by Enoch Enns
the Grand Attraction
Parts I-IV of the Grand Series
By Enoch K. Enns
Published by AuthorHouse 06/29/2015
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
Copyright 2015 Enoch K. Enns. All rights reserved.
Part I: Illusion
The Grand Attraction
Three years had passed since the government shutdown. The economy was steadily crashing while large businesses filed for bankruptcy, and only a select few small businessmen were rooted well enough to take the landslide and momentarily carry the slack. The world was bluffing over some illusionary period of repose from the declining market. Jobs were constantly opening as people scurried about their lives doing as they wished, where they wished, while it was an option to them.
Carls K. Locke was only in his early thirties. He’d managed to land a secure job at ATR, an auto tech repair company stationed in Noonbrick. Since all the big-name brands of cars and the like had gone out of business, people were desperate to keep what wheels they had still running. ATR was one of the few still left in business for repairing them. Carls was married to a beautiful young nurse by the name of Elairah. Together, they enjoyed the laughter of their three-year-old little angel, Joanna.
It was only last week that Bill had been picked up on his shift. Bill was a queer fellow and not quite gifted in the area of engineering. The brunt of the load, as always, fell upon Carls as he had to yet again train an employee from scratch. But even from day one, Bill seemed different. He was learning. Fast. He had said it was with the help of what he called e-Links—Carls would find the empty vials all over the shop. Bill claimed that they helped him learn faster and perform better.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
It had taken Carls four years to reach where he was now, and Bill seemed to be catching on even by his third week. It was about that time that Carls’ curiosity got the best of him. He had found another e-Link lying around and decided it best to address Bill on the matter of littering.
“Bill,” he said, pulling the young fellow aside, “this is the fifth one I’ve found this week just lying on the open floor. Thought we talked about picking these up?”
Bill expression declined. He knew it was to the point where half the time he didn’t even know he was still using them, nonetheless leaving them around. “Ya, sorry man,” Bill answered him, running a hand through his greased hair. He had a peculiar nerd look to him—his contacts always needing adjusting.
Carls thought to inquire. “You said you got these from some attraction, right? How do you keep getting these? I’ve never heard of e-Links.”
Bill perked up. “Not just any attraction, Carls, but the Grand Attraction. It’s a spectacular place, man. You should definitely check it out!”
The Grand Attraction? He’d heard of it before. Rumor had it there was a place that was actually defying the economic collapse—a place where entrepreneurs were in business “heaven”.
But Bill seemed to answer his next few questions before he even had time to ask them.
“It’s a mall. A huge one. Like, I’m talking larger than a city! Even Noonbrick! Truly an extravagant shopping and entertainment center of irrefutable standing. People are flocking its gates like the flood, man. It’s where all the big-wigs are putting in their last-ditch efforts to make it.”
It had caught Carls’ attention. A place for businesses to still make it, eh? Like that would ever work. The economy is too broken for entrepreneurs... yet, it could still be possible…. “How come I don’t hear much of it? Only rumors?”
Bill smiled, his hand reeling in Carls shoulder as he whispered, “Only those with tickets can get in.”
Tickets? How did that answer his question?
“What good are tickets if there’s no advertising?”
Bill laughed, pulling out another e-Link from one of his jeans’ pockets. “That’s what I do,” he said. He had the same weird, nerd look that he’d given Carls after his first full day working with him. Carls was hesitant, however, to take the e-Link that Bill held out before him.
“Oh,” Bill remarked, quickly reaching into a different pocket, “wrong thing! I meant to hand you this.” He was holding out a silver ticket lined in violet blue. “Take it man, it’s for you. And I reckon you can have this e-Link too. I’ve got enough stock to last me three lifetimes!”
He could tell Carls didn’t like the idea of e-Links. Just the thought of injecting himself with a clear liquid of unknown compounds was… strange. “No worries, man. The e-Links only affect minor functions and neural brainwaves and so far have no side effects. Much like the classic ‘caffeine dumps’, they only momentarily boost you. There’s no hangover—just getting used to not having it circulate the veins anymore!”
“I think I’ll pass on the e-Link, thanks Bill. And I don’t need to take your ticket from you. I don’t have time to vacate and besides, who knows what you’d be like without it.”
Bill chuckled, placing the ticket within Carls’ palm and closing his fingers. “You take it, and you take your family there for a little vacay—I know you’ll need it before your promotion doubles the load.”
He was right. Carls was due for a promotion within the next month and would be packed tight with hours. He needed the work though. His wife, Elairah, wanted to put aside her job and take up raising Joan full-time if she could. But right now they were in a tight spot.
“Thanks Bill, but I can’t.”
“Yes, you can, Carls. I’ll look after the shop. I’m not here to steal it from you; I’m here to tell you that you need a break. Talk it over with the boss if need be. I was actually going to surprise you with it this weekend—I’d already gotten you cleared and everything—but oh well, you beat me to it.”
