Something’s Not Right

Sitting around waiting for the cart got old after a few more minutes of no response. The system was supposedly automated- no ride operator here, obviously- but if it wasn’t coming back, something had to have gone wrong.

“Shouldn’t there be someone here to fix it in times like this…?” Frankie considered, waiting beside Katie on one of the ritzy provided benches.

“We could call the owner.” Frank suggested. 

At those words, the younger sister suddenly had goosebumps streaming down her arms.

“Er- let’s… actually, I think it’s fine.”

“Why’s that? …Sara.”

In her anxiety, she’d only got the cop more suspicious towards her.

“We… didn’t pay.” Katie admitted, knowing that other than the owners of a given park, nobody but the most uppity jerks in the world would care if you snuck into a ride or two. It was akin to hopping movies in a theater, if even that.

“Oh.” Frank ascertained. “Yeah, that’d suck then. Don’t sweat it, ma’am. Here’s a thought- why don’t I go check out what’s going on down there?” He motioned towards the darkness of the contraption. “I’ve been on this thing before, so I won’t get spoiled if I take a walk down the track.” He gave her a hearty smile. “Hell, when I find the cart, I can just pull it on back here, and we’ll be ready to go.”

“Woah, really? Thanks!” Katie jumped. “Oh, you’re the best. I was worried we wouldn’t actually get to ride it.”

“Not to fear. I’ll handle this.”

He stood up, stretching in his navy uniform.

“Why are you, uh… here, anyway?” Conrad suddenly asked as he examined the man’s gear, complete with his service pistol and taser. “You on break?”

“No, no. I’m looking out for some perps. My buddy, he’s stationed near Venge City, yeah? Officer Bartlet. I was the first to know that the targets could be anywhere within this general area of the states.”

“Venge City? So these guys… don’t tell me they were involved in…” the driver shuddered as the evening news flashed in his head.

“Yep, those are the ones. Not guys, actually. Girls. Two of ‘em.”

Frank eyed Frankie and Katie, slowly turning to direct his piercing vision right through them.

He burst into laughter.

“‘Course, these two don’t look like bombers. Nah, my eyes are on this one.”

He rudely pointed over to Mary, who was currently also staring down into the shadows of the cartless rail.

“Excuse me?” She addressed without so much as facing him, yet without the even slightest hint of aggression at that. 

“Whatever.” He brushed aside. “I’ll be going now. You sweethearts get some rest, yeah? You look tired. I wanna see you smiling when I get back.”

Jumping down onto the rails, Frank was ready to go. Clicking on his flashlight, he got ready to enter the artificial horrors ahead.

“Hey, wait up now.”

Jack stepped onto the tracks with him.

“You couldn’t possibly know more about this ride than I do. I’ll give ya a hand, yeah?”

Frank tried to hide his disappointment at not getting to be the lone hero for the girls.

“…Fine.” He uttered, adjusting his cap. “You can be my backup. Just as long as nobody else comes to steal my-“

Conrad ran out onto the tracks.

“-And just what the hell are you doing?”

“I uh… can I come too?”

“Didn’t you mention you’ve never been on this ride?”

“I realized… this is a unique opportunity, isn’t it? I wanna go down it… on foot. Then again once we fix the thing. Is that… okay?”

Frank let out his most exasperated sigh yet.

“Yeah, whatever, I guess that’s fine. Now- don’t the two of you be getting in my way, though. And remember, I’m the officer here. You civvies listen to me.”

“Oh. Um, yes sir.” Conrad straightened his posture, while Jack only laughed at the fuzz’s grandiose sense of self-importance.

Frankie suddenly felt as if she was on a stairway with a bunch of people in swimsuits again. While the men marched out into the dark. The sisters got ready for another long rest, hoping no other ride they ever went on would take this long again. At least now she could try to regain some more energy, if the swelling pain on her stomach from the marketing board member’s shotgun blast and the creeping paranoia in her head would die down for long enough for her to rest her eyes.

As Frankie struggled against her scars, Mary came to sit down where Frank had been. Unlike Conrad’s, her seated and standing form alike were impeccable. Socially inept as she was, she carried herself diligently and without a hint of Frank’s egotistical pretension.

“Can you hear me?” She abruptly asked into the air, as if she wasn’t talking to anyone in particular.

“Uh, yeah…?” Frankie examined her blank expression.

“Oh, hello.”

The open iron door they’d all entered to reach this room suddenly slammed shut behind them.