this is where fun goes to die

[salamandher]

[This is where fun goes to die.]

[The stereotypical abandoned amusement park. Everybody says it's haunted. And, in their line of work, when multiple people start saying something's haunted, it either is, or it's damned close to being so. There's probably some kind of correlation, but that's not important.]

[What is important is that traffic was so terrible. Terrible enough that they pull up into the weedy parking lot as the sun is starting to go down. It's cold. Not enough to snow, but enough to see your breath when you talk. There's a wind blowing up off the lake, and the old ferris wheel carriages swing out in the distance. Something calls out, long and lonely.]

[It's probably an owl.]

[But that owl is not helping anything.]

I'm so not getting out of this car. You know that, right?

[She's still buckled in, in fact.]

Comments

[salamandher]

Shit!

[She really needs a better vocabulary for these situations -- she realizes this at an exceptionally inopportune moment. Panic spikes, and as such, the fire flares up. No longer just around her fists, but the full fire-on mode.]

[Granted, she can't really tell what's going on, but for now, Fedora seems to have it in hand.]

[wizardcop]

Kara, can you set it on fire without taking the whole roller coaster with it? [ There's a yelp from Fedora, and Jacob decides to pull the plug. He warded off the initial attack, but the rest of them need a turn. Jacob gives a sharp whistle. ]

Back off!

[ Which is Fedora's cue to get out of there. With a sudden, bizarrely human and inhuman screech, the creature lets go of the wolf, and Fedora leaps away, blood dripping from his muzzle.

Jacob can only stare. Part human, part goat, and bleeding from one shoulder, this... creature is absolutely, terrifyingly hideous. Something about its appearance just rattles him to the very core. ]

[salamandher]

[He's talking to her, and she knows this. But the thing is looking at them. Something about it makes her want to turn and run screaming in the opposite direction. And things don't make her feel that way very often anymore.]

[She shakes her head abruptly, like she's coming out of a daze.]

One way to find out...!

[Despite the fear, and the still-lingering urge to run, she tries to focus more on setting the thing's legs on fire.]

[wizardcop]

[ The sudden appearance of fire shocks both Jacob and the creature, and while the latter thrashes about, the former tries to take aim with his gun. He can't get a good bead on it, though, and the goat-man-thing is fairly resilient. It also apparently knows how to stop, drop, and roll. ]

Kara! Do you still have Charlie's knife?

[salamandher]

Uh! Probably?

[She's trying to focus all her effort on keeping its feet on fire. It smells like burning hair. With all it's trying to put the fire out, it's taking a lot of focus to keep it from going out.]

Back pocket!

[wizardcop]

... I'm not going to ask why you have a knife in your pocket.

[ TIME TO GROPE- I mean find that knife, yes. ]

[salamandher]

Because it didn't fit in my bra.

[At least she's not wearing a long coat today. It should be easy to find... if you're looking in the right pocket.]

[wizardcop]

[ He finds it, even if he has to go exploring in both pockets. The instant her has it in his hand, he throws it. Charlie's enchantment holds true, and the knife finds home despite the creature thrashing about. It lets out a short scream, thrashes about a little more, and then falls still. ]

[salamandher]

[Maybe she should have told him "left cheek".]

[But it doesn't matter. Because it's dead. And the dreadful feeling vanishes. She blows out a breath, and the fire slowly dies.]

... Did we win?

[wizardcop]

I think we did. [ He moves to the still-smoking body to retrieve the knife. ]

... I don't think this is what Charlie meant by "gremlin".

[salamandher]

[And, of course, she follows him, just to be sure it's dead. She might even kick it a time or two.]

If it is, I'd hate to go flying with him.

[wizardcop]

[ He quirks an eyebrow at her ] We're going to have to dispose of that.

[ A little late, he realizes they still have a ghostly audience. All eight of them have gathered at the edge of the grass, staring. ] Was that the thing? The thing that lives under the roller coaster?

[ Nods all around. One of the ghosts, a teenaged boy clinging tightly to the hand of a teenaged girl. ] It jumped on the tracks that night. I saw it. We were in the last car.

... Jesus Christ. Kara, this is the thing that killed them.

[salamandher]

Then tenderizing it makes disposing easier.

[But she relents, folding her arms and waiting, while he starts chatting up the ghosts again.]

[What he says next, though, it's chilling. More than anything so far this evening.]

[She stares at him, the color draining out of her face. Before, once more, fire starts flickering over her skin.]

... then we're disposing of it my way.

[wizardcop]

... I was actually going to suggest that.

[salamandher]

Then stand back.

[wizardcop]

[ He does so, moving to the edge of the grass with their ghostly onlookers. Fedora sits beside them to watch the show. ]

[salamandher]

[She'll wait. At least until he's reasonably out of range.]

[And that's precisely when the fireworks start.]

[It's not a slow burn. It's a sudden explosion of orange light, burning to white in the center with intensity. The sort of fire best left to, fittingly, cremations and metal-smithing. The metal of the coaster overhead groans, wood starting to blister.]

[The grass catches fire around her. In a perfect circle. Probably on purpose -- it burns in an instant, hot enough to scorch the soil several inches down.]

[wizardcop]

[ The sudden intensity of it startles him, though his companions (both living and dead) are unfazed. If anything the ghosts are captivated, watching in amazement as the thing that killed them finally receives justice. If they could cry, they would be. ]

[salamandher]

[It's about as close to writing a big "FUCK YOU" in the grass as she's going to get, at this point.]

[The show lasts for a good five minutes at that intensity, before it slowly starts to die away. Once it actually clears... there is literally nothing left in the blackened circle of dirt but that -- dirt.]

[Well. And Kara, but that's sort of a given.]

... Asshole.

[wizardcop]

[ He can't help but smile at the oh-so-typical Kara-ness of that. ]

If you could see the looks on their faces right now... you've done right by them, Kara.

[salamandher]

Well that figures.

[She's picking her way back over to him now.]

First time I "do right" and it's for a bunch of dead kids.

[wizardcop]

Oh, stop. You've done right plenty of times.

How about we all go home, hm? [ He casts a glance at the ghosts, who all nod. They're ready.

He's done this spell dozens of times before, and while he casts it with confidence, the nature of it makes him feel like he should treat the process with reverence.

For a moment, they're there, visible to even Kara's eyes. Eight smiling faces, and then they're gone, blown away by some nonexistent breeze. The quiet that settles over the skeleton of the roller coaster is almost... peaceful. ]

[salamandher]

Uh huh. You still owe me a pizza.

[But the teasing sort of dies down when he starts doing his thing. She goes quiet, standing next to him. It's never really... something to tease about, given the circumstances.]

[The sight of their faces actually makes her throat feel a little tight. And she leans on his shoulder.]

...

Well.

That was a thing.

[wizardcop]

[ A soft chuckle- so eloquent, Kara- and he leans over to kiss the top of her head. ]

Let's get back to the car and get out of here, just in case someone saw our little display.

[salamandher]

[No, you're not getting away that easily. She's going to go for a real kiss dammit.]

That's the smartest thing you've said all night.