The stretch marks are for speed

Preparing for a roller coaster ride with my team; upon reaching the peak we stopped for supplies.

We were informed that the theme of the ride had been changed en route to the top, to a downhill mule-and-cart race. We were the last to know, and got stuck with the slowpoke mule.

Out of the gate, everyone except us seemed to know what they were doing. We found ourselves in last place, a dangerous position as the powerups allowed the leading mule carts to plant booby traps.

We hit one, and went spinning into an alley, destroying the cart and smashing our lantern. We figured we could continue the race on the back of our mule, but first we had to find the sprite that had occupied our lantern, to light our way.

We examined the alleyway, opened the backstage door, went into the grimy barbershop and out again, then located a stairwell lit by fluorescent lights. Noting the foreboding graffiti on the wall, we began to lead our mule down the stairs as the other competitors raced by us on their second lap.