Dark Ride (40 page)

Chapter 150

As soon as Amy disappears through the door, the “Exit” light fades and the door vanishes.

Mason rushes to the spot where it was and exclaims “Wait, let us out!”

After pushing on the wall, he turns to the others, thinking,
This can't happen. Are we all trapped in here now?

“Mason, finish your story,” Scotty calmly tells the tailor.

“Oh yeah, of course,” responds Mason, who's embarrassed that he had not figured this out on his own.

He walks over to Jack and snatches a piece of paper from him.

Mason had never been much of a writer. In fact, he only managed to pass his English classes by letting his dad “check” his papers. Titus Chick would not allow his son to fail at anything, so when it came to papers, Titus would only lightly chastise his son for poor effort and then establish himself in front of the computer, totally reworking everything Mason had done. Once Titus had finished “checking” a paper, it in no way would resemble its previous version.

Now, faced with the challenge of finishing his story, Mason thinks, This is too much like homework…. What do I say? What did Amy write?

Suddenly, a smile erupts on Mason's face.

He says, “Yes! Finish my story. Oh man, this is gonna be awesome.”

He takes the pen from the floor, walks to the nearest wall, and holds the paper up against it for support. As he begins to write in his chicken scratch script, he realizes his future is in his hands. After he's finished, he reads the words aloud for the others to hear, just as Amy had done.

“Mason, the tailor, had been so brave.

Without him the others would have died so many times in the deep, dark woods. Like lots of times.

But he was, like, so glad to be out of that crazy place.

‘Cause that's just what he did as soon as he put the paper in the book. He left.

He went home to his dad, and grew up living an incredible life.

He was, like, really, really, popular and good at sports.

He did not even have to go to school, but I guess he did so he could play sports and stuff.

But he did not have to study any more. That's for sure.

He grew up to be a famous athlete and rock star. He had lots of cars and money. The girls loved him. Like tons of girls.

When he got older he married an incredibly attractive model, and lived a long, long, long, life to the extreme!”

Mason looks confidently at what he has written, the longest piece of literature he had ever finished on his own.

He says, “Now that's a story! This is so cool—like finding a genie in a bottle or something.”

He drops the pen to the floor and after re-examining his words with a total sense of self-assurance and pride, he strolls over to the book, mimicking the actions of Amy. As the page is placed into the book, the same humming sign flashes on, and the door appears.

“All right!” Mason says as he pumps his fist in the air. “It worked!”

Next, without even giving a wave to the others, he shoves open the door and walks out of the room.

Chapter 151

Scotty and Jack watch as Mason moves through the door and the sign fades. The two friends give each other an odd look.

“He's one of a kind,” Scotty says with a sigh.

“You can say that again,” Jack agrees. “I can't believe he wrote that.”

“I can,” Scotty says and shakes his head. He extends the remaining papers toward Jack after taking one for himself. “I think I'm going to go now.”

“Of course,” Jack responds.

While holding the paper in his hand, Scotty takes a second to deliberate on what to write. At one point, he looks up from the page and scans the room.
What a crazy night
, he thinks. Suddenly, a feeling of self-satisfaction warms his body. He considers how the four of them had been through a lot, how they had worked together, and how he had done his part to get them to where they are now. Scotty realizes that he, too, just like his sister had written, had changed that night. He knows he is braver and more sure of himself, but not sure of himself like Mason.
No, certainly not like Mason
, he thinks.

After a few more moments of reflection, he slowly places the page on the floor and grabs the pen that Mason had dropped and begins to write, confident about the words he would ink on the page.

“The apprentice had changed that night.

He had always lived his life through the experiences of his friends.

He was scared and unsure about decisions. So he let others decide for him.

He was always a sidekick, but now he was different.

He would make his own choices, make his own decisions.

He would not freeze in the face of crises; he would take control.

The adventure had taught him a valuable lesson.

From that day on, upon leaving the woods, he would no longer be an apprentice.

He would be his own man.

He no longer needed someone else to follow.”

Emboldened by his own words, Scotty marches past the wolf and Jack. He slides the paper into the book, and the same mysterious scene plays out for him: the “Exit” sign lights up and the door appears.

There it is, the exit sign waiting for me
, thinks Scotty. Before leaving, though, he walks over to where the wolf is standing
.
In spite of everything, he is still uncomfortable in the presence of this creature, who, Scotty remembers, had slammed him to the floor one too many times.

“Uh, thanks for letting her go,” Scotty states.

The wolf nods.

Now Scotty walks over to Jack. He considers there's so much that could be said, but he decides to just ask, “So, um, the pool tomorrow?”

“I'm sure I'll be grounded until I'm 30,” Jack replies.

Scotty knows that while there may not be many right opportunities for guys to hug, this is certainly one of them. He and Jack embrace in a brief guy-hug. And with that, Scotty turns to leave. Midway to the exit, though, he stops and looks at the ground. There, barely visible through all of the debris, is Lucky.

“Well,” Scotty says, “Mason left you here after all we went through.” He shakes his head in disbelief.

“Take him home to the twins, Scotty,” Jack calls.

Scotty looks at the bear. It's partially singed with stuffing falling out. The thing looks horrible. “They might get nightmares,” Scotty responds. “I should probably keep it…. You know, our last Enchanted Forrest ride.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

Scotty smiles back at Jack and then walks on through the door.

