Chapter Sixty-Four: Secrets of Carousel


    I had never seen Antoine like this. Even when he had stab wounds and broken ribs, he stood tall and pretended it didn’t bother him.


    At that moment, he waspletely vulnerable.


    It took a while to get the story out of him. He didn’t remember some of it. Maybe it was because he was in the forest for so long. Maybe because it was now, partially, a fading dream. As he spoke, he would pause for a few seconds. He might have been haunted by the memory or simply been trying to remember. I don’t know.


    "Someone told us to meet back at the cabin but I didn''t wanna go," Antoine said, his voice filled with uncertainty. "I don''t have any insight tropes that could help me tell the difference between a straggler and my friends. The old guy said that you would be OK if you were all by yourself. I decided to make a break for it. I figure I just take myself out of the equation. As long as I didn''t bring any stragglers with me it shouldn''t matter.


    "It would have worked too. I must have been almost out of the forest when I heard him. Ss. Appeared right beside me. He said I’d won a ticket. Riley''s always talking about how he got his Oblivious Bystander trope in the middle of a storyline so I figure that''s what''s happening to me. I press the button and he spits out two tickets. And then he disappeared as soon as I grabbed them. Suddenly, there were six stragglers on top of me.


    "I tried to get away, but I couldn''t outrun any of them. I couldn''t figure it out at first. I didn''t know anything about that damn trope he gave me. That stupid trope... No matter how fast I was running or where I went, they were right on my tail. I ran to where I thought the exit was supposed to be but I could never find it because they were with me. I was panicking. Thirty minutester and suddenly I look at the red wallpaper and I had be a Straggler. No more confusion. I knew what I was and what had happened.


    "I kept waiting for the storyline to end, but it didn''t. I watched the plot cycle. The needle was stuck right before The End. It would almost get there but then it would click right back ticking back and forth but never actually getting to The End. It was like it was broken.


    “I don''t know how long I was there. The sun never rose. I never had food or water or sleep. I just kept waiting for the story to end. I don''t even remember when it did. Suddenly I woke up and I wasying in the field with you."


    Kimberly wrapped him up in a hug and cried into his shoulder.


    “What the hell,” Dina said.


    “Why would Ss do that to him?” Camden asked. “Giving him a trope that would guarantee he ended up getting stuck there?”


    “I don’t understand,” Anna said.


    I had an idea, but I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.


    I turned from the group and marched back to the gate to where Ss was. Dina followed. The others stayed with Antoine.


    “So, you’re interfering directly now, huh?” I asked as I saw the mechanical man.


    “You won a ticket. Hehehe.”


    I nodded. Of course. He wasn’t going to juste out and talk to me.


    Dina was quick to press the red button. She got a stat ticket, a trope, and something else along with a handful of coins.


    “I knew something was wrong with that storyline,” I said. I had to assume that Ss, or whoever was controlling Ss, could hear. “Chris wouldn’t send us on a busted storyline. You did it, didn’t you?”


    Ss didn’t respond. His mechanical arms continued to move and his little silver shlight turned on and off.


    “Riley,” Dina said. She held up one of her tickets. “Look.”


    I took a quick nce at it.


    Wait a second.


    I pressed the red button and got a stat ticket, a trope, and… something else along with some coins.


    The something else was a ticket that simply read:


    Congrattions!


    You found secret lore: Secrets of Carousel #6: The Dark Water


    Bring this ticket to the Carousel Public Library to collect your prize. Collect ten for a huge reward!


    “Beneath the stygian depths of those ursednds lies the cadaver of an unfathomable abomination, decayed and deste, hailing from a ne beyond the grasp of mortalprehension, where time and space intertwine in grotesque amalgamation. Those audacious souls who dare to feign dominion over the lingering puissance shall forever remain oblivious to the insidious sway it holds over their very thoughts, for their consciousness bes a mere puppetry, enmeshed in the service of an enigmatic primogenitor. In solemn silence, its devoted thralls patiently awaitmands that shall nevere, forever trapped in a maddening cycle of anticipation and despair. A malevolent force permeates the air, subtly and insidiously, causing dreadful transformations and disfigurements to all that bask in its baleful aura. The indigenous popce once believed that the ursednd was besieged by a multitude of evils, yet their misconceptions betray their feeble understanding; for in truth, a singr abhorrence reigns supreme, exerting its insatiable dominion over the forsaken territory even in death.”


    “In Carousel, I envision a haven for souls of every stripe. Without each member of our growingmunity, we wouldn’t be the town we are today.” -Bartholomew Geist, Founder of Carousel.


    Secret Lore….


    We had been in a secret version of the storyline. But how? And what was different about our version? Did the other yers not know about the dead entity underground? We needed to get back to Chris and the other yers so that we could ask them what had happened in their versions.


    This didn''t sit right with me. Finding something significant on <em>ident</em>... Something was off. I needed to figure out what it was.


    Eventually, Antoine, Kimberly, Anna, and Camden made it all the way to the gate.


    “Is it talking?” Kimberly asked.


    I shook my head.


