“There,” I pointed to a large concrete block building a few aisles over.
“Let’s make sure we don’t already have company,” Chase suggested.
We headed in the direction of the cornflower blue building. Its paint was worn off, but I could see that all around the top of the building someone had painted the words: Giggle, Cheer, Delight. . .You’re at Fairway Fun Tonight. I really hoped so. Not only was the massive building abandoned, but what window it did have at the front—from which they used to sell corndogs—was bolted down with a metal hurricane shutter. Darius tried the door: locked. The faded blue and orange fallout shelter sign was still attached to the wall by the door. At least we were in the right place.
Chase investigated the lock. “You got a toolkit in your SUV?” he asked Vella.
“Yes. Not much to it, but I’ve got the basics.”
“I can get the lock. I’ll need some tools and a little minute, but I’ll have it open in no time.”
“It’s getting late,” Ariel commented as she looked skeptically at the sky. The late afternoon sun was already beginning to dim.
“Let’s split up,” I suggested. “You and Vella grab the tools, and we’ll get the chain, lock the gate down, and check the other entrances.”
With a nod, we headed off in different directions.
“This way,” I said, eyeing the buildings. I could just see the top of the swings. It felt weird being back at Fairway Fun. With my heart thundering in my chest, expecting to get jumped by a zombie any minute, it was hard to think of anything else but getting inside that building and being safe. Around every turn, however, I remembered the last time I was there with my daddy.
We passed the Ladies Auxiliary booth. “They used to have great steak sandwiches,” I said wistfully, calling up memories of me and my daddy sitting at the red picnic tables nearby, eating steak sandwiches and brushing away wasps who’d come looking for a sip of lemonade.
“So you worked at the carnival?” Ariel asked. I could see from the look in her eyes that she was both interested and a little disgusted. Townies always treated us like that. I’d gotten used to it.
“I’m a tilt girl,” I told her, feeling the pride swell in my chest. After all, there was no higher honor in carnie life than being a ride operator. Everyone knew that.
“A tilt girl?” Darius asked.
I nodded. “I had a tilt-a-whirl. . .well, me and my daddy before he died, then just me. I ran the tilt.”
Ariel giggled. “Those are so much fun,” she said with a bright smile. I knew that smile. It was the kind of smile only a tilt could produce. I wanted to crush Ariel in my arms and hug the life out of her for smiling like that.
“What about you, Darius? You like rides? Coasters?”
Darius shook his head. “Makes me puke,” he said with a laugh.
I grinned at him. I think that was the first time he’d smiled since I met him. Leave it to the carnival to bring out the laughter in people.
When we got to the swings, we were happy to find that someone had already taken down the seats and stowed them in an unlocked container. We were able to unhook as much chain as we could carry. Since the chains had been locked up, they weren’t rusty, but the metal was still sharp. I cursed under my breath as the rough steel cut my fingers. Finally, we headed back to the gate. Vella and Chase were already gone. I hoped they were having as much luck as we were. We locked up the front gate then headed around the perimeter.
“I think there are two more gates,” I said as we pushed through the tall grass.
“Watch for any holes in the fence,” Darius called.
We chained up the second gate and headed toward the back of the park to the crew and farm entrance. Along the way, we passed behind the big 4H sheds. Even though the animals were gone, the lingering scent of horse manure and chicken shit wafted from the place. I always hated the farm show sections of the carnival. They smelled rancid, but were still a great place to troll for cowboys or farmers’ sons. I’d come to learn that the bigger their belt buckle was, the bigger their—
“Look,” Ariel said, snapping me from my thoughts.
We’d reached the back gate. It was wide open. “That’s not good.”
We glanced around. The place was still dead silent. We didn’t even hear Chase and Vella. I studied the ground. The road was overgrown and undisturbed. There were no tire tracks or footprints. I did, however, spot some animal prints in the dust. They were small and cat-like. They looked like they may have belonged to a fox. Foxes must have been common in this neck of the woods.
