Author's Note: Welcome to the 2023 Halloween Special! I figured that we could take a trip to the carnival this year. Just like last year, this is in second-person point of view. I might have to use the you character sometime in the near future. I have many ideas for them. This match just wrote itself. I love how it turned out. Feliciano just had to pop up and be used here. So here he is. Add on a Discord prompt of "haunted house" and here is it. I don't know what I am doing next Monday but you can stick around and see. For now, enjoy this Halloween special!

Match Twenty: Carnival:

Welcome to the carnival.

You find yourself in a strange, vast field. You don't know where you are or how you got here. You reached into your pocket for your phone. No reception. Damn it! You tried to remember what happened to lead up to this point. Nothing. You are drawing a blank. Were you at a party? Or was it a bar? That's not going to matter in a few seconds.

Wait… What is that?

You turned your head. It sounded like the music you would hear in a carnival. Yes, it sounds like a calliope playing in the distance. You strain your ear for a listen. Your stomach turned. You've heard the stories. Oh god. Please don't let it be… No. Please don't. No. No.

That's when you see it.

There's a figure dancing around in the distance. You squint your eyes for a better look. The white of the body stood out in the dark. It moved like it was dancing. Dancing like a ballerina. Hands reached up to the sky. Is that… Is that a mime? You shake your head and blink. When did the figure get closer?

You get a better look at this dancing figure. You recognize that it was a clown. The clown is in all-white. He really did stand out in the dark. His steps match the distant calliope music. Your brain is screaming at you to run. But you are frozen as he dances closer to you. He holds out his hand. By now, you have a better look at his face. There is no joy in that smile. His eyes looked so dead. They were just black holes, in fact. The smile looked stitched on too.

You want to speak. You want to scream. But you can't move. All you can do is stare as that white creepy clown dances closer. His hand remained extended to you. Suddenly, your right arm is moving on its own accord. You don't want to do this. You are pleading with the clown to not make you do this.

No… Don't do this. Please. No. No… No…

The clown takes you by the hand.

Sounds of a carnival fill your ears first. You open your eyes and look around. The lights nearly blind you so badly that you have to shield your eyes. The calliope music is louder than ever. Stalls for games, shops, and food are on either side of you. You find yourself in the middle of a carnival. There is so much black, silver, orange, and red everywhere. There are people here. However, they look like they were made of mud with no faces. They are acting like they are at a normal carnival. But this isn't right. You shouldn't be here. You have to get out of here. You start to look around for the exit.

"Ciao, Bella!" someone shouted behind. You turn around. Feliciano stares at you with a black candy apple in his hand. He smirked at her.

"Aw, what's wrong, Bella?" he asked. "You look scared. Did you lose your way?" You stare at him for a long moment.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Feliciano handed you his apple.

"You want a bite?" he asked. You quickly shake your head.

"No?" he asked. You shake your head again. He shrugs at you.

"Okay," he said. He takes a bite of his apple.

"This is really good," he said. "I could get you one later. No? Oh well." You plead with him to help you get out of here. Feliciano gave you a curious look.

"Hm? You want to leave?" he asked. "Why would you want to do that?" You started listing off different excuses. Feliciano gave you a little pout.

"But it's too early for you to leave," he says. "There is so much that you have to see tonight. Come with me." He grabbed you by the arm and dragged you further into the carnival.

You want to run but you can't. You have become Feliciano's new… accessory. You try to make yourself smile and go along with it. First chance you get, you are making a break for it. For now, you have to enjoy the view. The people are clearer now. They are all wearing ghoulish costumes. You feel out of place with your jeans and shirt. Your captive is dressed like an Italian prince from the old days.

"You really should try the candy apples here," he said. You shake your head. He shrugged. Why does he want you to eat an apple so much? The sounds and lights weren't helping your situation. You are still looking for an escape.

Tiny skulls hang from the booths. The vendors invite you to play their games. You can win big prizes, they say. A teenage couple walks up to a shooting game. The boy picks up a rifle and takes aim. The popping sound is drowned out by the crowd. You turn to Feliciano's back.

"Where are you taking me?" you ask. He doesn't answer. You try to pull away but it's no use. He keeps walking like he has a purpose. He was taking you somewhere.

You look up to see a giant building in the distance. It looked like a giant haunted house. Bright red lights flashed in the windows. It looked like there was a cat staring at you in one of the said windows. A puzzled look came over your face. What would something like that be doing here? Feliciano pulled you in the long line with him. You ask why you are here but he says nothing. Your stomach turned.

