The morning came much quicker than I had anticipated. After a few more hours of tossing, turning, and anxious thoughts, I managed to force myself asleep by 3am. I had gotten a mere four hours of sleep, only to be woken up by Dad rudely opening my door to yell at me.
"Get your butt up, it's time to get ready for Luke's party," He shouted, slamming my door on his way back out. I groaned loudly, rolling off of my side. Since last night was spent on a jail bed, my personal bed was a nice change of pace. The morning sun was blocked out by gray clouds, meaning it was probably going to rain today. Hayesville never got rain, being in Nevada and all. With as dry as it was here, rain was often welcome by the townspeople.
After mustering what little motivation I had to get out of bed, I put on a pair of my jean shorts and a shirt from a car show I attended a couple years ago. I powdered my face lightly then made my way to the kitchen to help with breakfast. Luke was already up and ready to go. He sat at the table kicking his legs.
"Look who's up," I smiled groggily.
"Are we gonna go now?" Luke replied.
"We'll leave soon don't worry," I laughed, looking towards Dad "How was work?"
"Eh," He replied, flipping a pancake on the stovetop. "Want food before I go to bed?"
"That'd be nice," I shrugged. He placed a pancake on one of our chipped plates, then shut off the stove.
"Here. Now you both have fun, I'll be here when you get back," Dad started, pulling my aside. Once we were out of Luke's hearing range, he bent down to my ear, "Don't let anything happen to Luke, do you hear me?"
"Yes, sir," I replied, moving away from his unsettlingly warm breath.
"Good," He nodded swiftly, then returned to his room. I took the plate from the counter and ate the burnt pancake.
"C'mon Vic hurry up," Luke urged, hopping down from his chair.
"Just a minute," I managed to say with a mouthful of food. After returning the plate to the sink, where it would probably sit there for another two weeks, I gathered my phone, the car keys, and Luke's present. "Let's go, Luke," I grunted, opening the front door. Luke raced outside and towards the Mustang and tugged on the driver's door handle impatiently.
"Unlock it," He chanted. Trying not to drop the XBox, I managed to unlock the driver's door so Luke could crawl in the back. I kept his present in the seat next to me, knowing very well if it was back with him he would open it.
"Ready to go?" I asked, buckling my seatbelt.
"Yeah," Luke smiled. I adjusted my rearview mirror, before backing out of the driveway. It had been a long time since I had driven to Willy's Wonderland, but I had mapped out the way mentally from all the times I had been driven as a kid. After about five minutes of driving, I turned my head to talk to Luke,
"Alright, close your eyes," I said, turning back to face the road.
"We're already almost there?" He asked.
"Close 'em up and you'll find out," I replied, trying to force a smile. I watched him cover his eyes with his hands, right before we hit I-80. It didn't take long before Willy's Wonderland finally came into view. Slowing down quickly, I swerved into the parking lot. I could see Tex's car, amongst a few others. He was standing by the front door. "Keep 'em shut," I repeated, pulling into a parking spot. Getting out of the car, I was sure to grab my anxiety pills that I had conveniently stored in the center console. I had a sneaking suspicion I'd be needing them. I hauled Luke's present onto my shoulder, then helped him crawl over the seat to get out. "Alright, are you ready?" I asked, positioning him in front of the building.
"Yeah," He smiled.
"Open up!" I shouted, using every last effort to smile. I watched as Luke's smile slowly faded as he stared up at the cartoonish Willy the Weasel logo. Luke looked around for a second.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"Only one of the funnest places on earth," I replied, trying to convince myself more than Luke.
"Are we in Hayesville still? Where is everyone?" Luke continued to ask.
"Let's go get checked in," I replied again, leading Luke towards Tex.
"Well if it isn't the Halifaxs. Happy Birthday Luke!" Tex laughed, leaning over to high five him. Luke reciprocated reluctantly. I could hear music coming from inside the building. "Come on in you two,"
I took a deep breath, preparing myself. It had been such a long time since I was last here. I hadn't expected to return so soon. Entering the restaurant, I was immediately blasted with the smell of Lysol. And the first sight to greet my eyes was none other than Willy the Weasel himself. Willy stood there, absolutely motionless, as well as the rest of his crew. Tex shut the door behind me, causing me to jump. An overhead speaker played
"Where are we?" Luke asked, tugging on my shirt. My eyes were still glued to Willy, as panic began to overtake me. I took another deep breath.
