Foolish

At Conrad’s suggestion, the would-be-riders possessing and able to use their phones (everyone but Katie, and Jack, who was, presumably, dead) first called outside parties for help before investigating themselves.

To only the most optimistic of the group’s surprise, they weren’t getting any service.

“It’s clear at this point whoever’s responsible for this has control of this building’s power and connections.” Frankie was getting ready to head straight down into the abyss of the stand-alone horror ride as she spoke.

“Fr- I mean, Sara, wait!” Her sister shouted out at her, joining the investigator on the whining tracks. “You’re making great progress getting to the bottom of this, you really are- and… yeah, I hate to admit, maybe Frank or Conrad or both really did kill poor Jack… but… but what if there’s something else? What if there’s something we’re not accounting for? For all we know, the murderer might be a third party we haven’t met yet. Like… some creep, hiding in the ride waiting for the six of us to come in. We just don’t know! Please don’t go pulling us straight into our demise when we’d really all be safer in the lobby. You want to live, don’t you?”

Frankie held a awfully sudden tear in suspension, refusing to let it fall.

“I… yeah. Duh. But I just… dammit! I just wanna get this over with… we’ve worked so hard… we’ve had such shit luck… I just wanna bust it over my knee and crack this case open right now, before it can claim anymore of my sanity.”

“I’ll protect your sanity.” Katie held her sister’s arm in a comforting embrace. “Just promise me you’ll protect yourself.”

“…I’m sorry, Katie. I really am. But we’re still doing this.”

She loosely held the recently-acquired pistol in her shaking hands.

“Don’t worry. …I’ll protect myself just fine.”

On the disappointing walk through the ride they’d plan to go on, any joy they’d hoped for out of this on-rails attraction more defunct than the corpse they were looking for.

“Still no answers as to why there’s no staff… or why we’re the only guests.” Frankie opened up the increasingly paranoid thought process in her head up to the rest of the group. She knew nobody’s response would be of much help, but the silence was getting to her.

“Might be a coincidence.” Conrad was quick to suggest. “Or that might be the ghost, too.”

“There is no ghost.”

“Somebody really did die on this ride last year, though. It’s true. Like I said, it’s their big draw.”

“That’s horrible.”

“I wouldn’t have come here were that not the case.”

“You’re horrible.”

The group was a very loose assembly, nobody but the sisters that close to each other and Mary straying far behind the others- but Frank was inching closer and closer towards the two girls.

“I understand I’m still under suspicion.” He made an attempt at humility.

“Yeah, think so.” Katie spoke without animosity. “Frankie, is he still under suspicion?”

“It’s been five minutes.”

“So yes?”

Frankie groaned like it was her first day out in the parks again.

“I don’t hold it against you.” The cop gripped his cap, striking a subtle masculine pose as he strode down the dark halls. “You two could have what it takes to be cops yourselves, you know that?”

“No thanks.” Frankie hissed. With his awkward laugh, he took it as a joke as well as he could.

“The body’s just ahead. See those doors to the right up there? Yeah, by all the paintings. He’s in there.”

Frankie looked onward at the nearing destination. Meanwhile, Katie, on the other hand, was looking back.

“Mary…?”

There was nobody behind her.

Frankie stepped up to the door. Frank and Conrad followed, all of them focused on the fact that they were about to see a dead body (again, in the men’s case.)

Despite being the one directly in front of the door, Frankie was doing little more than staring at the knob.

Frank chuckled.

“You afraid, Sara darlin’? Not to worry. Frank will uh-“

He slid his hand on the knob and pushed it open, giving Frankie and eyeful of corpse. He himself didn’t actually look into the room. Conrad wasn’t brave enough either- either that or the two had something else planned. Because though Frankie wasn’t taking it into account right now… neither of them was immediately entering the room with her.

As the girl ran forward to examine the body, she quickly realized it was exactly as they’d described.

Jack, lying face-first in a crumpled, uncomfortable position- showed no wounds at all.

Then the door slammed shut.