[ WP ] Advertise the world 's worst theme park .

A child sits quietly, cross-legged, inches away from the flickering television set. A voice calls out from the kitchen, warning against sitting so close to the screen. The words never reach his ears. His attention is absorbed by the loud, generic rock music blaring from the speakers. He is captivated by the startling development and the predicament that his favorite characters find themselves in this week. As they near an unspeakable fate from which there seems to be no escape, the screen fades to black. Before he can divert his attention, a strange new commercial plays. 
 
 Unlike the crisp, clean lines of the animated characters on their painted backdrops, the footage playing on screen is shaky and blurry, like that of an old home movie. The background music wavers faintly, barely escaping the fluted grates of their television set. He watches as a raspy voiced narrator speaks of their one-of-a-kind attractions specifically designed for children, ages 8 to 12 in their area. Images of merry-go-rounds, slides draped in plastic with a hose attached to the rails, sandboxes, pillow forts, and monkey bars fly in and out in various ways. Losing interest, the boy reaches for the remote only to find his interest piqued by the next offering. A brand new entertainment console with more games than he was aware of, lining the walls of a dimly lit room. 
 
 Noticing that her son had been quiet for some time and that the television had ceased its racket, she walked towards the living room. Before she could see the peculiar ad, it was interrupted to continue the regularly scheduled programming. Unbeknownst to her, it had delivered its final message before she approached. Happy's fun time land, as it advertised, was located two blocks down. A short walk from their house, one that he was more than accustomed to making. However, this was one trip that he was advised not to speak of. 
 
 Hours later, long after he had left the house with the excuse that he was going to visit a friend, a special announcement played. An unapproved message had played over the airwaves, beckoning children to the home of a deviate, with many answering the call. The local authorities quickly raided the house to find nothing more than clothing and sedatives lying about. A statewide manhunt was underway with confidence that the suspect would soon be found. She trembled and shook, collapsing into a distraught heap in the living room as the message repeated itself. Her son was never found. 
 
 -159 
 
 ( This story did n't turn out as well as I had hoped. The premise was creepy enough in my own mind that I could n't handle it. I'm hoping that maybe some of that made it through into the writing and earns it some merit. )
