II - Queen's Gambit
The birds chirped from the wires of the telephone poles. Lincoln and Clyde sat on the front steps of the Loud residence, trying to formulate a plan to get inside Liam's house.
"Maybe someone knows about the spores," said Clyde. "Maybe they know how to walk through it unharmed."
"Yeah."
"I think Tim Crowley might know. He's pretty much the world's top leading expert in roamer science. I think."
"Yeah."
"Hey, buddy, you alright?"
Lincoln's eyes, which were looking down at the grass, turned towards Clyde, appearing exhausted.
"I failed Lori," said Lincoln. "I was supposed to be here for her… help her with a plan to stop Calvin… but all I did was focus on a friend who is not even around anymore. What's wrong with me?"
"Uh oh, look who's coming," said Clyde, making Lincoln around. "But to answer your last question— what's wrong with all of us?"
"What's wrong with all of us, indeed," said Ronnie Anne as she walked down the street, approaching Lincoln and Clyde. "Or better yet— what's wrong with you, Lame-O? You blew me off at the party yesterday!"
"I know, I'm sorry. I promise to make it up to you somehow."
"Did you get nervous or something? You shouldn't have because it wasn't like an official date or anything. So where were you? And don't say you were home because I checked, and nobody was here. So where were you?"
"I was out there."
"Out there? Outside the walls?"
"Yes. I can't tell you what I was doing out there yet because it's something that you just wouldn't understand."
"Well, help me understand. The last thing I want is for you to keep secrets from me!"
"I just can't stop thinking of my friends as of lately."
"Does that have anything to do with what we're talking about?"
"I knew you wouldn't understand."
"What? Dude, you're acting strange just like the past couple days. I don't know what's up with you, but I think you're hiding something from me that you really don't want to tell me. Clyde, what is he hiding from me?"
"I honestly don't know," said Clyde. "He already told you we were outside. We're trying to find a key for Liam's house."
"See, that doesn't even make sense. The crazy part is that I know you're not lying."
"He's not cheating on you if that's what you're worried about."
"Oh, I know. He couldn't if he wanted to."
"Not cool, Ronnie," said Lincoln.
"You know what's not cool? You not telling me anything. You're hiding something from Clyde. That's why he doesn't know either. What are you hiding?"
Lincoln remained silent. Ronnie Anne groaned.
"Fine."
Ronnie Anne stormed off, leaving Lincoln and Clyde alone in the steps. As she disappeared from sight, two more people approached the young teens. Both Lincoln and Clyde turned around to see Lori and Simon walking to the steps to go inside the house.
"Lori! You're alright!" gasped Lincoln. "I was so worried for you—"
"Thank you, but please get inside. We need to talk."
After Lincoln and Clyde entered the house, Lori began to make herself some coffee as Simon looked around the house.
"I need you to take Simon to the barn," said Lori as she walked upstairs.
"He knows about all this?" asked Lincoln, following Lori upstairs.
"Yeah."
"I don't know, Lori… we don't know what happened to Sam exactly, and as such, we don't know what to expect when we get to the barn. We don't know how we're going to react. Have you ever lost someone close to you, Simon?"
"My mom and dad," said Simon.
"Oh."
"Which is why he can't afford to lose Sam either," said Lori, grabbing Carol's Polaroid. "He can pick locks. That alone adds great value to our mission."
"That's true," said Lincoln. "That is true…"
Lori handed the Polaroid to Simon.
"It only has ten films," said Lori. "That means ten pictures only, Simon."
"Okay," nodded Simon.
"We'll have to leave at nighttime," said Lincoln. "Too many potential witnesses in the daytime."
"We can't wait that long!" said Simon.
"Don't worry. Lori is gonna watch the barn until then. We'll have our walkies so if Sam ever shows up at the barn, we'll know."
"You guys are going to need a gun," said Lori, taking a sip from her cup of coffee. "I'm about to head to the police station and… be exiled."
"I have a plan," said Lincoln.
The sound of a pen scribbling on paper could be heard as Schoffner was jotting down some notes from her desk in the police station. Her desk was within view of the door. Plesko was talking to Ravi from his walkie-talkie as he sat down on his chair, all relaxed. His office was in a different room, blind to anyone in the entrance.
The door to the police station opened, with Clyde walking inside. He walked through the metal detector, letting a loud sound go off.