Puck put his nose to the ground and started sniffing. When he hit on the fox tracks, he growled low and dangerous. His ears flattened, and the hackles on his back rose.
“It’s just a fox, Puck. It’s people we need to watch out for,” I told him.
Puck, ignoring me as usual, kept his nose to the ground and ran off, following the fox tracks. I was glad he was going to be fenced in with the rest of us. I’d about had it risking my neck for that dog.
“It looks clear,” I said then swung the gate shut. Carefully, Darius, Ariel, and I closed and chained up the gate. We swept the fence one more time just to be sure it was clear. Everything seemed in order. If anyone or anything was trying to get in, they would have to make a hell of a lot of noise to do it. And the razor wire running around the top of the gate was surely a deterrent. With the rest of the fence clear of breaches, we felt safe. In our own little fortress, we were protected from everything except the occasional fox.
Chapter 12
We headed back to the administrative building. It was strange how quiet it was. It was like all the noise in the world had switched off. There were no planes in the sky. There was no rev of engines. It was just . . .quiet. All you could hear was the wind whistling down the aisles. When we got to the admin building, we found the door wide open.
Darius looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
“Vella?” I called from the doorway.
No answer.
Darius and I pulled our guns, and the three of us entered carefully. The place had a sharp, musty smell. Inside was a small kitchenette where they used to make the corndogs. An empty hot pretzel machine, soda fountain, and several moldy bottles of ketchup sat on the counter facing the dusty tables inside. Once we were inside, we saw that Chase and Vella had opened an interior door that led downstairs.
“Vella!” I called again.
After a few minutes, I heard a screech followed by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Vella appeared. “You won’t believe this. Come take a look!” she said excitedly.
We followed her back downstairs. The basement itself was dank, but on the far side of the cavernous space was another open door. From inside, light shined out. Then I heard the crackling sound of radio: “The United States and Canada are no-fly zones. All major US cities are now under quarantine. Citizens are advised to stay in their homes. International aid is delayed. Reports of the contaminant reaching Europe and Asia are confirmed. Government officials have been moved to a secure location. Avoid direct contact with the diseased. Origin of the contaminant still unknown. Looping Radio. Office of Civil Defense Fallouts. Standby . . .” the recording buzzed then began again. Chase turned it down.
I gazed around at the fallout shelter. The walls and ceiling were made of some kind of heavy metal. The floor was poured concrete which had been painted white. The shelter was constructed as two rooms. In the first room, the walls were lined with a dozen cots. The radio stand sat just behind them. Chase sat turning the dials.
“This is the only station coming in. For the moment, we have electricity, but there is a generator here. No gas though.”
“Great,” Darius said with a frown.
“What is this place?” Ariel asked.
“Fallout shelter from the 1950s,” Darius replied. “They built a ton of these during the Cold War. Everyone thought the Russians were going to start a war.”
“The Russians? Why?”
“Because the Russians are crazy,” Vella spat.
I headed toward the back room. There, the walls were lined with row after row of boxes marked Survival Supplies: Furnished by the Office of Civil Defense. One box was opened. A tarnished metal can with the words Survival Crackers written on the side was sitting on the shelf. And the expiration date? 1972.
“Well, these would kill us,” I said, lifting the box. “We need to scavenge around the grab joints. There has to be some somethin’ left behind. We passed the Boy Scouts’ place just down the aisle. We can start there.”
“We need to find water,” Ariel said. “We can last without food for a couple of days, but we need water.”
“Should be some faucets around. Let’s go look before it gets dark. Besides, that goddamned dog of mine ran off again. Need to round him up before we lock in for the night.”
“That dog is going get you killed,” Chase said.
I had to chuckle. Chase was right. Puck was becoming a nuisance, but that was partially why I loved him. He was just as mischievous as me. “What can I do? He’s my only love.”
Chase grinned slickly at me. “Someone needs to change that, before you end up dead.”
“What, you gonna try to romance me?” I certainly hoped so.
