Chapter 8: The Rum Factory
Normal POV
The three SUVs traveled through miles of flat land and mountains, passing by glorious houses and tiny shacks and farm land, till they drove into a fertile valley filled with sugarcanes.
"Oh crap! Look at all the sugarcane plants!" said Lita as she looked around the fields of sugarcane that surrounded them on either side. Most of the plants looked to be at least a good ten feet tall.
"Damn, you can't see anything else for miles except for sugarcane. They're so damn tall!" added Adam as he decided to roll down the window, which was a fatal mistake.
"Dude! Roll that window back up! It stinks!" cried Randy as he rushed to cover his nose, Lita doing the same seconds after him.
"Okay! Okay!" yelled Adam as he quickly flipped the switch that rolled the window back up.
"See! This is why I kept the windows up and the a/c cranking the whole damn time. This is the smell I was telling you guys about back at the house." said Amanda as she waved a hand in front of her face, attempting to wave off the remaining fumes that still lingered in the car.
"I never thought it was this rancid! What could smell that bad?" asked Adam as he touched his nose to make sure it was still there.
"It's mostly sugarcane shavings that have been out in the sun too long." explained Amanda as she looked around the area.
"I never realized that sugarcane could smell so bad. The name sounds so sweet, but the smell is just . . . bad." said Randy as he took in a deep breath through his mouth.
"Ironic isn't it?" asked Amanda as she snuck a look at Randy. "The place is just up ahead. Look!" Randy, Adam, and Amy looked ahead to see a large building with a mill connected to it come into view. Amanda drove right past it and onto a dirt road that led back up to the factory, named the Appleton Rum Estates.
"Appleton Rum Estates? This place doesn't contain actual estates does it?" asked Adam out of curiosity, gaining an incredulous look from Randy in return.
"No, it's just a name." answered Amanda as she drove the car into the parking lot, which only had three other cars inside. There was a sign that was posted on the steel fence that surrounded the lot that said 'All cars must be parked with their hoods facing out. Thank you.'
"That's a very peculiar sign if you ask me." muttered Lita as Amanda parked the car the way the sign described so.
"Eh . . . that's probably their thing." said Amanda as she cut the engine. "Are you guys ready to deal with the smell? It's a whole lot stronger now that we're so close to the factory."
"I'm ready to deal with it. For the good of liquor drinkers' everywhere." said Adam as he looked at the factory.
"Dude, calm down. You're not a superhero." said Lita as she crossed her arms.
"I am a superhero. I'm just one to all my fans. My Edgeheads!" said Adam as he turned to his girlfriend.
"With your past, I find that very hard to believe." said Randy with a small chuckle.
"Same can be said for you, my venomous friend." said Adam as he put on his sunglasses.
"Hey! Look at Wade!" said Amanda as she pointed out the window. The four of them looked on as Monica looked like she was trying to comfort Wade, who looked like he was going to throw up his breakfast at any second.
"Looks like the smell is going to claim at least one victim in our party." said Adam as he opened up his door, instantly almost gagging. "Make that two." he whined as he exited the car.
"Eh . . . it's not that bad actually, now that I really smell it." said Lita as she got out at her side of the car.
"Are you going to be okay with the smell?" asked Amanda as she turned to Randy with a tentative look on her face.
"I'll be fine." said as Randy wrinkled his nose at the smell. "And besides, if I don't want to smell the stench, I can just stop breathing. Just one of the many perks of being a vampire."
"If you say so Snake Boy." said Amanda with a small smirk as she took off her seatbelt and got out the car. Once Randy got out the car, Amanda turned on the car alarm and the two walked over to the others, who all were standing next to the security guard's station right at the entrance to the factory.
"Are you okay Wade?" asked Randy as he raised an eyebrow at the British werewolf.
"I'll be fine. This smell is just trying to get to me. That's all." said Wade as he took deep breaths through his mouth.
"Adam doesn't look like he's faring much better." mentioned Kelly as she turned to look at the Rated R Superstar.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." said Adam with a queasy expression on his face as he walked onto the cobblestone sidewalk that led to the visitor's building. "Now come on! We're burning daylight!"
"Impatient much?" asked Cody as he wrapped an arm around Kaitlyn and followed Edge down the sidewalk. Everyone else followed suit with Amanda and Randy bringing up the rear.
"Have you been here before?" asked Randy as he took Amanda's hand in his own, surveying the beautiful plants and shrubbery that lined the walkway.