"Hey, kid, walk back for a bit," said Schoffner as she walked over to the metal detector. "What do you have on you?"
"Oh, sorry," said Clyde as he placed his multitool on the desk next to the metal detector. "I just wanted to ask where Sam and Luna are."
"Walk through," said Schoffner.
Clyde walked through the metal detector, which did not emit a noise. Schoffner nodded as Clyde grabbed the multitool back and stuffed it in his pocket. Both Clyde and Schoffner walked to Plesko's office.
"I'm scared for Sam and Luna," said Clyde. "Last I heard, they're in DairyLand. But they should've been back by now."
"Who's Sam and Luna?" asked Schoffner.
"They're the lesbians that Oscar told me about," said Plesko, placing his feet on his desk. "What do you want us to do about it, kid? We don't have the numbers to send a rescue team yet."
"Yet?"
"We'll have to convince the big man to send people after them, but don't come after us— we gotta stay here and do our jobs."
"I see."
"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, where's that blonde girl that leads your group? Laura or something?"
"Lori? I don't know."
"She's here," said Schoffner, walking out of the office.
"Well, speak of the devil!" chuckled Plesko as he reached into a desk, grabbing Lori's Python. "Hold on, kid, give me a minute. This won't be long."
Plesko walked out of his office. Lori entered the police station and walked through without the metal detector going off.
"And where the hell have you been?" asked Plesko, walking away from the desk. "Oscar sent me back to unlock your handcuffs and to my surprise, you were gone. Mind telling me who unlocked your handcuffs? Was it that Simon kid?"
"I unlocked them myself," said Lori. "Not a hard skill to learn."
"On the contrary. Two hands— easier, sure. One hand? Hardest damn thing in the world."
"You'd be surprised then. I'm ready to be exiled."
Clyde reached into the desk and opened up a large cabinet with the weapons inside. He stuffed an M1911 pistol inside his pants, using his waist to hold it while concealing it with his shirt. He then grabbed Bobby's Luger pistol and concealed it too.
"Oscar, Lori here says she's ready to be exiled," said Schoffner through the walkie-talkie.
"Get her out of here," said Oscar from the other line.
"What about the fact that she broke out and wandered all on her own?"
"All the more reason to get her out of here as soon as possible. Just make her leave."
"Copy that."
"You're leaving already?" asked Clyde.
"Yeah," said Lori.
"Wanna accompany her?" asked Schoffner.
"Y-Yeah."
"Here ya' go," said Plesko, handing over the Python and a hatchet to Schoffner. "For when she leaves."
Schoffner placed the revolver in a holster and a hatchet in between her belt. Clyde walked through the metal detector to leave the building, setting it off again. He removed the multitool from his pockets and held it up.
"Sorry!" he said before stuffing it back inside his pocket.
"Let's go, Lori," said Schoffner, placing her hand on Lori's shoulder.
Meanwhile, in his mansion, Oscar placed his walkie-talkie down on top of his safe. He looked at the safe for a few seconds, seeing it open and empty. Then, he picked up the walkie-talkie again and switched channels.
"Cal, you alone?" asked Oscar.
"Yes, sir."
"Go after Lori."
"Got it."
Oscar placed the walkie-talkie down as he tapped his foot on the carpet nervously.
The main gate opened as Schoffner handed Lori her revolver and her hatchet back. Lori then handed a folded sheet of paper to Schoffner discreetly. Clyde began to walk away while Schoffner was distracted.
"What's this?" asked Schoffner.
"I found it in a safe inside Oscar's room."
"The list of crimes just keeps on growing. Just goes to show this place is not for everyone."
"Listen. The numbers in the paper are coordinates that will lead to the location of the missing residents. It could be where Sam and the others who went on that supply-run yesterday are."
"Is this a joke?"
"You know it isn't. Clyde asked you to find them. So, go find them."
Schoffner waved the folded paper before stuffing it inside her pocket.
"After my shift," said Schoffner as she looked at the guard. "Close it!"
The gate began to close as Lori looked at Schoffner. Then, the gate broke their eye contact as Schoffner turned around.
"Let's go…"
Schoffner looked around to see where Clyde was. But he was nowhere to be found.
"...kid."
Coming down the street was Calvin. Bobby was behind him, but decided to sit on the front porch of the Loud residence. He watched Calvin approach the gate. Schoffner watched as he passed by.
