Jackie had become fixated on Edgar's jacket. It was covered in patches, and Jackie had made it her duty to examine each one thoroughly. There was one of David Bowie, a red and blue lightning strike painted down his serine face. One had a yellow smiley face with the eyes crossed out with x's. That's when Jackie noticed the heart-shaped, rainbow patch on the shoulder.

"You're gay?" Jackie asked, leaning over the driver's seat.

"What?" Edgar snapped, craning his neck around.

"Sorry, she's not great at being subtle..." Oren chuckled.

"I'm gay too!" she said to Edgar excitedly, pointing to herself. "I saw the patch on your jacket."

"It's not my jacket," Edgar mumbled.

That's when they all felt it. The familiar feeling on an incline; a slow, steady climb up a hill. They all turned toward the windshield and saw that the road was now curving upward. "E-Ed, have you ever seen the road do this?" Oren gulped.

"No, it's always just straight ahead..." he answered in a terrified whisper. They drove steadily up the hill until they finally reached its peak. It was a large, flat mesa covered in dark blue-green grass. And in its center, was a playground. A rusted metal sign was planted in front of it. The words were almost illegible, eaten away by decay. On the bent, rusted corner was a cartoonish, smiling sun.

"I'm going to make sure it's safe, you two stay in here," Edgar ordered, cocking his shotgun and kicking open the door. Jackie and Oren watched out the windshield as he slowly approached the playground.

There was a swing-set, but the chains had rusted loose from the hinges, sprawled across the ground. The two spring-rides, a pair of handsome horses, had collapsed, their wooden, chipped faces stared blankly up at the sky. There was also a large, colorful tube for children to crawl through, but it was bent and twisted in a way that seemed impossible to navigate.

"It seems safe enough, just creepy," Edgar called back. "We can drive around-" Suddenly, something erupted from the ground, clasping to Edgar's ankle. A small, human hand was gripping it, tugging him down. Then another popped up, and another; the entire ground erupted into a field of hands, waving and grasping for him. Voices resonated from beneath the earth, groaning painfully.

Edgar fumbled with his shotgun, aiming it down toward the ground and firing round after round. But every time the hands would burst into black dust, they were simply replaced by another.

"We have to help him!" Oren yelled. Jackie leaped out of the door and raced across the playground. She grabbed the corner of the old, rusted sign, pulling at it. It slowly began to bend, creaking loudly.

"Come on! I can't do this by myself!" she said, tugging with all her strength. Oren grabbed hold of the gagged piece, bending the corroded metal until it broke free. Jackie pulled a pair of bungee wire from the trunk, strapping the sharp metal piece to the bottom of the van.

"Ready to mow some weeds?" she asked, jumping into the driver's seat. She slammed onto the gas, the van's wheels screeching as it launched forward. The metal sliced the hands like blades of grass, waves of black dust rippling out the bottom of the car. As Jackie cleared a path, Oren ran toward Edgar.

"Don't shoot at the hands!" he explained hurriedly, grabbing the barrel of the shotgun and angling it downward. "You have to shoot the base of the arm." Edgar fired, the entire arm erupting into dust.

"Hey, not a bad kid." he chuckled, nudging Oren's side. "And she's-" Edgar began, watching as Jackie mowed over the hands with chaotic laughter. "-Well, she's pretty amazing too."

Oren smiled, nudging Edgar back.

Jackie pulled the van over next to them, coming to a sudden halt.

"Get in!" she yelled, popping open the passenger door. Oren and Edgar maneuvered over the growing hands and climbed into the back of the van.

"Smart thinking, kid!" Edgar said as they drove across the playground.

Jackie stared at him, her eyes wide, her pupils dancing.

"W-What?" Edgar said, blushing.

"You smiled!" she said excitedly. "I didn't even know if you could."

"It's-uh-been a while." Edgar sighed happily.

The van pulled out of the playground and back onto the road. Ahead of them, the road rose and fell, cradled by high cannons. The mountains were layered with rich, warm colors, bathed in sunlight. The road spiraled through the air in loops and twists, weaving in and out of the mountainside.