Taker

by Patrick Wong

  “Guess we’d better split up for a couple of hours?” Amy suggested. “The feds are looking to find a group of four. If we split up, we’ll throw them off the scent. Plus, I have about a million things I want to do here today, and there is only one person who’ll put up with me for that whole crazy tour!” Amy kissed Drake and then beamed at the group.

  “Sure. Whatever.” Nicole folded her map and pushed down a momentary feeling of unhappiness. Although she wanted to stay together, she understood that splitting up made sense. “You take the west, and we’ll go east toward the Fountain of Youth.”

  Amy gasped and pointed at the large, modern-looking roller coaster. “Man, I need us to be on that ride, stat!” With that, she grabbed Drake’s hand and dragged him off.

  Nicole knew she wasn’t going to be able to hide her disappointment, but when she turned to Ben, she could see he was suppressing a smile. Maybe this was what it was like to be Ben? To always see someone picked above him? And here he was, ending up with Nicole and looking pretty happy about it.

  “So.” Ben clutched his park map as casually as he could. “What first?”

  Nicole linked her arm through Ben’s. She saw color flash to his cheeks.

  “I say we cut to the chase and get to the Fountain of Youth ride. It might take a while to find the dungeon.”

  “Sure thing. Want this?” Ben offered his map.

  “Nope, I trust you. You’re the navigator.”

  She kept her arm looped through his as they started to walk.

  Nicole watched a passing family, the little girl riding on her dad’s shoulders, dressed as a mini-pirate.

  “It’s pretty awesome, right?” Nicole asked.

  “My mom wanted to bring us, but only when I’d be old enough to remember,” Ben offered. “By the time that happened, my dad had gone off to wherever he went, so then we couldn’t afford it.”

  Nicole thought of the few vacations she had been on as a child and had taken for granted at the time, thinking everyone was able to enjoy such experiences. As she watched Ben walking along now, she realized how different they were. How Ben had always stood out in some way or another at school. He had once told her that his mom had moved them to a smaller home so he and his sister could go to the nearby public school.

  “Hey, look! We can get that train!” Ben piped up, pointing to the miniature black steam train whistling into a stop ahead of them. “If I’m right, it’ll take us straight there.”

  He broke into a run, and Nicole took up his pace. Up ahead, the train was coming to a halt at its station, and its passengers were readying themselves to get out of the open cars behind.

  The whistle blew, and the conductor waved at everybody waiting to board the train. Nicole felt the fun catch in her veins, and she began to laugh at the thrill of it — at how this contrasted with pretty much everything else that had happened recently. The run had infused energy back into her legs, and her aching limbs now felt light and nimble once more.

  She thought of how different this felt compared with running through the forest with Agent Carter pursuing her — the pounding of her heart, the unevenness of the bouncy ground, and the true, imminent threat. Darkness began to seep in at the edges of her mind again.

  No, this wasn’t the place.

  Nicole increased her speed, pushing the thoughts behind her. Finally, she and Ben made it to the station. The pair flashed their fast-track tickets, which let them dodge most of the people in line. They found seats at the front, near the train conductor, and collapsed into them, laughing as the train started moving off.

  “We can stop at the next station,” Ben said. “And maybe after the Fountain of Youth, we can see Adventure Tower? Prehistoric Perils?”

  They calmed down and fell silent as they caught their breath, watching the rest of the crowds as roller coasters swooped past. Children danced by in fancy dress, some as pirates, others as dinosaurs, and still others as pirate dinosaur princesses. As the steam train wound its way through the different lands, Nicole found herself wondering how Amy was, and whether she would have done the same thing if Jason were here. She remembered him now — his scent, the flash of blue in his eyes, and that half-smile that brought just the slightest dimple to his cheek. She could hardly blame Amy for wanting to spend part of the day with Drake.

  “Nicole?”

  She felt a timid tap on her shoulder, and noise and color drained back into the world. Ben was nudging her to disembark the train, the cavernous entrance to the Fountain of Youth ride yawning ahead of them.

