Transformation

" I don't trust you. Either of you." Jay says to us while pacing back and forth in the break room. " How can we change your mind?" I ask. "Work for me." He replies, sternly. "That doesn't sound so bad" Olivia says. Jay laughs to himself. He opens the refrigerator door. " It does sound wonderful, doesn't it?" He pulls a mason jar out of the refrigerator. It is filled with a yellow liquid. "Do you know what this is?" "Urine?" I reply. Jay smiles. " I want you all to sit down." Olivia and I sit with Jay at an open table. Jay looks up at the officer, still guarding the exit. " That means you too." The officer complies and sits with us. " Now, officer, may I have your hand?" "Are you proposing to me?" He asks, sarcastically. "Officer, please." The officer reluctantly places his hand out. Jay removes the mason jar lid and pours the yellow liquid onto the officer's hand. The officer immediately jumps up. "What are you doing? That shit burns." "I'm demonstrating. Watch." Jay instructs us. The yellow liquid spreads and starts to harden. "What's happening? My hand feels metallic." The officer cries out. "This has to stop." Olivia shouts as she shoots hearts into Jay's chest. Jay takes a deep breath and his posture becomes more relaxed. "I'm sorry, but I had to show you what this product was capable of." He says calmly. "Yeah that's great. Now turn him back." Olivia responds. "I'm afraid this process is irreversible." He tells us. "What did he say?" The officer asks while staring at the yellow that has now spread to his wrist. "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do." Jay informs the officer. "There has to be something we could do." Olivia says. "Well, we could severe his arm. That could decrease any further infection." "Fuck that." The officer shouts out. "What will happen to him if we don't figure this out?" I ask. Jay pauses for a moment. "He'll be in agonizing pain for a while." "And then what?" I ask. "Nothing." "Nothing?" Olivia questions. "Nothing. He'll just be one of my workers."

Back in Jay's Office

The officer takes us to the break room. Or should I say the office? Jay's office. Jay stands in center of the room with a stern look upon his face and his arms crossed. The officer blocks the doorway. " Here we are again." Jay says to us. " Here we are again." Olivia replies. "What do you know?" He asks us. " About what?" I respond, trying to play dumb. Jay inches closer to us. " How much do you know?"  "Why did you let us escape?" Olivia asks, changing the subject. Jay chuckles to himself. " I must be a trusting guy." He says. "Or a dumb guy." Olivia responds. "If I were in your position, I wouldn't make comments like that." Jay warns. " We don't know anything." I tell him. "Why should I believe you? Who do you work for?"  Olivia and I turn and look at each other in puzzlement. "Nobody." I respond. "You don't work for anybody? I find that hard to believe because people don't just go poking around factories. " I shrug. "Maybe we do." Jay clenches his fists in frustration. " This looks like industrial espionage." "It's not." I try to assure him. Jay pauses to think for a moment. " I don't know what to do." He says. "You could let us go." Olivia tells him. Jay shake his head. "No, I have something better in mind."

Riding in the Cop Car

It seems that everywhere we go we are met with opposition. It would be ignorance on my part to assume that it would always be smooth sailing. That everyone would  wholeheartedly embrace us and our ideas, but I can't help but wonder if after all this,after all these conflicts if we truly are the good guys. If what we are doing is right. We are currently in the backseat of the cop car. Olivia is fast asleep with her head resting against the window.  The car ride has been silent for a few miles. All I can think of is my escape, which ironically hinders my ability to escape the more I think about it. The officer breaks the silence. " Jay Bowman is not happy." "Who the hell is Jay Bowman?" I ask. " You should know, you stole his car." The officer replies. " I asked him myself what I should do with you. He said he wanted to see you. So we're gonna pay Mr. Bowman a visit." I slink back into my seat with a slight grin on my face. I was looking for an exit. As odd as it may sound, being delivered into the hands of an enemy may be a good thing.

