cold, thin air: Volume 2

by C. K. Walker

  “Let yourself fall out of the loop, the one up there!”

  No one responded to me, which didn’t matter because I didn’t think I’d have the courage to let go of the seat anyway.

  We raced along the track in and out of banks and curves. When we passed along the pool and I forced myself to look down into it. Below the water’s surface the track ended above an even deeper pool. I could see the shadows of several coaster cars at the very bottom.

  I suddenly felt the brakes engage and I realized we were coming to the loop. I tested the shoulder bar by pushing up on it but it stayed locked. I was somewhat relieved in that moment to know I wouldn’t have to make the decision to fall out now or gamble on the orange track. The feeling was short lived as a moment later the restraints began to release.

  As we started up the loop I gripped the lip of the seat tightly and turned my head back to look down. The ground looked much farther away that I’d thought it would. We were very high and I only hoped the ground was made of the loosely packed dirt it looked like. The seconds slipped by, I was running out of time. I had to choose now – the fall or the hole.

  I choose the fall.

  I squeezed the plastic lip of the seat one more time before I gave myself over to gravity. As I felt myself begin to slide up the seat I yelled at the others to let go and fall out of the car. Then I squeezed my eyes shut and felt my head crack the shoulder bar on the way out.

  It wasn’t a long, agonizing, slow motion fall like I thought it’d be. It was over in an instant: one moment I felt an intense pain as my head hit the shoulder bar and in that same breath I was on the ground, solid dirt underneath me. I hadn’t even had the time to consider the possibility that I’d hit the track below on the way down but now I was staring up at it and as my vision blurred and cleared I watched the green cars speed over the track above me.

  The pain didn’t hit me all at once. I had one long, blissful second before I felt it. And then I was in agony.

  I’d hoped my body was so in shock that I wouldn’t feel much of the pain but I felt it all. I concentrated on keeping my eyes open and trying to catalog the damage. There was blood on my clothes but I didn’t know what part of my body it was coming from. I heard screaming as well but I didn’t know if it was in my head or coming from my friends as they approached the end.

  I didn’t want to move, didn’t think it was safe to move, but I knew I had to, if only to pull out my phone. With trembling fingers I pulled the thing from my pocket and brought it to my face, trying to focus on the screen. But it was shattered and refused to even turn on. I threw it away from me and then I realized the silence.

  Their ride had ended.

  With a great amount of effort I rolled over onto my stomach and dragged my broken body across the ground toward where I thought I remembered seeing the hole. I crawled for what seemed like hours and maybe it was. Sometimes I tried to stand or even kneel but the pain in my back and ribs was too great. I was dizzy and almost passed out several times from shock and pain but eventually I made it to where the track disappeared into the ground. I pulled myself to the edge of the hole and looked down inside.

  The track ended just below the surface.

  It was a natural shaft with walls made of rock. I didn’t know how deep it went and I didn’t want to. It was a fate I’d only narrowly escaped. But then I thought about the fact that my friends were down there and maybe someone survived.

  “Koji?” My voice echoed loudly down the shaft. No answer.

  “Scott?” Nothing.

  I reached for a small scrap of metal nearby and dropped it down the hole. I estimate it took half a minute to land and when it did it was with a clang as it hit something else made of metal. The deadly sound echoed up the shaft and out into the cavernous room and I realized this place was built with acoustics in mind. I rolled over onto my back and studied everything I could see from where I was, fighting to deny my body’s desire to pass out again. I felt nothing but numbness when I finally saw it - a long, panoramic window in the far wall. The moment I realized what Track B was for and I let myself slip away into the darkness.

  I remember very little of my rescue. There were tons of people in uniform and my sister yelling and pain - lots of pain. I was in and out on the way to the hospital but I remember passing through the room behind the window at some point. And from my stretcher, through the chaos, I saw in that room a single chair facing the window. It was covered in a deep layer of dust.

  I was never visited by anyone official, let alone asked to give a statement. Charlotte stayed by my side at the hospital for months while I recovered. She wouldn’t say much about that day although she finally did tell me something.