"Willy's Wonderland," I replied, looking down at him.
"You guys will be at this table right here," Tex said, leading Luke to one of the tables close to the front stage. I followed reluctantly, my eyes scanning the center stage. Everything was exactly as I left it. "Now you guys have free roam of everything here, with some minor exceptions. I'll have the cake you wanted out in about thirty minutes,"
Tex pulled me aside, "You're lookin' a little pale, Vic, everything okay?"
I breathed, and nodded, "I'm fine,"
"Good. There's one other party going on right now so just ignore them," Tex chuckled, nudging me in the ribs. I was too focused on my surroundings to even force a reply. The entire building looked the exact same. The stupid posters that hung on the wall, the outdated juke box on the far left, the ball pit off to the right, and the animatronic band smack dab in the center. Willy and his friends did not look the same as I remembered. They had fallen into quite a state of disrepair, each of them looking ragged and dirty. All eight of them stood there awkwardly...or maybe I was the awkward one gawking at them. My thoughts were soon interrupted by Luke, who was beginning to express his obvious displeasure:
"This place is for little kids," He whispered.
"No it's not, look at them over there," I replied, motioning for the family on the other side of the room. The mother and father were both on their phones, and their child, probably Luke's age, was enjoying a piece of pizza.
"What the hell are those?" Luke then asked, pointing to the stage.
"Language," I hissed, "That's Willy the Weasel,"
"They have names?" Luke asked, sounded disgusted.
"Siren Sarah, Ozzie the Ostrich, Knighty Knight, Willy the Weasel, Gus the Gorilla, Tito the Turtle, Arty the Alligator, and Cammy the Chameleon," I listed, hating myself for remembering the names so well.
"They're kind of dingy looking," Luke replied.
"It's not like you can give 'em a bath," I nudged him in response. He didn't move.
"This place smells like Bonzo's breath," Luke then said. I snickered.
"You mean our dead dog?"
"Yeah,"
It really did, but I hadn't been paying attention to that. "Where are my friends?"
I had to think of a quick response, "None of them said they could make it,"
"Are you serious? None of them? Not even Devin or Rick?" Luke asked.
"I'm-"
"We were talking about it last night,"
"I called all of their parents. None of them could make it," I replied.
"It's probably because you told them it was being held at a place for babies," Luke growled. I breathed calmly.
"How about you go play in the arcade or something?" I stated, trying to get Luke away from me. I was beginning to freak out at Luke's annoyance, and needed to take a minute to breathe by myself. Luke scoffed loudly.
"Like I'm going anywhere here alone. Those things look like they could jump off the stage and eat me," He sneered. I hushed him quickly, feeling my panic rise.
"Now don't start saying stuff like that, it's offensive," I whispered.
"Offensive to who, the animatronics? Tex?" Luke replied loudly.
"This is not our house, Luke, so I expect you to respect it as such," I retorted. Luke was quiet. "I'll be right back,"
Clutching my pocket, I walked quickly towards the women's restroom. I forced myself not to look behind, as I was trying to convince myself I wasn't being followed. Hearing the door shut behind me, I fumbled in my pocket for my anxiety pills. The prescription had technically expired, but the drive to the pediatrician was too far for the gas budget. Holding the pill steady in my hand, I tilted my head back and forced it down my throat. It was a sour taste, but I could get over that. Gripping the sink, I tried to steady myself. There is nothing to be afraid of here. This place is safe now. There is nothing to be afraid of here. This place is-
My thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open. The child from the other party raced into one of the stalls. Taking the que to leave, I walked back to Luke, who was on his phone.
"I don't get service here," He mumbled, playing an offline game.
"Give me that," I replied, grabbing his phone.
