Dream Woods

by Patrick Lacey

  The women picked up the display of beef jerky on the counter and tossed them at the clerk. She spat, a small strand of saliva darting across the counter and onto the man’s face. He wiped at his cheeks and hung up the phone.

  She turned around and headed for the exit. Regina stepped to the side and let the woman pass, watching her walk out of the parking lot and up the road toward Dream Woods.

  In the distance thunder began to rumble. The storm was gaining.

  “Sorry about that, Miss.” The clerk pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his face. “Didn’t actually call no one, though I probably should have. You should’ve heard her when she first got here. Said the people at Dream Woods had faces that were about to slide off. Not to mention that place ain’t been open for the better part of thirty years.”

  Without saying anything, Regina reached into her purse, grabbed a fifty-dollar bill, and told the clerk to keep the change.

  Then she ran outside, hopped into the rental car, and sped toward the mountains.

  ***

  The woman with the tattoos came into view a few minutes later. She was jogging up an incline. Sweat poured down her face and neck and she looked ready to collapse. But her eyes were just crazy enough to keep her going. Regina knew the feeling. She pulled over and honked her horn.

  The woman slowed to a stop and turned around. She bent forward and tried to catch her breath.

  Regina leaned over and rolled down her window. “Afternoon, miss. You look like you could use some help. Would you like a ride?”

  “I’m in a rush.”

  “Yes, I noticed that. I saw your little show back in the gas station.”

  “Listen, if you’re going to call me nuts like that asshole, that’s fine, but I need to be going now.” She started to walk again.

  Regina glided alongside her. “I’m not calling you nuts. I just don’t think you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

  The woman waved her off. This close Regina could see her tattoos, hundreds of them. She wondered when the woman would begin to regret them if she didn’t already. “Lady,” the woman said, “unless you’ve seen the things I’ve seen in the last twenty-four hours, you have no fucking clue what I’ve gotten myself into.”

  “Listen, why don’t you hop in and I’ll give you a ride the rest of the way. It’s hot as hell and you don’t look so good.”

  The woman stopped again, tried to catch her breath. “A ride? To Dream Woods? Why, so you can tell me it’s been closed for thirty years? So you can tell me I’ve lost my mind?”

  “No,” Regina said, unlocking the passenger door. “So I can tell you why it closed in the first place and so we can both figure out how the hell it’s open again.”

  The woman eyed her, looking back toward the mountains and the black sky. Regina couldn’t blame her for hesitating. Here was a stranger offering to give her a ride to somewhere that should’ve been imaginary. Someone who believed her store a little too easily. Eventually, the woman came around to the passenger door and held out her tattooed hand. “Audra Carter.”

  “Regina Michaels.” They shook.

  “How the hell do you know so much about Dream Woods?” Audra put on her seatbelt and Regina sped off, the tires screeching.

  “Because I worked there for five years and saw plenty of things that make my therapist question my sanity on a weekly basis. And I’m writing a book about every last bit of it so everyone in the world can know about that hell hole.”

  “You worked there? You mean before it closed? Before… whatever the hell happened anyway?”

  “Long story. I’m not sure we have enough time for all of it.”

  “What’re these?” Audra held up the picture of Steven and the crumpled ticket.

  “I’ll give you the short version. I’ve got to warn you, though. It’s going to sound crazy.”

  “Try me.”

  Regina turned the corner and up ahead the mountains parted briefly. In between them lay the rubble that used to be Dream Woods.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Regina had worked at Dream Woods all throughout college, in the summers between semesters. She was a jack of all trades, worked some game booths, some rides, even filled in as a chamber maid for some of the hotels. She’d been to Disney World and Disney Land and Six Flags and another dozen theme parks and none of them could hold a torch to Dream Woods. It wasn’t as if those other parks didn’t have bigger budgets and better attractions. There was just something about Dream Woods, some air of mystery that she could not quite put her finger on.

  Eventually she would see it wasn’t a mystery worth solving.

  After graduating from school with a business degree, she interned at the park. After applying to several other tourist attractions in New England she asked around to see if there were any full-time openings available in Dream Woods itself. It would be a dream come true—pun intended—to begin a career at her favorite place in the world.

  “There’s a new position vacant,” the human resources recruiter told her. The woman’s voice was painfully nasal and her face was covered with thick, pasty make-up. Regina nodded and asked for an application.

  The position’s full title was Ride and Attraction Safety Coordinator. It seemed simple enough and with her experience she should have been a shoe-in. She made it through the first two interviews without breaking a sweat, answering question after standard question. The final step was to meet with the park’s highest employee aside from the corporate investors who were only involved with the business peripherally, had likely never even visited in person.

  That employee was the Director of Theme Park Operations

  The Director for short.

  They were to meet in a location called the Dream Room, located on the highest floor of the castle.

  “The Director takes this job quite seriously, doesn’t he?” Regina asked the recruiter on the elevator ride up to the top floor.

  “It’s not a job for him,” she said, scolding Regina.

