The Game at Carousel: A Horror Movie LitRPG

The flashback changed.

I saw a young Jedediah alone in the schoolyard. Another child, whom I could assume was a bully, was skulking around the yard. He had all the telltale signs: a mean look, rolled-up sleeves, and a small posse. Jedediah was alarmed. He wandered off, looking for safety. He was in a utility closet of some kind.

Of course, when he emerged later, the bully was right there waiting for him.

“In my life, it was like everyone knew where I was. I could never understand how that could be. My brothers didn’t share my observations. They loved being the center of attention but I sought solitude, and that was something no one would allow.”

He was slowly learning that everyone in town knew who he was. He couldn’t hide, and he couldn’t be alone in a crowd.

That same bully must have been a favorite tool of Carousel’s because moments later, in another memory, I saw him chasing young Jed into the woods, where Jed came upon a grisly scene that looked like some large animal had attacked a group of vagrants.

Their bodies had been gnawed on by the look of things. What was more, they were moving. As soon as Jed saw the first twitch, he turned and ran, only to be caught by his bully. He might have gotten beaten just then, but even the little jerk who had been chasing him didn’t know how to react to his frenzied look.

“I ran to the police and told them everything. I was so worked up they eventually sent officers to look for the men I had seen,” he said, clearly still haunted by the memory. “They said there was no one there. One of the officers looked at me and said, ‘Your friends must have been pranking you, kiddo. There were footsteps leading away from the scene.’ Footsteps… I knew what I had seen. Still, I developed a profound fear of the woods. That was particularly troubling… no matter which direction you try to go in Carousel, you’ll find a forest eventually. I was trapped.”

The flashback jumped forward. He was older, wore a tux, and was sitting alone at a wedding venue while a large group of well-dressed people enjoyed the festivities.

“My brother Carlyle’s wedding is where I met Harriet. I saw her across the room and it was like I knew her. I had forgotten what Silas Dyrkon had said for the most part. It had all faded to nothing but a generalized feeling that something was wrong in the world. When I saw her for the first time, I didn’t even think about my growing suspicions the whole night. She stole my heart and told people I had stolen hers…”

Watching the older, deader Jedediah Geist relay this information sent pangs through my heart. He was in great pain to tell us this.

“They conspired for so many years to force me to go along with their grand schemes. All those years of the stick, all it took was the carrot. I decided that I didn’t care if there was some strange conspiracy. I didn’t even conceptualize it as a conspiracy then. I only knew the cold stillness in the eyes of those who worked together to force me into traps. When I was a young man, the Geists were not dying off yet, but we each experienced in our own time… horrifying things. Off-putting things. Death. Carnage. We were always on its periphery. The rumors of witchcraft and ghouls felt so possible to us. Our friends would go missing. That group of dead vagrants in the woods was not the last I would see. Our fate had not found us yet, but it was circling.”

I saw it all: various people who must have been Geists, a young woman who survived a slasher at a slumber party by hiding under the bed, a man swimming fearfully while being stalked in a lake by a gigantic creature whose shadow lurked just below the murky depths, and Steven Geist with a girl in the back of his old-fashioned car when she started coughing up needles.

“It was normal. We assumed everyone had these experiences. It never hurt us. We were nothing but observers of others' misfortunes. We were mocked if we complained. Besides, our real problems were the townsfolk. The odd misfortune could be chalked up to bad luck. The tabloids, though, the rumor mill, started to talk about us as if we were the cause of everyone else’s misfortune.”

A montage of news headlines came through, alleging the Geists were crooks, corrupt, or even devil worshippers.

“It was strange. We were at once reviled and simultaneously hailed as the town's leading family. My father practically became a mascot. They loved him. The legends might not have been flattering, but they did love to spread them. As this continued, it was time for me to marry. Everyone said so, and my love for Harriet had only grown, but as I contemplated this, I knew I would have to ask the question of whether she was in on it. I had never seen the cold, knowing stare from her before as I had seen from the conspirators. I hoped that she was real. The memory of Silas Dyrkon was pushed away until the time to propose ticked closer and closer. I was starting to make some real money at one of my father’s businesses. My life was coming together. Still, I couldn’t shake my suspicions and just enjoy it all.”

