Just a wonderful day at Fantasticland (Kate)

Why won't they leave me alone? Kate thought to herself as she ran down the highway, having been chased by a couple guys whose looks on their faces suggested they wanted to do some very bad things to her if they had gotten their hands on her back there in town. Thankfully, they hadn't but she'd been running on near-starvation like fumes going on two days now and every part of her body wanted to just give up, to quit. She knew she couldn't, though, not in a world of walkers and bad men at every corner...

And speaking of every corner, that had been Kat Hodges' life before the world turned to hell in a pocketbook. Outcalls and escort work, pandering to the flesh fantasies of whoever would pay her. Granted, the work was rewarding...in a certain sense of the word, but it had paid her bills and kept her happy, contended and well-laid in more ways than one. Still, she often wandered what it would've been like to settle down with someone, get out of the business but once you were in, as a former madam had told her, you were in.

Now, she just wanted to survive, find somewhere that was still standing...even if it meant running for things without anything to eat, running until you literally had to find a hole to collapse into. Such was her current life. Gone were the days of class and society; now it was just dog-eat-dog and fend-for-yourself out there in the world and you had to either be quick on your feet or quick with a blade or gun to survive...especially if you run into pricks like the ones back in town, Kate whispered, shuddering as she thought of their leery words to her, their snide glances, their evil looks.

Running into them almost being a ending nightmare for her, but a swift kick to the nuts and a run for your life had saved Kate once again, though now she cursed herself. She'd left her backpack full of supplies and food back with them. You dumbass! she whispered, ready to just turn her little ass around and give up.

As she sucked in as much breath as she could get, Kate looked around and caught sight of some direction signs. "Fantasticland?" she mused, laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of it. In this world, fantastic? The fuck?

Still, she mused, it beat starving or worse. So she gathered up enough courage and whatever strength she had left and began walking down the road, following the signs and hoping no one else was around. Maybe I can take a shower, find a change of clothes...a clown outfit, perhaps? she thought, seeing the place approaching with each and every step. "You ain't got this far, Kate, to give up, she whispered. "Keep moving," reaching the front gates and thinking, "What, no one's home? Well...," she thought, shaking the chains on the doors entering the park in a desperate, forlorn hope at survival...

After shaking the chained gates several times, Kate stopped and turned around, sliding down until she was sitting on the ground, the gates up next to her. She took her ball cap off and set it down next to her and just began sobbing for all the world, feeling as though she had been truly been abandoned. "If I had a with me gun right now, I'd eat a bullet and be done with it", she bitterly whispered, not caring if anyone heard her or not. At that point, a feast of walkers could've bitten into her and she wouldn't've given two shits about it.

But Kate Hodges, though slight of build, wasn't a coward. No one still living was and she still had a spark of life in her; she proved as much by banging her fists into the gate. It was like a desperate cry for help.

After a lot of crying, a lot of sniffling, and a couple coughs, Kate shook her head and got up. Looking around, she didn't see anything untoward - no walkers, no bad guys, no pricks. Maybe I can find a place to hide if I can only find a way inside.

Feeling around her cut-off shorts, she pulled out what looked like a set of picks; they were lockpicks and Kate had at least one good skill - she was good at picking locks. Thankfully, whoever had tried to chain the gate shut, she mused, used a piss-poor lock, opening it after a few choice words and a skint knuckle or two. Tossing the chain aside, Kate opened the gate and stepped inside, looking to see if there was a guide or something to help her navigate the place,

Seeing a guide, weathered and worn, she picked it up and shook it a few times to knock any dust or dirt or cobwebs from it. Now, where am I? she wondered, turning the map this way and that way before figuring out some semblance of direction. Folding the map and sliding it into a back jeans pocket, she walked in, unaware there were another pair of eyes watching her....

It had years since Kate had been inside an amusement park and with the apocalypse, amusement parks could still be a place to wall off the horrors of the world outside. Following the map directions, she looked around and started feeling calmer; she knew she probably looked a mess - white ballcap over her ginger hair, loose-fitting blouse partly undone (and revealing more than she thought it did), cut-off jean shorts that barely covered her rear and Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers.

Not exactly the picture of confidence in someone but it was what it was-- Pete was watching the girl and he didn't notice the trashcan until after he plowed through it. It fell over with a loud clatter. Only a few feet from the girl.

Whirling around, Kate's eyes focused on the area the noise came from. Princess Palace Feast, the sign read. An amusement park eatery, she quietly chortled. Still, she coulda' swore she had seen someone watching her - if not literally having seen someone watching her, then at least she had felt someone watching her. Like the hairs on your neck were standing up a little...or like when I'd go to see a client wearing a tight dress and heels and seeing their reaction to my appearance, she mused, shaking her head. As much as she wanted to run and leave, she decided otherwise. What could it hurt? she thought.

