The wind rushing from the tangled rollercoasters overhead, made the fogged air spin from my mouth.  As I looked around at the gleaming rails and colorful game tents, the shiny black camera gripped inside my blue, woolen gloves, gravitated towards the giant brown teddy bear above a balloon pop game.

With a quick couple of snaps of the neon background against the fuzzy prize, I hardly even noticed Reina approach me as I scrolled, mesmerized by the incredible shots I’d taken.

“..it going?,” Reina enthusiastically said to me.

“Huh?,” I replied, shaking my mind clear to focus on her.

“I was asking how your photo-sesh was going,” she said as her eyebrows furrowed and her tone flattened.  “Are you okay?”

“Oh, sorry, Reina.  I guess I was just so focused on the perfect angle I didn’t even notice you.”  I used my free hand to rub my chilled eyelids as my icy-blue eyes focused back on her; her face covered in disbelief.

“And, my photoshoot?  Yeah, not going exactly as I planned.”  I turned my head back down to mess with my camera’s settings as Reina watched me inquisitively.

“What’s wrong with it?,” she asked, confused.

“I’m not sure…  It’s been acting up ever since I got here,” I said banging on the camera’s side.

“Weird…  Well, I’m sure your pictures will turn out great either way.”  She then slowly raised her arm, placing it on my shoulder. “Oh, and by the way, Curious wanted me to tell you he had something for you,” she said as the corner of her mouth lifted into an intense smirk.  “You might want to go kiss- I mean, check it out.” She turned away and giggled to herself as her dark brown, curly hair bounced against her back. I shook my head, smiling, as I continued to play with the buttons on my camera.

A moment later, I made my way over to the hot chocolate stand I last saw Curious standing beside.  As I approached him sitting at a small metal table, I could feel my heart rate increase and my palms get sweaty.  For some reason, every single time I see his bright smile and his chestnut eyes meet mine, my heart melts and goosebumps overlap my skin.  I know it’s wrong. We’ve been best friends for our whole lives - seventeen years to be exact - and every time his name crosses my mind, I feel as though I’m free and anything is possible.

“Hey, Leah,” Curious beamed, handing me a warm mug of hot cocoa.

“Oh, hey, Cur.  I’m guessing this is what you wanted to give me?,” I blushed.

“Yeah,” he laughed as I watched him fiddle with his thumbs.  “I thought you could use it as hard as you work.”

Just then, a gust of wind whisked around us, blowing my blonde hair around the strap of my Canon camera.  As I reached down to untangle my hair, I pulled on a strand that was oddly unfamiliar. It was short and black with a hint of curl in it.  As I pulled it out of the crease of my retractable screen, I looked up just as Curious ran his fingers through his short, black, curly hair…

“Hello-o-o?  Earth to Leah,” Curious snapped in front of my mesmerized face.

“Oh, sorry, Curious.  Hey, do you think we could meet up later?  I really should be getting back to my job.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Great,” I replied taking my camera and walking towards my next photoshoot.

While dodging through the crowds of people, I stopped dead in my tracks as the screen of my camera lit up on the front of my zipped up leather jacket.  Pictures I’ve never seen before cause my mind to start spinning while looking at them.

Each are of teddy bears, the same familiar, brown, fluffy bears, covered in patches of blood, hidden around the park.  I then began to pick up speed as I breathe hard, and fast. As I swim past the floods of people, I see a small paw in the distance.  My pace becomes slower as I see the teddy bear sitting atop of the horse inside of the carousel, looking me dead in the eyes.

“Leah, Leah!,” my boss yells, shaking me back into reality.

“Leah, are you okay?  You missed your shift two hours ago,” my boss said to me.

I looked down at the watch on my wrist and then back up to meet his eyes.  “Has it been that long already?,” I questioned, staring in disbelief.

“Yes, now let’s get you to where you need to be.”

As he spoke, his fingertips wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him as we unintentionally walked in sync.

An hour later, as I finished up my shift, my camera began to grow warm against my palms.  As I picked it up to look at the screen, my heart stopped in place. More pictures, none of which I had taken.  The first, a picture of the letter “R.” I could tell it had been taken above the restrooms where two neon signs spelled “Rest Stop.”  The next, a letter “U” from the rusty Merry-Go-Round sign at the east side of the park. And the last of the letter “N” from the entrance sign, two-hundred feet behind me.

R.U.N.

Before my mind has a chance to wrap itself around what I have just read, I feel my feet lift from below me and away from where I was just standing.  Faster and faster I run until I find myself locking the door of my boss, Chrismon’s, office behind me.

I look around the dark musty room and feel the walls until I reach a single hanging light cord and pull it down and hard.  I cannot believe my eyes. Pictures upon pictures of me are hanging on his walls, along with a seven inch knife, covered in blood.  Beside it lay a ripped photo of Curious and I, pieces of black curly hair on top. I stumble backwards at a loss for words, dumbfounded at this discovery.

All of a sudden I feel the door handle jiggle and then cave in with Chrismon following right behind it.

“You weren’t supposed to see this Leah Prep…,” Chrismon exclaimed with an evil smile.  Quickly, I headed for the door to escape this trap but was stopped short when Chris grabbed my ankle.  I screamed and cried for help, but it was no use. I knew my time was coming to an end. But as I was being dragged across the floor my body became lim and the movement was gone.  I regained my balance and looked up through the hazy air to see Curious standing above me, knife in hand. This whole moment came so fast that my vision began to go black as I fall asleep… police sirens ringing in the distance.