Part Two

            I had to give Devon credit; it had been two days since the black bear had run over him, and he had managed to keep the complaints about his injured ribs to a minimum. In fact, it surprised me greatly that he was willing to go the amusement park with us. It was a grand opening event that we were all looking forward to.

            Thrill Seekers was supposed to be an extreme-riders-only park. The advertisements for it boasted seven large, unique roller coasters and several bungee rides. It was located at the Conway end of the Kancamagus Highway.

            We couldn’t help but jump up and down once we got inside the park. The line had been long and we were excited about all the cool, new rides. The first thing we did was climb aboard the air balloon ride so we could view the whole park from the sky. None of us had ever been in an air balloon before.

My imagination took hold the second we started to rise. The clouds were air balloons carrying angels. They were traveling just above us, always out of reach. The throngs of people below were dragonflies; colored bodies zigged and zagged around the busy, spacious park.

            “Let’s go on the Loony Bird next,” Missy cried, breaking me out of my daydream. She was leaning over the edge of the basket, pointing to the largest roller coaster in the park.

            “I’m game!” Jason agreed excitedly. His face was infused with color. He really seemed to thrive on outdoor life.

            “Don’t we get strapped in on our backs with that coaster?” I wondered aloud. I was thinking you had to be a loony bird to want to ride the Loony Bird. The air balloon we were on was more my speed. I even enjoyed the way the gentle breeze lifted the ends of my hair to tickle my neck. Somehow, it was relaxing.

            “Yeah,” Missy said. “It starts on your back, but when you loop the loops it’s supposed to make you feel like you’re flying.”

            The air balloon was descending slowly. Devon finally chimed in, wearing his goofiest grin. “I wonder why they call it the Loony Bird, though. Does it make you go crazy, or does it make you feel like a crazy person…strapped in as if you’re wearing a straightjacket?” Seemed as though Devon and I were on the same page!

            “There’s only one way to find out!” Missy pointed out, stepping out of the basket. The landing had been gentle, and Missy was obviously eager to get to the Loony Bird. She hopped down the steps and called, “Let’s go, guys!”

            The three of us ran after Missy, weaving through the scattered crowds. For an extreme park, there seemed to be a lot of small children to dodge!

            The line for the Loony Bird was beneath a covered structure and out of the sun. The little building reminded me of a covered bridge because not only was it built in a similar style, but it also bordered a trickling stream. When I leaned out the windowsill from our spot in line, I saw a flock of peacocks trailing its edge.

            As we got closer to the boarding dock, Jason asked, “Did you guys notice that the riders board here but get off somewhere else?”

            “Where are they getting off?” Devon asked curiously. “Is there another building nearby?”

            “I guess,” Jason responded while trying to peek over the railing. His blond hair fell over his forehead and he swiped it out of his face with a frustrated sigh. “I can’t see one, though.”

            “Well that’s weird,” Missy interjected. “That’s kind of a waste of time, isn’t it? I mean, they have to stop the ride twice instead of once.”

            “A bit extreme, huh?” Devon joked while pointing at a sign that claimed only extreme riders should proceed past our current place in line.

            Finally, it was our turn to board. The ride accommodated two people per row. Jason and Devon ran straight to the front when the operator let us onto the landing. Missy and I grabbed the row right behind them.

            The seat was leather and fully reclined. I pulled the leather harness down over my shoulders and upper body. It strapped at the waist to a piece that came out between your legs. Then the operator lowered a safety bar, which ran the length of the car. I was beginning to feel as though I was raw batter about to become a waffle in a sweltering iron. The safety bar and seat were piping-hot, probably from exposure to the sun since the cars weren’t inside the roofed structure. My skin was already starting to sizzle!

            The hydraulics gave a long hiss, and then the ride sailed forward. We immediately began to climb the bright yellow tracks. It was a suspenseful way to start the ride.

            “Here we go!” Missy called with a giggle. “If you boys get scared…too bad! It’s too late to turn back now!”

            “Please!” Devon countered from the car ahead of us. “You girls will be shrieking the whole way!”

