Carnival World Boxed Set (Episodes 1-3) (16 page)

“Hey, look there’s a map of the town.” Sam pointed to the wall where a map showed the town of Crooks, as well as the other nearby towns of Cedar Falls and Warren.

Ryan tore it off the wall and marched back into the main showroom where there was more light. As a group, they found some ancient desk chairs and sat around in a circle to study the map.

Ryan pointed to locations on the paper. “So here we are. The fairgrounds are here. We’ve still got some walking to do before we reach the center of town.”

“And then what?” Summer asked.

“We might be able to find help in town,” Maddie suggested.

No one looked too hopeful about that statement. It didn’t seem likely. Could the Shanks have operated their motel death trap if help had been just a few miles down the road? Perhaps. But Darien didn’t think it likely and neither did the others judging by their expressions.

“Hopefully the mall and the supermarket are as well preserved as this place. We should be able to get as much as we can carry,” Ryan said.

“But we can only carry so much,” said Justin. This time he wasn’t being a jackass toward Ryan as normal. It was an honest point.

“That means we need to pick our next location carefully.” He pointed to the map. “Warren is the closest city.”

“That’s where have to go,” Sam spoke up. “The Barker said-,”

“Sam.” Summer shook her head at him, basically telling him to shut it.

The boy closed his mouth and pouted.

“But there’s a problem,” Ryan continued, “The direct route to Warren as you can see here is over the river.”

“What’s the problem?” Justin asked.

“What if the bridge is out?”

The map made it clear. A wide band of blue cut across the map and it wound right between the cities of Crooks and Warren. Darien knew about the river. It was deep and swift. Some boys had tried to prove they were tough by swimming it. Only one of the five bodies was ever recovered over the past few years. 

“If the bridge isn’t safe and if the river is still its usual deadly self we’ve no choice,” Ryan finished.

“No!” cried Sam. “Not Cedar Falls.”

“Sam enough.” Summer frowned at him. “We’re tired of hearing it.”

“Kid even if we wanted to go to Warren, if the bridge is out we have to go through Cedar Falls anyway.” Ryan pointed to the map. “Cedar Falls lays to the west. From there the way south to Warren is open.”

“Either way it’s a long walk. We’re going to need supplies,” Darien piped in tired of letting Ryan leading the way.

“Might need another red wagon,” said Summer, smiling at Sam. But the kid wasn’t having it. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and he refused to look at his sister.

“Hey, maybe Darien can hook us up with some wheels,” Maddie joked.

“Sure,” he said. “Let me talk to financing.”

Everyone chuckled at that.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Ryan said. “Do you think you could get something running?”

“Maybe. Let’s go to the garage and see what’s there.”

Darien led them to the other side of the building, where mechanics worked on service and repair issues. Darien liked that part of the dealership even better than the showroom. Somehow he felt at home among the noise and the smells. He never mentioned that to Nicole. She’d always been a neat freak and hated it when he picked her up for a date with grease on his fingers.

He opened the door and gazed inside. The bay doors were wide open and sunlight flooded in. It made him smile.

That’s when they all saw it. Sitting there in the middle of the floor.

A Range Rover.

It wasn’t smashed or rusted out.

It looked clean. Showroom nice. Ready to roll even.

“Maybe our luck is turning around,” Ryan said.

Darien didn’t agree or disagree for that matter. He just couldn’t get the image out of his head. His dad’s Range Rover sitting there right in front of him, as if nothing had ever happened.

“Shotgun!” Nicole yelled as she ran for the vehicle.

Maddie almost smiled. The girl had been too quiet since yesterday. She hadn’t known Nicole long but she already knew the girl could be a handful. But it was better for her to be alive and obnoxious than quiet and depressed.

Darien jumped into the driver’s side. Maddie jumped into the back seat with Ryan and Justin. Summer and her brother took the second row of seats. The Range Rover was just about the size of a small bus. It held all of them easily and still had plenty of room in back. For several moments they all just sat there. The cushions felt like heaven after lying on old picnic tables and the hard ground. The car still had a new smell to it.

