Graham Park

by Kevin M Moehring

  Mitch makes his way to the injured man, pulls out his pocket knife and slices a hole in the pant leg. It is obvious that the shot went completely through his leg and exited the other side. The wound is halfway between the hip and the knee, with matching holes on both sides. Mitch stands up, looks around the room, and decides to take off his belt and wrap the strap of leather around the upper thigh to act as a tourniquet. Now that he has done the best that he can with the wound on Stuarts leg, Mitch turns his attention to the room they are in.

  There doesn't seem to be much left in here except for a few boxes and a couple of wooden chairs. The windows where the customers are served is still intact but all that can be seen is the opposite side is the sheet of plywood. Fred has taken a seat in one of the chairs, next to the door. His head is hung low as if he is inspecting something on the ground between his feet. Stuart remains propped up on the opposite side of the room, holding his hands on the outside of his thighs. Mitch grabs the remaining chair and sits against the wall opposite the serving window, between the two men.

  "Look, there is obviously something going on here. It's not every day you find a headless body chained to the front seat of a roller coaster." Mitch was ready to go on but was interrupted.

  "Wait...you found what?" Stuart has no idea about what the other two officers discovered in their area of the park. He was trapped inside the tiny room of the carousel and had no way to reach them. "So there really are people out here hunting us?"

  "Hunting us? I wouldn't say that. The only thing we know for sure is what we have found on a few pieces of paper. Fred and I both found basically the same list of names and resumes. I'm assuming that this is some sort of roster for the so-called players of whatever game is going on. Our names and faces are not on that roster, so I wouldn't say anyone is out here hunting us."

  "But you didn't see what I saw. That's what I was trying to get you to come over and see on the ride." his voice tapers off at the end as he uses all of his energy to lower his leg into a much more comfortable position. "Once I turned the ride off and caught my breath, I went back to the room where the ropes were tied. They had been cut near the door and as I bent down to pick one up, something else caught my eye. I shined my flashlight onto the mirror, but I didn't see it. All I saw was my own reflection. Once I moved my flashlight away, the mirror lit up with a long message."

  For the first time since they entered this room, Fred now raises his head. If he is going to be the hero and save the day, which would also bring the attention that he desperately seeks, then he would have to have all of the facts. "Well according to the list of rules, all the players started out on the carousel, that probably explains the ropes. What did the message say," he chimes in.

  "At the top in large letters it said CREW, as if it has to make it clear who the message was intended for. I tried to memorize the rest of it but when people start shooting at me I tend to lose my focus."

  "I think I saw the word CREW on one of the pages you grabbed off the door to the hut, Fred." Mitch makes a waving motion of his hand indicating to the other officer that he needs to produce the evidence he found. "I think it was on the map, come to think of it, I think I saw it on the back of my page, in the directions for the game."

  The two men take out their sheets of paper and again arrange them on the ground in the middle of the ice cream shack. Mitch gets down from the chair and kneels beside them, so he can see every word that is written. He points to a line on the page of directions and again at several spots on the map. "Here, it says CREW HQ is off limits to all players. According to the map, this building here next to the Ferris Wheel is the CREW HQ. Does anyone know what this building is?"

  Stuart is grunting as he tries to angle his head higher to get a look at the map. Fred is shaking his head as form of response before beginning to speak. "I don't think it's a public building, at least not one that I can remember. It looks like the place where the restrooms are located. It might refer to the offices where the owners and managers stay during the day."

  "That's it! It's right there between the Ferris Wheel and main gate. From the outside it just looks like a pole barn but once you're inside you would think you were in an office building. I went there once with my father...I mean the sheriff, when there was a robbery a few years back. Now that we know that the people playing the game call themselves the CREW and we know where the headquarters is, we know where we need to go next."

  Stuart makes a coughing sound, not the kind of sound that comes from choking on blood or anything. He makes the coughing sound to get the attention of the other two men. Once they turn their attention back to him with puzzled stares, he begins to tell the what the rest of the message on the mirror said. "First of all, with my leg like this, I doubt I will be getting anywhere near the Ferris Wheel or main gate. Secondly, if you would let me finish, the rest of the message said that there were three new players in the game. I don’t really remember how it was worded exactly, just that they were definitely talking about us. So, like I was saying, there are people out there that are hunting us."

  Fred is now on the edge of his chair, listening intently and scratching his head in bewilderment at the same time. "The message said that there were three new players in the game. That could be anyone. There is no way to tell that they were implying we were to be hunted. That message could have been weeks old."

  "No Fred, the last few lines of the message made certain that even someone as naive as myself would understand who the three new players were." Again, Stuart makes a facial expression to let both of the men know that he was agony over his injury. "It said something to the effect that our heads were worth seventy-five grand, I think. At the bottom in large letters, it said the new players were the LAW!"

