The snack bar was just as expected - old and ruined, like the rest of the amusement park. The colorful paintwork lost all its glory, defeated by the elements of nature and by the time itself. It was faded, some parts blistered and some just completely peeled off so that it was hard to recognize what the cartoony drawings actually depicted. Litter was scattered around and the wooden roof looked like it's going to collapse any moment on the shabby tables beneath. One could only imagine what lurked in the refrigerators and trash bins if they weren't cleaned out properly.
"Hmm..."
René stopped at the closest wooden pillar of the roof and nudged it with his cane. The construction creaked as it slightly tilted to the side. He brushed his goatee pondering, then turned around.
"I feel like dining outside, how about you, mon ami?"
"Definitely."
Kyle replied quickly, relieved that the ringmaster didn't want to force him under that fragile construction. At least he could be sure he won't be crushed to death, accompanied by the madman's amused laughter.
"Take a seat."
René's words made Kyle snap out of his disturbing vision. The boy blinked and looked at the man waving at the neatly set table next to him. The plushies just finished assembling it by putting a white cloth over it and a set of four teacups and a sugar bowl. From the looks of it, the table and chairs were in a far better condition than the other, probably being the spare furniture from the back of the snack bar.
"Don't worry, I won't order them to tie you down again."
The man said again after noticing Kyle's hesitation, and tapped a seat with his cane. The boy knew it's just best to play along. He had a faint hope that perhaps there will be a way to escape... somehow.
Once he sat down, René took a seat across the table and two of the plushies took the remaining two seats on each side, the well known bunny and a mouse. The man took off his top hat and passed it to a penguin plushy to keep it safe.
"Well then-... what is it?"
The ringmaster got interrupted when a dog plushy with a sad snout tugged at his pants.
"This better be important."
The man huffed and crossed his arms, then leaned over to the dog. The plushy tiptoed and whispered something to his ear, covering the side of the snout with its paw. Soon after, the man straightened his back and spread his arms, clearly displeased.
"What!? We ran out of tea? What's the point of making a tea party, when there's no tea?"
He slammed his fist against the table, the empty teacups clattered in place. Kyle and the others didn't dare to interrupt. Luckily the man quickly regained his composure. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh well. Let's just continue with something else to drink. Hmm, you can't have alcohol, you're still underage mon ami, I'd be a bad host if I allowed that. I know! How about some good old raspberry juice? You're not allergic to that, are you?"
Kyle shook his head, but soon after the bad feeling from before started to creep back.
Meanwhile the man clapped his hands twice and a plastic toy cat came out of the snack bar, with wheels instead of paws, and it was pulling a small cart behind it with four bottles of raspberry juice. Kyle felt a chill through his spine when he saw them, and then he understood. Lenny was always afraid of narrow spaces and Nathan was terrified of spiders - and they both ended up in a setting that matched their fears. He remembered that Mike was sent somewhere high, and they all knew he had a fear of heights, which means that somehow that man could see right through them, he knew their deepest fears and didn't hesitate to turn that knowledge against them. And he definitely was going to do the same with Kyle.
"Sir, I-I'm not that thirsty... I don't want any... thank you for the offer though."
Kyle felt as his throat went dry and his voice sounded awkward. René put one of the bottles on the table with a loud thud, his gaze piercing.
"You will do as I say."
The boy leaned back and froze in place, his hands clenching to the seat. I'm doomed, he thought. I'm so doomed.
"I have a brilliant idea! Why don't we play a game?"
The ringmaster's lips twisted in a wide devilish smile. Without taking his eyes off the teenager, he stretched his right arm towards the penguin plush that stood by his side all the time. René picked the hat up and put his hand inside, and after rummaging in it for a second he put two items on the table - a black marker and a tiny black bottle with a skull mark on it. He returned the hat to the penguin again. The boy stared at the bottle with a pale face. He shifted in the seat, when René laughed and announced loudly.
"Act three - toxiphobia, the fear of being poisoned! My title: 'Bottle out'."
"That's it, I'm out!"
Kyle immediately stood up and made a step to the side, but he stopped. He didn't realize it earlier, but the remaining macabre minions circled around his chair and blocked the path. They were holding various sharp objects in their paws, all pointed at him.
"It's rude for the guest of honor to leave so early."
The tall man waved with his index finger in a reprimanding way. Kyle hesitated for a moment longer, shifting his eyes back and forth from the man and the group of angry toys, but surrendered and sat back in his place. Without wasting any more time, René started with his preparations.
"Now then! Here goes! Watch carefully, lad."
He opened three out of the four bottles, picked the poison and poured a few drops into each. He then grabbed the marker and scribbled an X mark on the underside of the three corks respectively. After doing all that he sealed the bottles back. He put all four in front of Kyle.
"As you can see, three of them are poisoned, one is untouched. I will mix the bottles now and you will pick the one you want to drink from. It's as easy as that~"
"You fool, you should poison at least 2 out of 4 to make it fair!"
Kyle slammed his palms against the table, the teacups clattered again. The man looked at him unfazed.
"Why? 3 to 1 make it more interesting! AH-HAHAHA!"
René stood up pushing the chair to the side. He picked up all four bottles and a spotlight appeared from nowhere illuminating him. He threw the bottles in the air one after another and started to juggle, looking rather amused while humming and switching the technique. Kyle tried his best to keep track of the one bottle, but he was nervous and once the ringmaster picked up the pace he couldn't tell which one it was. The boy glanced to the side, but the malicious plushies were still guarding him. If they just weren't there it would be a perfect chance to escape.
