Chapter 5: Rides
"Niiiiiick!" A voice singsonged in my ear.
Ugh. Shut up.
"C'mon, Nick. Get up!"
Wait a minute. That voice was…
"Ellis!" I yelped, sitting bolt upright and glaring at the smiling brunet on my bed. "What are you doing here?"
"Rochelle had a key to your house," The kid answered cheerfully, completely unrepentant.
"What? How did she-… Never mind. Look, kid, I'm in my boxers. Could you, I dunno, go outside and ogle cars or something?" I grumbled, stretching.
"'Kay," The brunet answered with a shrug, hopping off the mattress and flouncing out of the room.
Muttering under my breath, I pulled on my suit, combed my hair and took a long goddamn shower before padding down the stairs to get a cup of coffee. Nothing interrupted my morning routines. Not when I was on the run, not when I was in a plane and especially not by some punk mechanic kid.
"God damn, Nick," An amused voice said. "How many of that suit do you have?"
"Be quiet, Coach," I grumbled, before realising something. "Wait. What are you doing here?"
"Rochelle let us in, but then she had to go so she left Ellis with me," The dark-skinned man explained.
"Don't you have a job too?" I pointed out, gratefully accepting the offered coffee and dropping onto the couch.
"Well, yeah. That's why I got Ellis to wake you up." Coach answered matter-of-factly.
I glared at the other man, especially when I noticed the burger crumbs on my table.
"Well, I'm off," The junk food-muncher announced, rising to his feet. He reached over and ruffled the kid's hair as the brunet ate my cereal. Again. Why does he like my cereal so much?
"Don't go too crazy with Nick, alright?" He said.
"Kay, I won't." The kid nodded.
"See you, Nick," The man called, taking his leave.
Wait, wait, wait. What did I miss this time?
"Remind me why I'm taking you to Whispering Oaks at-" I paused to check my watch. "Eight in the morning?"
"Cos it'll be fun to play at Whisperin' Oaks for a whole day! An' anyway, it wasn't like ya had somethin' to do."
"I did have something to do," I argued. "I was going to watch TV for the whole day and drink martinis."
"…Nothin' important." He corrected.
"Ugh. You're paying for both our tickets." I informed him.
"Alright," The kid answered with a shrug. We drove in silence for a while-a rare thing with the person known as Ellis-until his eyes landed on a passing duck. "Hey, Nick, did I ever tell ya the time me an' Keith-"
Oh god. I immediately stopped listening to the kid, instead plotting how to snag my spare house key back from Rochelle. How did she get the damn thing anyway?
"An' ya know what, Nick? I think you'd get along damn well wit' Keith."
Ha, not likely.
Wait, what had he been rambling about?
I mentally shrugged and continued driving until the kid spoke up again.
"Nick, we're here!" The brunet announced excitedly. "Holy shit, I wanna go ride the Screamin' Oak!"
I made a pained face. "Calm down, kid. You can go on all the rides you want till your precious concert."
As soon as we bought the tickets and stepped inside, an oddly familiar hyena-like laugh echoed from across the place. I felt chills run down my spine as I simultaneously wondered where I'd heard it before.
"What the hell was that?" The kid asked, head snapping around at the unhinged noise.
"I'm not sure." I answered, looking around. I was growing suspicious, especially when I caught a flash of blue-grey crawling around on one of the buildings' roofs.
"No, you're kidding me." I growled quietly. "It can't be…"
"What're ya doin', Nick?" Ellis called, having recovered from the startle the laugh had given him and raced off to queue for the ride. "C'mon, we're gonna go on the Screamin' Oak together!"
"Who died and made you my boss?" I grumbled, padding after him.
"Why isn't Lorcan's name Leeroy-Fuckin'-Jenkins?" Jaeger complained, dangling by his feet from the ceiling.
"I don't see why you have the right to complain, considering he spotted you," Brenton retorted.
Othniel, who had a tight grip on the short boy who had caused the group's problems, rolled his eyes and sighed.
The hoodie wearing boy bristled slightly.
"I didn't see you helping me!" The raven-hair snapped.
"It's not like I can climb on the roof without a ladder," The blond huffed in return.
Jaeger opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by a manic laugh that became muffled halfway along the line.
"Would you two cut it out?" Othniel growled, his large hand covering the manic kid's mouth. "You're making Lorcan go crazy."
"Like he wasn't crazy before," The hoodie donner muttered, though he did quieten down.
"Oh, hey, look. A tree. Tree. Tree. Another tree. How utterly fascinating."
