D A Novel (George Right) - By George Right Page 0,55

can spend the money for something better.”

"Just admit that you are afraid," Jane continued to badger him. "And not of accidents. You're afraid of the rides!”

"Why do you say I'm afraid? I simply don't understand what pleasure it is to dangle upside down...”

"Well, don't ride with me. Just stand nearby and wait if you are such a little coward," she affectedly sighed. "You can hold my purse.”

"Listen to you being all brave! " Mike lost his patience. "Remember our trip to New York? You dragged me to Coney Island and there–to those, what were they called– 'Air races' with airplanes that flipped over... And who was vomiting even before that ride stopped?”

"I shouldn't have eaten those cakes before I got on the ride," Jane waved away his complaint. "And I took it into account for the future. But does it mean that I should stay off rides the rest of my life because I got sick once?”

Mike had understood from the very beginning that resistance was useless and, as one could expect, two days later–11 a.m. Saturday–he and Jane entered the carnival area, which was enclosed by a high chain link fence.

Long ago in this not too cozy suburban place had been a meat factory combined with a slaughterhouse; however business was bad and it eventually burned out in the most literal sense: one night it was destroyed by flames. There was gossip that the fire had been set either by some animal rights fanatics or by the factory owner himself who decided to cash in at least on the insurance. It was also rumored that there were several casualties, though only one was known for sure–the night watchman. Possibly, rumors were promoted by the large number of charred bones found in the ashes–which was no wonder, considering the type of factory it had been. The burned-out buildings were beyond repair and for a time, despite the fence and strict “keep out” signs, they remained an attractive place for the town's boys who were looking for adventure, creepy stories and dismal souvenirs like chains and meat hooks or the aforementioned charred bones–until one of these boys fell down into the basement and broke his backbone. His friends were frightened and ran away and the boy lay there in dirty ice-cold water for almost a day before the search began. When he was finally rescued, he was still alive and conscious–but the way he looked made even hard-boiled police officers shudder: while the kid was lying there paralyzed and helpless, rats gnawed his face and almost completely chewed off his fingers.

What became of the ill-fated boy was unclear. Some said that he died in the hospital of blood poisoning. Others said that doctors saved him, but, as they added, mournfully shaking their heads, "It would have been better for him if he had died, much better.” It was known for sure only that soon after his accident his family left town.

This terrible story–and the mass outrage of the town's parents caused by it—made the city authorities demolish the scorched ruins at last. The grounds remained vacant for many years, enclosed by a chain link fence; the tin plates fastened to it which promised a penalty for trespassing and for garbage dumping rusted and peeled off so badly that their stern warnings became almost unreadable. Several times the site was offered for sale, but the town's businessmen, knowing its history, weren't eager to set up their businesses there. Over the years, however, the gloomy story of the meat factory was remembered less and less and many young people of the new generation, including Jane (who had just reached her eighteenth birthday), never even heard about it. And now, apparently, the grounds were leased to the traveling carnival.

The idea to come here in the morning also belonged to Jane, as she hoped that mornings would have fewer visitors. And she had been right–the carnival was almost deserted. Most likely, the reason was not so much the almost-forgotten reputation of the grounds as much as the cloudy and windy weather and the lack of advertizing. There were no lines to get on any of the rides, but it was necessary to wait for another reason: the workers didn't want to run their whirligigs and cars half-empty and wouldn't start the rides before a number of customers had gathered.

This didn't discourage Jane. Nothing prevented her from chatting cheerfully with Mike, who of course wasn't content with the role of purse keeper and willy-nilly accompanied her