It was a beautiful day, the sun shining high and bright. Ashley had taken Brian to the Richford Retreat amusement park, which he had been asking for over the last several months. She had been savvy with her savings and decided that, finally, they could afford a little “extra.” She worked as a cashier at a local supermarket. The pay wasn’t great, but it covered the rent, and it was enough for them to put a little on the side. Brian was eleven years old, full of energy, and a very happy kid. He was good in school and had recently gotten excellent grades on a report, which is why Ashley decided to treat him to a trip to his favorite amusement park. Although she didn’t go on the more extreme rides, she loved seeing how happy these trips made him. He’d be all smiles for the whole weekend. And she did enjoy the easier rides with him. However, she couldn’t stomach the extreme ones.

“Mom, can we try this one?”, Brian asked.

It was called Logs of the Jungle, a log ride which wasn’t too extreme, so Ashley agreed. They really enjoyed the ride, and seeing Brian smiling was worth every bit of water that hit her at the end of the ride. It wouldn’t take too long to get dry off, with the sun beaming in the sky.

After the ride, Ashley and Brian were walking around, when Brian said,”Mommy, can we grab something to eat? I’m hungry.”

Ashley smiled and said,”Sure, hon. What would you like?”

Without missing a beat, Brian shouted:”Uncle Jules’ burger bar!”

It was a relaxed, family-friendly restaurant and also Brian’s favorite. They always went there when visiting Richford Retreat, but she enjoyed seeing his enthusiasm when asked.

They went in, got a table, and ordered their food. It was always so much fun to visit the amusement park, and the food was great. She inhaled deeply as she watched Brian devour his burger. She was so happy right now, with how everything had turned out. And she was grateful for the time she spent with her son. It was so rewarding.

* * * * * * * * *

After they finished eating, they went out and strolled for a bit, looking at some of the rides. Brian looked around, searching for the next wild adventure. He was happy that his mom made the time to come to this place – he knew they both enjoyed it. As they strolled down a hill, both of them saw a big sign, with bold letters: Ben’s Bumper Cars. They looked at each other, smiled and went in. Ashley picked a purple car, her favorite color, while Brian chose a red one. They had a great time, bumping into each other and the other guests, smiling and laughing all the way.

The ride ended, and they got out, still grinning. They chatted about all sorts of things as they strolled through the amusement park. But suddenly Brian stopped in his tracks. “What is it, sweetie?” Ashley asked, noticing his sudden change of focus.

But Brian’s mind was somewhere else. His eyes were fixed on a long line in front of a towering roller coaster. “Whoa, that looks awesome. I have to try it,” he said.

Ashley looked at the roller coaster, and her face turned pale. Brian knew she wasn’t comfortable with these rides, but he really wanted to try it. The few times she’d gone on them, she’d been exhausted afterward. But sometimes she let him go on his own. Maybe it was worth a try. “Dear me, that looks scary. Are you sure you are up for it, honey?” she asked.

Brian put on the biggest smile he could muster. ”Oh yeah, I have to try it. It looks so fun.”

Ashley thought for a bit, and then she said:”OK, let’s go over to the queue. You can go yourself, and I will wait.”

Brian let out a loud victory cry, feeling really exuberant.

* * * * * * * * *

Ashley was getting a bit impatient. They had stood in line for ages it seemed. Brian didn’t seem to mind – he was thrilled that he was allowed to try it on his own. Ashley sighed and looked up towards the sky. Dark clouds were gathering – perhaps a storm was coming. She frowned. This would probably have to be the last ride of the day if the weather was about to break.

Eventually they made it to the front. As Brian was climbing into his cart, the attendant stopped him and said:”sorry little guy – you are only allowed to go if you are with an adult. Sucks to be you, I guess.”

Ashley saw Brian’s face fall. He tilted his head slightly, and she could see his bright red hair, and the sadness in his green eyes. His mouth trembled a little. She looked at his freckles, which she adored, and her heart sank as she saw how dejected he looked. But then, from behind her, she heard a raspy voice say:”Don’t worry – I can take him with me.”

