Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (25 page)

,“Holy shit.”

I spun around and there was Winston Pugh, watching the Tail in the sky. The Tail, frozen, not moving at all as the handful of riders screamed at the top of their lungs. All the riders except for one. James was still passed out, leaning over the rail, as if he’d just upchucked and was too weak to sit up.

“What the hell were you doing?” I glared at the short little man.

“Kid, I had a message for you. You were so tied up with Moe and Charlie I couldn’t get your attention.”

“What message?”

Together we watched the black smoke pouring from the
mechanical structure. The ride was rigid, frozen in time. High up above the landscape of Carol City and stiff as a board.

“Emily was visiting us when she got a phone call.”

“And?”

“Some guy told her that he needed to see her right away. Something about Moe having an offer.”

The first thing that hit me? Em hadn’t been with Macho Jody. She’d been with Winston and Linda. Great news.

I glanced back at James and I was consumed with the thoughts of how to save him. Screw the other people up there. James was and still is my best friend. I needed to get him down.

“And something about not applying the solvent while the ride is in motion.”

“What?”

“Boy, I didn’t memorize what she told me. It was something about a solvent. She said you’d understand.”

Don’t apply while the ride is in motion? All I knew was that I had to get James out of there. Before the entire ride came crashing down.

“Where is she?”

“I think she went back to your trailer. She seemed to want to talk to some guy named—and this is very weird, Judy?”

“Jody. It’s a guy.”

“Oh, my God.” Charlie was screaming and pointing. The Tail remained frozen at a forty-five-degree angle in the bright blue Carol City sky, but one of the cars was hanging low, gently swinging as if only one or two bolts held it in place.

“That car is gonna fall. Swear to God.”

The hanging car groaned as it dropped another inch, the metal stressed from the weight.

And leaning over the rail, oblivious to it all, was my roommate, James.

“Charlie.” I grabbed him by the arm, breaking his hypnotic stare. “Will the yellow button or the red button bring them down?”

He stared at the console for several seconds.

“Come on, man. This depends on you.”

Charlie pushed the yellow button and immediately jumped back as sparks shot from the control box.

“Holy crap.”

“Those bolts aren’t going to hold.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

James was sitting up. A good thing. But he looked dazed and confused.

“Charlie, how strong is the Tail?”

“Strong?” He couldn’t take his eyes off the Tail, eighty feet above the ground.

“Is it pretty rigid in this situation?” I was shouting to be heard above the roar of the music. Turning, I saw a swell of people running toward the DT.

“It’s made of sections.”

“What do you mean?” I shouted.

“Like, sections of steel. The Tail has to twist and turn. It twists and turns in sections. Jesus, guy, we’ve got to get that Tail down.”

Ignoring his panic, I pressed him. “But now it’s stationary up there. Is it stiff in this situation?”

“Is it stiff? What the hell are you talking about? Hell, how do I know? It’s never
been
in this situation.” He kept his gaze steady on the Tail.

I sprinted toward James’s truck, opened the unlocked driver’s door and stepped on the running board. Reaching up on the roof, my hands grabbed the ladder. I pulled on the rail, easing myself up, straining every muscle in my arms, my hands clawing to hold on. Finally I sprawled on top of the truck and I looked up at the Tail. The Tail car groaned again and swayed. Below me were about thirty people—carnies, paying customers, and gawking business owners from the Bayview Mall. I didn’t see Jody or Em.

Directly below me stood Pugh, gazing up with a question in his eyes.

“Winston. If I can get this ladder free, can you take it when I hand it down?”

I had to take a chance on someone. Charlie I still didn’t trust. Bo was nowhere to be seen, so I picked James’s number-one suspect.

“I’ll do it,” he shouted back up.

The ladder was tethered to four hooks, and with a simple jerk of the ties I freed it. Quickly pushing it off the top, I lowered it down to Pugh. He grabbed the end, and pulled on it, and within seconds the ladder was on the ground.

I grabbed the side of the roof and let myself go, my feet hitting the running board. If I’d just jumped, with my luck I would have broken my neck.

Grabbing the ladder I struggled to drag it to the Tail.