  “We’re here.”

  Easing herself out of the open carriage and onto the platform, Nicole stopped to take it all in. She could already hear the strains of music from the ride — it had a deep, reverberating song that began with ancient hums and ohms and string music.

  Oh, the years gone by.

  The mistakes I’ve made!

  I’ve been searching far and wide.

  I’ll find myself a spring.

  Through my traveling

  That will cast the years aside.

  A fountain in the ground

  From legend that’s been told

  Brought me miles from home today.

  I’ll find myself the spring.

  Through my traveling

  And I’ll cast the years aside.

  My friends they think I’m mad

  But I’ll prove them wrong

  When I come home a younger man

  Having found the spring.

  Back home from traveling

  Happy to cast those years aside.

  “I’ve got a feeling I’m going to be haunted by that song all day,” Ben remarked as they walked into the building that housed the ride.

  “There are worse things, I guess,” Nicole added. The tune was catchy, and as the conquistador waved them forward, she felt a thrill of anticipation at what they might uncover.

  Maybe this place would have some of the answers she had been hoping for.

  So… Tonight?

  The ground dropped again beneath her, and Amy was glad not to be face-whipped by her own hair as the ride spun her under and over, again and again. Her crazy wig was not faring well, and she was having to hold it in place. She noted that Drake’s pirate hat had survived the journey intact.

  The Bat Ride was the second place they’d visited. Drake’s whitening knuckles amused Amy as the large, black, bat-shaped carriage — complete with wings and fangs — darted them back and forth and under and over various parts of Victorian London. She thought she’d heard Drake shriek when they’d barely missed clipping a chimney stack, but when she checked, she found him making a supreme effort to look cool, calm and in control.

  Amy let out a squeak as the bat swung upside down through some eye-itching fog and under the glow of an old gas street lamp. She felt the blood rush to her head. The whoosh of wind past her ears was cold — something she was getting used to. There were times when she thought her former long hair was still there. Of course, cutting her hair short in an attempt to confuse the agents back in Virginia was a small price to pay to buy Nicole some time to escape.

  Nicole had gone through so much more, and Amy knew her best friend was struggling. The sad thing was, there was only so much Amy could do. Sometimes, Amy would watch Nicole thinking about something heavy, and she would see the pain crossing her face.

  Amy had pressured Nicole for details about what had happened in the forest, with that FBI agent. Perhaps harder than she should have. Nicole hadn’t been able to get very far into a sentence without breaking down into desperate, embittered sobs, however. It broke Amy’s heart to see Nicole so unsure of herself.

  Drake, meanwhile, accepted Amy as being unique in her own way. He had seen the madness and the fun and the moments when Amy wasn’t so sure of things. In order to allow Nicole to lean on her, Amy had begun to lean on Drake — and every single time, he had proved himself. Moments like this — moments away from Nicole — gave her some needed respite from the life
-or-death drama. That wasn’t being selfish, was it?

  One particularly nasty twist of the ride shook Amy from her thoughts, and she heard Drake let out a non-manly scream.

  “Gotcha!” Amy shouted, but the force of the wind in her face carried her words away.

  Drake grinned and squeezed her hand especially hard.

  After one more spin, the ride began to slow down, and Amy could feel the roller coaster rails judder underneath them.

  As the car came to a standstill, Drake leaned across and they kissed. He kept his face close to hers as he stroked the length of her cheekbone.

  “So … tonight?”

  Amy caught her breath. She was reminded of her mom’s cautionary speech anytime she went to spend the night away from home, even if it was just with Nicole.

  Her face broke into a grin.

  “Maybe?”

  “Oh, maybe?!” Drake laughed. He scooted around to the other side of the bat carriage, opened the door for Amy and helped her out.

  “I gotta see how Nix is. I’ve left her with Ben all day.”

  “She’s not a child. You don’t have to babysit her,” Drake said, with a little more attitude than usual. It took Amy aback a little.

