Rushing River Express

“…You’re not feeling too sick?”

“This again? We’re… already in line, Frankie. It’ll be fine. I need to… digest.”

Frankie no longer had any idea what she was doing. Her sister had seemingly reverted back to some former personality as they waited in the tall stairway-like line leading up to the Rushing River Express log ride. She almost looked happy, but… she also hasn’t bothered to finish wiping the crusty blood and puke off her face. Maybe she’d thought the ride would do the job for her, Frankie cruelly thought. She allowed herself to chuckle, though only once.

“It’s time. Aren’t you excited?”

Before Frankie knew it they were herded on to the front of the ride. A whole family crowded in behind them, tapping the whole way. You could hardly hear yourself think. Not that it bothered Katie very much.

A loud buzzer sounded and they rushed down the bumpy slide, getting completely soaked in the process.

It was genuinely fun. With how bad things already were, Frankie didn’t mind the wetness. By the midway point, she was enjoying herself.

Then the ride went sideways.

“Uh? Hey, are we supposed to be moving?”

The dad behind them had failed to notice how unnatural the position was. They sat frozen in the middle of the side, stuck on the terrain as onlookers snapped pictures. Water achingly hit their backs as they waited for something to happen or for someone to come get them.

“Hey, anyone? Anyone there?” The mom was scared. Frankie herself was flashing through her own scars of being in malfunctioning rides. But what scared her most of all was the look on her sister’s face.

She hadn’t moved since the ride stopped. In fact, her very expression had remained the same. She didn’t even blink. For the entirety of their long wait, she was paralyzed with the manic look of an excited child experiencing their birthday for the second time in one year.

“…”

The log raft slipped and sent them hurling backwards down the track.

Frankie braced herself for the end, approaching it far faster than they were probably intended to-

And they slammed into the end zone so hard it nearly wrung her neck.