“What exactly are you gonna do, young fella?” Pugh trailed
behind me, and when I turned he was looking up at the Tail, then looking up at me. The poor guy looked up no matter what he was looking at.

“That ladder ain’t high enough to reach that car. Not by a long shot.”

The riders were screaming from fright, and James sat at the top, still trying to comprehend what had happened.

And now I could hear Foreigner, singing “
Countin’ every minute … I’ll make every minute count …”

“Boy, what the hell are you gonna do?”

“Hold the ladder, Winston.”

He grabbed the legs and I eased the thirty-some-foot ladder up against the base of the ride. God, I prayed this would work. It had to. I looked up and saw the car moving ever so slowly.

“James,” I yelled. “Don’t move. Whatever you do, don’t move.”

I climbed the ladder one foot after another as fast as I could, and halfway up knew it was a big mistake. The farther I went, the more queasy I felt. Once I looked down and felt my stomach about to turn. My heart was beating double time and my hands were cold and clammy in the South Florida heat and humidity. Sweat ran from my forehead into my eyes and I couldn’t take either hand off the sides of the ladder to wipe it away. My death grip on the ladder was a lock.

At the top, I looked up. Considering the angle of the ladder and the angle of the Tail, I hadn’t climbed nearly as high as I’d hoped. I was up to the second car and thank goodness it was empty.

I stepped off the ladder and grabbed the rectangular gold colored section of bar that supported two of the cars on the Tail. The tops of all the cars were securely bolted to this bar. Well, the tops of almost all the cars were securely bolted to a section of bar. James’s car did not seem to be securely bolted at all.

Stepping on the roof of the car I wrapped my arms around
the bar and reached one hand up, pulling myself very carefully. Now I had nowhere to go but up. My stomach was in knots, sending flutters to the heart and all I could think of was falling thirty, forty, or fifty feet to my death. What the hell had I been thinking?

Now I was midway between cars. Another empty green car was two pulls ahead and I reached and pulled. Reached and pulled.

At this point I thought about dropping into the vacant Tail car and letting a professional emergency team get us all down. And then I heard the groan and I stepped lightly on the top of the next Tail car and pulled myself up, up, and up along the bar to the third car.

“Get us down! Now.” The young lady was screaming at me as her nerdy boyfriend sat pressed against the side of the car, shaking nervously.

I stepped on the roof of their car for a second to steady myself, pushed off and squeezed my legs and arms around the bar. I was on a new section and it seemed to be holding. There was a slight tremor and the bar moved just a bit. I stopped for a second, my shoulders aching from the struggle to hold onto the cold, hard steel bar. I kept telling myself that I was too far along to stop. I pulled again. And again.

Another empty car, then a full one. Four people looked up at me, this crazy acrobat crawling on a tightrope. There was pleading in their eyes and I kept moving. Two more empties, and a new section. A tremor and the bar shook. I was petrified. I considered freezing in place. Again I wondered what I had been thinking. There was absolutely no way I was ever going to get myself down, much less get James to the ground. Finally I saw his car. Two pulls and then what? I could see two massive bolts that appeared to be severed, and the two remaining bolts that held the car to the bar were strained, tugged from the roof with visible
steel showing. The sparkling green car listed at a strange angle and seemed to be ready to drop at any moment.

If I stepped into the car, the weight would probably send it plummeting to the earth. Probably should have considered that from the beginning.

“Skip.”

James’s voice was weak, and it was obvious he saw me coming. I pulled and advanced on the bar. Trying my best not to look down, I did. And there, seventy some feet below was Em. And Jody. And about fifty people, all looking up at me. What the hell was I doing? My stomach flipped and I almost lost my grip.

Drained of energy, I tried to pull myself one more time. My tendons screamed, my muscles ached, and my hands were rubbed raw, every joint in my body calling for relief. I felt the moisture on my palms, either sweat or blood, I couldn’t tell.

Finally, I was over his car. I couldn’t put my foot down. I couldn’t lower myself into the car. Any movement could mean his death.

“James, dude, how strong do you feel?”

“Strong?” The voice was weak.

