Doorways to Everywhere (Tourist Trap Book 2)

Chapter 67

Zeke hit the dirt with a thud and the proceeded to roll down a steep hill. After what felt like several minutes of rolling he finally came to a stop in a cloud of dust, although he wasn't sure at first that he really had stopped since the world seemed to continue spinning around him. He got unsteadily to his feet and brushed the dirt off of himself. Looking upwards, he could make out the lights from the strip club, but the hill was much too steep for him to go back up that way, not that he really wanted to return there anyway.

He couldn't see much of anything at all in the other direction due to the presence of thick vegetation and a number of tall trees, but he was pretty sure he could hear some noise coming from that way.

He shivered a little in the night air and became aware again that he wasn't wearing a shirt or pants. He felt something hard pressing against his ankle, so he reached into his bright pink sock and found the flask that Max had handed to him. "This might help warm me up a little," he said out loud to himself as he unscrewed the top and took a swig. Whatever was in there burned a little as it went down, but it did seem to provide a bit of pleasant warmth in his chest as well. He took another drink and decided to head towards the sounds.

He was pretty wobbly on his feet from the large quantity of alcohol he'd already consumed that night and he managed to fall down a couple times while pushing his way through some bushes. He was going to have some nasty scratches on his bare legs and back, but he wasn't particularly concerned about that at the moment. He continued onward and suddenly emerged in the middle of a busy street.

A crocodile riding a unicycle almost slammed right into him as he came out of the bushes. "Watch where you're going, you freak!" the crocodile shouted at him as it swerved to avoid him.

"Why don't you watch where you're going, pal?" Zeke shouted back and took another drink from the flask. He turned the other way and started walking down the street. "People are so inconsiderate these days."

He passed by a little girl holding on to her mother's hand. "Mommy, why is that man in his underwear?"

"Don't look at him," the mother said. "Just keep walking. Perverts like that belong in jail."

"I'm not a pervert," Zeke said while scratching his belly. "I just lost my shirt. Oh yeah, and my pants. I lost those, too." He continued making his way down the street. Some people stared openly at him as he passed by, while others went out of their way not to make eye contact with him.

Looking around it soon became apparent to him that he had no idea where he was. He saw a sign on a wall nearby so he went to check it out. It read "Do Not Read This Sign Under Penalty of Law." As soon as he read it a siren started blaring and a bright red light flashed on top of the sign. He hurried across the street and headed in the opposite direction. "Don't want to attract any more attention than necessary," he said out loud to himself.

A cart full of tourists drove by and he could see cameras flashing as they took pictures of him. "You get a good look?" he called out as he held his arms out to the side. "Welcome to Quartzwater City!" He took another drink from the flask and stumbled onwards down the street.

He came across a group of young women who were obviously out for a night on the town. "Excuse me, I seem to be a little lost. Could you tell me where I am?"

The women shrieked and ran away.

"Well, they weren't very helpful, were they?" Zeke said as he put his hands on his hips.