Terror-Fest: Dementia's Madness Carnival

October 31, 2010 – Halloween

The sun had lowered in the distance, past the towering buildings that surrounded the lush green fields of Central Park. This oasis in the jungle of towering steel and glass has always been a hallmark of beauty for the city, a place where city dwellers could reconnect with the nature that they get to see so little of. But now, in the beginning wake of fall, when the leaves begin to turn and die, when the wind begins to bite and the darkness comes just a little earlier, a large section of this park has been transformed, altered, and made into a nightmarish vision that chills the blood and quivers the soul. Yet it is not because of demonic forces that this change has occurred. No, instead it is all for the sake of…fun and good times.

Tonight is Halloween and for a special cause, Central Park has been transformed into a devilish playground for men, women and children to gather candy, party and have fun, but the biggest and most important rule for people who are attending is to be someone else. The reasoning for this was a good one, one that people could not ignore. Started by a wealthy family looking to raise funds for the New York Children’s Hospital, the Adams Family (pun intended), threw together Terror-Fest, a Halloween event where half of all proceeds will go to the hospital and allow people to have fun, as well as do something good for their community.

With no expense too high, Terror-fest has already been hailed as one of the most hyped and excitement inducing events of the year. Foods, rides, parties, and plenty of thrilling surprises were to be available to all who attended. It would be a night that nobody would ever want to forget. Only thing was that costumes were a necessity. People were not allowed to be themselves here. After all…that’s the point of Halloween isn’t it?

Central Park, the glorious fields of green have been sectioned off into several “zones”. One of these zones entitled, “Dementia’s Madness Carnival” has been created into a hellish parody of the children’s carnivals that so many people have been to in their youth. Booths of games have become side shows to nightmares and horrors, where people hurl human heads at stacked bottles, throw darts to pop balloons filled with blood, and straight-jacketed clowns scream and leap out of every corner. The most impressive of these twisted ideas though, is the massive ferris wheel that dominates the heart of the Dementia’s Carnival. The wheel, midnight black but accented in lights of fiery red, displayed demonic heads with gapping mouths that passengers are to climb in to begin their rise and fall. From afar, the attraction looks more like a twelve headed demon.

In this wonderland of madness, people ran to and fro in costume. Some as superheroes, others as historic figures or villains, but many, many more of them were monsters or hellish creatures. Around the food stands, all of which offered disgusting named version of popular carnival fare people crowded, laughed and had good times. It was a fun night for both the alive, the dead and the undead, but as the sky darkened and the stars began to pierce through the inky canvas above, a sense of foreboding began.

What was it about the night? Everything that was laid out during the day, but there was something about the absent of light above that made people cringe and adrenaline pulse. In the blackness of this zone, lit only by the maddening, pulsating lights from all about people laughed a little harder and were a little more on edge. But what was there to fear? It was just a carnival.

***
Jorge Cervantes, detective for the NYPD, MRC division sighed as he walked across the grass and ignored the smirks and nods from the costumed people around him. He still could not believe he was doing this, but the chief said that they needed volunteers to be at the charity function, but they had to be in costume. Jorge had not planned to go but since he started dating a wonderful woman by the name of Gemma, it figured it would be a good place for them to simply have some fun. Though he still could not believe that he was in costume.

“I’m going to kill that costume store clerk,” Jorge sighed as he walked through the park and kept a wary eye on everyone.

He had volunteered for the event last minute and by the time he made time to go to the costume store, unfortunately most of the good, and basically cheap costumes were gone. Because of that…well…there was only one choice he could go with. And in all honesty, Jorge really was no amused by the irony of it.

As he walked across the grass, his robes of white and green waved with each of his sandal covered steps. Across his chest there was draped a toga of gauzy sea green that shimmered as it flapped behind him in the evening breeze and in his hand he clutched a toy trident of plastic gold. He wanted to scratch his chin, but he could not due to the fact that he wore a fake white beard and flowing white hair. He could have sworn when he put those on that he looked like his great uncle Valentino whom he had only met once when he was a small boy. And now, he wanted to remove it, but it was part of the costume. And, atop that mass of white hair, he wore a single fake ground of sea green and gold. That’s right boys and ghouls…Jorge Cervantes, MRC detective, mutant with the ability to manipulate water was dressed as Neptune god of the seas.

Jorge sighed as he passed by a house of mirrors and caught his reflection glaring back at him from one of their polished surfaces that lined the outside. “I am not amused.”

He shook his head as he walked one. When he last spoke to Gemma, she said she’d meet him at one of the refreshment stands. He could only wonder what she was dressed as.