روزی در سرزمین وحشت فصل 26

One Day at Horrorland - Chapter 26

She wasn’t wearing a mask!

The monstrous green face was her face.

She wasn’t wearing a monster costume. None of the Horrors were wearing costumes, I realized.

I stepped back, raising my hands in horror as if trying to shield myself. “You—you’re really monsters!” I stammered.

They nodded back at me, pleased grins on their ugly faces. Their yellow eyes bobbed gleefully.

“You—you’re all monsters!” I screamed. “But—but you said this was a TV show,” I stammered to the Horror MC.

Her bulging yellow eyes gazed at me. “We’re happy to say it is the top-rated show on The Monster Channel,” she said cheerily. “Thanks to great contestants like you and your family. The Monster Channel is watched by nearly two million monsters all over the world.” “But—but—” I stammered, taking another step back.

“People don’t always take us seriously,” she continued. “People come to HorrorLand and think it’s all a big joke. People laugh at the signs around the park. They laugh at the rides and attractions. But it’s all very serious to us. All of it.” My father stepped up beside me, shaking a fist angrily. “But you can’t do this to innocent people!” he shouted. “You can’t bring people into this park to torture them, and—and—” “Oh, I’m sorry. Our time is up,” the MC interrupted, shaking her enormous green head. “I’m sad to say it’s time to say good-bye to our special guests for this week.” “Now, wait—” Dad shouted, raising both hands for quiet.

The crowd of Horrors silently pushed forward. We had no choice but to start moving with them.

“Let me show you people the way we say good-bye on HorrorLand Hidden Camera,” the MC said.

Dad tried to hold back, to resist, but several Horrors bumped against him. They were bumping all of us now, pushing us toward what appeared to be a round purple pond just beyond the plaza.

We couldn’t fight back. There were too many of them.

We couldn’t run. They had us surrounded.

They drove us like sheepdogs herding cattle. In a few seconds, we were standing at the edge of the purple pond.

A foul smell rose up from the pond. The purple liquid bubbled and gurgled, making a sick sucking sound.

“Let us go!” Luke cried shrilly. “We want to go home!”

The HorrorLand MC ignored his frantic pleas and stepped to the edge of the gurgling pond. “Saying good-bye is always sad,” she said. “So we try to have a little fun with our farewells.” “Just let us go!” Luke insisted. Dad put a hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him.

We all stared at the MC as she raised a large rock in one hand and held it over the disgusting, bubbling pond. “Watch,” she instructed us with a smile.

She let the rock drop into the pond.

As soon as it touched the thick surface, it was pulled down with a loud sucking sound.

“See how easy it is to say good-bye?” the Horror said, turning to us. “Now, will you jump in—or do you want to be pushed?”