"Going out?" asked Schoffner.
"Yes," replied Calvin. "Mind opening the gate, Spencer?"
Spencer nodded as he opened the gate. Ruby looked down from the guard post, rifle in hand.
"Lori just walked out," said Schoffner. "I don't think it's a good idea for you two to be out there at the same time."
"Well, we don't have much of a choice," said Calvin. "Oscar sent me out to do a job and Lori's— well, she's exiled."
"What kinda job?"
"Hunting. Gotta put food on the table."
"I hope we're talking about animals."
"What do you think?"
Calvin walked away, carrying an ACE 23 rifle with him. Bobby then approached the gate as it remained open. However, as he got closer, Spencer began to close the gate. Schoffner continued to look out the gate as Bobby jogged forward.
"Hey, wait, I gotta head out too," said Bobby.
"Oh, my bad," apologized Spencer. "Let me get the gate for you."
"What are you doing?" asked Ruby from above.
"Opening the gate for the dude."
"He's not, like, allowed to leave. He's Bobby Santiago. A member of Lori's group."
"Oh ho, okay. My bad, Ruby," said Spencer before closing the gate. "Sorry, bro, can't let you out."
"Why?" asked Bobby.
"Oscar's rules. He says anyone that's a part of Lori's group is not allowed to leave."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know man. I don't make the rules."
"Really?" asked Schoffner. "He didn't tell me that."
"That's weird, because he told me and Ruby this like this morning. He didn't tell you?"
"I gotta ask him."
Bobby jogged away from the gate. Schoffner turned on her walkie-talkie and contacted Oscar.
"Sir, I have a question," said Schoffner. "We're not supposed to let anyone in Lori's group leave?"
"Right. Why? Did someone in her group leave?"
"No. I was just wondering why you didn't inform Plesko, Ravi, and I. Instead, I got two gate guards telling me about this."
"It's not your job to guard the gate. So the rule isn't important for you to know. Go do your job instead of worrying about what the gate guards do."
Schoffner shook her head as Spencer and Ruby gave her a pitiful look.
"Copy that, sir."
Bobby made it back to the infirmary building, looking inside the living room. He noticed that the bed that Lori was in was empty. The handcuffs were still there.
He came out of the building and saw Schoffner gone from sight. It was just Ruby and Spencer at the gate.
"Thank you for watching Carlitos for me," said Maria. "You are such a big help."
"Honestly, I can keep watching him," said Vonda. "He's a pretty fun kid to be around with. He… takes my mind off some things."
"We drew a dog together!" said Carlitos. "And a cat. And a cow. And a chicken. And a pig. And a—"
Ronnie Anne walked into the house, gasping upon seeing Maria, Vonda, and Carlitos getting ready to have lunch at the table. She and her mother locked eye contact as an awkward atmosphere began to fill the air.
"Hey… Mom," said Ronnie Anne. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," said Maria.
Maria walked out of the kitchen, leaving Vonda and Carlitos alone at the table.
Ronnie Anne walked up to her room where Maria followed her. She closed the door behind her before facing her daughter.
"I'm the worst daughter ever, aren't I?" sighed Ronnie Anne.
Maria let out a small laugh.
"No, why would you think that?" asked Maria.
"Because… I freaked out about the whole thing with you and… Vonda's dad… and I avoided you for a whole day. I mean, we both haven't seen each other in over three years! Who does that?"
"It's okay, Ronalda. Cálmate. I understand."
"I'm sure you do but… for a moment, I must've made you feel so bad. You and Vonda must be worried sick about Tim being gone. And instead of me being here to make you guys feel better, I left you two alone. All because I feel… weird about this whole thing."
"Es okay. All that matters is that you are here now."
"I still feel weird about you and Tim being together. I mean, just absolutely uncomfortable. But he makes you happy. So why do I feel this way?"
"Because you love your dad so much and he loves you back so much. And you have this idea in your head that maybe… just maybe… that we may end up together again, wherever he is. That we will get back together and live happily in a nice home— together. But it is not going to happen, Ronalda. Your father and I talked it out and decided we are much happier apart. Tim… makes me happy, and I love him. But for you… he is never going to replace your father. And I do not expect him to. Wherever he is— I hope he is all right— he will always be in your heart. He is okay with this because he already knows that you will not see any other man as your father. Es okay to be uncomfortable. But don't be scared."