  “Bud, she’s been around way longer than you. Plus, she’s my girl. I got to check in. You understand.”

  She draped her arms around Drake’s neck and nuzzled her face to his. His jawbone was angled and sharp, and she liked how it felt on her temple.

  “Excuse me,” a strange, quiet, stern voice broke in.

  “Yes?” Amy separated from Drake, expecting to see a disgruntled park attendant irritated by their PDA — letting them know that this was a family place — but instead, she found a stocky, leather-clad, balding man.

  “Drake Jennings?” His voice and expression sounded teacher-like. Forbidding. Amy saw that even Drake, with his laidback demeanor, couldn’t help but freeze at the sound of it.

  “Who wants to know?”

  The man held out an identification card. Amy stifled a sigh of relief when she saw it wasn’t FBI, but private security.

  “Your father. Haven’t you seen the news?”

  “I don’t know what you mean. Excuse us.”

  Drake took Amy’s hand and shoved past the man. Not wanting to make a scene, the man flanked them and simply held out his smartphone. It was open to a WBN news page showing the hijacked aircraft and a picture of Drake. The headline read, “Son of Senator Jennings missing after hijacking.”

  “He’s understandably worried that his son was on the hijacked jet, and he wants to know you’re OK.”

  “So, what? Does he want me to come home? Is that what you’re here for? What’s your name?” Drake asked.

  “Steve Calgary.”

  “I thought it was James. That’s what was on your ID.”

  The man glanced down. A crucial mistake that would cost him. Amy watched Drake’s eyes narrow and felt a tug on her arm.

  “Let’s go,” Drake said, and he started to walk away with Amy.

  “Drake Jennings, you’re making a big mistake.”

  Then Drake spun around, which surprised both Amy and the man.

  “Given that you know who my father is but evidently weren’t hired by him, I would say that you’re a journalist. Am I right? Or some hack paparazzi wannabe for that cheap gossip website.”

  The bald guy appeared at a loss for words.

  “Thanks for letting me know about my dad,” Drake added. He started to walk away again, Amy in tow.

  The man turned a little red, but he soon straightened up and followed them. “Hey, come on. This is all I got right now. I could use a break here. At least give your dad a little peace by letting him know you’re safe and sound at Adventure World with your girlfriend.”

  Drake contemplated the man’s plea, unsure what to do next. On one hand, Drake didn’t want to have any photographs taken. But the man was right — Drake needed to get a message back to his dad to let him know he was all right. Before Drake could decide which way to go, though, the man shoved his smartphone in front of him.

  “Smile for the camera, Drake Jennings!”

  The man rapid-fired several photographs, then turned and vanished into the crowd almost instantly.

  Drake started to chase after him, but Amy grabbed his arm, begging him to stop. “Let him go, Drake. We can’t afford to make a scene.”

  Drake relented and instead pounded his fists on the closest wall he could find. “Damn! Damn it! This is not good for Nicole. We’ve got to find her and Ben.”

  Cast the Years Aside

  Walking into the Fountain of Youth ride, Nicole felt like she had a lump in her throat. Though she hadn’t recognized anything yet, she could sense the anticipation tingling in her veins.

  They had followed others in through the dark, dank corridor, as the noise of dripping water running down cracks in the stone had increased in volume. Then the music had built to a crescendo, and the soaring chords gave way to the more traditional guitar music of the Spanish conquistadors, with Native American chants intermingled.

  They reached the boarding platform. It was grander than Nicole had expected, and not at all like what she’d seen in the magazine. The ride operator directed them to where to wait for the next boat to arrive.

  Hydraulic swishing noises and mechanical locks could be heard as their two-person boat pulled up. It was shaped like a small galleon. Nicole and Ben awkwardly negotiated which side of the vessel each of them would sit on before climbing in. As the seat buckles came down to secure the friends in their seats, the rickety galleon began its descent into the murkier cave below. It yawned up again, a black chasm.

