Outnumbered (Vol. 1)

Act 6: Pretending

"Where are we?" I join in.

"Yeah," Dwayne also joins in, barely awake.

"Well, earlier we passed a sign that said we were almost to Amarillo," David answers me.

"That's in Texas, ain't it?" Dwayne asks with surety.

"Yeah, we're right on the panhandle. And you can see the city from here."

"Hey, isn't there a song about this place?" Ty runs up to the scene with annoying enthusiasm.

"Amarillo...? Hey, there's an amusement park in Amarillo! We should go while we look for new vehicles!" Kelly suggests with excitement.

"Yeah. We could use a little fun in our lives," Kipp is all for the idea, of course.

"I don't know, guys. We're already halfway to Dallas. We could make it by tonight if we keep going," David claims in slight disapproval.

"Come on, David! Let's just pretend like it's not the end of the world. Just for a little while," Kelly tries to convince David.

David peers behind the front seat and fixes his eyes on me. Ty looks with him, as David speaks to me.

"How are you feeling, Ben?"

"I'm okay, David."

"All right. Let's start walking to the park then."

With that, we all leave the two vehicles and begin walking a couple of miles into the city off of the I-40 interstate. Just as we make it into the beautiful city of Amarillo, we find a few abandoned cars. Before taking them, David searches the glove boxes of each until he finds a map or booklet that shows the location of the amusement park Kelly mentioned.

"You're driving this time, kid," Kipp proclaims giving me a stern look.

After David finds the location, we pick out three vehicles to transport us to the park. The only ones that are all close to having the same amount of gas and are nearly full are a silver Hyundai Elantra, a darker gray Cord Union mid-sized car, and a dark-blue Ferdinand cabriolet. Ty and I decide who gets to drive the cabriolet over a game of rock-paper-scissors, and I win two games in a row. I am excited to drive it because it is a high-performance car. I soon regret the choice though when I begin feeling nauseous while driving it. Even still, we make it to a huge amusement park, after following David to it.

The park must usually have a good turn out because the parking lot alone was ginormous. With a rising excitement, I walk with the others across the long parking lot and to the gates of the amusement park. Across the blue shelter of the gate, a logo read, "Wonderland."

"This is it, guys! It's the Wonderland Park," Kelly shouted with glee.

"This should be fun." Lou winks at Maria.

"You know it." Maria winks back and laughs together with Lou, as she leans close to him.

"Maybe I'll meet 'the one' for me here," Ty unrealistically wonders.

"In your dreams," I laugh, shoving him on the back as I run past him, hurdle over the turnstile, and through the gate.

"Eat a dick!" Ty chases after me but rams his waist into the locked turnstile.

I laugh at his pain and keep running into the amusement park, along with everyone else coming through behind me.

Zombies are surprisingly uncommon here, allowing for us to have a genuinely peaceful time for once. That is if we can find a way to turn the power on to the rides of the park, however.

"Found it."

And just like that, Kipp finds the switch to the main generator of Wonderland Park and turns it on. Every ride, from the roller coasters to the Ferris wheel powers up. Now the fun begins.

#

After only a couple of rides and probably less than two hours of being at the park, I lose the sense of amusement. I sit on a bench, watching the sun reach the start of its setting, over the tree line and just past the reflecting pond before me. Lou and Maria come up to check on me.

"Hey, Ben," Lou opens the conversation.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

Just past the two of them, I can see Kipp and Kelly on the merry-go-round, smiling and having fun together. My mind instantly wonders into the memory of Kelly comforting me.

"Yeah. Just worried about my sister."

"Well—"

"Ben, your sister takes Tai Kwon Do classes too, doesn't she?" Maria interrupts Lou.

"Yeah."

"Then don't worry so much. She's strong. If you can make it this far, then I know she can too."

"Thanks, Maria. That really means a lot."

Maria comes closer and wraps me a sudden, warm hug. All of my worry fades, and Lou puts out a fist. I smile and bump fists with him, as the wind blows leaves away from the tall tree next to us.

"Hey, guys," Dwayne calls out, sounding worried.

Lou, Maria, and I run to see what is the matter. An infected person dressed as a clown is a good distance away, walking toward Dwayne.

"Guys, help me! I fucking hate clowns..."

I could not help but laugh at him, but then a few more zombies began appearing from the shadows of the park.

"They were probably drawn in by all the noise," David claims, running to the scene, drenched in sweat and out of breath.

"Let's go. I'm ready to go to sleep," Cheyenne commands, also walking up to the group.

"We've still got a long drive, so if we're going to sleep tonight, we do need to leave now."

"All right. I'll go get the others," I offered, running off to look for Kipp, Kelly, Ty, and Kassandra. I take down a couple of zombies that get in my way as I search.

We are all gathered back and headed for the cars, as the sky becomes a beautiful shade of orange. I did not exhaust myself as much as anyone else, so I decide to drive the way to Dallas. Ty and I play rock-paper-scissors again, but this time I lose, so Ty gets to drive the sporty Ferdinand this time. He is obnoxiously overjoyed to be driving it. Dwayne is the only one that will be able to stomach Ty's inevitably crazy handling with that car; he is just as excited as Ty. David drives the Cord Union and leads the way, with Kipp, Kelly, and Kassandra filling that car. I drive directly behind him in the Elantra with Lou, Maria, and Cheyenne riding along.

As we exit the parking lot and enter back onto the interstate, heading for Dallas, I exhale a deep sigh. It was relieving to have finally had a chance to relax and enjoy life, for once. Soon, I will reunite with my sister. I cannot wait to see her again.