Jester Book 1: Abduction

Ch 7 Part 1: Cotton Candy Confections

*jingle**jingle**jangle**jingle*

The low humming of the cart's engine was the secondary sound in his world. The primary was the playful jingles of his bell cap's orbs. A sound that he leaned into as he absently traveled along. The people were a blur that rushed past his tasty buggy. Houses running on repeat against the blue skies.

A bright green plaster of paper caught his eye. As quickly as it flew past he was still able to read it. Spike is off on a vacation in the sands it said. Another lie generated by Starr Park's damage control team.

Chester had seen the truth. Two nights ago, he'd seen the aftermath. Clear signs of an altercation with Spike in the middle. A setting similar to the kidnappings of Emz and Poco nearly a week ago now. It had to be connected. Though he couldn't understand why they were being attacked.

His current goal was to return to the candy store. As he cruised out of the Retropolis district he was met with a roadblock right at the exit. There was a massive mound of honey and a squad of pimped-up cars stuck in the goop. The superheroine Max was running around redirecting the traffic.

Chester later found out that this was another publicity stunt by Starr Park to get the people's minds off the recent disappearances. They had the Rushing Racers rip through the park in closed-off sections to build up some tension. It was also a great way for Max to gain more status as a hero by catching them. So they decided to make her latest capture a big stunt to grab people's attention.

Their show forced Chester to detour from his faster route around the grand circle at the center of Starr Park. As he drove through the intricate streets, he noticed a group of children marching along the sidewalk.

At the front of this group is a young girl with a protective helmet on. Her chipped tooth was visible as she walked blindly backward and joyfully shouted to her friends. The girl's name was Bonnie, songstress Janet's younger sister and the adoptive, rookie daredevil child of the stunt robot Stu. This triple threat of the Entertainment District forced El Primo, Poco, and Amber to step up their performances. An interesting family dynamic to say the least.

Her massive stunt coat hung far past her hands and she nearly tripped on the sleeves while she walked. Following close behind were two youths, not a day older than her. One was a young dark-skinned female with a red and yellow uniform reversing the colors of Max's own. Her toolbelt housed a bevy of accessories for a variety of repairs. And the little bounce in her step directly contrasted with the boy beside her.

His feet nearly glided across the cement. His eyes were sitting on massive bags and a lazy grin managed to grace his lips. Snow white hair and glowing blue eyes with a condition much more unique than the other guys. Somehow a yellow balloon dog followed close behind him like a puppy dancing on air. Chester still couldn't tell if he was real or just an apparition constructed by Starr Park.

Then behind this group of three were two old faces manning this train's caboose. Jessie's red pigtails were immediately visible. She was nearly curled in on herself even in a group of peers. Luckily by her side was the nearly invisible presence of Leon. If the other boy wasn't a spirit Leon could pass as one.

In a bit of playful curiosity, Chester decided to pull up on the curbside. He leaned off the driver's side and laid on the jester's voice with heavy sauce, "Well hello, squirts."

They all screamed, "Chester!"

The sound of their gleeful cheers was only enhanced by their glamorous grins. Chester addendum, "Oh gee. Where oh where could you monsters be going?"

Bonnie jumped to the front, "We're going to Mandy's!"

Chester was genuinely shocked at the coincidence, "Wowzers! What a co-winky-dink. I'm going to Mandy's!" He leaned closer. His eyes darted back and forth as if looking for any secret microphones, "She told me she's working on a new flavor of Rainbow Gush."

Their eyes lit up at the fake news. All the same, they screamed, "Really!?"

"Sssssh!" They went silent by holding their mouths shut. He feigned an angry sigh, "Oh what does it matter? It's already too late." The kids berated him with questions as he continued, "Well. With how far you are and how tasty that candy is. It will already be gone when you arrive."

The children groaned out their discourse at his unfortunate analysis. Just as they fell deep into the pits of despair Chester lifted them, "But I guess I could give you a ride. If you'd so fancy the idea."

Though his tone was despicable his proposition was unmissable. Without a second word, they screeched, "YES!" and were flooding his cart's seats.

From behind he heard someone call shotgun. The voice was unmistakably Leon's as he'd dealt with the boy rather recently. He turned around to see Leon happily resting on the cart's reversed rear seats. Chester mentioned, "You know shotgun is for the front seat, right?"

Leon didn't even look at Chester, "Didn't call it for me."

Chester was going to ask what he was talking about until he felt a gentle tug on his cap's bells. He turned to Jessie's timid grin as she mumbled, "Everyone's ready."

Chester's heart nearly skipped a beat. Both from the sudden arrival and her nervous whispers. He looked around trying to find the young specter only to see he was happily seated on the roof. If it wasn't for his status as a Brawler he'd tell him to get in a proper seat.

With everyone situated, they set off deeper into the park. They passed a few hot spots along the way. The entrance to the Rapids reeked with the chemical scent of chlorine. A set of apartments that connected to the Greenery he'd been frequenting recently. Even a new arcade was being built as a branching store for Rico's in Retropolis.

Along the way to Mandy's Candy, they made their way past Piper's Bakery. A special shop that specializes in an array of pastries and confections. The owner, a Brawler under the same name, was a southern princess with a bright blue dress to match. And her shop reached even outside the interior bakery. A set of tables was gated off by a fence and sat with frilly yellow and white covers.

A particular table was housing an interesting trio. In particular, there was the old master bandit Belle who was munching on a chocolate-covered strawberry cake. Her silver locks were bouncing off the bloody curls of the old soul Pam. Jessie's mother was currently sipping on some sweet tea with a playful curly straw. While Pam was the beefiest of the three Jacky was a close second in terms of power. Though currently, her sullen shoulders didn't show much strength at all. She was absently poking away at a pie as the other two seemed to be comforting her.

After Dynamike's disappearance, Jacky went on a tear trying to find out where he had gone. Though she rarely showed it Mike was like a father to her and Carl her little brother. Now a member of their family was missing, and she had no way or clues as to where he was. For all she knew he had died the day he disappeared.

As they passed by Jessie pulled on his cap like a child ringing the bells on a bike. "Ummm... can we stop for a second."

The girls in the back quickly voiced their disdain with stopping. Their groans were silenced by a sharp sideways glare from Leon. Chester just laughed at their antics and pulled the cart over momentarily.

The little junker quickly jumped off and rushed to her mother's side. Chester noticed how much smaller Jessie was beside her mother. Sure Jessie is smaller than most but against the already massive Pam, she almost looked like a dwarf.

For a moment, Chester and Pam's eyes met which evicted a small wave from the jester. Pam returned it with a warm smile and resumed talking to Jessie. Whatever she said managed to get a pleasant response out of both Jacky and Belle. Though Jessie seemed a little less excited after hearing it.

Her rosey pigtails danced in the air as she quickly ran back with pocketed cash given to her by her mother. Chester tried to strike up a conversation but was too busy enjoying the little blush running across her cheeks. She must have gotten tired from how fast she ran back and forth. Just before he began driving he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Like a set of fingers were trying to pry the flesh off his back. He turned around and saw Leon just happily gazing at his schoolboy crush.