Chapter Forty-five – 'Delivery boy'

"Ready for your tour?" The Manager asked as he descended the stairs. "If you want to follow me... wait, did you pay for one tour or two?"

"This is an expensive tour, so I only paid for myself." Comic Book Guy answered. "At eighteen bucks a person, I'd rather save my money for the gift shop." Bart looked annoyed that his fun was halted in exchange for a novelty pencil and a postcard. "If you don't mind Bart, my wheelbarrow is parked outside. You can take a nap in there while I take my mandatory and costly tour."

"Paying patrons only, follow me up the stairs." The Manager lead the way up the first flight. He and Comic Book Guy disappeared upon ascending the second flight.

Bart was alone in the fact that Comic Book Guy had just ditched him, but not alone in the fact of the Box Factory workers were scattered throughout the large room. He tried to get their attention, but all the workers were yelling at each other about the process. Bart screamed louder and the nearest box folder yelled even louder.

"Hey man, do you know... hey little dude down here... where can I..." Bart repeatedly jumped up and down while waving his arms. "Where is..."

"Who let the kid in here? No wonder we can't reach our daily goals." The box folder questioned. "First the large fella, and now the spiky-haired kid."

"Day shift said a blue-haired woman stopped by yesterday." The box gluer announced across the room. "Why can't we just make these boxes for Burns in peace?"

The magic word flying through the air made Bart perk up his ears. The conversation changed at that moment. Bart ran through the room, slid under the conveyor belt, and stood up next to the box gluer. "Burns is involved? What is Burns putting in these boxes?"

"What about Burns and the boxes? I don't know anything about the process after I glue the box along the... why isn't this glue sticking?" The box gluer grew frustrated. "Look, I don't have time for this. The team will blame me if we don't break the shift record..."

"Fine!" Bart scanned the room and came up with his own plan. "I'll figure it out for myself." He hopped on top of the conveyor belt and rode it around the room and into the next.

The adjoining room was quite small compared to the main manufacturing room. It had stacks of boxes in three corners and vertical doors in the remaining corner. A truck was backing into the space in front of the first vertical door. Slowly, it came closer to the dock and stopped when it hit the door. The beeping ceased and the driver exited the vehicle.

"So glad they found a replacement. Was worried I would be loading it myself." The driver called out to Bart. "It should take half the time with two of us..." Once he focused on the small figure waiting for him, the light bulb came on. "You look tiny to be an efficient box loader."

"Not my job, man." Bart was opposed to helping.

"Son of a box loader." The driver frustratingly said. "If you aren't here to help, then who..."

"I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" Bart added the obvious.

The driver didn't care who he was at this point. All that mattered was today's shipment of boxes were loaded into the truck and delivered to the next stop.

"Still don't know who you are, but can you do me a favor... good. All these boxes need to be loaded and driven to the next stop on Indiana Avenue and filled with chocolate bars." The driver explained to Bart who was increasing interested.

Bart thought for a second like a golden opportunity was before him. "I'll do it under one condition... I get to drive the truck."

"How about you ride shotgun to the chocolate factory on Indiana Avenue." The driver countered.

"...Deal." Bart slowly agreed. Something was better than nothing.

One stack at a time, the boxes were loaded into the truck as Bart's ability to carry the stacks of cardboard was half of the driver's. Little by little the stack inside the room appeared inside the truck.

"We can fit one thousand five hundred boxes into the delivery truck which is the equivalent of two days worth of production." The driver did the math in his head.

"You don't say..." Bart wondered how many he had carried already as his breathing became heavier, and so did the boxes. "And you do this every other day?"

"We do." The driver confirmed. "Normally I have my assistant the box loader helping me, so we each carry an equal number of boxes." Bart gave a crossed look at his passive insult. "Don't get me wrong. I'm glad for your help or I would be carrying every box myself today."

Bart's look eased as the last stacks were loaded into the truck, the door shut, and locked. It was a job worthy of a high-five which didn't happen as the driver grabbed his clipboard and went toward the driver's door. Bart quickly followed, but the passenger door didn't open. He tried again and again but still it did not budge.

A muffled voice told him to wait a second then try. The door opened and Bart hopped inside. "I'm not used to having a passenger."

"Today you do." It would be a glorious time for Bart since Comic Book Guy was too cheap to pay for another Box Factory tour. "Where are we going?"

"A few blocks away to deliver these boxes." The driver started the truck and the GPS showed Bart the route they would take. "Currently we are on Kentucky Avenue, here, and our destination is the Chocolate Factory on Indiana Avenue, there." It seemed simple enough as they drove away from the loading dock and made their way to the front gate. A quick left turn and open road awaited them, except the driver stopped at the corner of the property.

