Nightmares of the Past

by HellWrangler

Summary:

Drawn to Indigo Park by a supernatural compulsion, Ed ventures into a world of mystery and corruption ruled by creation.

Notes:

This fic is discontinued, but I do have plans for a reboot of sorts

Chapter 1: A Strange Compulsion

Ed rested his head against the car window, looking out towards the forest that the empty road they travelled on went through. It was just a few minutes before midnight, but the full moon illuminated the night so well that he was able to see any small movement among the bushes; any sway of a branch pushed by the calm night-time wind. Occasionally, he saw a squirrel climb up a tree or a lizard scamper across the forest floor which he was able to focus on for a second before going back to zoning out. He thought about how he had forgotten to properly dust his guitar for a month before Laura, the driver of the car, spoke up and pulled him out of his daydreaming.

“Okay, we’re here. Come on!”

Laura left the car first, happy to be urban exploring again after all this time. Ed had met her in fourth grade, and they remained friends ever since. She was more experienced with exploring abandoned buildings, using her ingenuity to help out Ed if he needed any. She had long dyed hair split between pink and bright blue down the middle and stood taller than Ed by a few inches. She was enthusiastic and sometimes had more energy than Ed could handle, but whenever they were together Ed’s day got brighter.

Ed came out after. He was shorter than Laura, standing at 5’9, and had messy, brown hair which he didn’t bother to keep tidy. However, he was by far more agile, faster and was able to fit into small places Laura couldn’t. He also had a knack for technology after years of setting up music equipment for his electric guitar and maintaining his PC.

They had parked in a large parking lot of a large mall, abandoned decades ago. Its walls were painted over purely white, which now either peeled off or was covered in dirt as it was left to rot away. Any bursts of colour were pieces of graffiti and murals painted long after the mall was left behind. Moss and vines crawled up and down the sides of the building forming green webs all over. Ed and Laura walked towards the entrance past tables blown over by the wind and cars left to degrade over time. The entrance wasn’t anything special – much like the rest of the building it had no personality and was just three revolving doors which they had to force open after years of rusting over. Walking in, they were met with a large dining hall with various fast-food restaurants that circled a central hub of tables, chairs and benches.

“Hey, Ed, you good?” Laura asked as she scanned the area. She spoke quickly, but Ed understood her perfectly.

“Yeah, I'm good. What’re we gonna do?”

“You know, what we normally do! Look around, make sure nobody’s here and check out anything interesting. There’s bound to be something in this place.”

Ed and Laura wandered through the many floors, halls and stores of the mall which they were confident nobody else was in, making jokes about weirdly posed mannequins in storefronts or the awful smell coming from the kitchen of the McDonalds. Eventually, they decided to split up - “If you find anything, come find me!” Laura said – and Ed looked around for something he’d like. Maybe a music store or an arcade?

However, as he passed through many storefronts he had no interest in, a strange compulsion he couldn’t understand grew within him. This gut feeling drove him to a toy shop, which confused him deeply. “Why the hell would I want to go here?” he thought, but was still drawn closer to a certain shelf, where he was overtaken by both nostalgia and sadness.

Before him sat a battered, mouldy plush of Mollie Macaw, a character from his favourite childhood show, Rambley and Pals. It was an older version than the ones made while he was a kid, with button eyes and a more classic look, lacking the pilot outfit which he thought was always an important part of her character. She was always his mom’s favourite character, so much so she was just as obsessed with the show as Ed was. Ed remembered going to Indigo Park with her and how excited she was when the Mollie Meet-and-Greet was introduced. As he thought of his mom, darker thoughts seeped in; ones he tried to avoid. Ones of grief and of loss. Tears welled up in his eyes. Ed quickly tried to ground himself by focusing on his breathing, which helped to hold back the overwhelming stress.

“Shit, are you okay?” Laura said, running up beside Ed. She rested her hand on his shoulder in an effort to comfort him. “What happened?”

