Better Not Cry, page 14
part #8 of Rebekka Franck Series
William shrieked.
"What happened, Mommy? Where’s the wardrobe? I want to see the wardrobe; where is she?"
"I…I guess the movie is over," I said, just as something else came onto the screen. Something far more terrifying than the sweet opera-singing wardrobe from the movie.
"Mommy? Is that…Santa?"
I gasped and pulled my son back, away from the mirror.
"Let's get out of here," I said as the grinning face approached us and poked his entire head out of the screen, staring down at us, laughing so loud it bounced off of the brick walls surrounding us.
"Mommy?" William said, his voice shaking. "Why does Santa have such long teeth?"
"I don't know, sweetie," I said, looking around the room, my eyes settling on some of Maurice's tools, wondering if they were real and if I could pick them up in case it became necessary.
"Mommy? Why are Santa's eyes so red?"
"I…I don't know that either, Will."
Santa poked out his hand toward us, reaching for us, when William asked, his voice shivering:
"Mommy? Why does Santa have such long dirty nails? And why is he looking at us the way he is?"
I felt the panic rush through me but stood as if paralyzed. I backed up slowly, pulling Will with me, grabbing the door handle behind me, turning it, fumbling for a firm grasp on the knob, my hand slipping because it was wet with sweat. As I managed to get a firmer grasp on it and tried to turn it, the door didn't open. Turning the knob more frantically didn't help. I closed my eyes, panic rising in my mind, threatening to spill over. I fought against it and stood there perfectly still, holding my son like a statue with a pulse pounding in its throat.
Crazily, I thought, I could call for help.
But who would come? Who would believe me? Who would make it in time?
I put the back of my hand up to my mouth and bit down on it. I tried to think, to push back the panic of my beating heart and just think.
But all that came to my mind were images of Sydney, her chest ripped open, and of Sara—poor Sara Andrews—dangling from a string of Christmas lights. And for now, all I could do was simply stand still, hands tightly wrapped around my son, my face alarmed, my eyes beginning to bulge.
"I'm scared, Mommy!"
Will was chewing his pacifier loudly. I felt my nostrils flaring and the sides of my mouth pulling down into a dreadful grimace of horror. My brain wanted to scream, to shout, to call for someone to come, but I couldn't.
William was whimpering. I could feel his small body bouncing between my hands. I tried to turn the knob behind me again, first to one side, then the other.
Santa was grinning, approaching William, reaching out his long nails toward him, his red glowing eyes set on the boy. His breath smelled like candy when he spoke, his voice hissing, yet alluring.
"W-i-i-i-li-a-am. Come to Santa, William. Santa will grant you a-a-all your wishes. Have you been a goo-oo-ood boy, huh, William? Or have you been NAUGHTY?"
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! MOMMY!"
Frantically, I pulled the knob and shook the door behind me. I turned around and knocked on it, hard, panicking as I slammed my fists into it, when it was suddenly opened from the outside and I rushed out, William’s hand in mine with William crying and screaming.
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"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, it was awful!"
William ran to Sune and threw himself in his lap. Sune looked at me, then down at the boy.
"What's going on? Buddy? Are you okay? What happened?"
"We have to get out of here," I said and grabbed Sune's chair and started to push him, rushing out of Belle's village, out of Fantasyland.
"Where are we going, Rebekka?" Sune asked.
People were jumping out of the way to not get hit by the wheelchair; some complained and yelled at us angrily, but I didn't care. My heart was still pounding loudly and I had to get away, as far away from this place as possible.
We slowed down in front of Prince Charming's Carousel. William sniffled and started begging to go on the carousel, so I told him I would go on the ride with him.
Sune grabbed my hand as we were leaving to get in line.
"What the heck is going on, Rebekka? What happened inside that house? What scared him so much?"
I really didn't want to talk about it, but he deserved an explanation. I drew in a deep breath, wondering what to tell him. I knew he would never believe me if I told him the truth.
