Charlie+Foster

//H//

__** ELIMINATED **__ From: Fairmount, Georgia Gender: Male Ethnicity: French-Canadian, American. Traits (Appearance): Scruffy brown hair, brown eyes. He's fit, 5'10. 22 years of age. Reason for coming: His parents received the passes in the mail, but were planning to be in Canada at the time. They decided to give the passes to Charlie so he and Cassidy could spend some time together. Brief History: He's a good kid. He's a sophomore in college. He has a long term girlfriend of five years, names Cassidy. They were high school sweethearts. Anything else (optional): He loves roller coasters. He has a younger brother named Milo, who plays drums in Charlie's band. Charlie sings and plays acoustic guitar.

Day One.

Charlie pulled into the parking spot and parked his car. He pulled the key and the engine shut off. Cassidy was sleeping in the passenger seat, snoring lightly. Charlie touched her shoulder gently. “Cass, we’re here,” Cassidy opened her heavy eyelids and yawned. She stretched and scanned the nearly empty parking lot. “It’s a lot smaller than I expected,” she questioned. Charlie shrugged. “It’s not a big city, I don’t think. It’ll be fun, c’mon. Get up, sleepyhead.” Charlie ruffled Cassidy’s hair and unbuckled his seatbelt, getting out of the car.

Charlie and Cassidy approached the opening of the theme park. Charlie could see a small line starting to form. He fished for the passes out of his pant pocket and held them up to Cassidy. “Which one do you want?” He inquired. Cassidy raised an eyebrow and smiled. “They’re both the same, give me either. I don’t care,” she retorted. Charlie shrugged.

As they entered, Charlie and Cassidy realized that the park was much bigger on the inside. Arrows pointed every which way with big letters sprawled across the chipping paint. After little conversation, they both decided to test the scream-factor of the roller coasters. Charlie loves roller coasters. - The line was fairly short, and before they knew it, Cassidy and Charlie were next to ride the //Bloody Mary//.

Charlie brought the metal bar over his head and clicked it into place. He strapped himself in and Cassidy did the same. The rest of the people on the ride chattered amongst themselves. A booming voice came over the intercom and gave the usual “arms and hands inside the vehicle” spiel. Charlie looked over to Cassidy, who had turned very pale.

“Cass, what’s wrong?” Charlie worried. Cassidy shook her head. “My stomach really hurts,” she moaned. Charlie looked around. “Do you want to get off?” He asked. Cassidy nodded. Charlie tried to wave down an operator, but the ride began to move. “Excuse me, Miss—“ “Sorry sir, the ride is in motion!” The young girl replied. She shrugged sympathetically. Charlie turned to Cassidy. “I’m sorry babe, we’ll go find somewhere to sit down as soon as the ride is over.” Charlie’s words were unheard to all but him as shrieks of both enjoyment and terror consumed the surrounding area.

Before Charlie could unbuckle himself, Cassidy was off and running to the exit. Charlie couldn’t keep up, losing sight of her.

Day Two.

Charlie slept alone that night. Cassidy never showed answered her phone, never showed up at the hotel. Charlie kept telling himself she was at the medical center in the park, or in another room. He was wrong.

Somewhere, Cassidy was in the dark. “Hello?” She called. There was no answer except her echo.

Charlie set out early the next day. He was going to try to find her. He walked around the park yelling her name. “Cassidy? Cass?” Everywhere he turned, there were people. But Cassidy was nowhere to be found.

His cell phone beeped twice and he looked at it.

Hi babe. I wasn't feeling good so I took the car and went to the doctor. I’m pretty sick so I’m going to be staying out of town for a while. I’ll be back in a few days.

His face contorted in confusion. //He// was the one who had the car keys, he thought. He checked his pockets and his keys were gone. He shrugged and kept walking. Maybe he would go on the Bloody Mary by himself today.

Day Three.

It was the third day that Charlie started to question his whereabouts. No matter how many times he circled the park, he couldn't find the entrance that he had come in. He noticed that none of the rides had operators, and he couldn't find any employees. Charlie was sick to his stomach.

He also thought that the way Cassidy had acted was strange. She never leaves him hanging, let alone in a huge, unfamiliar park. Charlie felt more lonely than ever. He noticed two men conversing relatively close by him. He could hear their conversation.

"With no phone service or a way out... it's like this is a freakin' slaughter house. They are cutting us off from the outside world so they kill us. It's the government, man, their crazy" one man said. "What's your name?" the other asked. "Salvatore, but you can call me Sal," "I'm Michael Estratton," introduced the other. "You're right. I was nearly killed by a killer with a knife."

