17: At last, the convoy reached the amusement park. The familiar smiling visages of Mortimer and Mirabel Marmot seemed extremely incongruent with the circumstances surrounding the group's purpose for being there that night. Mortimer was a large brown furry animal who wore green denim coveralls and a brown felt top hat. Mirabel wore a maroon dress and red shoes. The park was organized into four little sections, each with a different theme. The theme of the aforementioned My Minute Newt Children's Palace was child-sized things. Every table, chair, building, ride and food portion was pint-sized for the tots. Wildly popular among the two to five crowd.
Mirabel's Den was geared toward little girls with attractions such as a toy animal stuffing kiosk where you could pick out your favorite empty, stitched animal shell, such as a bear, marmot, dog or lion and watch as it was filled with stuffing right before your delighted eyes and then stitched closed. There were also lots of stores for things like backpacks, purses, tiaras, socks, shirts and such, with Mirabel's grinning face on them. It was most notable for its award-winning bakery with birthday cakes available sporting any Happyville character of your choice as well as dozens of other baked goods.
Mortimer's Warren was a building that was built to look like an underground marmot nest. A marmot is a rodent such as a woodchuck or groundhog. Each room of the building had a different nature-based educational interactive exhibit. The rooms were connected by tunnels that an adult could walk through as well as smaller tunnels that children could crawl through which had one side made of a sheet of clear plastic so that parents could keep an eye on their children.
The last section was the Eloquent Elephant with rides, a zoo and a gaming area. Booths with all manner of games and prizes were strewn about. There were rides ranging from teacups to roller coasters around every corner. The most popular ride was the Beaver Dam log ride. Riders knew they would get drenched. There were also "Cooked With Love, Eaten With Relish" hot dog kiosks, gift shops, pizza booths, ticket counters and a gigantic video game arcade. The zoo had sea life, birds, wildlife, and local animals like coyotes and javelina. The Eloquent Elephant also was where the Hotel of Wonders sat majestically smack in the center of everything. The hotel's exterior was built to look like a huge log cabin.
Of course, no one would be enjoying any of these things except the hotel for some time now. Gene would have to debrief his hotel staff as well as the current guests as to the ongoing situation. Unfortunately, no one would be able to leave, as they were all now his responsibility. The good thing was that summer vacation was almost over so there were only fewer than twenty registered guests checked in at the time.
The park had closed at 10pm, so the rest of Gene's staff had gone home. It was dark out and everyone was anxious to get into some form of shelter even if it wasn't their own home. A crowd was quickly forming in front of the Hotel of Wonders. In the parking lot, Mina noticed something that caught her eye. "Kenn, that man over there has a green glow around him." She pointed out a man who looked like he could be from the Middle East. He had brown hair and wore a solid black t-shirt and black denim pants with black military boots.
Kenn turned his head in the direction of the man Mina was pointing to. Suddenly Stratford screeched, "It's him!" Immediately, Kenn recognized the figure before him and headed toward him, leaving Stratford with Mina. Barney also seemed to take an interest in this strange man whom Mina saw a green glow around.
Kenn got to him first. "Daniel Reese. What do you want here?" He shoved him backward, but the man jumped impossibly high and landed on a nearby van top. Kenn jumped right up there next to him. Barney stood on the asphalt looking at the two of them. The crowd kept their distance but gathered to watch the imminent brawl ensue. They were amazed at the incredibly high leaps of the two men.
Kenn crouched in a battle-ready stance while the man calmly stood straight as if nothing was going on. Kenn lunged at Daniel, but fell straight down to the ground as the man swiftly sidestepped the attack. It was as if he was toying with Kenn and had full confidence of the outcome of the skirmish. Barney went to see if Kenn was hurt. Kenn leaped up and grabbed Daniel's ankles, causing him to lose balance. Instead of falling though, he smoothly landed with his feet on either side of Kenn's ribs while Kenn lay on his back in a vulnerable position. Barney then made a move toward Daniel, but with a single palm to his chest, he was propelled several feet backward into some nearby bushes. It was never far from anyone's mind who stood witness to this fight, what Sandy had promised on TV about super-human strength from the chip implant. Were these men Defectors?
