Zeitgeist

Chapter Thirteen: Realizations

Reggie was almost too terrified to breathe as the two humanoid nightmares on the other side of the fence reacted to the noises and lights coming from the direction of Fantasy Land. They argued on intensely in their strange buzzing language, as they pointed in the direction of where the Ferris wheel used to be. Reggie couldn't even begin to guess what they were saying to each other exactly, but it seemed to him that one of the creatures seemed irritated at the fence, as he grabbed and shook it angrily. The other creature seemed a bit more collected, and was talking to its companion in a quieter, more even tone. Though there was no real way to know for sure, it almost seemed to Reggie that one of the creatures was trying to talk the other down from its fury.

Suddenly, to Reggie's horror, the angry creature pulled its large oddly shaped scimitar by its hilt, and with a growling hiss swung at the chain link fence. With one mighty swing, the sword cut through the steel fence like it was barely there, leaving a five foot diagonal cut in the chain links. Then, to make matters worse, the creature tried to make its way through the cut in the fence, only to have its partner grab it by the shoulders. They argued again, this time with both of them raising their voices. Somehow, the calmer one of the creatures managed to soothe the anger of its partner, and both of them stayed on the other side of the fence. Reggie breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Reggie tried to remain quiet as a corpse behind the hedge, peering through the branches of the shrubbery to study the creatures exchange in small talk in a language sounding like a cross between a downed power line and a beehive. They seemed to fidget and pace as if impatiently waiting for something, terrifying Reggie every time they moved a few steps in the fear they would be able to see him somehow. Reggie thanked God he had fallen off the fence just right to keep out of sight, and that he had decided to change clothes. Reggie was wearing black jeans with an olive green T-shirt which didn't stand out from behind the shrubbery. If he was still wearing his outrageous red and blue colored Loonyland uniform, Reggie guessed, the creatures would have spotted him for sure.

Then, gradually, the two creatures started to walk down the length of the fence. Again, Reggie was petrified of them spotting him lying prone on the ground. He couldn't see the creatures through the shrubbery at the angle they were walking away, so he could only judge their distance by the clinks and clatters of their exotically shaped armor. Part of him wanted to raise his head over the hedge to see where they were, but was scared of them finally seeing him lying there. Even when they had walked far enough away where he couldn't hear anything at all, he found it hard to get over the fear to get a better look.

Finally, he raised himself up to look over the hedge to find the coast was clear, the creatures had either walked out of sight down the length of the fence, or had walked out and disappeared into the fog. Either way, Reggie wasn't going to waste the opportunity. Quickly getting to his feet, he ran about thirty yards from the fence and into a group of trees that sat between the kiddy roller coaster and a children's grandstand. Pausing to catch his breath, he leaned against a tree and looked back at the fence, only to have his blood turn cold again.

Reggie saw two more of them. And then another, and then two more. He could see more of these strange creatures materializing out of the fog and walking up to the fence. Every thirty yards or so, there were one or a pair the strange humanoids. From where Reggie hid, he could hear the low buzzing of them chatting away, while others would impatiently and angrily shake the fence.

Reggie was so scared he could hardly breathe. Like a trapped rat, he glanced all around for an escape route. It was very dark in the patch of trees he was hiding, and the shadows created by the moonlight bled over to the loading platform of the kiddy rollercoaster, so Reggie decided if he wanted to move, that's where he would have to go.

Reggie gulped as he started to slowly crawl on his belly, going from tree trunk to tree trunk, and always stopping whenever he heard one of the creatures make any type of noise. Every few seconds, they would tap the fence or spout out a buzzing snarl, and Reggie's heart would skip a beat thinking they had spotted him. The platform was only about thirty yards away, but to Reggie it seemed like a mile. Finally, with a last burst of desperate speed Reggie left the last tree trunk and wiggled behind the platform.

