Taker

by Patrick Wong

  A thin, grimy conquistador poked his head around the corner.

  “Sorry!” He held up his hand. “I’m on my break. Besides you’re not really meant to be out here on this side of the building.”

  “You’re not really meant to be smoking?” Nicole reasoned that her sky-high sass level was the result of the irritating ride.

  “True, true.” He ground out the rest of his cigarette on the floor. “So, what? You’ve exhausted Adventure World so much already that you’re just sunbathing now?”

  “Sort of.” Nicole squinted into the sun. Backlit by the fall light, the silhouette of the conquistador looked pretty impressive. It was only when he moved out of it that he reminded her of a friend’s nerdy older brother.

  “Is this the only Fountain of Youth ride?”

  “Now, yeah.”

  “Now?” Nicole felt her heart leap. She handed the guy the magazine.

  “Seen that before? We were looking for it.”

  “Sure. That’s the old one.”

  “The old one?” Ben exclaimed.

  “Yeah. Used to be the star attraction back in the day — Adventure Island. Meant to have a Caribbean island theme, with animals and caves and the like.”

  “So where is it now?” asked Ben.

  “It’s closed.”

  “But it’s here somewhere still? They didn’t knock it down?” asked Nicole.

  “Sure, bits of it are still there — stuff that hasn’t been blown down or taken away. Hang on.” He took out his smartphone and began to swipe around through several screens. After a few seconds, he handed across a photo of himself and a few other park employees with flashlights around a campfire.

  “If it’s closed, how did you get there?” Nicole asked, even though she knew the answer.

  “Oh, you know. It’s where some of the employees go to hang out and party. We sure had some good times out there.”

  Ben was already glancing at his map, tracing the line up to the water at the edge of the land at the top. “Is it past Prehistoric Perils? The island?”

  “What do you want to know about it for?”

  It was Ben’s turn to shrug before replying. “You know. Party.”

  The conquistador gave Nicole a you’re-too-cute-to-be-hanging-out-with-this-guy wink. “Well, OK. That’s my cue to leave. I gotta get back. Don’t be going over there alone now.”

  But Nicole suspected he knew it was a no-brainer where they were heading later. The Fountain of Youth had been there all along. They’d just been looking in the wrong place.

  I Thought You Were a Health Nut?

  “You seen this girl?” Bishop slid the photo of Nicole Aaronson across the food truck counter alongside his FBI ID. While the man was scrutinizing the photograph, Bishop took a look around the truck. He marveled at how similar all of these vendors smelled — a mix of grease, hot dogs and gasoline. At least it had a good view. The large opening to the counter looked out onto the afternoon sun hitting the long sands of the calm beach. One of these days, Bishop reflected, he would come to a place like this simply to enjoy himself instead of only passing through on rather unpleasant business.

  The clerk cleared his throat. “I see a lot of kids. Surfers, mainly.”

  “These ones were from out of town. Not locals.” Velasquez joined Bishop at the counter and presented a bucket of sand toys. Bishop looked at the purchase with some surprise, but then saw that there were plastic sunglasses as a free gift on the front. Velasquez had come unprepared for such a sunny day.

  The clerk examined the photo again.

  “Sure, sure.”

  “What about her?” Bishop asked.

  “Didn’t. Not that girl. Her friend had shorter hair.” The clerk sucked his teeth.

  Bishop produced a photo of the senator’s son.

  “Ah! He was the boy on the news, right? The one on the plane? Heck, if he was with them, he didn’t come to the counter, because I sure would’ve shaken that boy’s hand.”

  “This one?”

  The clerk observed the picture of a runty-looking boy he remembered from earlier.

  “Sure, sure. He was looking at DragonsBlade magazines on the rack while the girls were picking things out.”

  “They have a parent with them?”

  “Not that I could see. I’d definitely remember a parent if I saw one. Kids their age are rarely seen with their parents. It’s just not cool.”

