Quicky Sanders: Theme Park
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 2:18 am
"Come on Troy, at least pretend to have fun!" Victoria whined. "It's really nice of Quicky to invite us along to the preview tour!"
Troy groaned. He hated theme parks. He just never saw the excitement in going in carriages at high speeds or playing rigged amusement games or taking selfies with people in silly costumes. And this theme park had none of that anyway. It was some stupid Jungle Tarzan thing, or whatever.
"You've been working too many late nights," said Sanders. "I thought you'd appreciate a bit of a break."
"Call me a skeptic then," he replied. "Good things don't come for free."
"You must be fun at Christmas parties."
The girls giggled. It was rare for the three of them to be out together. Troy was always behind the desk doing phone calls and running around town, and he was under the pump for a promotion to a senior editor position at the office. Victoria had done well for herself after her recent work with Sanders and was making it out on her own, and Sanders - well, it had been a while since she last found trouble. The other week she received an invitation in the mail to a new theme park that was scheduled to open in a month, and she had been handpicked to write an article to spotlight it. It was different from the usual crime waves she dabbled into, but it was a nice change. She hadn't been to a theme park since she was a kid.
The owner of the theme park - Walter - personally showed them around. There was only a skeleton staff on site and numerous attractions were still under construction. It was amazing nonetheless. The air was fresh and the park felt like something of Jurassic Park, with huge trees and dense vegetation. It looked easy to get lost, with many of the maps and signs not yet erected. Walter talked through his goals of providing a natural attraction, with less of the flashy entertainment and more about bringing nature to people, and people to nature. A catching slogan, Sanders thought. There were boat journeys, a proposed museum and education center, vast boardwalks, and a rail carriage that took them among the trees of the artificial rainforest. Walter was particularly adamant that they experience the rail journey. "It's something you might only enjoy once in your life."
Walter escorted Victoria and Sanders to the platform. Troy, for better or worse, excused him from the trip, claiming that he had an upset stomach and needed an urgent trip to the bathroom instead. The two women got into the lone carriage that was ready for them. "I won't be joining you in this journey. Our operator called in sick, so I'll be personally overseeing the controls at the station. Hope you enjoy the experience. Let it...sink in."
"Wow!" Victoria shouted, gazing at the birds that flew through the trees. "Troy's definitely missing out!"
The dense vegetation made the ride feel dark and enclosed, giving Sanders an unnerving feeling. "You know, I find something weird. Have you noticed that we're the only ones in the park? I mean, I know it's meant to be an exclusive scoop, but if Walter really wanted to promote his new theme park, wouldn't he invite dozens of reporters? He's going to run at a big loss to operate the park just for the three of us."
"Oh, now you're acting like Troy," Victoria snapped. "You're just being paranoid."
Sanders looked around. The carriage was disappointingly in poor condition. The seats were rough and the paint on the bars was chipping off, which was surprising considering that the ride was brand new. The carriage wasn't well designed either. It was too open - good for enjoying the scenery, but hardly something that met safety regulations. Sanders wondered how she could convey this in her article. As she pondered this, the carriage crested over a small rise and began to move downhill. Sanders saw something that made her go white. Something had happened to the track ahead. A large section of the elevator span had collapsed, and the carriage was sending them straight towards the jungle floor. Sanders looked around for a way to stop the carriage, but there was nothing. No controls, no emergency brake, and no way to communicate to Walter at the platform. She barely had time to warn Victoria before the carriage left the tracks and plummeted towards the ground.
The impact knocked Sanders out for a few minutes. When she awoke, she felt some painful bruising against her ribs. The carriage had partly spun on the way down, burying itself on its side in the warm, soft mud. Victoria had been thrown a few feet away. She had picked herself up, but in attempting to stand up, her legs sank through the mud, and she was stranded hip-deep in the thick, quaking bog. Sanders was also partially submerged. She grabbed onto the handrail that was now above her head and pulled herself upright. There was a dull pain in her head, but even through her groggy mind, something didn't right. Victoria could feel it too.
"I'm...I'm sinking!" she shouted. "We're sinking!"
Quicksand? Impossible, not in an artificially constructed theme park. Real quicksand required an underground current of some sort to make it 'quick'. And, Sanders could feel something move around her submerged legs. The soil felt waterlogged and there was definitely something feeding water into the earth. A busted water pipe? Or maybe...no, there's no way it could have been intentionally built...
Victoria's hips disappeared and her waist soon followed into the slurping sand. "I can't feel a bottom! Help!"
Sanders could feel herself - and the carriage - sinking too. "Hold on!"
"Easy for you to say!" Victoria snapped.
Sanders used the handrail to pull herself up, but she suddenly buckled. She felt something pinning her legs under the mud. "I can't move!" she shouted. She tried again, but there was definitely something holding her back. She realised what it was - with the carriage turned on its side, she had inadvertently plunged her legs through the gap between the metal bar and the hull, and with the suction of the quicksand, she couldn't move at all. Even if she could keep lifting herself using the top bar, the carriage was continually sinking, and taking her down with it!
"What are we going to do?" Victoria cried. The quicksand oozed between her breasts and filled her top.
Sanders was too busy freeing her trapped legs to think of anything. But when she looked up at the broken rails, she understood that it had been a trap all along. They stopped struggling, resigned to the fact that they were helpless, and hoping that it would slow them down enough for help to arrive. The quicksand was filling up the carriage compartment, speeding up Sander's descent. Victoria could only watch as the mud engulfed her breasts, and soon only her head and shoulders were above the sand.
