COLONIAL RANGER FALL OUT BREAK (book07) CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 18

The room was already small enough. Space on Princess Island went for a premium and Bob was lucky enough to afford any room here. Getting one that really was big enough for his entire family was out of the question. Of course, the kids did not seem to care but, when do kids ever really notice anything like that? Donna should have both noticed and cared but, apparently she didn't. Then she had to add one more person to what was already an over population problem. Bob waited for the two teens to share the bathroom, as they got dressed for the day, and then he said something to Donna about it. She acted like his protest was cute, “oh honey, you just don't understand teenage girls.”

“You know babe,” Bob replied as he put down the crappy cup of coffee that came with the room coffee maker. He did not want to know how much it cost him but, he was sure that was at a premium too. He then followed up his thought with, “have you seen where Maggie is staying? She's the only one in that room. We need to be borrowing space from her.”

Donna poked him in the ear as she walked by and began rounding up kids to heard them into the bathroom, now that the teens were coming out. She also casually told her husband, “well maybe that little crew, she runs with, can have a sleep over tonight.”

That sounded good until Bob thought about it. Then he tried to yell over the kids who were all screaming in the bathroom, “you don't mean in here, right? Honey?” Bob got no response so he looked to the girls who were plopping back down on the sleeping bags they used. Maggie had a real bed and seemed perfectly content with the floor in his room, among squeals, snoring, unannounced trips to the bathroom, and the occasional sleep walker. Bob was amazed that the girl was actually happy! Her and Shannon were laughing, trading barbs with each other, and giggling like teen age girls are so often in the habit of. After a night like last night, Bob wondered how they did that?

They were still laughing while wresting over Shannon's phone, apparently because of the pictures on it. That's when Donna walked back from the bathroom, looking for a hairbrush, when she noticed the screen and laughed. She turned to her husband, “oh yeah. I forgot to mention that, honey. You didn't tell me Gar was here. I thought he didn't have the money.”

Bob nervously looked at Shannon and then gritted his teeth at his wife. She blew him off as she found the brush, “oh poo honey. Shannon's the one that told me. Why didn't you?”

Bob slapped his forehead and said, “she wasn't supposed to know baby.”

Maggie got the phone away and began sliding through pictures, “oh she knows all right. She's been taking pictures of him.”

“Have not,” Shannon protested as she snatched her phone back and closed out the screen.

Donna stopped and looked back at the girls, “now don't get me wrong. I love Gar to death but, for nice young ladies, he ain't nothing but trouble. Shannon, if your Mom found out, I'm pretty sure she'd blow a gasket.”

“I can handle mom,” Shannon said as she tried to hide her face.

Bob was trying to read some of the park pamphlets, so he could claim ignorance of this conversation later but, he had to say, “yeah but Garcia can't.”

Maggie smiled and had a different take, “oh I don't know. I think he's kind of cute.”

“Maggie honey,” Donna pointed with the brush, “I know your daddy would have a melt down.”

It sounded as if Donna were going to continue so Shannon cut her off with, “it's ok Donna. Gar's got a date, I think we're safe.”

“Oh that don't matter,” Donna waived the notion off. “When does that boy not have a girl. Who is it this time? Does this one think he sells used cars too?”

Again, Bob looked up from the pamphlets but, just barely, “honey, you're not supposed to know about that ether.”

“Just keep studying the maps Bob,” Donna told him in a dismissive way.

Shannon snickered at him and then with an evil tone she said, “it's Betsy.”

Donna had to think about it for a moment and then she gasped, put the brush over her mouth, and her eye wanted to pop out of her head. Then Donna said in a high pitched squeal, “Betsy Fucking Ross?” She quickly back pedaled, “excuse me, I wasn't suppose to say that.”

Now Bob did turn completely around and tried to take charge, “can we move on to another subject here, please. Look Shannon, you're going to be with us most of the day, right? Gar's not going to bother us and we're not going to bother him, right?”

“Actually Bob,” Shannon looked kind of hesitant as she went on, “Maggie and I had some rides we wanted to hit early.” When Bob looked uncertain, Shannon told him, “if everybody goes, we won't get there in time and the lines will back up.”

Before Bob could get a word out, Donna waived it off, “have fun sugar. You got my number.” Bob's protest were drowned out by the screams of children getting tangles pulled out of their hair.

Once they were down on the main park thoroughfare, Shannon was a little surprised to see how empty the place looked. It was not empty of course, there were lots of people walking around but, there was more than enough room to breath. Even the people that were out and about, mostly, seemed to be park employees. Given how crowded it was last night, it made things easier. That was why Shannon started steering them in a certain direction. Maggie picked up on it though and, Shannon guessed, it was probably because of what she said, “was that more than just an excuse to escape the heard? You know? Us having a plan? Cause I don't remember making one.”

Shannon kept scanning her environs and taking everything in, “sometimes you have to escape.” She thought about it and said, “and with my life, that is definitely high on the list.”

What Maggie replied with, completely broke Shannon's concentration. Maggie sounded almost like she was in morning when she replied, “I'd love to have your life, Shannon. I wish I did.”

