Nightmare at the Fun-house

“Daddy,” the little girl cheerfully asked her father, “can we go to the fun-house now?”

“Well…” the man said, a smile on his face. “Ok!”

“Yay! Fun-house, fun-house, we’re going to the fun-house!” squeaked the small seven year old.

“Oh, but wait sweetie, I’m too big to go, you’ll have to go by yourself. I’ll be waiting by the exit for you when you’re done ok?”

“Well…” said the little girl, mimicking her father’s smile. “Ok!”

As the father and daughter walked through the fair-grounds, searching for the big fun-house, they had no idea of the impending disaster. The little girl skipping along, swinging her father’s hand, had no idea what would happen within the hour. The father, clueless as his daughter, amused himself by looking at stands and prizes. At last they reached the entrance of the big fun-house.

“Three tickets please,” said the man in front of the attraction.

The father handed the man the tickets and said to the little girl, “Remember, I’ll be waiting for you by the exit.” The girl nodded and ran to start the maze that began the fun-house.

The maze was made out of clear plastic so you could see through it all the way to the back. In the maze you could not tell where a wall was until you hit it, either with your face or your outstretched hands. The father watched the girl try dead end after dead end and wondered how long she would take. He looked to the back of the maze and saw a strange red glow.

“Sir,” the father asked the ticket taker, “what it that red glow at the end of the maze?” The ticket man looked around and a look of horror crossed his face.

“Oh my, Go- FIRE! FIRE!” he smacked down the magazine he was reading and got out his cell phone.

“Zoe!!!” cried the father, the girl turned to face him, alarmed by his anxious tone. “Zoe get out of there now! Come back this way right now please sweetie!” The father proceeded to go in the maze just as the ticket man hung up the phone.

“Wait!” shouted the man as he ran towards the father. “The fire department is on its way, and if you’re going in there you might want this.” He handed the father a map of the maze. Meanwhile the girl was frantically trying to find her way back out.

“Keep coming to me, Zoe!” said the father as he raced towards the girl, but he took two steps and slammed into a wall. He cursed and got up again, this time with his hand outstretched. He looked at the map but had lost it when he fell; it had slid under a wall of plastic into another passage. He cursed again and ran blindly through the maze. Meanwhile the girl was marking her progress with tickets, dropping them at intervals to remember where she had been, but she had to pace herself, she only had 18 tickets- not enough to cover the whole maze. The two of them wandered and raced around the maze for a short while as the fire crept closer and closer. It had now engulfed almost half the maze, people who were lucky enough to be outside were either gathering around the maze or fleeing from the fair grounds. Smoke was billowing from the fun-house in huge towers that blended in with the night sky. Fire trucks and ambulances were just starting to arrive. And in the maze the father and daughter were not yet reunited.

The father had kept his eyes only on his child during his time in the maze and was alarmed when he felt the heat of fire against his skin. He was so startled that he backed up and hit another wall; he fell to the ground and scrambled backwards on the ground until he was safe from the flames. When he turned to look for Zoe he found her right behind him, separated only by a pane of plastic. She was crying to him, but he couldn’t hear her over the crackling of the fire almost directly behind him. He motioned for her to run to the entrance which was not too far away. The firemen were here now, some unleashing hoses onto the fun-house, others entering the fiery maze to try to save the father and daughter. But instead of simply walking through the maze they broke through it. They swung axes at the panes shattered on contact. But although they were making a bee line for the two people they were not going fast enough. The fire began to engulf the father, and though he tried desperately to avoid it, he could not, for he was in a dead-end. The fire caught his legs and he blacked out as the fire-men smashed the pane of plastic that held his daughter. A fire-man carried her out, and two more desperately tried to rescue the father.

As the two bodies, one unconscious and the other weeping were sent off to hospitals in ambulances, the fire was finally put to an end. It was later learned that someone had started a small flame in the back that had caught an electrical outlet and caused almost all of the fun-house to burn, along with two stands that were on either side of it. Whether on purpose or accidently, the fire caused the father to live in intensive care for almost a week, then in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.