"Nick, ya really ain't supposed to go there anyway," The kid pointed out, munching on his popcorn. "Look, there's a shootin' gallery."
A shooting gallery? Well, well. I broke into a slight smirk, walking over to the stall.
"Step right up, step right up!" A short man was calling. "First prize is a gnome if you can shoot all the targets!"
"So if we hit all the targets we win you?" I muttered as I passed him. "Doesn't seem like a very fair trade to me."
As the man gaped in shock and the kid started guffawing, I tossed some money onto the counter and picked up the rifle, examining it and testing its weight, swinging it around. I aimed and fired an experimental shot, my smirk turning positively dangerous as the dart rammed into the target dead center.
Oh yeah. This was going to be fun.
"I can't believe it!" The kid shouted in astonishment. "Ya got 'em all in a bull's-eye! Holeeeey shit, Nick, you're my new idol! Jesus, you're starting to rival Jimmy Gibbs Jr.!"
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, swiping at my nose in what might have been slight embarrassment. If it was, you didn't hear it from me. Anyway, I had heard the brunet rattle enough times about the car racer to get the general gist of the 'bearing his children' thing. And wasn't that just the greatest compliment ever?
"Here, this is for you." I grumbled, shoving the statue into the kid's hands.
"Oh, uh, well…" He stared uncertainly at it. "Thanks for the soul-piercing gnome, I guess. I s'pose I'll give it to Keith or somethin'."
"Yeah, sure, you're welcome. Thanks for the overwhelming gratefulness to me." I answered, rolling my eyes. Secretly, I was just glad I got rid of the damn thing.
"Nick, look!" The kid all but screamed. "Kiddyland!"
I rubbed my abused ear, giving the brunet a sidelong glare.
"Thanks for that, it's not like I needed that ear anyway, huh?" I grumbled.
The punk ignored me in favour of racing around the place, screaming "KIDDYLAAAND!" at the top of his lungs, earning him quite a few odd looks from the parents.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" He chanted. "Bumper cars, bumper cars!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming, calm your shit," I answered, padding over to join him.
"Hurry up!" The brunet urged.
Dammit, this was like taking care of a 5 year old with a comprehensive grasp of all the swear words in the English language and a clear knowledge of sex.
…I hate 5 year olds.
"Hey, Nick. You're looking particularly battered today. Did Ellis tire you out?" Rochelle asked with a faint smirk, yawning loudly.
"I could ask you the same about you and your boss," I answered, slumping against a wall and flipping her off simultaneously. "That kid is a fucking ball of infinite energy, I swear."
"Ro!" Came the cheer in time for the dark-skinned lady to brace herself before the kid tackled her gleefully.
"How ya doin'?" He asked.
"Probably felt better before you jumped her," I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes.
"I'm good," Rochelle assured the kid, reaching over to lightly swat me like a fucking dog when he frowned at me. Ignoring my growl, she continued, "It's gonna be way worse when the concert actually starts."
"Hey! That reminds me of the time Keith was off-" The kid started saying, before I stopped listening. My head snapped around when I heard an unholy screech emanating from one of the buildings. I had never heard that sound before, but fuck if it wasn't just as terrifying.
"What the hell man, everyone and their bitch heard that scream!" Brenton hissed, rounding on the hoodie-wearing boy.
The raven-hair reared up in indignation. "He bit me! Lorcan bit me! What did you think I was gonna do, do a Lorina and start crying?"
"No, I didn't expect you to act like her. I expected you to not scream like a fucking banshee!" The smoker bellowed.
"Yeah, well I expected you to go with Othniel to chase the kid! Aren't you supposed to be the fucking sniper and all that?" Jaeger snapped back.
The blond fluffed up angrily, looking ready to lunge at the other when the third member of their party appeared with Lorcan in tow.
The burly boy was frowning at them, eyebrows furrowed.
"Look, if you two can't get along to the point you're exciting Lorcan, there's obviously an issue." Othniel stated. "Normally that wouldn't be my problem, but since we're on a mission, if you two screwing up the mission, I will personally lock you two into a closet for as long as needed until you sort out your damn problems. And if, somehow, you snipe or parkour your way out, and I catch you, God help you."
The two boys stared with wide eyes at the burly boy, cowering just the slightest bit, because they knew Othniel would do it, and damn if the kid wasn't scary when he wanted to be. They silently thanked God that the muscly boy didn't have the temperament of Farren. One pissed off muscle bound kid repeatedly mashing you into walls was enough, especially considering Othniel was stronger than his friend. Jaeger and Brenton looked at each other solemnly, shaking their hands in a silent truce. Nothing was scarier than Othniel when he was angry.
