I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 147: Betty, Enthusiastic and Dedicated (Patreon)

The portraits around the room slowly slid upward, revealing what lay beneath their respectable upper halves.

Above the waist, everyone looked perfectly dignified. Below it, things took a ridiculous turn.

One aristocratic gentleman, dressed in elaborate old-fashioned clothing, wore nothing but underwear on his lower half.

Beneath an elegant lady, three people were stacked on top of one another.

Liam studied the pictures in admiration.

"This park really knows what it's doing. Look, the paintings actually move, and the people in them can even wave at me!

"Janice, if you want to create an attraction everyone will love, it's little touches like these that make all the difference."

A nearby visitor gave Liam a puzzled look. As far as he could tell, they were just ordinary joke portraits.

The narrator continued with a speech full of dark humor, and the room suddenly plunged into darkness.

Click!

A clap of thunder sounded, and for a moment the silhouette of a hanging corpse appeared above their heads.

The lights came back on, and the body vanished.

The door ahead swung open.

Liam went through it to the main part of the Haunted Mansion attraction.

Beyond an old-fashioned hallway, small ride vehicles crept along a track to the right.

He gathered Janice into his arms and climbed aboard.

The vehicle carried them down a corridor crowded with strange objects.

There were portraits that changed from living people into rotting ghosts, suits of armor that swayed ever so slightly, and chairs whose surfaces seemed to reveal human faces.

Next came a conservatory filled with withered plants. A skeleton rose from a coffin and kept calling to Liam for help.

Then the car entered a dim room with a table and a crystal ball in the middle.

An old woman's disembodied head floated inside the crystal ball, murmuring incomprehensible spells.

When she spotted Liam, she gave a little gasp.

"Oh! Welcome to Bendy Land!"

Finally, the car passed through a vast ballroom crowded with dancing ghosts.

Strangely, some of the ghosts moved in stiff, limited patterns. Only the flashing lights made them seem to be dancing.

Others, however, moved exactly like living people, wandering around at their leisure and occasionally chatting with the ghosts beside them.

Liam was thoroughly impressed.

"The technology here is incredible. These effects look almost real! And they've hired so many people for one little haunted house. They must have spent a fortune!"

He quietly committed every detail to memory throughout the ride.

There was always something to learn from people who had succeeded.

At last, the vehicle reached an unloading platform and the guests disembarked.

The exit led straight into a gift shop selling Haunted Mansion pins, posters, and little ornaments.

Liam spotted plenty of souvenirs he liked. They were all expensive, costing at least five or six times as much as comparable items outside the park. This was where the real money was made.

He bought a whole bagful and wandered around a little longer. With noon approaching, he decided to get something to eat with Janice.

Then he spotted Wilbur coming out of an attraction called Little World.

Liam was about to head over and say hello when he saw someone dressed as Bendy's mascot approach the boy.

The costumed figure made several funny gestures, then beckoned for him to follow.

Wilbur thought it looked entertaining and tugged Watson along behind the mascot.

Liam considered intervening, but decided not to alert anyone. Instead, he hung back and followed them quietly.

The mascot led Wilbur through one turn after another, gradually moving into a less crowded part of the park.

Then they all disappeared down a narrow alley.

"Aah! It's a real bear!"

A scream erupted from inside.

Liam peered around the corner and saw several people sprawled on the ground, including the person in the mascot costume. A black sack lay beside them.

Wilbur spotted Liam and called excitedly.

"Liam, come quick! We found kidnappers! Watson knocked them all down!"

Kidnappers?

The word caught Liam's attention immediately. He strode over, seized one of the men by the collar, and hauled him upright.

"Have you heard of [The Pied Piper]?"

"What are you talking about?"

The man looked both bewildered and in pain.

Liam checked his Events Logbook. The exploration progress for [The Pied Piper] hadn't budged.

"Looks like these are just ordinary kidnappers. Let's hand them over to whoever's supposed to deal with them."

Wilbur nodded, disappointed that they hadn't found a new lead.

They went to fetch the park's security guards.

When security arrived, the man in the mascot suit pointed at Watson and cried out.

"A bear! There's a bear!"

Liam stepped forward with a friendly smile.

"He took quite a beating. I think he's delirious."

The guard glanced at Liam's powerful build. It didn't seem far-fetched that he could subdue a few kidnappers, so the guard thought nothing more of it.

"We're terribly sorry. This man isn't one of our employees. He stole a uniform to impersonate a staff member. Don't worry, we have ways of making sure people like him are punished."