Ronnie Anne nodded before lowering her head, letting a tear run down her face. Maria hugged her, prompting Ronnie Anne to hug her back. Both of them gasped softly upon hearing a muffled voice from outside the room.
"Mamá!"
"Oh, it's Bobby," chuckled Ronnie Anne softly. "He scared me a little there."
"Me too," giggled Maria.
Bobby knocked on the door.
"You there, Mamá?"
"Enter, Bobby," said Ronnie Anne, wiping her eyes.
Bobby opened the door.
"Where's Lori?" he exclaimed.
"She should be at the police station waiting for you," said Maria. "Detective Plesko said he was gonna find you so that you two can leave together…"
"She's outside? Oh, man!"
"It's no big deal, Bobby, just go chase after her!" said Ronnie Anne.
"No one from her group is allowed to leave. But Calvin and his people are! And Calvin already left!"
Ronnie Anne's eyes widened.
"Oh no…" she whispered.
The leaves rustled as Luna panted heavily. Tim removed his trucker hat and wiped the sweat off his hair as he peered through the bright sunlight. He then turned around and saw Luna lean against a car on the side of the road while wrapping her arms around her leg.
"Can you walk?" asked Tim.
"How much longer?" asked Luna.
"We should be there any minute now."
"Okay. Yeah, I can keep walking."
"I told you we should've gone back. We probably would have been here sooner."
"It's never a good idea to walk a lot in the dark, dude. Probably wouldn't have made it here at all if we did that. Good thing that house we slept at was close to the car. Royal Woods would have been a two mile walk. Would have taken me an hour to get there."
"Now, it took us about six hours to get here," said Tim. "Not counting the sleep. Sleep added up to another six hours. Twelve hours have passed by. Twelve whole hours."
Luna got up from the tree and continued to limp down the road.
"An hour in darkness is deadly," said Luna.
"You don't have to tell me that. But I could've gone alone. I would've gotten Sam back by now. You love her, right? That means you gotta make some hard choices sometimes. If not seeing her for twelve hours is a hard choice, you still gotta do it if it means getting her back safe and sound."
Luna and Tim walked past a building, now seeing a large parking lot. In the distance were rollercoaster rides, a ferris wheel, a large water slide, and numerous other rides.
"Finally," sighed Luna.
The duo approached the main gate that allowed them to enter DairyLand. Luna and Tim looked around the relatively empty amusement park. It was eerie to Luna, who was used to hearing the joyful screams of riders from where she stood. She looked at a map by a lamp post, figuring out how to get around. Next to the map was a sign that said: 'Handicap Friendly.' Luna scoffed as she backed away from the map.
"Took Vonda here every year until she turned nine," said Tim. "Said she was lactose intolerant and didn't want to go because she felt this place was very unfriendly. Not more than a few days after she said that, I caught her eating a Philly cheese steak. Turns out she hated this place. Everyone here bothered her— the employees, people at lines, the mascots."
"So it started at nine years old, huh?" remarked Luna. "Where do you think we should look first?"
"No clue. The truck that they took is nowhere within sight. Maybe it left track marks, which we could follow."
"No… something is strange about this place."
"Feels empty. Usually isn't."
"There should be roamers out here, just… scattered around, wandering all over the place. The entrance gates are open so there's no reason why we shouldn't be looking at a few roamers around here."
"I see what you're saying. So we look around, see if we can find a cluster of roamers together?"
"Yeah. But to save time, I think you should climb that tall skydiving ride."
"Ah, damn," muttered Tim. "I got a fear of heights."
Tim leaped over the fence and walked over to the giant pole of the skydiving ride, which supported a couple seats. The pole's purpose was to raise the seats really high before dropping them close to the ground, simulating the feeling of skydiving.
Tim climbed up the ladder as his hands became sweaty. He looked around and saw himself to be fifty feet high, much less than the three hundred feet-tall pole. However, it was enough to give him a great view of the park. He gave the place a 360 degree view before noticing the top seat of the ferris wheel rocking back and forth. He then looked down at the bottom of the ride, seeing clusters of roamers surrounding the ride.
"Damn…"
Luna looked down at the ground, seeing a cup with the Burpin' Burger logo. She licked her lips as she craved greasy food. She hoped they saved some food for her at the party.
"Someone's at the ferris wheel," said Tim.
"Is it Sam?" asked Luna.
