Chapter 301
It was a release, a spontaneous catharsis that transformed a horror simulation into absurd intimacy.
For Theo, who was still observing from a safe distance, that laughter was confirmation.
Their emotional pattern repeated itself once again.
Fear that reached its peak instead reversed into a joy that bonded them together.
"AAAAH! That one, Ilux—that one! Its hair is so long!"
"HAHAHA! Erietta, your scream is way more startling than the ghost!"
"Huh, really?! You were the one who jumped when that statue suddenly moved!"
"Yeah, yeah, I admit it. But did you see the 'ghost's' expression just now? It actually got startled when we screamed back!"
"Funny, isn't it? It feels like we're just playing tag, not actually being scared."
"Exactly! Way more fun than just being tense. Come on, they said there's another maze ahead!"
The atmosphere inside the belly of the haunted house attraction had fundamentally changed.
The tension that once hung thick like fog had been swept aside by a wind of familiarity carried by laughter.
After that moment at the dark corner, the frightening experience turned into a kind of personal theater for Erietta and Ilux.
The exaggerated screams that still occasionally burst from their mouths into the darkness had now lost their core of genuine fear.
They were deliberate screams, staged ones, ending with smiles or even restrained laughter before fully spilling out.
Erietta, in particular, seemed to have found her new rhythm.
She was no longer truly gripped by dread, but instead played with the sensation of horror, enjoying the adrenaline without allowing it to fully dominate her.
The screams she let out became a form of active participation in the attraction's narrative, a way to animate the experience while mocking the fear she no longer felt.
A new routine took shape.
Every time a frightening silhouette or a ghost-costumed actor suddenly emerged from behind a wall or dropped from the ceiling, their reactions followed a predictable pattern.
Erietta would pretend to be utterly shocked, jumping while releasing a dramatic, high-pitched scream, then running a few steps ahead.
Ilux, walking beside her, no longer joined in fearfully screaming, but instead greeted the brief performance with booming laughter, teasing Erietta's silliness and pretense.
This dynamic was reciprocal.
When it was Ilux's turn to overreact to a surprise, perhaps with a deliberately rough and exaggerated shout, Erietta would laugh back at him with a shrill, triumphant voice.
They became both audience and performers for one another, turning every jump scare designed by the attraction into material for their private jokes.
Often, instead of screaming, the two teenagers burst into laughter right in front of the "ghost" trying to scare them, then ran off quickly while still chattering that the actor's appearance was too clichéd or showed up at a boring moment.
There was no longer any real fear, only the light of joy dancing within the darkness they had conquered.
"Hahaha—"
The exit door of the haunted house opened, spilling the two teenagers back into the world of light and sound of the bustling amusement park.
The contrast between the thick darkness they had just left and the glare of spotlights and colorful rides was so sharp it felt as if they had stepped from one dimension into another.
Yet the energy they carried from inside did not remain behind that creaking door.
Erietta and Ilux stepped out with flushed faces and breath still ragged, not from fear, but from uncontrollable bursts of laughter.
They looked like two people who had just shared the greatest secret in the world, their bodies still trembling with waves of joy that refused to subside.
Their steps were unsteady, not from weakness, but because their stomachs were constantly wracked by the lingering humor clinging to every memory of the dark adventure.
Every glance, every breath, seemed to reignite funny memories of exaggerated screams, frantic running, and their own foolishness in front of the costumed actors.
Their laughter burst into the open air, honest chuckles and booming guffaws, drawing a few passing glances from other visitors.
But Erietta and Ilux did not seem to care at all.
They were submerged in the bubble of their own world, a world they had just built together in dusty corridors and surprise-filled rooms.
Their laughter was the perfect language to tell everything left unspoken.
Laughter for the initial panic that turned into a joke.
Laughter for the pretend bravery that was funnier than real fear.
Laughter because they had succeeded in turning something designed to terrify into a richly personal source of entertainment.
That playful feeling was like a pleasant parasite, latching onto their abdominal muscles and forcing out fresh bursts of laughter.
Small moments, such as Ilux's confused expression when he got lost or Erietta's off-key scream at seeing her own shadow, became endless fuel for this simple yet profound happiness.
"What if we try something more extreme?
Earlier I saw a roller coaster with inverted tracks. It must make your adrenaline explode!"
"I think I want to take it slow for now.
Let's go to the carnival, play balloon shooting as a warm-up.
After that, we can go to the cinema, then eat around the food stalls. Sounds good, right?"
"Alright, I agree. Let's go to the carnival. Maybe this time it'll be my turn to win a big prize for you, Erietta."
"Sssshh!"
"Looks like the way out is to the right. Follow me."
The laughter that had been shaking them slowly subsided, turning into relieved breaths and lingering smiles at the corners of their lips.
After a few steps away from the haunted house attraction, Erietta's and Ilux's pace began to slow as their thoughts shifted from humorous memories to their next plan.
They stopped in a relatively quiet area near a small fountain illuminated by multicolored lights.
There, beneath lights shifting from green to purple, they began to confer.
The mood of their discussion was relaxed yet thoughtful, a natural transition from spontaneous joy into shared planning.
They discussed their next steps in the amusement park, weighing remaining energy, time, and desire.
The world around them was still noisy with screams from extreme rides and cheerful music, but for them, this moment was a small pause to map out the continuation of the day's adventure.
Ilux, still burning with enthusiasm from the previous experience, suggested charging straight into another ride.
His eyes sparkled as he mentioned attractions that were more challenging, faster, and higher than what they had tried.
He spoke of inverted roller coasters or free-fall towers, something that could pump adrenaline to a new level.
Erietta, however, listened with her head slightly tilted, then slowly shook it.
She proposed a different alternative.
Rather than immediately chasing another extreme sensation, she suggested stepping away for a while from the main attractions' clamor.
Her thoughts turned to a simple balloon-shooting stall at the edge of the grounds, a place where they could clear their minds with calm focus, followed by watching a movie in the park's small cinema offering relaxed seating, and ending with exploring the snack market to fill their stomachs.
Her plan was a gentler rhythm, a gradual descent from the peak of excitement toward moments that were calmer yet no less enjoyable.
Ilux appeared to think for a moment, weighing Erietta's suggestion.
The wild gleam of his adventurous spirit faced off against the invitation to calm and simple pleasure.
But perhaps because fatigue was beginning to creep into his legs, or because the shared experience in the haunted house had created space for compromise, he finally nodded in agreement.
To be continued…