This now had Shannon's complete attention. She stopped and squared off with the girl, “what? Maggie, you really haven't told me all that much about yourself but, you know, I can tell your family is rich. It's pretty obvious you come over here all the time. This is probably the only chance I'm ever going to get and you have no idea just how thoroughly, all the people in my life, have gone to fuck that up.”

Maggie did not even blink when she seriously replied, “you have people that care about you. I don't even know what that feels like Shannon.”

Shannon shrugged, “in a word, overrated.” Shannon began walking again and Maggie followed but, she was pretty silent. Shannon thought that kind of sucked and, as they made a third lap, around the exact same street circle, Shannon decided to kill two birds with one stone, “let's get a picture.”

Part of it worked. Maggie snorted a short laugh and her smile started coming as she groaned, “you and your pictures. How big is the storage on your phone?”

Shannon though about it. She had a fresh card in the thing but, she was not going to bring that up. She just smiled and said, “pretty big.” Shannon looked around and saw a guy standing in the middle of the street, looking at one of the hotels on this side of the park. The guy looked pretty dorky, kind of out of place, and dressed like he was trying to fit in but, really did not know how. Nothing he had on sure went with that buzzed red hair on top of his head. He was also holding an ice cream cone that he did not seem to have taken a single bite out of. Who ate ice cream at this time of the morning anyway?

“I want one of us,” Shannon said as she grabbed Maggie's hand and drug the girl over to the man. She got in front of him and smiled big as she said, “can you take a picture of us?”

“Young lady,” yeah the guy was a dork all right, “I'm kind of busy right now.”

Shannon replied quickly, “your ice cream is melting. I think you got some on your shirt.” The guy looked down and discovered that he did have a spot there. He grumbled as Shannon told him, “you know that thing is going to melt before you finish. Most people just stick to coffee this time of the morning. You know if...”

“Give me the phone,” the man said in frustration.

He took a very quick picture and then handed the phone back before turning to walk off. Shannon held he up her screen for Maggie to see the picture but, Shannon got scolded instead, “dummy, you still got the camera on. You just took a picture of the spotted tourist there.”

“Oops,” Shannon said as she quickly slid the screen over to her library. It made Maggie smile and want a copy. Shannon emailed it and, as an added bonus she signed the pic, “BFF forever.” She couldn't wait for Maggie to actually open the email and see it. Then she pointed to the nearest open ride and suggested they go.

Maggie pointed out the fact that, “we rode that last night. That's the Haunted House, remember, the back stage tour?”

Shannon played dumb. She then noted a stand that was just opening up and suggested, “food.”

Maggie made another suggestion, “I got a much better idea.”

Shannon was going to insist on the food, but then, Maggie then gave her the whole plan, “alcohol.”

Now the rich girl had Shannon's full support but, there were a few gaps in the plan, “can we get away with that?”

“I have before,” Maggie told her. Then she added, “don't know till we try.”

When it turned out that Maggie was headed right for the stand that Shannon had pointed to, in the first place, Shannon was most definitely on board now. They found this older guy in a food service uniform, sweeping up around the outdoor tables. He smiled when he saw the teenagers. These employees did that a lot. He also said to them, “well good morning young ladies. My first customers of the day.”

Maggie wasted no time, “do you sell mixed drinks?”

He was a jovial fellow, “as a matter of fact I do. Only, I kind of suspect that one, if not both of you, might have a problem with certain park rules when it comes that. Now what kind of Princess would I be if I did not follow the rules.”

Maggie slapped a particularly large Deutsche Mark on the counter next to her and said, “greedy.”

The guy dropped his smile and, for a second, Shannon was pretty sure he was about to run them off, if not call park security. He only stroked at his whiskers and thought about it though. Then he started looking around and, as Shannon took stock, she realized he was scoping out the park cameras. They were not really all that hidden but, who noticed things like that with all the distractions? This guy sure did but it was doubtful any guests would. When he spoke up this time he wasn't using the fake pleasantries, “only one per customer and you get soda cups. You also drink them right here.”

Maggie was about to protest but, Shannon gabbed her arm, yanked on it, and said, “it's fine!” The guy vanished into the back and the girls sat down. Shannon put her back to the stand and looked out on the sights in front of them. Her eyes kept drifting over to the nearby hotel but, that was getting harder to do. There was just so much here to take in that something as mundane as a door or window would not cut it for long. Shannon had to concentrate and, that became harder after one sip of the drink she was brought. She was not getting drunk, certainly not after one sip but, the taste was awful. Her face wanted to draw up and her eyes started to water.

Maggie laughed and said, “first time?”

“No,” Shannon replied as she shook and resisted the urge to spit. Maggie laughed some more and Shannon tried to defend herself, “hey, I drink my uncles beer, all the time. This is most definitely not beer.” Shannon did note that Maggie was having a problem with her drink too, but, she seemed to be just better at hiding it. Shannon decided to be just better at pretending to drink it. Then she got an excuse to not do even that much, “I got to go to the bathroom.”

