June could still hear the campers singing as she made her way up the hill. They were back on the bus and driving away without ever realizing she was gone. She hiked a few more yards and found the path she’d been on a dozen times before with her parents. It couldn’t have been more than a half-hour walk back to town.
A breeze whipped through the trees, sending leaves flying with it. She turned onto the path and saw the strangest sight… a piece of paper drifting in front of her. The edges were black and burnt. As she reached for it, she recognized the drawing. It was part of the blueprint she’d made with her mom. Even as it turned in the wind, she could see their picture surrounded by a heart.
“Wait… why is this here?” June asked herself as she chased after it. It seemed impossible. Had it been blown up the chimney? How did it make it outside?
She reached for it again, but the wind picked up, and the paper flew just out of her grasp. It danced around her as if it were alive and then smacked her playfully on the nose. She rubbed her eyes, certain she was dreaming, but then the piece fluttered away.
June ran after it, darting through the forest. She jumped rocks and shrubs and passed over a small stream, until she was surrounded on all sides by towering trees. She ran faster, picking up speed, but her foot caught on a broken branch, and she stumbled forward. She fell on the ground, and the piece of paper landed right in her hand.
“Gotcha!” She laughed, holding it up.
She stood and turned around, realizing she’d completely lost the trail. She didn’t even know which direction she’d come from. She stared down at the dirt, noticing a piece of metal glinting under the leaves. Something about it seemed familiar.…
Tucking the piece of paper safely in her pocket, she went to the strange object and pulled back a big section of vines. It was a roller coaster car—her roller coaster car. There was even a picture of Peanut on the side. What is going on?! she thought. This can’t be real. This isn’t really happening.
But when she dusted off the car, she could see it was on some kind of track. She climbed inside and pulled the safety bar down over her lap, just as she would on a real roller coaster. Almost as soon as the bar clicked into place, she tried to pull it back up, but it wouldn’t budge.
The wheels creaked. She could feel the coaster rolling forward, inch by inch, toward the edge of the hill. It started picking up speed, and she had to hold her hand to her face so she wouldn’t get hit by stray branches. The car swooped down over the grassy track, then up to a high vista. When she looked around, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
In a canyon far below was a sprawling amusement park. It looked as if it hadn’t been touched in years. The trees and bushes were overgrown, and all the rides looked as if they’d stopped working decades before.
“Is this…?” June muttered, unable to even form the words. It can’t be…
Almost as soon as she thought it, the car hit a vertical drop, and her stomach leaped. She felt that weightless feeling she had when she and Banky were on their coaster, and she clung tightly to the safety bar, trying to stay tucked in. The car raced around the track, up and over and side to side.
“Whoaaaa!” June screamed. “WHOA!”
A wheel broke off, and the car struggled to stay on the track. June was jerked right and left as she clung to the bar, holding on for dear life. Just when she was sure the coaster was coming apart, the car crested one last hill and came to a stop. The safety bar popped up and June climbed out. But she was dizzy from the ride, and she slipped, plummeting off the track and into the trees below.
June landed on the ground with a thud. She stood up slowly, brushing herself off, and tried to see if she were hurt. There were leaves and twigs in her hair, and her knees were sore from the fall, but otherwise she was okay. She glanced around, realizing she was in the middle of the park.
“No way,” she said, staring out at the rusted rides with a huge smile on her face. All her creations were there. She could see the Skyflinger peeking out above the others. “How is this possible? Hello?”
Just then she spotted something familiar. She ran over to the gold statue that stood at the front of the park. It was covered with vines and ivy, but it was him. It was really him.
“Peanut…” she said, bringing her hand to her mouth. The gold statue of the chimpanzee towered above her. “I’m in Wonderland.”
She glanced up the hill, noticing the dark clouds that loomed in the distance. It looked as if a storm were coming, which was strange. Wonderland was the one place where it never rained. She’d imagined the sun as always shining brightly in the sky. It was always supposed to have perfect weather.
