Survivor: All-Stars/Mpilo Story

Chapter 1 by Ben
Long shadows slunk across the Funland Amusement Park as the speaker system crackled to life. “Funland is now closing. Patrons, please make your way to the exit. We hope you enjoyed your stay and had fun at the funnest place on Earth!” There was a slight catch in the recording as it got stuck on the final words, inanely repeating “funnest place on Earth” until the words seemed to take on an ominous meaning. A high-pitched whine gradually began to take over as the voice grew distorted until the recording finally collapsed into a mess of static. Eventually the speaker died down and silence reigned over the park as the last few stragglers made a hasty exit. The final few occupants, a group of five friends, were just nearing the imposing park gates when the speakers burst back to life, screaming Funland’s slogan at in inhuman level: “The funnest place on Earth! You’ll never get to leave!” “Isn’t it ‘never want to leave’?” Hunter asked the group. “Well I’m ready to leave,” Ben said, “that voice is driving me crazy”. The others agreed and hurried to the exit. “What? Why are the gates locked?” Henry asked, pulling on the heavy chains looped around the iron-wrought gates. “Oh my god, they’ve locked us in!” The group shook the gates and called out for a crew member’s assistance but the park was oddly deserted. “Everyone can’t have left that early”, Lloyd said unsurely. “Looks like we’ll have to climb over”, Ben said as he hoisted himself up and began to scale the gates. He reached the top and began to carefully manoeuver over the pointed spikes that adorned the top of the fence when the screeching voice rung out over the speakers once more: “Funnest place on Earth! Never get to leave!” The sudden noise startled Ben and he lost his footing. He fell forward, the side of his face hitting one of the spikes. The impact sent the spike straight through his cheek. It tore upwards through his flesh, ripping his mouth open into a ghastly grin. There was a sickening crack as his jaw dislocated. Warm blood dribbled slowly out of his gaping mouth, pattering softly down on the others below. Ben’s body hung from the fence like some sick effigy, his limbs swaying puppet-like in the breeze. “Oh god, I feel sick” Jhet groaned as he stumbled away from the gates. There was a wet, tearing noise as the weight of Ben’s body was too much for the spike to bear. The side of his face came away as his body plummeted to the ground, dumped unceremoniously at the group’s feet. The four of them turned and ran in horror, unable to look at the bloodied mess that lay before them. A scrap of Ben’s flesh remained pinned to the spike, flapping triumphantly in the wind, as the speakers cheerily began their freakish refrain once more.

Chapter 2 by Jhet
The unnerving utterances of the speakers repeated themselves over and over, like a song of torment. The remaining group of unlucky friends ran in opposite directions from Ben's bleeding corpse, covering their ears as the high-pitched screeching got louder and louder. Hunter and Henzzy ran together down the same path, sprinting to a secure place in which they could hide or find help. “What is happening to us?!” Henzzy wailed in fear. The two made their way towards the amusement park’s most popular restaurant, trying to look for help. They pushed their way through the door and were immediately overcome by a disgusting, rotten stench. The smell was horrendous, like a dead body. The smell crept into their brains, overpowering them and knocking them out. Both collapsed to the floor unconscious.

There was nobody in the park but the four remaining friends. Lloyd and Jhet dashed down different paths, looking for others, but their result was the same. The smell came out to greet all of them, knocking them both out until they were taken somewhere deep within the heart of the park: a place to die.

Jhet awoke lying down unharmed. He checked himself to see if he was hurt and he looked around to identify his environment. To his relief, he couldn’t hear the speakers. In fact, he couldn’t hear anything. He looked to his left and saw a mirrored image of himself. He turned his head up, down, and in all directions. Seemingly endless reflections of himself stared back from the many mirrors. He was in the Hall of Mirrors, one of the most popular attractions in the amusement park. The room contained nothing but mirrors, and their distorted reflections. “What?” Jhet said, confused. “Wh-Where am I? What is this place? What is going on! Get me the f*ck out of here!!!” Jhet started kicking the walls and screaming, trying to break the glass and escape but nothing was budging. His tantrum lasted for hours, until he sat down and sobbed uncontrollably, waiting.

Jhet waited for a week. He was hungry, and he was going crazy. He longed for a voice, starting to remember what the speakers were saying, “The funnest place on Earth! You’ll never get to leave!!” The phrase was stuck in his mind, until he started to whisper it. He whispered it repeatedly until he started screaming it! “THE FUNNEST PLACE ON EARTH! YOU’LL NEVER GET TO LEAVE!!” He started to laugh. He had never felt so happy! He punched the nearest mirror, giggling with glee as it shattered. He picked up a large shard and shouted out the park’s slogan as he stabbed himself in the stomach. But he wanted to die faster! Pulling out the shard and spurting out blood, he sawed off his left hand, then started on his feet. Finally, he slit his own throat, dying in a pool of his own blood, gurgling and laughing all the way. Moments later, the sounds of engines ran. The park was alive.

Chapter 3 by Hunter
The remaining three pals awoke tied to one another. They were situated into a triangle on the hard, wet concrete. Their wrists were tied together, and their mouths were constricted with a gag. Lloyd was the first to awake. He looked around at the depressing surroundings. The room was square concrete. There were no windows, only a bloody, iron door. In front of the door, only a few feet off, was a single wooden chair, a fresh puddle of blood below. Waking up to the monstrosity that was Lloyd’s muffled cries, Henry and Hunter both responded with the same terrified wails. Together they twisted the restricting ropes until the skin on their wrists were raw and bloody from the friction that came with it. At this point the group knew all they could do was wait, there was no hope, after all it did seem like they wouldn’t be left. Tears began to slowly roll down the dirty cheeks of the survivors. They dripped into the puddle below them, making small splashes as they did so. They sat in quiet for many hours. The silence did not last more than that, the iron door was opened with a great force and banged into the wall, causing a clank. The group woke up and Lloyd and Hunter, who were facing the door in the triangle, got a glimpse of what was outside of the door. The parking lot. Freedom. Lloyd and Hunter both kicked and wiggled as Henry tried to turn and see what the commotion was. Lloyd pulled the three as he grinded his wrists against the rope that tied them together. The ropes tightened, and Lloyd kept pulling, however his pulling was too much. The rope dug into his skin and Lloyd pulled, popping the bone out of place of his wrist. He tugged and tugged to separate skin and get out of this mess. Using his shoe, he placed himself in a position where he grinded against the skin that held his hand and arm together, slowly separating it. He cried with pain, but slowly managed to cut free. Blood spilled from the separation, pouring onto the ground and mixing with the puddle. He then did the same with the other arm, separating the bone with pain and tearing through the ligaments, causing more blood to spill, and his arm to release. He gave one last look to Henry and Hunter who helplessly looked back at Lloyd, who tucked his bleeding hands into his shirt. He escaped. Two days later, all that remained in the room was Hunter, his eyes gouged out and throat opened, staining the ground with crimson blood, and Henry, in a pile in the corner of the room, his severed head stacked at the top, blood painting his face, on top of his limbs that had been ripped with a great force, blood trickling down from him. In the background, the joyful noise of kids in the amusement park screamed with happiness.