    “Can it even hear us? Is it just a machine or is there someone there?” Kimberly asked, enraged.


    “You won a ticket, hehehe,” Ss said.


    Camden pressed the button. He got the same things Dina and I did. So did Anna afterward. Kimberly eventually came around.


    Antoine was hesitant to press the button, but he powered through. I could tell that the sight of the machine affected him.


    They all got the same Secret Lore ticket and a trope.


    Kimberly got two stat tickets instead of just one.


    After Antoine got his rewards (which included twice as much money as everyone else) Ss started to speak again.


    “The stories can be pretty gruesome here in Carousel, but at least you get to be the star of the show!” he said. “Hehehe.”


    “What the fuck does that mean?” Antoine asked with a mixture of anger, sadness, and desperation.


    Ss didn’t answer, but still, I got a hunch.


    “I think he can only talk in prerecorded quips,” I said. “He can’t just talk to us straight up.”


    When I said that, Ss turned his head to me and said, “Aren’t you a smart cookie? Be careful, some of the monsters around here have a sweet tooth! Hehehe.”


    Then, he disappeared.


    ~~~


    I received a blue ticket:


    Location Scout


    Type: Insight


    Archetype: Any


    Stat Used: Savvy


    Before any movie can begin production, the filmmakers must find locations for the shoot. Finding the perfect venues to shoot the film is important to make the moviee to life.


    With this trope equipped, the yer will receive a list of all primary filming locations within the storyline. The higher the yer’s Savvy, the more expansive the list bes. If equipped to a Film Buff, the yer will be able to scout a limited amount of this information <em>before</em> entering a storyline.


    At higher levels, the yer will receive locations that the story <em>can </em>go, not simply the ces it <em>will</em> go.


    Of course, even if you know where the film takes ce, your final location will probably be the morgue.


    Kimberly received a red ticket:


    That’s What I Said!


    Type: Action


    Archetype: Any


    Stat Used: Moxie


    Some characters get no respect. Even when they have a good idea, the get overlooked and have their ideas stolen by someone else.


    Normally, a n’s sess or failure is a factor of two things: the innate usibility of the n and the Savvy stat of the person that came up with the n. A yer with this ticket equipped can have their ns and ideas “stolen” by higher Savvy allies, with the ally seemingly rephrasing their very same idea. When this verbal exchange urs, the n’s sess will be gauged by the Ally’s Savvy.


    Ally: “We should sneak in through the window and surprise them.”


    Group: “That’s a great idea. You’re so smart.”


    yer: “Wait, when I said that you said it was stupid!”


    Camden received a green ticket:


    The Immobile Genius


    Type: Buff


    Archetype: Schr, Doctor


    Stat Used: Savvy


    Why is it that smart people in movies are always unable to enact their n themselves? They always have to exin their n to some good-looking cool character who then has to goplete the mission while the actual smart person sits back and waits.


    When the yer equips this ticket, they will be able to send allies off to enact a n instead of doing it themselves. In doing so, the ally will gain a temporary Savvy boost proportionate to the yer’s Savvy. Any knowledge passed to the yer to perform the task will appear on their red wallpaper. If the yer has been Hobbled or Captured, the buff willst long enough to rescue or otherwise assist in relocating the yer.


    “Now listen to me very carefully: when you get there, you need to flip the switches in the correct sequence or we’re all doomed.”


    “So, you’re saying there’s no pressure?”


    Dina received a blue ticket:


    Outside Looking In


    Type: Insight


    Archetype: Outsider


    Stat Used: Savvy


    In a world filled with action and attention, it''s challenging to avoid the spotlight. However, there are moments when observing from the shadows can provide a clearer understanding of the situation.


    Equipping this ticket grants the yer the ability to discern ideal spots to linger, granting them a vantage point to observe events without actively participating in the narrative.


    Not all characters are destined to be in the limelight.


    Anna received a purple ticket:


    Along for the Ride


    Type: Rule


    Archetype: Final Girl


    Stat Used: Savvy


    In a group, members with less Plot Armor can be picked off one by one, but when they travel together in a vehicle, their fates are tied together.


    With this ticket equipped, when allies are gathered together in a vehicle or simr, the entire vehicle will be considered to have the yer’s Hustle stat. In the Finale, it will also have their Grit.


    A huge percentage of people in modern society die in car wrecks. In Carousel, they usually die right afterward.


    Antoine received a red ticket:


    Time Out!


    Type: Action


    Archetype: Athlete


    Stat Used: Grit


    In a movie, a fight can oftenst so long that the camera can cut away to give the audience a break. When the camera cuts back, the fight is still going, often having changed location as thebatants throw each other around the scenery.


    When equipped, the yer can call timeout in the middle of a fight just by saying or signing it. They will go Off-Screen the very second the yer starts to do this. The enemy will be far less aggressive Off-Screen, though they will still fight and will not be kible during this period. The yer can flee; however, the fight will resume as soon as the timeout ends regardless of the yer’s action. The higher the yer’s Grit, the longer the break.


    Don’t be afraid to take a breather. Just know it may be yourst.