Chapter 15
"Never Smile at an Alligator"
As Fred directed, we split up to cover every area of the Six Flags New Orleans Theme Park to prevent Jocco or any of the evil spirits haunting the park from escaping. By now, the rain was beginning to fall hard and my hair was already starting to pay the price for it. Once again, we were scouting the area known as DC Comics Superhero Adventures.
Through both of our minds, we were expecting the Joker, Catwoman or any other villain of Batman or Superman to come out of nowhere.
"JOCCO!" I heard Fred cry out. "JOCCO! COME OUT AND FACE US!"
The sounds of Fred's tone made it clear that he was more than determined to end this nightmare once and for all.
"I KNOW YOU ARE IN HERE! AND THE SAME GOES FOR YOU TOO, REVEREND KANE!"
I continued to cautiously walk along into the storm, but little did I know that I was starting to walk further and further away from the DC Land and towards an area of the park known as Cajun Country.
Suddenly, I began to hear a very frightening sound coming from inside the center lake, the sounds of growling followed by a pair of red demonic eyes.
"They are really something, isn't it?" I heard a voice coming from a ghostly figure looking down in the lake. Reaching into my overcoat, I pulled out my flashlight and much to my shock and surprise, there stood the Reverend again. "Creatures of such power and brute strength!"
I couldn't believe it, it was him again! The very same ghost who sat right behind me. I'm not going to lie that at that moment, I was starting to become scared.
"Tell me something, Daphne," he asked, turning towards me in a very creeped out manner. "Out of all the times you got into danger, did you ever consider never making it out alive?"
"What are you saying?" I cried as I suddenly began to feel my arm being pushed down and the flashlight being dropped onto the soaked ground. "What are you doing?"
"I'm merely preparing you, Daphne," Reverend Kane said, with an almost hypnotic look in his eyes. "Preparing you for your greatest moment."
Feeling a sense of fear, I tried to turn and run, but Reverend Kane used his arm to magically pull me into the air. Screaming, I struggled against his magical grip, but to no avail. As I screamed, he laughed evilly, taking in the delight of torturing me.
"It's obvious that my servant has failed in his duties," Reverend Kane declared. "But I don't need any more souls. All I have to do is take yours!"
"FRED, HELP ME!" I screamed and he swung me around over the alligator infested lake. Looking down, I could see the alligators beginning to circle over me, looking as if they were ready to kill me. "FRED!"
"It's no use screaming at a time like this, nobody will hear you!" Reverend Kane laughed and much to my horror, he released his grip and sent me falling into the lake surrounded by red eyed alligators.
"DAPHNE!" I heard Fred scream, only for Reverend Kane to send him flying into the Lafitte's Pirate Ship ride, overlooking the lake. "DAPHNE!"
But Fred was forced to sit in the ride and Reverend Kane ensured he was watching as the alligators began to encircle.
"Bring me her soul!" Reverend Kane directed to the alligators. "Do as you wish with her body!"
It was more than clear that the alligators weren't going to stop until I was dead and my soul was in the possession of Reverend Kane.
"YOU'RE GONNA DIE IN THERE!" he cried out in a loud voice, almost as if he was taunting me while a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder was heard overhead. "DO YOU HEAR ME, DAPHNE? YOU ARE GONNA DIE!"
Fred continued to struggle against his forced bonds and the alligators already began snapping their jaws at me. Using whatever strength I could muster, I grabbed both ends of the alligator's jaws to keep them from closing as I could feel another bite onto the back of my overcoat. But the alligator's jaws were too strong and I had no choice but to back away. I knew that I needed to get to shore as quickly as possible, but I knew that I also needed to get the alligators away from me.
"DAPHNE, HOLD ON!" Fred screamed, trying to break himself free from the ride.
…
Now, before I go on any further, I want you all to remember that yes, I do have material arts training. But wrestling alligators was another story.
Growling, another alligator opened his jaws and bit into the front of my overcoat. At this point, I didn't care if my suit was going to be demolished, but all that mattered was getting out of the lake. As the alligators continued to swarm around me, I used some of my martial arts training, punching and kicking the alligators back, who retorted with their teeth into my suit and ripping pieces of it off of me.
I then kicked one alligator in the stomach and I could feel that I was no longer wearing one of my heels that would have otherwise caused the gator a sharp pain.
But I knew that there was another approach to this.
"Okay, let's do this the hard way!" I cried, hugging one of the alligators in an effort to wrestle with him. I figured that wrestling him to the shore was my only option. We continued to struggle time after time while the gator used whatever strength he had to get what Kane wanted.
…
Finally, after a few moments, I found myself at the muddy shore line, my overcoat nearly gone and my suit wet and torn. I had just one more obstacle to overcome and then I would be back on dry land. But one of the gators managed to get both the back of my jacket and skirt into his mouth, trying to pull me back into the lake. I thought that this was probably the end, I would say goodbye to my family and friends and join my lord and master along with all those who went before me.
"FRED, I LOVE YOU!" I gasped as the alligator continued to pull me closer and closer back into the lake.
…
Then, a loud series of shots went out and the alligator pulling me back in roared in pain. Gasping, I saw that he had been shot in one of his eyes and looking up, there was a saving grace with a loaded gun.
It was Beau, who then aimed his gun at Reverend Kane's ghost, firing several shots at him, one of the bullets striking him in the chest. Looking down, he could see some of the blood starting to seep out of him.
"It's clear to me," Reverend Kane cried, clutching onto his chest. "That I must flee and bide my time some more. But I will get your spirit, Daphne, even if it takes all eternity!"
And before Beau could fire another round at Kane, the ghostly reverend disappeared and Fred was released from his bonds while Beau went down to help me back to dry land.
"You okay?" he asked, extending his hand to me, to which I quickly took a hold of. He pulled me back onto dry land despite the fact that my purple and green business suit was completely ruined, wet and several pieces of it ripped off of me by the alligators.
"Yeah, thanks," I gasped, trying to hold onto whatever dignity I had being exposed in several places. "Is he gone?"
"Looks like it," Beau cried as I saw Fred rush over to me and embrace me tightly. Just then, we saw Beau reach into his radio. "What's up, Barb? No, I haven't seen them. All right, we'll be right over!"
"What is it?" Fred asked.
"Shaggy and Scooby are in trouble at Jocco's! We gotta get over there now!"
So we proceeded towards Jocco's Mardi Gras madness to help look for Shaggy and Scooby, but would we arrive in time?
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