Stragglers

“Well… this is what you wanted, kid.” Umi spoke. “I hope you enjoy it.”

The girls walked the streets of the dying town, paying off whoever they came across. Every few minutes, a family that didn’t get the memo. A lone guest who hadn’t been paying attention. All people who had just been spending their day here normally, unbeknownst to Frankie’s schemes.

“Who are you exactly?” Asked the first guest they’d seen in at least half an hour- a man, all on his own, visiting from college.

“Doesn’t matter. Look, everyone else left, yeah? Look around.” Frankie groaned. “So uh… here. Have this. And get outta here.”

“What the…”

Flipping through the bills, the man didn’t take the chance to miss this opportunity. Frankie watched him carefully as he ran towards the nearest entrance.

As the sun slowly began to fade, Umi watched Frankie shivering.

“They should all be gone now…” she said to the girl.

“Yeah.” She answered. “But… it’s, um… I had all the enforcers leave, yeah? What if… someone just runs off with the money…?”

“This place is so big, I don’t think we could possibly run into them anyway.”

“Eh- yeah…” she mumbled, tugging on her shirt. “I think… we should start… riding some rides, now.”

“You sound more unnerved than you did just a few seconds ago.” Katie commented. “And a lot more than when you were conning the whole park.”

“You wanted to be alone so bad, maybe all that anxiety and paranoia got overpowered…” Umi guessed. “You’ve got some drive inside you, I’d say.”

“Maybe…” Frankie said.

“We’re just about out of money now, huh…” Katie mentioned, looking at the darkening concrete. “Well, I never planned to have funds for this journey anyway. Watch out, Museworld…” she riled herself up, pumping her fist. “…here I come!”

“So… what do you wanna ride, princess? The park is your oyster.” Umi stretched her arms.

Frankie didn’t look at the woman until she came up with her first idea for a destination- something pretty simple, but a wish she could now easily achieve.

“I wanna… go on the Gigawhale.”

“Again?”

“Yeah, that’s right… maybe… just maybe, this time… without that damn wait, and that weirdo behind me the whole time… I might actually enjoy it.”

“You mean it, Frankie?” Katie cheered, about to jump with glee. “Woo-hoo!”

The three trekked back to the colossal tower, returning just as the sun was almost set.

“I’m just happy you didn’t pay off all the staff.” Umi noted as they walked past the pool of water the ride exited to. “Safety first, you know?”

SPLASH

Everyone’s attention was abruptly stolen when a rouge float hit the bottom of the ride.

“Is someone still here?” Umi asked under her breath, the water clearing as he stood up to get off the ride.

“What seems to be… the problem?” The bald man asked, looking over his shoulder at them, itching to go up the stairs again.

“You again… Brice Gills?” Umi gasped.