Chapter 152

The wolf, who's been a spectator in the bizarre show of the last several minutes, has watched quietly as his former foes escaped. When the narrator left, he wanted so badly to pounce and take the girl. However, the words of the narrator kept ringing in his head:
“You must overcome your instincts.”
Thus, he had decided to let her go, the one thing he thought he wanted most in the world. As soon as Amy walked through the exit door, he knew he had made the right choice. Strange as it may seem, he even felt proud for her because she had been so brave. When he thought about it, the wolf considered how the kids had repaid his violent pursuit with kindness, actual kindness, and that the Queen was the real villain.

“Boy,” the wolf calls to Jack.

Jack's face, which had been filled with joy as his friend had walked through the door, now looks defensive but not fearful. His tensed hands are clenched.

“Do not fear me,” the wolf says, attempting to sound pleasant.

This, however, does not cause Jack to relax.

The beast continues, “I need to tell you something before you leave.”

“Wha—What?” the boy stutters.

“Thank you.”

Jack's eyes widen, astonished at the words.

The wolf says, “You have shown me kindness in spite of my actions. We were all pawns. You deserve to be free.”

Jack looks at the wolf, and with a sincere look in his eyes, Jack holds out a piece of paper and says, “There's more pages here, you know.”

Now it is the wolf's turn to be astonished. “More papers?” he asks, grasping the implication.

“Do you think…?” the wolf's voice trails off as Jack continues to hold the paper out before the beast.

The creature ponders,
I can actually write my own story? After all the pain I have caused these kids, the
narrator allows me a way out?

With a deep breath, the wolf takes the sheet and the pen.
But what to write?
he wonders. Many thoughts ramble through his mind, but slowly he begins to sift through the echoing thoughts and focuses on what he could possibly say. He thinks,
It's been so long. Can I even remember how to write
? Taking the pen in his hairy paw, he begins to scribble in a messy script.

The wolf remembered what had happened so long ago.

And he is thankful. Not for what he had done.

But for the second chance.

He had lived a life of evil, always following his instinct.

Always chasing what he should not.

He never realized he could be in control.

For many years he was trapped in a dream.

Not remembering the life he had before.

Now he had a choice, the children had shown him the way.

Could it be that he could live in something other than darkness?

What would happen if he walked out those doors?

He was thankful at least for the chance.

The chance to choose. He could freely choose light or darkness.

For the first time in his life, he chooses the light.”

Chapter 153

The wolf's paws tremble as he places the page into the book. Once again, the room begins its ritual, and the door appears—but something else is also happening. To Jack's complete shock, the wolf is changing. His entire body contorts. Instead of screams of anguish, though, the wolf is laughing. It reminds Jack of a scene from a werewolf horror movie, but it's not a sinister transformation. The hair on the wolf's face and hands recedes, his face shrinks, his long paws recede back into his sleeves, and his two animal legs straighten out.

Jack watches in disbelief, thinking,
No way! Incredible! This tops everything!

After a few seconds, standing where there had once been a menacing wolf, is a man, a very noble-looking, handsome man. A smile stretches
from one side of his face to the other, revealing not fangs but short white teeth. The man is clean-shaven and square-jawed with short blonde hair visible under his black top hat. And, now, the long black coat gives him the look of a true gentleman. Even Victor in his all of his stately glory is no match for the distinguished look of this man.

“I remember everything now,” says the man. “That was never who I was supposed to be.”

The graveled voice of the wolf is gone, replaced with an eloquent tone that is almost sad and regretful, in spite of his wide smile. He looks in the air absently.

Then a tear rolls down the side of his face and he looks at Jack and says, “I am free.”

With a bow to Jack, the man turns to the door.

As the former wolf opens the door, Jack is astonished. What the door reveals is not a dark tunnel, but a plush green field in the middle of the day with a cottage in the distance.

The man looks back at Jack and says, “It is just as I remember, my home.”

He steps out into the field, and Jack sees the man take a deep breath of the clean air and then, as the door closes, hears him let out a whoop of joy and yell, “Home!”

“Amazing,” Jack says, although no one is there to hear.

While holding the last piece of paper, Jack looks around the room, noticing the collapsed house and the gap in the wall. He thinks,
If we had just followed the n
arrator's direction, we might have avoided a lot of trouble tonight.
He reflects on the narrator's sacrifice and wonders,
Maybe if we had just followed him in the first place he would not have had to take my place.

Guilt washes over him, but there is nothing that can be done now since things have been made right. It may not be the way Jack would have wanted it, but it is finished nonetheless.

It's time
, thinks Jack.
No need to spend another second in here.

Grasping the pen and setting the paper on the floor, Jack begins to write. He has no trouble putting his thoughts to paper.

Jack hastily scratches part of the last line about being perfect and continues.

Jack rises and takes his turn at opening the book. An odd feeling encompasses him. In some way, he actually feels a little sad to leave. Still, he goes ahead and slides the paper into its slot, and as he closes the book, the sign begins to glow.

He thinks,
No, it is time to leave this place for good
. While heading to the door, he takes one last look at the room and sees another piece of paper on the ground. This causes him pause, and he wonders,
Who is that for?
The answer is apparent when Jack spies a figure of a man standing just inside the passageway from where they had entered the room. It is Victor. Jack points to the paper and gently rolls the pen to the middle of the floor.

He calls out, “If you ever want to go back home, Douglas.”

Jack nods at the man, and then, with one deep sigh, he turns and pushes the door open.