my Thriller/Horror stories

The Amusement Park

"Holy shit." Ryan looked around. "Just where is everybody?"
We just had stepped out of the shark-shaped boat that had brought us through the seemingly endlessly stretching tunnel.
It was almost as if everybody who had been in the amusement park had suddenly left. But that couldn't be. Because Scott, a friend of ours - the only one who despised dark rides - had decided to wait outside at the exit for us.
Only that he wasn't there either.
Emily turned around, a frightened look in her face.
"Guys, I really dont like this. If this is one of your stupid jokes..." She wasn't able to finish her sentence. It was obvious that none of us knew what was going on.
"Lets go to the exit," she said. "Maybe we missed an evacuation or something."
But I shook my head.
"Look around. There's not only no people, but also no sign that people ever have been here."
It was the truth, there was not even the slightes hint of human existence around - safe for the still running rides. Apart from that not even some trash or tickets laid around.
"Maybe we somehow got transported into a parallel universe where we are the only people left?" Ryan phantazised. He sounded kind of excited. "Crazy idea, I know: but how 'bout we first check out all the rides alone and then search for a way back?" he proposed with a devious grin.
"Bad idea," I responded. "We dont even know what happened yet. It would be unwise to -" a loud cry suddenly echoed to us, seemingly coming from the ferris wheel, stopping as aprubtly as it had arisen.
I looked at my friends. That did not simply sound like someone in danger - at least not anymore.
Emily gulped loudly. She looked pale.
"That sounded as if someone just got... done in."
Even Ryan looked like he wasn't so hyped to get on some rides now. I took a deep breath in and tried to sigh some of the fear out that slowly crept up my back and turned around to the dark ride we came out of.
Maybe this is our way out, I thought.

My friends agreed as I shared my idea with them, so we rounded the building and went up to the entrance. But something didn't seem right.
"Yo. There's no boats going inside," Ryan whispered. The wind howled and the faint screeching of the other rides made us all very uncomfortable. Not to mention the cry from before. We all just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
"Thats impossible! I saw the boats going around through this channel back to the entrance," I said. "They have to be here somewhere."
"Except maybe someone - or something - opened the gate and sent the boats back in again," Emily whispered with widened eyes. Hearing how frightened she was I wanted to calm her down when I spotted the boats - laying on the ground of the channel.
"Oh my god," I said while leaning over the handrail. "Was the water before also this deep?" Ryan cursed when he looked down into the water, Emily almost seemed to faint.
"I will not swim," she said.
"How did they even end up down there?" Ryan looked around cautiously. "They wouldn't simply sink just like that."
I nodded. We obviuosly weren't alone. More than that, we probably were even being watched in this moment.
Suddenly Emily cried out.
"Something moved! Down there in the water, I clearly saw something move!" Her breath became unsteady and fast. She seemed to be close to crying.
"Calm down, Emily. Breath slowly. Everything will be alright, we will find a way out of here," Ryan told her. "But we need you to calm down for now."
A panic attack would be the least helpful thing right now, I thought and was thankful that Scott had stayed back. He would've gone nuts twice by now.
Carefully I started to observe our surroundings while Ryan comforted Emily. If those two finally managed to get together after we found a way back, this shitty experience at least would have one good thing about it.
I noticed a few spots from where someone would have a good view at us, but there was only one place from where we could be observed without any chance of us spotting them.
Of course it is the haunted house. I sighed. It just had to be that. Now the last question was, confronting or running?

I asked my friends although I already knew how they would answer. Emily was against checking the haunted house, Ryan for it. So the decision was mine to make. I sighed again. Suddenly I became tired of this.
Running towards the ferris wheel or anywhere else was the same ass option as walking into that cursed haunted house.
Suddenly, I wasn't scared anymore. This whole thing felt more and more like an act to me. As if someone wanted us to move in a certain way.
And if there's anything I absolutely cannot stand, it's the feeling of being manipulated.
So I eliminated all obvious choices and decided to do the only unlogical logical thing.
I locked eyes with Ryan.
"If it works, you will have to push her," I said. Then I turned around and made that which noone would have expected in that situation: I jumped into the channel and began swimming.
I swam towards the entrance of the dark ride, not caring about who or what could wait under the surface, while both Ryan and Emily watched me speechlessly with shocked expressions.
Inside the dark ride I smiled.
"Still living! You'd better follow soon!" I shouted and started to hum so that they would know when it stopped with a splash that I'd have been pulled underwater. But nothing pulled me down. And nothing moved besides me as far as I was able to see.

I almost laughed out of delight when I suddenly saw a light at the end of the tunnel and heard faint shouts and laughter. My friends often could not quite understand my reasoning behind some seemingly random decisions - but I always knew when it was wise to listen to my guts.
When Emily and Ryan climbed out of the now level water I greeted them with a grin.
"Welcome back. Ive already explained to the officials that our boat sunk, so we can simply leave. Oh, and does one of you have a waterproof phone? I can't find Scott and mine got too much water," I explained.
Still shivering, wether from exhaustion, still being frightened or simply the cold air, Emily took out her cellphone and handed it to me. I swiped through her contacts and tapped Scotts number.
"Strange," I said. "Does Scott have a new phone? The call doesnt even get through... as if it doesn't exist?" Startled I looked at the group chat. Scott had written a text message about ten minutes after we had entered the dark ride.
It said: 'Not funny guys, not funny at all. I will wait at the ferris wheel for you if you're done pulling your prank on me.'
With a bad feeling I looked up to the others. Emily, who seemed to have recovered by now, asked thoughtfully:
"Guys, don't you think as well that the scream back there sounded somewhat familiar?"