Jed was in tears as he spoke.

“I needed a test, and I had been planning one for many years. I had only delayed it because I didn’t want to know the truth. I went to a travel agent in town. She could sell vacation packages to Snowblind, Lake Crescent, the Lost Oasis, or any number of places. I searched through them and asked if there was a package to an island resort. They offered beach packages, but nothing so remote that couldn’t be reached by train or small aircraft. I wanted something on the other side of the world. My plans to travel had always been cut short by one thing or another.”

I saw in the flashback that the travel agent shook her head at his request.

“Then I told her the one set of words that I knew would change things. I knew in my heart. She had the cold, knowing look, and I knew she was one of them, one of the conspirators. I said, ‘Such a shame. I was hoping to propose to my girlfriend on an island resort. Are you certain you have nothing like that?

“Her eyes went cold and moments later, she said, ‘As a matter of fact, we did just make a deal for an island package like the one you’re talking about. It’s so new I almost forgot about It.’ I made the purchase, and deep down, I knew what it meant. Carousel is a ball of yarn that unravels in the direction you pull the thread. I heard that somewhere; I don’t know where. Still, no amount of good sense could get in the way of a young heart full of love. I decided to go forward with the trip.”

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The flashback changed. Now Jedediah and his soon-to-be bride were arriving at a beach on a beautiful island vacation.

“I went forward with the goal of finding more of the conspirators here. These ones were not as adept at hiding their intentions. On the first night at the resort, I started to make love to Harriet, and I knew that I was either going to choose her and leave my doubts behind or I would have to burn it all to the ground. I got off the bed and went to my bag. Our room was open to the ocean. It was a great moment. A big moment. I got down on one knee and said Harriet’s name. I pulled out the ring, but before I asked the question… I rushed to the front door opposite the ocean view and opened it all at once.”

He started to laugh maniacally.

“Dozens of them, maybe a hundred. All of them stared in the direction of our suite. They were standing perfectly still. They knew what was going on in there. I caught them staring! These ones weren’t as skilled as the ones back home,” he laughed again. “As soon as I opened the door, they took a brief moment and then started going back about their day.”

There was no denying it from the flashback. Those NPCs at the resort looked confused, scared even. They were obviously watching the script as Jed was going to propose and were looking to where the only important thing on the island was happening.

“I broke up with Harriet that day, that moment, as she tried to explain away what I had just seen. When she knew it was over, for the first time, I saw her eyes grow cold—the cold, knowing look. Finally, I flew back to the only place they would take me, Carousel. I kept my life to myself. I begged my father to buy me the land where I built this house, and I have been here ever since.”

He started to cackle.

“I know the cold, knowing look. I see it on your faces now,” he said.

The cold, knowing look he was talking about was when our eyes lost focus as we watched the flashback on the red wallpaper. He had seen NPCs doing it occasionally as they followed instructions from the script. After a while, you would catch them doing it. Living in Carousel his whole life, he must have seen it many times but didn’t know what it was.

“Cold knowing look?” Dina said. “I’m just waiting for you to tell us the good part. The deal with Silas. Did you ever learn what that was about? Did you even talk to your dad about it?”

Jedediah huffed. “I could never tell him I saw that… I couldn’t know if it was real or not. I never saw Silas again. He was always around, but somehow I missed him. I… I was scared to know if it was true. You couldn’t understand.”

“All I want to know,” Dina said, “Is if you know what is going on in Carousel right now. I’ve seen the people you’re talking about. The Geists are gone, but they, the people you are talking about, they're still here. Something is in the works. Do you know about any of it?”

Dina was playing bad cop. We had briefly discussed this. I still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but we knew that we might need to give him a nudge in the right direction.

