Lucky

It didn’t feel like there were eleven other zones surrounding them. You could look up all you wanted, all you saw was desert and canyons.

“Getting darker now.” Frankie was leaning next to a cardboard cutout of Ron Racoon in a cowboy outfit. After running into the park, the quiz showdown and their meal, she was feeling ready to rest soon.

“I think we could at least go on a ride before sundown.”

Katie looked up, happy to be trapped in this old western town. Set lower than the rest of the park, the total lack of line of sight to the other attractions made for perfect believability. Even though Katie was well aware of this, she’d bought right into it as she found herself here now.

She breathed in through her nose, and instantly felt even better than she did already. She couldn’t imagine restricting herself to a single theme park for all her life, but she got it now why so many people treated going to this place like a yearly pilgrimage. It was nothing short of paradise.

“Okay.” Frankie submitted. “One ride. Then let’s get a hotel.”

Like a child wanting to stay up for as long as possible, Katie picked the one with the longest line, almost certainly on purpose. Frankie couldn’t even see what it was past the crowd of people.

“You owe me for this. I get to pick breakfast next morning, got that?” Frankie groaned.

“Okay!” Her big sis smiled, innocent eyes closed in unrestrained hype.

“Get some!”

A little ahead of them and two the side they heard the rowdy cheering. Some guys had huddled around and were betting tokens over a game of dice.

Frankie walked over.

“Sis? What are you-“

“I’m feeling lucky.” The punk grinned. They hadn’t lost yet, she told herself.

Katie watched nervously as Frankie threw herself into the competition. She couldn’t hear her sister’s voice through the murmurs of the line, but she came back soon enough, still smiling- not to mention holding a handful of silver.

“Too easy.” She boasted.

Katie laughed before adding the sum to their collection. Fifty-two tokens total- not bad, not bad at all.

In time, the line moved forward, and they could see what it was they’d even been waiting for- nothing but a tiny, insignificant shooting gallery.