The Forgotten Carnival

It arrived without warning.

One night, an empty lot on the outskirts of town lay barren, overgrown with weeds and forgotten by time. The next morning, a carnival stood in its place. No one saw it being built. No trucks. No workers. Just a towering Ferris wheel, a sprawling funhouse, and rows of striped tents beckoning with the promise of wonder.

Curiosity spread like wildfire.

Summer had dulled into a routine of humid nights and restless boredom, and the carnival seemed like a gift. Posters appeared on telephone poles, reading "One Night Only—The Forgotten Carnival!" There was no admission fee, no opening hours, just an invitation to step inside.

That evening, a group of teenagers—Lena, Jake, Emily, and Carter—stood at the entrance, staring at the glowing lights that flickered against the darkening sky. Calliope music hummed from somewhere within, distant and eerie.

“This wasn’t here yesterday,” Lena murmured.

“Maybe it’s one of those pop-up events,” Jake suggested. “Like an underground thing.”

Emily frowned. “But there’s no one running it.”

Despite the unease curling in their stomachs, they stepped through the gate. The moment they crossed the threshold, the world behind them seemed to disappear. The town, the streets, even the stars in the sky—gone. Only the carnival remained, stretching endlessly in all directions.

The gate behind them had vanished.

Panic flickered through the group, but the carnival did not allow fear to linger long. A deep, booming voice erupted over unseen speakers: "Welcome, dear guests! Play to win. Play to escape. But be warned… losing has its consequences."

A cold wind rushed through the carnival, pushing them forward.

🔹 The Ferris Wheel of Fate: Carter was the first to step onto the creaking Ferris wheel, unable to resist the golden ticket that had appeared in his hand. The wheel turned impossibly fast, the seats vanishing one by one. By the time it stopped, Carter was gone. His seat empty. His name erased from his friends' memories as if he had never existed.

🔹 The Hall of Echoes: Emily stumbled into the funhouse, her reflection multiplying in endless mirrors. Each version of herself whispered secrets she had never told, memories she had never lived. As she tried to find her way out, the reflections reached for her. When Jake and Lena finally pulled her free, she was different—her voice an octave lower, her eyes reflecting something inhuman.

🔹 The Endless Maze: Jake and Lena ran through the labyrinth of tents, the paths shifting behind them. The deeper they ventured, the more familiar the lost souls became—children laughing without mouths, clowns with hollow eyes, skeletal figures watching from the dark. Somewhere in the distance, Carter screamed.

Desperate, Lena clutched Jake’s hand. “We have to break the game. We can’t play by the rules.”

The ticket booth loomed ahead, and behind it, a shadowy figure grinned beneath a cracked porcelain mask. “Tickets, please,” it rasped, extending an empty hand.

Lena took a deep breath and did the only thing she could think of—she ran the opposite direction. Jake followed, the carnival unraveling around them, lights flickering, music distorting into screams. The Ferris wheel crumbled. The tents collapsed into dust. And then—

They were standing in the empty lot again.

The carnival was gone. No sign it had ever been there.

But as they turned to leave, Lena noticed something clutched in her fist—a golden ticket, edges burnt black.

Behind them, deep in the shadows, something laughed.

The Forgotten Carnival would return.

And next time, there would be no escape.