The Game at Carousel: A Horror Movie LitRPG
Arc II, Chapter 7: A History in Flames

The only thing we knew that needed to be done was to check out the informational display about the founding of Carousel that was supposed to be somewhere in the town square. We had been given a new space on the red wallpaper for Leads and, while I still wasn’t certain of what we were up against, I was glad to have direction.

Even with all the excitement and joy surrounding us, knowing that something was coming created a palpable sense of dread. I could only imagine that people who showed up here without knowing anything would probably be having a good time at that moment, albeit a confused one. Having not been forced to become aware of the red wallpaper or being told that Carousel was a cosmic trap would make this experience a lot better.

Dina was the first to discover the displays in the town square containing various information about Carousel. They were mostly collages of pictures and newspaper clippings on cardboard. Soon we found our way over to them and were eagerly trying to find any relevant information. They looked like they were a step up from a history report that someone might have done in junior high. They were informative but not exhaustive.

We found the display that gave information about the founding of Carousel and quickly started to read over it. I smiled as I read because the articles on the display board and the pictures that were featured reminded me of how this exact same thing was done in movies. When using newspaper clippings to give information, there were always convenient titles and evocative pictures, and all we saw from most of the newspaper clippings were the first few lines.

The Founding of Carousel

August 5, 1922

The Haunted History of the Geist Family

Bartholomew Geist Acquires Bankrupt Township

Geist Seeks Partnership for Local Revival

The next article was folded over so that only the title and first few lines could be read. I quickly unfolded it to read the rest of the story.

Carousel: Home of the Stars?

Cherise Geist’s Asylum: A Charitable Sanctuary or Set Piece?

Miss Carousel Crown Goes to a Geist

Flames Engulf Geist Factory

Tragedy Strikes on the Set of Geists’ Latest Fright Feature

Mystery Shrouds Geist Manor Blaze

I read each of the articles twice. There was just enough information there to start piecing together a timeline of Carousel’s alleged history. Unfortunately, the most important parts were the parts that weren’t in the articles. Those with the details we would have to discover on our own.

The Geists had basically been eradicated 40 years prior. At that moment, there were too many possibilities for where the story was going. I needed to keep my mind open. The worst thing that I could do was decide that this was some sort of curse or grudge and only look for evidence of those things.

After we had read the information and discussed it a little, I noticed that the Lead instructing us to find the informational display had disappeared from the red wallpaper. Instead, new sub headings had been added under the Lead “Vetting the Founder’s Tale”. These new subheadings instructed us to look for information about the Geist family and its demise.

“So, this is basically like a video game?” Isaac asked. “With quests and all that?”

“We’ll see if you still want to call it a video game in a few days,” Antoine said.

In a way, it was like a video game. The Tutorial was about to start, after all.

After that, we meandered around the town square and looked at the various booths that had been set up. Cassie and Isaac were specifically interested in finding a booth that the hospital was running. They seemed to hope that their brother would be there. I didn't want to dash their hopes so I didn't say anything. I expected that once we found it, it would likely be some sort of health awareness propaganda combined with some sort of carnival game or scary movie prop. That would be in fitting with the rest of the booths.

We didn’t find it. What we found was a display of cardboard cutouts of figures from Geist horror movies. There was also a wall filled with old vintage movie posters. I scanned over them repeatedly, as if subconsciously expecting to recognize one of them, but I never did. That was Carousel, though. Everything was familiar but different.

The sight of all the alternate reality horror film posters had been much more interesting to me than it was to my friends. Soon, I could feel them starting to pull away, drawn toward other parts of the celebration preparations. I took one last look at the line of vintage movie posters and rejoined them.

“Where to?” I asked. Sickening anticipation was building. This place felt normal, or at least as normal as the average Halloween fair. It didn’t feel foreboding, not in the way I was expecting. These people seemed happy. It was too normal. I felt like Carousel was teasing us.

No one had an answer. Like me, they were taken in by the sights, sounds, and smells of a town in the throes of a celebration.

In the distance, the Barker continued selling people on the virtues of the various carnival rides. “See the scares from a hundred feet up!” he boasted of the drop ride. “Let the world blend into a sea of swirling colors,” he said of the ride that spun so fast that the passengers could defy gravity and crawl along the padded walls.

“Shouldn’t there be a carousel in Carousel?” Isaac asked. “I don’t see one anywhere.”

Antoine and I made eye contact and smirked. How many times had we asked that same question?

“Let's just take our time,” Antoine said, “The story will come to us.”

He said that like it was a good thing.

“I'm not looking forward to that part,” I said, as a clown walked across the street selling balloons. Despite its spooky clown makeup, it was just an ordinary NPC. If anything was going to be a monster, it would have been the clown.

It was at that moment; I glanced down the street and saw a man in a fancy suit. He wore a red sash that said the word “Mayor” in golden letters and a hat to match his suit. His gray mustache was intricately manicured. A chill went down my spine.

I got the attention of my friends and directed them in the direction I was looking. They were just as disturbed to see him as I was, with the exception of Isaac and Cassie, who did not know what the big deal was.

“Oh my god,” Kimberly said. “He’s coming this way.”

We had heard references to the mayor here and there, but we had never actually seen him. We knew he was involved in the Throughline from the writings in the Atlas, but to what extent, we couldn’t be sure.

Curiously, on the red wallpaper, his name was Mayor Roderick Gray. To my great surprise, he was a level 3 NPC, just like most of the people we had seen so far. I had expected an ultimate antagonist or similar. It was still possible that he was the bad guy being disguised by the narrative and powerful tropes, but I could not be certain.

He got closer. Behind him, an entourage of yes-men and security personnel walked. He waved at the families participating in the festivities and said, “Welcome to Carousel!” to everyone who made eye contact.

As he walked toward us, I scanned for Omens. Still, there were none. Soon enough, he was upon us. He was practically right next to us on the sidewalk. He turned, looked right at each of us, smiled warmly, and said, “Welcome to Carousel, the town where movies come to life!”

Then he and his followers walked across the street toward a booth about civic engagement. He never looked back.

“Seems like a nice guy,” Bobby said nonchalantly.

Somehow that was even more unnerving.