  Chapter 17

  Mitch is now up and pacing the room, well pacing it as best that he can considering it takes exactly two steps to get from one side to the other. The message that Stuart told them he saw on the mirror was definitely putting the three officers right in the middle of whatever deadly game was being played. Once Fred confirmed, according to the list of game rules, that all messages will be communicated via the carousel panels, it was obvious to everyone that they were indeed the new players.

  "I think it's clear to all of us that we are in danger. We need to figure out what are next move is or some kind of strategy that will keep us all alive." The desperation in his voice is apparent even when he clears his throat and tries to sound much more confident. "According to the map, whoever is running this thing is held up near the main gate. Somehow we have to get to that building and stop this."

  "I'm content to just hide out in this building," Stuart adds while still applying pressure to the gunshot wound to his thigh. "Eventually someone, probably the sheriff, will come out looking for us."

  "We can't stay here, Stuart. You were the one that found the message. There’s a price on our head." Mitch reaches down and grabs one of the pieces of paper that had been laid out on the floor. "These guys are coming for us and it won't be long until they find us. Have you had a look at these guys, they are trained killers."

  "We can't just leave him in this room, nor is he in any shape to go running around the park," Fred explains. "Mitch, I want to end this thing as badly as you do but we are no match for these guys. The guys on that list have been training for years to hunt and kill, not to mention that there is six of them and we only have two healthy bodies."

  "Correction, there are only five of them now. I think it's safe to say that the body I found on the front seat of the roller coaster belongs to one of these faces." Mitch holds the list of players high above his head and shakes it violently for emphasis.

  "So, there's only five highly trained killers out there somewhere looking to get rich off of our heads. That makes me feel so much better." Fred's face is now turning bright red with frustration. "I don't know about you, but I didn't sign up to be a cop so I could run around Graham Park trying to avoid a group of mercenaries."

  Th
e two men are now almost face to face, as if they would come to throwing fists at any moment. Stuart has been listening to the disagreement from the other side of the room and looking over the papers that are laid out on the floor. His focus is mainly being pointed toward the map of Graham Park. "Mitch, what time was it when you saw the Ferris Wheel?"

  The question surprises the two other officers and breaks the tension that had been building in the room. Mitch and Fred look over at Stuart at the same time, both men reluctant to take their eyes off of the other. "It was a little after nine I think, why?"

  "And it was right around midnight when the carousel started up, with me on it. The map has corresponding times listed on it for every ride, like a time when each ride will turn on." Stuart has moved his body so that his upper body is resting on his left elbow, which is working hard to hold up the weight. He uses his right hand to point at the times listed on the map for both the Ferris Wheel and carousel. "What time is it now?"

  "It's almost two," says Fred after looking at his phone. "When is the next time on the map?"

  Stuart runs his finger across the map looking closely for the times listed near the names of the rides and attractions. "It looks like the next time on the map is two-thirty."

  Mitch has now moved closer to Stuart and studies the map from over his shoulder. "Yeah, looks like the roller coaster has the nearest time. That's probably where we should head next, at least to get a look."

  The redness returns to Fred's cheeks, "If the map shows that something in the game is happening at the roller coaster at that time, then we should be as far away as possible."

  "Fred, we need to put an end to this. Following the map and the times might get us close enough to these guys so we can arrest them. It sure as hell beats sitting in here and waiting for them to come find us." Mitch has always been one of those people who likes to use his hands when he talks, especially in times like this when he is trying to convince someone to do it his way.

  Fred takes a look at Stuart, who is still seated on the floor nursing his wounds. "You think you can move on that leg?"

  The injured officer looks at both of the men standing over him. His eyes dart from one to the other before he sticks out his hands in hopes that the two men will help him get to his feet. They oblige him and after a loud groan he is able to stand on his one good leg. Now that he is up off the ground he can see further past the two men than he could while he was on the ground.

  "Guys, I don't think we have much time to debate this any longer. There's smoke coming in from under the door!" He almost loses his balance when he removes his hand from the wall that he's been using to keep him up, and uses it to point to the stream of black smoke that's coming in from the space at the bottom of the door.

  Mitch quickly makes his way to the door and places his hand against it. The heat from the fire has made the inside of the door hot to the touch. "This is a wooden building and it is definitely on fire. We need to get out of here, quickly!"

  Fred races over to grab his rifle, looks back at Stuart before walking over to Mitch and leaning in to whisper in his ear. "If we walk out of here with him, we are pretty much dead. I say he's on his own. Hell, I say we all split up and take our chances on our own."

  Mitch looks at him with a disgusted expression. The thought of leaving Stuart to fend for himself never even crossed his mind. The fact that his fellow officer thinks it's the best idea angers him. He heads over to Stuart, throws the injured man’s arm over his own shoulder, and leads him to the doorway. "You can do what you want but I'm not going to leave him behind."