Standoff

We are in the middle of a standoff. Neither side is willing to back down. The officer's head begins to nod as we enter hour five of our showdown. He catches himself before he falls asleep though. "Getting sleepy, officer." Olivia taunts. "It was a test." He says. "Sure." Olivia replies, unbelieving. "It was, but it doesn't matter because I know you could only have so much energy left at this point." "Way ahead of you, officer." I say as I pour a cup of coffee. The officer eyes me handing Olivia the coffee mug. " I see you have it all figured out." He says to me. "You bet I do." I reply. "But what you gonna do when she has to use the washroom?" He questions. "You'll be long gone before that could be considered a problem." Olivia says, confidently. The officer stands. " Ok, looks like I have to take this up a notch." The officer walks into the living room. He turns the T.V. up as loud as it can go. We hear a man screaming at us to buy a car. "What are you doing?" I shout. The officer casually strolls back into sight. "Nothing, just breaking her concentration." I notice our bubble is flickering. "Olivia, don't listen to the T.V. Put it out of your mind somehow." "Can you also put this out of your mind?" The officer asks while knocking loudly on the doorway. "Stop it." I demand. "Just doing my job." He informs me. The officer sees that the bubble has stopped flickering and is becoming less faint. He takes off his police radio, turns it up, and sets it on the floor by the bubble. The bubble begins to flicker once more. " You have to ignore it somehow." I tell Olivia. "Ignore this." The officer says as he stomps his feet, knocks on the doorway, and sings loudly and out of key. Olivia collapses, taking our pink bubble defense with her. "It's too much going on." She cries out. The officer calmly grabs his radio and announces "Game over."

Wall off the Kitchen

" I don't feel comfortable letting you into my home without a warrant." A nervous Rosie tells the officer. "I was afraid you'd say that. So I brought one with me." Overhearing this brief conversation, Olivia and I search for an exit. "Where do we go?" I ask. " I don't know." "Any idea what we should do?" "Yes." Olivia replies as calmly as she can. Olivia opens her hands and holds them up in the doorway to the kitchen. A pink stream emerges from her palms. It slowly turns into a bubble that covers the whole kitchen. The officer walks into the doorway. He takes off his aviator sunglasses and stares at the pink bubble in awe. " What is that? Some kind of electromagnetic force field?" He asks. "Something like that." Olivia says. "I've heard about those. Never actually seen once close up." He says. "What do you want?" I ask, impatiently. "So quick to jump the gun. You guys don't trust authority, do you? Can't say I blame you I guess." The officer leans against the wall. " Only problem is you two fit the description of two suspects I'm looking for. " There is a brief silence. "Gonna give me the silent treatment, eh? That's ok because I know a few other things about electromagnetic force fields." Olivia's eyes widen. " That's right, I know that if the subject is tired the force field will weaken." He continues. The officer momentarily walks out of sight. He comes back with an unopened box and sits down on it. " With that being said, I'm willing to wait."

Flashing Lights

Blue and red lights flash through Rosie's living room window just as we are on the verge of understanding what this new element means. " They're on to me!" Rosie cries out. "How would they know?" Olivia asks. " I have no clue how they work, but they know that I have been talking." Rosie ushers us to move out of the room. "Where should we go?" I ask. "Any room. As long as it is out of sight. Go, I'll take care of this." Olivia and I scatter into her cluttered kitchen. There is not much space. If one were to open the oven or dishwasher, the door would crash into the island. A faulty design, and a wonder how any one could do any cooking or anything in here. But as it is the closest room without any windows, it works as a safe haven for us. We hear a loud knock on the door. " Just a moment." Rosie replies. The squeaky front door opens and Rosie is greeted by an officer with a New England accent. " Afternoon ma'am, I'm responding to a report about a stolen car." "I don't know anything about a stolen car." She responds innocently. " I'm afraid the convertible in your driveway matches what we're looking for. Do you mind if I step inside?"

The New Element

When we had enough of the cold we headed inside for hot chocolate. It was Swiss Miss, the instant kind. Many chocolate snobs don't care for this kind. While it most likely will never go down in history as one of the best chocolates in existence, I enjoy it. It reminds me of being ten. Going indoors after a day of sledding. I would reward myself with a little treat, and it was nice because I could do it myself. All I had to do was boil some hot water and pour it in a mug with the pack. It felt good. It gave me a sense of independence. It's not a bad taste either. Especially if you put cold milk or ice cream in it. I'm doing that right now. It'll cool it off and give it a nice, creamy taste. We sit on the couch in the living room, and blow on the beverages. We can still see the steam rising. " Sorry I don't have anywhere to sit in the kitchen." Rosie says to us.  " That's fine." Olivia assures her, while cupping her hot chocolate with both hands. " I suppose you guys want to see the picture I promised you?" We both nod. Rosie scratches her head. " It does exist. I wasn't fibbing. I'm just not sure where it is." She says, downtrodden. "That's fine. We can wait." Olivia tells her. " No, I don't want to do that to either of you. I'm sure you have places to be." " We have absolutely no where to be." Rosie chuckles slightly at my comment. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tiny picture. "That's my husband." She says, handing Olivia the photo. Olivia studies the portrait of younger man with brown, shaggy hair. " What happened to him?" Olivia asks. Rosie shrugs. " There is much speculation. I personally think he knew too much." I set my mug down on the floor and sit on the arm of the couch beside Rosie. " What did he know?" "It was my fault. I saw the potentials. I pushed him further." "What was your fault?" I ask her. " You have to understand. He's not a man of science. I am not a woman of science. We didn't know what we were on to." She says, still not answering the question. " Rosie, what didn't you understand? What was happening.?" I ask.  She looks up at me. " They discovered a new element. They didn't want him to know about it." "That doesn't seem like that big a deal. Aren't there elements that have been discovered in the late 90's?" Olivia asks. " All the later elements are combinations of existing elements." Rosie states. "That's not what this is?" I question. "No, this was something otherworldly."