"I think I'm going to pass out."
"No, don't do that! Hey, look, it's Francis. HEY, Francis! This is Nick. You two can hate things together an' shit." The kid introduced.
"You!" Rochelle practically howled, apparently already baying for the man's blood. The dark haired man in the biker vest jumped back, hands held up in the air in defense.
"Heel, girl," I cut in, gently prodding her in the ribs and dodging her swipe. "You already beat the guy to a pulp once." My voice lowered as I added "If I were you, I'd keep an eye on this 'Francis.' The kid knows him, so…"
Rochelle let out a low rumble, though she did fall into a thoughtful silence.
I eyed the new guy in amusement, noting the way he was favouring his right foot. Francis had a series of tattoos over his arms, barely visible brown hair; it was cut so short, same coloured eyes and some leather fingerless gloves. I guess they'd be useful for bikers, if nothing else. Hmm… If worse came to worse, yeah. I could take him on.
"Seriously, I'm only here to look for Old Grandpa Bill," The older brunet was saying. "I don't really wanna talk to Colonel Sanders over there."
"Hey, Vest, it's not like I want to know you, y'know." I sniped. "I've got better things to do, like watching a snail crawl up a wall."
"Hey, don't turn your sexual confusion on me," He snarled.
"At least my fucking partner isn't my hand," I snapped back.
The vest guy opened his mouth to reply when another guard stumped over, chewing a cigarette. The old man whacked the biker over the back of his head with the butt of his gun, though relatively gently if the fact that the other was still conscious was any indication.
"Francis, I can hear you from the other side of the stadium," The elderly guard growled, biting down on his cigarette and leaning on the butt of his gun. "Don't bait Rochelle's friends, I told you. She'll kick your ass, I told you. But what do I hear as soon as I get here? Rochelle ranting about some man in a vest who called her a cougar and you facing off with a man in a suit who is clearly one of her friends. I don't tell you these things without a reason, Francis."
The biker scowled, rubbing his head, replying with a "Shut up, Grandpa Bill. You're too old to be a guard, anyway."
"What was that, laddie?" Bill asked pleasantly, using his rifle to prod the brunet in the chest. "I'm too old to hear you properly, you'll have to speak up."
As the dark haired man spluttered and tried to push the gun away from his direction, I turned around chuckling to check my watch. It was nearly time for the concert – I could ditch the kid soon.
"They're going inside," Jaeger warned, hands digging into the roof. "Let's go."
With a loud cackle, Lorcan leapt onto the other's back, clinging to the raven-hair tightly.
"You better not start humping me or something," The hoodie-donning boy grumbled as he scuttled over to where the others were waiting.
"C'mon, Bren, sling your hook," He called.
The smoker growled as he tossed the thick rope up to Jaeger, who caught it deftly in one hand and started pulling the blond onto the roof as Othniel pushed him up from below.
When Brenton had finished scrambling to join the parkourist, Othniel nodded at them and quickly lumbered inside through the guard's entrance.
"Here," Jaeger called, hopping on top of the stage to survey the crowd.
Fully aware of the other's awful eyesight, Brenton joined him on the roof, scanning the audience for their target.
"There," The blond said, pointing to a certain dark, almost black brunet in a suit.
Lorcan immediately made to jump down and chase the man, prompting the other two to leap forward and grab the short redhead's arms.
"God damn it, you crazy fucker," The parkourist cursed, dodging the foot trying to connect with his face.
"Calm down, Lorcan," The smoker growled, looking annoyed as he struggled to keep the redhead still. "We can get him later, but if you jump now, he's gonna get away!"
The jockey grumbled under his breath, but obligingly stopped squirming.
The blond and raven-hair glanced at each other and sighed in relief.
Another crisis averted.
"What."
"I – I know I didn't ask ya before, but I already got the tickets, an' I paid for 'em myself." The kid said anxiously, staring up at me with wide blue eyes.
"What." I repeated. "Why would you pay God knows how much money on someone you barely even know?"
The brunet tilted his head. "Well, you're my friend, ain'tcha? It's what friends do."
"I'm not your friend." I pointed out, folding my arms, though I walked after the brunet.
"Sure ya are." He answered all cheerful-like. "Ya don't have to be shy."
I spluttered at the implication that I was timid.
"Shy! Shy? I'm not fucking shy!" I growled.
"Sure, sure," The little punk answered, obviously paying more attention to the ticket-taker than me.
"Fancy seeing you here," A voice chuckled behind us just as I was prepared to tackle the fucker to the floor. "Hey, Nick. I thought you woulda bolted already."