“Only to save your life,” he said with a smirk.
“Well, aren’t you a gentleman.”
Darius chuckled. “Come on,” he said, and we all headed back upstairs.
* * *
It was already dusk by the time we started canvasing the fairgrounds. Chase, Ariel, and I headed in one direction; Darius and Vella went the other. The first two food stalls we checked were empty. And while the electricity was still on, the water had been turned off.
“No luck,” I said as I turned a faucet on a pipe beside one of the grab joints.
“Need to look for bottled water then,” Ariel said.
“The Ladies Auxiliary stall was this way,” I said, leading them down the aisle toward the food stand.
The grab joint was locked up, but I had brought my wrench. With a heave, I busted open the lock. The sound of the metal blasting apart the lock and wood echoed. We all stilled.
“Scary,” Ariel said. “It’s so quiet.”
“As a sinner at Sunday mass,” I agreed, pushing open the door. She was right; the silence was unnerving.
The stall smelled like it had been boarded up for a couple of years, but it was arranged neatly. And inside, we finally had some luck.
“Anyone in the mood for tomatoes?” Chase asked, lifting a two-gallon can of crushed tomatoes. He turned it to examine the label. “Still good!”
I sighed. This was never going to work. We might be good here for a couple of days, but we were going to have to find more supplies very soon.
“Here,” Ariel said, pulling a plastic milk crate from off the top of the fridge. “Let’s fill this.” She and Chase started filling up the basket with cans of tomatoes.
I started opening the drawers. There wasn’t much else except packets of salt and pepper which I stuffed into my jeans pocket. As I stuffed my hand in my jeans, I realized how filthy I felt. I hadn’t changed my clothes in a couple of days. I could feel the gooey velvet of plaque on my teeth, and my armpits smelled none too pretty. Of course, everyone else looked and smelled like I did. But still, I felt gross.
I gazed out the window of the stall. Across from me was the carousel. It made me sad to see it left open to the weather like that. Of course, the animals were plastic, not painted wood like some of the real nice old carousels. But the paint, even on the plastic, had started to fade. I scanned over the menagerie of creatures: horses, dragons, zebras, over-grown fish, unicorns, lions. Then, I saw movement. For a split second, I thought I saw someone standing among the animals. My stomach dropped to the pit of my stomach.
When I turned, Ariel and Chase were still working. “Look Cricket,” Ariel said, “they must have sold chili,” she added, holding up two big cans of beans.
I nodded mutely. “Yeah, be sure to grab a pot. And look for some matches. We’ll need to start a campfire.” I cast a glance back outside. The window was really dirty, and the glass had a bevel in it that made the outside image wavy-looking. I gazed back at the carousel. I swore I could still see someone there.
Wordlessly, I stepped around Chase and Ariel. “Feels tight in here. I’ll be just outside,” I said then stepped out of the stall.
“Stay close,” Chase said. “And don’t go after that dog. He’ll come back, especially once he smells food.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I called back. I pulled my weapon from the back of my jeans and firmed up my grip on my wrench. Carefully, I went toward the carousel. From my view at the window, I would have bet my life that someone had been standing near the lion. I raised my gun and moved slowly toward the carousel. I eyed the carousel menagerie animals, scanning for the lion. The sunflower-yellow paint on his plastic fur had faded. The lion’s lips looked too red. I stilled when I saw movement on the other side of the carousel. Someone or something was moving away from me, going deeper into the park. A pair of mourning doves in the aisle on the other side of the ride spooked. Cooing in alarm, they fluttered to the roof of a grab joint nearby.
Keeping my gun in front of me, I moved carefully onto the carousel. I grabbed the metal pole attached to a faded green dragon and started to move around the edge of the ride to the other side. The animal’s open mouths had always seemed so fun and playful. Now they grinned grotesquely, their black eyes bulging, their red lips looking bloody. My heart slammed in my chest. On the other side of the ride was a row of game booths. There, I saw the shadow of a man reflected on the wall of a one of the booths. The shadow didn’t move; it just stood there.