Using this momentary distraction, Kenn gripped Daniel's legs and threw him off his feet into a sitting position. Then he jumped twenty feet in the direction that Barney had landed and helped him to his feet. As soon as he could ascertain that Barney was relatively unharmed, he flew toward Daniel with an intensity that was frightening. They locked arm and arm in a wrestling grapple with Daniel on top of the heap. Kenn momentarily gained control and had Daniel pinned to the ground between his legs. He aimed a fist at Daniel's head but Daniel was too quick. Incredibly, Kenn's fist seemed to sink several inches into solid asphalt. He was off balance and Daniel head butted him causing Kenn to reel backwards.
"Dude, those guys are fighting!" exclaimed Lowe Freq.
"I can't see a damn thing," complained Alexander.
"Well shit, you ain't missing much. It's pretty lame," commented Jeffrey.
"How can you say that? Did you see how high they jumped?" asked Carrionette.
"Well OK, yeah. But it's not like in the movies with, like, close-ups, different angles, you know. Music, slow motion photography and all that shit that makes it more interesting. It's just not the same in real life," said Jeffrey.
"You're an idiot," said Lowe.
Meanwhile, across the way, Kenn had fallen hard on his tailbone. He was temporarily disoriented. At this point, Daniel's hand shot out and gripped Kenn by the throat and swiftly pinioned him to the ground. The fight was at an end and the prize went to Daniel Reese as Kenn struggled for breath. In an unexpected turn of events, Daniel then released his grasp on Kenn and helped him into a standing position. Barney made his way over by the two of them. The three of them stood there for a while catching their breath from the battle. It was Daniel who broke the silence. "Kenn, Barney, I hope I haven't hurt you too badly. I was merely trying to neutralize the threat you posed to me. I have much to tell you, but we should all make our way into the hotel where we'll be safe. I assure you, I am not a threat to anyone here. I will even submit to being handcuffed if it will help you trust me long enough to listen to what I have to say."
Curiously enough, it was Carrionette who said, "I have a pair of handcuffs." She reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of furry pink handcuffs. "Don't ask," was all she had to say on the subject. Kenn moved to take them from her hand, but Barney stepped forward and clicked one cuff around Daniel's right hand and the other to Kenn's left.
"What's this?" asked a perplexed Kenn.
"No one should be able to do what we have all just watched you do. It's nothing personal, but until we can trust you, I think we would all feel a lot safer with you like this," was Barney's reply. Gene, the owner of the hotel had opened the front door of the hotel and the people filed into the lobby with a bevy of questions. They gave Daniel and Kenn a wide berth. Everyone was stymied as to the cause of this conflict between Kenn, Barney and the man called Daniel. People were equally curious about the incredible feats of strength displayed by the two younger men in handcuffs.
Mirabel's Den was geared toward little girls with attractions such as a toy animal stuffing kiosk where you could pick out your favorite empty, stitched animal shell, such as a bear, marmot, dog or lion and watch as it was filled with stuffing right before your delighted eyes and then stitched closed. There were also lots of stores for things like backpacks, purses, tiaras, socks, shirts and such, with Mirabel's grinning face on them. It was most notable for its award-winning bakery with birthday cakes available sporting any Happyville character of your choice as well as dozens of other baked goods.
Mortimer's Warren was a building that was built to look like an underground marmot nest. A marmot is a rodent such as a woodchuck or groundhog. Each room of the building had a different nature-based educational interactive exhibit. The rooms were connected by tunnels that an adult could walk through as well as smaller tunnels that children could crawl through which had one side made of a sheet of clear plastic so that parents could keep an eye on their children.
The last section was the Eloquent Elephant with rides, a zoo and a gaming area. Booths with all manner of games and prizes were strewn about. There were rides ranging from teacups to roller coasters around every corner. The most popular ride was the Beaver Dam log ride. Riders knew they would get drenched. There were also "Cooked With Love, Eaten With Relish" hot dog kiosks, gift shops, pizza booths, ticket counters and a gigantic video game arcade. The zoo had sea life, birds, wildlife, and local animals like coyotes and javelina. The Eloquent Elephant also was where the Hotel of Wonders sat majestically smack in the center of everything. The hotel's exterior was built to look like a huge log cabin.
Of course, no one would be enjoying any of these things except the hotel for some time now. Gene would have to debrief his hotel staff as well as the current guests as to the ongoing situation. Unfortunately, no one would be able to leave, as they were all now his responsibility. The good thing was that summer vacation was almost over so there were only fewer than twenty registered guests checked in at the time.