“I have been in this house for decades. I have avoided their every attempt to take me away from here. I have no idea what is going on out there. I don’t know what they decided to do once they got rid of the other Geists. The other woman seemed to think there was a plot to kill us all. She wanted my help too, and I will tell you like I did her: I cannot help you.”

Dina backed down. We didn’t get the spontaneous, useful admission we were hoping for, but we did get a new lead. We had to take our time, though.

“You said that the Geists were an audience to the terrible things in Carousel. That changed at some point, right? The Geists clearly became more than just an audience,” I said.

He stared at Dina for a moment longer and then turned to me.

“After my father died,” he said. “After that, we didn’t have nearly as many mere close calls. We became victims even though my family still denied it. It was clear to see. Too many accidents resulted in Geist deaths. Our Cemetery started to fill up. My newspapers became bearers of ill tidings. Injuries and death. Missing children. Strange diseases. Whatever protected us from the perils of this world, be it some contact with Dyrkon or otherwise, soon disappeared until all that was left was me.”

It was a classic story from the sound of it. A man makes a bargain, and then the bill comes due. But that didn’t satisfy me. There was something missing from that little tale. Us. The Players. If this was simply a cautionary tale, why were we brought here? Why were we forced to learn this story?

I was hoping Jedediah would be our ultimate Tutorial guide and give us everything we needed to get started. It was starting to seem like he was just here to fill in some lore. A few months ago I would have jumped for joy for this information, but now I wanted more.

“You said there was another woman who asked you questions. Can you tell us about that?” Kimberly asked.

“Her,” he said. “Strange young woman. She knew about the traps. She knew that one bad interaction could lead to your doom. She claimed she had seen one and lived through it. I told her she could only do that so many times.” He laughed.

Back on track. The woman who knew about storylines. Was she a player? A Paragon? We needed to find out.

“Did she have the cold knowing look?” I asked.

He shook his head. In my mind, I saw the flashback to her face. She had dark hair and eyes. She might have been thirty at the oldest.

“I didn’t see it,” he admitted, “But it’s never too late for them to reveal it. They can keep it hidden for a long time. I wish I could have helped her.”

The flashback took over. Most of the clips from before didn’t have sound. This one did.

~-~

“I think some people plotted to kill off the Geists,” the woman said. “They did something, summoned something, a man, I think. He tried to kill everyone at a factory. He wanted to burn it up, but I managed to warn them. It was a Geist factory.”

“I read something about that,” Jed said to her. “There was a fire. You must have been a child then.”

“No,” she answered excitedly. “This was like the day after the Centen—” she started to say, “This was almost a year ago. This trap was the fire at that factory. The trap was in 1984. I know that sounds crazy, but I swear. When I managed to get everyone to evacuate, I thought I had saved everyone, but now I’m not sure. The Geists that were there ended up dying anyway.”

Jed eyed her incredulously.

“Even if I believe you,” he said. “How could I help? The entire town had had a silent conspiracy against us my entire life. I’ve never been able to do anything about it.”

“This wasn’t like that,” she said. “I get what you were trying to say before about conspiracy, but that’s not what I’m talking about. These were normal people. They were not being silent. I heard them talking about it. They were disappointed that everyone survived, almost scared even. They hated you guys for some reason. I think they are the ones who killed the rest of you off. But not you. They didn’t hurt you. I just want to know why. If you have any idea why you were left alone for so many years after the others were burned up one after another, it could help me figure out how to save my sister.”

Jed raised an eyebrow. “Your sister?”

The woman took a deep breath.

“The same thing that attacked your family back in 1984 attacks the Centennial… tomorrow. It kills my sister. I can’t prevent it. I need to learn how to beat… whatever he is. I don’t know why it wouldn’t attack you. It seemed to have tracked down every other Geist.”

Jedediah got quiet.

The flashback faded for a moment as Jed spoke.

“Of course, there was nothing to tell her. I couldn’t say why I was spared. I didn’t know.”

But the flashback betrayed him.

I saw a glimpse as he spoke. I saw him in his house some years earlier. He wasn’t alone. There was another man there, a man I had only recently seen.

It was Silas Dyrkon.

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