After a while Darien turned around in his seat. “I guess we should find the keys,” he said sheepishly.

After a laugh, they all piled out and scoured the garage for the keys to the vehicle. Just about everything inside the garage was in good condition. There was no rust, no cobwebs, not even that much dust. Maddie thought it strange but she didn’t let it worry her too much. Not when the first really good thing had happened to them since arriving in this parallel freak show.

After about ten minutes, Sam yelled, “I found them!”

The kid always managed to find something; a football, a compass, a wagon. He was a little homing beacon.

Maybe he can find us a way home, she thought.

“That would be awesome if he could,” said Justin quietly from beside her.

“Maybe we should listen to him about Warren.”

“Yeah maybe,” Justin said.

Maddie nodded, then frowned realizing she initially hadn’t said anything out loud. She had only thought it. She pulled away from her brother. Justin gave her a worried look. He knew it as well. They were doing it again.

Maddie and Justin had been close like all twins. But there were times when they were growing up that they were too close. Like they shared a body and a brain. As they grew older they tried to downplay it. They hadn’t spoken about their experiences in years. During that time they had grown apart and Maddie had forgotten about their secret conversations in their heads. Until now that was.

She pushed her worries aside and concentrated on the conversation that was happening between Darien and Ryan at the vehicle.

Darien jumped back in the driver’s seat. He slid the key in and turned but nothing happened.

“Are they the right keys?” asked Ryan. “Maybe the kid gave you the wrong ones.”

“Yeah they’re the right ones. They say Range Rover on the tag, and they’re turning.”

“So what?”

“Dead battery? Or it could be a number of things.”

“Great,” muttered Nicole.

“No it’s okay,” Darien said. “We have spares. We have tons of spares. We can swap this out in no time.”

“What if there’s something else wrong?” asked Summer.

“We have the tools and parts to make it run.” He ran to a work bench that was piled high with manuals. He tore through them. He seemed eager, almost giddy. “Here is the repair manual for a Range Rover.” He turned with it in his hand, his eyes were alight.

“You ever fix a car, Burton?” asked Ryan.

“No. But you’re so smart I’m sure you can give me a hand.” He tossed the manual to Ryan who caught it as if they’d planned the routine.

“The road out there is pretty rough,” Summer said.

“It doesn’t matter. We sell this model to real outdoorsmen. This thing can handle all kinds of terrain. We have a torture track out back just to demonstrate.”

Ryan nodded. “As it happens I agree. A fast ride will make this easier and give us plenty of options.”

Darien smirked at Ryan’s agreement. Maddie had never seen two people more at odds, except maybe for Summer and Nicole. There seemed to be a lot of bad blood between these four. And all of it was probably high school politics related. Who was cool and who wasn’t. She was glad that she hadn’t had that problem in her school. It would’ve made her life just that much more complicated.

“But we only have so much supplies,” Ryan went on. “We can stick around today and tomorrow. But if we can’t get this thing at least close to running by then we have to pull up and head out.”

“We’ll have this working before that.”

She smiled at Ryan. She liked that he was thinking ahead. At least one of them had to. Most times it was like they were blindly stumbling through this world without any direction. Ryan had a direction.

Nicole watched as Darien put the vehicle in neutral and Ryan and Justin push it into the bay. Once that was done, Ryan, Justin and Maddie went on a hunt for tools. While they’re gone Nicole leaned against the work bench.

“Bet you’re feeling better. You’re back on top.”

“Please, I’m trying to concentrate.” He looked at the shelves along one wall.

She wondered what was wrong. He should have been happy to be in charge again. Having to follow Ryan was like the worst thing ever.

“Well at least it must feel good.”

“What?” he asked without looking at her, as he searched the shelves for a new battery for the vehicle.

“Being back here. The old place.”

He whirled on her then. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Nicole flinched at the violence of his response. He usually wasn’t a yeller. Or at least he’d never shouted at her. Anger flared inside her. She didn’t deserve to be treated like this. She’d nearly died for Christ’s sake!

“You know what, screw you jerk! I don’t need this.” She stalked off across the garage bay. It was the first time she’d ever talked back to him, and it felt strangely good.