First Snowfall

Rosie bursts into the room with a string of expletives. She's not angry or upset. This is how she expresses herself. "Holy shit! Can you believe this?" She cries out with frosted hair. " Believe what?" Olivia asks. "It's snowing."  She exclaims with a child like whimsy. Olivia and I stare at each other for a moment. " I knew you two would understand. No one else does. Especially the people at the restaurant. They bitch and moan at the slightest snowflake. They're babies."  "The first snowfall is beautiful." Olivia tells her. " It sure is. So let's go." "Go where?" I ask. " Outside." Rosie says. "Now?" "It's snowing isn't it? What better time to look at the snow then now? In a couple of weeks we can complain, but now... this is magic."

Indeed the first snowfall is magic. We watch in silence as the snow blankets naked tree branches, rooftops, and street lights. The cold does not bother us at this point. We are too enthralled. "It's amazing. I always forget what winter looks like." She says while still admiring the falling snow.  "What do you mean?" Olivia asks. "It's like when I'm in the middle of summer , it's hard to remember what winter looks and feels like. I do the same with winter. It's like I can't wrap my head around the extreme opposite."  " But then it comes back." Olivia says with smile. " Then it comes back." Rosie says in agreement. We stand in silence once more and watch as the seasons change before our eyes. My bright red cape flaps against the white backdrop and I feel very much like a cardinal in winter.

Backlash of Niceness

We spent hours unearthing a lifetime of photos. Birthday parties, dances, school plays, weddings, her whole life was there in those boxes. We didn't finish either. We barely scratched the surface, and no we did not get to see the elusive Mapleville Factory photos. We passed out before we had a chance to come close. I'm not exactly sure when we feel asleep. I do remember my eyelids becoming heavy around two or three in the morning. Olivia and I feel asleep sitting up in the same exact spots we were in the night before. We found a half empty box at the foot of the couch with a post it note on it. It read : WENT TO WORK. WILL BE BACK THIS AFTERNOON - ROSIE. Olivia tosses the note to the side. " We didn't get to the Mapleville picture." She exclaims. "No, do you think we should go through the boxes on our own?" I ask. Olivia sighs. " I'd like to, but she's nice." "Meaning, it would be easier to rummage through her stuff if she were a jerk?" I inquire. Olivia nods. " Do you think she would notice if we looked through the boxes?" I ask. " I have a feeling she would." "What should we do?" " What time is it?" Olivia asks me. I glance at my wristwatch. "Almost ten." "The Price is Right should be on." She suggests. "Ok." I respond , less than enthusiastic. "What's the matter?" She asks sweetly. "It's just not the same without Bob Barker." Olivia looks me in the eye and says " I know it's not the same, but it's something at least."

