The Unnatural Disasters

3. 'Funland': Pixel

My name is Em Mwesigwa. She/her for now. And at this moment in time, I'm panicking and everything's terrible.
"What do we do? What do we do?" Copycat hisses at the others.
"Calm down, okay?" Decibelle looks at him from her position behind a park map.

"Why would I be calm? One of the team just got captured! There is nothing calm about this!"

"Says the one guy who can help!"

I look down on the ground, staring at a chewing-gum stain that looks a lot like a fish and willing the day to be over. I dissociate, until someone says my name.

"Okay, and Pixel?"

"Huh?" I panic internally. What if I've just missed out on something important?
"She's with me," Decibelle grabs my arm. Okay, I think I get it now: we're splitting up, some of us getting the stars and the others playing cops and robbers to get Newton back.
"Wait-" I say hesitantly- "wasn't there a thing about this? Like, don't split up?"

"I mean, we already broke one rule," Lazuli admits. "What harm can it do?"

Before I know it, we're walking in separate directions- me and Decibelle going for a scavenger hunt, and everyone else doing their spy kids thing. When we're out of earshot and walking down a street made to look like a medieval town, she looks at me.

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

"It's just- you've been looking like this place was where your family was murdered all day. Are you good?"

"Oh- oh, yeah. Just hot, I guess. Even mid-autumn, leather really isn't the best choice for breathable outfits," I lie.

"You could have... not worn it, you know."

Sure, and let everyone see a face full of acne and mad hair. I decide not to say that though.

"Neither did you."

"Okay, fine." She puts her hands in her jacket pockets: I guess it's to make her seem more natural, putting a hoodie on over the suit. It kinda makes her look like she's about to rob a bank, but each to her own I guess.

"We're here!" She exclaims. I look up.

Could Luda have found a worse place for us to go?

It's the knight's play yard- a soft foam play centre that smells like the vomit of small children and looks like a love letter to PVC and fantasy clipart.

If I'd have known beforehand that we were going here? I'm pretty sure I'd be off doing kidz bop mission impossible with the boys.

We troup into the place. The entrance is made like a mock-up castle facade, to try and give parents some illusion of quality as they ship their kids off into this hell of ball pits and carpet burns. This place was built for toddlers, not literal teenagers, and it shows. We have to crouch, single file, down the narrow alleys and up the stupid ladders as overexcited small children smack into our legs. Just to add to the fun, it's poorly lit too! There's no room for extra lighting in this glorified warehouse. The gloom of the place gives the dragon and knight designs printed on the foam an extra, menacing look.

I trail behind Decibelle, thinking of the moment I can get home and tell my Dad about everything that happened in 'art club' today. It's barely more believable than 'hey Dad I joined a superhero team', but it's something I know he won't say no to. We're in a long corridor- the one that always reminds me of Disney, because of the princess-printed foam at the end of it- when she stops.

"Pixel?" A nervous edge creeps into her voice. "I- I think I'm lost."

Well, that's fine and dandy. If I have to tell her where it is, then I admit to knowing the route, which leads to her wanting to know why and me giving her an awkward explanation. And yet...

I sigh. "It's up by the slides, right? We take a left up here, then up the weird staircase up to the ball pit. It's right next to that."

And she gives me a look: that look, the one I hate on anyone, the one of 'this person is super weird'. I look down, blushing- but she shrugs and moves on. Huh.

Maybe I'm getting better at being mysterious.

Thirty seconds and one squishy staircase, we're here. The one saving grace of Knight's play yard: the slides.

They're huge, bright green and extremely static-y. There's a crying child in the corner, I notice. We ignore them. There's always a crying child around here.

"I don't get it?" Decibelle says. "Where's the star?"

For five solid, dumbass moments, I do nothing.

"Oh!" I yell, when I remember. Right! Yes!

I touch my left wrist, and stagger back. Back when I thought that the warehouse was all just a video game, they'd called it prey view. The ability to see far wider than you otherwise could. Essentially, 'you touchie the arm and then you see good'.

And wow, am I touchie-seeing good.

Okay, so... large spider. Small child crying for no reason down in the corner. Little star on the wall-

Little star on the wall?

Little star on the wall!

It appears to be on the actual warehouse wall, behind the mesh barrier I stand behind. Why they couldn't just move the equipment so it's next to the wall, I don't know. But before I know what I'm doing, I rush up and stick my hand through the net.

The holes in the net are pretty large, just the right size for me or a curious toddler to stick their hand in. I try to reach the star- and that's where the problem is.

The wall is way further away from me than I assumed it was.

I bet I look ridiculous right now. Girl in a motorcycle suit, squished up against a net wall trying to grab a shiny thing.

My fingers just graze the star- so close!- when the mesh rips and I begin to fall into the gap.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, a moment before I get dominoed into the void. Wrenched back, I look at my saviour.

It's Decibelle. Obviously. Who else would it be? The spirit of the ball pit?

"You know," she says, crossing her arms as I steady myself and edge away from the large hole in the net. "I could have done that for you."

I roll my eyes. It doesn't do anything much, she can't see my face through the mask, but it heals a little. She and I sit on the floor.

"Okay. Now that I've saved you-" she didn't, no fall damage- "I feel like I'm allowed to ask. Would you be good telling me exactly why you know the exact geography of a children's playground?"

I hesitate. Should I?

Aw, hell. There's no point in not telling her.

"Every year, day after my birthday, I... go here. With my Mother." If you can call her that. "We do the same thing every damn year: we ride the rides I loved seven years ago, she forces me to buy a knick knack so she feels better for running off with her personal trainer and we both pretend we're having fun."

"Oh."

"Yeah. And each year, I try to spend as long as possible in here to avoid her awkward self-pity thing.
"It's not... bad, I guess, it's not like I'm being abused or anything. It's just- this isn't exactly the happiest place on earth for me. Okay?"

"Huh." She looks upwards. "Well, I have no clue what to say to that."

"You don't have to say anything."

And she doesn't. It... kinda feels good, to say something like that. I've never said it to anyone before. I relax, and notice something in my hand.

It's the star.

For a second, we just sit there. Watching the world and children going down the slides.  A couple of them stare- I wonder what they think of us?

Cartoon characters or mascots, I bet.
 
And for a second, I consider.
How are the guys doing?