Lost Rambler

Chapter Forty-Seven: Happened A-Pawn

Dina said that she arrived in Carousel in 2011. We got here in 2022. Either someone was very confused, or Carousel didn't really care much about continuity.

“The letters talked as if things were being moved into place,” Dina said. “Maybe...”

She didn't finish her thought.

She started walking back toward town.

“Maybe what?” Antoine asked.

She glanced back at us as she walked. “Maybe it isn't a coincidence. Any of this.”

We stood up and chased...

Chapter Forty-Six: Letters from Carousel

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

When we got down the street 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 character? 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 ...

Chapter Forty-Five: The Wager

Berryman’s Dive stank of smoke and stale beer. There was an old Southern rock record playing. I didn't recognize the music, in fact, I don't think it was music that you would find in the real world, and yet somehow, I still knew that it was way out of date. This place was like stepping back in time.

The furniture was mismatched, and the tables were so old and fogged over with grime that they could probably never be clean. There might have been seating for fifty but there were only ten...

Chapter Forty-Four: The Detour

I couldn't sleep that night. My body yearned for rest, but my mind was relentless. I kept looking out across the lake at the mountain Arthur had mentioned. I really wished it had been overcast so I could see the light reflected in the clouds. Just some sign of a way out of here would have made me feel sane.

I tried talking to Camden about dying, but he wasn't ready to talk about it and I didn't have much to say either. I was still numb. It was strange, I kept having these miniature mome...

Chapter Forty-Three: Keeping Secrets

On the return to Camp Dyer, Carousel was like a new place. Janette’s I don’t like it here… trope was transformative. I could see Omens everywhere. No wonder she was freaked out all the time. I even saw things that Arthur didn’t mention as he guided us back.

When I looked at something that was an omen, I would see a brass display sign on the red wallpaper with the word “Warning.”

Sometimes, I would get a whole lot more information than that. I occasionally got entire po...

Chapter Forty-Two: Rewards To Die For

I opened my eyes.

It was daylight outside. Late evening perhaps. I could see the sun poking down through the hole at the top of the room.

The room.

I raised my head. I was alone. Arthur and Valerie were gone. The giant grotesque leader wasn't here either, though I suspect that I saw pieces of him lying here and there.

I looked down at my body. No bandages no wounds. I was wearing my hoodie again. My sunglasses were in my pocket.

I tried to stand up but my bo...

Chapter Forty-One: The Grotesque Angel

“Barely missed an artery,” Valerie said. She was trying her best to pretend that the injury I had just sustained wasn't going to kill me. “You'll need to take it easy. Looks like you're not going to be a part of this fight. I can patch you up, but you're going to need stitches after this. A whole lot of stitches.”

Her voice shook a couple of times during that speech. Her trope required her to pretend that my prognosis was good. That, combined with covering up the injuries, allow...

Chapter Forty: Not-So-Divine Healing

The very moment we stepped out of the truck we were in a fight.

Even with the spotlight aimed at the door, preventing the Grotesques inside from pouring out, there were still those coming from the graveyard around us. There were dozens of them.

I had a hammer in each hand. My gun wouldn’t do me much good here. I needed to make every hit count because even with the buffs I had gotten, even with Arthur sharing his Mind Over Monster trope, I had to hit them in just the right spot t...

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Go. Faster.

Valerie must have followed my gaze and seen the ripples in the puddle.

“We have to get out of here now,” she said. “Run!”

We started running before we even knew what was chasing us. By the time we were halfway back to the truck, that had become clear.

I glanced back over my shoulder and saw booths and carnival games went flying through the air behind us.

As the dust settled, I caught my breath and tried to make sense of the chaos around me. Suddenly, my eyes we...

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Extended Arming Sequence

“We need to get out of here,” Valerie said, grabbing up Arthur's duffel and handing it to him.

Arthur didn't put up a fight.

The four of us ran as fast as we could out of the church. When we got to the door Arthur had a shotgun up in case anything tried to stop us, but nothing did.

As we ran out into the courtyard of the church, we saw what had made the noise. The large, winged creature that had killed Roxie was up on the roof. It didn't attack us as we left. It probably...

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Whispers in the Dark

I froze.

The Grotesque wasn't facing me. But even then, its hideous features were terrifying. Its wings were big and leathery like a bat and as it turned its head I could see its long jagged needle-like teeth sticking out of its human face. I could only imagine what this thing had been before it got infected by the Grotesque curse.

With the death of Roxie, my Savvy shot up 11 points. Reggie's highest stat rose a few points as well. I don't know if I had a bigger jump because my ch...