That also made Maggie laugh, “you just started doofus. Your teeth don't start floating till later.”

Shannon snarled and gritted her teeth, “I'm serious. I'll be right back.” After running off, and out of sight of Maggie, Shannon hit the first service alley, ran right by an employee that looked like he wanted to say something about her being there, and came out on the other side of the block from Maggie. She ran down to the corner where should could see the top of the motel, just over a grove of trees but, she was not looking for it this time. Unfortunately, she did not see what she was actually looking for. After a few choice words and, taking a moment to catch her breath, she ran back for the service entrance, opened the small gate, and almost ran right into the guy standing on the other side.

He was easy enough to recognize because he was wearing a suit. Shannon had narrowed the possibilities down to two things. Now she realized he was the second one, park security. Then he grabbed her arm and said, “enough games kid. Just what the hell do you think you're doing?”

Now Shannon hoped this guy was park security. She wasn't going to take the chance though. She let out a blood curdling scream and began yelling, “pervert!” The guy let go and ran for it. Then the employee kid showed up in the alley and he was between Shannon and the other gate. She screamed again and yelled, “rat! There's a rat!” The kid ran off and vanished in a doorway. Shannon made her way back to the street she came from, went out it's gate, and had to stop when she was back at the curb. Now she really did have to run for the bathroom.

Shannon barely made it. She only wished she had to pee. She pushed her way into a stall, did not bother with closing the door behind her, fell to her knees, and then wrenched her guts out. She was pretty sure she was finished when she heard someone come up to the stall. The place was empty when Shannon came in, so, let them get another one. The problem was, not only did this person stop at her open stall, she then said Shannon's name.

Not having to look up, Shannon snapped at the girl, “what do you want Betsy? Did Garcia send you in here?”

“Uh,” Betsy kind of squirmed, “no, he's still in the room. I came down to get us some coffee and saw you running around. Is everything ok?”

“You're following me,” Shannon said, accusing the girl. “Gar said he wasn't going to do it. I guess I should have made him be more specific.”

Betsy was less than defensive, “nobody is following you Shannon. I just saw you acting like an idiot out there and I was worried. That's all.” When the kid only gave a dry heave in response, Betsy waited a second and then said in a more sympathetic way, “look. They're just worried about you. Trust me, there's lot of stuff to worry about lately.”

Shannon was a bit more scornful, “you mean, like, from somebody that might steal your clothes in a changing room?”

Shannon had expected the girl to get pissy about it, maybe even defensive but, it did not work. The response from Betsy was unexpected and very serious, “I only wish. To be honest, I'm glad Gar's with me cause, right now, I'm scared.” When Shannon's look betrayed her disbelief, Betsy told her about the email. She even went into some detail and, was a little sorry that she did afterwords.

There was an attitude change and Shannon even asked for help getting up. They walked to the sinks and Shannon grabbed some paper towels and began cleaning herself up as she said, “is that why everybody is being such a dickwad?” Before Betsy could answer, Shannon's eyes got wide, “oh my god, that guy that grabbed me.”

Betsy did not get alarmed. Instead she intently studied the teen and asked, “somebody grabbed you? What did he look like? Where? When?”

“He was wearing a suit,” was about the only detail that she had really noticed. Shannon wished she had gotten a picture of the guy but, how could she?

Then Betsy surprised Shannon by saying, “kind of balding but, not completely?”

“You saw him too?”

Betsy nodded and said, “maybe. I don't know. I just think we better go find Garcia.”

That presented a problem and Shannon became a bit nervous, “uh, I don't know, me and my friend Maggie, we were kind of drinking? Maybe?”

Betsy laughed and then said, “well we need to go find her too. No wonder you were in here puking. Come on, you're not a marine kid.”

When they left the bathroom, they walked into a furry mascot character that was walking by. Shannon did call the thing a name or two before mentioning, “what kind of ass hole names a cartoon after a storm?”

Betsy actually knew the name of that character. She had seen it on some of the local broadcasts which, for the most part, was absolute testimony to how inadequate the video services were on this planet. “Woody? Storm? I just thought it was another one of those double reference things dreamed up by some perv.”

Shannon was a bit confused, “you don't know what a woody is?”

“I don't think it's the same kind you're...” Betsy stopped when Shannon froze, got scared, gulped and then nodded. Betsy did not have to guess what, or in this case who, she was gesturing to. Now Betsy gulped and then said, “is that the guy?” The man hurried his pace when he saw them, ducked into a store, and was gone in a flash. Then Betsy gave Shannon a good excuse, “we are not following him. Your friend, remember?”

Shannon had to agree and they made a brisk pace getting back to the stand. The drinks were gone. The place was closed and, most important, Maggie was nowhere to be seen. At first Shannon was mad. Then she got a little worried. Then she tried calling Maggie. She heard a ring tone when she did and, it was coming from the trashcan. Shannon fished it out and then she said in a fearful tone, “yeah, we need to find Garcia, right now.”

Three men stopped them before they made it.