Bart sat up and looked around but there was nothing around them except the front fence enclosing the property. "And we are waiting because..."

"The truck is being scanned. It will only take a minute." The driver checked his clipboard again to see what his delivery route for the day entailed.

A camera zoomed in on the truck and a flash of light startled Bart. The driver slowly gave it some gas, and they proceeded on their way.

"What...?" Before Bart could ask his question, the driver beat him to the answer.

"Can you keep a secret?" The driver lowered his voice.

"Of course not." Bart replied.

The driver weighed his options. Who was this boy and where did he come from? He possibly couldn't be dangerous, especially to the mission. Maybe he said too much or maybe it wouldn't matter, so he continued anyways.

"There is a game being played right now in our world. A game the size no one has ever seen before. A game so large, the fate of our world depends on the outcome. A game so massive, we need to ensure the winner is who we want it to be. A game so..." It was an epic tale the driver was writing.

"A game so big, I get it. What else?" Bart grew impatient.

"A game so enormous, every person involved has their role to play to help Burns become the eventual winner." The driver might be saying too much, but Bart was all ears. "Burns teleported players into this world, and they are playing a game of life or death."

Bart knew things from watching the game being played from the outside, but kept his mouth shut to see what the driver would tell him.

"Between each property is an invisible wall which only Non-Playing Characters can pass through. The camera on the corner of the property was scanning us to determine if we fit the description to freely travel the world. Obviously, it didn't stop us because I'm a delivery driver and you are... whoever you are, you aren't a player."

"Yeah..." Bart hesitantly agreed just enough to convince the driver so he would keep talking.

"Anywhere currently off-limits is surrounded by the invisible wall, such as empty land awaiting development, or players trying to pass from one property to another out of turn. Burns wanted to ensure the game was properly played." The driver was giving out very useful information and Bart tried to remember it all.

The pair made one final turn onto Indiana Avenue and arrived at the chocolate factory fence. Once again, the truck stopped as Bart stared at the camera blankly staring back at him.

"What happens if the camera breaks?" Bart mockingly stuck his tongue out at the camera.

"I'm not actually sure." The driver thought for a moment. "Either all the invisible walls would disappear, or the emergency override would kick it and illuminate all walls to ensure game integrity." It was a thought-provoking question which he didn't have an answer to. "We didn't have time to test that out since the game started before we were truly ready. I'll have to get back to you on that. Anyways, we are here."

He drove the truck behind the factory, backed it into an empty stall, and honked the horn twice. Nothing happened. He honked the horn again with a little more gusto to see if anyone would come running.

Again nothing happened.

"Give me a break. This is why I hate the night shift." The driver cut the engine and jumped out. He banged on the side of the truck all the way to the back. "Every single time..." He yelled.

Bart knew this couldn't be good. He joined him at the rear of the truck where the driver was opening the door. "What..."

"The usual guys who help off-load the boxes and on-load the chocolate aren't here tonight. Lazy slackers..." The driver was beyond what words could describe. "I'll make a deal." He offered.

"What kind of deal?" Bart was intrigued.

"If you help unload the boxes and load the chocolate, I'll take you to my final stop, and show you something that... pops." The driver's smirk was enough to convince Bart.

"You got yourself a deal." Bart grabbed the first box as the driver grabbed a stack.

Several minutes went by as the cardboard decreased on the truck and increased near the interior door of the chocolate factory. Bart tried not to think of the manual labor he was involved in as his mind focused more on the secret ahead.

"Last empty box is off. Ready for the fun part..." There would be nothing fun about full boxes of chocolate which weighed more than the empty boxes, but the driver tried to make it fun. "There are times when I load boxes myself and one of them were to... drop and break open. We can't deliver damaged merchandise." He bent down and scooped up the bars which fell from the bottom of the broken box and set it aside.

"What if...?" Bart scanned the room for anything useful. The driver wasn't paying attention and started loading the full chocolate boxes. Bart found a cart resembling a wagon with three functioning wheels. If anything, they could move more boxes at a time without having to carry them.

He gave it a grand push and it careened across the room before slamming into the driver's ankle. "Son of a box cart. That really hurt. You better hope I don't miss any work for this." He examined the cart in less time than he examined his purple ankle. "Workman's comp here I come."

"Don't have a cow, man. It's just a flesh wound." Bart consoled. "Besides we can load these boxes quicker." And quicker they did with only three cart loads, all the boxes were now in the truck.

"I should thank you for helping." The driver picked up the broken box of chocolates. "Now to live up to my end of the deal... jump back in the truck." He motioned to Bart and he complied.

The pair left the chocolate factory stopping at the corner of the property for the scan. They continued down the road and turned where the GPS told them onto Illinois Avenue. Several industrial building blocked the view of the surrounding streets. The buildings had large windows, some of which were cracked or missing.