"Hello?" she called out. Not too loud, but loud enough to know if anyone or anything would respond. "Hello?" she called again, a face of concern now present. I knew I saw someone, I knew it, she whispered, going further inside... After a few moments he decided the coast was clear. When he stood up he started back towards the door. Crossing the room to reach the handle the door swung open and he was face to face with this strange intruder. He could do nothing. Say nothing. His heart was hammering a million miles an hour in his chest. His face still baked in concealing shadow in the dark restaurant. "Um... Hi? I'm Pete." He offered awkwardly. She would either greet him or shoot him. It was all up to chance.

If she'd had a weapon in her hand, she'd've used it against Pete. She had no weapon on her other than her wits...or her fists if need be. He was wearing a hoody so she couldn't make out his face completely. He didn't seem dangerous, so she figured what the hell, why not? "I'm Kate," she said quietly. "Anyone else here?"

"We should get something to take care of that." Pete said pointing at the most superficial of scraps on her leg. It was red and irritated, but otherwise it was minor.

"Yeah," Kate replied, glancing down for a moment, surprised he'd picked up on it so soon. "Had to escape a bunch of bad dudes back outside a while back," pointing off towards the entrance, "and ran through a bramble of bushes along the road. Did get away from them, though," she added, looking down and trying not to cry, inwardly shuddering at what would've happened had they gotten hold of her. Pete seemed nice enough but was he? She couldn't put the thought away, instead shuffling it back in her mind for now.

"So, anyway, Pete, what did you used to do before things all went to hell outside?" Kate asked. It sounded like the corniest of questions but honestly, Kate couldn't think of any other question to ask. And part of her did kinda feel for him; after all, he could be with the people who'd tried to chase her down earlier. Or he could be hiding from them, one or the other.

Either way, it didn't matter. She was here, in this amusement park, with a man she didn't know, had never met before but who looked like, in the past world, she would've loved to have gotten to know - in more ways than one. If there was one thing the former escort/street walker/stripper/hooker/etc. had learned in her life, it was how to read people. Their glances, their appearances, their words, the way they talked and carried themselves.

It had kept her safe but now, she didn't know what to make of him. Still, she figured, it beat being outside getting chased down by a bunch of horny pricks. "Lead the way," she said. "Can't be any worse a place than a Princess restaurant," a brief smile on her face as she stood there, wondering what else was going to happen.

"Me? I used to sell insurance. Damn if the boys in the insurance game only knew what was coming we could have sold a ton of insurance."

"I can imagine," Kate replied, following him back to the security office. Yeah, it sounded weak but given the circumstances any laugh was better than none. "Couldn't've been any worse than working in the world's oldest profession," she added, figuring if he was going to tell her, even incidentally, his profession, she might as well do likewise. And in all honestly, Kate had made damn serious money selling herself. She'd had a rough childhood, bouncing from foster family to foster family after her parents died when she was young, eventually bouncing out of the system at 18. With no really good marketable skills to her name, she got a job as a stripper at a posh downtown nightclub in Portland.

From there, she began hooking as a side hustle, going out on 'dates' with men she'd pickup at bars and nightclubs. A few bad choices and she found herself working street corners, taking whatever horny individuals would drive up for this trick or that trick. Sure, it sucked, no pun intended, but it paid the bills....then the apocalypse happened.

And her she was, going back to some office in an amusement park to get a few scrapes on her cared for by some man she'd never met, who might've even driven past her beforehand, unaware and going about his suburbia life. Who knew fate would bring two very disparate souls together like this?

As for her would-be rapists outside the park? They didn't know it at the time but those pricks were getting chewed up by walkers in the distance. Poetic justice, she'd call it. Entering the office, she waited as he searched the first aid kit and came up with some antiseptic pads and a few Band-Aids. He'd dropped his hoodie as he searched through it and turned to treat her scrapes without realizing it. It was then that she saw his face for the first time...

It should;ve revolted her, seeing his scarred face but it didn't; instead, it reminded her, as he was cleaning the scrapes on her legs and treating them, that not all scars were on the inside as hers' were. Some were on the outside, but the scars weren't important; it was how you dealt with them. She didn't know how he managed to deal with them; she'd dealt with hers by selling her body. Some comparison, huh? she bitterly thought.

"Good as new." He boasted with a soft chuckle. He was kneeling in front of her looking up into her face. Soft sun rays spilled into the room from the open door. The sun was starting to come out. As if the death of those assholes caused the day to become brighter and more cheerful, even though neither of them knew the rapist pricks were gone.