Rosie's Flat

Rosie lives by herself in a two flat. She resides on the first floor. Occasionally she'll rent out the second floor to an out of towner. Or a college student. Luckily, we are out of towners and she is opening up her home to us. The only thing she asks in return is for us to spend a little time with her. Seems reasonable, she is helping us out after all. We sit in her living room on a burgundy couch that is falling apart. There are bits of electrical tape here and there holding it together. I sit on one end of the couch, Olivia on the other. Between us is a huge box filled to the top with pictures. There are even more boxes on floor. All of the them filled to the top with photos. Rosie enters the room carrying another box. She plops it on the floor, and then takes the box on the couch and finds a clear space on the floor to place it. Rosie takes a seat between us. " There are some more boxes in the closet, but I think this is a good start for now." "I think so. What box should we start with?" Olivia asks. Rosie leans forward and pulls the closest box toward her. " How about this one?" " Sounds like a plan to me." I say. Rosie attempts to take the first photo off the top of the pile, and then stops herself. " I know what you're thinking." She tells us. Olivia and I look at each other dumbfounded. " You're thinking, why does this old lady, in an age of computers have so many pictures?" Rosie continues. " We weren't thinking that." Olivia insists. " Really?" She says, eyeing both of us. " Really." I assure her. "It's just I like to hold onto things. I can't physically touch it if it's on the computer." She informs us with an almost exasperated tone. " I understand where you are coming from." Olivia says, sympathetically. Rosie takes the photo off the top of the pile. A warm glow comes over her as she holds the picture close to her heart.  "That's me." She says while handing the photograph to Olivia.
Olivia smiles and hands me the picture. It's a younger Rosie. She has Farrah Fawcett hair and stands beside her banana seat bicycle. " Oh look at that. Before I could drive and before I met Henry." She says with a beaming smile. She puts the picture down on the floor. " So many memories. And we're only just getting started. I hope neither of you have anywhere to be." Olivia and I shake our heads no. " Good, because this may take a while."

End of Shift

Winter is on it's way. There is no doubt about that. We stand outside the IHOP and chatter our teeth in anticipation of Rosie's arrival. I tense my muscles, attempting  to keep warm. "How long has it been?" I ask while rubbing my hands together. "About ten minuets." "Can we wait in the warm car for a while?" "I don't know. Do you think she'll be able to find us?" "We can sporadically check for her every few minuets." I tell her. Olivia watches me shaking. " Ok, let's go to the car." We begin to walk to the convertible. Rosie's voice calls out to us. " Where are you going?" She asks. We stop walking to the car and head back to Rosie. " Do you really think I'd tell you to meet me out here if my shift lasted all day?" She asks us. "I guess not, but we weren't sure when you'd be out." Olivia tells her. " I have the early shift. Six to three." " Is that a hard shift?" Olivia asks, sympathetically. "It's my shift, it's always my shift. But that's ok, those younger bitches can't handle it." I am slightly taken aback by Rosie's swearing. She notices the change in my expression. "What? I'm out of there. So I can cuss all I want." She informs me. " Yes, you sure can." I assure her.  " I can also do this.." She takes out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from her apron pocket. " They want me to be sweet all the time." She says, fumbling to get the cigarette out of the packet. " You are sweet." Olivia tells her.  Rosie lights her cigarette, and takes a long drag. " I may be sweet, but I'm not corporate sweet. Then again I don't know anyone who is. At least not anyone who is real." I try and change the subject. " You said the town was being punished?" " Yeah, we're all being punished." "Even you?" I pry deeper. "Especially me! My hands are not clean." She shouts out. Olivia tries to comfort her. "Why would you say that?" Olivia questions.  "Because I was involved." Rosie throws her cigarette on\to the pavement and stomps it out. " You guys want to dig deeper?" She asks us. "We need to know what happened." Olivia explains. "Then follow me to my house. I have photos."

Whispers Over Pancakes

Here we are at the International House of Pancakes. Not exactly what I would call a quaint, Mom N' Pop store, but what are you gonna do? It wasn't a terrible meal. I did have some nice, fluffy, buttery pancakes with a side of hard boiled eggs. It's just when you are really looking forward to something, and then the outcome does not come close to how you pictured it in your mind. Our waitress, Rosie hovers over our table. She appears to be  roughly in her early fifties. She has graying hair that is pulled into a pony tail, and she wears tiny, rectangle shaped glasses. " Anything else for the two of you?" She asks, while placing the bill on the table. We both shake our heads no. " I'll just leave this here. You can fill it out when you're ready." She takes some of our empty plates. " Where can we get a homemade pie?" I ask her. " Excuse me?" She says. " A homemade pie. Do you know where we can find one?" I ask again. " We do serve pie, but I wouldn't exactly call it homemade."  " You'll have to excuse my friend, he's a bit distracted." Olivia explains. Rosie squints her eyes. " You two aren't from around here, are you?" "No. We're here to investigate." Olivia says. Rosie half smiles. " What could you possibly be investigating around here?" I lean back in my chair. " The Mapleville Factory."  Rosie puts the plates down and leans over the table. " How do you know about that?" She asks in a whisper. "So there is something going on!" I shout. Rosie shushes us. "Not so loud." She demands. " What is going on?" Olivia asks. " All I know is we're be punished." She explains. "Punished for what?" Olivia asks. " What went on wasn't right." Rosie tells us, in a scared, barely audible voice. " What wasn't right?" Olivia asks her. " I'll talk after my shift."  Rosie stands up and looks out to the table behind us. "Sir, would you like some more coffee?"

