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| Photo Courtesy of MLB.com & Cut4. |
By Peyton Wesner
The
forecast called for thunderstorms, but I didn't care.
It was
my last day in “City Beautiful”, aka Orlando, Florida, before returning to the
cold Midwest, and I was determined for my plans not to be deterred.
The
date was April 2, and my younger brother Nick and I had a humongous last day
planned. More explicitly, we were going to spend the morning and early
afternoon at Universal Studios before
venturing to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports
for the last Atlanta Braves’ Spring Training game of 2016.
"Are
you ready man?" I asked excitedly.
"Peyton,
are you sure we shouldn't just hang in the hotel today? There is a 100% chance
of rain and it’s coming from the Gulf," the 5'7" lanky boy explained
nervously.
"Buddy,
think about this with me. It is 8 AM. Our flight leaves at this same time
tomorrow. So, we have only 24 hours remaining in paradise! Wouldn't you say it
is essential to make these the best 24 possible?"
"I
guess when you say it like that..."
“That's
the spirit Nick! Anyway, I checked my phone and saw the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
has only a five minute wait, so we need to hit the road before that time
skyrockets."
We
left our hotel room and headed down the long, narrow hallway until we reached
the elevator. I pressed the smooth elevator button, opening the sliding, metal
doors, and the two of us stepped inside. Inside it smelled like a culmination
of waffles, bacon, and maple syrup while the elevator music was the soft but
equally strong "Let It Go"
from Frozen.
"Are
you hearing this tune?" He laughed.
"Only
in Central Florida amigo," I smirked.
Despite
some shaking and swaying, the elevator safely spit us out on the first floor. Walking
out of our hotel, the sun kissed young, bright rays and the scent of orange
grove filled the air. The sky to the east was light blue with a few puffy white
clouds. However, to the west, dark, inclement clouds were floating. In fact, if
one could look closely he or she could see tiny lightning bolts darting under
the aforementioned.
I saw them
clearly, but against my better judgement, and living the day like it was my
last, I turned my 2016 GMC blue Cadillac with the license plate “DATDUDE” onto
Universal Boulevard and it sprinted to the amusement park.
“After
we hit up the Rockit, what ride should we venture to next?” I asked as I weaved
the car onto the third floor of the seven floor parking complex.
“Man,
we have to get all of them today! Maybe some “Wesner Challenge” action as well?”
The “Wesner Challenge” was a quest my brother
and I had started in the summer of 2014 when Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts opened. What we would do
is simple and senseless. Explicitly, we would ride the aforementioned three
times, our second favorite ride Revenge
of the Mummy: The Ride on seven occasions, and accomplish the final
objective with eleven instances on the Hollywood
Rip Ride Rockit.
“We
haven’t done that since last Christmas have we?” I sighed.
“Correctamundo
muchacho.”
“Let’s
fix that.”
As
originally planned, the two of us made our way to the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit for a quick trip to start the day right.
“Uh,
Peyton?” eked Nick.
“What’s
up?”
“Don’t
you feel the clouds directly above us are pretty dark? I mean, how are they
continuing to send people on this?”
I glanced
up at the sky and absorbed the ominous feelings from the sight. My brother had
a point; I had never seen darker, threatening clouds in my life. But, we were
next in line after waiting for two hours! Therefore, I couldn’t allow him to chicken
out and make both of our time spent be for naught.
“If
you ride this right now, I’ll give you a hundred dollars.”
I
withdrew my Pittsburgh Pirates’ wallet and proceeded to take out a crisp,
grainy hundred dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin staring back.
“This
is yours if you get on this ride,” I smarted.
“Are
you two dudes getting on this thing or not?” the ride attendant asked.
He was
a teenager—likely eighteen or nineteen—with a black do-rag atop his golden
locks of hair. Additionally, he was fried by the sun and wore a tattered red Universal Studios uniform in addition to
khaki cargo shorts.
“Answer
the gent Nick. We good or nah?” I impatiently inquired although I already knew
his answer.
“Yep!”
He
ripped the bill from my hand and led the way to the loading platform. I
followed with a hop in my step prior to taking my seat in the front row of the
first coaster car.
“So
what song are you picking bro?”
The
ride had the capability for one to choose and then play whatever song they
desired while the coaster was in motion; that is what made it one of a kind.
“Well
there are so many choices! How can I decide in just twenty seconds Peyt.”
“Go
with your gut.”
“Okay,
got it.”
For
the record, I chose the very motivational song of “Stronger” by Kanye West. The track was always my choice and what’s
wrong with an “oldie but goodie,” right? However, what Nick selected was unfathomable.
“So
what are you jamming to?”
“Oh,
you don’t even know man!” said Nick as a smile trickled onto his face.
I
looked down to his song queue to find the title “Barbie Girl.”
“NICK!
What the heck is this ratty, girly song?”
