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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/horrorfan_9 on 2024-11-25 03:24:29+00:00.

We had a tradition, my friends and I—a kind of thrill-seeking ritual. On weekends, we’d explore abandoned places at night, documenting the crumbling remains of history. Most of the time, it was just creaking wood, flaking paint, and the occasional scare from a rat or stray cat. Nothing supernatural. Nothing we couldn’t laugh about later. But the last time we went exploring… it wasn’t like the others.

It started when Darren, the ringleader of our little group, revealed our destination that night: an old amusement park just off the beaten path. “I found it on some urbex forum,” he said, grinning. “Totally untouched. No graffiti, no security. It’s like it’s frozen in time.”

The rest of us—Kate, Benny, and I—were hesitant but intrigued. We piled into Darren’s beat-up SUV and made our way there. The park was cloaked in mist, its faded neon signs barely visible in the moonlight. The metal gates were bent open, as if something massive had forced its way in. Rusted rides loomed like skeletal monsters in the fog, their silence oppressive.

At first, it was the usual fare—snapping pictures, laughing at Benny’s attempts to climb the carousel. But then we noticed it: a shadow moving in the distance, just beyond the Ferris wheel. At first, we thought it was an animal. Then it moved again—too tall, too deliberate to be anything but a person.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kate whispered, her voice trembling. Darren scoffed, but even he looked uneasy.

We decided to hide, thinking maybe it was security or some other explorers. The employee lounge was the closest building, so we ducked inside. It was dark, the air thick with rot and mildew. Kate found a light switch, and that’s when we saw them—the bodies.

They were arranged like a grotesque art exhibit. Some were seated at a table, playing cards, their decomposed hands holding disintegrated cards. Others were propped against the walls, dressed in decayed uniforms, their faces twisted in eternal screams. The stench hit us then, and Benny vomited in the corner.

“We need to leave. Now,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. The others nodded, their faces pale.

We bolted out of the building, but that’s when it appeared. The thing. It stood in the center of the midway, illuminated by a flickering streetlamp. Its body was hunched, grotesque, its skin like cracked porcelain. Its face—or what should have been a face—was a swirling mass of darkness, like the void itself.

It let out a sound—a guttural, bone-chilling howl—that froze us in our tracks. Then it lunged.

Chaos erupted. Darren shoved me toward the car, yelling, “Go!” before the creature grabbed him, its long, clawed arms dragging him into the shadows. His screams cut off abruptly. Benny tried to fight it, swinging a piece of debris, but it swatted him aside like a toy. Kate and I ran together, but she tripped. I turned to help her, but the thing was already on her. She screamed as it dragged her away, her voice echoing in the night.

I ran. The car was in sight. I fumbled with the keys, tears streaming down my face, and finally managed to start it. As I sped away, I looked in the rearview mirror. The creature stood in the road, watching, its head tilting as if in curiosity.

The next day, I went to the police. They didn’t believe me at first, but when they checked the park, they found the bodies in the employee lounge. Darren, Kate, and Benny were nowhere to be found.

Neither was the creature.

Now, every time I close my eyes, I see it—the swirling void where its face should be. And I know, deep down, it’s still out there, waiting for its next visitors.