The Mapleville Factory

Our voices echo in the Mapleville factory. It stretches on and on for miles and miles. Not a soul can be found, and no machines are in sight. It is just an empty factory. So empty that I can see all the way to the end of it. " I hate to say it, but he was right." I tell Olivia. My voice bouncing off the walls. "There definitely isn't anything to see here." She replies. "Nope, though I wouldn't call this a ghost town." "True, but the town is hardly thriving."  She's right. While there are businesses here, it seems like they are all struggling for air. Nothing is kept up to date. There are letters missing from signs. Not many people are walking around. There is no care put into these things, like everyone gave up years ago. Maybe our gas station friend was looking at Mapleville through kind of adolescent eye. Having the attitude of  "There is nothing here for me. I better get out while I'm young." "This is hardly a unique situation." Olivia says, snapping me out of my head. "What do you mean?" I ask. "This happens all the time. A town is basically surviving off of a factory or warehouse, and then someone buys them off. Take all their workers and industry. It is fine for short term, but eventually the town goes to ruins." I take a moment to process the information. "What about what the boss said? That they don't sleep or eat?" I ask. " He was probably exaggerating." "What about the workers? They were all yellow and had a weird shape." Olivia takes a deep breath. " That I don't know." "A ha!" I shout. " But it could have been adverse effects from years of work in the factory."  I look down. " That's something we should investigate."  "Maybe. I don't think we're going to find any clues here though. There's an IHOP down the street. I think we should get something to eat." "But we could find a clue." I insist. Olivia rests her hand on my shoulder. " Let's get something to eat, and then if you want, we can come back after." I nod in agreement and we head towards the door.

Getting Directions

" You want to go to Mapleville?" A gruff gas station attendant says to us with look of disdain. Almost as if it were a burden to help us. " Yes, please." Olivia responds, trying to cut through his tough facade. The gas station attendant pulls a map of Main out from under the counter. He runs his index finger along the intersections on the map. " There it is." He says, placing his index finger in the middle of the map. He looks up at us. "You're gonna wanna go south for about thee hours." "Thank you." I say to the attendant. We begin to turn to walk away. "Don't know why you'd wanna go though. Ain't nobody there." "We'll be there." Olivia replies. "And it will be just you and a land of broken dreams." He remarks. " What happened in Mapleville?" I ask him. "Theories." "Theories?" I reiterate. "That's all we have. That's all we know." "If we go down there will we be safe?" Olivia asks. The attendant shrugs. " You don't know?" Olivia asks in an irritated tone. "No one's dared to go down there. You're probably safe, but I don't see a reason to go." He says. " Well, we need to know what happened." Olivia snaps. The attendant nods slowly and folds the map. " Fair enough. Anything else you need?" I grab a couple packages of gummi sharks and toss them on the counter. " Just these."

On the Road

It's an unwritten rule that if you drive a convertible you have to have the top down. Even if it is below zero and you know you will be sick the next day. It just does not look right otherwise. So that's what we're doing. Driving on the open road with the top down. At least for a few miles ... or blocks. I raise both of my hands as if I were on a roller coaster. "Exciting, isn't it?" Olivia asks. " Yeah, so what's the name of the town we're going into?" "Mapleville." "Mapleville? That sounds quaint." Olivia smiles. " It does, doesn't it?" " Maybe we'll be able to get a home made pie." I suggest. " Or a warm sweater!" She shouts out excitedly. " Or a huge thing of maple syrup." There is a brief silence after my suggestion. " Yes, you can get a jar of maple syrup." She tries to say with a straight face. " At any rate, we should probably stop for directions." I tell her. "Are you kidding me? I'm not stopping." She insists.  "But we don't know where we're going." " We'll get there." I decide to try a different angle. " If we stop, we can get gummies." I say, hoping it might work. Olivia eases her grip on the steering wheel and looks at me briefly. " You sure know the way to my heart." I pump my fist in victory. " Just one thing. Can we put the top back?" She asks sweetly. " Yes, I was waiting for you to ask."