  “I take it they didn’t give you any trouble?” Velasquez said as she began to rip the sunglasses from the toy bucket.

  “Nope. Nice, quiet kids. Paid for what they took and then left.”

  Bishop gave a decisive nod.

  “Much obliged for your time today.”

  Bishop and Velasquez stepped away from the food truck, far enough that they could talk without being overheard. Before speaking, the pair took a moment to stand in the warm fall air. The sunshine had a hard edge to it now, suggesting cooler air would be setting in when sunset came.

  “Those both for you?” Velasquez asked about the food while finding comfort with her new sunglasses.

  Bishop murmured his confirmation as he unwrapped and then dug into a hot dog. “I thought you were a health nut? These things will kill you.”

  “Good memory.” Velasquez said.

  “We were right to put that trace on James Aaronson,” she went on. “I’ve got people reviewing video around the area and his most recent purchases, but he’s a smart guy. Most likely will have given them enough cash to survive for a while off the grid.”

  “He’s no longer with them, so we know they separated around here. You got contacts at the NTSB?”

  “Sure, for what they’re worth. I think State will have something to say about this, anyway. We likely won’t need to breach jurisdiction to get him.”

  Bishop enjoyed another bite of the hot dog. “Let’s bide our time a little. He wouldn’t leave them alone somewhere strange like this for too long. He’ll be meeting them someplace. If we can track him down before then, we’ll have them all.”

  “You don’t think he would have thought of that?”

  Bishop finished his hot dog and crumpled the foil wrapper into a nearby, overstuffed garbage can. He shrugged. In any one situation, there were only a certain number of variables a person could predict. He just had to hope one of them would pan out.

  Is That the Secret Knock?

  The last beams of sunlight had disappeared through the cracks in the old shed a while ago, and the friends had been left to their own thoughts for the past hour or so, eating snacks they had bought from the park’s cafeteria.

  Amy was sleeping, her head resting on Drake’s shoulder. Nicole kept her voice low, and Drake responded to her as he did most of the time, with one-syllable answers. Nicole knew she had her own feelings of jealousy about the amount of time Drake and Amy spent together, but she didn’t understand where Drake’s attitude was coming from.

  What’s his problem?

  An image of Jason flashed in her mind then. This was a far better thought. She recalled the last time she’d seen him — the confusion of the nurse and his gutsy act to buy her some time back at the hangar. He’d said he knew she was a good person.

  Nicole caught a look at her watch and wondered what was taking Ben so long. He was only supposed to check out the area quickly.

  Just then, a special series of knocks on the door made Nicole turn.

  Drake heard it too and nudged Amy awake. He crawled to the door and peered out a side hole in the wall.

  “Is it Ben?” Nicole whispered.

  “I think so. Was that the special knock? I don’t remember.” Amy declared, and then threw her hands up in confusion over all this covert spy stuff.

  Outside, Ben waited. Earlier, he had spent his time as inconspicuously as possible scouting places to hide and waiting for closing time. The lure of the real Fountain of Youth ride beckoned, and the rides and roller coasters now seemed more superficial — playful amusements against the serious
ness of what they might uncover.

  Ben had then found an Internet cafe to locate old maps of the original Adventure World park itself. While Nicole, Amy and Drake had tried out Prehistoric Perils, he’d immersed himself in old photos, Facebook pages, blogs, online books and news articles, trying to work out the best way to get to Adventure Island.

  The fact that it was a known haunt for the younger employees’ parties had made Ben’s research easy. With a few quick links established, he’d found an open Facebook group where the precise directions of how to access “The Island” were spelled out. It wasn’t the way he would have chosen, but it was legit. He hoped that no partygoers were planning an outing that night.

  He’d taken care to mark waypoints on the bright Adventure World park map, and they’d picked their way there, making sure that the security guards didn’t spot them. They’d ventured through Victorian London to the back alleys of the food halls, where less glamorous garbage bags and workers on breaks tainted the illusion of a perfect fantasy world.