  Nicole and Ben felt the momentum build. The ride picked up speed and rounded a corner before tipping them over the top of a steep incline. Nicole felt the ends of her hair lift up in the rush, as the clamoring noise of the quickening water assailed her ears. The pressure bore down on her chest then, as the galleon hit bottom with an enormous splash and then took them up and up, like it was riding the waves of stormy seas. A crash of thunder sounded up ahead, and lightening flickered the lights in the tunnel. Nicole could see that Ben wasn’t sticking to his side of the carriage at all. He was dazzled by it all.

  Then another splash of water, and a thrilled scream rippled among all the riders. Nicole added her own squeals of delight.

  A few seconds more, and they had reached land. The Native Americans were waiting on the shoreline to greet the potential invaders. Each of the Native Americans was a robotic actor with choreographed movements and dialogue that matched the up-and-down motions of their mouths. With their detailed makeup and lifelike skin, they almost appeared real.

  Nicole half-heard the narrator speak about 1493, the year Ponce de León had sailed with Christopher Columbus. And 1513, when he had arrived on the shores of Florida. How he had battled the natives in search of what he was sure was hidden in a cave.

  Whether it was a trick of the light or clever rigging Nicole couldn’t work out, but just then arrows shot over their heads. She found herself ducking and flinching and laughed to herself to see Ben cowering on his side.

  The ride took them down again, through a twisty set of rocks, then down again into a cave. Nicole was expecting to see it now. It would be here — the cave, the fountain, the answer she was looking for.

  But it wasn’t. The galleon continued to flow past room after room, each of which showed a different scene from the Fountain of Youth legend. Some of the rooms looked almost like her vision, but something just wasn’t quite right.

  In the final scene of the ride, Ponce de León arrived in Cuba, where he would die from a wound from a poisonous arrow. As the boat returned to the platform, there was a large statue of Ponce de León posing like the legendary explorer he was.

  Although Nicole was disappointed, she hadn’t lost hope yet.

  One hour and 5 rides later, and they had still found nothing. Determined, Nicole had begged Ben to stand in line for the Fo
untain of Youth one more time, hoping another go-around would yield the detail that was evading them. They even alternated positions in the galleon — one on the left, one on the right — so they could scrutinize all the sections of the ride.

  Now Nicole was acknowledging her unshakeable hunch that this was not the place. From the beginning, it had felt too polished. Too new. The cave itself had stone walls, but they looked fake — like they were from a movie set. This was not real. When she and Ben had taken turns walking around the building itself, it had become clear there could be nothing underneath.

  “Stupid song! What does it even mean, anyway? ‘Cast the years aside,’” Nicole complained. Ben just shrugged.

  The interminable song had run on again and again, but it was nothing compared with the incessant wall drippings, which were beginning to sound more like a leaky faucet.

  They had come so far, and they couldn’t give up yet. But that was exactly what Ben wanted to do. Give up. His dream date with Nicole was turning into something akin to running on a treadmill that was going nowhere. She was fun-sucking everything out of his time at Adventure World. They were now resting in the sunshine after taking in the perimeter of the ride for another time and finding precisely nothing.

  “Do you think it might be some kind of code, maybe?” Ben asked, pleased to think up a new line of questioning.

  Nicole felt herself give Ben a look that Amy would have been proud of.

  Ben was undeterred. “Seriously. There has to be something we’re missing.”

  “I don’t know how many times we need to go around to prove it, but I think we know, don’t we?”

  “So, what now?”

  “I don’t know,” Nicole sighed as she rubbed her face. She had been so convinced that finding the magazine article on the airplane had been an important clue. She retrieved it from her bag and showed it to Ben. After glancing through it again, he too sighed.

  “What about the corner with the Native Americans?”

  “You’d think it’d be with the actual fountain though, right?” Nicole stretched out her legs, and then her nose wrinkled as she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. “Is someone smoking out here?”