  Charlotte said that the EMTs wouldn’t let her ride with me to the hospital and the cops wouldn’t give her a lift either. She was confused at their briskness and lack of sympathy but then someone offered her a ride – a stranger. On the drive she’d been spoken to by two people who had somehow convinced her to forget about what had happened and to convince me of the same. However they had threatened her was so effective that she begged me to agree. And I did – at the time.

  I am still recovering from my injuries and just now learning to walk without aid. And I never saw Mayhem Mountain again. The loan defaulted and Adventure Valley was bought up by an unknown LLC which bulldozed it and built a block of apartments over the top. They’re sit empty to this day.

  I don’t like the dark anymore. It reminds me of the horror my friends experienced as they looked at the track ahead of them and saw it end before they disappeared into that hole. I try not to think of what they must have felt as they fell down the shaft in complete darkness, strapped in their seats, waiting for the terrible, inevitable end. I wish I’d chosen the pool, if only to save them from that fate.

  As for the billionaire’s son, Abel Bisette was only ‘simple’ in the fact that he was a man of simple tastes. And he still is.

  I looked him up once, only a few years ago. He owns several amusement parks now, all small but sizable enough to be popular in their specific regions. In fact, one is not very far from where I live now. I see it sometimes as I drive by on the way to work.

  I’ve thought about going many times, just to check, just to see. But then I realized that I probably didn’t need to search all the rides in the park to know.

  Because it is a certainty that underneath the midway, below the carnival games and overpriced food stands, Track B lies in the dark listening to the laughter and delighted screams of the patrons above. It waits patiently. It waits silently. Perhaps it waits for you.

  BLUE RIDGE:

  a sequel to paradise pine

  "Do you know where we're supposed to park? Ingrid. Hey, did Mel tell you where to park?"

  "What?" I turned away from the window and flashed Lloyd an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I was just watching something...out…the..."

  "Ingrid."

  "Sorry! God, it’s been a long week. No, she didn't say but since we're the last ones there, I would assume we just park next to everyone else."

  "Actually, we're not," Moss piped up from the back seat. "Ben just texted that he's still on the 87."

  "Guy sells two songs to Maroon 5 and now he thinks he can make us wait around like he's a damn celebrity," Lloyd mumbled.

  "Please, Ben's never been on time to anything in his life. Isn't that half the reason the band broke up?" Moss laughed.

  "Nah, the band broke up because Ash got deployed and Ben was too good for it anyway."

  Moss smiled and sat back in his seat.

  Lloyd and I had been together for four years and he'd been unemployed for three of them. He'd put everything he had into his band and for a while it looked like Vintage Truth was going to make it. Then one day his guitarist, Ashley, up and joined the Marines and his drummer/songwriter, Ben, sold one of the band's songs to a recording label for an ungodly amount of money. Lloyd said he’d forgiven them but nevertheless had spent the subsequent years wandering aimless
ly through his life.

  It was an obvious sore spot for him and no one mentioned Vintage Truth around Lloyd anymore. Well, no one but Moss.

  "So where did Melanie find this place?" Moss nudged the back of my seat with his foot.

  "Actually, Ashley found this one. He said he wanted something on Blue Ridge Mountain."

  "I'm surprised he had the time to book it, he's only been back from Iraq for a couple weeks."

  "It only takes a few minutes on the internet."

  "Maybe for you, Ing. But the last cabin you rented us had rats the size of Lloyd's mom's dildos."

  "-those weren't rats!"

  "-fuck you, Moss."

  Moss laughed. "Just sayin'!"

  "Those were mice. And I'm sure he found it on the same website where I find all of my cabins." I rolled my eyes at Moss.

  "Yeah," Lloyd complained. "But this place is like 13 miles from town and the last 3 miles have been unpaved. You sure he's not bringing us back here to kill us all?"

  "I'm not entirely certain, Lloyd, but if he is there’s not much we can do about it at this point.” I said sarcastically.

  "Oh come on, babe, you know love me." Lloyd winked at me. I smiled at him and leaned over to give him a kiss. Just as my lips brushed his cheek, Moss sat up and thrust his arm in between us to point into the distance.