Out of sight from anyone at the fence, Reggie leaned up against the wooden platform and panted wildly, as if he had been holding his breath the whole time and his body was trying to catch up on oxygen. His eyes darted around wildly and his body was caked in cold sweat. His thoughts were going at a thousand miles per hour trying to make sense of the situation. He finally accepted he wasn't in the "real" Loonyland anymore, but only because he was convinced he might not even be on Earth anymore, which wasn't a comfort at all. Still, he knew the hard fact of if he wanted to get away and out of the park, he probably had to go out the way he came in. And that meant he had to find Kevin. The thought made Reggie scowl, considering he blamed Kevin for getting him in this situation with his...magic.

Magic. Real magic. Not slight of hand or parlor tricks or special effects or optical illusions, but magic. The very idea made Reggie shudder. Magic was supernatural, and in Reggie's upbringing, he was taught supernatural fits into two categories: Holy and unholy. This Loonyland didn't strike Reggie as holy. The creatures outside the fence definitely didn't strike him as holy.

But Reggie saw no other choice as he made his way towards where he last left Kevin and Josef near Loony Square. Reggie carefully moved deeper into Loonyland, making sure to have some structure blocking the view between him and the creatures outside the fence, all the while sticking to the shadows and staying out of the moonlight.

Zigzagging from structure to structure, Reggie finally worked his way to Loony Square. He looked around for any sign of Kevin or Josef, but couldn't see anyone. He looked toward the direction of Fantasy Land, where the large Ferris wheel had fallen down and those large booms came from, but everything was dark and still. Reggie didn't relish the idea of going in that direction. He was hoping Kevin and Josef were smart enough to try to get away from things that go boom!

Lost in his thoughts about what to do next, Reggie was alerted by an angry buzzing sound coming from the entryway of Loonyland. He couldn't see the entryway from where he was standing, so he crouched down and crept over to get a better look, using the information booth as cover from anybody looking in from the entrance. Peering over the booth counter, he saw a few more of the creatures shuffling behind the metal curtain at the Loonyland gate, though from the angle and the lighting and the creatures' constant movement, Reggie couldn't tell exactly how many.

"My God, we're surrounded," Reggie whispered to himself.

Then, all of a sudden the group of creatures seemed to straighten up as if in a military fashion coming to attention. Coming into sight was one more creature, but from what Reggie could see, it looked somewhat different. It had the same lanky frame as the other creatures, same gaunt face, same spiky hairstyle. But his armor seemed bulkier and grander than the others. And its long hair had a hint of grey and was twisted into more decorative knots with countless shiny beads. At the gate, it observed the other creatures with an authoritative stroll. The other creatures fell silent as it barked in its strange buzzing language.

To Reggie, there was no doubt this was the guy in charge.

Suddenly, this creature produced a long sword from the scabbard hanging at his waste. Even from a distance, Reggie could see the sword shining with a magical silvery glow. Then, much to Reggie's concern, the creature swung the sword violently. Reggie saw a whiff of chalky powder fly from where the sword had been swung, and a second later, the head of the gate's Loony statue plopped almost comically onto the ground, spinning around and then settling at the creature's feet. All the creatures began to stir and vigorously buzz in their strange tongue.

Reggie couldn't be sure, but he had a hunch they were laughing.

"Oh, crap," Reggie whispered.

Thinking it would be better to get away from the gate, Reggie crept his way back away from the booth and around the corner out of Loony Square. He then started to quickly move toward the Caterpillar and down the Loonyland midway, terrified at the idea of one of those creatures popping out at any time around any corner. Reggie moved toward the direction of Fantasy Land hoping to find Kevin or Josef along the way, always trying to stay in the shadows and listening for any sound of the creatures' armor clanging nearby. At least he had the small comfort of their noisy armor making it hard for them to sneak up on him.

He came out of the midway area and worked his way toward Loony Lake. The area was more open and Reggie glanced back and forth looking for shadows to blend in to. He worked his way toward a ride called The Gambler, a rather boring ride designed like a casino-like Roulette wheel. He settled in the shadows next to the ride's control booth when he noticed all of a sudden the moonlight had weakened.

