Each week, I send out a story via my email newsletter. Each story is around 1200 words, sometimes less, sometimes more. The stories are in a variety of genres: supernatural, thriller, sci-fi, horror, and sometimes romance, and all of my stories typically feature a gay protagonist.
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This is story number 43 of the series. Enjoy!
The Loop
Toby rubbed his eyes, disorientation washing over him as he found himself, once again, standing in front of the rusty gate leading to the abandoned amusement park. The faded sign above creaked in the wind, its peeling letters barely spelling out “Wonderland.”
“What the hell?” he muttered, running a hand through his disheveled brown hair. This was the third time he’d ended up here today, and he was starting to feel like he was losing his mind.
The first time, he’d been on his way to meet his boyfriend, Mateo, for lunch. He’d turned a corner, and suddenly—bam!—creepy, deserted amusement park. The second time, he’d been in the middle of his shift at the bookstore, restocking the mystery section. He’d bent down to place a novel on the bottom shelf, and when he straightened up, he was here again.
Now, as the sun dipped low on the horizon, casting long shadows across the overgrown parking lot, Toby felt a chill run down his spine. Something was very, very wrong.
He pulled out his phone, grimacing at the “No Service” message glaring back at him. “Of course,” he grumbled, shoving it back into his pocket.
The gate creaked as a gust of wind pushed it open, almost like an invitation. Toby hesitated, every instinct screaming at him to turn and run. But where would he go? He’d already tried that twice, only to end up right back here.
“Screw it,” he said, squaring his shoulders and stepping through the gate.
The park was a shadow of its former self. Rusted rides loomed like prehistoric skeletons against the darkening sky. Weeds pushed through cracked concrete, and the distant sound of metal groaning in the wind set Toby’s teeth on edge.
As he walked deeper into the park, his footsteps crunching on gravel and broken glass, Toby couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. He spun around, heart racing, but saw nothing but empty pathways and abandoned concession stands.
“Hello?” he called out, immediately regretting it as his voice echoed back at him, distorted and eerie.
A flicker of movement caught his eye, and Toby’s breath caught in his throat. There, by the dilapidated carousel, a figure darted out of sight.
“Hey!” Toby shouted, breaking into a run. He rounded the corner, nearly tripping over a fallen horse, its once-cheerful paint now chipped and faded.
The figure was gone, but something glinted on the ground. Toby bent down, picking up a small, tarnished key. As his fingers closed around it, a jolt of electricity seemed to run through him.
Suddenly, the world around him shifted. The decay fell away, replaced by bright lights and cheerful music. Toby blinked, disoriented, as he found himself surrounded by a crowd of laughing people, the amusement park now alive and bustling.
“What the—” he started to say, but his words were drowned out by a booming voice over the loudspeaker.
“Step right up, folks! Test your luck at the Hall of Mirrors! Can you find your way out, or will you be trapped forever?”
Toby spun around, trying to make sense of what was happening. The people around him seemed oblivious to his confusion, chattering excitedly as they moved towards a gaudy building with “Hall of Mirrors” emblazoned across its front in neon letters.
A hand grabbed his arm, and Toby nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to find himself face-to-face with… himself?
“Listen carefully,” his doppelganger said, voice urgent. “You’re caught in a loop. The key you found? It’s the only way out. But you have to make it through the Hall of Mirrors first.”
“What? I don’t understand—”
“There’s no time to explain,” his other self interrupted. “Just remember: what you see isn’t always real. Trust your instincts, not your eyes.”
Before Toby could respond, his double vanished into the crowd. Toby stood there, mouth agape, the key burning in his palm.
“Last call for the Hall of Mirrors!” the announcer’s voice boomed. “Who will be our final contestant of the night?”
Toby felt a push from behind, and suddenly he was being ushered towards the entrance. The smiling attendant took his ticket—wait, when did he get a ticket?—and waved him inside.
The moment Toby stepped through the door, the sounds of the carnival faded away. He found himself in a dimly lit corridor, surrounded by distorted reflections of himself.
“Okay, Toby,” he muttered, trying to steady his nerves. “You can do this. Just… find the way out.”
He started forward, one hand trailing along the wall to keep his bearings. His reflections moved with him, some tall and stretched, others squat and compressed. It was dizzying, and more than once, Toby had to stop and close his eyes to fight off a wave of nausea.
As he delved deeper into the maze, the mirrors began to show more than just his reflection. In one, he saw Mateo, reaching out to him with a look of desperation. In another, he saw his parents, disappointment etched on their faces.
“Not real,” Toby reminded himself, gritting his teeth and pushing forward.
He turned a corner and found himself face-to-face with a mirror that showed him as a child, tears streaming down his face as he clutched a torn rainbow flag.
Toby’s breath caught in his throat. This wasn’t a distorted reflection—this was a memory. One he’d tried hard to forget.
“It gets better, kid,” he whispered, reaching out to touch the glass. As his fingers made contact, the image rippled and changed. Now he saw himself as he was today, standing tall and proud, Mateo by his side.
A smile tugged at Toby’s lips. “Yeah, it really does.”
The mirror swung open like a door, revealing a dark passageway beyond. Toby hesitated for only a moment before stepping through.
He found himself in a circular room, mirrors covering every inch of the walls and ceiling. In the center stood a pedestal with a keyhole.
Toby approached slowly, the key heavy in his hand. As he got closer, he realized the keyhole was actually a small screen, words scrolling across it:
“To break the loop, face your greatest fear. Are you brave enough to see the truth?”
Toby’s hand shook as he inserted the key. The room began to spin, mirrors flashing with images from his life—moments of joy, of pain, of triumph and failure.
And then, everything stopped. Toby found himself staring at a single mirror, showing nothing but his own reflection.
“I don’t understand,” he said, frustration building. “What am I supposed to—”
The words died in his throat as his reflection began to change. It aged, hair graying, wrinkles deepening. But that wasn’t what made Toby’s heart race. It was the emptiness in his older self’s eyes, the slump of defeated shoulders.
This was his greatest fear—ending up alone, having let life pass him by.
“No,” Toby said, voice barely above a whisper. Then, louder, “No! That’s not me. That’s not my future.”
He stood straighter, meeting his reflection’s gaze. “I choose my own path. I make my own happiness.”
As the words left his mouth, cracks spiderwebbed across the mirror’s surface. With a thunderous crash, it shattered, along with every other mirror in the room.
Toby threw his arms up to protect himself from the falling glass, but instead of sharp edges, he felt only a cool breeze against his skin. He lowered his arms slowly, blinking in the sudden sunlight.
He was back in the real world, standing in front of his apartment building. His phone buzzed in his pocket—a text from Mateo:
“Where are you? Thought we were meeting for lunch. Everything okay?”
Toby let out a relieved laugh, his fingers flying over the keys as he replied:
“On my way. Got a bit lost, but I found my way back. Always do.”
As he pocketed his phone and started towards the cafe where Mateo was waiting, Toby couldn’t shake the feeling that something profound had just happened. The details were already growing fuzzy, like a dream upon waking, but the lesson remained clear:
The only loop he was trapped in was the one in his mind. And he had the power to break free whenever he chose.
Toby squared his shoulders and picked up his pace, eager to see Mateo and share the strange story of his afternoon. As he walked, he found himself humming a familiar tune—the calliope music from the carnival.
Some loops, he decided, were worth repeating. But only if you chose them yourself.
THE END