At first he was unsure, but Bill kept reassuring him it was the best place for a vacation and that it was real. Carls had his own reasons for wanting to go, though. If, indeed, it was an entrepreneur’s heaven, then he might just have the opportunity to pursue his dream business—one that the present economy refuted. Bill had somehow had connections to Elairah’s workplace too—after all, he claimed his family had connections everywhere—and had worked out enough leave time for them to pack up and head out with little Joanna as excited as any child would be on a surprise trip. The ticket Bill had given them was to a hotel supposedly within the mall itself: Paradise Suites. If it was truly as big as Bill had claimed it was, then even a week’s leave wouldn’t be enough to explore the place. So long as they could make it memorable for their daughter, that would be enough for Carls and his wife.
And for the first time in four years, Carls got in his car, punched in the coordinates, and set off for a much anticipated break.
They were finally off to the Grand Attraction.
He was undoubtedly astounded at the grandeur scale of the place. It was massive, towering high over the landscape. Large marble pillars arose, marking the front entrance with enormous panes of plexiglass. The parking lot was crammed with venturers. They ended up having to walk two minutes in before they could reach the main doors. Security guards held their grounds, only allowing those with tickets through. Carls had to weasel his way through to get to them but was let pass at the quick glance of his ticket. Clearly, the Grand Attraction was man’s proudest show of artistic design and architectural perfection. Even the floor upon which they walked was of colorful river rocks and marble. The whole interior of the structure was outlined in obsidian—the cost of which was unfathomable. Carls could but stare at the entrance for a minute or two. The feeling was sublime, the atmosphere all the same. He shot a glance at his wife who smiled back at him.
“It’s beautiful,” she said to him, grabbing his hand and press
ing forward.
Joanna was overflowing with curiosity to touch everything but managed to stay close and under her father’s guiding hand. The first task on his mind was to find the apartments. Sure enough, before them was a pillar of black marble, holding an etching of the place. They were able to find the apartments not but a hall and a turn away from them. The Paradise Suites took up the whole length of the eastern hall—however small it might have been in consideration of the many others they had yet to discover. The suites rose to all three floors of the stone wall. The black plaque onto which the name was carved extended the width of the massive entrance. Locke quickly acknowledged that there was nothing short of magnificence in such an attraction. Any doubts he had of the place were quickly fading, if not already gone. It had to be real.
The lady at the desk kindly told them to not worry about fetching their own luggage as they would do it for them as a part of their free service. He simply handed her the ticket and his keys and turned to his wife, saying with a smile, “What would you like to eat?” Maybe this trip was the perfect vacation for their family after all. Maybe Billy had been right: it was worth their while.
Taking out his camera, he asked a passing couple to take their picture. Surely, this was what he needed. What she needed. What Joanna needed. There was no mistake this was, without a doubt, the grandest attraction.
A Blink Of An Eye
They had finished eating and began to venture down the central hall again. He’d bought his daughter the largest lollipop on the menu for kids, and she happily sucked away for the time, being atop his back. His wife led him through countless shoe and purse shops, hopping from place to place. She could have spent a lifetime in each one had she not seen something of new interest in the store next to and then across from it. The place was almost too big to have any single starting point, thus they roamed. First managing to keep to the main floor until they came to an opening in the mall where light glistened from a large dome now four flights above them. It glistened through and down to the trickling fountain of a human-size seahorse wielding a golden trident. Etched into the plaque below it was the name Osgroth— the Guardian of Tranquility.
Joanna loved it, and it was all they could do to keep her from splashing in it. It was then they decided to take the escalator to the second floor.
“Oh, honey! Look there!” his wife shouted with joy, pointing at a watch work store.
“No way! They actually have one!” he replied, already being rushed toward it. Elairah had a queer fascination with watches, or rather, clockwork of old. He knew he’d lose her in there if he didn’t hurry up, so he grabbed little Joan and hurried after her. Indeed the place seemed frozen in time—that period of history in which watches and the like were valued far more than in the twenty-second century. Large wood clocks filled the advertising windows, obviously successful in their work, seeing as his wife was already at the back of the store envying one of the watches from behind a glass retainer. When he reached her side, he too was able to see it.
There, about midway on the second rack, lay an Agarwood pocket watch with a golden chain.
“Oh, honey,” she said, “that is my dream watch! I’ve always wanted one like it, and one of these years I hope to have one.” She smiled at him, turning her attention to all the other shows she had at first overlooked.
Carls but glanced at the cost of it. “Maybe sometime,” he said, scoffing at the outrageous pricing. It was definitely more than he could bargain for, and he knew it wasn’t necessary to purchase her love. She loved him regardless of what material things he had, and that was just one of the many blessings from her. He praised the Lord every day for a wife that cared nothing about wealth and fame, only loyalty and trust. And as a couple, they were honest with each other on everything.
“Look at this one, honey...” her voice trailed as she ventured about the shop.
“Daddy! Daddy!” his daughter cut in, “Can we go over there?” She pulled at his hand, pointing her little fingers towards a passing cart filled with stuffed animals and toys.
“We sure can,” he answered her, easing to the front of the clockwork store. By the time they reached the entrance, the cart just turned a ways down the hall and to the right. Carls waited for his wife to finally emerge and join him.