The park had closed at 10pm, so the rest of Gene's staff had gone home. It was dark out and everyone was anxious to get into some form of shelter even if it wasn't their own home. A crowd was quickly forming in front of the Hotel of Wonders. In the parking lot, Mina noticed something that caught her eye. "Kenn, that man over there has a green glow around him." She pointed out a man who looked like he could be from the Middle East. He had brown hair and wore a solid black t-shirt and black denim pants with black military boots.
Kenn turned his head in the direction of the man Mina was pointing to. Suddenly Stratford screeched, "It's him!" Immediately, Kenn recognized the figure before him and headed toward him, leaving Stratford with Mina. Barney also seemed to take an interest in this strange man whom Mina saw a green glow around.
Kenn got to him first. "Daniel Reese. What do you want here?" He shoved him backward, but the man jumped impossibly high and landed on a nearby van top. Kenn jumped right up there next to him. Barney stood on the asphalt looking at the two of them. The crowd kept their distance but gathered to watch the imminent brawl ensue. They were amazed at the incredibly high leaps of the two men.
Kenn crouched in a battle-ready stance while the man calmly stood straight as if nothing was going on. Kenn lunged at Daniel, but fell straight down to the ground as the man swiftly sidestepped the attack. It was as if he was toying with Kenn and had full confidence of the outcome of the skirmish. Barney went to see if Kenn was hurt. Kenn leaped up and grabbed Daniel's ankles, causing him to lose balance. Instead of falling though, he smoothly landed with his feet on either side of Kenn's ribs while Kenn lay on his back in a vulnerable position. Barney then made a move toward Daniel, but with a single palm to his chest, he was propelled several feet backward into some nearby bushes. It was never far from anyone's mind who stood witness to this fight, what Sandy had promised on TV about super-human strength from the chip implant. Were these men Defectors?
Using this momentary distraction, Kenn gripped Daniel's legs and threw him off his feet into a sitting position. Then he jumped twenty feet in the direction that Barney had landed and helped him to his feet. As soon as he could ascertain that Barney was relatively unharmed, he flew toward Daniel with an intensity that was frightening. They locked arm and arm in a wrestling grapple with Daniel on top of the heap. Kenn momentarily gained control and had Daniel pinned to the ground between his legs. He aimed a fist at Daniel's head but Daniel was too quick. Incredibly, Kenn's fist seemed to sink several inches into solid asphalt. He was off balance and Daniel head butted him causing Kenn to reel backwards.
"Dude, those guys are fighting!" exclaimed Lowe Freq.
"I can't see a damn thing," complained Alexander.
"Well shit, you ain't missing much. It's pretty lame," commented Jeffrey.
"How can you say that? Did you see how high they jumped?" asked Carrionette.
"Well OK, yeah. But it's not like in the movies with, like, close-ups, different angles, you know. Music, slow motion photography and all that shit that makes it more interesting. It's just not the same in real life," said Jeffrey.
"You're an idiot," said Lowe.
Meanwhile, across the way, Kenn had fallen hard on his tailbone. He was temporarily disoriented. At this point, Daniel's hand shot out and gripped Kenn by the throat and swiftly pinioned him to the ground. The fight was at an end and the prize went to Daniel Reese as Kenn struggled for breath. In an unexpected turn of events, Daniel then released his grasp on Kenn and helped him into a standing position. Barney made his way over by the two of them. The three of them stood there for a while catching their breath from the battle. It was Daniel who broke the silence. "Kenn, Barney, I hope I haven't hurt you too badly. I was merely trying to neutralize the threat you posed to me. I have much to tell you, but we should all make our way into the hotel where we'll be safe. I assure you, I am not a threat to anyone here. I will even submit to being handcuffed if it will help you trust me long enough to listen to what I have to say."
Curiously enough, it was Carrionette who said, "I have a pair of handcuffs." She reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of furry pink handcuffs. "Don't ask," was all she had to say on the subject. Kenn moved to take them from her hand, but Barney stepped forward and clicked one cuff around Daniel's right hand and the other to Kenn's left.
"What's this?" asked a perplexed Kenn.
"No one should be able to do what we have all just watched you do. It's nothing personal, but until we can trust you, I think we would all feel a lot safer with you like this," was Barney's reply. Gene, the owner of the hotel had opened the front door of the hotel and the people filed into the lobby with a bevy of questions. They gave Daniel and Kenn a wide berth. Everyone was stymied as to the cause of this conflict between Kenn, Barney and the man called Daniel. People were equally curious about the incredible feats of strength displayed by the two younger men in handcuffs.
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