Off in the distance, she noticed a small blue speck on the horizon. It was moving. It grew bigger and bigger, until she could just make out a giant bear. He was running right at her.
“Boomer the Welcome Bear is here, too?” June laughed. He was huge, with fuzzy blue fur and a brown muzzle.
But as Boomer got closer, June noticed he wasn’t smiling. He looked completely panicked, and behind him, the rest of the mascots were running, too. He darted right past her.
“Run for your life!” he screamed.
June stood frozen in place, confused. Why was Boomer charging out of the park? Why were the other mascots following him? Were they playing some sort of game? Were they pretending?
“Hey!” June called, trying to get the mascots’ attention. Greta the boar, Steve the porcupine, and the two beavers, Gus and Cooper, were all racing past. They barely even looked at her.
“Get moving, pip-squeak!” Greta yelled as she went by. She was short with brown fur, and she had tiny white tusks sticking out of either side of her mouth. Her hairy black tail swished behind her.
“What’s going on?” June tried to catch up, but they were all moving so fast. “Why are we chasing Boomer?”
“We’re not chasing him,” Gus said, out of breath. He was taller than Cooper, with reddish fur and a chip in his front tooth. “They’re chasing us.”
He glanced over his shoulder as he ran. June turned back, noticing the giant dust cloud for the first time. It looked as if something were coming after them, but she couldn’t tell what.
“Regroup at Rocket Road!” Greta yelled to the others. “We need to funnel that army into that rocket.”
Army? June thought as she sprinted as fast as she could. What army?
They caught up with Boomer at the enormous, rusted Confetti Ship, which June had created the year before. But now it was real—a huge multistory spaceship that towered over them. A large hose connected the bottom of the ship to a water pump. When the pressure built up enough, it was supposed to launch the rocket over the park.
“Gus, gnaw that awning down!” Greta said, pointing to a pergola over the entrance. “Cooper, start the pump! And, Steve—”
“I’ll draft up an exit plan,” Steve said, nodding. His gray quills stuck up in every direction. June could barely see his eyes behind his giant, bulbous pink nose.
“You’re the bait,” Greta explained.
Steve let out a deep sigh. “Of course I am.”
June hid behind the antigravity ball pit with Greta and Boomer. They watched as Steve ran out front toward the giant swarming dust cloud. As it came closer, June could see it was actually a pack of Wonder Chimp souvenir dolls. June and her mom had created them years ago for the gift shop as tiny tributes to the park’s creator. The little plush monkeys were each dressed in a different costume. There was a bee, an astronaut, a frog, a rabbit, a pirate, and more. But now they didn’t seem like cute, harmless dolls. They seemed scary—wild.
“Every day is a wonderful day, is a wonderful day, in Wonderland!” they sang in unison.
“Boomer,” Greta whispered. “You protect her with your life.”
Then she ran off, disappearing behind another ride.
“What is going on around here?” June whispered to the giant bear. He was twice as tall as her dad.
“What does it look like
?” Boomer said, pulling June back so the Chimpanzombies wouldn’t see her. “We’re at war.”
“War?” That was the silliest thing she’d ever heard. She had created this place, and everyone was supposed to be happy here. No one ever yelled or cried or was scared. “There’s no fighting in Wonderland,” she said.
“Stay put. Because if they see us, they will…” Boomer’s eyelids started to fall shut. He suddenly looked very, very tired. “Uh-oh—save yourself!”
Before he could say another word, he collapsed on the ground. Now he was lying there, snoring peacefully, as if they weren’t in danger at all. The poor bear looked as if he were suffering from some kind of late-onset hibernation disorder.
“They’ll what?” June nudged Boomer in the side. “Finish the sentence! They’ll what?”
But Boomer kept snoring. June peeked out from behind the ball pit. The tiny monkeys were banging on everything. They moved in a pack, destroying everything in front of them. They’d reduced a whole building to dust when Steve popped out from a hatch underneath the Confetti Ship.
