The Midnight Carousel

Please be advised: Contains violence, murder, and insanity.

Photo by Sally K on Unsplash

Earlier I’d posted the precursor to this story, which you can read right over here:

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The Midnight Carousel is also a part of

Bradley Ramsey

’s Flash Fiction February, a challenge he’s been running where a new prompt is posted everyday. I also lost a bet to him, so that’s why this story exists. So, give him some love. As well as to everyone else who helped him win.

Please be advised: This story contains violence, murder, and insanity. I’m also posting this story with one draft, plus a minimal amount of editing, so there may be some errors or typos.

I hope you enjoy the story! Let me know what you think afterwards. Now let’s get to it.

Layton opened his eyes. Alex was standing over him, with his hand stretched out towards his. The man was smiling warmly, as if the two had just exchanged some witty banter. But Layton’s head was throbbing and he couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there. Though he recalled instantly what happened to Alex.

“You…” Layton shifted up and scuffled a few feet away from him. “You were shot– they… they shot you.” Tears were welling up in his eyes, and Layton couldn’t help but sob. Alex, confused, stepped closer to Layton to try to console him. But the hitman recoiled verbally, telling him to stay away.

“Layton,” Alex said sadly, causing the hitman’s heart to melt. “I don’t know what happened to you. But, I’m here… I promise.”

But he felt torn. Layton had watched Alex get shot, and hadn’t been able to do anything about it. Now Alex was here, once again, and he felt dazed by it. Layton wanted to believe this was really him, but something in his gut was saying otherwise– and Layton’s gut was never wrong.

Still, he wiped the tears off his face, and crawled over to Alex. He barreled himself straight into the man’s arms, hugging tightly as his sobs only grew louder. Alex held him there, brushing Layton’s hair quietly. I need this, he thought to himself, melting deeper into the other’s chest. I refuse to believe this isn’t real, but Layton knew otherwise.

After what felt like forever, the two separated.

“Where are we?” Layton asked, taking a deep breath in. Alex glanced around the space, which revealed a massive amusement park. Though the place was absurdly quiet and empty.

“We’re at Clark County,” Alex told him. “It’s abandoned, but you insisted we go here and see if any of the rides still work.” Layton looked at him quizzically. Insisted? The hitman couldn’t remember doing no such thing.

What felt even stranger though– while glancing at the park around them– was how the park seemed to stretch for miles. Like there was no line as to where the park began or ended. However, as Layton was taking in the place, one right caught his eye. A darkly colored carousel with midnight black horses. There were little glints of purple and white splotched on as well, making each one look like a galaxy. It was beautiful.

“The Midnight Carousel,” Layton mused loudly, but he couldn’t remember what it meant. There was something alluring about the ride, like it was drawing him in, and wanting Layton to come closer.

Alex studied his face, and was wiping some of Layton’s tears away. “Do you want to go try it out?” The question nestled itself into the hitman’s head, wrestling and pushing away some of Layton’s fear. Of course he wanted to do it. And though Layton wasn’t sure why, it felt like his entire life had been leading up to this moment.

“Yes,” He exclaimed, grabbing Alex’s hand. The two grinned at each other, and Layton decided to make things fun. He let go of Alex’s hand and tagged him, “Tag, you’re it!” And then he sprinted off in the direction of the carousel. The two laughed as they chased each other, breathing heftily when Alex finally caught up and tagged him.

“Got you,” He cried out in laughter, holding and shaking Layton gently. The hitman couldn’t help but blush, staring back at Alex with a tense glimmer in his eyes. A burning desire was developing between the two, and Layton couldn’t hold it back any longer. He grabbed Alex’s hand, pulling him in with a passionate kiss.

Alex giggled, but didn’t pull away. It felt like their hearts were literally colliding and morphing into one, and Layton wished he’d done it sooner, before Alex had been shot… The hitman frowned, pulling away.

“Hey,” Alex whispered softly, rubbing at Layton’s hand– just like he’d done at the bar where they met. Which made the man tear up again, recalling in his mind what happened. All the way to the gunshot, but after that, there was nothing else. Just The Midnight Carousel.

“It’s nothing,” Layton said before Alex could ask, “We’re here right? Let’s go try that out, right?” Alex gave him a curious look, but walked up to the carousel. Near where he was standing, there was a big metal box, with what appeared to be a button.

Alex pressed it, and the horses came to life, bobbing up and down as the carousel spun around. The two watched as it spun around, both awestruck by the ride’s functionality– given the state of the theme park around them.

After the first round ended, and the horses went back to being stagnant pieces of scenery. Layton blew a kiss at Alex and hopped onto one of the horses. He waited as Alex pressed the button, but as the horses started moving again, Alex stood there staring.

“Aren’t you going to join me?” He asked him.

And much to Layton’s horror, Alex laughed. “You’re insane, Layton. I’m not getting on that thing.” His face was contorting, twisted and morphing, shifting from once gentle eyes, to one of a madman.

The carousel was spinning, and as it turned away from Alex, Layton felt like something was strapped to him. Like he wasn’t sitting on a horse, and he was in a room full of computers… Panic grew on his face, as the carousel started to slow, and he was no longer facing Alex but Marcos.

“What is this?” He cried out in fear. He felt a flood of memories flush into his brain as Marcos approached him. The big metal box had morphed into a phone resting in Marcos’ hand. Layton had never left the room. He’d been there the whole time, trying to figure out what was happening to him.

“This,” Marcos laughed, gesturing around the room– the carousel flickering in and out of existence– “Is The Midnight Carousel. Though I suppose you’ve never been there till now.”

His memories had been messed with, and they’d used Alex against him. Layton felt naked and scared, like he’d just been violated and couldn’t do anything to stop it. And the man who was responsible was standing in front of him, gloating.

“It’s quite experimental friend. But we hope this will help us when dealing with… difficult individuals.” Marcos pointed at Layton. “A shame you had to be one of them.” Then he pressed down on his phone, and walked away. Leaving Layton alone on The Midnight Carousel, as it started up again.

Layton felt too sick to cry, so instead, he screamed. He screamed louder as the carousel picked up speed. He screamed till he couldn’t hold his insides in anymore, puking over the side of the horse he was on. And when the ride finally slowed back down, he begun laughing, spewing bits of puke from his face.

He could no longer cry. He could no longer feel. It was too difficult for him to feel anything, but laughter? He wanted it, devouring the sweet sensation of bemusement at his situation. He’d lost everything, so what more was there to lose by laughing?

He laughed as the ride started up again, spinning its cycle once more for the former hitman. He laughed when it came to a stop. Repeating this over and over, until finally it was too much for his mind to handle. His heart contracted, crushing itself in his chest, sending pain through the rest of his body. And with one more laugh, he slumped over.

It was finally over.

EDIT TO Include: Here’s the final part.

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And that’s it. Thank you for tuning in and giving this story a read. I think the story turned out better than I initially imagined, and I am glad I went through with writing it. But maybe, no more bets like this one, haha.

If you liked this story, and want to see more from me in the future, consider subscribing to the blog. I also write poetry, and post author spotlights and book reviews too. So, there’s plenty to look forward to! Buh-bye everyone.