"A few times, but that was years ago." muttered Amanda for an answer. Randy turned to see that her eyes were a bit unfocused, like she had something else on her mind.
"You're thinking about the were-boa aren't you?" asked Randy as he furrowed his brows.
"Not exactly; I was thinking about the old man's memory of being attacked by the were-boa that's all." said Amanda as the two stopped walking.
"What's it like looking through people's memories?" asked Randy as the two started to walk again at a much slower pace.
"It's basically a blessing and a curse. You . . . experience the memories of others like you are actually there, good or bad. When I viewed the memory of the old man being attacked, I stared at the eyes of the were-boa and I could feel the old man's fear. The memory was up to the part when the were-boa actually leapt at the old man to attack before your voice called me out of the memory." answered Amanda as she looked on as the girls were posing by the side of a model train car as Ted took a photo of them.
"It's a good thing I called to you before it could happen. I wouldn't want you to go through that." commented Randy as he let out a nervous chuckle. Amanda shot him a small smirk in thanks before leaning her head against his shoulder.
"Amanda! Get your ass in this shot!" called Lita as she waved her over.
"I better get over there before Lita really tries to kick my ass." muttered Amanda as she let go of Randy's hand. She quickened her pace and walked over to join the shot while Randy joined some of the guys who were standing under a few palm trees.
"All the girls are there except Monica. Why is that?" asked Randy as he crossed his arms.
"Monica's inside getting a tour guide for us." answered Kofi as he pointed to the visitor center, which looked like a villa from the outside. He turned to Wade to see that he was crouching on the ground with his head in between his legs. "Dude, what the hell are you doing?"
"This smell is just really getting to me right now okay?" mumbled Wade from his position on the ground. "I feel like I want to throw up, but I really can't throw up."
"What do you have? A hyper sensitive sense of smell?" asked Cody as he crossed his arms.
"YES!" Wade bluntly answered him as he raised his head up. "I'll be fine once I get used to the smell."
"Hey guys! It's your turn to get a photo." said Lita as she took her camera from Ted.
"Do you have the benefit of flash photography?" asked a playful Edge as he walked over to the train car.
"Indeed I do. Now get over there blondie!" said Lita as she readied her camera. All the guys lined up by the side of the train car and did nonchalant poses, disappointing a very expectant Lita.
"That's too boring! You all work for the WWE! Do your signature poses or something!" cried Lita as she took the camera from her face.
"Not a bad idea Lita! Good thing I brought my hoodie." said Cody as he crouched down to the ground and lifted his hood up and over his hair. Edge smirked and did a semi squat, lifting his hands up in the air like he was posing on the ramp before jumping into a wrestling ring. Not to be outdone, Randy arched his back and outstretched his arms, doing his signature pose he usually did on the second turnbuckle. Wade held his arm up in the air, doing the windup he did before administering his 'Bull hammer Elbow'. Kofi held his hands up and clapped them together, which was something he usually did to fire up the WWE Universe. Ted just gestured like he had a title belt around his waist. And Sheamus outstretched his arms like he was one of his own Celtic Crosses.
"That's it!" called Lita as she brought the camera back to her face. "Say championship!"
"CHAMPIONSHIP!" called the guys as Lita took the photo. She took a few more photos in rapid fashion. When she was done, she walked over to the guys to show them the photos.
"Sheamus! You did not put up bunny ears behind me and Randy's heads!" cried Edge as he looked at one particular photo.
"Sorry lads! Couldn't resist! It was too easy." said Sheamus with a chuckle as he beat his chest.
"So this is the group I'll be showing around?"
Everyone turned to see Monica and their tour guide walk up to them from the villa. The tour guide was a man dressed in a navy blue shirt with the company logo on the left side, black pants, and black sneakers. He was tall, around Monica's height, and had a hairstyle that matched Kofi's own. Taking a closer look at his face, the tour guide looked similar to Amanda and Monica, with the pointy nose, dark skin, and blue eyes matching the twins own.
"Is it just me or does our tour guide looks like he could be related to Amanda and Monica in some way?" asked Kaitlyn as she raised her hand, gaining a few nods of agreement from her fellow wrestlers.
"Everyone! This is Darrin! He's a cousin of ours." said Monica as she gestured to herself and Amanda.
"Wait who?" asked Amanda as she raised an eyebrow at the tour guide in surprise, gaining a few shocked looks from the others.