  The woman said nothing else. The rest of the elevator ride was silent and awkward and seemed to last a full hour. As strange as it seemed, Regina had the feeling they were travelling higher than the castle itself. She mentally counted off the floors as they ascended and could’ve sworn they were double the amount that there should have been. Eventually the light for the final floor lit up and the doors opened.

  “I’m afraid this is as far as I go,” the recruiter said. “It’s just down the hall and to the left. The Director is expecting you.”

  Regina stepped out of the elevator and straightened her skirt. “Do I need to check in anywhere? Does he have a secretary or someone with whom I should speak?”

  She turned around and saw that the elevator doors were already closed, the car already descending. She was alone in a hallway that no longer resembled an office building. The walls were not wood but stone, intricate patterns of square blocks that resembled an authentic castle. Instead of lights along the way there were flickering torches. She examined the closest one and wondered how they kept them all lit and who was in charge of lighting them.

  She turned left just as the recruiter had instructed. The hall ended at a wooden door that was curved at the top like an archway. She looked around for a secretary or another employee but there was no one in sight.

  She calmed herself, took a long and deep breath. It was pointless to put unnecessary pressure on her, but this job was crucial. Her college loan grace period was ending in two months and she would need to start paying them back. When she factored in interest and her car payment she was talking major dollars. Not to mention wanting to move out of her mother’s house and get her own place. It was time to fly, time set down her own path.

  She steadied her hands and knocked on the door.

  It opened within seconds, though no one stood there to open it. She stepped in and gasped. It was far from the office meeting room she’d been expecting. It looked just as medieval as the hallway. She felt
a draft and gasped when she saw its source. There was a balcony overlooking the entire park. It was breathtaking. She could see for miles. The mountains stretched for an eternity, tiny white triangles marking their snowy peaks. She wondered how it felt to see that view every single morning, to watch the sun rise over Dream Woods.

  For a few seconds she forgot she was at an interview and instead walked toward the edge of the balcony. A warm breeze blew strands of hair on her face. Her bangs were getting ruined, she knew, but seemed impossible to look away. She could see everything stretched out for miles.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  She spun around and dropped her portfolio. Resumes spilled onto the stone floor. She held a hand to her chest, tried to catch her breath. A man who she assumed to be the Director sat at on a mock-throne at a small table. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were already in here,” she said.

  He pulled out a seat from the table, not as intricate as the throne but still far more exquisite than a typical office chair. “Won’t you sit?”

  “Yes, of course.” She picked up the mess and stumbled over to the table, praying that she wouldn’t trip over her shaky legs. She cursed herself for wearing such high heels.

  “Ms. Michaels, was it?” The Director pulled on a pair of reading glasses and opened up a folder. She watched his eyes glide over the paper inside. There was something about him, some air of celebrity or royalty. This must be what it’s like to meet a king, she thought.

  “I see that you’ve been working here off and on for the last four years, and that you currently intern with us. Is that correct?” His voice carried a faint accent she couldn’t quite discern, not quite British or Australian but certainly not American either.

  “That’s right. I worked summers between semesters at college.”

  “A business major. Graduated with highest honors. You should be proud. Business experience is a valuable asset; one we respect at our company.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that.” She bit her lip. Her hands fidgeted in her lap. She needed more than one- and two-word responses. She needed to strike up a conversation, show her personality, lest she stay living with her mother and get a job bagging groceries. She needed to prove she was the right applicant for the job.

  “Tell me, Ms. Michaels. What drew you to Dream Woods in the first place?”

  She cleared her throat and mind. “Well, to be honest, I can’t quite explain it. I visited the first time my senior year of high school and I never wanted to leave. There’s just something in the air, something magical that I’ve never seen at any other park.”

  He smiled, closed the folder, and folded his hands. His eyes were hypnotizing. One moment they seemed blue, then green, then some unidentifiable color. He did not blink once. She readjusted her legs and some stupid part of her wondered if he was flirting. “If you were to take on a position with our company, would you be prepared to make tough choices, to see Dream Woods from another light? I’m afraid it’s not all fun and games all the time. This is a business after all and businesses need to run smoothly.”

  She nodded too quickly, unable to look away from those eyes. They were unlike any she’d ever seen, not altogether human. “Yes. Yes, I think I could do that.”

  He started to say something but she wasn’t listening. The torches and the throne and the balcony and everything else in the world vanished aside from The Director’s swirling eyes. She wasn’t sure what she saw in them but it was something mystifying and perhaps scary too. She could see herself staying there forever, never looking away.

  You can still turn around, she thought, though she didn’t know why. It’s not too late. Look at this place. There’s something going on, wouldn’t you say? Something sure as hell isn’t right here.

  Part of her knew she was right. There was something odd about all of this. But it was Dream Woods, the pinnacle of all things fun. Wasn’t it worth taking the chance? Surely there couldn’t be anything too weird. It was a multi-million dollar business after all and it must have had a certain code of conduct. It was just her nerves talking, trying to throw her off balance.

