Chapter 36: Joyla and Rex prepare for the end of times
Joyla screamed. Rex, his face a rictus of fear, had his eyes screwed shut. They were falling toward the South China Sea, feet first, an accelerating plunge that seemed likely to shatter their bones like jelly against the water, unyielding at the speed they were traveling. Then Hair Raiser reached the bottom of its dive and pulled level before launching into a complex series of twists, turns and loops, the passengers on the terrifying rollercoaster at Ocean Park Hong Kong suspended beneath it, instinctively raising their feet as they cleared obstacles by what looked like centimeters. Eventually, it slowed, pulled into a platform area and attendants helped them unstrap and unsteadily walk away from the thrill ride.
Overhead monitors showed the faces of the riders at various points. Joyla paused, then screamed again, this time in laughter instead of delight, pointed to the picture of Rex, terrified, eyes shut, that was on the monitor. She dragged him to the booth, paid, had the picture sent to her, posted it to Facebook, the new account her niece was developing, friends already with her aunt and a variety of long term family friends. Rex took the humiliation with good humour. He’d been feigning it — mostly — for her enjoyment, having spotted the cameras coming.
Having done night time HALO jumps with the SBS into dark seas, 20,000 feet of head down, hundreds of kilometers per hour plunges into nothingness, followed by 2000 foot or lower openings followed by final harness release dozens of feet above black water while weighed down with enough kit to ensure his body would never surface, a roller coaster on a sunny day held no direct fears. But it was a trigger for the mild PTSD his days of service had left him with, an invisible scar to go with the visible ones, not disabling, but still capable of causing a twinge in interesting times. Similarly, if fireworks were going off — a ubiquitous event in much of Asia — he had to head straight toward or straight away from them, identification or avoidance being the only things which allowed his heart to stop racing.
They were six days into a bender of neon lights, endless hot showers and delights that could only be enjoyed in the presence of enormous amounts of virtually free electricity. While Joyla trusted in Kaa’s capabilities, there was still the chance that the world would end, and if it did, she wanted to enjoy what it currently offered before having to adapt to what lay ahead. Between her and Rex, they were a formidable duo with a much higher chance of survival and thriving than average, but instead of grimly stocking ammunition and canned goods, honing knives and fire starting techniques, they chose to stock memories, sensations and the feeling of clean, warm skin on clean, warm skin, things which would be in short supply in the possible, much to be avoided future.
Today they were fast-forwarding through what was still one of the largest theme parks in Asia, taking the outrageous rides, eating deep fried fair food and speed walking through the arctic animal exhibits, penguins and sea lions looking back a them from behind thick glass and through chilled air. They avoided the tropical aquariums, having just come back from two days diving with the real thing, no glass in the way except for their dive goggles, compressed air in their lungs and warm water on their skin. The day before that, a laser concert under the skies with Metric, a mutual favourite ensemble, playing old and new songs at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Piazza, the same venue used for the Jazz festival. Each night, a new restaurant followed by crisp sheets, freshly laundered, left rumpled, sweaty and well-used by the next morning.
Frenetic. Over the top. Moderately expensive. And their stamina was waning. Too many neon lights, 110 dB speaker stacks and too many kilowatt hours became wearing after a while.
Tomorrow would be a calmer day. Maybe.
But first, a high-speed trip down irony lane: The Dragon. It was practically ancient, closing in on 40 years old, but still one of the higher speed rides in the area. The implied ricketiness along with the twin giant loops promised to make it genuinely hair raising. They joined the queue, prepared to thumb their noses at Zau and his plans, the symbolism of confronting his devious plans and twisted and giant body acting as a secular prayer for the success of their hopes to stop him.