"OOPS!"
One of the bottles slipped his hand and crashed on the ground. It felt like the time stood still for a moment. René stopped to juggle, securing the remaining bottles and the light disappeared.
"Ah, my bad. Deary me, I get out of shape. I guess that's enough."
He put them back on the table and made a hand movement, presenting them to the boy.
"Now then... it's your turn. CHOOSE."
The tension increased rapidly. A droplet of sweat ran down Kyle's cheek, when his eyes moved from bottle to bottle.
"But... the crashed bottle... aren't you going to check?"
He looked René in the eyes.
"Non~"
He answered in a light-hearted way. Kyle leaned one the table.
"But what if it was the right bottle!?"
"It'll just spoil all the fun."
The man crossed his arms and sat back with a devilish smile. There was no reasoning with him. All Kyle could do now is to pray that he will make it through it somehow. He wished that Mike was there for some mental support. They always used to do things together, but now he was all alone. He clenched his fists as the bottles in front started to get blurry from tears. It was all his idea to come here. He dragged everyone into this, and now they all went through some collective nightmare.
"Well?"
René's calm voice brought the boy back to reality. Kyle noticed that he broke out in cold sweat and his heart was racing like crazy, the tightly clenched fists trembling.
"Should I pick for you then?"
The man spoke again slowly, amused at the teenager's bewildered face expression. The boy twitched and finally pointed at the one on the right.
"T-this one!"
"Very well. Let's start from the remaining ones then, heh heh~"
René moved the chosen bottle towards Kyle, then picked up the one to his left.
He opened it without looking at the cork, he hid it within his palm and poured the juice to a teacup that was in front of the mouse plushie. It took the liberty to add two sugar cubes into the juice and stirred it eagerly. As absurd as it was to see a stuffed toy move by itself like a real living being, it was still amazing to see that it could not only drink, but also gulp down the whole cup in one go. It put the cup down and wiped its mouth. Everyone was staring at it intensely, when Kyle interrupted the silence, shaking his head.
"Are you sure that a toy can-"
He didn't get to finish, when the mouse made a loud hic and twitched. Its eyes stopped to glow and its head slammed the table. The man laughed patting the table with his palm.
"Hahaha, knocked out cold! I guess that answers your question. But here, in case you're thinking we're making fun of you."
He tossed the cork at Kyle. It had an X mark on it. René repeated the ritual with the other plushy, pouring the juice from the middle bottle. It showed some manners by sipping it slowly. Soon after it twitched and a smoke cloud escaped it's wide open mouth. Just like with the mouse, the eyes stopped to glow, it tipped to the side, and fell off the chair.
"Another one!"
The man revealed the other X marked cork.
"Off to finale!"
He grabbed Kyle's chosen bottle and poured the juice. The boy stared blankly as the reddish liquid filled his teacup. The man sat back, and leaned on the table, holding to the cork firmly in his palm.
"Let's see now... is it THE one...? Or is it the last spoiled one...? Is Lady Luck on your side tonight?"
Kyle slowly reached to the glass, his hand trembled and was slippery from cold sweat. He sniffled on the liquid carefully but it didn't give any signs of being poisoned.
"No use in testing it with your senses... it has no smell and no taste."
On those words, the boy grit his teeth and threw the cup away, spilling the juice on the plushies. They jumped to the side making an opening, which Kyle used to dash away. He didn't manage to run far though, as something heavy slammed him from behind, making him fall. When he looked up, the penguin from before bounced next to him, confused from the impact. Something or someone must have tossed it at him.
"I told you! You will do as I say!"
René approached the sprawled teenager and turned him around with his leg. The toy minions helped with immobilizing his limbs by clinging to his legs, and a snake plush wrapped tight around his wrists. He screamed and struggled when Rene grabbed his hair, tilted the head back and forced him to drink the juice straight from the bottle. Needless to say, he had a blast.
"Cheers! Santé!"
Kyle coughed and spilled it nearly choking, but some of the liquid still managed to get past his throat. Seeing that, René and the plushies let him go, except for the snake on the wrists. The boy coughed a bit more before looking up at the tall man with a terrified expression. Rene just chuckled and raised his hand with the cork in it, the one with the last X mark on it and tossed it at the boy. Kyle screamed in fear.
"Now, now, don't you worry. You can still save yourself. Look!"
René was holding another tiny bottle around the size of the one with the poison, but this one was transparent and had a blue cross on it. The antidote. He threw it in Kyle's direction but too high as it flew past the boy's head, but before it hit the ground behind him, a rooster plushie caught it in its beak and started to run. Kyle stood there petrified.
"You have 10 minutes before it takes effect on your human body."
René's smile was a creepy as ever. Without thinking any further Kyle dashed towards the toy, tears dripping from his cheeks.
"Godspeed~!"
The devilish man waved after the distressed teenager until they disappeared around the corner, then clapped his hands.
"Oh joy, that was fun, oui, a jolly good show!"
He returned to the table to retrieve his cane and top hat. He sighed.
"He'll notice it later. He was too blinded by fear to see trough it."
The two poisoned plushies from earlier were moving again and chuckling.
"Nice performance. Well then. The big finale awaits. Chair!"
René raised his cane high. A few plushies came carrying a fancy looking chair, looking almost like a throne. The ringmaster sat in it, making himself comfortable by putting one leg over the other. He pointed with his cane at a tower.
"Onward to the last prey. This will be interesting."
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