“Barbie Girl!”
Our
car was beginning its descent up the 17 story, 90 degree incline.
“Why
did you pick this?”
“Why
do you sing ‘Let It Go’ in the shower
and attempt to hit the high notes every morning? Huh? How about answer why you sing
every single one of Sabrina Carpenter’s songs on road trips to Indianapolis,
Louisville, Cincinnati, and St. Louis?”
I
wanted to put him in a rear naked choke so bad, but he wasn’t lying.
“Fair
enough,” I laughed to ease the tension. However, I wanted to, on the spot, make
him lose consciousness like our favorite UFC fighter Conor McGregor did at the
hands of Nate Diaz less than a month ago to date.
His
insult aside, the coaster was now at the apex, as I observed the horizon of
rides from a bird’s eye. I looked to my right to see the iconic World Expo
Observatory Towers, which marked the ride Men
in Black: Alien Attack, before quickly glancing to the left to find the
second theme park at Universal Orlando
Resort, Island of Adventure and its memorable bricked lighthouse.
“PEYTON!”
My
head whipped to my little brother as he had a terrified look on his face and
his right arm erectly pointing to the approaching dip in the track.
A
shriek of pure hysteria ensued from a young voice in the row behind us, dampening
the great beginning of Stronger, which
was blasting in my ears.
“We
are going to die!” shouted the youngster.
As
soon as I viewed what was edging our way, I comprehended that the voice was not
partaking in hyperbole. What was it? A monstrous twister that outstretched from
the sky!
“Oh.
My. Gosh.” I uttered.
“What
are we going to do?!” yelled Nick.
I
turned to him and calmly said three simple words.
“Ride
it out.”
I said
a prayer to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ while the “Coaster of Death” continued.
First,
we met a corkscrew loop that was unpleasant only because there was a tornado
scratching and attempting to tear each and every passenger from its seat. Next,
we hit a valley, which actually zipped us away from danger. However, the threat
reappeared, for the coaster started its journey back towards death.
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| Photo Courtesy of Syfy & Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! |
“Nick,”
I gulped.
“Yeah,
Peyton.”
“In
case this is the end, I have to tell you something.”
A
blank stare still engulfed his face as I continued.
“Remember
Anna Faith from freshman year? The reason she came over to the house so much in
the short stint that you two were dating was we were having a secret
relationship behind your back.”
The
previous blank face evaporated and anger caught like wild fire.
“What?!”
burst Nick.
“Boy,
do I feel better now,” I countered as I ignored his question.
“Hold
up! She told me, she had to move to Canada, and that is why the relationship
ended.”
“Na
man, she lives on the other side of town and goes to the private school. We had
our three year anniversary a few weeks ago.”
“You
mother fu---“
At
this point, I could hear nothing more than a full steam locomotive before the
curtains of unconsciousness closed my stage of awareness.
I woke
up to find a now silent loading platform with no one in sight. The sky was bright
blue and birds were chirping beautifully.
“Nick,
bro, are you okay?” I said while shaking him.
No
response.
“Dude,
wake up!”
No
response.
There
was just one thing to do, punch him across the face and see if he comes too. I
unbuckled my safety restraint, so I could acquire some leverage to power my
right hand straight. Accordingly, I stood parallel and wound up for what would
be a heavy and powerful destructive blow.
“SMACK!”
I hit
the cold, metal platform and wiped the metallic tasting bright red blood away
from my nose.
“And,
that’s for stealing Anna Faith!”
I hopped
up immediately; though, my lower jaw was still making friends with the floor.
“You’re
alive! Man, I thought you were a goner,” I explained.
“Bruh,
you be tripping,” he callously said.
“Okay…how
about that tornado? What is the last thing you remember?”
“That
was the most intense, scariest ride we have ever been on.”
“So,
you do have some recollection of what it was like in the eye of the storm?” my
voice raised.
“No…I
went out just a moment after I saw your body go limp.”
“So,
we really don’t know what occurred do we?”
“Nope.
But man, I think we were out quite a long time.”
“Why
do you say that?”
“Because
it is 4:57!”
“Then
we are running late! Come on, forget the “Wesner
Challenge”, we have to get to Disney’s Wide World of Sports!”
Hence,
we proceeded to make the long three mile walk from the theme park to the parking
garage. Surprisingly, no one else did. To elaborate, as we started walking
towards the front of the park, not a single soul was present while the walking
path was littered with food, ripped clothing, and memorabilia. Yet, that may
not be the worse part, considering the iconic Universal globe was slowly sinking in the canal rather than
rotating on land. Moreover, another landmark, the Island of Adventure light tower was nothing but a huge pile of
bricks.
“How’d
we survive this Peyton?”
“All credit
to God man.”
“No
seriously, how is it physically possible that we are still alive right now?”
“Well,
how do we know the others on board didn’t just wake up prior to us and leave
earlier?”
