Chapter 10: Mirrors And Slides

Walking down the creepy park, we followed Stine down the path. I heard creepy music being played all around us, which didn't help Champ at all. I kicked a rock, which bounced over to him, hitting his leg, making him yelp out. "Sorry," I said in a sad tone, my depression getting deeper inside of me. Then it went away, but I held the same frown on my face that I have every twenty four hours a day. I wasn't afraid of this amusement park, I was afraid to have flashbacks from my childhood come at me again...

Also, I did want to tell them about my pass, but... I decided to change my mind... I mean, I know I did say that I'll tell them someday when I'm ready, and I almost did tell Stine when we were at the graveyard, until we were being chased by ghouls.

"Get out of my face, you make me sick!"

I jumped again, stopping for a second.

"I said, GET OUT!"

I shook my head hard, when my childhood memories flooded back in my mind, before going away. I let out a relieved breath, then caught up with the others, not far from me.

And also, as I caught up with them, I still don't know why that happened. Like I stated before, I only get those memories from my nightmares.

Luckily, they went away. Just like that. So I shrugged it off, like it was nothing, and continued with my 'friends'.

"No one wants to be your friend. Besides, who wants to be your friend? Oh, that's right. Nobody."

I slowed down a bit, but kept up with the group.

"Come on, ugly girl! Do something!"

"You're useless."

I grabbed my hair, pulling at it, waiting for the memories to go away. Why are they coming back all of the sudden? I don't think anything is wrong with me... Or is there?

I released my hair, letting my hands drop to my sides. Maybe I'm just crazy. If I say anything about this to my so called 'friends', they won't believe me. Which is why I promise to leave them after we get this challenge over with.

"Which ride are we going on first?" I suddenly asked, breaking the silence, startling Champ again. "Sorry," I directed towards him, and he returned with a nod. I caught up with Stine. "So which ride are we going on?" I repeated the question.

"The House Of Mirrors," he answered, gazing straight ahead.

I raised a brow. "Is that even a ride?"

"Well... no. But it is scary," he clarified. "All we have to do is find our way out of it... However, something does happen."

"...like what?" I replied.

He didn't say anything at first. "You'll see," he said.

"Can I skip this one?" Champ said in a scared voice. "I can never find my way out of The House Of Mirrors. At all. Heck, I can't even find my own way out of my shirt." He grabbed Stine by the sleeve. "Don't make me go in it," he started to beg, acting like a four year old who is at a doctor's office who doesn't want to have a vaccine. "You guys go on ahead, I'll wait outside for you guys. Just don't let me go in that thing. I read the book, it's terrifying!"

Stine yanked his arm free. "We all have to do it, Champ," he said. "It's part of the challenge. Plus, as we're walking through it, we might find the book in there."

"Well, I'm not doing it. I'm going home." Champ started to walk to the opposite way, only for Zach to grab him by his shirt collar from the front side. "This is the worst night of my life..." he wailed as Zach continued to pull him.

"What if the book isn't in The House Of Mirrors, dad?" Hannah questioned her father.

"Then we'll have to look for it somewhere else," Stine shrugged. "Oh, look at that," he slightly grinned. "We're here."

"And I'm out." Champ went to run away, but Stine quickly grabbed the boy by the ear, hauling him into The House Of Mirrors, with us right behind him.

When we stepped in, all I saw was mirrors. Just... mirrors. Okay, then. "So... we just have to find our way out?" I said.

"That's right," Stine nodded. "But like I mention, something does happen. The only thing is, I don't know when it's gonna happen."

"Oh great." Zach rolled his eyes. "Okay, while we look for our way out, let's see if we can find the book," he stated, taking Hannah's hand again, walking down the halls. We followed. Except Stine had to keep ahold of Champ's ear so he doesn't run out of the small building.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow," Champ kept on repeating, his ear becoming red again. "Stine, let go of my ear." Then he added, "I won't run out, I promise." So Stine let him free, and he rubbed his ear again, getting rid of the soreness as much as he could. "I think my ear is on fire," he complained, still rubbing it.

I let out a very soft sigh so no one else would hear it. Like I stated before, I had a lot more pain then having my ear pulled... As we walked down the halls full of mirrors, we didn't find the book. So we tried to find our way out, and ended up in a room which, again, is full of mirrors. Just mirrors. Only mirrors. "Um..." I spoke, "how are we gonna find our way out?"