            There was no more time for teasing after that. The ride plunged downward, forcing all four of us to scream like girls. The fall was similar to jumping off a cliff; a vertical fall, with feet first and heart trailing way behind. I had to squeeze my eyes shut at the last minute because the drop was a little too extreme for me.

            Next was a double corkscrew, which really did make me feel like I was flying in circles. When the ride began to climb again, I was able to see the disembarking station. It was identical to the loading station, and it was currently crowded with whooping, satisfied riders. Some of them were running straight for the loading station to get back in line.

            The next drop barrel-rolled to the right at the bottom and brought us into a tunnel. I was still wondering where my stomach was when the ride eased to a halt. The hydraulics gave a groan and then an exaggerated hiss, which echoed inside the concrete tunnel.

            I craned my neck up so I could figure out what was going on with the ride.

            “Are you seeing this?” Devon cried from his seat in front of me. “The tunnel wall is gone. Our car is changing tracks!”

            As soon as Devon finished uttering the words, the ride inched forward into the dark. It crept through the black, carrying us further into a tunnel that ran parallel to the first tunnel.

            “Is this supposed to happen?” Missy asked with a trembling voice.

            “Of course it is,” Jason assured her, though his voice also had a tremor to it. “It must be part of the ride. Why else would we be going this way?”

            The ride jerked to a halt once more, and we fell silent while we waited to see what would happen next. Seconds later, light flooded the tunnel, blinding us. I threw up an arm to block out the intense bright and squinted. I was too frightened to close my eyes completely.

            The hydraulics hissed again. This time, the sound was amplified in the enclosed space, and it was accompanied by a second hiss. Something was burning my midsection!

            It took me less than a minute to realize that hot steam was coming from the safety bar and the security harness clamped around me. “Oh my God! What’s happening?” I screamed fearfully, letting my eyes fly open.

            “It hurts!” Missy cried beside me. “Make it stop! I want it to stop!”

            “Somebody help! What’s happening?” a voice ripped through the blinding light.

            Then a dozen voices mingled in the tunnel – each every bit as terrified as the next.

***

            We were being steamed alive inside our harnesses. Someone was shouting through a megaphone, attempting to be heard over the cries of pain.

            Suddenly, the pain began to subside. The steam was no longer hissing out of the harness and metal bar, but my skin still felt as though it was burning over coals. The frightened calls around me diminished, though voices still sounded with demands to be loosed.

            “Silence!” the voice using the megaphone commanded.

            A machine gun fired somewhere far behind me. The sound echoed eerily, and it was followed by several screams. Beside me, Missy was crying softly. I could hear one of the guys in front of us whimpering. I thought it might be Devon.

            “Silence!” the voice demanded once more. There was a pause that seemed to draw on forever, and then the voice informed us, “You are the chosen ones! You will take part in a serious and crucial experiment. You have been diverted from the original ride, and you are now being held against your will. There will be no escape! Should you choose to run, you will be shot by one of the many armed men at my sides.

            “You are about to unbuckle the restraint holding you in position. When you are clear of the safety bar, slowly step to your right to await direction. Again, I must stress, anyone who attempts to escape will be shot!”

            “Why? Why is this happening to us?” Missy whispered. The shock of our situation had stolen her breath. The question came out in short hiccups.

            I couldn’t help but recall my conversation about premonitions with Jason a few days ago. Suddenly there was a very real possibility that Missy could be shot. I whispered back, “Do everything they say, Missy. Don’t run; don’t try to escape.”

            The hydraulics gave a warning hiss, and then the safety bars rose. A grotesque image of a snake’s upper jaw opening to devour me flashed in my head. Amusement parks had regulations and inspections! How were these callous freaks getting away with this?

            I removed the harness and sat up slowly, watching as my three friends did the same. Just as slowly, we all shuffled to the right. We found ourselves standing on a carpeted landing. I shielded my eyes from the light and glanced just ahead of the ride. Unless I was imagining things, it seemed as though the ride was yards away from plunging into an indoor pond!

            “This can’t be happening,” Missy sobbed.

