S is for Sliding

"Another wonderful landing," said the Professor. He picked some leaves off his jacket irritably. He had landed in a huge pile of them upon exiting the vortex.

"But, hey, at least we got some rest this time," said Wade with a smile. She patted the older man on the shoulder.

"Can you believe that last world?" said Remmy with a groan. I can't believe there's a place where they never invented rock n' roll! It's a travesty!"

"Depends on how you look at it Mr. Brown," said the Professor with a sniff. "I prefer the classical sound myself."

Eagerly, Quinn looked around at the world they had just found themselves on. "Hey look guys!" he said, pointing to some tents in the distance. "It's a carnival!"

"Fun!" said Wade. "Let's go! C'mon guys...it's been so long since we had some fun!"

"Good idea Miss Welles," said the Professor, patting his stomach. "A carnival means food. And while it's no Beef Wellington, I certainly wouldn't mind some hot buttered popcorn!"

"Hot dogs too Professor," said Remmy, his tongue practically wagging out of his mouth. "Mmmhhhmmm."

"I think we should swing by," said Quinn. He grinned and took Wade by the arm. "Maybe I can even win you a stuffed toy Wade." She grinned and rolled her eyes in response as the four travelers eagerly walked towards the gates of the carnival.

Just as they entered the ground, a clown popped out in front of them.

"Killers are wandering the streets. Children are dying. The world is an awful place," the clown said, while wagging a finger at them, as all four sliders stared in surprise.

"Like this is supposed to make us laugh?" said Wade, looking at the clown with a frown.

"Make you laugh?" said the clown, looking around nervously. "What are you people -- some kind of freaks?"

"No," said Quinn with a confused frown. "We're from...um...Canada."

"Ohhhh," said the clown. "Well here in America, we follow different rules. He pointed to a sign that was posted over the entrance way of the carnival.

"Park rules: No giggling, laughing or chortling as prohibited by California penal code 45472357," said Quinn, reading aloud. Looking at the utter bewilderment on Wade's face, he couldn't help it. He let out a giggle.

"Quit it!" said the clown. "You want to get us all thrown in the can?"

"Really," said Wade. "This is utterly ridiculous. We finally get to a carnival to have fun. And we can't even laugh!"

"Slider's life girl," said Remmy, shaking his head. He too was having a hard time not laughing at the irony of it all.

"This is just too much!" said Wade. "Let's get out of here. How much time Quinn?"

"Um..." said Quinn. "You know, I never checked the timer." The others glared at him. He shrugged and said, "Whoa...oops...hey we wouldn't have gotten to stay here long anyway guys! Less than two minutes!"

"Very well, Mr. Mallory," said the Professor. "You would do well to check the timer right away next time."

"Well I was distracted by the thought of popcorn," retorted Quinn. The Professor snorted and Wade giggled before clapping a hand over her mouth nervously.

"Xavier Thomas, a great historian and leader of men, once said, "Those who would not eat well, would do to keep their mouths closed," quoted the Professor.

"Yeah and you sure follow that advice," said Remmy. All four of the interdimensional travelers began cracking up. The clown, looking completely freaked out, backed away as the timer began to beep.

Zapping the interdimensional device, Quinn grinned and looked back as the others jumped through. "You people really ought to learn to take a joke," he said, and as they gasped in horror he laughed out loud and jumped in the shimmering vortex.

The End

Take me back to the stories!

 

Web graphics provided by

Moyra's Web Jewels

1