The wall slid up and all in attendance gasped. They were all now looking out onto the deck of a seventeenth-century sailing ship. The room began halfway along the deck leading to the bow and the next elevator. The walls were large, curved screens presenting a peaceful day at sea.
"Ahoy me harties!"
Honka called out in a bad pirate voice.
"Gold is the currency of the seas. It is the only way to access yer elevator ride. There are enough pieces of Aztec gold holden on this ship for all of you to do just that. Don't think it will be that simple however. Once seventy coins are inserted the elevator will shut down. I warn you all to find your gold fast. If ye don't ... you'll be forced to take on our fearsome captain who is waiting just below deck. Now step aboard and let the treasure hunt begin."
Once everyone stepped onto the ship the wall lowered back down sealing them inside the new room. Everyone shot off like a rocket. None noticed that the clouds on the screens were starting to darken.
Lynn and Patricia ran around the deck checking every crate and barrel they could find.
"Any brilliant insights?" Patricia asked.
"Not this time," Lynn lamented.
Her eyes fell upon a cannon mounted on the deck. Instead of a fuse in the back it had a pull string.
"I wonder what this does."
She gave the string a good yank. The cannon emitted a cartoony explosion while firing a foam ball. The ball in question struck a competitor on the other side of the deck knocking him over the edge of the boat and down a chute out of the funhouse.
"Oops."
Everyone around them grabbed a cannon pull string.
"Shit."
There it was again. Selwyn wasn't imaging it. The ship was starting to rock. He looked up at the screens. Dark clouds were gathering, fusing. A storm was forming. The 'waves' were getting rougher. Man, they went all out. The next thing he knew he was face down on the deck. Forcing himself up he turned around to find three men who had attempted and failed to knock him overboard. The three
smaller
men now had the fear of God on their faces.
"Big. Fucking. Mistake."
Foam cannonballs flew overhead. Lynn and Patrica ducked behind their own cannon for what little protection it could provide.
"Just had to pull it, didn't ya?" Patricia said.
"All part of the plan."
A ball bounced off the floor at her feet.
"Your plan may have needed a little more work."
The waves were getting rough. The ship was starting to rock more violently. Roger and Melody held on with all their might. A crate slid past them, crashing into several people, knocking them over. They slid into square holes leading to what they guessed were exit tunnels. When the crate hit the wall, it popped open spilling gold coins everywhere.
"Bingo, Baby," Roger said with a toothy grin.
Patricia saw the explosion of gold near the back of the 'ship'.
"Cover me!"
She took off running.
"Patricia!"
Lynn watched as the others turned their cannons on her roommate.
"Oh no you don't."
She fired a powerful barrage of suppressive fire to keep her in the game.
Selwyn tossed the last of the three assholes off the ship. The ship lurched almost sending him over as well. He hung on the best he could.
Roger and Melody were already scurrying for the bow, gold in hand, when Patricia arrived. She was not alone. A shoving match soon got underway. She held her own, finally pushing her way out of the fray with her two coins and ran for the cannons. She shoved one into Lynn's hands.
"Let's go."
By the time they reached the door the small screen above had dropped from 70 to 40. They had done so well on the first floor. This was going to be a lot harder than either of them had anticipated. They fed the elevator their coins and headed up, dropping the shutdown countdown to 38.
Selwyn tossed another guy off the boat before snatching up what looked to be the last coin. Once it was safely in hand, he took the position and charged the crowd ahead of him on their way to the bow. As he reached the head of the crowd he saw, to his dismay, that there were still five people ahead of them. There were also only five more spots left before the elevator shut down.
"Damn it!"
The storm on the screen began to draw nearer. The ship began to toss wildly from side to side. Selwyn kept going.
