30 The End of a Nightmare

Chapter 30 THE END OF A NIGHTMARE To passersby, it looked like Dr. Warsaw was giving CPR to revive a drowning man. Somebody must have dialed 911, because in seconds an ambulance and a police car were on the scene. Dr. Warsaw argued with the cops until they finally threw him into the squad car. The twins watched as it drove away. The Skyride was nearing the end of its journey over Joyland. "I just realized something," Pep said. "That's the third person we killed this summer." "That one doesn't count," Coke replied. "It was a robot. You can't kill a robot. And besides, Doominator had it coming. They all did." "I guess you're right," his sister replied. After Pep got over the shock of what had

just happened, a smile slowly crept to her face as she realized how her life had suddenly changed. Doominator was dead, or irreparably damaged, anyway. Mrs. Higgins and the bowler dudes were still out there somewhere, but they didn't seem like such a threat anymore. And Dr. Warsaw was in police custody. The twins' long nightmare had come to an end. And so had Skyride. At the bottom, Coke and Pep's parents were waiting for them. During the ride, they hadn't turned around to see what was going on in the chair behind them, so they had no idea that their children very nearly just died. "Wasn't that fun?" asked Mrs. McDonald. Coke and Pep looked at each other. "Yeah!" they said simultaneously. With Dr. Warsaw and his clone out of the way, the twins could cut loose. Joyland lived up to its name. Coke and Pep went on every ride in the park, even the kiddie rides. They had a fantastic time. Their parents had not seen such

big smiles on their faces in a long, long time. Finally, an announcement came over a loudspeaker saying the park would close in thirty minutes. "Let's blow this pop stand," Coke said. As they got back on the road, everyone agreed that Texas was amazing. They had seen and done so many cool things. Mrs. McDonald, of course, made it a point to mention all the cool places they hadn't visited yet: Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. The statue of a pig on wheels in Abilene. The Texas Surf Museum in Corpus Christi. The National Museum of Funeral History in Houston. The World's Largest Strawberry in Poteet. And they never made it to Hidalgo, the Killer Bee Capital of the World. The McDonalds could have spent the entire summer in Texas. But it felt like the time was right to move on. Heading west on Route 114 out of Lubbock, they soon passed through the appropriately

named town of Levelland. Less than an hour later, this sign appeared at the side of the road: "Woo-hoo!" Coke hollered. "Hey, did you guys know that New Mexico has more cattle than human beings?" "Nobody cares, doofus," Pep said. "The cows care," Coke replied. "Too bad they can't vote. They would take over." Mrs. McDonald ceremoniously dropped her Texas guidebook into the trash bag and cracked open her brand-new copy of New Mexico Off the Beaten Path. New Mexico is an amazing state with deep caves, red mountains, and thousand-year-old

Indian villages. But right here it looked a lot like West Texas. Hot. Flat. Dry. Barren. As the McDonalds drove west on Route 380, there were no towns for seventy miles. Just nothingness. There was something peaceful about it. Mrs. McDonald was a little worried. It was getting late, and they would need a place to stay for the night. It didn't look like there would be many motels out in the wilderness. Shortly after they saw a sign for the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, evidence of civilization started to appear. Soon they were rolling into Roswell, otherwise known as the Dairy Capital of the World. It was obvious. The town smelled like cows. But you, reader, are probably aware that Roswell, New Mexico, is much more famous for something else—UFOs. In the summer of 1947, the story goes, something fell out of the sky near Roswell. The Army said it was an experimental high-altitude

balloon. But a lot of people insisted it was an extraterrestrial spacecraft. Not only that, but they said that some alien pilots were found inside the UFO, and the U.S. government performed medical experiments on them. Whether or not aliens visited Roswell in 1947, the town hasn't been reluctant to take advantage of the controversy. As the McDonald family drove downtown through North Main Street, they passed three blocks crammed with alien-themed gift shops and attractions. Tourists were walking around wearing T-shirts with WE PROBE IN PEACE printed on them. The local Arby's has a sign that says ALIENS WELCOME. Streetlights are in the shape of alien heads. Even the McDonald's is shaped like a flying saucer. "This place is cheesetastic!" Coke proclaimed. "Cheesetastic?" asked Mrs. McDonald. "Fantastically cheesy," Coke translated. The International UFO Museum and Research Center had already closed for the day.