Ways of punishing them?

Liam's curiosity stirred.

"Shouldn't you turn them over to the police?"

The guard explained, "The police station is a long way from here. They've given us a certain amount of discretion to deal with trouble ourselves. Rest assured, these men will get what they deserve."

He never explained what that punishment would be.

Liam could tell there was something interesting behind those words, something the guard wasn't prepared to discuss openly. He decided not to press the matter.

Once security took the kidnappers away and the commotion died down, Liam realized he was hungry.

He took Wilbur and a few others to one of the park's restaurants.

As he examined the cartoon-themed meal combinations, his eyes settled on the prices.

Hmm. Fifteen dollars for the cheapest meal.

Watching the children around him cheering with delight, he decided his own business could learn a thing or two from this place, even if he couldn't cook.

He ordered one of each of the most popular meals and carefully studied what made each one appealing.

A little boy sitting nearby pointed at him and complained to his father.

"Dad, why does that man get to order every meal on the menu when I can't?"

His father lowered his voice.

"He probably works here. Maybe he's checking the quality of the food. We shouldn't interrupt him."

"Oh, okay, Dad."

After overhearing that exchange, Liam decided he'd better finish eating before any actual employees came over to investigate.

Once he'd eaten, he went back to enjoying the park.

At six that evening, everyone regrouped at the entrance.

They were all wildly excited, so Liam raised a hand to calm them down.

He lined them up and counted. Exactly sixteen children.

Huh?

He crouched to inspect the extra child, who had somehow joined the group without anyone noticing.

Realizing he'd been discovered, the boy made a sheepish face at Liam and wandered away.

Liam chuckled as he watched him go, then led his own children onto the free shuttle toward the park campground.

The campground occupied a large wooded area dotted with rental cabins, each big enough for five guests.

The cabins came fully furnished and had everything they would need for a comfortable stay.

Liam rented four cabins for four nights, paying sixteen hundred dollars in all.

After getting everyone settled, he went back into the park.

Betty was still at the information desk. She greeted him when he approached.

"Liam, good news! I asked around, and they've agreed to let you visit.

"The place is a little difficult to find, though. If you can wait until my shift ends, I'll take you there myself."

Liam nodded and found a nearby stool.

With nothing else to do, he watched Betty work. It was a good opportunity to learn how the park handled its visitors.

After a while, he began to notice something surprising. Betty seemed to have endless energy.

Working here could hardly be easy. The staff started around eight in the morning, and it was already almost eight at night.

The coworker beside Betty was so exhausted that her eyes were practically rolling back in her head. Yet Betty remained bright and energetic, cheerfully helping every visitor who approached the desk.

She was remarkable. Practically the ideal workhorse.

That was Liam's assessment, anyway.

Soon it was eight o'clock. Betty glanced at her watch.

"Time for the shift change. Liam, let's go."

Liam got up, and the two of them headed deeper into the park.

Betty explained as they walked.

"The park is actually bigger than it looks. A couple of years ago, the owner bought a stretch of swampland nearby. They tried developing it for a while, then gave up and moved the animation team out there instead.

"That section isn't on the maps. Without someone to show you the way, most visitors would never find it, and they wouldn't be allowed inside even if they did."

Betty chatted nonstop, sharing all sorts of stories about Bendy Land as they walked.

Liam studied her and asked a pointed question.

"You really love working here, don't you?"

Betty's face lit up.

"Of course! I grew up watching Bendy cartoons. Working here was my dream. I came as soon as I was old enough!"

So she was already a veteran employee.

Liam nodded. He could respect that kind of dedication.

When someone found something they truly wanted to do, they could pour their whole heart and soul into it.

Assuming everything she'd told him was true.

They reached a fence, where Betty took out a key and unlocked the gate.

Beyond it, the atmosphere was nothing like the cheerful, carefree park they'd left behind.

Betty offered an explanation.

"This whole area is undeveloped, so it's a little gloomy. That's why we don't let ordinary guests come back here. It might spoil their enjoyment of the park."

Before long, they approached a drab, gray little building.

"And this is where our animators bring children's dreams to life!"

Betty sounded genuinely delighted. Her bright, lively expression looked completely out of place against the dismal surroundings.

Inside, the building was even stranger than its exterior. Between the entrance and the lobby, they passed through several locked barriers, as though someone were terrified of people escaping.

Just then, a thin figure with heavy dark circles under their eyes approached.

"What are you doing here?"