I don’t know where to begin or how to make this any clearer than what I already said. I am stuck in a liminal space or zone? I am not sure what this place is exactly to be honest. Let me go back for context on how I got here.
I was turning 14 and my mother wanted to take me to the New McDonalds PlayPlace that was supposed to be the largest in the country only thing is they weren’t marketing it anywhere else but in the small town, I live in. I just assumed it was because of a practice run to open other large PlayPlaces around the country. So, when I heard this you know I was already on board and excited. I ran to my mother and begged for her to take me and my best friend “Ian” to the McDonalds. She was reluctant at first because of inflation but the McDonalds just so happen to have a birthday special where I get to eat free so she ended up giving in.
It was the big day and I called Ian to come to my place as were leaving in about an hour and a half. “Yea, I’ll be right there! I just gotta get my tablet” Ian said with excitement. Ian couldn’t go anywhere without his tablet and the same with me. We would play Roblox together all the time but this time we installed simple tracking apps on each other tablets and play hide in Seek in this new PlayPlace.
Ian showed up wearing a nice light blue button-up shirt and jeans. “Wow, you look fancy bro!” I exclaimed in shock at my friend looking extra dapper for just going to McDonalds. “Yea, thanks, man. It’s a special occasion it’s your birthday and the grand opening.” He said while waving his hands in the air making a spectacle out of it. He then leans in and whispered, “I also heard that the first birthday party gets a special surprise I don’t even know what it is!”
Even though at the time I was laughing and was elated to go I also had a wave of dread and anxiety wash over me. I (at the time) didn’t know why I was feeling this way so I excused myself to the bathroom to empty my stomach of its morning breakfast. The nausea was gone but the overwhelming sense of impending doom was baring its weight on my whole body. I steadied my breathing thinking it was just nerves but looking back I should’ve listened to my body…
We arrived at the McDonalds and it was shiny and new but unlike most McDonalds, this one was several stories tall and much larger. You could see the PlayPlace winding and twisting throughout the restaurant which had Ian and I extremely excited to see. “Wow! It’s like a whole maze! Twisting and winding tunnels, small portholes with power plugs for recharging your device, AND a pool-sized ball pit!? Looks like heaven to me.” Ian shouted and held my hand while pointing everything out.
We sat down and I got my usual. Quarter pounder, medium fry, and a large soda. I have a high metabolism so I do eat more than the average teen. My friend ordered a 10-piece nugget and large fry and large coke. While we were eating the same sense of dread was washing over me over and over getting heavier and heavier. I again went to the bathroom but couldn’t vomit so I sat on the cold floor sobbing not knowing why I was so stressed. The emotional pain was intense and hot like fire. The room was spinning and my mind was racing. I couldn’t get a grip on reality hearing voices saying things like “Go home” and “You’re next if you don’t leave”. I was spiraling out of control until someone banged on the door and yelled my name. “Tim?? Hey, Tim are you ok?”
It was Ian… He was always looking out for me and it snapped me out of my delusion. I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood up brushing the dirt off my pant. “Yea, I just needed to go to the bathroom,” I yelled back while holding back my whimpering sob I was getting over. “Are you sure? I thought I heard you yelling?” I shook my head and closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I didn’t yell… Maybe someone else did” I was confused because I was certain I didn’t scream or yell. “I am certain you did but I could be going crazy. Anyways, hurry up we gotta go in the tunnels!” I laughed and responded with an exhausted “I’m hurrying I’m hurrying”
When I got out Ian waved me to the entrance of the PlayPlace named “PlayZone Omega”. It was large and almost daunting. Curving and bending tunnels, the portholes being much larger up close and the smell of rubber and sanitizer filled the air with a feint smell of grease. We climbed into the entrance which when going through was much larger on the inside with me being able to stand straight in the tube and walk through. Ian looked at me and smiled before running off and yelling “Count to 20 and find me “ HE ran swiftly through the rugged terrain of blue and yellow gym mats and the tight space of the tunnels.
I sat in a port hole charging my tablet and watching a video that was 20 seconds long. As it dragged on the video started to buffer and I tried everything I could to get it to work again. I tried restarting it and refreshing the page but it kept buffering. I finally decided to stand up as it is been longer than 20 seconds and started to look for him. As I dredged through the cool playmats and static electricity-filled PVC tubing I started to notice imprints in the mat that looks to be his feet. I followed them into a port hole where his tablet sat by itself with the notepad on the screen. “IAN! I found your tablet!” I yelled out hoping he come out from hiding.
Minutes went by and he didn’t answer. I yelled again but still no answer. I decided to sit by his tablet and charge mine. As I sat there I remembered Ian left his tablet on and a note on it. I opened the lock screen and read the note. “He is watching…Hide” I laughed nervously but my body knew… Every hair on my neck stood up and my head was filled with roaring as my hearing goes away as if I’m going through shell shock. I looked around me in a sweaty panic and didn’t see anything. I still had the eerie feeling I’m being watched. It was then my delirium was interrupted by a tapping on the see-through plastic porthole… It was a grotesque and twisted version of Ronald McDonalds covered in a thick black substance that has stained his previously bright white striped shirt into a rust-colored hue. It smiled at me with a long, gnarly smile that was nearly ear to ear. His mouth was severely chapped and I could see the fresh gristle hanging from his jagged teeth.
The creature had no pupils, all you could see were the white parts of its eyes that were bloodshot with a feint hue of yellow. I stared at it and it stared back for what seemed like hours but only seconds have passed. The more I looked into it the sleepier I became but every fiber of my being was warning me not to fall asleep because this thing was not good. I tried to shake my head to stay awake however my eyes were getting too heavy and the room was spinning as I was losing balance. I ended up passing out but waking up in a different spot in the PlayPlace of horrors. “Ian must’ve saved me,” I thought to myself quietly. I looked around and I was in a different blue color porthole but this one was made of metal and a bit rusty. I kept looking around me to perhaps see who or what saved me just in case it wasn’t Ian. I only found a shredded blue button-up shirt that was dingy and looked like it’s been here for years. It was dusty and covered in dried blood. Far from Its pristine condition it once was.
I haven’t looked through the port window yet to see where I was as I was not in the same location as before. Looking through the window I saw something even more horrifying than Zombfied Ronald. It was an infinite expanse of PlayPlace tubes…winding and splitting into more and more never ending highways of metal tubs and slightly damp mats. Outside it was a bright blue sky with clouds passing by but being pierced by the same PlayPlace tubes I occupied. Strangely enough, there was still wifi and working chargers. Below was a ball pit ocean. It had a moving current but only red balls. The smell of Iron and rust was permeating near the seal of the port hole. Looking closely I could swear the ball pit was just balls floating in an ocean of blood.
Fear was setting in more knowing I am stuck here until I leave. Strangely enough, I can get on here and document my days but I fear that I won’t have much more time left. I…I will keep updating but in the meantime stay away from Mcdonald’s PlayPlace.