“I-I thought about it. About her.” Ed looked forward, still focused on calming down.

“Oh, do you wanna leave?” Laura spoke more slowly now, trying to make Ed as comfortable as possible, “It’s fine if you do, man. I understand if you need more time.”

“No, it’s fine. I just... need to take a moment. Just give me a minute.” The two sat in silence while Ed centred himself. Eventually he stood up, wiping a tear from his eye. “Okay. Okay, I’m good.” Ed took a deep breath and looked to Laura, “Did you find anything? Y’know, better than this?”

“Yeah! It’s just this way, you’ll love it!” Laura jumped up and gestured to Ed to follow her. They left the toy store and went down a floor passing by various designer clothes stores and restaurants until they came across a music store, filled with instruments of all kinds, records of classic artists and equipment like speakers and microphones. Most of what was in there was overcome with mould and moss, but on the check-out counter sat a black guitar case, with any grime previously on it wiped off by Laura who jumped over the counter and stood on the other side to Ed. “Go on, open it!”

Ed undid the zipper of the case, opening it to find a surprisingly well-kept acoustic guitar inside. There was no dirt, mould or moss on it at all. He moved his hand along the smooth wood of the guitar. He smiled. Ed took the guitar out of the case, immediately tuning it and strumming the chords. “You like it?” Laura asked, smiling just as much as he was. “You were right - I love it! I can’t believe it’s still this clean!” Ed replied. In a rare moment, Ed’s and Laura’s enthusiasm matched as he began to play an acoustic version of Requiem for My Harlequin, a song by his favourite band Poets of the Fall. Laura was mostly unfamiliar with the song but was able to chime in with some lyrics of the chorus from time to time.

Ed and Laura continued throughout the mall, exploring anything they found interesting – a non-functional arcade where they mostly just checked out the toys in the broken claw machine, the security room, and the lost and found which held many strange items, most of all a seemingly expensive wedding ring. Eventually, they decided to leave as 1 AM struck.

Ed climbed into the passenger seat of Laura’s car, where he thought back to the Mollie plush and Indigo Park. He wondered what it would be like to go back and see what happened there, or at least see what became of it. “Hey, do you remember Indigo Park?”

“Yeah, kinda forgot about that place. Been closed for a while, right?”

“Yeah, I thought about going there. I’m not gonna bring any equipment, I’ll just have a look around.”

“Just be careful. I’ll pass for now, but maybe the both of us could go another time?”

“Sure! Does next week sound good?”

“Yeah, alright. Remember, be careful. I don’t want to be paying your bail if you get caught.”

After an hour’s drive, Laura dropped Ed off at his apartment complex, who carried the acoustic guitar with him. As he got out and walked from the car, he stopped. “Fuck it.” he whispered to himself. He went back to Laura, who rolled down her window. “Hey, just wondering, would you want to go out for dinner at that one Italian place sometime? Just the two of us?” He gave an awkward smile.

“What, like a date?” Laura said, a grin growing across her face.

“What? I mean- maybe... do you want it to be one?”

“Yeah, I’d like it to be one,” Laura chuckled, “Does Thursday work?”

“Thursday works! See you there!”

“See ya!” Laura said as she drove off. Ed couldn’t help but laugh out of excitement as he went to his apartment. He didn’t stop until he laid down in his bed in his room. Across from him was his desktop, with three monitors laid out across the desk. His orange headphones rested on a stand, high above the empty Bird Up cans and the empty mug he always forgot to put away. His electric and newly found acoustic guitar rested on his wall where the prior collected dust. As he drifted to sleep, he was suddenly filled with energy.

