Tunnel of Terror

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"No way," Rachael said. "You guys go. I'll wait out here." She put her hand on the sun-heated railing outside the Tunnel of Terror ride.

"Come on," Penny said. "It'll be fun. And we already went on the rides that you wanted."

"Yeah," Trish said, rubbing her shoulder. "We did the bumper cars twice, just because you wanted to. I don't even like them. Come on."

"It can't be that scary," Penny said.

Rachael looked at the ride. The whole thing was indoors. But it was the middle of the day. The sun was high. She figured there would be some cracks of light seeping in. And she could always close her eyes. She took a deep breath. Then, as the air flowed from her lungs, she managed to say, "Okay."

"Super." Penny rushed around the railing.

"Great." Trish grabbed Rachael's arm and ran toward the entrance.

"Is it scary?" Rachael asked as she gave her ticket to the old man who was sitting on a stool at the entrance.

The man shrugged. "That's up to you." He dropped her ticket in a plastic bucket. "But we always give you what you pay for."

Before Rachael could ask what he meant, she was herded inside by her friends. In the dark, she could barely see the cars as they came along the track. As the first car stopped, Penny and Trish jumped in. Rachael rushed forward, but there was no room.

"Hey!" she called, but the car was rolling. Rachael jumped into the next one and pulled down the safety bar. She didn't want to get too far separated from her friends. "It won't be bad," she said, speaking aloud to bolster her courage. "It's just going to be some mechanical monsters or some stuff painted on the walls. Maybe some dummies with fake blood."

The car moved toward a pair of wooden doors. In the dim light, Rachael could see the brush strokes in the flat black paint. Ahead, Penny and Trish's car pushed open the door, then vanished inside.

Here goes, Rachael thought as her own car reached the door and pushed it open with a dull thud.