Zeke rounded a corner and almost got run over by a familiar looking bulldog pulling a rickshaw.

"Watch out, buddy."

"Hey, aren't you Bobby's friend Tommy?" Zeke asked.

"Timmy," the bulldog said. "I recognize you. You're Zeke. You need a ride somewhere?"

"Yeah, actually I'm trying to find Milosh. Or Max. Or Dr. Octavius if he happens to be in town at the moment. Do you know where any of those guys are?"

"No. Do I look like I keep track of the whereabouts of random dudes I've met a few times? You got a more concrete destination in mind?"

Suddenly a swan in a blue and pink Hawaiian shirt ran up. "Rickshaw Driver! Thank Heavens! I need to get to the Galloping Centipede Inn immediately! I'll pay you whatever you want!"

"Sold!" Timmy said. "You want to come along for the ride?" He asked Zeke.

"Uh, I guess so," Zeke said with a shrug. "The only other place I can think of off the top of my head is Squirt's friend's scorpion bat massage parlor, and I really don't want to go there."

"Wait, why should this jerk get to ride on my floss?" the swan asked. "Go find your own ride, mister."

"But I was here first. Plus, Tony here's an old friend of mine."

"That's Timmy."

"Right. Timmy. We go way back."

"I guess it's true I met you a little while back. I don't suppose I'd want to leave an old friend in the lurch."

"I'll pay you extra to leave him behind. Now for God's sake, hurry up, man. I'm in a rush here."

"Well, it is hard to turn down extra floss. Still, I don't want to screw my friend over. You got anything extra you can kick in?"

"I'm a little light on floss at the moment," Zeke said as he patted his pockets. "I've got some loose change. You want a couple pennies?"

"Uh, you're offering me scrap metal? No thanks. I was thinking something more along the lines of a favor. You're friends with Sarah, right? You think you could get her to grab a coffee or something with me?"

"Sarah? I can't really speak for her, but I guess I could ask."

"Good enough for me. Hop on board."

"This is an outrage!" the swan shouted. "I'm a paying customer!"

"You want a ride or not? My friend here's coming. Take it or leave it."

"Fine, fine. He can come. Now hurry up! Time is of the essence!"
"All right, we're on our way. Keep your panties on." Timmy took off at a trot. He had only gone a couple blocks before a large walrus in a red and blue Hawaiian shirt leaped out in front of him and blocked his path. "What are you doing, you idiot?" Timmy shouted.

"It's extremely important that I get to the Galloping Centipede Inn immediately! I can pay you top floss!" the walrus shouted back.

"Well, man, it seems like you're in luck, since I'm already headed there. Just hop on."

The walrus squeezed himself into the seat in between Zeke and the swan. Timmy took off again at a bit of a slower pace. He made it a few more blocks before a large hippopotamus ran out into the road in front of him with her arms held up.

"Rickshaw driver! I need a ride to the Galloping Centipede Inn right away! I'll give you all of my floss!"

"Gee, that place sure is popular tonight," Timmy said. "Well, go ahead and get in."

The hippopotamus climbed into the back and somehow forced her way in between Zeke and the walrus. Zeke felt like he was going to get crushed to death against the side of the cart and was finding it hard to breathe. Timmy was noticeably huffing and puffing as he resumed pulling the rickshaw slowly.

Several blocks later he was accosted by a huge wooly mammoth in a bright green and orange Hawaiian shirt. "Mister rickshaw driver! It is of utmost importance that I get to the Galloping Centipede Inn forthwith! I have ten canisters of floss, which are all yours."

"All right. Well, this is certainly looking like a profitable night. Get in."

The mammoth squeezed his way in on the other side of Zeke so he was sandwiched between him and the hippopotamus. The rickshaw cart made a groaning noise while Zeke felt like he was being flattened like a pancake. Timmy pulled the cart with all his strength and it ever so slowly lurched forward.

A couple blocks later a tiny little gerbil in a dark blue Hawaiian shirt stopped Timmy. "Sir, I need a ride to the Galloping Centipede Inn right away! I'll give you all the floss in my pockets, plus the deed to my house!"

"Okay, hop on in."

The gerbil wriggled his way aboard. All of a sudden there was a loud creaking sound and the entire rickshaw gave a buckle and then burst apart at the seams, dropping all of the passengers into the street on their backs. Zeke was just happy to be relieved of the pressure that was squishing him. It was nice to be able to breathe normally.

Timmy didn't realize immediately that his rickshaw had fallen apart behind him and continued running down the street. "Boy, all those chin-ups I've been doing lately must really be paying off. This barely feels like it weighs anything at all." He turned and looked over his shoulder and realized all of his fares were sprawled out in the street behind him. "Uh oh. No worries, everyone. Just give me a few minutes and I'll have this rickshaw put back together in a jiffy."

"No time for that," the walrus said as it sprang to its feet. "Gotta go!" It started running down the street with the other passengers following quickly after, leaving only Zeke and Timmy behind.

"Well, that was odd," Timmy said. "I wonder why they were all in such a rush to get to some hotel?"

"Yeah, I've stayed there before," Zeke said. "Between you and me, it wasn't that great."

"Oh well," Timmy said with a shrug. "You want to grab that wheel over there? I should be able to get this thing back into some sort of working order here."

Timmy hammered a few nuts and bolts into place and wrapped the whole thing up with a bunch of duct tape. After about fifteen minutes, he declared it ready to go again. Zeke jumped in the back and they took off again. Timmy rounded a corner and was immediately set upon by a large mob looking for rides to the Galloping Centipede Inn. It took them less than five minutes to utterly reduce Timmy's rickshaw to rubble.