Reggie looked up at the sky at the moon and noticed it what was once a brightly lit full moon had become a dimmer half moon. Then, Reggie stood breathlessly as he saw the moon slowly creep darker from a half moon to a crescent moon, then to nothing. As Loonyland plunged into almost total blackness, Reggie leaned against the Gambler control booth, taking deep breaths and trying to get his mind around what he just saw.

"What else can happen?" Reggie asked.

As if on cue, Loonyland suddenly was bathed in moonlight again as the glowing disk appeared again in the Loonyland sky. Reggie jumped a bit at the sight of the park lit up again and didn't hide his irritation as he glanced up back at the sky, but he was taken aback again by what he saw.

The moon had moved. Instead of being more in the eastern sky, the moon was now all of a sudden lower and more in the west. Then, incredibly and much to Reggie's total amazement, the moon moved across the sky again; moving first up directly overhead, then to the eastern sky, then in a grand sweep back to the western sky, then east, then west, like some heavenly ping pong ball.

"Aa...aa...aa..." Reggie gasped at every grand movement of the moon across the sky. He kept blinking and looking back up. He still couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.

It stopped for a moment directly overhead, giving a moment for Reggie to catch his breath and maybe deny to himself what he just saw.

Then, slowly, the glowing disk of the moon started to grow bigger and bigger, as if the moon was being pulled out of its orbit and towards Earth. In a few seconds, it was twice as big as it normal, then three times, then more.

"Ohmygod!" Reggie yelped as he fell back against the control booth and collapsed down to the ground. As the moon grew and grew, threatening to envelop all the night sky above Loonyland, he instinctively closed his eyes, not wanting to see what would happen next.

"Nooooo!" Reggie screamed.

Seconds had passed before Reggie gave a quick peak, only to see the moon back in the sky, though now it was directly overhead a like a noontime summer sun. When Reggie saw this, he meakly wiped the sweat off his face with his shirt sleeve and sat against the control booth waiting for his heart to stop pounding; trying to catch his breath, not wanting to move.

Not wanting to do anything.

Kevin and Josef stopped at the base of the rider platform of the Dungeons and Dragons ride after quickly trotting around Loony Lake to Fantasy Land. As Kevin sat on a nearby bench to rest, Josef impatiently inspected every corner and every shadow of the ride for any clue of the children or of anything left behind.

"What have I done?" Kevin asked the air quietly.

"Hmm?" Josef responded as he stopped inspecting and walked over to Kevin.

"I mean, it was the only thing I could think of at the time. I sent them back..." Kevin's voice had a self accusing tone to it.

"Kevin..."

"They were trying to get home and I sent them right back to where..."

"You saved their lives!" Josef barked back.

Kevin's posture straightened up a bit at Josef's observation. "I did?"

"For some reason, their weapons weren't working here. They wouldn't have stood a chance. You saved their lives. Our lives."

Kevin sat silently for a moment, then weakly shrugged. "It was just a gut reaction. I just felt they had to get away. As far away from that...thing as possible. I mean...brrruugghh!" Kevin comically shook his body all over while sticking out his tongue. "I could feel his evil...like a bunch of worms in my belly. I still feel...I dunno...violated."

"Violated. That is a good word for it." While talking to Kevin, Josef continued to look around the ride for any sign of life.

"Was that the guy you were telling me about? Was that the guy who kidnapped you from your time?" Kevin asked.

"Yes. That is Venger. An evil, powerful creature that was willing to change the very flow of time to wipe Diana and her friends out of existence.""

"Why? What for? They're just kids!"

"I'm not sure. Again, I wasn't in the Realm very long. They didn't tell me. They only described how they arrived there and showed what their magic weapons can do. They mentioned a person they called the Dungeon Master, but truth be told I couldn't make sense of what they were telling me."

"Huh. " Kevin replied.

"Then Venger kidnapped me and offered me the chance to change time. To change time to eliminate their very existence.""

"And he didn't say why?"

"I think he was some mad ruler and the children were somehow fighting back against him."

"Wow. And you said they had weapons? Weapons that can fight that?"

"Oh yes. Powerful weapons. Hank has a bow that could shoot bolts of lightening. The little one, Bobby, has a club that can create earthquakes. Diana had a magic javelin."