Was there any way out for the two reporters? Who was Walter? And what happened to Troy?
Troy groaned. He hated theme parks. He just never saw the excitement in going in carriages at high speeds or playing rigged amusement games or taking selfies with people in silly costumes. And this theme park had none of that anyway. It was some stupid Jungle Tarzan thing, or whatever.
"You've been working too many late nights," said Sanders. "I thought you'd appreciate a bit of a break."
"Call me a skeptic then," he replied. "Good things don't come for free."
"You must be fun at Christmas parties."
The girls giggled. It was rare for the three of them to be out together. Troy was always behind the desk doing phone calls and running around town, and he was under the pump for a promotion to a senior editor position at the office. Victoria had done well for herself after her recent work with Sanders and was making it out on her own, and Sanders - well, it had been a while since she last found trouble. The other week she received an invitation in the mail to a new theme park that was scheduled to open in a month, and she had been handpicked to write an article to spotlight it. It was different from the usual crime waves she dabbled into, but it was a nice change. She hadn't been to a theme park since she was a kid.
The owner of the theme park - Walter - personally showed them around. There was only a skeleton staff on site and numerous attractions were still under construction. It was amazing nonetheless. The air was fresh and the park felt like something of Jurassic Park, with huge trees and dense vegetation. It looked easy to get lost, with many of the maps and signs not yet erected. Walter talked through his goals of providing a natural attraction, with less of the flashy entertainment and more about bringing nature to people, and people to nature. A catching slogan, Sanders thought. There were boat journeys, a proposed museum and education center, vast boardwalks, and a rail carriage that took them among the trees of the artificial rainforest. Walter was particularly adamant that they experience the rail journey. "It's something you might only enjoy once in your life."
Walter escorted Victoria and Sanders to the platform. Troy, for better or worse, excused him from the trip, claiming that he had an upset stomach and needed an urgent trip to the bathroom instead. The two women got into the lone carriage that was ready for them. "I won't be joining you in this journey. Our operator called in sick, so I'll be personally overseeing the controls at the station. Hope you enjoy the experience. Let it...sink in."
"Wow!" Victoria shouted, gazing at the birds that flew through the trees. "Troy's definitely missing out!"
The dense vegetation made the ride feel dark and enclosed, giving Sanders an unnerving feeling. "You know, I find something weird. Have you noticed that we're the only ones in the park? I mean, I know it's meant to be an exclusive scoop, but if Walter really wanted to promote his new theme park, wouldn't he invite dozens of reporters? He's going to run at a big loss to operate the park just for the three of us."
"Oh, now you're acting like Troy," Victoria snapped. "You're just being paranoid."
Sanders looked around. The carriage was disappointingly in poor condition. The seats were rough and the paint on the bars was chipping off, which was surprising considering that the ride was brand new. The carriage wasn't well designed either. It was too open - good for enjoying the scenery, but hardly something that met safety regulations. Sanders wondered how she could convey this in her article. As she pondered this, the carriage crested over a small rise and began to move downhill. Sanders saw something that made her go white. Something had happened to the track ahead. A large section of the elevator span had collapsed, and the carriage was sending them straight towards the jungle floor. Sanders looked around for a way to stop the carriage, but there was nothing. No controls, no emergency brake, and no way to communicate to Walter at the platform. She barely had time to warn Victoria before the carriage left the tracks and plummeted towards the ground.
The impact knocked Sanders out for a few minutes. When she awoke, she felt some painful bruising against her ribs. The carriage had partly spun on the way down, burying itself on its side in the warm, soft mud. Victoria had been thrown a few feet away. She had picked herself up, but in attempting to stand up, her legs sank through the mud, and she was stranded hip-deep in the thick, quaking bog. Sanders was also partially submerged. She grabbed onto the handrail that was now above her head and pulled herself upright. There was a dull pain in her head, but even through her groggy mind, something didn't right. Victoria could feel it too.
"I'm...I'm sinking!" she shouted. "We're sinking!"
Quicksand? Impossible, not in an artificially constructed theme park. Real quicksand required an underground current of some sort to make it 'quick'. And, Sanders could feel something move around her submerged legs. The soil felt waterlogged and there was definitely something feeding water into the earth. A busted water pipe? Or maybe...no, there's no way it could have been intentionally built...
Victoria's hips disappeared and her waist soon followed into the slurping sand. "I can't feel a bottom! Help!"
Sanders could feel herself - and the carriage - sinking too. "Hold on!"
"Easy for you to say!" Victoria snapped.
Sanders used the handrail to pull herself up, but she suddenly buckled. She felt something pinning her legs under the mud. "I can't move!" she shouted. She tried again, but there was definitely something holding her back. She realised what it was - with the carriage turned on its side, she had inadvertently plunged her legs through the gap between the metal bar and the hull, and with the suction of the quicksand, she couldn't move at all. Even if she could keep lifting herself using the top bar, the carriage was continually sinking, and taking her down with it!
"What are we going to do?" Victoria cried. The quicksand oozed between her breasts and filled her top.
Sanders was too busy freeing her trapped legs to think of anything. But when she looked up at the broken rails, she understood that it had been a trap all along. They stopped struggling, resigned to the fact that they were helpless, and hoping that it would slow them down enough for help to arrive. The quicksand was filling up the carriage compartment, speeding up Sander's descent. Victoria could only watch as the mud engulfed her breasts, and soon only her head and shoulders were above the sand.
Was there any way out for the two reporters? Who was Walter? And what happened to Troy?
