Heartless Betrayal

Chapter 16 - The Abandoned Fairground

A/N 

Helloooo, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual but it was a nice place to end it and it means it came up faster woo:D

Ughh the dialogue indenty things are not doing what I want them to. /:

Chapter 16

“Not so fast, sweetheart.”

I looked up sharply as Toby reached to grab my arm. I quickly moved my arm out of the way, watching his amused smile fall, forming instead a sinister glare.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Ari.” He spat, reaching again for my arm and closing his fingers tightly around my small wrist. I yelped in pain, my other hand forming a fist, and before I knew it I’d punched him in the neck, forcing him to let go of my wrist. I watched him fall to his knees, struggling to get air into his lungs, and took it as my chance, so I started running again.

It was only when I felt a sharp pain in my heel that I realised I was not wearing shoes. I looked over my shoulder, relief flooding through me when I discovered I was not being followed. I picked up my foot to inspect the damage. A small shard of glass had embedded itself into the sole of my foot, I winced, pulling it from my foot. Of course there was broken glass, Ari. This place was abandoned after all.

I stood on my toes, realising that I couldn’t put my bleeding heel down on the dirt or it’d get infected. I looked around for anything that could help, spotting the ticket booth a few metres away. The gates stood tall and strong around the park, so there was no chance of me getting through, and I definitely couldn’t climb that high with an injured foot. I wondered if maybe there was a first aid kit in the ticket booth and made that my first place to search.

I smiled victoriously when the chains holding the ticket booth door shut crumbled in my palm, freeing the door of its confinement. I slowly pushed open the door, closing it behind me when I walked in, so as not to draw attention to the booth. I searched the cupboards, grinning happily when my hand closed around the handle of a first aid box. I set it on the counter, opening the lid.

I pulled out alcohol wipes and a bandaid and got to work cleaning the blood off my foot. I then placed the bandaid over the cut and put the rest of the wipes and bandaids in my pocket. I continued looking through the box and pulled out some bandages, a flashlight, a box of matches, some painkillers, scissors, a roll of waterproof tape and the space blanket, shoving them into the pockets of my jeans so I would be prepared if something else happened.

The ticket booth was rather small, and looking around it I noticed there wasn’t really anything else there. I looked over the walls, my eyes lingering on what looked like a small knob. I placed my fingers around the knob, pulling slightly. Huh… I wondered, watching the sickening floral wallpaper lift slightly as I pulled on the knob. I took the scissors from my pocket, cutting a hole in the paper, which I then tore from the wall to reveal a small cupboard, all but concealed if it weren’t for the knob.

I pulled the door open, my eyes widening when I saw what it contained. Inside the cupboard sat a small doll and an old-fashioned telephone. I carefully picked up the doll, I could almost feel her glassy eyes boring into mine. Her blood red lips curled up at the sides, a haunting contrast to her porcelain white skin. Her hair fell down her back in blonde ringlets, tied back with a crimson ribbon. I turned the doll over in my hand, spotting a small plastic loop sticking out of her back. I tugged on it gently, pulling it out to reveal a length of string. I felt it click once I had pulled it out as far as it would go, letting go carefully.

“Curiosity killed the cat, dear hunter.”

I jumped at the sound, letting the doll fall from my hands on to the bench in front of me. Its voice was that of an innocent child, which made it all the more frightening. I turned back to the cupboard, picking up the phone and holding it to my ear. I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard the dial tone, quickly dialling the number of the flat. I held my breath as it rang, praying someone was there to pick it up.