Theme Park at its Darkest

Final

“Before I went overseas, I had a car accident. On the Great Ocean Road. My brother and I…” Pat’s eyeline crossed over Natalie’s. His shame reared up and struck him. Continue reading →

76

Natalie had offered to drive, but Pat declined. Continue reading →

75

Pat found the front door of the hotel locked; he had to ring the doorbell for the night clerk to let him inside. As he climbed the stairs, the sheen of reflected light rendered the windows almost opaque but the features of the cliff-top view were printed underneath, like the lines of a sketch. Continue reading →

74

Pat threaded his arms under Stevie’s and, locking his hands behind his neck, pulled him into a full-nelson. He dropped the neck of the broken bottle, confirming Pat’s belief that he wouldn’t vindictively attack him. Continue reading →

73

“You’re back early,” Wally remarked as Pat walked into the office, dropping the car keys on the desk. “Johnny will be pleased.”

“Where’s my replacement? There was no bouncer on the door when I came in.”

“Getting stoned, around the corner.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“He’s an old mate of Johnny’s,” said Wally, lifting his hands in a gesture of hopelessness. “What can I do?” Continue reading →

72

The restaurant spanned the side of the hotel that presented itself to the sea. As night gathered along the horizon, the sky was drawn in shades of black.

Darkest at middle sky and middle sea, it shifted tones until the rags of cloud that reflected the crescent moon’s light were balanced by the white foam that flecked the waves below. Continue reading →

71

As they entered the coastal town of Torquay, the sun made its way a little higher into the sky. The light had lost some of its yellow and become a little more chrome.

Because of its station, the beams clipped the roofs of houses and sprayed into points of brilliance. Pat had to pull down his visor to block out the sharpest.   Continue reading →

70

“Pat, don’t.” A female voice. Strange, then familiar. He turned. It was Natalie. She came towards them. Pat stepped away from where Alan knelt on the wet bitumen, coughing as if he was trying to regurgitate whatever had broken inside him. Continue reading →

68

Pat told Johnny he needed to take a piss and went inside the pub. Wally stood at the end of the bar, a stubby sweating in front of him. Pat grabbed him by the elbow as he reached to pick it up. Continue reading →