red track ends in a wall and the orange one just drops into a hole in the floor  like the one we came down here through. I think.

” “There’s no way out, dude,” said  Scott from the second car. His voice was unsettlingly calm. “They’re  just telling us how we’re going to die.

” “We can still find a way out of this. ” I  answered quietly, more to myself than to him. “Choose the pool,” Scott said, and I  could hear the tears in his voice.

“I’ve heard drowning isn’t an awful death.  I’ve heard it’s calming at the end. ” “No!

Choose the hole in the floor,” said Koji.  “It’s possible it drops down into another cavern like this. There might be more track which  means more time to figure out how to live.

” “You don’t think we’d be the first to choose  that option, do you? ” Scott asked him. “And no one that went missing ever came back. 

There’s just more death in that hole. ” “I don’t want to die like this,” Koji  begged. “And at least it’s a chance.

” Dani was still whimpering in the  back and offered no suggestion. It seemed the decision was up to  me and I had to make it fast. I knew I didn’t want to die by dropping off  the track.

I didn’t want to drown. Perhaps the quickest death was the wall. More than likely  we would all be killed instantly.

Less suffering, less time to think about our fates.  But the truth was, I wasn't entirely positive which track ended where. It was  all educated guesswork and my time was up.

“The orange. Let’s go down to the  second floor, if there is one. ” Scott and Dani said nothing and Koji choked  out the last words I’d ever hear him say.

“Push it before it chooses for us. ” Before I could think about it any longer  I pushed the orange button and committed us to whatever death it led to. We heard the  metallic scraping of the track transferring below.

Once the orange track was securely  connected, the brakes on the car released and the train rolled slowly toward the  drop. Dani started screaming again. As we dropped down the hill I got a better  view of the orange track.

There was a vertical loop ahead that didn’t look as high as  the others we’d been through. In fact, it looked like there was a  chance the fall wouldn’t kill us. If it wasn’t an optical illusion and  if the shoulder bars disengaged for that loop we might have a shot at living through  this.

I yelled back to everyone behind me. “Let yourself fall out of  the loop, the one up there! ” No one responded to me, which didn’t matter because I didn’t think I’d have the  courage to let go of the seat anyway.

We raced along the track in and out of  banks and curves. At one point we passed along the pool and I looked down. Below  the water’s surface the track ended above an even deeper pool.

I could see the shadows  of several coaster cars at the very bottom. I suddenly felt the brakes engage and  I realized we were coming to the loop. I tested the shoulder bar by pushing  up on it but it stayed locked.

I was somewhat relieved at that moment to know I  wouldn’t have to make the decision to fall out now or gamble on the orange track.  But suddenly – the restraints released. As we started up the loop I gripped the lip of  the seat tightly and turned my head back to look down.

It looked like we were very high and I  only hoped the ground was the loosely packed dirt that it looked like. I had to choose  now – the fall or the hole. I chose the fall.

As I began to slide up the seat I yelled at  the others to let go and fall out of the car. And then I closed my eyes – and let go. I felt  my head crack the shoulder bar on the way out.

It wasn’t like a slow motion fall - it was over  before I realized that I’d actually let go. One moment I felt an intense pain as my head hit the  bar and in the same moment I realized I was on the ground. I hadn’t even had the time to realize the  possibility of hitting the track below or get run over by the cars.

I opened my eyes in time to  watch the car's speed over the track above me. The pain didn’t hit me all  at once. I had one long, blissful second before I felt  it.

And then I was in agony. I’d hoped my body was so in shock that I  wouldn’t feel much of the pain but I felt it all. I concentrated on keeping my eyes open and  trying to catalog the damage.

There was blood on my clothes but I didn’t know what part of my body  it was coming from. I heard screaming as well but I didn’t know if it was in my head or coming  from my friends as they approached the end. I didn’t want to move, didn’t think it  was safe to move, but I knew I had to, if only to pull out my phone.

With trembling  fingers I pulled the thing from my pocket and brought it to my face, trying to focus  on the screen. But it was shattered and refused to even turn on. I threw it away  from me and then I realized the silence.

Their ride had ended. With a great amount of effort I rolled over onto  my stomach and dragged my broken body across the ground toward where I thought I remembered seeing  the hole. I crawled for what seemed like hours and maybe it was.

Sometimes I tried to stand or even  kneel but the pain in my back and ribs was too great. I passed out several times from shock and  pain but eventually I made it to where the track disappeared into the ground. I pulled myself  to the edge and looked down inside the hole.

The track ended just below the surface. It was a natural shaft with walls made  of rock. I didn’t know how deep it went and I didn’t want to.

It was a fate  I’d only narrowly escaped. But then I thought my friends were down  there and maybe someone survived. “Koji?

” My voice echoed loudly  down the shaft. No answer. “Scott?

” Nothing. I reached for a nearby screw  and dropped it down the hole. It took half a minute to land and when it did it  was with a tink as it hit something metal.

The small sound echoed up the shaft and out into  the cavernous room and I realized this place was built with acoustics in mind. I rolled over  onto my back and studied everything I could see from where I was, staving off my body's desire  to pass out again. I felt nothing but numbness when I finally saw what I was looking for -  a long, panoramic window in the far wall.

I knew what Track B was for and I finally  let myself slip away into the darkness. I remember very little of my rescue. There were  lots of people in uniform and my sister yelling and pain - lots of pain.

I was in and out  on the way to the hospital but I remember I passed through the room behind the window at some  point. And from my stretcher, through the chaos, I saw in that room a single chair facing the  window. It was covered in a deep layer of dust.

I was never visited by anyone official, let  alone asked to give a statement. Charlotte stayed by my side at the hospital for months while  I recovered. She wouldn’t say much about that day although she finally did tell me something.

She  said that they wouldn’t let her ride with me to the hospital and that someone offered her  a ride. On that drive she’d been spoken to by two people that had convinced her to never  speak of what had happened and to convince me of the same. Whatever they threatened her with had  her begging me to agree.

And I did – at the time. I am still to this day learning to walk  without aid. I never saw Mayhem Mountain again.

The loan defaulted and Adventure Valley  was bought up by an unknown LLC which bulldozed it and built a block of apartments over  the top. They’re still empty to this day. I don’t like the dark anymore.

It reminds me of  the horror my friends experienced as they looked down and saw the track end before they disappeared  into that hole. I try not to think of what they must have felt as they fell down the shaft in  complete darkness, strapped to a roller coaster, waiting for the terrible end. I wish I’d chosen  the pool, if only to save them from that fate.

As for the billionaire’s son, he was only ‘simple’ in the fact that he was a man of  simple tastes. And he still is. I looked him up once, only a few years  ago.

He owns several amusement parks now, all sizable but small enough to be popular  only in their specific regions. In fact, one is not very far from where I live now. I’ve thought about going many times,  just to check, just to see.

But then I realized that I probably didn’t need to  search all the rides in the park to know. Because I know that somewhere in that park,  some ride in some corner…has a Track B.