            “Sshh!” Jason warned. “Do you want to get shot?” He was most likely thinking about the premonition he’d shared with me, too.

            “Quiet in the back!” the voice amplified by the megaphone blurted. Then the voice began directing the riders in the cars behind us. Young, old, male, female – they were all instructed to form a line facing away from us.

            The voice was getting closer. Finally, a man in uniform stood before us. He was accompanied by two uniformed men carrying machine guns.

            The man wore a cap but some of his bushy, light-brown hair plumed wildly from the sides. His face had a rugged cut to it, and he was just barely taller than me. He stared at us for several seconds, and then he glanced over his shoulder as if he’d been awaiting a signal. When he looked back at us, he roughly informed his men, “Dispose of these four. The Captain has the numbers he needs.” Then the man turned on his heel and strode away, whistling some sort of marching beat.

            “Okay, you four,” one of the gun-toting men growled. “You heard the man. Get back on the ride.”

            “What?” Missy whined, looking behind us. “There’s nothing there! It’s water! You’re going to drown us?”

            The men laughed robustly. One elbowed the other in the ribs and said, “She doesn’t understand what dispose of means, huh?” Apparently, our deaths were comic relief for these two; a fun way to break the tedium in their day.

            I grabbed Missy’s arm and pulled her beside me, hushing her along the way. I took her original seat because the men were urging us to hurry. I couldn’t get Missy to settle down enough to take the seat farthest from the men. Devon and Jason took their seats quickly and quietly, but not before throwing us wary glances. With fumbling hands, I clicked the harness into place.

I heard the telltale hiss of the hydraulics. Then the bar began to descend; the snake’s jaw was about to clamp around me. I’d be lost to its stomach until it decided to poop me out. Of course, I’d be dead by then.

            All of a sudden, Missy rolled out of her seat and stood on the landing! The bars had me trapped; it was too late to stop her. The only thing I could do was yell, “No, Missy, stop!”

            I knew she couldn’t hear me. She was wailing as she ran away from the ride. Seconds later, shots were fired. Then laughter filled the tunnel, echoing…mocking.

When the floodlights went out, I sobbed. I’d known Missy since kindergarten. Now she was gone. Shot, just like in Jason’s premonition. Jason and I had only been concerned about illegal hunters along the Kancamagus River. How wrong we’d been.

The coaster was now in motion, and we were dipping downward into the dark. I knew there was water ahead of us. At least I hoped it was water! I wouldn’t put it past these crazed scientists to keep a pool of acid or something equally heinous in their macabre tunnel.

Just before we hit the water, Jason called, “Hold your breath! Now!”

Then we slipped into a different darkness. This one was beneath the surface.

***

            I’d written about Death in those first few hours of our trip to the Kancamagus Highway. There was no way I could have known then how accurate my descriptions were.

            I couldn’t hold my breath long after the ride ducked beneath the water. To this day, I still don’t know if the experience I had was a true death or if it was merely a terrible dream.

            He swam up to me and waved his bony hand over the restrictive harness and safety bar. The harness magically unbuckled and lifted off me, and then it floated behind the car like black sea grass. The safety bar immediately began to rise. At the bottom of this pond, the movement of the bar was slow going. It was disturbing the water; causing waves.

            Then I was in his withered arms. He held me tightly against his hollow chest and stared into my eyes as though he wanted to kiss me. Indeed, his black pupils darted down to my lips as if he was truly considering it. Instead, he tucked my face against a bony shoulder and stroked my hair gently. In that moment, I was his beloved.

            There was a struggle. Someone was attempting to pull me out of Death’s arms! Death’s moan was garbled beneath the water. He was cuddling me with one arm and fighting someone with the other!

            I was ripped from his grip, none too gently. My last glimpse of Death showed him with arms wide open, beckoning to me; begging me to come back. His black robe was swirling around him, moved by the current my savior was making as he hauled me farther and farther away.

            “Breathe! Dang it, Leah! Breathe!” I heard from somewhere close by.

