Pretty Broken Dolls by Jennifer Chase
Chapter Forty-Nine
Friday 2245 hours
Katie left the security guard in the safest location she could find and moved toward the Ferris wheel. She kept out of sight as best she could while the annoying music blared. It was difficult to concentrate as her head throbbed with the annoying tune.
Her phone alerted with an incoming text.
If you don’t play… today… Lizzy dies. Tick Tock. Tick Tock. Tick Tock…
Katie was frustrated. She needed to find Lizzy and who was behind this.
She finally reached the Ferris wheel, which was slowly circling in its revolutions. She stood in the shadows, watching the wheel. After a few moments a blue car came down and she saw, to her horror, that Lizzy was inside, tied to the bars. She wore barely any clothes—obviously she had been ambushed as she was getting ready for dinner. Her eyes were closed and her head and torso gently bobbed from side to side as the rotation of the ride came and went.
“Oh, Lizzy,” she barely whispered. Closing her eyes momentarily, she prayed that she wasn’t too late. Katie wanted to yell out to Lizzy to let her know that she was here and was going to get her out of this nightmare, but it was best to be as quiet and hidden as possible.
She searched for the controls, only to find that some of them had been destroyed. Feeling a sickening lurch of dread, she forced herself to concentrate, and think through the problem logically. She realized she would have to find and cut the electricity supply—without being seen. Scrutinizing every building and structure, she first made sure that there weren’t any cameras. The GPS on her phone would just give a general area and was not as accurate as an actual camera on location.
Katie needed to find the utility area so she could turn everything off. Remembering the map she had used when tracking the site with Cisco, she recalled that it was near the food stands. She moved stealthily and quickly, watching from every direction.
Cautiously approaching the group of food kiosks where there was a small brick building, she noticed two doors marked “Do Not Enter—Employees Only,” along with a sign depicting an electricity hazard. She tried both doors but they were locked. Taking the key she had been instructed to find at the Trenton house, she tried the first door. Nothing. Hands trembling, she tried the second door and it unlocked.
Katie looked behind her and up and down the food walkways. She was alone. Pushing the door open, she felt the warm air hit her skin.
In front of her were several electrical panels with fuses and switches—some were huge while others were smaller. They were lit up in green and there were dim lights along the bottom of the wall, so she didn’t have to use her flashlight and risk attracting attention.
As Katie’s eyes adjusted to the weak lighting, she could read the plastic labels affixed to each panel. She quickly fought the potential to become overwhelmed with the unfamiliar equipment and steadied her nerves. Keeping her focus and hands steady, she forced herself to read each label and mentally imagine where it powered in the area. Most were associated with different food booths. Then there were breakers in the subpanels matching the different rides. She searched for the Ferris wheel and couldn’t find it. Panic filled her. Taking a quick breath and methodically reading the labels again, she came to realize that there was one label missing from a panel with three sub-panels and several breakers in the up position.
“Here we go,” she said softly and flipped the switches to the breaker downward.
Suddenly the music stopped.
Katie hadn’t realized how loud and irritating the sound was until it was silent. She paused a moment to enjoy the quiet and stillness before leaving the warmth of the utility room.
She opened the door partially and stepped into the darkness of the night. Strong arms forcibly grabbed her from behind, around her neck and waist, pulling her firmly, causing her to drop her weapon. The gun hit the ground next to her feet. The person’s body was heated and sweaty as they pressed up against her.
A desperate voice whispered into her left ear. “Don’t move or say a word.”