  Exactly, so stop second guessing yourself and keep The Director occupied.

  She shook her head, saw him staring at her. He’d said something she didn’t hear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that.”

  He smiled, his eyes nearly glowing now. Were they green or blue, or perhaps hazel? “I said I’ve seen all I need to see. As far as I’m concerned we can stop taking applications. We’d love to have you here at Dream Woods.”

  ***

  Her first three months went well. She received a glowing ninety-day review and a raise. Her cubicle became an office on the twenty-third floor with a view of the mountains, though not as breathtaking as that of The Director.

  “Keep this up,” the nasally HR woman said one day, “and you’ll be looking at a promotion soon enough.”

  Regina smiled and shook the woman’s hand, thinking she’d found her calling in life. Dream Woods was the perfect fit. Nothing could change her mind.

  The first staff meeting took place in the boardroom, one floor beneath the room where she’d had her final interview. It looked just as much like a medieval castle, though there was no balcony this time. Instead, there were a few barred windows and the air seemed stale. The torches lining the walls didn’t offer much light. Regina had to squint to read the agenda, though it didn’t help much. Even if it had been brighter, the paper wouldn’t have made any sense.

  She saw words like blood and sacrifice and offering.

  She looked up from the paper and eyed her coworkers. Most of them were middle-aged white men with balding heads and extra chins. They didn’t seem phased by the agenda, read through it like it was second nature. One of them pointed at something on the front page, whispered to the man next him, and let forth something vaguely laugh-like before turning into a mannequin once more.

  There had to be a rational explanation for the strange wording. Perhaps they were planning to build a new ride. She’d heard rumors of something called the Haunted Tunnels. Though it was a family park, it was possible they were trying to draw in a college crowd.

  She turned to the man to her left. “Sorry to bother you but what does all this mean?” She motioned toward the agenda.

  He wore wire-framed glasses that nearly drooped off his nose. He pushed them up with his index finger and smiled. “Your first meeting I take it?”

  She nodded. “I just started a few months ago.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You should be proud. It took me five and a half years until I was invited to one of these. I was just as shocked as you were the first time.”

  “I’m just not sure I understand any of it. I don’t see any graphs or figures. I don’t even see anything related to the park in the first place.”

  The man’s glasses began to droop again. He corrected them and lowered his voice. “May I give you a piece of advice, one you would be wise to follow?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “You don’t want to go around asking too many questions. The Director doesn’t like that sort of thing. If you’re smart, you’ll look him in his eyes—it’s hard enough to look away once you’ve had a glimpse—and you’ll nod and smile and act like everything you hear within these walls in the most normal thing on the planet.”

  She couldn’t tell if he was joking. “What’s normal about blood?” She pointed to the word on the page.

  He touched her shoulder, a parent trying to explain some grown-up thing to their child. “Miss, you’re in Dream Woods now, not Six Flags. Things run a bit differently here.”

  The boardroom door opened and everyone stood up from their seats. Regina reacted slowly, rising a few moments later than the rest.

  The Director appeared in the doorway. He nodded, told them to be seated. Sebastian followed him, took a seat in the corner away from the group. He wore his bear suit and didn’t seem in any rush to take it off. She’d thought he was just a mascot
but perhaps he had more seniority than she realized. All things considered, it was plausible.

  The Director sat at the end of the table, eyeing each of them for an eternity. “We are the dreamers,” he said.

  “We are the dreamers,” everyone answered except for Regina. Her mouth hung open. Was this their way of beginning the meetings? It seemed better fit for a cult.

  The Director began to read from the agenda.

  She wondered if she hadn’t made a mistake accepting her position as impossible words were spoken aloud and discussed.

  Things like blood and sacrifices and offerings.

  She did not ask any more questions that day.

  ***

  “See,” Audra said, pointing at the rubble. “I told you. We’re fucked.”

  Regina parked the car and got out. The sky was now pitch black and it was getting harder to see. Had she been just another tourist, she would’ve cursed herself for not bringing an umbrella. But she knew there was more than just rain coming.

  “I’m telling you. This place was just up and working an hour ago.” Audra lit a cigarette and dropped the lighter. It took her three times to pick it up. Her hands were shaking badly. She felt for the woman. Her family was inside and likely dead.

  “It’s still up and working,” Regina said, “just not from our point of view.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Audra stepped up the front gate and probed the rusty lock. She smacked it with the back of her hand and swore, bringing it to her mouth and sucking.

  “Ever heard of string theory?”

  “Sure. Parallel universes and doppelgangers. That kind of stuff.”

  “Something like that. I interviewed a few scientists for my book, tried to come up with an explanation for what happened here before they closed the gates. They looked at me like I was wearing a straitjacket. I’m used to that look but I always thought scientists were supposed to be open-minded. I told them to just pretend for a moment that what I’d said happened to me was fact, not fiction. The way I see it, this place never closed in the first place. Not really. It just went into hibernation for a while. But the gears still turned somewhere, on another plane if you’d like. We just need to get to that other plane.”