"Um..." was all Stine can give me. "I think we go... this way? No... I think it's..."

"Don't say that we are lost..." Champ started to whine, fear creeping into his voice. "Hey!" he cried out, suddenly falling over. "That mirror pushed me. I swear!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, the lights cut out, blinding us into darkness. "I can't see!" I heard Champ squeal. I can feel him behind me.

"What's happening?!" I heard Hannah cry out. I bet she was squeezing her boyfriend's hand very tightly.

"It's the mirrors, they're closing in!" I heard Zach shout out.

I tried to find Stine through the darkness, but with no success. "Is this what's going to happen? Getting crushed by mirrors in the dark?!" I yelled. Stine spoke right next to me.

"No, because that's not what's going to happen. Only... I forgot what happens next," he declared.

"Well, that's fantastic," Zach spoke sarcastically. The room rumbled, and even though we could barely see in the dark, we knew the mirrors were getting closer, and we all started to get crammed together, which I didn't like because of physical contact. "You better figure out what happens next," Zach spoke again. "I don't wanna become a human cube with a bunch of you. No offense."

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Stine replied in the darkness. "I'm-"

Suddenly, the floor opened up, and we went down... down... down... Down into the ground. We all screamed.

"We're all gonna die!" Champ screamed.

For once, I believe he's right.

We're dead.

"Oof!" A second later, I landed on my stomach, the wind knocking out of me. I also heard the others fall right next to me. I got up and brushed the dirt off my shirt. I checked to see if I still had my backpack on, checking the weight to see if anything fell out. Nope. Nothing fell out.

"Well, would you look at that..." Stine mused, brushing himself off. "I remember now." It wasn't dark in the underground tunnel, so we all gave him angry looks. "What?" he asked.

"You remembered now?" Zach said, helping Hannah off the floor, wiping the dirt out of her hair.

"Hey, it's been years since I created this story," Stine defended. "I was in my early twenties." He brushed some dirt out of his hair, too. "Come on, let's get out of this tunnel. Now be careful not to knock down-"

All of a sudden, the walls and the top part of the underground tunnel started to crumble, before we noticed that Champ had knock down one of the wooden beams that held the dirt ceiling up. "Champion!" Stine's face turned red, and he faced us. "Go, go, go!" he hollered, waving his hands forward. "Go! Run!" Stine ran past us, with us right behind him.

"Ow!" I cried, when one of the solid dirt hit me on the head, stopping me for a second. Stine had to turn back and grabbed the part of my front shirt, almost hauling me so I can keep going, then let me free.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Hannah and Zach shouted, the dirt on the walls and ceiling falling faster, the dirt crumbling around us.

By the time we made it out, we practically had to throw ourselves onto the floor outside of the cave, just in time that the cave was completely filled with dirt, blocking the exit that we just came out of. Champ leaned against one of the trees, catching his breath.

"That was close," he said. "I've never ran that fast in my life. I didn't know that one wooden beam actually held that dirt ceiling up," he panted. He notice that Stine was glaring at him. "...what...?"

"I was about to say to be careful with those beams," Stine told him angrily, going up to the boy. "But you didn't listen! I- You know what?" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Forget that happen. Let's just be glad that we're alive. Let's go to the next ride, and see if the book is there." He began walking again. "I never wanted to go to that building again," he grumbled as we all went with him.

During our walk to the next ride, I felt breathing behind my neck. At first I thought it was Champ and was about to tell him to go in front of me when I realize that he is in front of me, right between Zach and Stine, with Hannah right with them.

I paused, looking around, wondering who could be right behind me. I didn't move, whipping my head around when I heard... giggling. "H-Hello...?" I called out. The giggling grew louder. "Is someone out there?" I hollered, my heart racing. I held up my backpack full of stuff. "Come out, wherever you are!" I yelled out. "If you don't, I'll throw this at your face," I threatened. The giggling grew even louder. "I said, come out wherever you are!" I screeched, about to throw my backpack, when I felt a hard tug. "Hey!" I protested as the tug became more roughly.

"Haha!" That laugh. "Looks like your friends left you," a voice spoke.

I stopped tugging. "The Invisible Boy!" I recognized with a gasp. I ripped the backpack out of his invisible grip. "What do you mean? They didn't leave me," I questioned. "I'm just far behind them, I'll catch up."

