Chapter Text
Splitting up was a terrible idea. Being alone with Lisa was more nerve-wracking than any monster that might be lurking in the abandoned amusement park. Taylor tried to focus on the task at hand. There had been reports years ago of a strange naked woman with striped skin roaming the amusement park, enough sightings to scare away any parents that might have brought their kids there for a fun evening. It eventually lead to the park shutting down. In the past week the owner had decided to tear the whole thing down but when the crews arrived and started to take down the various attractions, they were attacked by the striped woman. One man had had a chunk of flesh torn from his leg by her razor sharp teeth.
Lisa had heard the story and convinced the owner to let them investigate. He’d even agreed to pay if they managed to solve this mystery. And so, here they were, a group of teenagers exploring a sprawling amusement park both haunted and abandoned with nothing but their flashlights, backpacks, and only two of Rachel's many dogs. Which would have been fine if Brian, their fearless leader, hadn’t suggested the gang split up to cover more ground.
They walked a few steps at a time, thoroughly checking their surroundings for possible clues before advancing. If there really was a monster here, it paid to be careful.
“See anything,” Lisa said, wiggling her fingers in Taylor’s direction, “spooky?”
“Not really. It’s a little weird to see it so rundown and dark,” Taylor said. “I haven’t been here since I was a kid.”
“Oh? You’ve been here before?”
“Yeah, I think everyone that grew up in Brockton Bay has been here at least once. Emma’s dad took the two of us a few times.” She turned her flashlight toward the merry-go-round. Nothing spooky there except the long shadows the little plastic horses cast as the beam hit them. She’d had a blast riding them with Emma. Thinking or talking about Emma didn’t come with the same sting of betrayal they used to. Taylor had new friends now. Real friends.
“Sucks that it closed before I moved here. I bet it would have been a great place for a first date,” Lisa said absentmindedly.
An image flashed through Taylor’s mind of her and Lisa strolling through the amusement park in its heyday, hand in hand, sharing a cone of bright pink cotton candy. Gripping her flashlight tighter, Taylor glanced nervously at Lisa. She was busy examining the entrance to the Tunnel of Love a few short feet away from them, oblivious. Right. Of course. Taylor could follow the train of thought there. Lisa wasn’t — no, Taylor shouldn’t even be thinking about romance right now. There was a mystery to solve and they were just friends anyway.
Lisa turned and flashed Taylor a wide grin. “I think I’ve found our first lead.” Her flashlight was trained on the lone boat waiting at the start of the ride, tethered to a wooden stake, water sloshing against it.
“What’s the lead? The boat?”
“The boat,” Lisa said, all too pleased with herself. She reached out and grabbed Taylor’s hand, tugging her toward the unlit, cavernous entry to the Tunnel.
Taylor stared at their joined hands, warm in an otherwise chilly night, and allowed herself be pulled along. It wasn’t until Lisa let go to untie the boat that Taylor found her voice again. “Wait, what are we doing?”
Knot undone, Lisa held the rope in her hand and tilted her head. “Isn’t that obvious?”
“It’s not. Explain?”
Lisa sighed dramatically, shoulders sagging. “If I must,” she said, pained but resigned. Taylor rolled her eyes. As if there was anything Lisa enjoyed more than showing off how brilliant she was. “We’re on a bit of a time crunch so I’ll skip the part where I ask a bunch of leading questions until you figure it out. It’s the only thing we’ve seen so far that’s working. Look at the water.” It was dark as the night around them and slowly but surely flowing inwards, pulling the boat with it. Taylor could make out the quiet hum of an engine, too, she’d heard it earlier but dismissed it as just noise. There had been other things on her mind. “The big burly demolition crew might have turned it on to take a joyride but I doubt it.”
“Nice catch,” Taylor said, looking up in time to see Lisa’s smile widen. “We should get the guys and Rachel. If our culprit’s in there, better to go as a group”
And just like that the smile was gone. “I was thinking we’d check it out ourselves. Get all the glory.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. What are we supposed to do if we find her in there? Fight her off with our amazing kung-fu skills?”
“Ha ha,” Lisa said without any humor. “But no, I was thinking we’d set a trap first. Seeing if those lessons with Brian paid off can be our backup plan.”
That didn’t do much to reassure her. Maybe it was just her nerves from earlier making her so cautious. Their little ragtag mystery solving gang had gotten into some pretty sticky situations before and had made it out okay. This was a fair bit more dangerous than their usual but while Lisa was often reckless she was rarely stupid. Taylor took a deep breath. “I kind of promised my dad I wouldn’t get horribly murdered tonight. If you’re sure this is going to work…”
“I am.” Her smile was back in full force.
Even if Taylor hadn’t already decided to do this, she would have found it hard to say no when faced with that. “Okay,” Taylor said. “What do you want me to do?”
“We need to hurry. My plan won’t work if we wait too long.” She pulled out her phone and held it out to Taylor. “Here. Text the others and tell them where we are while I get stuff ready.” While Taylor tapped out a message, Lisa slid her backpack off and took out a net, some thick hemp rope, and a shiny metal bear trap. It was good that Lisa had come prepared. On the other hand, a bear trap?
It was too late to back out now. Squaring her shoulders, Taylor knelt down to help.