“Hey, guys! Over here!” he yelled to the Chimpanzombies. “Dinner is served!”
All the Chimpanzombies turned their heads at once. They eyed Steve for a second. Then they took off toward the Confetti Ship. Steve disappeared inside the hatch, leaving it open so they could follow him in. June watched, her heart pounding in her chest. She’d never been so terrified.
“I’m outta here,” she said when the last Chimpanzombie darted toward the ship. She sprinted as fast as she could toward the carousel at the other end of the park. She glanced over her shoulder as she ran, noticing that Steve had climbed out of the top of the rocket and locked the Wonder Chimp dolls inside. Greta counted off, and then the Confetti Ship launched into the air. Within seconds it exploded. Stuffing and fabric and different Chimpanzombie body parts rained from the sky.
June didn’t stop until she reached the carousel. She slung her backpack over her shoulder while trying to process the rocket and the dolls and the giant explosion in the sky. She listened to the park, which was now quiet, and tried to calm herself down.
“This isn’t really happening,” she said to herself. “I’m… I’m having a fever dream.”
“Check it out!” a voice said somewhere behind her. “A backpack!”
“Could be treats!”
She felt someone tug the bag away from her. She turned to see the two beavers, Gus and Cooper, running away. “That’s mine!” she yelled after them. “Give it back!”
But they didn’t stop until they were several yards away. They rummaged through the backpack as if June weren’t right there, watching them. They pulled out different snacks, holding them up and hooting and hollering as if they’d just won the lottery. They were so revved up they started wrestling each other, tumbling around on the ground.
June stepped behind a tree, a little nervous. She’d created Gus and Cooper, and she’d made them mischievous pranksters, but she wasn’t so sure she wanted to hang out with them in real life. If this even was real life.
“Let’s have a little lookie-loo!” Steve called, running over to Gus and Cooper. He grabbed the backpack. “With a self-reminder that this is an utter invasion of another’s privacy—”
“Hold the roll, cutie pie!” Greta pushed past Steve and stuck her nose in June’s bag.
Gus, Cooper, Steve, and Greta were surrounding it when Boomer appeared on the other side of the carousel. At some point he must’ve woken up, and now he looked completely panicked, his brown eyes wide.
“The Chimpanzombies!” he said breathlessly. “They got her, didn’t they? It’s all my doing! All thanks to my late-onset hibernation disorder!”
He suddenly passed out again, slamming into Greta on his way to the ground.
“Ow!” Greta yelled.
“Go to your happy place…” Boomer muttered in his sleep.
June stared at the mascots’ panicked faces. The beavers were still rolling around on the ground, arguing, but Greta and Steve looked as if they might cry. June stepped out from where she was hiding and walked toward them, a little uncertain.
“It’s okay,” she said. “They didn’t get me.”
She thought they’d be relieved, but the beavers just kept fighting, and Greta and Steve looked confused. There was no fanfare or happy greeting. June just stood there, waiting for them to say something.
Steve picked up some of the quills he’d lost. Greta was scowling, as if she’d gotten a whiff of something terrible. Gus and Cooper nearly knocked over June as they charged at each other, and Boomer was fast asleep.
What had happened to the joyful mascots? Boomer never used to fall asleep before, and Gus and Cooper would never fight. What had happened to all the laughs and fun they’d shared?
You’re so…” June said, searching for the right word.
“Pathetic,” Greta jumped in.
“I didn’t say that!” June tried.
“You didn’t have to.” Greta frowned. She looked June up and down as she approached her, studying her fox sweatshirt and the shaggy red bob that always fell in her eyes. “So, you got a name, Haircut?”
“I’m June.”
“Hello, June,” Steve said. “My name is—”
“Steve,” June replied. “I know who you are.”
Gus looked genuinely excited. “You know who we are?”
“I didn’t think anyone still remembered…” Cooper said a little sadly.
“You guys are the wonder in Wonderland,” June said. “Or at least you were… What happened to this place?”