"Vic, what-"
"You're gonna have fun here, I paid a lot of money for us to be here and I'm not about to let you waste it," I explained. Luke groaned, rolling his eyes. Sticking his phone in my back pocket, I motioned towards the arcade. "Let's go,"
The arcade games were hardly operational. Most of them had OUT OF ORDER signs taped to them. The arcade room itself had torn black carpet, with several posters of Willy's band. The games were very old, and had been the same ones I played when I was younger. After several attempts at Skeeball, Luke and I had parked ourselves on the only functional motorcycle racing game. I had to let him win a few times, as Luke was becoming bored of losing to me. After another successful win, I threw my hands in the air triumphantly. The low graphic characters danced across the screen, telling me I won 10 tickets. None of the tickets were ever administered.
"How are you so good at this game?" Luke asked, resting his elbows on the motorcycle handlebars.
"I spent a lot of time here as a kid," I laughed in reply, "Wanna play again?"
"No thanks, you're just gonna win. Again," Luke sighed.
"Want your cake?" I offered, listening to the sound of music from the main area.
"Sure," Luke shrugged, beginning to walk out of the arcade. The lighting was much brighter in the main area, despite it still being quite dim. The arcade was only lit by a few blacklights screwed into the ceiling. Luke walked much quicker than I, even though I knew he dreaded being here just as much as I did. I took particular care to walk far from the stage, in order to reduce any risks. Just as Tex had said, Luke's cake had been left on the table.
"Looks good, doesn't it?" I asked. The words 'Happy Birthday Luke' had been sloppily drawn on with an icing pen.
"It looks like something you would make," Luke retorted. I didn't respond, not wanting to fuel the fire. I casually glanced around, hoping to catch Tex's attention. If I could get him back over I could go back to the bathroom to pop another pill, as the effects of the one in my body were beginning to wear off. Sitting down, I took the plastic knife from the checkered tablecloth table and cut Luke a small piece. It crumpled onto the plate, but Luke didn't seem to care. He poked at it carefully.
"Go on, let me know if it's any good," I smiled, cutting myself an even smaller piece. A group had joined the table behind us, and were being extremely obnoxious. I didn't dare check and see who they were.
"So, do those things sing?" Luke asked, pointing to the stage.
"You know they can't move off that stage, there's nothing to worry about," I replied.
"Why do you think I'm worried?" Luke replied.
"Why else would you bring it up?"
"They're weird lookin'"
"All of us are weird lookin',"
"Especially you,"
I rolled my eyes. I was beginning to convince myself that there really wasn't anything to worry about, when suddenly a loud mechanical noise whirred from the stage. All at once, the band seemingly came to life. I felt my heart rate shoot up as I grasped my hands tightly. Luke seemed equally disturbed.
"Hey there kids, looks like we've got a few naughty birthday boys and girls in the audience with us today," Willy spoke. My eyes locked with his as my heart beat pounded loudly in my ears. A cheerful song began to play over the speaker. "Can you join us in wishing Luke Halifax a very happy birthday?"
I watched as everyone's eyes in the room moved to Luke and I. I finally got a glimpse of the rowdy group behind us: a table of teenagers, much younger than I. The crowds were much less enthusiastic than I remember them being.
"Vic, can we leave?" Luke asked, sounding embarrassed.
"No, Tex obviously programmed these things just for you," I replied, wanting very badly to leave myself.
"Ayo Tito, are you ready?" Willy seemed to ask Tito the Turtle.
"Aye, Willy, cantamos!"
In unison, the animatronic band proceeded to sing the same birthday song I knew all too well.
"It's your birthday, and we want you to have fun,"
I fumbled in my pocket for my anxiety pills.
"It's your birthday, so let's party everyone,"
The bottle fell to the floor, its contents spilling everywhere. I cursed, my eyes darting back up to the stage to make sure the animatronics were still in place.
"We welcome you to Willy's, where everyone's your friend. Here at Willy's Wonderland, the party never ends,"
I scraped the floor with my hands, feeling for at least one of the pills. One of the teens noticed me, snickering. I shot them a rude glance, my face instantly registering with them as they instantly stopped.
"Birthday fun for everyone, how old are you today? Everyone at Willy's is hoping you will stay,"
I grasped one of the pills shakily, and tossed it in my mouth. Choking slightly, I caught Luke's attention.
