Tourist Trap

Chapter 31

Zeke ran for several blocks and then ducked down a side alleyway and paused to catch his breath. He was greeted by the sight of two strange looking men in identical blue suits and hats climbing on top of a grand piano. 

"Uh oh, Bill," one of the men said. "We've been spotted. What do we do?" 

"We'd better bring him along," the other man said. "The boss will know what to do with him." 

They hopped off the piano and grabbed Zeke under his shoulders, hoisting him on top of it. By this point he was too worn out and inebriated to put up a fight so he laid limply across the lid of the piano as the two men climbed back on. "Let's get out of here before anyone else sees us," the first man said as the piano began to lift slowly off the ground. 

"What in the hell is going on?" Zeke asked. 

"We're flying," the second man replied curtly. 

"On a piano?" 

"Yeah. We used to use the standard flying carpets, but they wore out too quickly so we switched to flying grand pianos." 

"Is this safe?" Zeke asked as he looked over the edge cautiously. The ground was beginning to recede quickly beneath them and soon they were rising over the tops of the buildings. 

"Perfectly safe," the first man said. "In fact in the entire time we've been flying the pianos we've only had one accident. That was when Peterson fell asleep at the wheel and crash landed into that Morton the Mystic guy." 

"Killed him instantly, poor sap," the second man said. "Of course Peterson walked away without a scratch, but the boss man wasn't too pleased. Fired him the next day." 

"What became of old Peterson anyway?" the first man asked.  

"I heard he got a job as the warden at the jail," the second man replied. "Of course he wouldn't remember any of the accident now, what with the memory wipe and all."  

The piano continued to rise and soon they had broken through the clouds. The night sky was cool and clear at this altitude, and Zeke noticed for the first time that there were two moons, one bright red and full, the other a slim blue crescent. There were numerous stars in strange and unfamiliar formations. 

"Where are we going anyway?" Zeke asked holding his head. It was tingly and swimming oddly, not quite like the usual drunken spin. 

"We may as well tell him," the first man said. "He's going to find out in a minute anyway." 

"We're going to the top secret headquarters of the Roto-Bus drivers," the second man explained. "From there we control the movements of all the Roto-Buses in the city." 

"I see," Zeke said as he laid his head back against the lid of the piano. Overhead the stars were spinning rapidly. The strange tingling sensation in his head seemed to be spreading and he felt as if he were about to float right out of his body. 

They approached a large cloud embankment and suddenly in the midst of the swirling white wisps a tall stone building appeared. 

"Here we are," the first man said. "Time to get off." 

"Are we on top of a mountain or something?" Zeke asked as he pulled himself to an upright position, still feeling dazed. 

"Nope, this puppy's built right into the clouds. Quite a marvel of engineering she is." The two men hopped off the piano and looked at him expectantly. "Well? Come on." 

Zeke eyed the nebulous puffs of clouds uncertainly. "What's going to keep me from falling right through?" 

"Don't be afraid. We're walking on it, see? And besides, if they'll support that big building, they'll support you."