"Don't you remember me cousin? I was the guy that would always scare Monica here with fake spiders whenever you guys visited." said Darrin as he wrapped an arm around Monica. She shot him a scowl and slapped him in the back of his head, making the girls chuckle in an instant. "Yeah, I deserve that." mumbled Darrin as he walked over to hug Amanda.
"'Manda! Monica! You never told us you had a cousin that worked here at the rum factory." said Adam in complete disbelief.
"Surprise!" said Monica as she awkwardly scratched her neck. "To tell you the truth, I only found out about him working here today. Sis, do you still not remember him?"
"Yeah, I do . . . now. I remember this one time he put this giant fake tarantula right next to your head while you were sleeping. You ran right out the house and down the road as soon as you woke up, screaming the entire way! That was funny!" said Amanda as she let out a small chuckle, getting a scowl from Monica in return.
"I hate to cut in, but I saw a bus filled with tourists come in a few minutes ago and unless you want to be heckled by a few of them that may be WWE fans, I suggest we start this tour before they see you." said Darrin as he proceeded to walk down the cobblestone sidewalk.
"At least we know he cares about our wellbeing." said Randy as the group followed after the guide.
"Be nice. He's my cousin after all." whispered Amanda as she elbowed the Viper in the ribs.
"How many cousins do you have on this island?" asked Randy as he shot the psychic a look from behind his sunglasses.
"A lot." answered Amanda as Darrin led the group over to a small watchtower. He led the group up the staircase of the tower until they reached the lookout point, which gave a breathtaking view of the valley and the mountains that surrounded it all around them.
"Now this is what I call a view!" said Kofi as he took a few photos of the scene, the girls soon following suit.
"The sugarcane fields are where we get most of the product we use for the liquor here. We just pick out the plants and bring them over to the mill where the magic happens." said Darrin as he pointed to the large silver building a short distance away.
"I'm curious. What would happen if a tropical storm hit this place?" asked Cody as he turned to Darrin.
"That's the thing. Tropical storms can't hit this place. The valley is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The mountains serve a purpose of being a natural barrier, protecting us here in the valley from any ill effects from storms." explained Darrin as he turned to Wade, who still looked sick to his stomach. "Are you okay man?"
"The smell . . . it's just plain wrong." answered Wade as he continued to breathe through his mouth. Monica shot him an unsure look before turning away.
"Are you a werewolf or shapeshifter?" asked Darrin as he crossed his arms.
"Werewolf" answered Wade as he continued to even his breathing.
"I see," said Darrin as he took something out of his pocket. It was a small vial filled with a clear liquid. He held it out to Wade. "Smell this. You'll be back to normal in no time."
Wade looked at the vial unsurely before turning to Monica, who shot him an encouraging look. He took the vial, opened it, and smelled what was inside, promptly moving it away from his nose after sniffing the strong smell.
"Better?" asked Darrin as Wade handed him the vial.
"Yeah, I feel much better actually." said Wade as he breathed in through his nose. "What's in that vial?"
"It's an experimental sample of a rum flavor that never really caught on." explained Darrin as he held up the vial. "It's so strong that it could knock out any rancid smell from your nose by just one sniff."
"Dude can I try that?" asked Adam out of curiosity as he pointed to the vial.
"Be my guest, unless you don't want your tongue scorched by a rum sample that combines practically every single known spice that grows on this island." said Darrin as he walked over to Adam with the vial, but Adam took a step back.
"You know what? You keep that with you. I like my taste buds." said Adam as he walked away.
"Coward" coughed Sheamus, Cody, and Ted as Adam walked past them, earning a scowl from the Canadian werewolf. The group soon left the tower and walked along the cobblestone sidewalk till they reached the more industrious part of the factory. Before walking to the large silver building, Darrin lead the group over to a smaller brick building just off to the side.
"DAMN!" cried Kofi, imitating Ron Simmons as he yelled. "Look at all these barrels! And the alcoholic smell is absolutely crazy."
"You said it!" said Kaitlyn as she looked up at the ceiling. "These barrels are stacked up all the way to the ceiling."
"This is one of the storage units the factory uses to store the liquor." explained Darrin as he turned to the group. "There are plenty more scattered around the island, but this is the one the officials keep on factory grounds. The oldest rums are stacked on shelves at the top near the ceiling and have been fermenting for the past 100 years. The youngest ones are here at the bottom of the shelves."
