It had taken two of Max’s
guys almost half an hour to get the ride up and running, but finally Clare
found herself nestled into one of the swan boats, with a very jittery Max by
her side. She glanced over to the tech
guy who had gotten behind the controls, and nodded for him to start he
ride.
With a jerk, the boat
started to move forward. She guessed
that the boat was hooked to some kind of track under the water. Slowly the chipped swan made it’s away
towards the pitch black opening to the Tunnel of Love.
Max held up his camera,
and as soon as they passed through the worn, wooden heart, he turned on the
night vision.
Soft music echoed through
the tight tunnel. Clare couldn’t be
sure, but it sounded like a version of “Moon River” that you would hear in
supermarkets back when she was a kid. The
boat bumped against the walls of the tunnel, and for a while there was complete
darkness.
She glanced at the
display on the camera. There was nothing
much to see. Just the front of the boat,
and the black water making gently waves as they glided along.
“How many couples do you
think did a little necking in this very swan?” Clare leaned against Max, and
she felt him jump at her touch.
“Who knows?” Max’s voice was shaking. “God knows I’m not really feeling ‘in the
mood’ right now.”
The boat continued down
the tunnel for about a minute more before opening up into a small cavern. Foam stalactites hung from the ceiling, while
fiberglass stalagmites poked up through the water. Mermaid figures sat perched on rocks placed
in the murky water. Everything was lit
in pale pink and green lighting, making the whole scene look like something out
of an old Italian horror movie.
“Do you think those
things ever looked normal?” Max aimed the camera at one of the mermaids.
Clare squinted, trying to
make out the details of the figure. She
sat on a rock, her tail dipped into the water.
Her back was arched, and her head hung back. Her hair was a worn wig that draped down her
back, and fluttered in the slight breeze that moved through the man made
cavern. She was shocked to see that her
breasts were exposed, with little pink nipples painted on the glossy
mounds.
“I doubt it.” Clare shook her head.
She turned her attention
to another mermaid, this one half in the water.
Her head was aimed towards the ceiling, and she was spitting a stream of
water out of her mouth. A third mermaid
sat on a small island, farthest away from the boat. She was resting on her belly, her tail
flapping up and down. Her torso was
lifted just enough to expose her breasts.
The only thing keeping her from being completely exposed was the tangled
wig that fell past her shoulders. The
whole thing seemed inappropriate to her.
The figures were made to look like something out of a pin up magazine,
not like something you would see in a ride at a family friendly amusement park.
The boat stopped, and the
music changed, switching to the sound of a woman’s voice, humming.
Clare glanced around the
scene again. Something suddenly felt
off. She heard a splash, and her eyes
quickly shot towards the water. She couldn’t
see anything, obviously.
“What’s going on?” Max didn’t even attempt to hide his
fear.
“I don’t know. Just try and stay calm, okay?” Clare scanned the scene again.
She first looked to the
mermaid on the small island, then to the one spitting water, and then to the
one…
The mermaid that had been
sitting on the rock was gone.
She jumped at the sound
of water splashing. She looked around,
but she couldn’t see anything moving under the water. The splashing continued, and she tried her
best to pin point where the noise was coming from. It was coming from… behind her.
Clare froze.
Slowly she turned her
head.
Looking at her perched on
the side of the boat, was the mermaid from the rock. Her face was glossy, wet. Her hair was matted down, and damp, and this close
Clare could see that chunks of her wig had fallen out. Her eyes were locked directly on both
passengers in the boat.
Clare couldn’t help
it. She screamed. Max screamed louder.
The boat jerked forward,
and the figure of the mermaid vanished back into the water. Just before they passed out of the cavern,
Clare glanced back, and the mermaid had returned to her rock, the only sign
that she had ever left being the sheen of water that glistened over her plaster
body.
Max was shaking. “Was that part of the ride?”
“I… I don’t know.” Clare moved closer to Max. She knew that she was stronger then him, but
after that last little jump scare, it felt good to know that she wasn’t alone. “Did you get it on camera?”
“Yeah…” Max reached out
with his free hand and gripped her knee.
She braced herself. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for the next
cavern, but when she glanced into the viewfinder on Max’s camera she realized
she didn’t have much of a choice. The
entrance to the next cavern was only inches in front of them.
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