Johnny wakes in the well-worn armchair in one corner of his apartment and rises immediately-a mistake. Vertigo overtakes him and he has to sit back down until the world stops spinning. In those few, disorienting seconds, he forgets something, something he's sure was important. Damn. He plucks his keys from the mantle without noticing the fireplace
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Well, he thinks. Well. He could go back to his apartment and get drunk again, or he could... he could find other distractions, better distractions that don't leave him with a headache in the morning. How could he have forgotten about the Machine? He remembers his mother bringing him here when he was just a child, cotton candy making his mouth and fingers sticky, illusions and magicians, roller-coasters he could raise his hands on. Happy memories.
He doesn't feel happy, though, as he approaches the entrance and heads inside, weaving through the crowds. He buys a cotton candy and tries to recreate the life of a ten year old, fails, and then starts to feel... good. There's a several minute delay between the rush of well-being and ( ... )
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Might as well goes in, Johnny figures. "Oh. Scary?" he asks, pulling the lever.
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"It's scary for kids," he says finally. Or at least that's what his brain fills in for him. Wonderful, wonderful confabulations. "I remember enjoying it, but that was a very long time ago." He runs his hand through his hair.
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He steps inside. Music is coming from somewhere deeper in the House, a tune he's absolutely sure he knows but can't place. A few paces farther, the single light directly above him, he turns back to the other man. "You coming?"
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