Slowly, I stepped off the carousel. Gun raised, I approached the shadowy figure. “Who are you?” I called. “Step out.”
The figure didn’t move.
Beads of sweat trickled from my brow down my cheek. I could feel the sweat dripping from my chin. My heart was beating so loud I could hear it thundering in my ears.
Moving slowly, I entered the space between the buildings. Whoever they were, they weren’t moving. I remembered how Beau had just stood there in the mist when Vella and I ran into him. My hands shook; I held my gun tightly. I took a deep breath then stepped into view of the figure casting the shadow, my finger ready to pull the trigger.
Then, I saw it. In front of the game booth was a wooden silhouette of a magician. The game booth had been used by people who could do slight-of-hand tricks, real rabbit-out-of-the-hat kind of shows. The magician was cut so he was holding his hat in his hands, a cute white bunny looking out. The paint was faded, but he had been painted with a handle-bar moustache that curled at the corners, and he wore a pin-striped suit. He reminded me of the bad guy from the Frosty the Snowman movie.
“You almost gave me a damned heart attack,” I told the magician. Then I heard a loud clatter like someone had overturned a toolbox. I looked across the aisle. I lowered my gun. To my great surprise, across the aisle was a tilt-a-whirl. And lo and behold, Puck was sitting beside the ticket stand.
“Well, found your way home, did you?” I asked with a laugh. I snapped the safety back on my gun and stuck it back into the back of my jeans. Puck whined happily and wagged his tail just a little, but then he stood and circled around nervously, watching in every direction.
“What is it, baby?” I asked, bending to pet him. He was shaking. It wasn’t like Puck to be so unnerved.
“Don’t let that old fool scare you,” I said, waving a hand toward the magician. “He’s nothing but wood. I damned near shot him,” I added with a laugh then rose to look at the tilt. She was broken down, that was for sure. Someone must have towed her in and left her there to rust. She wasn’t even fully set up. The seats were still pushed together, her red and blue paint faded. My daddy would have loved a find like this. What a challenge!
“Tomorrow, we’ll check her out,” I told Puck.
Puck only whimpered in reply and looked around nervously, casting glances up and down the aisle.
“Geez, Puck, you’re giving me the willies,” I told him. Puck never got spooked. Maybe he’d just seen too much the last few days.
“Cricket?” I heard Chase call. “Girl, where did you go now?”
“Cricket?” Ariel echoed after him.
“Come on, let’s go,” I told Puck. I took one last look around then headed back across the carousel platform to Chase and Ariel, who stood waiting with three milk crates full of food and supplies.
“Hey, you found him!” Ariel said with a smile, patting Puck’s head.
I nodded but didn’t say much else. I didn’t want them worried over nothing. After all, it had just been my mind playing trick on me.
“I’ll grab that one,” I said, bending to pick up a crate.
Chase and Ariel started back toward the fallout shelter, Puck padding along behind them. When I stood up, I looked back at the carousel. And for a brief moment, I saw the reflection of a tall, red-haired woman in the carousel’s mirrors. I tilted my head to get a better look, but the image shifted and was gone.
“Coming, Cricket?” Ariel called.
“Yeah,” I called weakly then followed after them. Got a screw loose, my daddy would have said. Be careful, you’re acting like you got a screw loose. The shadows were just playing tricks on me. No doubt some fallout shelter chili would fix me right up.
Chapter 13
“Nothing else. . .just that same recording over and over again,” Darius said as he dialed through the radio channels for what seemed like the five-hundredth time. He jammed his plastic spoon back into his Styrofoam cup full of lukewarm, spice-free chili then leaned back in his chair.
After cooking up a quick pot of chili at a small campfire just outside the administrative building, we had locked up the place and battened down the hatches of the fallout shelter for the night. Despite feeling really claustrophobic, the place also felt very safe.
Midway: The Harvesting Series Book 2 Page 7