Once again Indigo Park infiltrated his mind, alongside that same compulsion. He didn’t know where it came from, but it drove him towards Indigo Park so much it overtook every part of him. He moved towards his desktop and began an unrelenting investigation into what happened to Indigo Park. He discovered multiple news headlines: “INDIGO PARK SHUT DOWN”, “ISAAC INDIGO DEAD AT 73”, “INDIGO MASCOTS REMAIN A MYSTERY”. Ed then looked into Isaac Indigo himself. Born in 1943, he had opened the park in 1975 at 32 years old but died in 2016 the same day the park closed. He wanted to dig deeper but found that there was minimal evidence outside of theories on YouTube to what happened. With the compulsion and curiosity burning in his heart, he prepared to go to Indigo Park.

Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather

Summary:

As Ed investigates Indigo Park, he comes face to face with Mollie Macaw and has an experience he can't explain

The land surrounding Indigo Park was surrounded by a long chain link fence, with various signs warning against entering - ‘DANGER: KEEP OUT’ was plastered onto each one. Beyond the fence, another barrier of trees, bushes and long grasses built up a second layer of defence and blocked any view of the once great park. A road ran through the forestry and past the fence blocked by a gate, where forgotten statues of many of the park’s mascots stood succumbing to nature.

Ed jumped the fence and moved down the road, passing by the signs and statues that once welcomed in cars into the park. Moving through the dark, he felt a sense of foreboding, getting the feeling he was being watched as he walked past a statue of Lloyd Lion. He chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on itself, he was walking alone in the dark after all. He made his way to the parking lot, coming face to face with the entrance to Indigo Park.

The entrance was a massive purple gate with a sign of the park’s logo on top. On either side were murals of Mollie Macaw and Indigo’s prize character, Rambley Raccoon. He turned on his flashlight, moving along the right wall past Rambley’s painting, to the room where the guests would register into the park. Due to being closed for 8 years, he thought he was going to need to force open the mechanical door so was surprised to see it open for him. Motion sensors, maybe? In which case, how could they still work after all this time?

Walking in, the only light sources came from the moon outside and Ed’s flashlight. Looking around, he saw posters of the park’s rides fallen of the walls, a computer used by employees to register guests, a TV on the wall, slightly leaning downwards to the left and a purple generator in a backroom. As he walked further inside, the TV turned on with the AI guide of the park Rambley jumping onscreen.

“Hi there! And welcome to Indigo Park!”

Rambley was the poster child of the Indigo brand; a scruffy raccoon wearing a purple conductor’s hat. In the cartoons he appeared in he was often the main character, except for any spin-offs like Mollie Ahoy. His character was innocent and had a habit of speaking more than possibly any other fictional character ever written. But his defining trait was his love for his friends and his trustful nature, always looking to form new friendships with others.

On the screen, Rambley continued his spiel, “The world’s most innovative and engaging family fun experience! Jump into a world of all your favourite char-” The screen glitched out before any more of the characters were introduced. When everything returned to normal, Rambley was up against the screen, staring right at Ed. “Wait you’re our first guest in 2920 days, 4 hours, 23 minutes and 15 seconds. Congratulations!” When reading out the time, Rambley’s voice shifted momentarily from loud and enthusiastic to quiet and confused, like he was shocked it had been so long, before regaining composure and moving back to his original position. “I’m Rambley! Rambley the Raccoon, and it’s my job to make sure your adventure in the park is the most fun it can be! Just hop on over to the registration centre...” Rambley gestured right, before quickly pointing left, “to your left where we can begin your adventure in the park!”

Ed was surprised to see Rambley still running after all this time and wondered where the power came from to sustain him. It had to be some kind of renewable energy. If Rambley had to run 24/7, the park couldn’t risk his power running out.

He made his way to the registration centre, the computer he saw earlier, and sat down in its office chair. Rambley appeared on this screen too and activated the monitor’s webcam. “Hm, it seems like we don’t have your face stored in our guestlist! Is this your first time visiting the park, or did you just get plastic surgery? No worries: it’s Rambley Tuesday, which means you get a big discount on your visit! Have fun!” Ed noticed the pop-up on the screen, advising employees to enforce the weekend price increase but chose not to draw any attention to it. He sat up and made his way back to the park gates, which didn’t move an inch to welcome him in.