"How do you get them down?" asked Sheamus as he looked up at the barrels near the ceiling.
"Telekinesis" answered Darrin with a shrug, gaining a few unsure looks from the others. "I'm serious. Appleton Rum Estates is one of the few businesses on the island that hires a full supernatural staff. Werewolves, fairies, sprites, shapeshifters, psychics, we're all here." explained Darrin as he looked out a nearby window. The group turned to see two female fairies looking into the room at them. They both waved at the wrestlers before flying over to the fields.
"Can I work here?" asked Lita as she raised a hand.
"Babe you already got a job!" countered Adam as he sent her a look.
"I know." said Lita in defeat as she crossed her arms and looked away sulking. "It was worth a shot."
"Random question here," said Kelly, gaining everyone's attention. "Has anybody been accidently locked in here, like overnight?"
"Well, there was this one incident, but it wasn't overnight; just about six or seven hours. Ten years ago, this room was locked up for the day to prepare it for maintenance work the next day, but no one realized that a security guard was locked up in here as he was making his rounds. It also didn't help that it was an off day for us employees, so that left the security guards the only ones on duty." explained Darrin as a thoughtful look crept onto his face.
"Didn't anyone realize that the guard was missing?" asked Ted in disbelief.
"Nope; all the other guards had other events to get to and the guard that was locked up in here was usually the last one to leave the place. So nobody really noticed. The next morning, another security guard found him in here, drunk out of his mind and barely conscious on the ground." Darrin further explained as he pointed to said ground.
"He took advantage of his bad situation and decided to take a sip of the company product." said an incredulous Edge as he looked around the group.
"Not exactly Edge," said Darrin. "There's a spell put on every barrel here in storage that prevents anyone from even taking a drink of any liquor here in this room. The spell breaks once the barrel is taken outside."
"He could have broken it. He was a wizard or a warlock right?" asked Layla with an unsure look on her face.
"Nope; the guard was actually a skinwalker." answered Darrin with another shrug.
"Then how the hell did he get drunk? From the air?" asked Randy as he gestured to the space around him.
"That's exactly what happened Randy," answered Darrin, gaining incredulous stares from most of the group. "As the liquor fermenters in the barrels, the smell within the barrels eventually builds up and leaks out the barrels and into the room. We're basically standing in a room where the atmosphere is basically condensed alcohol. If we stayed in here for a few hours, we would all eventually get drunk off the air."
"I don't mind trying that theory out!" cried Sheamus with a good old grin on his face. "Leave me here and I'll have a good old time!"
"Like we're going to let you do that." said Layla in a disparaging tone.
"We can all get drunk in this room by just staying in here for a few hours with the doors and windows closed?" asked Alicia, still in disbelief.
"Yep; in about five or six hours we'd all get drunk. Well, except for Randy maybe. Can Randy even get drunk?" asked Darrin out of curiosity.
"You know what? Out of all the years I've known him, I've never seen him get drunk, ever. Back in his Legend Killer days, we'd go out to a whole bunch of bars and Randy would drink a lot, but he never shown any signs of being drunk." said Lita as she raised an eyebrow at the Viper. "What's wrong with you?"
"That's just one of the things about being a vampire. You don't feel any effects of being drunk. You can drink as much liquor as you want, but you can never get drunk." answered Randy as he crossed his arms.
"LUCKY!" cried Adam, Lita, and Sheamus in unison.
"Dude! You're like the ultimate designated driver!" cried Kofi as he outstretched his arms. "Tell me something Randy. What was the largest amount of liquor you drank in one sitting?"
"15" Randy answered bluntly as he stroked his chin.
"DAMN!" cried Kofi, imitating Ron Simmons once again.
"And that's why I always suggest to people to never compete in a drinking contest with him cause he will beat you no matter what, unless you're another vampire." said Amanda as she walked out the room.
"I suggest we follow my cousin's lead and get out of the room before another group comes by." said Darrin as he walked by the wrestlers and out the door too. The others followed suit and followed Darrin to the large silver building, which housed the main processing plant. After showing them the insides, Darrin lead the group back onto the cobblestone sidewalk and over to a nearby well that had a large wooden stick sticking out from it.
"What's with the well?" asked Kaitlyn as she pointed to the random looking well.
