JJ ARRIVED AT the carousel at noon, and it was very dark. Someone had closed the shutters on the windows, so all you could see was a sliver of snow outside. JJ looked for a light switch but couldn’t find one.

“Hello?” JJ called. His voice echoed. He waited, then began walking around the carousel. Maybe whoever invited him here had left already.

The carousel looked like it was old enough to belong in a museum. The horses were hand-painted, and had decorative saddles. There were several in a row, then a carriage (for the parents, JJ guessed), all with fancy, colorful artwork.

He wondered if this carousel could be haunted. He so wished he had time to set up his equipment . . .

JJ stepped onto the carousel, and ran his hands along the saddle of one of the painted horses. In that moment, he wished he could see the carousel in action.

It was as if someone had read his mind.

Suddenly, the lights came on in the room. That was creepy. And the music started as a wah-wah weird electronic sound and went to a full-on carousel song. The carousel began moving, faster and faster. JJ could feel the air whirling around him, and he had to hold on to one of the horses so that he didn’t fall over.

He tried to move, so he could step off. But the carousel kept moving faster.

Faster. And faster still.

JJ caught a glimpse of a dark figure out of the corner of his eye, standing near the control panel. But the carousel moved too fast for him to get a good look, and the person had turned their back so he couldn’t see who’d started the carousel.

The carousel showed no signs of slowing down. JJ was sure something was wrong with it.

He had to hold on to the horse with both hands now. Everything around him was a blur, even the dark figure, who was now leaving through the heavy wooden doors.

“Help!” JJ called. But his screams couldn’t be heard over the loud, delirious carousel music.

JJ used his legs to steady himself. Then he moved from one horse to the next, until he was at the edge of the carousel. The centrifugal force (he remembered from science class) was even more powerful on the outside of the platform.

He looked to the floor, and knew he had to jump if he was ever going to get off this thing.

This was going to hurt!

JJ closed his eyes, and took a breath. He imagined he was jumping into a swimming pool (it seemed like a more comforting image than the hard, cold floor).

And he screamed at the top of his lungs. Maybe it was for courage, maybe because he was insanely afraid.

But he jumped.