The Business of Time Travel Tourism

Chapter 14: Sally on Her Own

No matter what the children did, none of the cultists dared to touch or hurt them. But the no-touch rule did not count for Sally or the iceman. Soon the wagon was surrounded by dark wraiths from all sides, including below and above. The salt gun kept on firing for a long while before it stopped. Kicking and shouting the two adults were being dragged towards the gloomy streets.

When they were about to be pulled into the alley, three more ice-trucks joined the scene. They blocked the path and after their drivers wearing aprons showed up at the side windows, the dark crowd was dispersed by loud shotgun blasts and clouds of salt. Panicking, the cultists fled the scene but were taken down by screaming children coming from all directions. The mass of children was followed by a crowd of adults. Cooks, hairdressers, construction workers, businessmen in suits, all of them joined to finish the fight. The victors gathered their captives and with hands tied behind their backs made them sit on the pavement. The iceman Sally had met before lifted a mask off one of the captives. It was the same tattooed phony that lured her into this mess.

"So, we meet again, Chester. It's been a long time since I saw your ugly face," said the iceman with a flavor of unnecessary drama.

"C'mon, Leopold. Cut the crap and let us go. We don't deserve such treatment. You used guns and children to win. That was so lame," replied the frustrated punk. "So lame and cheap."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Depressing, not desperate. It's like. I don't know, man. You act cool, but you're such a wussy at the same time you know? It makes me feel sad for you. You feel like you're awesome, but you just suck. This scene of you acting tough is so terrible."

"You were never good at losing. But don't you worry my old nemesis, you will get better at it." The iceman smiled. "I will just send this young woman on her way and return back to you."

"Nemesis? What? Damn it, Leopold. Don't return. Please, don't. Just leave."

Leopold, the ice-man, led Sally away and said, "You can go, miss. They won't follow you. Just please, be more careful next time. This part of the city is a total mess. Even the police never come here. Those idiots over there,—" he pointed at the captives,—" have bombarded cops with fake emergency calls in the last months. No one is going to believe or react if you call for help."

"Thank you, you saved my life. I will be forever grateful for this." Sally was about to cry.

"We didn't."

"You did."

"Nah, they're wicked, but not violent, they just love to freak people out. Trust me, these fools had never killed or hurt anybody. The worst you can get is be confined in a cell and listen to their ramblings on how sad life is for days until you get—" he said the next word with air quotes— "converted."

"Anyways, thank you." Sally leaned forward, before walking away.

Leopold spoke with his raised voice, as she disappeared round a corner, "If you ever care to join a club or have some fun, join our church! We have free ice cream!"

Sally walked the street, her head devoid of thought. The streets became livelier, the traffic increased, and soon she found herself in the same square she had rested after escaping Whiskey and his men. A familiar person sat on a side of a small fountain.

A lean young woman with long black straight hair and rectangular glasses held a book in one hand and a sandwich in another. It was the waitress from restaurant Sally had met yesterday. She chewed a sandwich, bent and turned away from the eyes of others, attentively reading a thick book, scrolling its pages back and forth. There were many barely visible freckles on the tops of girl's cheeks.