She heard Darien yell, “I’m sorry.” But she didn’t stop walking. She was tired of his attitude. If he wanted to be an ass that was his choice. She wasn’t going to balance between wanting to please him and wanting to please herself anymore. Things had changed, and it wasn’t just this place. 

Sam sat in the old lot and threw rocks at the old cars. He liked the sound they made, especially when they hit the chrome pieces like the hubcaps. A small part of him felt guilty for throwing rocks at cars. He’d never had done it back home, too afraid to get in trouble, but here in this place, the rules had changed.

“Hey,” Summer said as she sat beside him and gathered up a handful of rocks. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” He threw another rock. This one hit the side window of a car.

“You’re mad.”

He didn’t say anything just tossed another stone. This one missed the vehicle he was aiming at and bounced on the ground.

“You’re mad at me.”

Sam looked at his sister. “Why won’t you believe me?”

Summer didn’t answer.

“Nicole believes me.”

Summer scoffed.

“She does,” he said, “And so does Ryan, sort of. At least he doesn’t completely not believe me.”

“It’s just so crazy.” She sighed, and rubbed a hand over face.

“But everything’s crazy here.” He threw the remaining rocks all at once. They bounced off the car and the ground, making cool pinging noises.

“Look Sam, it’s my job to keep you safe. You understand that right?”

“I know.”

“Well, then you have to understand that I can’t just go along with something as crazy as you’re saying. Some mysterious person tells you to go to Warren in a dream.”

“The Barker is our friend. He’s here to help us. All of us.”

“You don’t know that. It could be a hallucination or worse.”

“He just wants to help us get home, Summer. Why can’t you see that? You’re so blind.”

Summer stood and brushed at her pants. “We’ll talk about this some other time.” She started back toward the garage.

Sam trailed after her. “Why do we have to talk later? It’ll be too late later.”

It wasn’t like they had chores or homework to worry about. In his mind, they had nothing to worry about but how to get home. This conversation should be the most important thing they should be doing.

He picked up his pace to tell her just that, when he heard Darien yelling.

“Look out!”

Sam turned just as the Range Rover bore down on him. It’s headlights like two round angry eyes glaring at him. Too stunned to react, he just stared into the metal face and shook in fear.

Right before that face plowed into him, Summer had him around the waist and bowled him over, catapulting them both to the side.

The Range Rover rolled past them and slammed into a parked car. The same parked car he’d been throwing rocks at only minutes before.

Ryan came running around the corner when he heard the noise. “What the hell happened?”

He saw the Range Rover nuzzled up against another car in the lot. And he saw Sam and Summer cowering on the ground nearby.

“It slipped off,” Darien said. “It was still in neutral so it rolled.”

“Everyone all right?” Ryan asked.

“We’re fine.” Summer pulled Sam to his feet, and inspected him for injuries.

“Come on, help me move it back to the bay,” Darien asked him.

Ryan got behind the car and pushed with Darien. They strained and grunted but managed to shove it back into the repair bay.

“Doesn’t this thing have something to keep it from slipping?” Ryan asked.

“Blocks, yeah it does. I had them up.” Darien pulled a lever and metal wedges locked the tires in place. It looked solid. “It must have slipped.”

“Obviously.”

Darien didn’t say anything just rolled his eyes. “I found a battery. Pop the hood, will ya?”

Ryan jumped inside the vehicle and pulled the lever to open the hood. He decided not to take a run at Burton. After the Shanks it was obvious the group needed unity. Infighting was just going to hurt everybody. But the urge to poke Darien overwhelmed him.

“What was all the yelling with Nicole about?”

“Nothing,” Darien mumbled with his head under the hood of the vehicle, taking out the old battery.

“You happy to be back here?”

“I’m thrilled can’t you tell?” Darien looked up briefly. “Only I’m not really back home am I? None of us are.”

This was the longest conversation Ryan had ever had with Darien without someone saying something disparaging, or someone threatening to hit the other. Maybe now was the perfect time to say some things that had been bottled up.

“You know my dad was your dad’s back up in high school.”