Title: Monsterland
Author: Michael Phillip Cash
Genre: Horror / Action
Welcome to Monsterland – the scariest place on Earth. All guests can interact with real vampires in Vampire Village, be chased by an actual werewolf on the River Run, and walk among the dead in Zombieville. Wyatt Baldwin, a high school student and life-long movie buff is staring bleakly at a future of flipping burgers. Due to a fortuitous circumstance, Wyatt and his friends are invited to the star-studded opening of Monsterland. In a theme park full of real vampires, werewolves and zombies, what could possibly go wrong?
“Not a pleasant sight, ladies and gentlemen, but a stark reminder of what we are trying to accomplish here today,” Vincent began. He had their attention now. “Monsterland was created with the help of President McAdams and his administration to prevent the spread of the virus, as well as protect the entire population of the United States.” The room quieted as the guests listened with rapt interest. “By nature, we are curious creatures. I myself used my natural interest to discover werewolves. Using my resources, I captured them all and have brought them to the various parks to prevent them from rampaging our communities.”
Carter smirked. He hadn’t heard of any rampaging werewolves. Apparently, they had been in the Everglades for eons and had lived unnoticed by the rest of society. Lie one, he began his count.
Vincent continued. “Vampires have lived among us, on the fringe of society, for a long time, but their disregard for our values has made them a menace as well as a nuisance. Their wholesale thirst to corrupt our youth had to be stopped and stopped fast. No country is safe from those vermin.”
Carter caught Jessup’s face and rolled his eyes. Vamps had lived peacefully among the population for years. They didn’t bother us, and we didn’t bother them, he thought. They were dying out now, having trouble adding to their numbers. It was against the law to make someone a vampire, the punishment swift and terrible. Only the occasional disenfranchised teenagers found themselves sucking blood, but, generally, it had been brought under control years ago. While they were known to prey on people intent to join their ranks, usually they were turned into drones and released when the blood drawing stopped. Carter shook his head. If you didn’t give them an excuse to find a disengaged person, they eventually moved on elsewhere. With the exception of Melvin’s mother, Carter couldn’t think of another person he knew who had joined them. She ended up in Antarctica anyway.
“The vitality challenged,” President McAdams corrected. “We don’t like the other term.”
“Of course.” Vincent smiled. “The vitality challenged presented a big, expensive burden to the country as well as the world.”
“We are working on a cure,” the president said to the room at large, his hands outstretched with assurance.
“Indeed, we are.” The doctor took over. “Having them here kills two birds with one stone. You see”—he directed this to the Asian diplomats—“making them available in a safe environment is better for the entire population. Now people can see them safely. Even though their camps were high in the mountains, pesky interlopers would go there to investigate and, sadly, were infected, making more people at risk. Here.” He pointed to a monitor. “We wear protective suits. We can study them, and people can see them without running the risk of bringing the infection home.”