Brian’s face lit up again, and Ashley turned to see a haggard old man, clad in a red suit and with a large red top-hat. He had a white beard and long, white hair. He had rather large sunglasses. His lips were thin as he smiled, but there was something unsettling about him that Ashley couldn’t quite put her finger on. She muttered:”no, no – that’s…” Brian interrupted,”Oh, come on mom. It’s just one ride.”

The man in red then said:”Don’t you worry, ma’am. I’ll take care of your boy, just as if he was my own. I’m sure he will have the ride of his life”.

Defeated, Ashley sighed and said,“okay”.

Brian let out a victory cry once again, as he and the old man sat down in their cart. Ashley said:”Thank you, mr. …?”

The old man chuckled and said:”I have a lot of names. Just call me Red. Most people do.”

As he said it, he put on a wry smile, dropped his shades and Ashley shuddered. There was something weird about that man. Then she saw it – his eyes were pure black. Before she could say anything, the ride started. She looked at the carts moving slowly, and started yelling, ”No, no, no – stop the ride. Oh god, stop the ride.”

People around her started looking at her as if she had lost it, but she didn’t care. She just hoped somehow the ride would stop, so that she could get Brian to safety. The attendant stared blankly at her and said,”Ma’am, you’ll have to wait for it to finish. You can get on the next one”.

She looked at him confounded, then yelled,”No you have to stop it. My son is on the ride – he is in danger.”

He looked at her with the same blank expression, then stated, ”Our roller coasters are state-of-the-art. There haven’t been accidents in over 10 years. I assure you, your son is completely safe.”

As they were talking, she could see the cart climb upwards, ever so slowly. Her heart was pounding. She kept her eyes locked on the man in red. When the cart reached the top, Ashley felt a cool breeze touch the back of her neck, and she shuddered again. The sky had gone completely black with angry clouds. She prayed that Brian was okay.

* * * * * * * * *

Brian was full of excitement as the cart began to move. This would be the greatest ride he ever tried, of that he was sure. The sounds around him grew muffled somehow, as if everything else was fading away. He looked around and everything except the roller coaster was a blur. What’s going on, he thought. Then he looked at the man in red. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. The man in red had gone from being the haggard old man into something else entirely – a desiccated corpse of a man, still dressed in the red clothes and with the red top hat. Even the sunglasses. And then it spoke in a raspy, old voice:”welcome, young one. I have been watching you for a while. You…show…potential. Yes. Exceptional potential. But for now, let us enjoy the ride.”

Brian was terrified. He couldn’t look away from the man in red as it spoke. After the words, Brian’s gaze shifted, though he was still frozen with fear. There was no amusement park around them any more. The only thing he could see was the roller coaster, twisting its way through a wall of dark clouds, some sections dipping beneath the dark curtain of the clouds. It also seemed longer than it should have been – much longer. Oh no, oh no, what is going on? Brian thought. I want my mommy. His eyes darted across the rails, Through the dark clouds, back to the emaciated man in red. As the cart plunged downward, Brian saw a worm wriggle through one of the man’s eye sockets. Brian screamed, and the man called Red laughed.

* * * * * * * * *

Ashley stared intently at the man in red, as the cart reached the top of the rails, before plunging downward into a spiral. Something felt wrong – it was as if neither Brian nor the man in red were in focus. She rubbed her eyes, and looked again. The roller coaster veered into a tunnel. Oh god, she thought. How long does this ride last?

She just wanted it to be over, so she could hug Brian again. Then she saw the carts come out of the other side of the tunnel. But there was something amiss. In the front, where Brian and the man in red had been seated, there was now only an empty cart.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she started screaming again. “They’re gone. Oh god, they’re gone. What have you done”.

The attendant just stared blankly at her. He then said in his calm and monotone voice, ”Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down or I will call the police.”

Ashley glared at him, fury rising in her chest. “How can you be so calm, when a kid is missing from one of your damned rides? You need to stop it – we need to find my son.”