You look around for another escape. More people are getting in line. Felicano hums to himself. He didn't used to be like this. You started to remember a kinder, gentler Italy. Your friends warned you about him. You didn't want to believe it of course. But now you are seeing the truth.

The line is moving at a crawl. You look around for an escape. He seems distracted right now. You could just turn around and make a break for it. But he's still holding your hand. You look like a couple on the outside. No one has acknowledged your presence so far. You hope (foolishly) that it stays that way. Still, you have to get out of here.

You move closer to the house. It doesn't feel like it but the line keeps moving. The carnival music somehow got louder and more distorted. You start to feel a bit queasy.

"You alright?" he asked over his shoulder. You stare at him. There was only one question to come to mind.

"What happened to you?"

That's when he completely turns to face you. For a second you see something in his eyes. You can't make out what it is. You hit something with your question.

He didn't answer and turned away.

The line keeps moving. Soon, you are three people behind at the entrance. By now, you can't slip away. You can only go inside. Feliciano glanced over his shoulder as he held out his hand. You could have backed away. You have ducked out of line and ran to find an exit. You could turn around and run away.

Before you know it, you are in the house. It's so dark in here. The door closing behind you didn't help. You reach into your pocket for your phone. Huh? When did the battery get down to fifty percent?

That's when you realize that you aren't alone.

Something or someone is breathing down your neck. You don't dare turn around. You shut your eyes and start to pray. Why are you doing this? It's just a fake haunted house. They can't hurt you. When you open your eyes, a dancing skeleton jumps out in front of you. You scream as you jump back. A pair of strong hands grab your shoulders.

Why are you running away?!

You freeze. Did they know? How could they? No. They couldn't!

Why? Why are you running away?!

You say that you aren't. But they don't believe you.

Liar! Why are you running away?!

You start to remember. You ran away.

She was smothering you. You couldn't take it. She claimed that she loves you. It didn't feel like it. She never hit you. She never physically hurt you. She just keeps saying that she loves you. She said that she would never let you go. Someone normal would find that romantic. But not you. As the days wore on, you felt suffocated. Not even being around your own daughter could bring you any joy. You had to get away.

You clenched your fists at your sides.

"She was making me feel trapped!"

Trapped? Trapped? Trapped, you say?

"Yes!"

You used to be happy. You can't figure out when that happened. She wants you to come home. She has the means to find you. But she hasn't acted on it. She wanted you to come back on your own.

You shut your eyes and scream. The calliope music and the laughter make it so much worse. You can feel tears running down your cheeks.

"Bella!"

Before you can look up, someone grabs you by the arm and drags you away. The laughing and music sound like they are chasing you. You just want to get out of this haunted house attraction. You just want to get far away from this carnival. You just…

"I just want to go home."

Suddenly, you and your "savior" stop. You open your eyes and realize you are out of the haunted house. In fact, you are outside of the carnival. You turn to see Feliciano standing inside of the property line. You ask what happened. He throws back his head and laughs.

"You are out of the carnival," he said. "You wanted to go home and it's letting you go." You ask why. That corrupt Italian man shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "This place picks and chooses who it wants to keep or let go." You ask what you are supposed to do now. He shrugged again.

"That's up to you," he said. You ask what he's going to do now.

"Who knows?" he asked as he twirled around, careful to stay in the property line. "The night is still young. I can do what I like here. I think I am going to stay." You don't know what to say.

"You sure you don't want a candy apple?" he asked. You decline.

"Oh well. I tried," Feliciano said with a shrug. "But if you are going to leave don't look back. I wish you a good night." The corrupt Italian man danced his way back into the carnival. You watch as he disappeared from view. You have no reason to stick around so you turn and walk away.

It doesn't take you long to realize that you are just a couple of miles back into the city. It would take you too long to get to the nearest bus station. You start walking down the road in the dark. You reached into your pocket for your phone. Oh look, you have a signal, but your battery is down to eight percent. But that isn't the only thing that has you confused. Huh? What's this? You are shocked to find that it is close to six in the morning. It didn't feel like it's been that long. Somehow, you are too tired to flip out. You just want to get back to your apartment in Rome and go to sleep. Maybe then… Maybe then you will have answers for yourself.

You have so many questions. What was that back there? How did you end up in that place? It all felt so surreal. You can't help but wonder if you dreamt the whole time.

However, all doubts are pushed out of your head when you move under a streetlight. You happen to look down at your jacket and notice a small black and white sticker on your chest. Even though you are looking at it from an upside-down point of view, you can still read what it says.

"I Survived the Dark Carnival Haunted House!"