"I hope so," Kevin said. For a brief moment, Kevin was amused to think how easily he could accept such concepts as magical weapons after all he has experienced. But then he imagined what those weapons would be against. "I just...I just can't imagine anybody fighting that thing. His evilness just cut through me. You didn't feel that?"

"I think you felt what you felt because Venger was here...in this place. Your place. This is your Loonyland."

Kevin shrugged as he held up the scroll and peered at it, as if to condemn it.

Kevin stood up in a determined posture. "We have to go help them." Kevin proclaimed.

"Yes." Josef said softly.

"I mean, I can do it. I think." Kevin said desperately. "I can get the ride going."

"Try it." Josef said excitedly. Kevin was taken aback by Josef's enthusiasm.

Kevin peered at the mouth of the Dungeons and Dragons ride, and swallowed hard. Never had the dragon face looked so menacing to him.

As his eyes narrowed in concentration, he tried to picture the ride moving. He imagined his mind as the on switch, just like he did with the Merry Go Round.

"Go." Kevin said softly.

Nothing happened.

Kevin huffed in frustration. "I don't get it. It's not letting me."

"Concentrate, Kevin. You can do it. Relax." Josef encouraged.

"Hmph." Kevin huffed. Still, he slumped and shook his shoulders to loosen himself up and took a deep breath. He then tried to think of the ride moving. He visioned the coaster car moving down the tracks, the coaster entering the mouth, the animated monsters coming to life, and finally the coaster moving into the darkness.

Still nothing.

Determined to see it through, he repeatedly turned his minds eye to getting the ride moving. He clutched the scroll tighter as he ran through the ride cycle over and over in his head. Then, much to Kevin's amazement, Kevin's visualizations of the ride started to focus as if on their own; almost as if he was actually riding the ride again. Kevin felt a familiar blood rush hit his head, but he was determined not to have it distract him. He gritted his teeth as he felt himself move past all the animatronics goblins and monsters and into the darkness for the ride's big finish.

Then, suddenly, Kevin's senses were overwhelmed as he his mind's eye was blinded by visions of bursting fire and his ears rang with the sound of a menacing animalistic roar which seemed to shake the whole world.

"Aaaaa!" Kevin screamed as he felt his mind snap back to reality. His body snapped back and he wobbled on his feet. Josef quickly grabbed Kevin to steady him.

"Kevin! Are you alright? You did it!"

"Uh...wha..What? I what?" Kevin asked groggily.

"The ride turned on! Just for a moment the eyes of the dragon flared up and the ride started to hum!"

"It did? It did?" Kevin asked as he rubbed his temples to get rid of his sudden headache.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

Kevin took some deep breaths to gather his thoughts. For a moment, he wondered with all these new sensations he has experienced if he could ever look at the world around him the same way again.

"Okay. I was like….it was …different…." Kevin stammered, still trying to find the words. "It wasn't like I was turning it on like the other rides. It was like I was on the ride riding it."

"I see."

And then I got to the end…the big finish at the end, and then….then…"

"Yes?"

"I just got hit by this roar! It was loud, like a bunch of animals screaming at once. But it wasn't just the sound, it was more than that. It was like I was feeling something. Fire…anger….hunger."

"Hmm. It looks like this ride has its own rules. Not that that's surprising. Being this the gateway between the Realm and your Loonyland."

"Oh, man. Will you stop that?" Kevin said irritably.

"What?"

"My Loonyland. This isn't my Loonyland. This is this thing's Loonyland!" Kevin said angrily as he waved the scroll in front of Josef.

"I'm not blaming you if that's…"

"If this was my Loonyland, it would be a bright, shiny afternoon with people here. With kids running around, everyone having a good time. That's MY Loonyland. Why is it the dead of night, huh?"

"I'm….not sure, Kevin."

"And now this stupid thing isn't cooperating," Kevin gestured toward the Dungeons and Dragons ride. "How are we getting out of…?"

At that very moment, just outside the entrance gate of Loonyland, a tall, gaunt, armored figure angrily and defiantly swung his glowing silver sword and sliced the head off the welcoming statue of Loony.