"If I knew this is what the kid was dragging me along for, I would have." I grumbled in return. "You have a terrible taste in music, Coach."
"Hey, don't be dissin' the Riders," The dark-skinned man answered half-jokingly. "I got all their albums for a reason, y'know."
"To deafen everyone?" I suggested as I trotted after the brunet, taking a sear close to the exit. Coach rolled his eyes and took a seat somewhere else.
It wasn't like I minded going to a concert someone else had paid for me; it was just that I knew I was being followed. My eyes narrowed when I noticed the three blobs on top of the stage. Tensing, my hand slid down to grip the gun in my belt.
"Nick?" The kid who had once again decided to invade my personal space asked. He was staring at me with slight worry. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I grunted. "Go buy your Midnight Riders souvenirs."
"…Kay then." The kid said, glancing at me uncertainly.
I was starting to contemplate explaining to him what had made me so agitated when one of the men onstage stepped forward.
He tapped the mike experimentally, the loud feedback attracting everyone's attention instantly.
"Alright, boys and girls, are you ready for the PERFORAMANCE of your LIFE?" He called.
"Yes!" The crowd roared back.
At that moment, I reallydid not want to be one of the guards working here.
"Do you want to see the BEST fireworks EVER until your EYES are bleeding?" He yelled.
"YES!" The audience bellowed in return.
Wow. This was not sounding like a fun concert. I made to walk out, but the burly guard at the entrance caught my eye and glared before motioning me back to my seat. Well, that's a no.
"When you're OLD and WRINKLY, are you gonna remember this show as the AWESOMEST time EVER?" He screamed.
"YES!" The people howled in unison.
Man, this guy knew how to stir people up – I had to give them that.
"Then sit back, relax and watch, 'cause the Midnight Riders are gonna bust into your head through your ears and blow your mind!" He announced, looking around at the other band members beside him before breaking into song.
'Nothing left to humble,
Your pride is wrecked…'
At the same time, an all-too-familiar redhead midget leapt out of the crowd.
"Shit!" I cursed, jumping to my feet.
"Nick?" The kid asked, shaking himself out of his Midnight Riders daze and looking up.
'The pursuers are getting closer,
Your feet are tattered,'
Without waiting for the brunet, I bolted for the exit, the guard previously there chasing the redhead.
"Nick!" The kid called, bounding after me as I pulled my gun out. Spotting it but still seeming relatively relaxed, he asked "What're ya doin'?"
'Your pace slow downs until you stop,
You spin around…'
"Being chased by people who want my guts for a hat, is what I'm doing," I growled, picking up my pace. If the kid could keep up, the parkourist could sure as hell jump me from some ceiling. I had personal experience with that fucker's pounce. "You should go back."
'You meet your hunters with defiance,
Brawl with tooth and claw,'
"No, I can help," The kid insisted. "I know this place like the back of my hand! Left."
I swerved to the left, leaping over the ledge as I jammed the green Midnight Riders glowstick the other had given me into my mouth.
'Your pride may be gone, but you still have honour.
You're not going down like prey!'
"Oh, man! Y'know, Nick, this is just like that one game where you're in a castle without any memories an' you're running from some flappy-jawed monsters!" He blathered excitedly as he sprinted after me.
The kid was being chased by cops who were hunting me down and he still has the breath and time to talk about video games? Jesus Christ.
'Ooooh, ONE LAST STAND!
Ooooh, ONE LAST STAND!'
Lightning fast, I darted behind a corner in time for a tranquiliser dart to thud into the wall.
Hmm, they wanted me alive, not dead, huh? That was going to make this a bit easier, at least.
'Bleeding to death,
Fierce grin,'
"This music must be real loud fer us to hear it here." The kid commented. "Right."
"It's surprisingly suitable for this," I agreed, sounding slightly muffled with the glowstick in my mouth as I hared around the right path. "Except I'm not planning to die for honour."
'It's okay,
Cause this is yoooooour'
"Yanno, I think they just copied the tune from their other song One Bad Man." The brunet remarked offhandedly, dodging a bewildered guard.
'ONE LAST STAND!
This is yoooooour'
"Mm, maybe," I shrugged, coughing slightly and bolting for the exit. "I wouldn't know."
"Hey, there's ya car!" The kid called, just as I pressed the button on my keychain to unlock it and threw myself in.
I was about to go when he barrelled into the seat beside me, panting "Hey now, don't leave me behind!"
As soon as I knew he wouldn't pitch back out the window, I slammed the accelerator and sped off, leaving the carnival behind.
'ONE LAST STAND!'