  The trail he’d plotted had led them to an old canoe shed, where everybody was currently hiding. It was somewhere that wasn’t part of the public attractions, and only for the maintenance workers.

  The park was shutting down for the night. After the street parade and fireworks, families had started to go back to their cars or return to their hotels, and the cafes were winding down their services. One by one, the main service lights came on across the whole park. Luckily, Adventure Island was at the farthest edge of the park, which meant that they were unlikely to run into anyone from the other hotels, tourists or otherwise.

  He knocked again with the special code they had agreed on and waited.

  Even though there was no one around, Ben still felt that they shouldn’t waste any time out in the open. Anytime they were in plain sight, they had to be getting somewhere, otherwise it was an unnecessary risk.

  Finally the rickety door opened, and Ben eased himself in, closing the door behind him. Thankfully that was where the creaking ended. Ben had begun to wonder whether the island was anything more than a random party place for employees to get drunk. Everything in this canoe shed had been used recently. There were some unmatching oars, which Ben figured the teens had brought to use to get to the island without the noise of a motorboat. Elsewhere, too, there were signs of recent use — a first-aid kit was in the corner alongside coffee, glow sticks, bags of chips, and unopened soda and beer cans.

  “Everything OK?” Nicole was the first to ask.

  “Sure. What took you so long to open the door?” Ben asked.

  Nicole, Amy and Drake looked at each other. “None of us could remember the stupid secret knock,” Amy explained.

  The group huddled around a gas burner and waited. After the sun had gone down, the cold fall air had hit them all hard. This place was the launching-off point to the island, and they had been lucky to find it. Some of the blankets left there would come in useful as they traveled across the waters to the island itself.

  “It’s time,” Ben declared. “I found the control panel for the island lights, so I can work it on the way out while you put the canoe in.”

  After a moment of hesitation, Ben took a nervous breath and turned off the gas lamp. They were good to go.

  Minutes later, they eased out of the rickety shed, armed with blankets, the rest of the food, and glow sticks for light.

  Ben was concentrating on the control panel. While online, he’d found old plans for it in some notes that one of the workers had posted. Examining it in reality, the wires were a little more worn than in the diagram, with fewer colors. This was strange. He figured it mattered which ones he clipped, so it couldn’t be rushed, but he also knew they didn’t have much time.

  With his best guess, he moved the clips and wires to prevent the security system from kicking in.

  Sure enough, in the distance, the dim green Adventure Island lights flickered on. Strains of music floated across the dark water. And nobody heard the security system.

  He had brought the island back to life.

  Ben felt Nicole’s hand touch his arm as she watched with anticipation by his side. Now, he provided the hand signal his friends were waiting for.

  Gently, under the faint light of Nicole’s glow stick, the canoe slid into the dark water.

  It was time to go.

  So This Is What a Zombie Apocalypse Looks Like

  From her seat at the back of the small boat, Nicole watched the island drawing closer. The friends maintained a respectful silence. Ben had done a fine job of locating and switching on some of the subtler lights, so if security were patrolling, they wouldn’t be able to tell that the abandoned island had sprung to life again. Although even if they did, Nicole wondered whether they turned a blind eye to the late-night activities of the amusement park workers. Maybe there was an implied agreement that what went on at Adventure Island stayed on Adventure Island?

  It was eerie, peaceful and still out here — all they could hear was the gentle splashing sound of Drake’s oar hitting and then slicing through the water. The sky had turned that darkest shade of blue, and the first stars were peeping out. Pleiades would emerge soon. Nicole often looked for it, as though somehow the cluster of stars itself could teleport her back to a simpler time only a month or so before, when all she and Amy debated was the best way to roast s’mores. That time felt almost as distant as the constellation itself. She looked across and saw that Amy was trapped in a thought that was wrinkling her nose.