Will threw me under the bus.
"Santa," he said, still chewing on his pacifier. "Scary Santa."
Sune's eyes grew wide. "Again with the Santa? Why are you filling him with all this nonsense, Rebekka? You're completely ruining Christmas for him. Now he's scared of Santa? You did that to him, Rebekka. You're the one filling him with all this stuff."
"Carousel, carousel," Will begged, pulling my hand.
I didn't want to fight with Sune anymore, so I just turned my back on him and followed my son into the line. It didn't take long before I was sitting on a horse, Will on the one next to me, seemingly already forgetting everything. If only I had the mind of a child. I, for one, couldn't shake the experience and the dread was still inside of me, my hands still shaking. It couldn't have been just an illusion, could it? William saw it too. Just like the big kids had seen the blood in the chimney, but Sune hadn't seen any of it.
Because you'll start believing in him. He only comes to those who believe
Those had been the words of Sara Andrews. She had warned me. She had told me that if she told me her story, I would start believing he was real, that this terrible version of our beloved jolly Santa was real. And so, he would come for me. Was that what had happened to Dr. Hahn? To Sydney's dad?
Sune hasn't seen him. He hasn't heard the stories, so he doesn't believe it.
I realized that Sune's ignorance and ability to refuse to believe what I told him were actually what was saving him from also entering this nightmare. It was what was keeping him safe. I didn't need to convince him that it was real; I needed him to convince me it wasn't.
The carousel spun around and around, faster and faster, and I enjoyed the wind on my face, trying to let this entire experience dissipate from my memory, shaking it, letting the crazy pitchy carousel music into my mind, letting it take over while replacing all the bad thoughts with good ones, as the horse went up and down.
Up and down.
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As I got off the carousel, William’s hand in mine, Julie and Tobias came running up to us.
"Mom, the Oh-so-Jolly Holiday Parade is about to start," she said. "We need to get a good spot."
I kissed my daughter and held her close.
"Mom, what's the matter?"
I shook my head. "Nothing. I just missed you. That's all. Did you have fun on the rides?"
"Yes," Julie said. "Tobias and I went on everything. Space Mountain is sooo much fun. You should try it, Mom."
I laughed. "I think I’m a little too old for that."
"Here they come," Tobias said.
The loud music drowned out everything else, as the parade approached us in a sea of lights. People gathered around us and soon we were standing very close. A lady next to me held up her phone to make a video while dancing and I wondered what kind of video she would end up with.
"There's Donald Duck," Will exclaimed. He started to wave and Donald waved back while dancing down the street to the most joyful Christmas music.
"And Chip and Dale," Tobias said and waved. The chipmunks waved back.
"And Elsa!" Julie said, sounding a little more excited than she wanted to as the entire cast of Frozen filed by.
"BELLE!" William gave me a blissful smile as his favorite princess showed up, riding on a float made from a giant stack of books.
A set of trumpet-and-drum-playing toy soldiers followed, along with reindeer and Goofy, Minnie, and finally a Christmas-dressed Mickey Mouse. The kids waved and danced to the music, while I took pictures with my phone. It was truly spectacular and everything I had hoped it would be.
It had gotten dark out and the parade glittered beautifully in the darkness. Fake snow was falling from the lampposts in a bluish light. People on skis, with wheels underneath, rushed by, pretending to be skiing. And then came Olaf to the tune of Let It Snow. Olaf giggled loudly, then passed us.
"Pluto!" Will said.
"Peter Pan," Tobias said.
"Winnie the Pooh," Julie said.
"Santa!" Sune said and pointed.
I stopped waving and froze as the float carrying Santa came toward us in the distance. He was sitting in a huge sleigh, reindeer and elves dancing in front of it, Christmas lights glowing around it. Bells were ringing, loud jingle bells, and Santa was waving from atop it. The music shifted to Santa Claus is Coming to Town and all the kids around us cheered.
Except William.
He backed up into my arms and hid.
"Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus," they all chanted.
Sune was probably the loudest of them all. He was so happy, singing along, getting Julie and Tobias to sing as well. Meanwhile, I could feel William's small hand shaking in mine.
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The sight of Santa was scaring me but I felt safe with all these people around me. Yet, I kept William close as the float filed by us, Santa waving and laughing merrily from it.
Julie and Tobias waved back eagerly and Santa looked down at them, holding his belly and waving back.
I held my breath as he passed William and me, then finally breathed freely as it was almost past us and Santa focused on what was ahead, on the kids standing next to us.
And then he turned his head.
I gasped and backed up into someone standing behind me, pulling William with me. Santa's red glowing eyes were on us now, and he was smiling that awful smile of his behind the thick beard, showing off his pointy teeth.
"M-mommy?" Will said.
"Let's get out of here," I said and elbowed myself out of the crowd. With Will’s hand in mine, I walked fast away from the parade, away from the crowd and the loud noise, my heart pounding in my chest.
"Peter Pan!" Will said happily and pointed at a small roller coaster ride behind us called Peter Pan's Flight.
I stared at the parade and Santa disappearing. "You wanna go on that? We can do that," I said and hurried to the entrance of it before everyone else came from watching the parade and created a line. I texted Sune and let him know where we were.
Will and I were the first to get in. We found a carriage and sat down and a second later the ride began. William was still shaking as we took off into the world of Peter Pan, starting in the bedroom where Wendy and her siblings were getting ready for bed. It was a very sweet and quiet ride and soon it made me relax and breathe normally again. Next, we were pulled upward and flew above the housetops, floating like we were flying with Peter Pan. William sucked his pacifier and looked down, pointing.
"Grandpa."
"You think grandpa is living down there," I said with a chuckle. I realized I missed him terribly and wondered if he was all right, while flying in our little carriage above the Thames, Big Ben beneath us.
"Neverland," William said dreamily and pointed as the landscape below us changed to cliffs and lakes.
"Pirates," he said, concerned, when we spotted a pirate ship. Will lifted his arm, his eyebrows wrinkled. "Hook."
"I know," I said looking behind me to make sure Santa hadn't followed us in here. There was no one in the seats in front of us or behind us. There was nothing to worry about. I turned back to look at the scenery in front of us.
"Captain Hook. That's him right there, see? He's fighting with someone. Who's he fighting with, Will?"
William smiled widely. "Peter Pan!"
Hook and Pan were rocking back and forth in the old display of them in a sword battle on top of the pirate ship, balancing on the boom. It was cute and a little amusing.
"Don't like Hook," Will said, shaking his head.
"You don't like Hook? Well, no one likes him, I guess."
"I'll get you, Peter Pan," Hook yelled over the speakers and they kept fighting, when suddenly Hook stopped what he was doing and jumped out of the scenery, onto our carriage.
His red eyes glowed at us as he swung his hook at us, yelling: "What do you want for Christmas, Will, what do you want? What do you want? Huh? Huh?"
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The hook swung above my head just as I ducked, and it slammed into the pole behind me. William screamed. I grabbed him in my arms and ducked again as the hook once again came toward me.
"Mommy!"
"We gotta get out of this ride," I said and was about to jump out, when suddenly the carriage moved faster, spinning out of control. I was thrown back in the seat as the exhibition rushed past us, the carriage going faster and faster. I was screaming at the top of my lungs and William was as well. We came close to the exit, but the ride didn't stop, it just hurried past the platform where all the next guests were waiting to get in, then rushed back inside the ride once again. People screamed and so did I. Still, the wagon was accelerating, going faster than any roller coaster I had ever been in.
"Stop it, Mommy! Make it stop," Will cried.
Meanwhile, Hook, who had now turned into Santa—yet still with the hook for a hand—was sitting above us on the plastic carriage's boom, laughing, yelling out into the air.
"Tell me what you want for Christmas, Will!!"