Suddenly, Kevin felt a twinge. A tingling flashed through his body that was both small yet touched every part of his being, like the very air around him had spoke to him in a language only he could understand.

Kevin's view of his world changed.

Kevin stood silently for a few moments, with his darting eyes looking around. Josef could see Kevin pausing his gaze at particular objects for a time. Kevin peered at the Dungeons and Dragons ride, then a concession stand, then the splintered rubble of the Ferris wheel. Kevin gazed at the High Roller in the distance. To Josef, it was as if Kevin was seeing them for the first time.

"Kevin, what is it? What now?"

"Josef, I can't believe it."

"What?" Josef asked impatiently.

"I mean, I knew this wasn't Loonyland, but I had no idea…."

"Yes?"

Kevin paused to look up at the full moon glowing in the night sky. Again, to Josef, the look on Kevin's face came across as if he was seeing the moon for the first time. He thought Kevin looked almost comical, which for Josef made the situation only more tense.

"Kevin, what is going on with you?"

"Shhhhh…" Kevin hushed.

Josef looked at Kevin, then at the moon overhead, then at Kevin. He heard the paper rustle of the scroll being gripped tightly as Kevin closed his eyes.

Moments passed. Kevin's posture seemed more calm and relaxed, which only intrigued Josef even more.

Then, Kevin opened his eyes to look up at the sky, and simply whispered, "Wow."

"What?" Josef asked, trying to hide his impatience.

Then, Josef noticed everything in Loonyland become slightly dimmer in the moonlight. Instinctively, Josef looked up, and to his utter amazement, he saw that the moon overhead had turned from a full moon to a half moon.

"Was?" Josef blurted.

Then, to Josef's further astonishment, the moon became darker still as it crept from a half moon to a crescent moon to disappearing entirely, plunging the park into near complete darkness.

"Kevin, are you doing that?" Josef barked.

"Uh huh," Kevin said nonchalantly.

"Mein Gott."

Kevin slowly turned his gaze to Josef, with a grin on his face that Josef found a bit disconcerting. Then, with his thumb and index finger, Kevin pointed his free hand "gun" at the western sky.

"Bang."

All of a sudden, the park was illuminated by the full glow of a full moon which had suddenly appeared in the exact part of the sky Kevin had pointed at.

Josef opened his mouth to say something, but his lips comically quivered like he couldn't find the words.

Still aiming his finger up at the moon, Kevin moved his hand, and like a giant celestial kite the moon moved to where Kevin was pointing. First, he pointed directly overhead, then to the eastern sky. On cue, the moon followed Kevin's direction precisely. Only stopping for a second, Kevin directed the moon across the sky back to the west, then he swept the moon back to the west, all the while with Josef looking agape at the dance being created in the heavens overhead.

Kevin conducted the moon from east to west several times. Each time he had the moon change directions, Kevin would make a "boop" sound, like the chime from a game of Pong.

"Your Loonyland…completely, utterly, your Loonyland…." Josef stated.

Reacting to the statement, Kevin stopped his moon symphony with the moon directly overhead.

"It's mine," Kevin said. "All of it. Every bit of it."

Then, to almost signify the point he was making, Kevin pointed up at the moon again.

"But it's not real enough," Kevin proclaimed.

The moon suddenly began to grow and grow. First twice its size, then three times, then more. The entire park started to glow bright as the moon started to fill the night sky.

"Kevin!" Josef shouted. "What are you doing?"

Surprised by Josef's outburst, Kevin broke his concentration and the moon shrank back to its normal size, glowing in its full glory directly overhead.

"Sorry," Kevin said sheepishly. "Something just happened, and it all just came to me. You were right. More than I thought."

"That was spectacular! Maybe now we…"

"We have to leave."

"What?" Josef asked.

Kevin swallowed hard as his expression turned as serious and sullen as a funeral.

"We have to get out of here. We have to get Reggie and get out of here, now."

"But why?"

Kevin slowly turned his gaze toward the direction of the entrance of the park.

"We're not alone."