"Don't sweat it, girly," he snickered. "They didn't even notice that you stopped when you heard me. Hahaha!" He laughed again. "Want to know why I stopped you?" he asked.

I glared at the Boy. "Why?" I replied, slipping my backpack back on.

"Because I want to tell you a little secret about this challenge..." He came closer, his breath hitting my neck. "You can keep a secret, right?" he said. I didn't say anything back. "Do you want to know what it is?"

"Not really..." I responded, backing away from him, even though I can't see him at all. "However... what is your secret? About this challenge?" I heard his footsteps coming right next to me.

"I'll tell you..." He giggled before he whispered into my ear. "I lied. No one is escaping this place. Even if they win, and I'm never going in that book."

"What?!" I jumped back. "You're insane. You made a deal with Stine!" I exclaimed, pointing at him. "I'm not going to keep that secret. When I find the others, I'll tell about your secret." I went to walk away, when I felt his hand on shoulder, having me shake him off. "I hate to be touched," I growled.

"You will not tell my father," he snarked. "Besides, they abandoned you, just like Slappy said. You'll never have friends..." he hissed.

"Don't say that!" I cried. I lifted my backpack off my back and, even though he's invisible, I swung it.

"Ow!" Somehow I manage to hit him somewhere, cause I heard him fall to the ground. That gave me time to run. "Come back here!" the Invisible Boy shouted after me. "You shall never tell my father! Never!"

His shouts echoed around me by the time I stopped at some ride, catching my breath. I have to tell Stine and the others, I thought. But what if the Boy is right? Slappy said the exact same thing to me.

I finally caught my breath, looking up at the ride that I stopped at. I read the sign that said The Doom Slide. Which is a tall mountain, and I can hear screams inside that thing. Maybe the others are inside? I have to climb up and see. Luckily I can climb up the staircase that is inside the mountain, so I won't have to worry about how high I am.

I started to climb, holding the railing with each step I took.

"Welcome to The Doom Slide!" I jumped when I saw a Horror right next to me. "Are you here to go down one of these deadly slides?!" he proclaimed in a loud voice, almost as if he was yelling at me.

"Actually..." I rubbed my ears which are now ringing due to his volume. "...I was actually looking for my friends.." If they even are my friends. "Were they on this thing?" I asked.

"Oh yes, they were," he grinned. "They were on this ride. They were about to go back when they noticed that you weren't with them."

"That's because I was halted by the Boy," I explained. "He told me a secret about this challenge, and he told me not to tell Stine, but... I don't like to keep secrets..." Even if I wanted to tell them about my episodes of my flashbacks I'm getting all of the sudden. "So... you said that they were going to get me?" I asked.

The Horror nodded. "Yes, but I told them that they have to go down the slides, even warning them about The Doom Slide. A slide where you keep on sliding..." He leaned towards me. "...forever." He stood back up. "Are you going to go down one?" he questioned. "What comes up, must come down, right?" He laughed at his own joke. I didn't. "What's the matter? I always tell that joke to the humans that come up here."

"I never laughed... Or smile," I told him.

"That's a shame," he replied with a shake of his green, fury head. "However, you still have to go down one. But," he warned, "one of these is The Doom Slide, and if you end up on that slide, you'll keep on sliding... forever." He grinned. "Go ahead," he urged, gesturing his large hand to the slides that each have a number. "Pick a slide. Any slide..."

I stepped over to the slides. I looked at each number. One of them is The Doom Slide... I remember reading the book One Day At Horrorland, reading the part where two of the characters in that book went down that slide to find the brother's friend who might've gone on that slide before they did.

"Get out of my face, you make me sick!"

I gasped, jumping back. That flashback...

"Get out of my face, you make me sick! Get out of my face, you make me sick!"

"Come on, ugly girl! Do something!"

"Of course it was her, mom. She wrecks everything that she sees. I don't know why we had to take her in. She was just a mistake!"

More came. The same ones, even the one from my nightmares, that I had a hard time figuring out which slide is The Doom Slide. I think they're getting worse...

"So,which slide do you pick?" the Horror asked, making me jump out of my skin.

"U-Um... uh..." I stammered. "The... number ten slide."

"Are you sure...?"

I nodded. "I believe I'm sure." I hope that this slide isn't The Doom Slide... I went over to it, sat down and, with a deep breath, I slid down.