Charlie was started by hearing this news. No way out? No phone service? They're trying to kill us? But //who are they//? Charlie wondered. Gears turned in his head. If there was no cell phone service... and Cassidy left and then texted him... then Cassidy wasn't really sick. She was in danger, if she wasn't already dead/

His knees were weak. He imagined his dear Cassidy, being tortured by whatever evil ran this park. He became angry.

"...two heads are better than one."

He approached the two men who were talking.

"How about three?"

Day Four.


 * Read after Micah.**

After Sal popped out and frightened Micah, Charlie laughed nervously. He told Sal to stop fooling around and keep his voice down. Micah crouched to the floor, shaking and holding his chest. Charlie wondered if there was more that Micah was keeping from him.

Micah looked high and low for a pair of wire cutters. He stopped abruptly and retraced his past few steps, turning to a large crate. He walked over to it and picked up a card that sat atop. Charlie walked toward Micah, who by then, had dropped the card and opened the crate. Micah gasped and backed up slowly. Sal hurriedly followed.

"Micah, what did the card say?" Charlie inquired. Micah shook his head and sunk onto his knees. Charlie walked over and read the card.

//For Micah Estratton, // //Ah, Mickey, Mickey Mickey! You were calling for your friends earlier. So here they are. Tommy and Kate, nicely packaged in a box for you. Happy now? Ha ha ha! //

His face became pale and he stepped toward the crate, looking in. He swallowed and shut the lid with a loud //thud//. When Charlie turned back, Sal had helped Micah up.

"Let's get out of here," Charlie offered. Micah nodded and Sal looked around. As the trio left, Micah doubled over and vomited on the ground. "Ah, shit Micah," Sal sighed as he rummaged through his pockets and handed Micah a tissue. Micah wiped his mouth and stood up. "What's that?" Sal pointed behind Charlie, who pivoted on his heels in terror. The three looked in that direction. Charlie fell to his knees.

Cassidy had a rope looped around her neck. She swung from a metal beam. A note was taped to her chest. Sal walked over and read it out loud.

"For Charlie Foster: Roses are red, Violets are blue, Cassidy's dead, and you will be too! You should've known, from when you arrived, that my theme park, would be where you died. Why did you think, Cassidy ran? Was it the ride? Or part of my plan?"

Day Five.

//Charlie's heart was crushed. The love of his life swung before him, lifeless. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he made his final decision. His life had no meaning without her. Without thinking of the consequences, he took the excess rope that Cassidy had hung from and swung it over the other side of the metal beam. He carefully looped the rope into a noose and stacked a few crates beneath.//

I love you, Cassidy, //his trembling lips whispered. He took her cold, pale, hand from her side and raised it to his mouth, kissing it gently before dropping it.//

//He stepped onto the crate and slid the rope around his neck. He shut his eyes tightly and stepped off the crate.//

//For the rest of eternity, or until the bodies would be found and discarded of, the timeless lovers would wear matching necklaces of rope.//

Day Six.

//A young woman walked into the room, holding a birthday cake. Her mousy brown hair settled loosely in a bun, falling out in places. The cake had a big "5" on it, accompanied by five lit candles. She walked over to the table and set it down in front of an anxious little boy.//

Happy birthday Charlie, I love you //she whispered into his ear and kissed his forehead. He looked up at her and his eyes shone brightly. Everyone sang to him and he scrunched up his face to make a wish. He blew out the candles.//

Day Seven.

//Charlie wiped his hands on his pants. He was sweating and he was nervous. He unbuckled his seat belt and turned off his car. He walked around to the passenger door and picked up the pizza box that was sitting on the seat.// C'mon Charlie, you can do this... //he said to himself. He took a deep breath and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell. A girl with wavy blonde hair answered the door.//

Hi Charlie! //she smiled. She looked at him, to the pizza, and back to him.// Nice pizza, //she chuckled to herself.// Yeah, it is. I thought we could share it. //he stuck his one hand in his pocket and held the box with the other.// That's so nice of you! What kind is it? //the girl questioned. He smiled.// Here, I'll show you! //he opened the lid of the box, revealing a cheesey pizza with pepperoni words on it. The pizza read PROM?//

//The girl put her hands over her mouth and nodded violently. Charlie put down the pizza and kissed her.//

Day Eight.

//Charlie sat with Cassidy's head on his lap. He played with her golden locks and watched her as she attentively gazed at the television.//

Charlie? //Cassidy yawned without breaking her contact with the screen.// Yes? //he replied.// I love you. //Cassidy looked at him.// I want to marry you one day. //Charlie smiled.// I love you too. I promise you, one day we'll get married. //he grinned.// Promise? Promise.