“Listen, James. I’m going to be very brave and lower one hand down from this bar. Do you understand?”

“And we’re what? Going to shake?”

I almost left him there and crawled back down.

“No, dumbass. I want you to grab it. Grab my hand and I’ll pull, and as soon as you’re up about three feet, you should be able to grab this bar. Are you strong enough to do that?”

“I don’t know, Skip.”

An honest answer. And we were going to have to go with that. If I dropped him, if he fell back into the car, chances are the bolts would pop and it would plummet to the earth and he’d probably be dead. I couldn’t live with the idea I’d done nothing. And I couldn’t live with the idea that I’d helped cause his death.
I figured that if he dropped, I’d let go and drop too. Probably fall on Em, and take her out as well.

But seriously, facing death is a very scary proposition. I’d done it before, but I’d never, ever been this frightened. My stomach was in knots, my heart was hammering in my ears, and every instinct in my being told me to hold tight and never move again.

“If you can reach this bar, hold on and move back about ten feet, we’ll be poised right over an empty Tail car. Do you understand?”

“What?” He had no clue.

“James. Listen. Process this, please. You’re going to grab my arm. I’m going to pull you up here and we’re going to work our way back about ten feet to the next Tail car. Then we’re going to drop into that car.

I had to make him understand.

“Then what?”

“We drop into that car and wait for the fire department. Know what I mean?”

“What’s wrong with this car?” He was confused.

And it hit me that he had no idea the peril he was in. He had no idea what danger we were both in.

“James, your car has at least two bolts that are broken. If you move much at all, or if I dropped into the car, chances are—”

“Whoa! Dude. You’re here to save me?”

I couldn’t help but smile. He was starting to get the bigger picture.

“Well, I kind of figured you’d do it for me.”

“Skip—”

“James, you’d better summon up every bit of strength you’ve got.”

“I’ll do it, amigo.”

I looked down at him, still foggy, trying to focus on me.

“Give me a second, man.”

The car groaned and swayed in the breeze. My bar section moved with it and I squeezed my arms even tighter around the cold gold steel. I could not let go. I’d wrapped my legs too, and the last thing I wanted to do was drop one hand down to James. But I did. And I felt myself start to slip. Whoa.

“Hold on, James.” I pulled my hand back and hugged the steel bar. Taking a deep breath, I dropped my hand again.

“What do I do?”

“Grab my arm, James.” I yelled at him, the sweat soaking my upper body. I was losing my patience as well as my balance.

He grabbed my hand.

“My arm. Pay attention.”

One hand on my arm, and my section of bar shook.

“Both hands. Hold on tight, James.”

He grabbed my arm, and I pulled anyway. If it worked, it worked. If it didn’t—Immediately I knew it wasn’t going to work. James’s weight was going to pull me off the bar and if I let him go now, he’d drop back into the car and it might break loose in free fall.

Totally screwed. Totally. Jesus and Mary. I was never a religious person but I prayed. Like no one has ever prayed before.

Rolling to my left and squeezing with my legs and left arm, I tugged as hard as I could with my right arm.

James was slipping, losing his grip from the sweat of my hand.

“Come on man, hold on.”

“I can’t hold on, pard.”

If he couldn’t hold on to me, he’d never hold onto the steel bar.

I glanced down. Only for a brief second. Em was looking up, her mouth wide open.

Prayer, persistence, stamina, strength. Maybe they all come into play when you ask for divine intervention. My thighs were chafed and the muscles in my legs cramped as I rolled, pulling him up. His grip slid and I pulled harder, hoping to get him to the hard steel of the bar.

Maybe seeing Em down below played a factor. The thought of never seeing her again banged inside my skull as I pulled with more might than I thought was in me. Breathing hard and wishing to God I’d taken better care of myself, I yanked one more time. My arm felt like it was going to separate from my shoulder.

James came up, gulping in air and without instructions from me he let go with his right hand and grasped the metal bar. I laughed out loud. He was coming out of his Moe-induced coma.

“Can you hold on by yourself?”

“Don’t know, amigo. Almost all my life I’ve needed you. Not sure I can do this on my own.”