"I don't know. I just know someone is at the top."
"How did they get up there?"
"I don't know but we have to get them down. I can get a car battery and connect it to the ferris wheel, bring it down. We have to get the roamers away from the ferris wheel though."
"I can distract them," said Luna.
"I have a better plan."
Tim pressed the lever of a merry-go-round. The plastic cows moved up and down as carousel music played. A car battery was hooked up to the ride's controls with wires. Now, the ride was attracting the roamers away from the ferris wheel.
"You're really smart," said Luna.
"Gee, thanks," said Tim dryly.
"No, I really mean it. I wouldn't have thought of that. No one I know would have. Except for two of my siblings. Though, one is… not around anymore."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah. You better go now."
Tim nodded as he lugged the car battery and wires to the ferris wheel ride. He grabbed a wrench and began to unscrew a metallic box open. Luna remained knelt down with her pistol out, keeping herself hidden behind a bumper-cars ride while watching Tim's back.
The carousel music continued to play, though the plastic cows began to slow down. The roamers continued to move towards the merry-go-round ride, completely unaware of Tim's presence a couple rides behind them.
Tim connected the wires to the car battery and then to the generator that powered the ride. It sent off a few sparks before the ferris wheel started moving again. He then smiled before realizing that the park went quiet again, with the exception of the grinding of the gears inside the ferris wheel. He looked back at the merry-go-round and realized that it stopped moving, the music stopped playing, and the lights were off. The roamers were now heading back to surround the ferris wheel. He noticed that some were moving faster than others.
"Oh, shit," said Tim.
A runner quickly ran to the ride, leaping over the fence, making Tim draw his pistol. Luna shot at the runner, hitting it in the skull as Tim turned the safety off for his pistol.
The seat at the top was approaching the bottom before the car battery died out. The seat was close to the bottom, almost at a 210 degree angle with respect to the east of the ferris wheel.
Tim shot at the incoming roamers. Luna tried shooting them as well before realizing that some were now diverting to her direction. She heard the roamers climbing onto the bumper cars.
"Oh, damn," she muttered as she grabbed one of her crutches.
Tim placed his pistol back into his pocket and drew a knife as the roamers continued to leap over the fence. He tried stabbing the roamers that were getting close to the ride, until seeing the fence collapse. He quickly turned around and climbed up into a seat before leaping onto another seat. He then looked down, seeing the roamers struggling to reach him. He climbed onto a spoke before realizing that most of the roamers were now chasing after a limping Luna.
Luna hopped away from the bumper cars using her singular crutch. Then, she heard a girl yelling as she hit one of the roamers with a baseball bat.
"Now I can definitely beat you in a race," said Lynn.
Luna smiled as she turned around, seeing Lynn beating the roamers with a baseball bat. She then limped around the ride, trying to spread out the roamers.
Tim leaped onto the seat with the person inside, unintentionally landing on the person. The seat rocked wildly before settling down.
"Ow…" groaned Sam, her voice sounding dry.
"Sorry," panted Tim. "Hey, it's you! Damn, you look terrible."
Sam let out a breath before breathing in slowly. Her eyes were closed, her face seemed red while her lips were dry and pale. The rest of her body looked red, with some very pale spots. She slowly opened her eyes, which appeared bloodshot.
"Moose… did… this…"
"I believe you, Sam," said Tim. "Just hang in there."
Tim looked down from the seat. It was not going to be safe to drop Sam from that height. In addition, there were still roamers swarming around the ground. Suddenly, the roamers diverted their attention to another survivor other than Lynn and Luna. A loud gunshot echoed across the park, belonging to a Ruger GP100 revolver shooting .357 Magnum bullets. The teenager holding the revolver was none other than JuJu.
He took out a knife and stabbed a few roamers before firing another shot. He leaped onto the bumper cars and ran past the roamers before doing a slide, using his momentum to stab a roamer. He slid off the ride, increasing his momentum as he fell before landing on his feet— the sudden whiplash causing the roamer to slide out of his knife.
"Lynn, I got these roamers!" exclaimed JuJu. "Help get Sam down!"
JuJu stabbed one of the roamers from the back of their skulls, dropping its body in front of Luna as Lynn ran past the swarm and towards the ferris wheel.
"We need to pick up the pace a bit," said JuJu. "That rollercoaster ride— think you can make it over there?"
"Yeah," said Luna.