“What’s the hold up? The gate is open. Head on into the entryway!” said Rambley, appearing on a vertical monitor beside Ed. He looked back and forth between him and the direction of the gate, waiting eagerly. Ed realised Rambley likely didn’t see the gate and cleared his throat to speak. “Uh, you sure about that, Rambley?” he asked and nodded towards the gate’s doors.

“Of course I am, buddy! This park’s infrastructure is state of the-” as Rambley spoke, a security camera looked over to the gate. “Oh, sorry buddy, the gate is not open!” Rambley looked uncertain. “Uh, congratulations! You get to be the first person to try our... Turn On the Generator Mini-Rambley Adventure! Have fun!”

Looking at the generator, it wasn’t anything special. It appeared to still be functional; it just needed to get going for power to be restored. Ed grabbed the chord on the generator’s side and pulled it until it churned to life, activating the lights and speakers which played the park’s theme song. He made his way back, where Rambley waited for him on the screen. “Okay, for real this time. Welcome to Indigo Park!”

On the other side of the gates, there was a large, golden statue of Isaac Indigo and Rambley, holding each other's hands and waving. Behind the statue were two tunnels, one blocked off by debris but the other clear. In the open tunnel was the entrance to an introductory ride to the park, Rambley’s Railway. The queue to the ride had an old-timey cartoon aesthetic, with wooden pillars, candles and paintings of popular locations from the cartoons, such as Rambleberry Woods. The ride itself was a purple steam train that was far too small for Ed, who had to tuck in his knees to his chest to fit in the ride. “You may be a bit older than the target demographic for this ride, but it’s one of my favourites!” Rambley told him. However, as he made his way through the queue and got into the train, the feeling that he was being watched amplified like someone stood directly behind him.

The start of the ride introduced Mollie, ‘the best pilot you ever saw’. She wore a classic, brown pilot uniform complete with a bomber hat and a pair of goggles resting on her head. Ed tried not to focus on her, keen not to repeat what had happened at the mall.

Next came Finley, a turquoise sea serpent. He was the timid introvert of the main stars of Rambley and Pals with a hobby of seashell collecting. As a kid, Finley always creeped Ed out especially in Oceanic Odessey because of his sheer size. Even as he grew up, he still had a phobia of open water because of him.

The next stop was destroyed, and quickly skipped by Rambley without a word, but Ed remembered what character this stop housed. Salem Skunk was the main villain of Rambley and Pals whose schemes focused on their potions or inventions to cause trouble for Rambley and his friends and was defeated at the end of each episode they appeared in. In the older cartoons, Salem appeared a lot for redeemable than in their more modern iterations which always confused Ed – why the sudden shift in character while everyone else stayed mostly the same outside of design changes?

The final character was the proud, the prestigious Lloydford L. Lion, actor extraordinaire. He wore colourful, bright garments Ed imagined royalty to wear and leaned on a cane just as flamboyant as he was. He was proud and arrogant, but he was very popular among fans, including Ed. Someone who couldn’t stand Lloyd was Rambley, who gave an exhausted “Hey, Lloyd” and a “Great act, Lloyd” before swiftly ending the ride.

The ride ended at a gift shop, sharing the same design as the queue. It was filled with shirts featuring each of the characters, sets of steam trains and Raction figures on display and for sale. Overhead there were small train tracks where stationary toy trains sat, their batteries having run out years ago. Behind the check-out counters, the screens showing photos taken during the ride were quickly replaced by Rambley’s face. “So, pretty fun right? Now you know all about my friends! And Lloyd. So, where do you wanna go?”

The weirdness of the situation was not lost on Ed. He was talking with an AI version of a cartoon raccoon in an abandoned theme park while he only came with the intention of looking around for an hour. Yet, he felt the compulsion grow which gnawed at him and drove him to go further like he was being pushed to-and-fro by the ocean’s currents. “Okay, how about Lloyd’s Mane Stage?” he asked, wondering what it would be like to go backstage and see where the magic happened before the shows.

