Arc II, Chapter 26: The Carousel Spins On

“If you make it to the day of the Centennial?” I repeated as Sidney walked away.

Her words hung in the air. The Stranger had said the same thing the day before. Back then it had just sounded like an odd way of saying “See you tomorrow” but when Sidney said it, it made no sense at all.

It was the day of the Centennial. I was sure of it. The NPCs and signage had been clear that the Centennial was the 5th of August. The day before had been the 4th of August.

How were we not on the day of the Centennial?

I looked at the others.

“Oh no,” Bobby said.

“I thought today was the day of the Centennial,” Kimberly said.

We looked around the festivities for a sign, any sign. Unfortunately, there was nothing to set us on the right path.

The Leads board on the red wallpaper simply said:

Nothing that I couldn’t have already memorized.

“If the Centennial isn’t today, does that mean we started everything over?” Antoine asked.

“A time loop?” Isaac asked. “Like Groundhogs Day.”

I was glad there was someone around to pick up my slack on movie references.

“Maybe we didn’t do the storyline right,” Bobby suggested.

We didn’t need to speculate.

“Let’s retrace our steps from yesterday just to be sure,” I said. If it was a time loop, that wasn’t the worst news. That would mean time was on our side.

Possibly.

We quickly walked into the crowds of people enjoying the rides and booths that had already been set up. Like the day before, many booths had not yet been opened because it wasn’t the official start of the Centennial yet.

We were headed to the history displays that the local junior high had put up.

“Wait,” Dina said. Her eyes were on a swivel. “The mayor is over there.”

I followed her gaze and saw that the mayor of Carousel was walking on the same street he had been on when we had seen him the day before.

“His Plot Armor is back to three,” I said.

We watched as he spoke with his assistants about something passionately, how he greeted passersby.

“We need to check on the time capsule,” Antoine said. “That’s the best way to be sure. The old one was dug up yesterday. If everything is happening over again, then the hole won’t be dug yet.”

I agreed mostly. “If we go over there we risk triggering that cutscene where they dig it up again.”

Before we could make a decision, we were accosted by a familiar nondescript face.

“How did you get to Carousel?” The Stranger screamed at us from across the clearing we were standing in. Nice to see he was alive.

I turned to see him as he closed in, the same intense look in his eye I remembered.

As he approached, I could have sworn there was a glint in his eye as he watched our reactions.

“Wait,” he said. “You were here before. I’ve seen you before. You’re not that new. When did you get here?”

He really managed to sound unhinged in a way that made me feel like I might have been the crazy one.

“Yesterday,” I said. “You spoke to us.”

“I did?” he asked. He turned around and thought for a moment. “How many days has that happened?”

“Just the one,” I said.

“Carousel has a hard time letting go of the past,” he said. “You have to find a way forward. If you make it to the day of the Centennial—”

“Come find you?” I asked.

“I guess I’ve said that before,” he answered. “Carousel won’t let me go. There are some of us that still have the hooks in. Others walk around, enjoy the festivities, and look forward to the Centennial that just won’t come…. But even Carousel can’t keep this façade up perfectly. You need to move forward before the cracks start to show again.”

I’d get right on that.

“Why is it doing this?” Antoine asked.

The Stranger looked at Antoine and immediately recoiled in pain as if remembering how Antoine had beat his head in with a baseball bat while possessed.

“To let things go forward, you would have to leave things behind,” The Stranger said. He started to walk away but then turned back. “Figure this out quickly. There’s a long way to go.”

And then he left, but not before looking back over his shoulder one last time.

“So it is a time loop,” Isaac said. “We’re just going to do this again.”

I wasn’t sure what The Stranger had meant completely. A time loop would mean everything started over except the memories of those trapped in it, but more than that had changed. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Something felt off. We had not woken in the B&B for one. We still had our prizes from the last storyline.

“The histories then back to the time capsules?” Antoine suggested.

I nodded.

We didn’t need to go to the Diner. That had been a detour.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

We approached the line of boards filled with clippings from newspapers and online print-offs. It all appeared the same as I remembered it. That is until I read it. The board on the display said:

The Founding of Carousel

August 6, 1922

The Haunted History of the Geist Family

…

I read the title of the history display again. Then I skimmed through the articles some junior high kid had added to the board in a rush to get the project done.

“August 6th?” I asked. “There is no way this said August 6th. Carousel was founded on the 5th.”

“Great,” Isaac said. “I was worried this would be too straightforward.”

“Today is the 5th,” Antoine said. “Tomorrow is the Centennial on the 6th.”

“Tomorrow the Centennial will still be a day away,” Bobby said. “If I’m following this right.”

Everything else on the board looked the same. The only differences were the dates related to the founding of Carousel.

“What does it mean?” Cassie asked. She hadn’t spoken up all afternoon. “Why change it?”

I had a hunch, but I had to keep looking.