Trembling With Fear 06/06/21

Patty’s Party Time by Patrick Winters

“Everyone screams for Patty!”

The slogan for Patty’s Party Time was memorable, to the point, and accurate. And for being one of those knock-off family entertainment restaurants, it managed to do quite a business.

It catered to children—be it a certain type of child. Parents would happen across its advertisements via choice internet searches and hear about it through whispered recommendations. People from all over would wind up taking their kids to the establishment, some coming in to partake of the fun, while others would just leave their children there for hours, knowing they were in the hands of Patty’s attentive employees. Sometimes, the parents wouldn’t come back at all.

The restaurant’s offerings were many and varied. There were any number of things to keep a child’s mind and body occupied, guaranteeing some memorable experiences for their pint-sized patrons in the process. And today, many memories were being made.

The joint’s gaming cabinets were all full, though the kids in the seats weren’t playing, so much as they were being played with. They were strapped fast into their seats, heads restrained and fixed to stare ahead, eyelids taped open. They were helpless, made to watch all manner of chilling sights and terrible deeds that played out on the screens before them, inspiring madness in their little minds.

Squeals rang out from the Ball Pit, which was filled with a roiling mass of human eyeballs. Children were being thrown in by the dozens. They struggled to keep from sinking down into the gelatinous horror that was swallowing them up, a thousand dead stares watching as they were pulled under, into a deep, immeasurable darkness that some never crawled out of.

Others were busy running the gamut that was the Maze, a jungle gym of enormous height and greater mischief. This winding construction was filled with trapdoors, compressing walls, nibbling rats, and a good number of dead ends, among other nasty surprises. It would provide a rush to anyone who was forced inside, to be sure.

Still, even more were kept busy with other activities, assisted and supervised by the pale skinned, black-uniformed employees of Patty’s Party Time, who saw to their roles with utter glee and devotion. There were the shrunken-head claw machines, the prizes having been supplied by losers past; the Chick-Ka-Boom, where kids were made to squash chirping chicks with great metal mallets; the Shocker, which would send a number of volts through whoever was holding onto its handles; and so, so much more.

Every child was there for a different reason. Bad behavior. Bad manners. Bad grades. Bad luck. 

Adam Tucker was there for his birthday, something his parents had rued ever since he’d come crying out of his mother’s womb; and this year, they’d wanted to celebrate it properly.

Adam had been calling out for his mother and father for the last hour, but they were nowhere to be found; they’d already returned to the comfort of a quiet home. The only ones around to hear his begging had been Sally and Preston, two Patty’s employees that had been put in charge of making his special day so very special, indeed. They now stood at his sides, smiling down at him from the chair he was tied to. They’d placed him at one of the long tables that made up the dining area of the restaurant, affording him a good spot before the stage where the rusted animatronics of Patty’s Revue would give their shows. The metallic performers were still for now, their scaly, multi-armed, fish-faced bodies hanging limp with instruments in claws, waiting to perform their cacophonies again. A pair of great and ornate doors loomed behind them, blacker than night and making up the backdrop of their stage.

“Heya, Adam!” Preston said, his stark white face hovering in front of the boy’s. “Are ya ready for some more fun?”

Sally started clapping and jumping in place. “Oh, I think he’s ready for a lot more fun!”

Adam shook his head, eyes darting between his captors and a groan creeping from his lips. He tried to pull his arms and legs free from his chair, but they were bound tightly, with no give.

“Well, he better be ready, because this party’s just getting started. In fact, I think it’s time the birthday boy had his . . . cake!”

Sally let out a squeal and started whooping and dancing as Preston brandished a kazoo from his pocket. He gave it a long, earsplitting toot, and a moment later, a line of Patty’s employees came stomping into view, grinning and singing as one:

“Cake time, cake time,

We’ve made one just for you!

Cake time, cake time,

It tastes so good, it’s true!

Have a seat, kick up your feet,

Don’t cry or make a fuss!

Ready your tummy for something yummy,

Now have some cake on us!”

The crowd of employees cheered and clapped as they surrounded the boy, one of them setting a large platter of what looked like chocolate cake in front of Adam. But as he got a good look at it, and as the smell hit him, he realized it wasn’t chocolate icing that it was covered in.

The ‘cake’ was the most macabre Adam had ever seen. It was two tiers of lumps and lopsidedness, looking more like a great mound of clay than a baked good. It had a runny, yellow icing piped atop the layer of brown waste, swoops and loops providing nonsensical designs and trims across it. The candles placed upon it were just as shoddy, being thick stumps of pale, crooked wax, some with the tips lit, some not. However, as Adam took in their detail, he came to realize that the unlit candles didn’t have wicks at their tips—they had nails . . .

“Happy birthday, Adam!” Sally cooed.

Preston laughed and bunched up his shoulders. “Ready to dig in?”

Adam groaned and shook his head again, his breath hitching in his chest.

“Well, too bad!” Preston said, grabbing hold of Adam’s hair. “Eat up, kiddo!”

And then Adam had his head shoved into the reeking, dreadful excuse for a cake, his face rubbed through it like a dog in its mess. He clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry out as the employees around him laughed and cheered. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Preston pulled him up for air. 

Adam spat and coughed, fighting to catch his breath and trying not to hack from the overwhelming stench upon him.

“Better than Betty Crocker, right?” Preston giggled, and the crowd of workers laughed along with him. 

The tolling of a bell rang through the restaurant at that moment, a deep and reverberating knell, and all the employees’ faces went wide with wonder and anticipation.

“It’s time!” Sally beamed. “Another show of Patty’s Revue is getting ready to start! And lucky you, Adam! This birthday boy’s gonna get to meet Patty herself!”

Adam’s tears cut through the muck on his cheeks as Preston and Sally angled his chair towards the stage. The other employees scattered, searching for other children to bring to the show. 

The lights lowered a tad and a hum rose in the air as kids were forced into seats.

Some funky bass notes struck up through the speakers to either side of the stage as the eldritch band of animatronics began to move. Their tentacles strummed at their guitars and their clawed feet beat the pedals of their bass drums. The singer of the band brought its one-eyed face up to a microphone, and its goofy voice addressed the crowd.

“Hey there, kids! Hope you’re having fun out there! We’ve got some grooves and tunes we’d just love to play for you! But first, we’d like to introduce you to a very special someone! Without her, we wouldn’t be here to rock and roll with you! She’s the Queen of Obscene and the Patroness of Pain! You know her, you love her! It’s . . . Patty!”

The music swung up into a grand flourish, and a giant spotlight sprang to life, illuminating the big black doors behind the robotic band. The employees all clapped and whooped as the doors started to creak open, and from the darkness beyond the threshold, a hulking thing came into view. It lumbered out onto the stage, roaring with an ancient might that chilled Adam’s blood and stirred his bowels. And as the creature rose to its full height, reaching out its many limbs in a show of power and terror—

Everyone screamed for Patty.