Boomer sat up and rubbed his eyes. He’d just caught the last bit of the conversation, and now he was staring at June, his face serious. “The Darkness happened.…” He nodded to the dark cloud hanging over the other side of the park. “It came when Clockwork Swings began to slow. And brought with it—”
“All right, bring it down,” Greta said, making fun of his serious tone.
“Okay, here we go,” Boomer tried again. “It was a day just like any other here in Wonderland… when the strangest thing happened: Clockwork Swings, the heart of the park, came to a dead stop. And that’s when we first saw it: the Darkness. It brought an evil that transformed the Wonder Chimp dolls into an army of Chimpanzombies. Every day since, the chimps have waged war, tearing apart the park and feeding it piece by piece into the Darkness… never to be seen again.”
June glanced around at the park. Many of the rides had giant sections missing from them. There was wreckage piled along the main path. “There was nothing you could do? Not even Peanut?” she asked. Then she realized that he was missing. “Where is Peanut?”
“He ventured out on his own to try and restart Clockwork Swings by hand,” Boomer explained.
“Why didn’t he use his magic?” June asked.
“He just said that he knew restarting Clockwork Swings was the only way to bring the life back into Wonderland. But…” Boomer trailed off, unable to go on.
June had to put the pieces of the story together herself. As Peanut crossed the bridge to the far side of the park, he was swarmed by the Chimpanzombies. He hadn’t been seen since.
“We lost any hope of turning Clockwork Swings back on and one day restoring the park to all its former glory,” Steve said sadly.
“Clockwork Swings…” June whispered to herself. She pulled the piece of blueprint from her pocket and studied it. It had the picture of her and her mom on it, but it also had part of the blueprint for Clockwork Swings. The design showed how all the pieces worked.
“Hey! Whatcha got?” Gus asked. He yanked the paper out of her hands. “It’s a blueprint… of the park?”
“Seems like Little Miss Muffet graffitied her name on it,” Cooper said as June grabbed the paper back. He was short and yellowish brown, with whiskers that curled at the ends.
“It’s not graffiti,” she said.
Greta looked confused. “How do you have a blueprint of Wonderland?”
“Umm…” June tried to think of the best way to say it. “My mom and I invented Wonderland when I was little, and somehow it came to life.”
Greta snorted in disbelief. “That’s gotta be the most—”
“Splendiferous news ever!” Boomer yelled.
“Why don’t you just go back to sleep, Boomer?” Greta asked.
“I believe it in her eyes,” Boomer said. “Because if she really is the creator of Wonderland, she can fix Clockwork Swings.”
“Well…” June muttered. She didn’t really know how to fix Clockwork Swings. At least not yet. She had the blueprint and she could try, but what about the Darkness? And the Chimpanzombies? Would fixing Clockwork Swings really fix all that?
“Well, that is not where I thought this discourse was heading,” Steve said, but he was staring off in the distance, somewhere behind June. “I was imagining that you were a—honey… honey bee!”
“Huh?” June asked. “I’m not a honey bee.”
Steve could barely speak. Suddenly, his eyes were huge, and he was frozen in place. “Ra-ra-ra-rabbit!”
“Steve,” Greta whispered to him. “You’re embarrassing the team.”
“Death!” Steve yelled out of nowhere.
A bewildered June stared at Steve, trying to understand. Why had he suddenly lost the ability to speak? What was wrong with him? Was this some new ride he was talking about?
“I am so confused right now about what a ‘death rabbit’ is,” June said.
But then she heard the chanting. It was far off, the words just barely audible over the wind. “Splen-diddy-doo! Splen-diddy-doo!” The Skyflinger had come to life, controlled by a few of the Chimpanzombies they hadn’t caught in the Confetti Ship. The giant robot arm picked up a metal sphere and approached June and the mascots. It loomed over them, ready to strike.
“Boomer, go secure the safe house!” Greta said, springing into action. “Guys, scatter!”
Wonder Park--The Movie Novel Page 3
