The Midnight Carousel
Episode 4: Unseen Riders
The skeletal riders began to chant in unison, their voices blending with the roar of the machinery to recite fragments of old park safety regulations and lost children’s names. Julian thrashed against the leather straps, screaming for help into the rushing wind as the centrifugal force threatened to tear his limbs from their sockets. Through blurred vision, he spotted the ticket booth spinning past in the distance, where a figure in a striped carnival jacket stood operating a massive iron lever. The figure looked up, revealing the face of an elderly man with no features—just a smooth expanse of pale skin where eyes, nose, and mouth should have been.
The Broken Gear
Summoning a surge of adrenaline, Julian wrenched his right arm free from the strap and reached down to jam his heavy iron clipboard into the exposed brass gear mechanism beneath the stallion’s hooves. The metal clipboard jammed into the cogs with a violent screech of tearing steel, throwing a shower of orange sparks across the wooden deck. The main drive shaft shattered, and the carousel shuddered violently, grinding to a halt with a series of concussive metallic groans that shook the pavilion roof loose. The calliope fell silent instantly, leaving the air filled with the smell of burning oil and ozone.