We ran out of Berryman’s Dive like we were being chased.

When we got down the road a mile or so, everyone was looking to me to make sure that we didn't trigger any Omens.

I stopped and listened. Had Dina broken a rule? I didn't think so. Everything that had happened On-Screen could very well have been something her character said. Still what we had just seen was not supposed to happen. I didn’t need some terrible entity breathing in my ear to know that.

“What the hell was that?” Antoine asked.

“Did that demon… just…” Camden asked. He searched for the right words. “Wake up?”

Anna looked at me like I would know.

Someone was saying something about the demon, I couldn’t listen to them. I needed silence.

“Quiet!” I said.

I looked behind me. To the left, right. I kept expecting to see the Rulekeeper. Did we know too much now? Were we about to be killed?

I tried to calm my breath and listen.

“What’s wrong?” Anna said.

I held up a finger to her, gesturing for her to be quiet.

I listened.

Nothing. No loud breathing. No footsteps.

What had just happened?

“We’re good,” I said. “I think.”

They stared at me like I was crazy.

“Just checking for Omens,” I said. They didn’t seem to believe me but said nothing.

Kimberly shook her head and turned to Dina. “What was all that about you looking for your son? What were you talking about?”

Good question.

We all looked expectantly at Dina.

She stared back. “My son died. I came here to try to get him back. It’s exactly what you heard.”

My friends and I exchanged glances.

“Is this really the place to bring a child?” I asked. “Assuming that the demon gave him back to you.”

“That’s the reason I came,” she said.

I understand missing your kid… but Carousel is hardly a step up from the afterlife.

“Wait,” Anna said. “Are you saying you came to the dive bar looking for your son, or that you came to Carousel itself looking for him?”

“No…” Antoine said. “Tell me you didn’t…”

Dina was silent for a time. She was contemplating telling us something. We were smart enough to shut up and let her make a decision.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she said, raising her arms into the air. “I did what I had to.”

She reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved half a dozen or so letters. Some of them were yellowed and well-worn. They were addressed to her with no return address or postage.

She handed them to us. We found a patch of grass underneath a tree and read them over the next half hour.

There were seven letters in total. Some were just duplicates and many of the passages repeated each other. I’ve selected the relevant portions below:

The Letters from Carousel

Excerpt from Letter One:

Dear Dina,

You do not know me, but I have learned the details of your unfortunate situation and I believe that I can help you. Losing a child is a tragedy I cannot imagine. It has come to my attention that you have recently begun contacting palm readers, mediums, and other occult practitioners in an effort to reconnect with your son.

Look no further. I have a solution you may be interested in: The Game at Carousel.

Despite its name, I assure you, that which goes on at Carousel is very real. The horrors that live here are real as well. To revive your son, you will need to play the game. Do not worry, the game will teach you its rules. All you need to do is show up and prepare to face true terror. This is a place where death is only temporary, a concept you might find most appealing….

It went on to give a very general overview of what the game entailed and then included directions to get to Carousel, the same ones Antoine had been given.

Excerpt from Letter Two:

...

As the previous letter went unanswered, I can only assume that you have found your peace. If that isn’t the case, I implore you to read further. The way I described Carousel may have disturbed you, I can only imagine what you must be thinking. If I had not come here myself and seen the terrifying magic of this place, I would not believe it either.

Please see past the horror that lives in Carousel. There is a strong magic in the sublime. Do not lose this opportunity out of fear.

…

Letter Three was the same as Letter Two.

Excerpt from Letter Four:

...

There is a force that binds us. Your tragedy is connected to the tragedy of every other being, even my own. Many stories find their conclusion at Carousel. Yours is a story within a grander story, do not hesitate to seek its resolution.

You may fear what I have written. However, if you seek otherworldly intervention, you need to come to another world. I have been moving the pieces into place for you. I will have everything ready when you arrive…

Letter Five was a rehash of previous letters.

Excerpt from Letter Six:

...

I heard that you found religion and lost it all in a short time span. Unfortunately, the answers you were given were not those that you desired. Come to Carousel; here lie the answers you seek if you are brave enough to find them.