“Oh, sorry buddy but access to Lloyd’s Mane Stage is not included in the Rambley Tuesday discount. Guess we’ll have to go someplace else!” Rambley said, making it clear he wanted nothing to do with Lloyd, “Besides, Mollie’s Rooftop Races is way better anyways! Why don’t we head on over there?”

Ed was disappointed he couldn’t go but agreed and made his way out of the gift shop into the main street of the park. It was a long stretch of themed restaurants and stores based on the characters and settings from the cartoons, such as the cafe with a French name Ed had no idea how to pronounce. As he walked down towards Mollie’s Rooftop Races, a tabby cat passed by him, giving him a quick glance before running off into the darkness of the collapsed Mollie-themed burger joint. At the end of the street, Ed found the entrance to Jetstream Junction, its large doors wide open.

The inside of Jetstream Junction was themed around a large aircraft carrier with metal walls and cartoonish planes circling around a central Mollie statue, which gave a proud salute. To the left of the statue were a flight of stairs leading up to Mollie’s Rooftop Races, which had succumbed to decay and fallen apart over the years. Ed looked at the destroyed ride solemnly – it was sad to see the ride in such a state. He remembered the time he threw up after drinking too much Bird Up and what happened to that poor kid behind him.

Rambley appeared on a large screen overlooking the ride. “Oh no, this is horrible!” he cried in despair. Noticing that Ed was there, he scrambled to compose himself. “Uh, looks like Mollie crashed into the ride again! Sorry, bud... why don’t you go check out Mollie’s Landing Pad? Just wait there a while I... call up the repairman!”

Ed walked back down the stairs towards the Landing Pad. Rambley’s slip-ups and poorly hidden distress made it clear this was the first time he had seen the park since 2016. Ed couldn’t imagine how he felt; how alone he must be feeling, not knowing where or how his friends were. Maybe by bringing Ed here Rambley hoped to find Mollie and reunite with her.

Making his way into Mollie’s Landing Pad Ed was hit with the smell of plastic, which he expected, but also a horrible, disgusting smell like rotten meat. He gagged. Looking around, he saw the plastic tubes that ran through the play place and the central ball pit, each ball covered in dust. The walls were coloured in squares of bright yellows, greens and oranges with fake plastic ferns hanging sprouting from wooden poles separating each square. If Ed remembered correctly, the way out was through the maze of the play place. All he needed to do was find the exit and continue on.

Ed climbed his way through the slides, pipes and colourful nets. It was pitch black in there, the only light being his flashlight. As his eyes slowly grew accompanied to the darkness, he more easily made his way through the labyrinth. After what felt like an eternity wandering through the dark, something caught his eye. A strange lump that he couldn’t quite make out what it was.

Moving closer, he realised what it was and felt sick to his stomach. It was the cat he saw in the main street, now mutilated. It was half eaten with its chewed entrails torn out and blood spilling over the green floor. Its face captured the agony it felt in death, its mouth agape and eyes wide open in pain. Ed backed away, his thoughts overtaken by fear. Then he heard the occasional dropping of liquid on his shirt, falling down from above him. Looking up, he saw an even worse sight than the cat.

Mollie, once a jovial mascot of Indigo Park, looked down at him from a torn open ceiling with crazed eyes filled with hunger and bloodlust. Her beak dripped with fresh blood from her previous kill, which slowly opened in anticipation for her next. Her colourful feathers were wild and unkept. She was covered in scars dug in by her own long, deadly talons. Her bomber hat was rotting away; many pieces having fallen off and the lens of her goggles had been completely broken, leaving behind small pieces of glass at its sides. Ed froze in fear, his mind overcome with dread. In a fraction of a second, Mollie jumped down at Ed, who closed his eyes, prepared to die.