"Let's go."
JuJu kicked a roamer's knee before slicing its head halfway through its forehead before pulling out, letting it drop to the floor. Luna limped forward as JuJu wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He helped her move faster as the roamers tried to catch up.
"Where you at?" shouted a voice in the distance.
"Bumper cars!" shouted JuJu.
Lynn continued to beat the roamers with the baseball bat. She then dropped her bat and looked up at Tim.
"Drop her," said Lynn. "I'll catch her."
"Are you sure?" asked Tim.
"No time to waste. Do it."
Tim placed Sam's legs over the seat before holding tightly to her arms. She then lowered her body from the seat, straining himself as he tried not to fall down himself.
"Go!" exclaimed Lynn.
Tim let go of Sam as Lynn leaped backwards. As Sam fell down, Lynn quickly jogged forward and jumped, tackling Sam midair before twisting her body around, wrapping her arms around her head. Then, Lynn and Sam landed onto the concrete, Lynn's shoulders taking most of the fall.
Lynn gasped out in pain as she felt an intense burning pain in her arm. There was a large scrape on her elbow, though she chose to ignore the pain as she quickly stood Sam up. Tim leaped down from the seat, landing hard on his feet. He groaned slightly but felt relieved upon knowing that nothing was broken or dislocated.
JuJu and Luna ran to the rollercoaster ride, outrunning the roamers behind them. Suddenly, a lurker hiding in the seats leaped into view, growling at the two of them. Luna collapsed to the ground, taking JuJu down with her as her legs began to cramp up.
"Ah! Shit!" screamed Luna as she pressed against her leg.
JuJu quickly stood up and tackled the lurker away from Luna, causing both of them to fall from the tracks. Luna panted heavily as she turned around, seeing a roamer climb into the ride. She grabbed her crutch and braced herself for the blood that was about to drip into her face.
Then, a suppressed gunshot dropped the roamer to the ground. The gunshot sounded very familiar. It was the sound of an M110. The gunshots then took out the rest of the roamers trying to get into the ride. Luna took a deep breath as she saw all the dead roamers in front of her. Before she could turn around, she felt herself being picked back up by strangely familiar arms. She turned around, only to feel her heart skip a beat.
"Fourth time I saved your life, moonrock. I'm in a bit of a hot streak."
Luna let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms around Jace's shoulders and dug her head into his chest.
"How are you…? You… asshole!" giggled Luna. "Don't ever die on me again!"
"I'll… I'll try not to," smiled Jace. "Brought your gun back. Missed it?"
"I missed you, Jace."
"Missed him so hard, you forgot your girlfriend's alive," said JuJu.
"Oh… right! Sam!"
"Don't worry, she's alive," said Haley, helping Sam walk. "And she's gonna be alive."
"No way!" gasped Luna. "Haley? We all seriously thought you were dead!"
"I get that a lot."
Luna walked over to Sam, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to give her a small hug and a kiss. However, upon giving her a kiss, Sam flinched away in pain.
"Sorry," said Sam in a low voice.
"It's okay, Sam. It's okay. I'm just glad you're safe."
Luna removed a paperclip from her left ear, grabbed Sam's hands, placed the paperclip on her palms, then closed her hands.
"Please never lose this," whispered Luna.
"I won't."
Sam motioned Luna to come closer before giving her a kiss. She flinched again, though this time, she fought back the pain and kissed Luna properly. She then let go after the sunburn pain became too much to bear.
"Worth it," whispered Sam.
Luna let out a soft giggle. She then saw Hana walking towards her with her sword drenched in blood.
"Koncha, Luna. Kept roamers away from ferris wheel."
"Konnichiwa, Hana," smiled Luna. "I always knew you were alive. No offense, guys."
"Some taken," chuckled Jace.
"What about me?" asked Albert.
Luna opened her mouth in shock as her eyes studied every single detail on the man's face. Tears bubbled in her eyes as she tried to deny what she saw in front her. But she couldn't deny it at all. Her grandfather was standing right in front of her.
"Pop-Pops…" whispered Luna.
Albert gave Luna an enormous hug as she began to cry into his chest. Finn, Quinn, Angel, and Diana, all part of Jace's group, walked up to the rollercoaster ride, staring awkwardly at the group. Lynn smiled as she wiped a tear from her eyes, remembering how she reacted that morning upon seeing her grandfather alive too.