The odds are slim. The monstrous beings I have described are ever-threatening. Only you can make the choice for yourself. If you take it, you may have an important role in what comes to pass. You may even be able to bring him back, Dina. I have hidden nothing from you because your choice must be an informed one. That is imperative. I am not selling you on a miracle. You will have to earn it, and escape will be almost impossible, but I will be Watching Over You…

Excerpt from Letter Seven:

...

I recently heard that you have been in a dark place. That you considered… giving up. Please, if death is something you are willing to try in your quest to see Sean again, why not risk death here? There is a plan. If only the actors involved stick to it, we may all benefit from your arrival, most of all, Sean...

All of the letters were signed “A friend at Carousel.”

~~~

After we had all read the letters, we were in shock.

“Well,” Dina said. “Now you know.”

I couldn't even think straight. Dina had come here willingly. The letters didn't specifically say what was going on here, but they were very clear that this place was horrific and inescapable. Who would make that choice?

“You knew?” Antoine asked. He was more surprised than he was angry.

“Yep.”

Anna had a very mature reaction. “That’s very... brave of you…”

“She should have warned us,” Antoine said. “Why didn't you tell us what we were getting ourselves into? You were right there?”

Dina shrugged her shoulders. “I assumed you knew too. Why else would you press that button? Why else would you even be there?”

Antoine didn’t have a response. He let out a frustrated breath and turned away for a moment.

“You came here thinking that you were going to get your son back? Here? Do you still think that?” he asked. “You were tricked. The same way we were tricked. Carousel said whatever it took to get you here.”

Dina narrowed her eyes and said, “Maybe. But if it was all a trick then why is it still stringing me along? Why did it send me to the demon?”

He was stumped. He started to laugh. “It looks like we found the only person in Carousel who wants to be here.”

“You wouldn’t understand. In the outside world… I had no hope.”

Antoine took a few deep breaths.

“And you have hope here?” Antoine asked gently. “This place might actually be hell. Did you think of that? That’s what I lie in bed and worry about at night. We might be in hell right now.”

He sounded like he was in disbelief that someone could see this place as anything other than a nightmare.

"Antoine," Kimberly said softly. "It's okay."

He went and sat down in the grass next to her.

“The first time I have had hope in years was when I was killed and then came back. It was proof to me that this place was real, that death could be defeated. That is not hell. If that can’t give you hope, then we just don’t understand each other,” Dina said.

I thought back to the first day we were here. She had broken one of the rules of The Final Straw II on purpose just to test this place. She had gotten beheaded, but she had gotten her answers.

“How long ago did you start getting letters?” Kimberly asked. "Some of them look older."

“Three years ago.”

Anna reached out and put her hand on her arm in a comforting gesture. “It must have been a difficult decision, coming here.”

Dina’s eyes began to tear up. “I just didn’t want to go through another Christmas without him. Figured if it wasn’t real, all I wasted was my time. Packed up my van and drove here.”

“I couldn’t imagine,” Anna said.

“Wait,” Camden said. “Did you say you didn’t want another Christmas without him?”

Dina nodded. “He loved the lights. We used to drive around the rich neighborhoods and take pictures of them. It’s… hard… to even see them now.”

“You’re saying you arrived in Carousel… right before Christmas?” he clarified.

“Yes… why?”

Camden was on to something. We arrived at Carousel just after our junior year of college let out for the summer. How was it possible that Dina left for Carousel in the winter and arrived at the same time we did?

Anna sat down cross-legged on the grass. She peered quizzically at Dina. Next to her, Kimberly leaned forward, her hands resting on her knees as she furrowed her brow. Camden stood a little ways back, his arms folded across his chest as he listened intently to the conversation.

"It's May. Maybe June now, I can't tell. When did you get here?" Anna asked, her eyes fixed on Dina.

"I got here in early December," Dina replied, one of her eyebrows raising slightly.

"That doesn't make sense," Kimberly interjected. "You got here when we did."

"What year did you get here?" Camden asked, his voice low and curious.

Dina's expression shifted; her curiosity was replaced by concern. "2011. When else?" she said.

My friends and I exchanged glances, our disbelief evident on our faces. Anna shook her head in confusion. "That's not possible," she said, her voice tinged with skepticism.

She was right. It wasn’t possible. Not anywhere but Carousel, at least.

“We got here in 2022.”