"Are you okay?" He asked. I nodded, still trying to force the pill down my throat.
"It's birthday time, it's birthday time, it's birthday time let's cheer, at Willy's Wonderland,"
The song finally ended as confetti fell from the sky. Lights flashed around me as I shut my eyes tightly. The child from the family who was here before us began to scream and cry. This scene was all too familiar for me, as it had been played out so many times in the past. I had enjoyed it so many times in the past.
"You look like you're gonna puke," Luke laughed.
"I'm not," I replied, catching my breath. My eyes shot back to the stage, where Willy and his crew had returned to their normal positions.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked.
"I'm fine. Are you ready for your presents?" I smiled, redirecting the conversations. That was a lie, I was not fine. Dismissing it temporarily, I handed Luke his XBox. With excitement, I watched him tear off the wrapping paper. As he did so, I noticed the family with the screaming child leaving. Tex escorted them out. Once the front door shut, everything was strangely quiet, with the exception of a muffled children's nursery rhyme playing over the speakers.
"It's an XBox 2," Luke started, sounding disappointed.
"Yeah, haven't you always wanted one?" I replied, irritated he wasn't appreciating his gift.
"This thing is, like, ten years old," He laughed, "I didn't think they sold them anywhere,"
"Well I paid good money for that thing, so you better like it, you twit," I shot back
"Yeah, yeah, it's the best I'm gonna get till I get a job," He replied. I calmed myself down silently.
"There you have it," I spoke, throwing my hands in the air. I was about to lose my temper. "You had a party, a cake, I got you the most expensive thing I could afford, and I'm here to celebrate with you,"
"I'd hardly call this a party," Luke muttered in reply.
"You know what?" I shouted, leaning over the table threateningly. I became quickly distracted by the sound of the teenagers from behind us shouting. My focus shifted to them, as I noticed they had climbed up on the stage.
"C'mon, Amy," One of the boys laughed, dancing across the stage. The girls at the table chucked. I looked for Tex, who had disappeared again. Taking matters into my own hands, I decided I wasn't about to let a group of kids chance the fact that Willy and his crew hadn't harmed Luke or I. I didn't care about the kids lives, however, as they didn't care about mine.
"Hey, twit," I shouted up to him. The boy paused, as their entire group looked at me again, "Get off the stage or I'm calling your mom," I sneered.
"Oh, I'm so scared," The boy mocked, continuing to dance around. The girls kept laughing. I got to my feet.
"This place does not belong to you, and so I suggest you get down before you get hurt," I continued. I doubted any of them had heard of any rumors surrounding this place, or I doubt they would've come here at all.
"And who's gonna make me?" The boy teased. The girls were quiet.
"Vic just give it a rest, no one cares about how much you like this place," Luke sighed loudly.
"Shut up," I shot at him. Luke was quiet. "I've been to jail and I'm not afraid to go again. So, I'm gonna tell you one more time: get off the freaking stage. It's not your property,"
The boy sulked off the stage. I watched him.
"Buzz kill," He muttered under his breath.
"Dude that's Vic Halifax," One of the teens whispered as they began gathering their stuff. I had sat down, and returned my attention back to Luke.
"The sheriff is always after her, let's just leave," Another one whispered. They left without being escorted by Tex, which I was glad for.
"Why are you so obsessed with this place?" Luke moaned, running his hands over his face.
"I'm not obsessed with it, I just don't want to get hurt," I replied, piling our uneaten cake back onto the serving plate.
"What do you mean 'get hurt'? It's not like those guys were hurting anything, and even if they were to fall it's not like they wouldn't have' fallen on us," Luke stated.
"It's not the kids I'm worried about," I muttered in reply. Luke looked up at the robots.
"You're paranoid Vic," He laughed.
"Call it what you want, just stop asking me those questions," I replied again. With all my anxiety meds on the floor, I didn't dare risk eating them. Who knows what's happened on that floor.
"Alright. Let's leave, I'm gonna hang out with the friends who were supposed to come," Luke sneered. I rolled my eyes.
"It's not like I didn't try," I shouted to him, throwing our trash away.
