Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Night at the Museum
"Mmm~"
Late at night, in the middle of the museum's vast main hall, Rango leaned back lazily in the chair behind the front desk, stretching with boredom written all over his face.
He had originally planned to investigate the secrets of the haunted house he'd just bought, but who would've thought he'd be thrown straight into work the same day he interviewed?
"Hello~ mic check, mic check~"
Ted's voice broke the silence. Holding a mic hooked up to a speaker, he called out into the empty space. His voice echoed under the dome, adding a bit of liveliness to the quiet night.
Equally bored, Rango toyed with the taser in his hand. The security job wasn't bad, except for the crushing boredom.
To his surprise, being a security guard in America didn't even require a license to carry a weapon.
And that Taser in his hand? Don't underestimate it. Locals called it the "shock gun". It didn't use bullets, just electrified darts that could deliver a whopping 50,000 volts on impact. One hit and a normal person would be instantly incapacitated.
Still, as intimidating as it sounded, it had its limitations. The range was only about five meters.
Spinning the Taser in his hand, he glanced at the brass pillar beside him. In the reflection, even in a simple security uniform, he still looked handsome and effortlessly cool.
"You talkin' to me?"
Rango mimicked Robert De Niro's iconic line as he looked at his reflection, a playful smirk on his face.
"You talkin' to me?"
"Well, I'm the only one here~"
Watching all of this, Ted couldn't help but groan. "Come on, man! I really don't get why every time you hold a gun, you've gotta do the De Niro bit."
"Besides Al Pacino and Eastwood, De Niro's my favorite actor," Rango replied casually, tightening his belt and heading toward the restroom.
As he passed one of the exhibition halls, he suddenly stopped.
"What the…"
In front of him were two large glass display cases, like miniature dioramas. One contained rows of tiny Roman buildings and hundreds of little plastic figurines. Leading the charge was a general in armor. According to the plaque, it was Octavian.
The other case was filled with miniature men in suits and workwear, blasting through tunnels and laying down railroad tracks. The plaque said it depicted scenes from the American Westward Expansion.
What really caught his eye was one particular figurine standing on the front of a locomotive, a worker in overalls.
Jedediah Smith.
For some reason, both this little guy and the tiny Octavian gave him a weird sense of déjà vu. A certain rizz that cannot be ignored.
(An: Jedediah Smith was played by Owen Wilson. If you don't know him, he are missing some rizz.)
Same with the enormous T. rex skeleton he'd seen when he first walked in. Something about it felt oddly familiar.
"It's like... from a movie or something. But which one?"
Shaking his head, Rango scratched his chin and stepped into the bathroom.
A second later, a shout echoed from inside.
"I remember now! It's Night at the Museum!"
He didn't even bother buckling his belt, bursting out of the bathroom at full speed while yelling, "Ted! Toss me that security manual, now!"
"What?"
Seeing Rango's panicked expression, Ted scratched his head in confusion. He was about to grab the manual on the desk when a massive shadow loomed over him. Deep, heavy breathing followed.
Ted froze. Slowly, he turned his head.
"What the hell?!"
The T. rex skeleton, Stan, the one by the entrance, was wide-eyed and baring its jaws at him. Its teeth gleamed ominously under the lights.
Snap!
Before Ted could react, Stan's mouth clamped down hard.
Rango dove in, grabbed Ted by the collar, and flung him out of the way, but the front desk wasn't as lucky. It got chomped clean through, leaving behind a horrifying hole.
Just as Ted scrambled to his feet, a group of Native Americans dressed in animal hides came charging at him with stone axes, fierce and furious.
"Arg, Fuck me!"
He let out a sharp scream and bolted in the opposite direction.
The museum's main hall was now in complete chaos.
A battalion of 18th-century British redcoats was locked in fierce combat with the Huns and their warlord. Samurai from Japan slashed their katanas while hunting for opponents. A pack of barbarians smashed everything in sight with their wooden clubs. Armored knights galloped on horseback through the hall.
And from the upper floors came the unmistakable roar of a wild beast.
What the hell is going on?! Everything was perfectly normal just a second ago!
As he ran, Ted shouted, "Rango! Do something! Why the hell are all these statues and exhibits coming to life?!"
"You wouldn't get it even if I told you!" Rango didn't have time to explain. He rolled to the side just in time to dodge a swipe from Stan's massive tail, then quickly picked up the security manual and flipped through it.
"Rule One: Throw a bone."
"A bone?!"
Rango froze for a second. Where was he supposed to find a big-ass bone in the middle of the night?!
Clunk!
Right then, a bone as thick as his arm and as long as his leg dropped from the ceiling with a loud thud.
Seriously?!
He quickly snatched it up, and the charging T. rex, Stan, suddenly skidded to a halt. Its eyes locked onto the bone in Rango's hand.
Rango cautiously tossed the bone to the left. Instantly, Stan took off after it, sprinting like an overgrown puppy chasing a frisbee.
With the dinosaur out of the way, Rango returned to the manual.
"Rule Two: Secure all display windows."
He glanced up at the chaotic museum around him and sighed. Yeah… too late for that.
"Rule Three: Always lock the door to the Wildlife Exhibit."
Wildlife Exhibit…?
He quickly traced the floor plan in his mind. That should be on the third floor.
"Alright!"
He rolled up the manual and stuffed it into his belt. Scanning the madness around him, he muttered, "First, lock up the animal exhibit. Then I'll deal with shoving all you wax dummies back into your glass boxes."
Taking a few deep breaths, Rango pulled out his taser and turned to go upstairs. But the moment he pivoted, a massive shadow loomed over him again.
Stan was trotting back, the bone still in his jaws, tail wagging like a happy dog. As Rango prepared to bolt, the T. rex casually dropped the bone at his feet, then lowered his upper body and wagged his tail wildly, rear end sticking up like he wanted to play.
"You want me to play fetch with you?"
Carefully, Rango picked the bone back up. He now noticed that Stan's ribcage was missing one piece, the very bone in his hand.
So it was deliberate. The dinosaur had tossed it to him on purpose.
Relieved, Rango smirked with a plan forming in his mind. He waved the bone to get Stan's attention, then hurled it with all his strength into the far end of the museum.
The place was big enough. Within seconds, the bone vanished from sight.
Stan, already excited to catch it, darted after it with joy. He wiggled his hips and wagged his tail as he bounded away.
Honestly, the way he moved, he looked more like a giant golden retriever than a T. rex.
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