  "There it is! Finally."

  The cabin was much bigger and older than it looked in the pictures Melanie had shown me. The home was three stories tall and built eloquently into the side of the mountain. It had a small clearing serving as a "front yard" and a dark, dense tree line beyond it.

  "Wow, we're really in the middle of nowhere..." I said to myself as Lloyd pulled into the small, dirt parking lot.

  "Yep. That means we can be as drunk and loud as we want and there are no neighbors to complain."

  "Yeah," I nodded, "I guess. I just hope we don't get the bottom floor bedroom."

  "I'll take the bottom bedroom," Moss said from the backseat. "I need a quiet place to sext Lloyd’s mom.”

  "Moss, I fucking-"

  Lloyd threw the car in park and lunged into the backseat just as Moss pushed open the door and ran for the staircase up to the main floor of the cabin. I shook my head as I watched Lloyd twist around, open his door and sprint out of the vehicle, laughing. Moss was inside the front door by the time Lloyd reached the bottom stair.

  I got out and popped the trunk, tugging on the heavy, beer-laden cooler inside. After being cooped up with those two for three hours, I needed a drink.

  I was struggling pretty hilariously when I heard an amused voice behind me.

  "I can't decide if I'd rather have the beer or the view."

  I spun around and pushed my ball cap up out of my eyes.

  "Fucking Ash, get over here and help me."

  He laughed, striding casually over to the back of the car and I threw my arms around him in a tight hug. It had been 14 long months since I'd last seen my childhood friend.

  "Hey, Ing, how've you been?"

  "Good," I said letting him go. "Have you seen your mom and dad since you've been back?"

  Our families had always been close and I knew from talking to my mom how excited his parents were to see him.

  "No, they're flying out here next weekend. I'm picking them up from the airport like a good son."

  "Good." I gave him a radiant smile. "So we have you all to ourselves for the next five days then."

  "Well, you'll have to fight Mel on that. If it were up to her I'd never leave the bedroom."

  "Oh, god, gross, Ash. I don't need to hear about that shit, you're like my brother."

  Ash laughed. "Hear about what? I didn't say anything."

  "Don't even imply it. Whatever you and your girlfriend do-"

  "Holy shit, as I live and breathe, is that the distinguished Ashley Allender?! What are you doing down there?" Lloyd peered down at us from the second floor deck.

  "That’s Lance Corporal Allender to you. And I'm helping your girlfriend unload the car since you're an asshole."

  "Oh fuck, I forgot, hang on!"

  Lloyd set his beer on the railing and ran inside as Moss leaned against the door jamb shaking his head at Lloyd as he passed by.

  "He really is an asshole," I laughed.

  *

  It was an hour and a few beers later when Ben finally pulled up in his brand new H2. Ash and Moss took turns hurling insults at Ben's new "Pavement Princess" as Melanie and I sat back on the deck and tried not to laugh.

  As soon as Ben walked out onto the deck, Lloyd thrust a beer into his hand.

  "Finally! Now that we're all here I call for a toast to our asshole friend Ash."

  "Oh yes! A toast to assholes!" Mel sprang up beside me and pulled Ash back into the circle as shook his head ardently and backed away from us.

  "Come on, guys, this is embarrassing. Don't fucking toast me."

  "That's the whole reason we're here, baby!"

  "Mel..."

  "Come on, Ash," I teased. "Let your friends toast you. We haven't seen you in forever."

  "Fuck, alright, make it quick." Ash tried to look annoyed but failed hilariously.

  "I'll start, then." Ben held up a bottle of his fancy Trappist beer and everyone else followed suit.

  "Well, you are the lyricist." Mel rolled her eyes playfully and pulled Ash's arm around her.

  "Ashley, what else can I say but thank you for both your service and the great honor of being your friend. We're glad you're home."

  We clinked our bottles together as Moss murmured: "That was disappointing."

  It was many cheers and many rounds later when I found myself alone with a drunken Moss and Ash.

