26. Tess
TESS
My feet pounded into the cobblestone, desperate to create as much distance as possible between myself and the Freaks. But the second that the tinny music started over the park speakers, panic took over, and every logical thought flushed from my brain.
All the work I’d put into learning the map was useless — like a faulty Etch A Sketch, each shaky step degraded the pathway in my mind until all I was left with was a hazy afterimage.
Fuck it. Doesn’t matter.
I sucked in a deep breath and kept running. There was no quitting now — I just had to make the best of what I could see.
At least it’ll be better than when I spent my whole hiding time searching for the stupid fence.
I ran on autopilot until I crossed under a stack of giant dishes that formed an archway over the path: the entrance to Colossal Kitchen. Here, everything was straight out of a giant’s kitchen, and I was just the ant crawling along their table.
Giant, face down cookbooks formed sunshades over the path, giant champagne flutes bubbled over at the center of the fountains, and the prongs of a humongous fork had been fashioned into a kid’s playground.
At the center of Colossal Kitchen was an enormous Lazy Susan covered in a fine china: the spinning teacups ride.
Jackpot.
It would be a perfect hiding spot. The ride might be still now, but once the Freaks were released, it would be in constant motion. It was a kiddie ride — it’d be easy for me to hunker down in but hard for them to search. If I could just keep my eyes shut, I’d be golden.
Feeling the clock ticking down, I hopped up on the platform and sprinted toward the center of the ride, searching for a spot that would be hard to pick off from the edge.
Settling at the base of a pastel pink cup and saucer closest to the central teapot, I tucked my knees close to my chest and let out a sigh.
Only twelve hours between me and my freedom. Suckers.
Before I could get too smug though, the park flashed green. As the other rides eked to life, the Lazy Susan began a gentle rotation around the teapot. The pace was hardly anything. But that was before my cup started to spin in the opposite direction of the base.
“What the—” the cup’s centrifugal force pressed my back hard against the bench as confusion coursed through my mind. Usually, the spin on the cups was manually applied by riders spinning the central wheel.
I wasn’t touching a thing, but the cup spun anyway, picking up unnatural speed.
Those assholes must have automated the fucking thing.
This was far from the gentle ride I thought I’d gotten myself in for. No way I could last 12 hours like this without puking.
But there was no way I could stand, either. Even if I managed to get my legs underneath me, I wouldn’t be able to maintain the balance needed to make a run for it. And I certainly didn’t have time to hide again.
Already feeling the churn in my stomach, I tucked my head between my knees and closed my eyes. All there was left to do was curse my captors and hope I survived. Either way, this was going to be a long night.