Hot-Wiring Fun

Yellow to red. That's the ticket. That sounds right. I test my theory on the now exposed wires below the steering wheel. Here goes nothing. I bite my lip in anticipation of the wires touching each other. I stay calm as best as I can, but my hands are a dead give away. They shake and tremble. Slowly, I move the wires towards each other. Eventually they touch, and as soon as they do, my body gets thrown a foot back. Olivia rushes over to me. She takes off her mask and I can see her worried face looking down on me. " You ok?" She asks. Before I have a chance to reply, a loud country song kicks in on the radio. I can't make out the words, but I recognize the twangy , southern voice. I sit up slightly. " I'll feel better once we can change the station." I reply in a lackadaisical tone. Olivia helps me off the ground. " Honestly, how is country always the one station the comes in the clearest?" I continue. Olivia ignores my question and looks me in the eyes. " Seriously, are you ok?" " Yeah, I'm fine." " Do you want to go to the hospital?" " No." "Are you sure?" I cough a little. "Yes." Olivia glares at me. " The car is running, we should get out of here." I tell her. Olivia continues to stare at me. " Come on, let's go before the boss comes out and / or I get an aneurysm from this country music." Olivia shakes her head and puts her mask back on. "Fine, but remember, I drive."

The Boss's Ride

There are certain times in which asking for permission is more of a hindrance than anything else. This is one of those times. We made a hasty exit out of the factory to find the boss's bright red convertible parked in the back. Something that flashy had to belong to him. The color, the leather uphostery, everything about this car screamed out "I'm important! Pay attention to me!" That and there were no other cars in the parking lot, so it was safe to assume it was his. Olivia rubs her hand along the driver's side door. "It's beautiful." She says in awe. " I know, I can't believe it belongs to him." "What do you mean?" Olivia asks. " It always seemed like a young person car to me." "No, young people dream of cars like this, but older people are the one's who can afford it." She exclaims. I smile in agreement. " Ok, you ready to take off?" I ask. "Just toss me the keys." I throw Olivia the key. She furrows her brow. " This is the key from the break room." She quips.  " Oh, you think it'll work?" "Not a chance."  I scratch my head. "What do you know about hot wiring?"

"Keep Digging"

If I had to be locked away anywhere for an indefinite period of time , it might as well be this break room. Sure there are no windows, and it is much warmer than I would like, but it has coffee, vending machines, and ample space. I snatch a Snickers bar out of the vending machine. Olivia stares at me while I unwrap the candy bar and take a huge bite. "What?" I ask with a mouthful of Snickers. "How could you eat at a time like this?" I take another big bite. " Let me ask you a question, do you think we're in any danger right now?" "No." Olivia replies. " And we don't have anywhere to be right?" " I don't believe so." "Then let's just hang out for a while." Olivia sighs and walks over to the tables. "He said to keep digging." She says. "That he did, what do you think it could mean?" Olivia shakes her head. " I would assume it would have to do with the origin of the workers." I open a cabinet by the sink. "One thing is certain, I need more coffee." "More coffee?" Olivia says in disbelief. " Yeah, it helps me think faster." " I don't know if that is true, but knock yourself out." I pull the coffee can out of the cabinet. " You want me to make you some?" I ask. "Sure, but not so strong this time."  I take the lid off the coffee can. I see the corner of a postcard on the top. "What if when he told us to keep digging, he meant it literally?" I shout out to Olivia. " What are you talking about?" She asks. I remove the postcard from the coffee can and hold it in the air. Olivia walks over to me and takes the postcard out of my hand. She examines it closely. " It looks like a nearby town." She tells me. " Maybe that's where we should go?" I suggest. " I would imagine. The only problem is we're still stuck in the break room." A brilliant idea comes to my mind. I dump the contents of the coffee on to the counter. I rummage through the mound of coffee grinds to find a tiny silver key. I hold up the key and grin. " I think we're free to go."

Coffee for Three

For me, drinking coffee is like playing Russian Roulette every time. Some days it will calm my nerves, others it will make me jittery and on edge. I don't quite get it myself, but that is how it is. Fortunately, today it is the former. "Where are they now?" Olivia asks after taking a sip of her coffee. "Another factory." The boss replies simply. " What's the name of the factory?" I pry. The boss smirks. " You really expect me to tell you that?" Olivia rolls her eyes and shoots another round of hearts into his chest. The boss stares off into space, as if his memory had just been erased. " I have to get back to work." He says. The  boss pushes his chair out from the table. "Wait, what is the name of the factory?" I ask again, hoping it will work this time. " I can't tell you that." "Why not?" Olivia asks, trying to block the doorway.  The boss gently moves her to the side and opens the door. " I don't know, but maybe if you keep digging you'll find what you're looking for." The boss exits the break room, and closes the door behind him. Olivia attempts to open the door only to find that this door, our one exit, is blocked.