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

[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.

[wizardcop]

Really? And here I was going to suggest stopping for dinner.

[salamandher]

...

I'm listening.

[wizardcop]

Come on, love. Let's get back to the car and see if we can't find someplace that's still open.

[salamandher]

"Love"? That was incredibly British.

[But she's going to latch onto his arm anyway.]

[wizardcop]

[ Heading back towards the gate, then! ]

Is there something wrong with that?

[salamandher]

No. I think it's kind of cute.

[wizardcop]

I'll make a note of that, then.

[salamandher]

You'd better. Or else.

[wizardcop]

Or else? Or else what?

[salamandher]

Do you really want me to answer that?

[wizardcop]

Well, now I'm simultaneously curious and filled with dread.

[ It will have to wait, though, because there are red and blue lights flashing on the other side of the gate. It does look like someone noticed the ruckus. ]

... Well, damn.