excerpt

	Eventually Seth steered the car onto an even smaller side road that was partially covered in blackberry brambles. Gently revving the engine, he drove through them. They continued down this path for a few minutes before coming out on the other side of the blackberries. A large field opened up before them, hilly and covered with tall yellow grass that rustled like thin paper in the breeze. There was a rusted gate guarding the entrance to the field; Seth got out of the car and easily kicked it open, tied it back against a tree with a bit of rotting rope, got back in the car, and continued on into the field, parking near its edge.
	“All right, I’ll admit this isn’t as normal as going to the video arcade or the mall, but it is fun. We’ve got a little ways to walk, though.”
	They both got out of the car and walked directly ahead, through the field, Seth leading. There were blackberry brambles growing low to the ground. Marcie picked and ate some as they walked. When Seth stole a glance at her, he noticed her mouth was red with berry juice. Some had dripped down her chin and dried. She looked like she had just been punched in the mouth. The part of his conscious which disgusted him suggested licking off the red, but he told it to shut the fuck up immediately.
	After reaching the top of a particularly large hill, Seth spread out his arms, partly to stretch and partly to introduce Marcie to what lay ahead of them.
	It was an abandoned amusement park. Marcie’s initial thoughts were, Oh, so maybe he is planning on raping and murdering me. Seth hoped that she hadn’t gotten high hopes for where he was taking her. The place was a dump, admittedly. A ferris wheel dominated the scene, moss and plants growing on it, making it look furry from a distance. There was a tall, decorative gate running the circumference of the whole place, which took up about an acre. Marcie guessed that they were looking at the backside of the park, as there was no entrance through the gate except for a hole which had obviously been torn out by hooligans or wild animals, or both.
	From their spot on the top of the hill, they could see a small roller coaster near the ferris wheel; not the big, intimidating kind, but the smaller kind for children. To the left of the park was a collection of long, square buildings which Marcie guessed to be indoor exhibits and shops. In the middle was an overgrown courtyard. Circular picnic tables with hard plastic umbrellas were strewn around it, upright or knocked over. Dominating the scene of the courtyard was a tall decorative clock, it’s face in the shape of a smiling sun. Most of the park was overgrown with wild blackberries, and everything seemed eerie yet peaceful.
	“C’mon, I know a way in,” said Seth, awakening Marcie from her reverie. She followed him down the hill and to the hole in the gate, where they both easily climbed in. Once inside the park, Marcie looked around in awe, silent. She felt as though she had entered a sacred ground which had once been inhabited by spirits of joviality who danced and ate popcorn and hot dogs all day, laughing as absurd machines flung and spun them through the air.
	Seth noticed the amazement in Marcie’s gaze and half-smiled at it. He had had a feeling she would like this place.
	“I come here to be alone. Lately I haven’t been able to much, though.”
	Marcie didn’t respond, she was headed towards the courtyard.
	Up close, the place seemed even more wild. Nature had dominated the amusement park, bursting forth in thorn and leaf after years of being held back by landscapers. What little she could see of the original pieces of the park were made of fake bronze and gold, painted red and blue and silver. Where the grass had not covered them, the bricks laid in the ground made blue and white spiral patterns, and small murals of fairy tales were on the sides of the buildings. The park had obviously had a day-and-night theme, displayed by the sun on the clock and the frowning moon on the middle circle of the ferris wheel.
	“I really like this place,” Marcie muttered as she pressed her palm on the worn face of a painted fairy on the side of an old hot dog cart. “They built a ton of these themed parks in the 90’s, but the idea never really caught on and most of them went out of business within twenty years. It’s a shame there aren’t anymore operational today. I think they’d be better than the video arcades.”
	Seth shrugged but she didn’t notice it.
	“I guess,” he admitted sullenly. “Maybe they didn’t catch on for a reason.”
	“People always want the newest, the most thrilling, the top-of-the-line, the edge of the edge. Nobody stops anymore to think about the past. Nobody even stops to think about the present. They’re all rushing towards whatever’s next. It’s stupid. I hate it.”
	Seth gave a small grimace. If he had known that bringing her here would make her turn into Holden Caulfield Jr., he wouldn’t have done it.
	He let her wander around the park by herself for about half an hour while he leaned against the clock in the courtyard, looking at his phone. As they walked back to the car, Marcie picked more blackberries, carrying them in the pocket of her sweatshirt. Seth drove her back to her apartment in silence except for the directions she gave him and the sound of her munching the overripe berries. He could almost hear the juice running down her chin. He sped home after dropping her off, feeling cramped and uncomfortable in the car and wanting out, away from the lingering scent of blackberries.