As I slid, the slide became more steeper and longer and longer. I let out a scream, going faster and faster, steeper and steeper. "Why am I not stopping!?" I cried, my voice echoing. "When will it end!?" I gasped. "Oh no, slide number ten is The Doom Slide." Those flashbacks made me choose this one.

Just as I thought that I'll keep sliding forever, I landed on dirt by the time I slid out. I sat up, feeling pain on my arm. I looked at it, seeing a scratch mark. It was red, but not bleeding. Thank goodness, cause I didn't pack anything for first aid.

I looked around, seeing that my so called 'friends' nowhere in site. My depression came as I stood up, getting the dirt off my backpack. If they were my friends, then they'll be waiting for me. But what if they never came this way? Did they choose different slides then the one I chose?

If so, which ones did they pick?

Stine

We climbed up the steps of The Doom Slide, with the others right behind me. I had to drag Champ up the steps for him not to fall behind by gripping the collar of his shirt, ignoring his begging and pleading. I wanted to see if the book is up here.

By the time we got to the top, we were greeted by a Horror who had a really loud voice that hurt my ears. "Welcome to The Doom Slide!" the Horror boomed, making Champ scream like a girl. Like always. "Are you here to slide to your doom?" the Horror asked with a grin, showing his teeth which are sharp and pointed.

"No..." I answered slowly, rubbing my ears, making them stop ringing. "We're on a challenge that the Boy told us to do," I told him. "He says he wants to see if we survive or not." I didn't tell him about the book that we are looking for during this challenge in case he knows about it. Well, I created these Horrors and the creepy park, so... he basically does know about it. "So we decided to come on this ride," I finished.

"I didn't want to come here!" Champ cried, ready to climb down the steps. However, that's when Hannah spoke up.

"Dad," she said, "Hazel's not with us."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "She was with us, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, but now..." Hannah looked behind her, expecting to see Hazel. "...she's not here," she informed.

"Well, let's go back down to get her," I replied. "She probably stop to tie her shoes or something and didn't know where we went. She's a smart kid, so I bet she's staying where she is."

"Oh good, we don't have to go down one of these slides." Champ let out a breath of relief.

Just as we were about to go down the steps, the Horror stopped us. "Whoa! You cannot go down that way!" he declared in his loud voice. "You have to go down one of these slides. But be careful. one of them is The Doom Slide. If you end up picking that slide, you won't stop sliding. Don't worry, if that girl comes, I'll tell her what I told you, and tell her to go down one of these slides."

"Is that it?" Zach questioned with a raised brow. "Just go down one of these slides?"

The Horror nodded. "Yes, but one of them is The Doom Slide."

Zach went over to one of the slides. "I bet number seven isn't The Doom Slide. Plus, it's a lucky number." He turned to us. "Wish me luck," he said. He took a deep breath, sat down, and slid out of our sites. We listened for any signs to see if he was okay or not. Not long after, we heard him scream. That's good. He's okay.

"Guess, I'll go next," Hannah said, walking up to the slides. She looked at each one of them. "I'll do number six," she chose. I watch my daughter slid down the slide. She too, let out a scream. Now it's just me and Champ left.

"I'm not going down those slides," he refused. "I'm going down the other way. The stairs." He was about to go down the other way when I walked over to him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and started to push him towards one of the slides. "Hey, what are you-?" he started, then realized what I was about to do. "No! No! Stine, please, I don't want to go down one!" He tried to break free of my grasp, but I was stronger then he was. "Stine! Don't!"

"We all have to do it," I spoke in a low tone. "When Hazel comes up here, she's gonna have to do it, too. Remember, kid, we're in this together." I stopped at the slide that I pushed him to. "I bet number eight is a perfect slide." I forced him to sit down, then gave him a good shove, making him slid down the slide.

"Stiiiiiiiinnnnnnne...!" Champ hollered, his voice echoing out of the slide. I kinda smirked before going to the next slide. Number five. Taking a deep breath, I sat down, and began to slide, hoping that this one isn't The Doom Slide.

Champion

"Get me off this thing!" I cried, trying to stop myself from sliding. "I hate this ride!" I kept on sliding, the slide getting steeper and steeper, as well as getting longer and longer, faster and faster, the slide not coming to an end. "Oh no! Number eight is The Doom Slide!" I panicked, pressing my hands harder on the sides. "I'll never stop sliding! Help, someone help! Get me off this thing!"

