Martoons

Cast of characters

Dame

Miss No

Fred

Mr E

Donna

*

Dame and Fred had shuffled through the thin band of pines between the motel parking lot and the beach.

No looked on from the car’s front seat; Donna and E waited for her to come out of her trance.

Donna looked the other way to the road and noticed a now bigger clog-up of vehicles at the exit. She tapped No on the shoulder:

“Maybe we should all walk with Dame and Fred. What do you think?”

“Otherwise we might end up watching the sunrise from right here in Mr. E’s car! And the view isn’t very good.”

* Will they all walk? *

No was feeling a cold blast of breeze from her still-cracked window, which snapped her out of her obsessive musings. “Walk? Walk? Somebody say walk? Yes, yes, yes.

“Quick, get out of the car! Catch up to Damion and Fred. Don’t let them out of your sight!”

A moment or two later, Fred inadvertently glanced around and was surprised to see No, E and Donna approaching.

Dame had fallen a few steps behind Fred, and was pre-occupied visualizing his upcoming prank; when he noticed Fred looking back over his shoulder he looked that way too.

“Huh?” Dame said. “Is that Miss No and company … and they’re actually walking?”

Fred chuckled. “That’s rare. These people drive everywhere. You should have seen the time Mr Go insisted on driving me to the bank.”

“A normal five-minute walk mutated into a 30-minute drive due to heavy traffic.”

He shrugged, chuckling, “Oh well, at least we had a good chance to chat. I think Koreans do a lot of bonding inside cars stuck in traffic jams.”

Dame nodded half-wittingly but didn’t really hear, absorbed by his own machinations. “Fred, stop for a second!”

This might be his only chance to warn Fred about No’s meeting later today.

* Will Dame get to do so? *

Yet Fred had scooted ahead impatiently. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. He was thinking of that store he’d seen last night on the way in.

His throat was parched and he could feel a headache coming on if he didn’t get something to drink – juice or that old favorite for the dries: Chocolate milk.

Dame called out: “Beware of Miss No, Fred. She’s on a mission!”

Fred further picked up his pace and pulled out further ahead.

* Did Fred hear Dame’s warning? *

He was now hashing over what he’d seen in the motel room moments ago before leaving: That ruffled and rolled-up heap of comforter on the floor.

Why didn’t anybody mention that Mr Go was gone?

Intuition was telling him that Go was gone from the motel – and gone from the beach entirely.

Go’s final words from last night popped into Fred’s head: “I have a plan for you. In the morning, somebody will approach you and offer you assistance…”

* Who’s going to approach Fred? *

*

Thirsty       

Though still dumbfounded about what was supposed to happen, Fred’s doom and gloom feelings of the last few days had evaporated.

Inexplicably he was overcome with a surge of optimism.

Glancing back at Dame receding in the distance, I could ask him if Go told him anything about the escape plan – but right now I’ve got to take care of this headache.

Miss No and co. were getting closer – in fact, she was waving frantically. She wants me to stay put and wait for her. If I don’t flee now, I’m trapped.

He played dumb, turned and jogged away.  The last thing he saw on the beach was giant digital clock on the big hotel’s side:

6:50 AM JAN 1

*

Tomorrow: Miss No worries about Fred and Go is worried about gas.