  The small ice cream stand is now almost completely full of smoke. Mitch is having a tough time holding up Stuart as they make their way toward the door. The anger and adrenalin are the only things pushing him through the thick wall of smoke with the extra weight on his shoulders. He bumps into Fred near the door and uses his free hand to give him a solid forearm push that moves him back. A swift kick of the hot door swings it open, exposing the roaring blaze of flames that has been working its way around the outside of the structure. With the door open, it takes almost no time for the intense heat of the fire to spread to the inside of the room. There is no choice left but to make a run through the flames. Mitch lowers his head and uses his free arm to cover the face of Stuart. After a deep inhale and a strong nudge to the back of his colleague, the two men are heading straight into the inferno.

  Chapter 18

  The two men move rapidly at first, but it isn't long until the lack of fresh air and the burden of Stuarts wounded leg slow them down. It was only twenty feet from the burning building to the wooded area that follows the concrete walkway. It never occurred to Mitch that the burning of the building was just a ploy to get the three officers out into the open and there could easily be multiple assassins on the outside waiting for them. The two men clumsily fall off of the path and into the shrubs and trees.

  Stuart practically collapses against a tree trunk and gasps for air. The short run from the building and the amount of smoke he ingested inside the ice cream building would leave the healthiest of people breathless. The men are captivated by the soaring flames that have now engulfed the building where they once felt safe. Mitch has gotten back to his feet and recovered much more quickly than Stuart.

  Deputy Thompson is now walking between the trees and bushes, shining his flashlight in different areas but making sure to not shine it out onto the concrete path. He doesn't want to give out his location to any of the killers who could be looking for them. His anger toward Fred before he left the room is no longer as important as finding his fellow officer. He had to struggle so bad to get Stuart to safety that he didn't have time to turn and look to see if Fred was able to make it out.

  He turns off his flashlight and sits down next to Stuart under the tree. Hopefully Fred made it out safely because now the ice cream building is nothing more than burning rafters. The wooded protection that had been mounted to protect the glass windows acted as kindling and helped the fire spread to the entire structure. As they watch the fire slowly die out due to fact that everything that was flammable has now been burned, Mitch notices that the place where they ended up is probably impossible to detect from the pathway. There are several trees and overgrown bushes between where they sit and where the building was.

  "It's probably about time to get to the roller coaster," Stuart says in a painfully strained voice. "We should probably get going if we are going to have any chance of making it on time.

  "We have no chance of making it on time. Did you happen to see if Fred made it out of the building?" Mitch knows that it would have been nearly impossible for Stuart to see if their partner made it out, due to the fact that he kept forcing his head down in an attempt to keep the fire from burning his face. He asks the question anyway to make sure that Stuart is aware of the fact that they very well could have lost a friend.

  "I didn't see him. You kept pushing my head down into my chest. You could just leave me here and go check out the roller coaster if you want." Stuart knows that Mitch would never leave him alone, especially if there was any chance the killers could be in this area.

  "That's not going to happen. I just wish we knew what time was next on the map. We lost all of our evidence in the fire." The fact that all the papers were lost is not really important now but if there was ever going to be a trial, the evidence would be needed.

  "Let me check the map and see when the next time is." Stuart reaches into his coat pocket and produces a stack of papers and begins to unfold the map. "While you two were whispering to each other, I grabbed all of the papers."

  "I could kiss you right now!" Mitch scoots over so the two men could look at the map at the same time. "Looks like the pirate ship says three-thirty. That's the next time slot. That ride isn't too far from here, just down past the exit to the roller coaster."

  Stuart is holding the map in both of his hands while Mitch is using the flashlight for visibility. Mitch is using his index finger to trace the pa
th from where they are to where the pirate ship ride is. As his finger makes the last turn before getting to the ride, the map begins to shake badly. Before he can ask Stuart why the map is shaking, the far side of the map falls to the ground. He looks to Stuart who is now pointing back and the burning coals that was once the ice cream building.

  Through the overgrowth Mitch can make out a dark figure moving toward the fire. He reaches for his rifle and tries to use the scope, so he can get a closer look. The man is large, carries a giant canvas bag and what looks to be a machete. He follows the figure as he circles the burning remnants of the building. The man is using the machete to poke at the coals and turn over large pieces of smoldering wood. Mitch slows his breathing, places his finger over the trigger to his rifle and prepares to fire.

  Other than deer, he has never shot anything in his life. In the last thirty years, no member of the Twisted Timbers police force has ever fired a weapon while on-duty. He is now aiming down his scope at a dark figure who is only a few feet away from them. He allows his finger to rest on the trigger before applying the pressure needed to fire the round. The shot echoes through the silence of the night as does the sound of the body hitting the concrete.

  Chapter 19

  Mitch had always been a good shot with his rifle. His father taught him at a very young age how to adjust for distance and wind speed when aiming at a deer far in the distance. The man he just shot was less than fifteen yards away and even at night, the shot would not have been considered difficult. He was able to see the reaction of the body as the bullet entered his neck, just below the jaw line. The knees buckled almost immediately and more than likely the man felt the burn of the bullet ripping through his flesh before he heard the sound of the shot.