“The whole park is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence, and Jo electrified it. She also rigged up cameras. Luckily, she saw me, so she met me at the gate before I touched it.”
“Yeah, little Zach looked harmless,” Jo says, smiling. “After he told me how he loved the place, I had to let him in. He told me you might be coming, so we kept the fence off today.”
“It’s a brilliant setup, Jo,” Aiden says. “How do you power everything?”
“See there?” Jo points at the roof of a nearby building. Banks of solar panels cover every square inch. “We were converting the park to solar to save on electricity. But I added a bunch more I stole off rich people’s houses.” Jo laughs a big laugh, apparently thrilled with herself. She’s like a little kid in an old woman’s body. “They charge our backup batteries, plus I only power the parts of the park I use.”
I turn to Aiden. “Jo’s a fellow tinkerer. I told her all about my setup in Elk Springs.”
“Oh, yes, brilliant.” Jo nods to herself. “I particularly liked the Wilsons. It’s the little touches that matter.”
“Exactly. That’s how I feel.”
Aiden has an amused look at our banter. It occurs to me this is the first time he’s ever seen me talk to anybody other than him.
“You two must be hungry,” Jo says.
“Heck, yeah.” My stomach literally grumbles at the mention of food.
Jo leads us to one of the park restaurants. We weave through various brick pathways and overgrown shrubs. On the way, Aiden and I talk among ourselves.
“She’s quite a character.” Aiden laughs, then quietly says, “Are you sure we can trust her?”
“I think so. She’s wicked smart, holed up here on her own, living her dream in this park.”
Aiden nods and looks around. “This setup she has. With the fence. You think that’s enough to make it safe here?”
“I’m not sure. She’s made it work so far. The park is very remote. It’s forest for miles in nearly every direction. But I also get the sense that people simply leave her alone.”
“Hmm. Yeah, maybe.” Aiden nods but doesn’t look entirely convinced.
“Oh, but I haven’t told you the best part yet. She’s got a car battery jump starter she’s going to let us have. It still works, and she can charge it up using solar power. Plus, she knows a place where there’s a car.”
Aiden’s eyes narrow. “That all sounds great, but she’s just gonna let us have it?”
“Well, not exactly. She wants me to get the Earthquake ride working again. That’s what I was working on when you got here.”
Aiden lets out a chuckle. “This lady’s getting more and more interesting. Speaking of ‘when you got here,’ I haven’t heardhowyou got here. How’d you escape?”
“Oh, yeah. Well, when I first ran into the forest, I was scared shitless. Especially after that first gunshot. But after they stopped shooting, I had a moment to think. They weren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. So I stopped, picked up a big rock, and threw it far in the opposite direction from where I was running. That was all it took to get them off course.”
Aiden has a big smile. “You’re amazing.”
I smile and feel a flush across my face. “Anyway, after I couldn’t hear them anymore, I went straight to the road. I knew it was risky, but I figured if a car came, I could duck into the woods. Cedar Grove was the only place I thought we might find each other, so I wanted to make sure I beat you. I ran the entire way.”
“That’s like twenty miles. How did you do that?”
“I guess I never told you; I was really into running in my previous life. I finished second in my age group in the Seattle Marathon.”
Aiden puts his arm around me and smiles. “You never fail to surprise me, Zach.”
And my cheeks burn again. I’m not used to Aiden being this friendly and extra flirty with me. And I’m enjoying it. Like, a lot. Maybe the atmosphere of Cedar Grove is getting to him. Maybe it’s the near miss of losing each other.
“So I got here yesterday afternoon. Jo saw me through her cameras and stopped me before I got to the fence. I told her how much I loved Cedar Grove, and the Earthquake ride in particular, and she immediately took to me. We started fixing up the ride yesterday. You know the rest.”
We arrive at a themed restaurant called Pirate’s Den. It’s all done up like an old Caribbean tavern, a place you might expect to see a roving band of pirates drinking rum and starting bar brawls. Long aisles of wooden tables run the length of the room. Nets, seashells, anchors, and other nautical items cover the walls, while treasure chests filled with gems and gold doubloons pile up in nearly every corner.
Jo takes us behind the front counter and into the kitchen. Here, the pirate theme ends. The bright, clean industrial kitchen has stainless steel counters, stoves, fryers, and a walk-in refrigerator. Most notably, the power is on. Fluorescent light fills the room.