  Amy caught Nicole watching her. Still keeping the silence, Amy held her thumb up at Nicole with a questioning glance, tilting her head out of concern.

  Nicole nodded and smiled, overcompensating a little.

  But Amy knew Nicole was just putting on a strong façade to keep Amy from worrying about her.

  Ben was focusing on tracking the path of the boat, signaling to Drake which direction to paddle toward. Ben seemed extra nervous out here, and Nicole wondered whether he hadn’t told her everything about what they might find.

  Drake’s brow furrowed in concentration. He knew he was the muscle behind this covert operation, and he was working hard to keep up his end of the deal.

  They were getting closer, easing up alongside the island. Tarps covered parts of an old jetty, presumably to help the partygoers disembark. A pole had been stuck in the ground to be a handhold.

  Ben signaled for Drake to slow the boat. They were coming in too fast and at too sharp of an angle. Correcting the path, Drake leaned into the water and grabbed the reeds beneath to prevent the vessel from colliding with the jetty. It still made contact with a loud doink.

  Ben scrambled off first, with more than a little trouble, and then helped Amy to shore. Nicole was next, slipping on the wet tarp and feeling the strong hand of Drake steady her. With a quick nod of thanks to Drake, Nicole joined Ben at the front.

  They had arrived at the entrance to the island. Two pillars stood where there once must have been a sign arching over, and there was evidence of a former landing platform that had been mocked up to resemble old 15th-century docks. A weather-beaten stone path unrolled in front of them, with high, overgrown grass all around. In the distance, they could see the dilapidated twirls of a downed roller coaster track.

  The place looked like something out of a bad dream. Buildings were falling apart and in disrepair, and torn-down signs and decorations were strewn about the paths. There were decorated wooden mannequins lying about the place, like bodies from a dystopian nightmare. Nothing was moving, which somehow made the place feel even creepier. Everything had foliage growing over it thanks to almost half a century without maintenance.

  The island was a sharp contrast from the manicured paths and well-maintained buildings of the modern Adventure World.

  Ben had a dark thought then: So this must be what Adventure World would look like if zombies took over.

  He kicked a nearby poster board and watched it crack, and then something gave him pause. He looked closer t
o survey the damage, and that was when he saw the unmistakable colors and lines of an old map of Adventure Island.

  “Hey!” he called out, kneeling down beside the old poster. Sure enough, it was a treasure map with frayed edges, and it had “Adventure Island” inscribed at the top.

  Excitement was overcoming him. This was the key to finding the Fountain of Youth ride in among all of this island’s gnarled old paths and decaying buildings.

  Picking up the poster, a lump came away in his hand. He’d have to think around that. Taking out the low-tech phone Nicole’s dad had given him, he found the right position and photographed it. Now he could take it wherever he needed.

  He knew his face would tell Nicole everything she needed to know. When she turned, she smiled at him.

  “Guys, come over here,” she called to Drake and Amy. “What is it, Ben?”

  “I know where it is. We need to make a right at the next turn. See that old green ride there? Used to be the Tropical Caterpillar Train.”

  Nicole tilted her head to get a better look, and saw that it did resemble the ride a lot.

  “Well, it was just behind it — the trail would take you right by the Fountain of Youth.” Nicole flicked back to her magazine and, under the light of the glow stick, saw that he was right. Behind the old ride were the laughing faces of children enjoying the caterpillar ride.

  They were on the right path. And they could see a high crow’s-nest that rose up in the general direction of the Fountain of Youth ride.

  With every step, their paces quickened. Even Amy was returning to her old self and getting more excited about the prospect of finding the Fountain of Youth.

  As they stepped out into the clearing, Nicole saw the tower. It was standing a little crooked and crumbling, but almost the minute she saw it, she felt it was familiar.

  “This is it,” she half-whispered, her voice drenched in awe.

  Ben scanned the photo. “The entrance has got to be around here somewhere. But it’s probably hidden by debris or some of the foliage that’s taken over this place.”