“That’s
your theory?” sarcastically smarted Nick.
“That
is what I will continue to believe until further notice.”
We arrived
at a full parking garage with my phone announcing it was a quarter after five.
Perhaps Nick’s hypothesis was correct to what happened to our fellow park goers,
considering no cars had left from when we first arrived.
The
drive across down was rather uneventful and silent, but on a positive, the
closer to the ballpark we became, the more cars and people were seen. In fact,
it seemed as though no storm had even transpired on the other side of Orlando,
for the roads were dry and vacationers wore tank tops and tennis shoes. Yet,
the aforementioned soon changed.
As
soon as I parked the car—I would say about a half mile from the ballpark—the
light blue skies were quickly consumed by dark, bumpy, threatening clouds.
More
specifically, these clouds resembled the same rocky waves that resulted in the
twister at Universal Studios.
"It's
the apocalypse Mommy!" screamed a young child as Nick and I started the
walk to the stadium.
"Here
we go again…” muttered my brother surreally.
Almost
as if his squeak of a comment caused the skies to open, cold rain started to
pelt everything in its jurisdiction.
“Come
on!” I voiced, determined to withstand another catastrophic event.
Nick
and I sprinted past the iconic ESPN Wide
World of Sports’ globe and into Champion
Stadium, the ballpark of the Atlanta Braves. Sweat was rolling down both of
our faces and the taste of salt filled my taste buds because of it.
Nevertheless, what met us was something neither of us were ready to
re-encounter: A miniature hurricane was loose on the concourse.
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| Photo Courtesy of Pop Warner. |
“You
have got to be kidding me!” Nick screamed exhaustedly.
“Go
there!” I screamed and pointed towards a small compartment under a condiment
stand holding ketchup, mustard, and relish.
I slid
under first as my little brother was shortly behind. The smell of fresh popcorn
and rubbery hot dogs somehow filled the air and cued our mouths to water with
saliva.
Mother
Nature sent her beast closer and closer as it was approaching and consuming
everything in its path.
“Peyton!”
I twirled
around as if I took a right hand hook to the left cheek. My brother was holding
onto the thin rod of the stand with his legs blown into the air by the twister.
I
edged towards him, my clothes, which consisted of a yellow Pittsburgh Pirates’
t-shirt and black shorts, and my brown hair flapped and were nearly torn off by
the wind.
“I
gotcha buddy!” I said as I took his hand like someone holding onto a loved one hanging
from the side of the Titanic.
Since
my left hand had ahold of him, I tried to transfer it to my more dominant right
hand.
“Don’t
worry bro! I am going to switch hands so I can hold on long enough for the
storm to pass.”
The
only problem was, I was unable to make the conversion as my best friend sailed
into the gray, debris-filled hurricane. I couldn’t believe I was unable to make
the transfer as I had made a similar motion so many times before whether with
past girlfriends or my parents when a young boy.
“PPPEEEEEYYYYYYYTTTTTTTOOOOONNN!”
“NNNIIIIIIICCCCCCCKKK!
Man, I am going to be so grounded!”
And
just like that, he was gone.
But,
the hurricane wasn’t.
In
fact, it was getting closer.
As the
harsh breeze of the 107 miles per hour winds was ripping apart everything in
its path, I cashed in all my poker chips and was ready to face death like Nick
had.
I stood up calmly with my arms out like Jesus Christ on the cross,
approximately 50 feet from the base of the hurricane.
Then out of nowhere I heard, “Peyton...Peyton. Come on Peyton!”
I looked around with a mouth that was as dry as the Arizona
desert. There was no one in sight.
“Peyton, wake up! We have to go!” Whined the voice.
My straight right arm started to twitch as if someone was pulling
it to get my attention.
“Well it has been a ride,” I thought.
At this moment, I was within arm’s reach of the end; however, the
echo of “Wake up” persisted.
“Leave me alone!” I shouted referring to the youthful voice.
“Can’t I go in peace?”
“SMACK!”
My head flared with pain, for it seemed
as though someone had elbowed me in the head, and I hit the concrete like a ton
of bricks.
Subsequently, my lights went out for the second time that day.
“PEYTON! GET OUT OF BED! WE HAVE TO GO!”
I
opened my eyes to see my little brother, not a hurricane, winding up for what had
the indication to be a brutal haymaker.
“NICK!”
I exclaimed excitedly.
I jumped on my brother and quickly put him in a friendly headlock.
“Yeah...that’s my name! Don’t wear it out bro.” He smiled.
“Man, I had a terrible dream about what was going to happen
today,” I stated as I released him.
“Really? What went down?”
“Uh...nothing! Quick question though, what is today’s forecast?”
“100% chance of sunny skies AND GREAT BASEBALL!”
He pushed me playfully.
“Thank the Lord,” I sighed in relief.