  "I- I'm so proud of you, Ash." I stuttered, putting a friendly arm around him. "I wasn't sure about all of this when you told me you'd enlisted but dammit if I'm not honored as hell to call you my friend."

  "Thank you, but honestly all the praise sorta makes me uncomfortable."

  "Really? Why?"

  "Because I don't know....most of the last 14 months was just training. I was only in Iraq for about 6 of it, in actual combat, for less."

  "Yeah, you must have seen some shit, though." I nodded my head at him.

  Ash was quiet for a beat too long and even in my drunken state I could tell the air had shifted. Moss - who was excellent at reading people and situations - broke the tension before it got too thick.

  "I've seen some shit too, man."

  Ash and I looked up at him as he took a long, intense swig of his beer.

  "Lloyd’s mom just sent me nudes."

  Ash and I laughed and looked over at Lloyd, who was staring down at his phone, shaking his head.

  "One fucking day, Moss." He said without looking up.

  "Oh, come on, man. That's what I do. I'm a stand up comedian; it's my job to make people laugh."

  "A failing stand up comedian who wears makeup even when he's off stage." I added with a wink at Moss.

  "No, I most certainly do-"

  "Ben, you alright, man?" Ash interrupted and we all looked over to the corner of the deck where Ben was standing, looking out into wood.

  "Ben."

  He didn't look at us, but motioned Ash over with his hand. They stood in the corner and exchanged quiet words.

  "What is it?" Mel asked after a minute.

  "I think it was just a bear." Ash answered her.

  "Just a bear? A fucking bear?" Mel pulled her hoodie tighter around her.

  "Well, we are in the middle of the woods, darling." Moss said casually from his chair.

  "Yep, bears are to be expected out here," Ash said, and gave Ben a look I couldn't translate.

  "Fuck that, I'm going inside. A bear could climb up on the deck you know," Mel strode quickly over to the sliding door.

  "That's why you never come out into the forest without a gun." Ash said from the corner of the deck, and he continued to stare out into the trees.

  *

  The next day no o
ne got up until 11AM. By the time I walked out into the living room Moss, Ash and Ben were up guzzling down water and wearing sunglasses to block out the bright sun that was streaming through the large, floor to ceiling windows. Melanie was cheerfully making pancakes in the kitchen and Lloyd was out on the deck smoking a cigarette. "Last to the party, Ingrid. Means you have to go upstairs to my suitcase and grab more Excedrin."

  "Fuck you, Ashley." I murmured as I dropped onto the sofa and threw my arm over my eyes.

  "Guys!" Mel sang out from the kitchen. "We should go on a hike today!"

  Her suggestion was met with a collection of unappreciative groans.

  The hike didn't happen until around 2 o'clock, after I'd had a shower and the boys had had a hair of the dog.

  It was beautiful out, cool for that time of year, but no snow yet. The hiking trail was well marked and easy to follow and I was glad for the fresh air. We were loud and boisterous but no one was around to hear us anyway. Our chance of seeing any animals out in nature, though, was laid completely nil. They could likely hear us coming from miles away.

  I was at the back of the group with Ben and Lloyd. Ash had naturally taken the lead followed by Mel and Moss.

  "How's the music industry, Ben?" I heard Lloyd ask, nonchalantly.

  "It's good, man." Ben seemed to hesitate for a minute. "But it needs more actual talent.”

  "Yeah, I've heard what's on the radio, I can't disagree with that." Lloyd laughed.

  "I mean it needs YOU, man."

  "Me? I'm quit making music, you know that. I'm concentrating on writing my book."

  Book? I'd never heard Lloyd talk about a book.

  "Your book?"

  "Yeah. I'm writing a book. In the high fantasy genre."

  "Oh. You know you didn't have to, though. Quit music."

  "Are we really gonna have this argument again, man? The band broke up, Ben, what do you want me to do. That was years ago."

  "It didn't break up, Lloyd; you gave up on Vintage Truth. Yes, Ash left but you still had me, we could have found another bass player." Ben said, accusingly.

  My ears perked up. This was a version of the story I hadn't heard before.

  "You'd just sold 'Tempered Hearts' to Reprise. You think I was going to hold you back?"