Once again, we rushed past the entire exhibition, then out to the outside where people were still screaming as we rushed past them back inside, where the ride continued all over.
"Stop it," I cried. "Just make it stop."
Santa jumped into the carriage, sitting in the seats in front of us, looking back at us, smirking, showing off his spiky teeth. He was giggling.
"I brought your little friend," he said.
In front of me sat Sydney. My heart literally stopped, but as I looked at her, I realized it wasn't really her. Her eyes were different.
"I love Christmas," she said. "It's my favorite time of year. Where I am now it's Christmas all year around. Doesn’t that sound like FUN?"
I looked behind her and saw Tobin, Dr. Hahn, the girl from the carol singing choir, along with hundreds of other dead faces sitting inside the carriages, riding the ride. I could hear them singing Christmas carols.
I was breathing in short shallow gasps as I watched Sydney's face disappear and Santa return. He was laughing as we rushed toward the exit once again, passed the crowd outside, and back inside the ride. I wondered if it would ever stop. I felt so nauseous, it almost hurt.
Santa held the hook out in front of us, then swung it once again, missing my head by an inch. I gasped and ducked down to the bottom of the carriage, pulling Will with me. Santa was laughing above us. I heard his boots land next to us inside the carriage, closed my eyes, and prepared for it all to be over. The hook hit me first on the arm, penetrated the skin and went in deep, blood spurting out. I screamed when suddenly the carriage stopped abruptly. Santa was swung over the edge and flew onto the tracks. The wagon then started to back up, going back outside where a crowd had gathered. Two security guards helped us get out and some official representing Disney came up to us. He looked like he was fifteen.
"I am so sorry, ma’am. I can't tell you how awful we all feel. This has never happened before."
He looked at my arm. It was bleeding heavily. "Oh, my," he said. "Do you want us to take you to see a medical professional? We have paramedics waiting right down here."
I nodded, unable to speak. Will was clinging to my leg.
I spotted Sune in front of us, rolling closer, his face concerned. "What happened?"
I scoffed, then shook my head and let the paramedic attend to my wound.
"The ride got stuck somehow," the official person explained. "We will, of course, have to close it down till we figure out what happened. And you'll get compensation. And free annual passes, naturally."
I didn't care much about what the man said. My heart was still pounding in my chest, but I didn't want to tell Sune anything. I just wanted to get out of there, fast.
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I had to have stitches in my arm to close up the wound, so they took me to the nearest emergency room and patched me up. It was painful, but to be honest, the worst part was all the waiting.
Before they could release me, I had to sign a ton of papers stating I wasn't going to sue Disney World. When I was finally done, I found the kids and Sune waiting for me in the lobby of the hospital.
The kids all hugged me and Julie asked if my arm was okay. I told her it would be. Will was more concerned about me being able to unwrap presents for Christmas.
We drove back toward Cocoa Beach. No one spoke for the longest part of the ride, except for a few sentences about how good it was going to be to get back home and how we really needed a quiet night’s sleep.
My arm hurt but I could still drive and I just wanted to get back to the beach house and as far away from Disney World and Orlando as possible. The kingdom didn't seem so magical to me anymore. Neither did Florida or Cocoa Beach, for that matter. I just really missed home.
I had called my dad from the hospital to tell him what had happened. I didn't go into detail but explained that I had been in an accident and that I was getting stitches. He wasn't feeling well, he said. The nurse said he had a bladder infection again, but it was really hurting this time, he said. I was worried about him. And I felt terrible for abandoning him at Christmas. Who knew if it would be his last?
We entered the beach house and I dropped my backpack on the floor, then threw myself on the couch. William had slept in the car, so he was awake now and wanted to watch a movie. Against my better judgment, but in order to have a little peace and quiet, I put on Beauty and the Beast. The big kids went on their computers upstairs before bedtime and, to my surprise, Sune didn't retract to the media room, but rolled up next to the couch and sat with us, while being on his iPad.
