Haunt

Autumn Learns the Ropes - Part 3 of 3

Weekend One - Thursday

September 14, 2022

"Fabrication" was the term most often used for the mysterious magic of the park. In the simplest terms, Seven Wonders could turn manifest things into reality; what this meant, exactly, varied situationally. Sometimes, the change was simple and primarily harmless, like plastic chains becoming metal chains because some screamster had put on a good show of being shackled. Sometimes, the change was wondrous; dressing as a vampire could give talented participants vampire qualities, the ability to see better in the dark, more strength, or powers over minions.

Ah, now you can see where the problems arose.

Not all screamsters were ready to handle the reality of their costumed roles responsibly, which was likely what had happened with Keith in this very house. There were times when Fabrication played unpleasant pranks, such as when the plastic roaches and foam body parts at Zombie Grad School turned into real roaches and severed limbs for a few minutes. The smell and the screams were infamous, so bad that Ramis only permitted it to happen once or twice a season and only on a slow night.

Photography presented had its own bag of trouble. Patrons could keep their cell phones because most pictures behaved themselves for limited periods. Employees, however, were forbidden from carrying their phones in the park. A photograph with daily exposure to Fabrication magic could present an unpredictable factor. There had been more than a few incidents requiring intervention.

So clearly, Fabrication was not a power to trifle with. Most of the time, it worked how it was supposed to, under experienced employees' control. Not every employee knew about it; not everyone who knew about it could use it, but it was always present within the park's operations. Seven Wonders owed its existence to this ever-secret arcana.

To all outward appearances, Seven Wonders was just a popular amusement park. During summer months, only a very intuitive guest might notice that the place had the aura of specialness that worked with any soul willing to uncover it. But the power surge was heady during the Halloween season, as the park hurtled into its most significant moneymaking time. The park became a magnet for supernatural chicanery. It was delightful and often terrifying.

Through her summertime job, Autumn sometimes felt the fire of Fabrication simmering hot within her. The moment she'd donned her yellow shirt, that burning sensation woke.

*****

The hogtie room had a different air than the other rooms, the aura of actual death making a quaint counterpoint to the fake horror. Ordinarily, the room's focal point was the oversized animatronic warthog laid on its back, its head oriented toward the center of the room, with a rope tying its legs together. This gruesome piece of art thrashed around and squealed in response to human movement when the house was active. It wasn't state-of-the-art showmanship, but God, in the dark, it looked real enough. Here in the harsh light, its grouchy face just looked impatient.

Autumn stared in morbid fascination at the body. The woman was on the ground, laid out on a white plastic sheet. She had been stabbed through the chest at least five times by the count of the holes in her frilly top. No one had bothered to close her eyes; she stared sightlessly at the ceiling.

"Are you going to be okay with this?" a voice asked, and she glanced up to see Bryan peering at her.

Whether it was the truth or not, she replied, "I'm good. I want to see."

Bryan pointed at a guard. "Bring in Keith, please."

Derrick and Autumn watched a guard escort Keith into the room. Keith kept his eyes on the ground. Keith wore a bloody butcher's apron, an oversized straw hat with a wide rim, and black latex gloves. Unlike the fake stuff, the blood drying on him had a muted shade. When Keith looked up, his eyes were bloodshot, red as the freckles on his face.