Shades of the Past_ Book Six of the Morcyth Saga - Brian S. Pratt [82]
He makes to hand his ticket to the carnie when the sight of the golden haired girl once again draws his attention. Just as the carnie is about to take the ticket, he snatches his hand back and says, “Maybe later.” Turning around, he runs back through the waiting area for the ride and moves to follow her.
She’s made her way to a ride on the edge of the carnival and is getting into a boat. Before he can reach her, the boat she’s in begins to move down the narrow waterway and toward the opening of the Tunnel of Love.
Again the feeling of being here before comes over him. Not knowing why he feels the need to catch the girl, only that he must, he races after her and comes to the carnie in charge of the ride. Handing the man his ticket, he takes a seat in the waiting boat and is soon on his way toward the opening.
The golden haired girl has already entered the tunnel and he can barely make her out in the darkness within. A large heart with two white lights is upon the wall just within the entrance. The light coming from the two lights within the heart is the only illumination within the tunnel. Once he passes through the entrance, his eyes grow adjusted to the gloom and he sees her riding in the boat ahead of him.
“Hello!” he hollers to her but she fails to respond. “HELLO!” he cries at the top of his lungs, but again his cry goes unheeded. “Damn!” he curses to himself as he sits in the boat as it makes its way through the ride. He thought about getting out of the boat and wading up to the girl but decided against it, might be too unsafe.
There’s not much to this ride really, some soft music playing in the background, he thinks it might be some Carpenter’s song without the words. Scenes begin appearing on the walls of the tunnel. One is of two people, a man and a woman sitting side by side with their heads leaning upon each other. Another is of the same couple dancing at a merry festival.
Taking his eyes off the scenes upon the walls, he looks ahead for the golden haired girl but can only see darkness ahead. Anxious not to lose sight of her, he strains his eyes but is unable to see her.
His boat moves inexorably toward the darkened area and the temperature begins to drop, his breath misting in the coldness. The music playing starts to change subtly at first then moves into a more haunting melody and the tranquility the previous portion of the ride had induced fades away.
As he reaches the darkened area, the light fades altogether and he travels in complete darkness. The darkness seems to deepen and the coldness becomes more pronounced as does his feeling of unease. Holding out his hand, a glowing orb suddenly appears and dispels the darkness.
He gasps as he sees shadows moving along the fringes of the tunnel, none seem to pay him and his glowing orb any attention. They appear to be moving in the same direction as is the ride. When his gaze falls upon the shadows a shiver of fear runs through him, he’s seen them before.
With uncertain dread, he peers forward in an attempt to locate the golden haired girl but the light from his orb doesn’t pierce the darkness far enough ahead for him to be able to see her.
“This boat is moving too slow,” he thinks to himself. “I’ll never reach her in time!” In time for what he’s not sure but the feeling that time is running out rises from deep within. Taking hold of the edge of the boat, he vaults over and splashes into the water.
As it turns out, the water is only two feet deep. Glancing at the moving shadows one more time, he begins sloshing his way through the water in an attempt to reach the boat bearing the girl.
The tunnel remains dark except for the light of his orb. Off to either side he’s able to make out vague outlines of the scenes which should be illuminated but are now only dark. He rounds a corner where the ride makes a sudden right turn and finds the boat that had contained the golden haired girl sitting askew on the ride. It continues to rock from side to side as the chain below it