Just as I thought that I won't be able to stop sliding, the slide ended with me flying in the air. "I'm gonna die!" I screamed, free falling in the air. "I just know it!" I then landed on something. Like a mattress of some sort. Only I didn't open my eyes. "I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I just died..."

"If you just died, then how are you talking?" a voice asked.

"Huh?" I opened my eyes to see Zach standing in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest. "Zach! Oh, good God, I thought I was on that slide," I proclaimed in a happy voice, getting off the mattress.

"So was I," he replied. "When will Stine and Hannah get off those slides? I don't see them here."

I opened my mouth when I heard a loud holler, and saw Stine slid out of the slide. He got up off the ground. "That was terrifying..." he spoke as we walked up to him. "Did Hannah get off?" he asked us.

We looked at each other. "No... not yet," Zach informed him.

"If she doesn't get off that thing soon, I think I'm gonna have a panic attack..." Stine spoke, his voice growing with concern, thinking about having his daughter sliding down the slide forever, and not able to see her anymore. Just like when she was trapped in the new book that Zach had to help finish.

Then we heard a high, shrill scream coming from slide number six. Hannah slid out of the slide. "Whoa..." she let out as Zach helped her up onto her feet. "That was... freaky..."

"Thank goodness you're okay." Stine went up to her, feeling relieved to see his daughter in one piece. "Now we can wait here, and hope that Hazel picked the slides we picked."

"But..." I began. "...what if she didn't...?"

That questioned got us all worried... The other question is: What if she picked The Doom Slide?

Hazel

Which slides did they end up on? That's the question I wanted to ask. But no answer came to me. And when I looked around, this is the only slide in this area, and no other ones, which explains why they aren't coming.

I looked around, seeing that I was in some kind of forest that is probably part of Horrorland. With a sad sigh, I trudged off, following the path. And while I was walking, I kept hearing howls all around me. I paused, looking around. The howls sounded like wolves... And they sounded dangerous. Are they werewolves? If so, I don't want to encounter one. Seeing the werewolf from The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp is good enough for me and my 'friends'.

I began to walk again, my head down, not looking where I was going. When I looked up, the moon was high over the trees at the peak of the night sky, dotted with stars. Another howl, along with others that followed along with it.

I then remembered. Wolves howl at the full moon. Even werewolves. But... I don't see any. And that's when I heard growls all over the place, as well as angry barks. Just like a dog would do if it hates some kind of person or animal.

My heart beat exoculated. Where are the howling and growling and barking coming from? More howls came, and I keep whipping my head around, trying to find the wolves or werewolves, and didn't see any.

As I was walking, my direction facing behind me, I bumped into something and ended on the ground on my back, getting another scratch on my other arm. And just as I was about to sit up, a furry animal looked down at me, baring its sharp, pointed teeth that glistened from the moonlight. It drooled on my face, making me wipe it away.

It snarled at me. That's when I realize it was... a werewolf! I began to sit up, only for it to pin me down with one of its huge paws, its eyes glowing this red, evil color.

"Get off!" I screamed, putting my hands on the werewolf's chest, doing my best to push it off of me. The werewolf barked in my face, making me stop what I was doing.

I looked around, spotting a good size rock not too far from me. I looked back at the snarling creature, keeping its attention on me as I reached for the rock. When I felt it, I grabbed it, and hit the monster with it. It let out a yelp when the rock smack it on the mouth, getting the werewolf off of me.

Not wasting anytime, I quickly stood up, and ran. I heard the werewolf letting out another howl. I began to hear something chasing me. I looked back, and saw like ten werewolves chasing me, the first one that pinned me to ground in front of them.

I looked around frantically, spotting a gate. I ran to it and tried to open the gate. But it wouldn't. It was locked! And while I struggled to get the gate open, a sign caught my attention. It read The Wolfsbane Forest.

An angry snarl made me scream. I turned around, pressing myself against the gate.

They came closer, glaring at me with those red eyes. And I remembered something else. Something... horrifying. And it just came to me.

When you get bitten by a werewolf, you'll become a werewolf. Forever.

"Somebody help me!" I cried, hoping that someone will come. Only... no one came. Not even my 'friends'. Where are they? I wondered frantically.

And one of the werewolves jumped at me.