Marcelo Torres stood at the cart-loading dock of Big Thunder Mountain, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. “This is so stupid,” he muttered under his breath. “It’s dark, it’s cold, and I’ve wanted to leave since dinner.”
“Oh calm down, Mr. Grumpy Pants,” said Marcelo’s mother Gloria. “We’ll head back after this ride.”
Marcelo stepped into the next-to-last cart, with Gloria, his sister Alexa, and his brother Jack in front of him. Everyone pulled on their lap bars, and the ride began chugging along. “If any of you folks are wearin' hats or glasses, best remove 'em!” said the ride’s automated announcer. “'Cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!”
“Yeah, right,” thought Marcelo. “What’s so wild about a kids' roller coaster?”
Everyone in the train screamed in excitement as it sped along, going around turns, dips, and hills. At least, everyone except Marcelo. “This is so boring,” he said to himself. “Can this ride just be over as quickly as possible?” As everyone else was yelling in amusement, the train screeched to a halt with an unsettling “Thunk!” continuing on to the second phase of the track.
“What the?!” exclaimed Marcelo. “Did you all hear that?” he said to his family. However, his mother and siblings were too busy laughing and smiling to hear him. “Whatever,” Marcelo thought. “It was probably nothing.”
The train trucked along, coming up on a taller hill than before. The train peaked over the top, rushing down as it moved into more twists and turns. Wind rushed by everyone’s faces, the acceleration and force forcing a tear or two out of some people’s eyes. Alexa and Jack gripped Gloria’s arms to feel more secure, but everyone experienced a rush of adrenaline and joy. Everyone except Marcelo. He started to get anxious, wanting to get off as soon as possible.
The train slammed on the brakes as it completed the second phase of the track. Once again, the train gave off a horrid “Thunk!”. “This isn’t good,” said Marcelo, despite the fact that no one would listen to him. As the train neared its final, and biggest, hill, Marcelo finally got his mother’s attention, though they had to yell in order to hear each other over the ride’s sound effects.
“I’m telling you,” shouted Marcelo. “There’s something wrong with the train!”
“Calm down!” Gloria shouted back. “It’s probably just part of the ride. Could you just TRY to have a fun time?”
“Here comes the big one!” shouted Alexa and Jack. Gloria and Marcelo looked forward to see where the train was going. It was heading into a cave, warm with red lights, fake dynamite, and the sounds of crumbling and exploding rock.
The train began its ascent, the crumbling and exploding rock reverberated throughout the cave, along with a screeching warning siren. “Well, great, here we go,” thought Marcelo as the train climbed the tallest hump of the whole ride. The cave got warmer and warmer as the train travelled through, before sticking out into the fresh night air as it crossed the peak. Suddenly, the train rushed down the track, taking wide turns and speeding through big humps.
Once again, Marcelo began hearing loud screeches as the train lurched. “Mom, it’s happening again!” yelled Marcelo.
“I don’t care!” yelped Gloria. “This is the most fun ride ever!”
The train raced through the track, going through dips that were woven into the cave, and splashing through a shallow pond attached to the rails. The ride swiftly went through its last turn, and the brakes gave the train a whiplash-like stop. Out of nowhere, the back wheels of the last cart became separated from the track, tipping the cart forward.
“Mom!” yelled Marcelo in a panic. Gloria, Alexa, and Jack turned around, faces in shock and horror, only to watch as the last cart flipped over onto Marcelo’s cart, crushing Marcelo’s body.
Today, Marcelo’s soul haunts the Big Thunder Mountain railroad. Ever wondered why the track feels rickety and somewhat painful as the turns slam you into the side of the cart? It’s Marcelo, trying to tip the carts from the track, attempting to murder passengers the same way he perished. So hold on tight, and keep your lap bar securely down, or you could suffer a tragedy similar to Marcelo.
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Author’s Note: My source just briefly explains how the victim dies, and it provides very little detail about the situation. However, the story did explain it was a middle-aged woman who was killed. In my story, I wanted to show more of what could’ve been going on in the mind of the victim as it’s happening. I also wanted to have more characters and dialogue, so I changed it to the story of a kid with his family, instead of someone riding by themselves. In this case, a pretty big ride malfunction was ignored, which should’ve been fixed before the cart was ever put back onto the track. This case applies in many other situations outside of amusement park maintenance. If there ever seems to be something fishy or uncomfortable going on, speak up! If no one speaks out about things that aren’t okay, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal at the moment, it can grow and turn into something deadly. I also really wanted to write a story that involves Big Thunder Mountain; it’s actually one of my family’s favorite rides and we’re obsessed with it. We even have a tradition anytime we’re in Disneyland on vacation, we try to be the first ones in line for Big Thunder one day while we’re there.