"Where are we? Can we go inside?" Bart eagerly asked, ready to explore.

"The buildings are literally empty at the moment. Nothing inside." The driver admitted. "Currently, we are in Phase One. Once Phase Two starts, there will be something happening." He continued down the road until they reached the corner of the Root Beer Factory property where he stopped and waited for the scan.

Behind the factory were several moving shadows signifying they weren't alone for a change. One gave hand signals to assist in backing in the truck then voiced: "I'll take it from here. Go complete your other task and report back to me. Tonight should be the final night if the recipe is right."

The driver waved out the window as he grabbed a chocolate bar from the box. "The chocolate is good..." He chewed. "...despite the composition and additives." He tossed Bart an unopened bar and exited the truck. "Follow me boy!"

Bart did as he was told. They rounded the building and four large silver tanks came into view. Nothing seemed out of place as it was too dark to notice any details.

"Up there is our task." The driver pointed to the platform at the height of Bart's treehouse. "Can you climb?"

"Of course I can." Bart scampered up the ladder faster than a squirrel. "Now what?"

The driver followed and thought of the steps in his head. "First, we open the lid. Second, we drop in a chocolate bar. Unwrap yours." He carefully removed the lid while Bart did as he was told.

"What's in here? It smells like root beer." Bart correctly guessed.

"Well my boy... here is the fun part." The driver was about to admit way more information than absolutely necessary. "This is a special chocolate when mixed with root beer will create an explosive liquid Burns plans to use as a propellant for missiles, rockets, torpedoes, and anything else which flies with a warhead..."

Bart's jaw hit the platform. His eyes glazed over. No words left his mouth.

"Phase One is having this mixture ferment for forty-hours. Phase Two is moving to the industrial complex while building weapons for the war." Anything explained by the driver was scary. "Phase Three is..."

Bart was still frozen so the driver took the chocolate bar from him and dumped it into the silver tank. A blue gas emanated from the opening just before the lid was secured again.

"My task is complete. Let's go and I'll take you back to Kentucky Avenue." The driver offered, however, Bart was more uncertain now about his journey.

They both walked around the building again and the driver jumped in the truck. There was no way Bart was riding back with the knowledge he had, but they were many blocks away from where he started. Having no choice, he reluctantly got it.

"All clear." A voice called out and the driver started the truck.

The return trip took three times as long as the trip out since time slowed down due to the heavy news. They stopped at the intersection where Indiana Avenue crossed their path. A tractor trailer passed them going the opposite direction and a knot formed in Bart's stomach. What was in the trailer, he thought. Weapon casings? Explosives? Toys?

The final camera scanned them prior to arrival at the Box Factory loading dock. Bart quickly jumped out of the truck without thanking the driver. Immediately, he began his search for Comic Book Guy. The information he had was scary and needed to be public.

He climbed atop the conveyor belt and crawled against the flow. It wasn't leading anywhere, so he dismounted and did the unthinkable... he pressed the giant red button which brought the production to a halt.

Now he made his way back into the main room...

Chaos reigned as The Manager sprinted down the stairs to see why zero boxes were being made. "Restart! Resume! Reset!" Sirens were flashing. Alarm bells ringing. Workers running in every direction.

The Manager pressed a few buttons on a wall-mounted display to get the sirens and alarms to cease. He studied it before coming to his conclusion.

"Loading Bay Emergency Stop has been pressed. Reset it!" The Manager ordered as Bart guessed this was his fault.

Bart knew too much, and now caused the assembly line to shut down. He was done for. Hiding under the conveyor belt, he searched for Comic Book Guy and finally when the elevator dinged, he emerged. "I found you." Bart ran towards him. "Listen to me! We need to get out of here."

A look of confusion formed on his face. "Why?" Comic Book Guy questioned. "We can't go anywhere right now. It is not my turn yet. And besides only I can leave since I have a token to ride and you do not."

"Listen!" Bart tried again. "Burns is using these boxes to transport chocolate to add to root beer to make rocket fuel..." It made no sense actually, but it was all Bart had. "You have to believe me."

The look in his eyes was enough. "This game makes no sense anyways and Burns is trying to win his own game, I'll give it a shot." Comic Book Guy shielded Bart as they exited the chaotic room. "How did you find any of this out?"

"There was a driver I spent the night with during his deliveries and we ended up adding chocolate to root beer..." The story was more outrageous the more Bart explained.

"I've done that before and it tasted delicious." Comic Book Guy countered.

"Trust me..." Bart pleaded. "Please."

"Alright." Comic Book Guy agreed as they took a seat on a bench at the abandoned smoking area. "What else did you learn tonight?"

Bart recalled his story as loud booms echoed across the sky.