There was an uncomfortable weight on my chest but it was gone as quickly as it had come. Then smooth lips pressed against my own. I briefly wondered if Death had somehow recaptured me and was now claiming me with the kiss I’d thought he desired.

            “Oh, thank God!” Jason cried, hovering over me.

            I opened my eyes to see his relieved face smiling down at me. Devon was bent over at the waist, hands on knees, watching over Jason’s shoulder. I pushed Jason out of the way and rolled onto my side. The contents of my stomach came up. I sputtered and gasped for breath while my eyes darted about.

            “You have to get up!” Jason pleaded with me. He was pulling me to my feet.

            I let him support my weight while I glanced around wildly. “Are we dead?” I asked fearfully. “What is this place?”

            We were standing on the edge of a pond, but we were in some sort of cave. There was light coming from several tunnels, which branched off from the cave.

            “I pulled you out,” Jason murmured softly. “We have to move. We can’t stay here.”

            “Which way should we go?” Devon queried with a worried expression. He was looking from one tunnel to the next, appearing nearly as confused as I felt.

            “How should I know?” Jason grumbled. My right arm was draped over his shoulders and he was holding my right hand with his right hand. With his left hand, he raked at his drenched, blond strands impatiently.

            “Let’s go this way,” Devon suggested, pointing at the nearest tunnel.

            “Maybe Leah should pick the tunnel,” Jason argued. “You’re so clumsy; you’ll probably have us stumbling into the enemies’ hands within seconds!”

            “Don’t be ridiculous!” Devon argued, defending himself. “Maybe you can trust me just this once, Jason! Unless of course you know the way out of this hellhole.”

            I was still struggling for breath, but I managed to interject, “Picking a tunnel has nothing to do with being clumsy.”

            Devon gave Jason a satisfied smirk, and then he twirled around to enter the closest dimly lit tunnel. Jason and I moved to follow Devon. An adrenaline rush hit me hard, allowing me to let go of Jason’s shoulder and walk on my own. It was the fear of what we’d run into around the bend that forced me to squeeze Jason’s hand in a death grip.

***

            It wasn’t long before we came to a short flight of stairs. At the top of the steps, we had another decision to make. We could go right, left, or straight across the tunnel and out a door. The coast was clear for the moment.

            “I say we take a chance on the door,” I said. I wanted to leave this tunnel and this horrible event behind us.

            Before Jason or Devon could respond, the door across from us clicked open. The three of us practically leapt back down the steps and put our backs against the wall. My heart lodged in my throat when I heard footsteps on the concrete steps around the corner.

            Two uniformed men, each carrying a machine gun, turned the corner and sucked in breaths of surprise. I was frozen in place. Devon, however, was not. He pounced forward and shoved one guard into the other. Taken off guard, they both lost their balance and sprawled backward.

            Jason took advantage of the situation Devon had created with his bravery. Jason’s lunge forward got him one of the guard’s machine guns. Devon grabbed the other gun out of the second guard’s hands and promptly hit that guard over the head. The guard slumped back on the steps.

The other guard threw up his hands, palms out. “Don’t shoot!” he begged.

Jason pointed his machine gun at the guard while Devon cracked the terrified guard over the head. The guys followed up with a high-five, and then Devon threw the strap to his machine gun over his shoulder. Jason dropped his gun.

I sighed with relief and congratulated them, “Awesome work, you two. I hate to rush things, but we should go.”

The guys nodded, and then we maneuvered past the unconscious guards.

“What if that door leads us straight to the guards’ den?” Jason wondered aloud. “Those other two came from there.”

“I have a gun,” Devon reminded Jason.

“Yeah, but do you seriously want to use it? You’ve never killed anyone before,” Jason pointed out while peeking around the corner.

“I say we go for the door,” I piped in, moving ahead of them. I went straight for the door and pulled it open with a trembling hand.

“Wait up!” Devon said, coming up behind me. “I should go first. I’m the one with the gun!”

“Go for it,” I offered, stepping aside so he could pass me.

Devon proceeded through the door carefully. Jason and I fell in behind him. God knows what we’d encounter next!

Copyright 2008 – Sheila Roy