Chapter 36

Alice took a quick check on herself to make sure she wasn't smiling before turning back to Bertram. She gave him a little-puzzled look and watched his eyes look away from hers. When he didn't speak up and wasn't looking like he was going too soon, she took the initiative.

"Yes?"

"So…"

"So?"

"Where exactly is this Henry, fellow?"

"WELL, LAST TIME I SAW HIM HE WAS KNOCKED OUT NEAR THE ELEVATOR FROM THE FALL."

"Knocked out, Are you saying you had the chance to get rid of him yet you didn't take it?"

"Um, well, you see-I THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO DO HIM IN."

He let out a disbelieving huff and rolled his eyes.

"Really?"

"YES."

"Please, I take it you had something else going on, something that meant more to you, huh?"

"...No."

He glazed over eyes rolled back to face her and knowing look spread across his face. She fidgeted a little under his gaze but didn't look away.

"I see, anyway, Let's say I accept this gift of yours."

"I knew you'd like it."

"I said, Let's say. I haven't, yet."

She listened to the teasing tone in the voice when he said "yet". She knew where this was going and she didn't like it.

"Although, I suppose with the right persuading I might."

Alice bit back a snarky and snappy reply as she sweetly spoke,

"What exactly might do that, now?"

A smirk spread across his lips at her words.

"I can think of three little things that would make me very happy. If I'm in a good mood, then I suppose I can feel a little better and might except your gift."

"Haha, MIGHT?"

"Well, with those three things I say you have a much higher chance than without them."

"These three little things of yours might be a bit much for me. What if I can't get you those things?"

"You already have two of things I want, and the third one is just in the room next door. I know you can get it."

She grinded her teeth together but kept a plastered smile on her face.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Good, now the first thing I'll need is some oil. There should be some next door with the rest of the unmoved junk."

"Okay, I'll go grab it for you."

She turned around and walked towards the door. As it opened she lowered her ax from her shoulder and set it to lean against the wall. She waited for a second to see if it would tip over before walking through the door. Alice scanned around the first big shelf she saw. Seeing nothing that resembled an oil can or barrel she moved on to the next row. Walking and scanning the shelves for the item, Alice talked amongst herself.

"IS THIS SERIOUSLY WORTH IT?"

"The oil? I think it shouldn't be too bad to take back."

"NO, HAVING TO GET ALL THESE THINGS FOR BERTRUM."

"It's the only way to get him to kill Henry for us."

"I KNOW I KNOW, BUT NOW I'M REALLY STARTING TO THING WE SHOULD'VE DONE IT OURSELVES."

"I guess we could've, but we need time to operate on Boris. We can do that and not have to worry about going back down there and seeing if Henry's still there or not."

"TRUE, ALTHOUGH I THOUGHT GETTING BERTRUM TO KILL HIM WOULD BE A LOT LESS WORK THAN DOING IT OURSELVES. NOW, I'M NOT SO SURE."

"It's too late to go back."

"IT'S ALWAYS TOO LATE."

She turned and circled around the next few shelves before stopping. With no oil cans on any of the shelves, she walked around the game area. The gun was covered in dust on its post as it waited for a new hunter to shoot some ducks. The glass bottles were stack on their barrels and covered in some much dust you couldn't see through them anymore. The balls for the game itself had soaked in some ink and stained their gray material. A mallet with rotten wood leaned against its strength tester, that's metal has rusted horribly over time.

Seeing no cans of oil near or inside the games and their booths, Alice looked around one last time. Giving up on that area, she walked over to an abandoned attraction set. It stood out from the others with its wooden fangs hanging down from its top. An old cart sat parked on a rusted track and didn't seem to be going anywhere soon. She cautiously stepped onto the platform and listened to the boards' moan.

The wood felt unstable beneath her feet, so she tried to tread carefully across it. Peaking around and over the cart, she spotted a dented up barrel held between two doors. She gently stepped onto the track and made sure not to step on any sharp metal while she walked over to it. Looking at the barrel she could barely make out the letters on its side. The word started with an "o" though and ended with an "l", so that was good enough for her.

She prepared herself for heavy load and grabbed the barrel's side tightly. Giving it a hard pull she nearly fell over. The barrel wasn't close to being full that's for sure, maybe half full but no more than that. So, it may have been a little heavy but not enough to keep her from almost falling backward after pulling so hard. She stumbled for a second and looked at the thing in disbelief. On its side, she could see a gash in it, where some of the oil must have spilled out. However, something else caught her attention.

The doors of the attraction had opened up some more and behind then wasn't a wall like she thought. No, they opened inwards. Alice set the barrel down and walked over towards them. Pushing them open slowly, she was shocked to find that track continued onwards. The attraction was more than just the front of some ride that had been left behind, it was the complete ride.

"I guess it was one of those complete moveable rides, like the ones the traveling fairs have."

"IT MUST BE."

Looking down the tracks she wanted to follow them and see where they went. However, she didn't have time for that and waved the notion off. Turning around and give one last glance at the doors she grabbed the barrel. She dragged it off the moaning platform and towards Bertrum's door. The wood and the metal made a horrible high pitch screech as she pulled it along. Flinching at it and feeling a headache coming on, she was ready to give this thing to him and just be done with everything.

After what seemed to be too long, she reached the door and opened it. His arms started to stop their little spins as she entered. The door closed and she wanted to wipe that boisterous smile right off his face. He lowered one of his carts and waited. Getting the hint, she pulled the barrel over and loaded it into his "hand". His arm rose up in a jerking motion and he slowly started to spin it around once more. An annoyed look appeared on his face after his arms had spun for a round or two.

"That's not a lot of oil."

"You're lucky I found any at all. If there was any oil in the room before, it's all gone now."

"I suppose this will have to do."

She grinded her teeth at his words.

"I'm glad."

"Now, as for my second thing."

"If it's somewhere on the other side of the studio then I don't think I can help you."

He let a chuck.

"I can assure you it's not. In fact, it's right inside this room."

She raised an eyebrow at that.

"What is it?"

"I want your ax."

Author's Note- Hey, guys this was another afternoon chapter. Sorry about that but I had to deal with my whole family thing going on and I had the ACT today. But at least it still got posted! Anyway, thank you all for reading and I hope to see you next week!