"Leavin' so soon?" Tex asked, reentering the restaurant. He startled me.
"Yeah, Luke had a great time though," I smiled, nudging Luke. Luke didn't say anything.
"Well I'm glad. Now you both best be gettin' along now," Tex smiled, patting me on the back. I stumbled forward irritatedly. Without another word, Luke and I were escorted swiftly out the door. The air was a nice change to the inside of the restaurant. The sky was still very cloudy, and I was beginning to smell rain. Sheriff Lund's patrol car was out front, and she was standing next to it. Tex waved to her, and she waved back. I walked awkwardly to the Mustang, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. I had hyped the entire situation much more than I needed to. With any luck, I'd never have to go back to Willy's Wonderland again, so there was no point in freaking out. I almost laughed at myself for being so scared. Although I hadn't proven my point that the animatronics weren't possessed, that could wait for a while.
I didn't speak a single word to Luke on the way back home, and had no intentions on doing so. I had done my part to try and give him the best party I could. He'll understand when he's older, it's not like you were any different when you were his age. I definitely didn't want to be home alone, so after dropping Luke off to play with his friends, I grabbed my Walmart application. I had full confidence the job would be mine as I pulled back out of the driveway. I had barely enough gas to get there and back, which was fine with me. I didn't need to go anywhere else for the rest of the day. Turning up the radio, I sped down I-80. I remembered my promise to Aaron about not speeding in exchange for the XBox, and I intended to keep that promise. It wasn't often I promised anyone anything, but when I did, I kept them.
I had managed to put myself in a good mood by the time I got to Walmart. I wasn't wearing a very interview-friendly outfit, but I was hoping they'd look past that. Upon entering the store, I noticed there were hardly any customers. Cason was at the same register I saw him at last.
"Hey Cason," I shouted to him. He glanced at me, sighing.
"I didn't think you'd actually fill it out," Cason said, grabbing his intercom, "Can I get Jen down here for an interview,"
"I need the money so I can leave," I replied.
"Where do you live?" Cason asked, fiddling with the buttons on his register.
"Hayesville," I smiled.
"Ain't that north of here?"
"Yeah, about a thirty minute drive,"
"I've heard a lot of things about Hayesvile,"
"Me too,"
It was then that Jen entered the scene, looking very sweaty.
"Well if it isn't Victoria," She smiled. "Let me see the application,"
Cason handed her the application, watching me carefully. Jen read over the paper several times.
"My, you've got quite a record on here," She muttered. I wasn't quite sure what section she was talking about. "Yeah, I'm sorry sweetie, you don't seem to be cut out for the job,"
"What?" I asked, as Jen walked away.
"We're looking for someone who isn't gonna steal from us," Jen shouted back.
"I don't steal, I have a clean record," I shouted back. That was a very obvious lie. "You're not even gonna ask about my record, are you?"
"Nope, we already know it," Jen called. "Sorry, sweetie,"
"Better luck next time," Cason shrugged. I was greatly amused at their lack of acceptance, and also greatly irritated. Without another word, I exited the store. That, like Luke's birthday party, was a complete waste of time.
It had begun to rain on the way back, and I was still very irritated.
"Why the hell do they care about my record, it's not like I'm a bad employee," I spoke to myself. "I can't even remember the last time I stole from them," I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't notice my speed readily increasing to 70mph. "They really missed out. I'm great at stocking, and they're always out of stock of everything." My speed shot up to 80mph. "If anything, they're lucky I even applied. Sucks for them, I'm not buying next week's groceries from them,". My speed reached 90 mph, and I was still completely oblivious. "Where else am I supposed to apply? It's not like Willy's is hiring,"
And with that, the Mustang skidded to a screeching slide. I screamed, grasped the steering wheel. Maneuvering the steering wheel, I tried to reposition the car back on the right side of the road. I smelt the disgusting stench of the tire air, which could only mean one thing. Slowly braking, I parked and exited the car. All four tires were completely destroyed. Glancing back down the road, I noticed a pair of tire spikes sticking up. I had run over Sheriff Lund's tire spikes, and that was going to be a hefty fine to pay back, and I doubted Dad was going to be very happy about that.