Coaster Read Free Page B

about their faces, their families, or anything about them. He simply felt glad. Felt revenge. He felt emboldened and strong. He was elated and wild with joy. He wanted to tell someone, but knew that was impossible. His joy was complete as he saw the fire growing and heard the screams that had begun small and he knew would grow swiftly. He pulled the bottle of beer out of the ice chest and twisted the cap off taking a deep draw on the liquid. It immediately cooled his throat as he continued sipping. At the end he put the cap between his thumb and middle finger and snapped it off into the canyon below him. After another long sip he burped and sat down in the chair waiting for the sound of sirens.
     
                                                                          ****
     
    The screams began slowly as those waiting in line heard and felt the impact of the explosion. Not sure at first that it wasn't something from the television above them, they paused before looking towards the ride. Someone yelled, "Oh my God, the ride exploded! Get out of here!"
    Then panic began.
    People i n line tried to push past the people standing behind them to reach the small staircase to the exit. Everyone started screaming and yelling while energy moved like a giant tsunami through those still waiting in line. People had heard and seen the explosion, but in the moments after it had happened they were frozen to their spots. They stood there confused as if this might be part of the ride. It wasn't until the swell of people came toward them that reality surfaced and those still waiting began to run. Many fell down and tried to evade the mob moving over them. Cries of pain and fear were rising. Those that were hurt instinctively tried to curl into a ball and rolled towards the sides of the walkways to get out of the way. People were jumping over barriers and running as fast as they could. The exodus was massive and continually punctuated by shrieks of fear.
     
    At the same time, the park's managers and team leaders were standing in various parts of the park as the code 1011 came through on their radios. 1011 meant that there had been a death. They had never had a code 1011 at the park. The disbelief was tremendous and many of the parks employees thought it must be some sort of joke. They looked for confirmation to other co-workers until they saw people running from the ride, and then they knew the code was real. Someone finally reacted and called for extra security and the police team stationed at the entrance to the park was summoned. Hearing the explosion, the officers had already made their way into the park and were cutting through the mass of people. Some individuals, out of curiosity, were heading towards the roller coaster on fire and others were sprinting away from it.
     
                                                                          ****
     
    Roger heard the blast. He was pretty sure it was an explosion because there is a certain sound that explosives make. His time in the military had heightened his ability to know what a bomb sounded like and he was sure one had been detonated. "This isn't gonna be good." Roger mumbled as he grabbed his walkie talkie and buzzed his crew. "Did you hear that?"
    One by one his crew assented they had and Roger barked, "Get there now. Something's happened and it's gonna be a mess." Then he ran out through the entrance of the water ride as people stepped out of line to see what had happened. Once on the main path he sprinted towards the coaster in question. He didn't care he wasn't supposed to be seen because he knew something horrible had happened. He just hoped no one was hurt.
     
                                                                          ****
     
    Lindy had been sitting on the railing texting