"This isn't any ordinary well." said Darrin as he took up the stick, soon revealed to be a giant spoon. He took the spoon out of the well and waved the front of the spoon that was in the well toward the wrestlers, showing the weird dark brown gunk that hanged off it.
"Eww! What is that?" asked Kelly as she moved away from the spoon.
"It's molasses with brown sugar. It's what we use to sweeten some of the liquor we make here. Go ahead! Try it! It's safe!" suggested Darren as he picked out a pack of spoons from the small counter next to the well.
"I'm not too sure about it." mumbled Cody as he timidly picked up a spoon from the pack in Darrin's hand.
"C'mon guys! You're wrestlers! Don't tell me you're afraid of trying something simple as molasses and brown sugar." said Darrin as he continued to hold onto the spoon.
"Someone has to grow a backbone." mumbled Amanda as she scooped some of the brown mixture onto her spoon. She moved the spoon toward her mouth and ate the whole spoon full. "It's not that bad." she told them as she looked at their expectant faces.
"Really?" asked Alicia in disbelief.
"Yep" said Amanda. Taking the group by surprise, she took up another spoonful and ate it too before walking away to sit on a nearby bench.
"If that lassie ate it without any qualms, than so should I!" cried Sheamus. He took up a spoonful for himself and ate it. After he swallowed his treat, he turned to the others with a grin on his face. "She's right! It's not that bad!"
Everyone shot each other unsure looks before Adam stepped forward and took a spoonful for himself. One by one, each of the wrestlers took up a spoonful of the brown mixture and ate it. Most of the girls cringed in an instant before realizing that the taste wasn't what they expected.
"Wow, it actually taste's pretty good." said Kaitlyn as she wiped her mouth.
"Don't knock it till you try it." said Darrin as he returned the spoon to the well. "Let's head back to the visitor's center shall we? After every factory tour, we like to give the visitor's samples of some of the drinks we make here."
"Is it true that you have a store here where you sell these drinks?" asked Sheamus as he raised an eyebrow.
"Yep" answered Darrin as he walked along the cobblestone sidewalk toward the nearby visitor's center. Sheamus shot Edge and Lita a grin and quickly followed Darren. They were followed by everyone else, with Randy and Amanda bringing up the rear once again.
"You were so brave to try the brown stuff first." joked Randy as he threw his spoon away in a nearby trash bin.
"None of you men had the balls to try it first." mumbled Amanda in return as she took off her sunglasses.
"Hey! Haven't you heard of the phrase 'ladies first'?" asked Randy as he crossed his arms.
"Yes, but that wasn't a good reason to chicken out over something as harmless as molasses and brown sugar, Mr. Viper." said Amanda for a comeback as the group reached the center. The villa like building was a sunny tallow color with green painted awnings and roof and glass doors.
"I may be a vampire, but I am gutless." said Randy sarcastically as the group walked inside. The insides of the building were very well air conditioned. On one side of the building was the store. On the second side were a small gift shop and the main offices. The third side was where the bathrooms were located. And on the fourth side was a door that led to a resort like lounge area that had a small bar along the far wall. At the bar was another employee who was overseeing a counter with a whole bunch of liquor bottles in a straight line with a bunch of plastic cups next to each one.
"Take your pick. You are only allowed one sample of each bottle. Drink responsibly everyone." said Darrin with a small smile. He hugged Amanda and Monica good bye and waked out the door and back outside. Amanda and Monica watched as their cousin left the place and turned around to see everyone already at the counter except for themselves, Randy, Wade, and Kelly.
"I expected Edge, Lita, and Sheamus to go crazy at the counter, but not everyone else." muttered Monica as she walked over to the counter.
"You and me both." said Wade in agreement as he crossed his arms and followed after her.
"Barbie, how come you're not over there?" asked Randy as he raised an eyebrow at the blonde.
"I'm a mermaid. Alcohol dries me out, so I kinda abstain from it." said Kelly as she turned toward the corner to see Ted gesturing for her to come over with a drink in hand. "But I do have my moments." and with that, the mermaid scampered away from the vampire and the psychic hybrid and over to the counter to join the others.
"And with that, it leaves us two the only ones not at the counter." mumbled Amanda as she combed her fingers through her hair.
"Should we join them?" asked Randy as he looked at his mate with a smirk.
"Let's" said Amanda with a smile as she looked at her fellow snake with a smile. Randy took the lead as Amanda followed after him over to the counter, hoping that there was still plenty left over.
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