Mollie’s talons pierced his flesh, but the pain faded in an instant as if it had never happened. Opening his eyes, Ed found himself alone in the tunnels of the play place, no Mollie in sight. He looked around in shock, breathing heavily. “What the fuck?” he gasped between breaths. Was this a dream? No, the pain he felt in that moment was so vividly real and the putrid smell of rotten flesh still filled his nostrils. He looked to the direction of the cat’s corpse and saw it still laying there motionless. He couldn’t stay. Mollie was here, possibly watching him now.

Ed began to sprint through the colourful walls of the landing pad. As he ran, he heard loud footsteps behind him. Looking back, he saw Mollie in pursuit, hunched over and arms outstretched towards him like a dinosaur. He ran as fast as he could, pushing his body to its limits, until he reached the end of the maze. He ran through a dining hall, vaulting over tables and chairs Mollie burst through as she chased him. Ed busted open a door labelled ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ and ran through the concrete halls of a maintenance tunnel. Turning a corner, he saw a doorway, the mechanical door halfway open. Above it was a screen, which Rambley appeared on.

“There you are buddy! Wait, this room’s staff only!” Rambley said, before Mollie turned the corner after Ed. Realising what was going on, his tone immediately shifted, “Come on in, new staff!”

Ed leaped under the door, which closed in Mollie’s face as she ran closer. On the other side, she clawed at the door and repeatedly ran into it trying to bust through. Eventually, the chaos stopped, and faint footsteps were heard growing more distant until they silenced.

The room Ed had run into was one of the park’s security rooms, with a large wall of monitors linked to the security cameras from the entrance to Jetstream Junction. Ed fell to the floor out of exhaustion and shock over what had just happened. Millions of thoughts ran through his mind trying to justify it all. As he put his head in his hands, Rambley appeared on the monitors, looking down at Ed.

“You- Are you doing alright, buddy?” he asked, concerned for him.

“What- what was that? I almost died! Hell, I think I actually did!” Ed’s temper had gotten the better of him, which he quickly realised. “Sorry...” he added after a pause.

“It’s alright, I haven’t been honest with you at all. The park has been closed for years, and the mascots... I just wanted you to have the most fun possible, but I had no idea the park was completely ruined. I’m really sorry, buddy. I’ve wasted all your fun time.” Rambley looked ashamed of himself, looking towards the ground.

Ed thought about leaving, but that was easier said than done. Mollie was stalking the way out and there was hardly any chance of getting out without being spotted. He had no idea what he was going to do.

“But... but!” Rambley shouted, an idea coming to him, “I have an idea! I have the park’s repair documentation in my database, but I can’t access it without authorisation from a human user. The park must mean something to you too, right? Would you want to help me restore the park?”

Ed hesitated for a moment before responding. Today was Saturday, so he had 4 more days before Thursday. He had time. That combined with the belief there was no going back and his curiosity still burning strong drove him to his feet. “Alright. I’ll help.”

“Really? Oh, I’m so excited, let’s get this place back in business!” Rambley said as he disappeared from the screens and opened another door to allow Ed to exit the room. Ed chuckled. Despite not talking as much as others, he always seemed to like to be around people who were far more talkative than he was, Laura most of all. Rambley was perhaps the epitome of this type of person. His constant ramblings made him endearing, and Ed found him as adorable as a puppy.

Ed climbed a flight of stairs to the surface, where the cool nighttime breeze hit his face. Looking around, he realised instantly where he was. A large anchor leaned on a wall leading up to the entrance of Oceanic Odyssey, the park’s water-themed attraction; home to Finley the Sea Serpent and the various characters from the show Mollie Ahoy.

Notes:

This chapter was originally planned to be no more than 2500 words. Even after cutting any unimportant details (including Lloyd's Mane Stage. I've got other plans for Lloyd's character) it went up to 3000. So, future chapters may be much longer.

Update: I may be abandoning this fic for a while, if not completely. I haven't enjoyed writing chapter 3 at all for some reason, so this might be it for the foreseeable future.