SHOUTOUTS\ANSWERS

Tanya: Thanks. Hope this is soon enough.

OrangeJuice: Thanks. I will.

Nate and Jake: Glad you're enjoying it. Soon enough for you? Wait and see. (As far as I know, responding is still allowed. If not, please tell me and I'll stop).

DISCLAIMER

First of all, this has nothing to do with 21 Jump Street's 3rd season episode. I just liked the title. Second of all, anything that's familiar belongs to the WB. Finally, anything you don't recognize is mine.

Later that night, two teens---a boy and a girl---snuck into the carnival.

"Come on. Will you hurry up?" the boy asked, ducking underneath the yellow police tape.

"Jerry, I don't know about this," the girl whispered nervously, following him.

"Oh come on, Lisa. There's nothing to be afraid of," Jerry scoffed.

"But that group of kids---" Lisa began to protest.

"Was an unfortunate accident," Jerry interrupted.

"But I heard from Sherri that the cops were saying that those kids had been scared to death," Lisa told him.

"Lise, do you want to be a chicken your whole life?" Jerry demanded in a fed up voice.

"I'm not a chicken," Lisa retorted hotly.

"Then come on," Jerry dared. Lisa hurried after him. For a while, the two roamed around the park, filching candy and snacks.

"Hey, look," Lisa said suddenly. "There's light on over there," she continued.

"Probably just the caretaker," Jerry stated.

"No. It seems to be coming from inside one of the walk-throughs," Lisa replied.

"Well, let's check it out," Jerry decided. "I mean, with any luck, it could be The Tunnel of Love," he said suggestively.

"Oh, you!" Lisa scolded, swatting him on the arm. Laughing, they headed for the light. At the entrance, Jerry tried the knob and was surprised when the door swung open.

"That's funny. Why would they leave it open?" he wondered.

"Does it matter?" she asked.

"No, I guess not," he responded. Together, they stepped inside and continued following the light path.

"Look. It leads to the Hall of Mirrors," Lisa noted.

"The Hall of Mirrors? Isn't that where---" Jerry's voice trailed off. For all his bravado, he wasn't too sure of how he felt going into a place where someone had actually died.

"Yeah. But that was just an unfortunate accident, right?" Lisa replied.

"I guess, but---" Again, Jerry's voice broke off. Suddenly, he wasn't too sure about this.

"Who's the chicken now?" Lisa taunted.

"I'm not a chicken," Jerry objected in an insulted tone.

"Whatever," Lisa dismissed. She walked into the attraction.

"See? Nothing here. Safe as houses," she smirked. Jerry had just crossed the threshold when the room began to shake.

"Wha---what's happening?" Lisa asked in fright.

"I---I don't know," Jerry replied in the same voice. Suddenly, a dozen reptiles appeared on the floor! Lisa shrieked.

"Lisa! Lisa! They're not real!" Jerry cried over her screams. To his amazement, a murky silhouette appeared in the mirror.

"I know what scares you," it hissed in a raspy voice.

"Lisa, we gotta get outta here," Jerry said fearfully. However, before he could make a move, a large dog appeared in front of him and began to bark viciously. Jerry gasped. He hated dogs. Meanwhile, a late night security guard had just become aware of the commotion. Curious, and not just a little concerned, he hurried to the spot. When he got to the scene, he saw two teens screaming. He saw something dark and shadowey encircle the girl. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it was bad. Making a quick decision, he grabbed the boy.

"Come on! We gotta get outta here!" he shouted. This seemed to waken the teen up.

"Leslie! I can't leave her!" he cried. Her screams grew louder.

"There's nothing we can do for her! We have to leave now!" the guard yelled. With that, he dragged the boy away. Once outside, Jerry tried to go back inside, but the guard held him back.

"Don't be stupid. There's nothing you can do," he stated. Then, the screams stopped.

"No," the boy said weakly. "No," he whispered. The guard held the teen in a hug, partially comforting him and partially keeping him back.