“Joanna saw a trader’s cart with some stuffed animals; I saw it turn just down there. You wanna follow it?”
“Momma, please!” little Joan urged, reaching out to be held by her mom.
“Of course we can!” Elairah said, reaching out to grab her from Carls.
“Then off we go!” he said hugging the both of them. “And quick! Before he disappears on us again!” And they were off in pursuit.
He knew the best memories of a child were in playing games with them. He himself even enjoyed the refreshing outlook of trying to make everything into a game of sorts. It made life more easing. It also helped him to smile in midst of troubling times after a hard day’s work. Many things could be learned through the eyes of a child, and he was but beginning to taste the true meaning of that.
They soon found that the trader’s cart was no longer in their sight as they made that right turn. But little Joan’s joy wasn’t hindered in the least as for now it was hide and seek. She jumped out of her mother’s hands and raced across the stone walkway, hand in hand with her father. Somehow, they’d managed not to run into anyone upon reaching the next turn in their pursuit.
“Ut oh!” Locke exclaimed playfully, looking from right to left. “Now which way did he go?”
“That way, daddy! That way!” his daughter shouted. Obviously the lollipop was doing its work filling her with energy.
“Oh, dear,” Elairah addressed, “you two go ahead, I’m going to have a look at some of the antiques we just passed down there. You two have fun, okay, Joan? You make sure you find that sneaky guy for me!”
“I will!” Joan assured, giving a rushed hug.
“Love you, dear,” Carls said to his wife. “Be careful, and we’ll meet up with you at the fountain in an hour, ok?”
“You guys have fun,” she bid them farewell, waving as they parted ways.
Carls could tell she was getting tired as her little steps were now inconsistent with each other. She still had all the energy of a three-year-old, but not the strength. They’d lost sight of the cart they had been chasing once again and now stood outside a record department store.
“I think we lost him,” he said playfully out of breathe, taking a seat at one of the cross benches. He wasn’t sure if she’d heard him or not, or if she even recalled what it was they were chasing. At the time, she was distracted trying to walk the floor lines as they bent from side to side. “Careful, Joan, we don’t wanna run into to anybody, so watch where you’re going, please.” His head dropped in I-told-you-so as she tripped over her own feet, nearly tumbling into someone. “Sorry, sir,” Carls said, turning his attention to little Joan. “Come over here real quick, Joan,” he said calmly.
She came running towards him.
“Looks like you’re getting tired, want me to hold you?”
“Nope,” she replied, just as blunt and innocent as all children before getting distracted yet again by something else.
“Ok, dear, let’s start on our way back.”
She was quick to his hand, and they began their walk in the way they had come. He hoped he would remember where exactly to go. He’d forgotten how vast the distance they’d covered was. But that didn’t scare him, he was sure he would find it (after all, he was a guy, he couldn’t get lost, right?).
“Hey, daddy, watch!” his daughter’s voice cut back into his thoughts. He glanced down to see her hand outstretched. A look behind showed that she had probably been touching by-passers.
“Oh, honey, we don’t do that. We keep our hands to ourselves,” he corrected, pulling her hand back in.
But the sudden jolt of her hand back out was a surprise to him. She tumbled once again to the side, crashing into another by-pa
sser. And that’s when he noticed.
In the blink of an eye, a momentary flooding of disbelief filled him. “Joan!” he said rather strictly, reaching out and grabbing her, his heart pounding. Had that really just happened? Had she just fell through someone else? What on earth just happened, he said to himself. His eyes traced to whom the incident had occurred. Sure enough, static blurred from the knees down as the figure corrected itself. Nausea filled his head as he back-stepped. The man shot a scolding look towards him and kept moving. What just happened?
“Joan?” he panicked, realizing she was no longer in his hands. “Joan!” She was five steps too far from him, and he rushed to her. But before he could react, his body collided into a cart. Merchandise crashed everywhere as his flesh collided to the stone flooring. There was no mistake about it: that cart had just come out of nowhere. Or had I just not noticed it? Now nothing was making sense, and his mind reeled for explanations and reality. He looked up and—
His daughter was gone!
“Joan!” he yelled again. Back on his feet, he was leaping in every which direction, peeking around every corner for his little angel when, also out of nowhere, he felt a metal pipe thud into his forehead. He dropped senseless and unconscious to the floor.
What Happened? (Hide & Seek)
His eyes opened to a faded view of the corner block from which he had last looked behind. He still lay exactly where he had been struck, but everything looked different to him. What happened? he asked himself, lifting his body slowly from the cold floor. He saw the blood staining it; he felt the sharp shrills of pain and numbness. Whoever had hit him, there was no one now in sight to blame. But he couldn’t say much with his vision so ablur from the impact to his head. Joan! he remembered. Where is she? What happened?
He attempted scrambling to his feet but couldn’t, so he sat in shock as his senses slowly began to return. Everything around him seemed vacant of life. The stores, the halls, the escalators— they were motionless. The tapping of feet, the mumbling of voices, and the feeling of body warmth— it was all gone.