"Thanks," she replied, smiling at him, her first honest smile in quite some time. She wanted to kiss him all over but instead, she gave him a simple peck on the cheek - after pulling him back to his feet. "No need to become a knight in shining armor quite yet," she joked," but a tour of Fantasticland might be a start."

"I uh... It wasn't anything special. I just... Uh..." He cleared his throat and the next time he spoke his voice cracked. "WHY don't WE go check out the pirate section. I only did a rudimentary check of that place. I don't know why, pirates kind of wig me out." He was blushing again, for entirely different reasons.

"They kinda wig me out too," Kate replied, taking a few moments to try and fix up her blouse. Seeing that it was past its' day, Kate simply tore the blouse off and grabbed a nearby security top; it was large but it looked almost brand-new and had all of its' buttons on. Fastening it quickly, she caught him looking and smirked. "What, you've never seen a naked woman before?" she joked, noting him blushing like an embarrassed schoolboy. She didn't mind; besides, she needed a new shirt and saw it, not worrying whether he saw her naked from the waist-up.

As they headed out to tour the park, Kate thought about the few times she'd gone to fairs and festivals, hoping she wouldn't run into anyone she knew from work (or worse, [past clients). It should've embarrassed her to tell him about her past, even if half-obliquely
but it didn't. The way she saw it, she had a nice-looking bod, she kept in relatively good shape so why shouldn't she use her assets to make money?

They stopped at one part of the park - a pirates area. "Arrgh," she said quietly, blushing a little bit as she remembered what Pete had said to her earlier.... He stopped in front of a sign that said "Castaway Cove" There was a skull and cross bones flag flapping in the breeze and two pirate swords crossed at the entrance. Pete picked one up. It was a swashbuckling curved blade. "Ready?" He asked with a voice that was surprisingly steady.

"Yeah," she replied, picking up the other sword and holding it out in front of her, like a pirate ready to fight. "Onward, Blackbeard, arrrgh!" she laughed; for the first time in a long, long while, she was having a little bit of fun.

Kate could see Pete loosening up and for the briefest, flickering moment it made her feel good, to know there was still a beating heart inside her, a heart that cared about someone other than herself. It both frightened her but also exhilarated her, gave her a reason for continuing on. Pete found himself in an amusement park with a beautiful woman who only a few moments ago had taken her top off. He couldn't help but look even though he turned away awkwardly yelling sorry! sorry! Like he had meant to look instead of them having been tossed at him so casually. Pete was the guy who respected women, and if he ended up with one it was because he courted her and tried to win her heart. He found pleasure in the pursuit. Or at least he did.

Inside, a mess of jumbled thoughts went through her own mind. For once in her life, she found herself with someone didn't see her as simply a sex object to be bought for her body but as a human being to be loved and respected. That shocked her but instead of making her want to run, it only tightened her resolve to stay with Pete. For how long, she didn't know but she knew she wasn't going to leave either. That made her feel better about the whole thing.

I should be running but I'm not, and Pete? Yeah, he's kinda cute, in a froppish pirate kind of way, she mused as she watched him, I like that. Then the moment passed as a bashful sheepish smile spread across his face. "Come on!" He cried and sped off into the park. There were rides and games, not all of which needed electricity. Pete ran off to the pirate ship. It was hulking ship in the center of this part of the park. It was actual size with authentic sails and a whole below deck to explore. They would be sleeping here tonight. Pete would fall in love with this ship and it would remain their home for the remainder of their time in the park.

Pete ran up the gang plank and onto the ships deck. He watched the hoisted sails flapping in the wind and he laughed. Looking down at Kate who had yet to join him he raised his arms and shouted "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!" probably very cheesy but he didn't care.

Shaking her head in humorous disbelief, Kate chased after him towards the pirate ship, not caring if anyone saw her... Pete motioned for Kate to join him on the ship. "You want to be my first matey?"

It only took her a second to reply. "I'd be honored," she said, climbing onboard and joining him at his side. Surveying the park around them, she felt safe. For the first time in ages, she felt safe. When he asked her if they should rename the pirate ship, she didn't hesitate in her answer. "Nah, Sea Turtle's a nice name," pausing as she wrapped an arm around his waist and stood there, looking at the park before them. She felt safe, she felt comfortable, she felt like someone cared for her...and for the briefest of moments, a tear crept down from her eye, down her cheek and fell. It wasn't a tear of sadness either, but of finding a place in this topsy-turvy, screwed up world....her place. By her man's side, no matter what came.