Inferno Park Read Free

wedge with pepperoni, plus a large paper cup of Coke to share. The outdoor dining area consisted of two picnic tables already crammed full of tourists, so Carter and Jared stood while they ate. The pizza crust, as advertised, was sprinkled with big chunks of salt.
    He looked over the crowd. Conch City attracted visitors from all across the Southeast, generally those who couldn’t afford to spend a fortune visiting the big Orlando resorts like Disney World. You saw a lot of run-down trucks and rusty cars, dads in the wife-beater tank tops, moms with big hair and fanny packs, kids in flip-flops and faded promotional t-shirts advertising country music radio stations or movies from three years ago. Carter had never been to Disney World or Universal Studios, but he doubted they could be as cool as his hometown.
    Then Carter saw her—just for a moment, passing in the crowd along the street, but time seemed to stop for the half-second she was visible, before a big man in a t-shirt that read “Conch City: Come for the Beer, Stay for the Beer” blocked his view.
    “That was her!” Carter nudged Jared. “Tricia.”
    “Oh, come on.” Jared shook his head, chewing slowly.
    “Let’s go.”
    “I’m not done with my pizza.”
    “Bring it with you.” Carter pulled his arm. “Let’s go after her.”
    “So you can stalk her like a creep?”
    “No...”
    “You’re going to go up and talk to her?” Jared smirked.
    “Maybe...come on, let’s see where she goes. I’ll talk to her when she gets there.”
    Jared made a big show of sighing and rolling his eyes, then trudged along behind Carter.
    “You’re moving too slow!” Carter whispered.
    “You’re crazy.”
    Carter caught another glimpse of her up ahead, passing by the parking lot for Dinosaur Mini-Golf, where tourists took pictures next to the big green concrete triceratops out front.
    “There,” Carter pointed. Tricia Calhoun was a long way ahead. She wore a simple white dress she’d hand-painted with unicorns and dragons. Her pale blond hair was braided and hung with beads. Her skin was a ghostly color, probably the reason Jared said she only came out at night.
    “I can’t believe you get all stupid and drooly over the weirdest girl in school,” Jared said. “There are tons of chicks hotter than her.”
    “Like who?”
    “Uh, Kelly Maples? Carly Overby? Morgan O’Shea? Anyone? ”
    “You’re just naming all the cheerleaders.”
    “So? I saw Carly on the beach a few weeks ago. She’s really popping out.” Jared cupped his hands in front of his chest.
    “Those girls are boring. Tricia...isn’t.” Carter couldn’t explain how Tricia made him feel—like he was sweating on the inside, like his brain was short-circuiting. She usually sat in the back of the classroom, doodling wild fantasy creatures in her notebook, ignoring everyone while she focused on her own little world. She didn’t seem to have a lot of friends. She didn’t giggle and gossip all the time like the popular girls Jared had mentioned. Carter knew there was something special about her.
    He couldn’t put it all into words, and Jared would probably just make fun of him if he tried.
    “You better hurry, man,” Jared said. “Looks like she’s going in.”
    Ahead, Tricia veered into the sprawling blacktop parking lot at Starland Amusement Park, which was the center of everything along the glowing strip of attractions. High chain-link fence surrounded the park, enclosing a world of glowing lights and spinning rides. Directly ahead, a train of screaming riders raced down one tall hill of the Starland Express, the mammoth wooden roller coaster so long it took up the entire western edge of the park.
    The front gate looked like a casino palace, the ticket booths topped with white castle towers glowing with rows of neon stars. Tricia stood in a short line, clutching her purple velvet purse, which also looked homemade—two pieces of material unevenly stitched together, the strap made from