The attendant blinked a few times and stared at her for a moment, with that vacant look, before responding in that same emotionless, monotone voice, ”Ma’am, just calm down. This roller coaster has been in service for several years, all without any remarkable incident. I’m sure your kid is all right.”

Ashley was shaking with frustration. She couldn’t believe his indifference. It seemed almost inhuman. ”I will not calm down, until the ride is stopped and I have my son back. I can’t believe I let Brian go on the ride with that creepy man in red. You know, the one with the red top hat!”

The attendant stared at her for a moment longer before replying, ”Uh, ma’am, there wasn’t any man in a red suit, let alone with a top hat. I would have taken the top hat – kept it while he was on the ride. Or else it would’ve just blown off. Now, please, just wait until the ride is over. I’m sure your kid is all right.”

She looked at him, stunned. “Surely you remember that old gentleman who was with my son? My red-haired son, who you said couldn’t go on without adult supervision. You made it pretty clear he wasn’t going on by himself.”

The attendant blinked, still staring with that creepy, blank expression, before replying, ”Ma’am, I assure you, no man of that description has gotten on the roller coaster. And I don’t recall any red-haired boy getting on. Are you sure this was the ride he went on? I mean, there is a haunted house nearby – maybe he went in there?”

Ashley was fuming now. The calm demeanor of the attendant was infuriating. She snapped, ”Of course I’m sure! Why can’t you take this seriously? A kid’s gone missing, and all you can do is say ‘stay calm’ and suggest he never even went on the ride. Either you start taking this seriously and start looking for my son, or I will call the police.”

The attendant just stared at her blankly for a few moments. After a brief pause, he tilted his head and said, in his monotone voice, ”Please ma’am – I need you to calm down.”

At that point, Ashley screamed in frustration and anger. Her outburst drew the attention of a small crowd, who began to wonder what was going on at the roller coaster.

* * * * * * * * *

As Brian found himself in the middle of an unwanted ride with the man who called himself Red, he went through a wide range of emotions. From fear to sadness, to rage and anger. Each time their cart went through one of those dark clouds during this otherworldly ride, it felt like a jolt of lightning, and he saw a flash of light at the edge of his vision. With every flash, an emotion surged through him. The first few times, it was fear. Fear because he was stuck on a roller coaster with a rotting, emaciated husk of a man – fear because he was there all alone, without his mom, and didn’t know what was going to happen to him.

As the ride went on, the fear began to shift into sadness. He missed his mom. He felt so lonely, so terrified all at once. But the sadness didn’t last long. It turned into anger. Why had she left him all alone with this… thing? Sure, she was afraid of roller coasters, but she should’ve been there with him, not leaving him alone with a zombie. A well-dressed. top-hat-wearing zombie perhaps, but a zombie nonetheless.

And eventually, the anger grew into something fiercer – rage. Rage at his mom for not going on the ride with him, rage at being stuck alone in this nightmare, rage at the fact that he was here, with no control over what was happening. This wasn’t the fun, exciting ride he’d signed up for. It was a nightmare. And he was stuck in it.

Brian looked at Red, and a sudden calm washed over him. This man, clad in red, was the only one who took any interest in Brian. He offered to join him on the ride. He was here to protect him. He felt as if Red was his guardian, somehow. His mother had abandoned him – she hadn’t care enough for him to join the ride. The rage within him flared every time he thought of his mother, but it subsided when he looked at Red. He now knew that he would follow Red. With Red, he would be doing great things. Massive things. Destructive things. Red would help him express his anger.

The roller coaster slowed to a stop, and the people left. Ashley frantically searched for Brian and Red. She held her hands to her head in desperation, as she kept calling out for Brian. Then, she caught a glimpse of a large red hat. She looked, and saw Red. She saw Brian following him. Brian looked at her. But he didn’t look like Brian any more. His red hair looked the same. His face though. His mouth was showing anger and disdain towards her. His freckles, which Ashley had adored, were gone. But most disturbing of all, was the fact that the eyes that locked onto hers with such hatred, were pitch-black.