Free

Olivia and I drove the cop car down the dark city streets with the prisoner passed on in the back seat. I had never seen the hearts work like that before. He was so out of it that I had to carry him out of the cell and into the car. His body was resting against the door. We picked a random alley to drop him off. I walked to the side of the car. I opened his door, and his body shot out onto the pavement. He layed there, face down. I checked his pulse. He was alive. I guess just in a deep sleep. I then pulled his body to the side. I lifted his head and gave him pillow made of garbage bags. "This is good. He's free now." I told myself. I got in the car. We drove away. "He's free now." I said again to myself.

Forgetting Something?

I quickly meet up with Olivia in the other room. "Aren't we forgetting something?" I ask. "Cant think of a thing." She replies. "Not one thing?" Olivia stares at me for a moment. "We're not bringing him with us." She says firmly. "Why not? He's safe now." "Exactly. Now." "Well, if he ever gets out of hand again you know you can fire him with a pink heart again." I remind. "I told you. I don't like doing that unless I have to. It drains my energy." I shake my head. "I still don't see the problem." "We don't even know what he locked up for." "We could ask him." I suggest. Olivia glares at me. "You really think he'd tell the truth?" "Maybe. It's possible." "Even if he did. We're breaking the law." "Who cares? We stole a cop car." Olivia sighs. She takes a beat. "So, what do you suggest? We let him work in the ice cream parlor." "No." "Then what?" "I don't know. Maybe we can release him on the streets." I say. Olivia rubs her face. "That's a terrible idea. But I don't have a better suggestion, and I guess we probably shouldn't let him starve to death." "So, we can release him?" I ask, unsure. "Yeah, sure. We'll release him."

Half Granola Bar

I was about to pass the half granola bar to the prisoner through the bars when Olivia convinced that maybe that wasn't the best idea. Instead I decided to slide the bar along the floor, hoping that it would make it's way to the cell. Unfortunately it stopped a foot short of the cell. I stretched out my leg and kicked it the extra foot. The prisoner stood there for a moment, eyeing the foreign granola bar. "You could of handed it to me."He says. "This way is fine." Olivia snaps. The prisoner shakes his head. He picks up the granola bar off the filthy ground. "Where's the rest of it?" He asks angrily. "What do you mean?" Olivia replies. "I know this isn't the whole bar. Where's the rest of it. I'm not stupid." "It's right there. It's all in your hand." She says. "You've got to be kidding me." He mutters. Olivia shakes her head.  The prisoner grits his teeth. "You two are scum."  Olivia gets close to the cell. "Then what does make you?" "You don't know anything about me." "Maybe I don't want to either." She says coldly. Olivia starts to walk away. "Oh, fuck you." He screams. Without saying a word Olivia turns around and extends her arm. She then fires a pink heart at the prisoner. The heart gets absorbed into his chest. He falls back in a calm, stupified state. "Why didn't you do that in the first place?" I ask. Olivia shrugs. "It drains my energy a bit. I only do it in dire situations anymore." She looks down at the prisoner then to me. "Glad thats over with. Let's get out of here. "

Food for Thought?

I study the granola bar for what feels like a lifetime. I wonder just what is the ethical thing to do? Should I feed the vagabond before I feed myself? Even though it might be some time till I get to eat again? Finally, Olivia snaps me out of my daze. "You gonna eat that or what?" She asks. "I'm thinking." I reply. "I know." I turn my gaze from the granola bar to Olivia. "I don't know what I should do." "You take off the wrapper and you eat it." "I mean how can I eat this in good conscience knowing full well that the prisoner is starving to death?" Olivia sighs. She then unlocks the cop car and hops in the driver side. "Really?" I say in disbelief. Olivia shrugs. "I don't get it, but I'm not gonna fight it." I eagerly climb into the passenger seat. "But," she says, fastening her seat belt. "I wouldn't give him the whole thing. Maybe just half."

Waffle Cones

Twenty minutes later Wilber met us outside holding two double scoop, chocolate chip strawberry waffle comes. "Norm wanted to give this to you, but I insisted I do it myself." He says, handing us the ice cream. "After all I haven't thanked you yet." " I appreciate the ice cream, but I'm not sure we did anything." I  admit. "Nonsense. You made me remember who I was and that in turn made the store remember who it was." "That's what Norm said." I say. Wilber smiles. "What do you think of the ice cream?" He asks. "Very good." Olivia replies.  I point to the huge neon sign. "You gonna change the name?" "I don't see why I would." "It's your store. "  Wilber shakes his head. "It's as much his as it is mine. Besides I think I think it works better with his name."  Wilber glances back at the store. "Speaking of which I should get back there and help the little guy." "You need any help?" Olivia asks. "No, we've got it under control. You two enjoy your ice cream and your... oh almost forget." Wilber reaches in his apron. He pulls out two peanut butter granola bars and hands them to us. "Now I really should go." He turns on his heel and walks away. I stare at my granola bar.  I wonder if I should give it to the prisoner or have it all to myself.

The Place to Be

Norm's Fantasmagorical Fountain Shop had a line that stretched out the door, and there were even more people inside. It was packed wall to wall with people. Mostly soldiers, but there were some civilians as well. Norm spotted us right away. He pushed past the many ankles to greet us. "Isn't this great? Look at all these people. We may have to recruit that bum, Freddy." Norm says. "It is, but where did they all come from?" Olivia asks. Norm shrugs. "Off the street." "Aren't they dissapointed?" She asks. Norm squints his eyes. "Why would they be dissapointed?" "Because we don't have any ice cream." Olivia explains. "Correction, we didn't have any ice cream. We do now." "Where did it come from?" I ask. "I don't know. It just showed up." He says. "What do you mean it just showed up?" "Exactly what I said. It just kinda materialized. My theory is that because Wilber remembered who he was the store remembered who it was." Norm guesses. Olivia and I look at each other. "Hey, it's great seeing you guys and all, but I should get back to work." "Yeah, go." I say. "Oh, before I go.. you guys want anything? Like a milkshake or cone or something?" "We couldn't ask for anything." Olivia replies. "Nonsense. I know Wilber won't mind. So, I'll go back to work, but I'll meet you outside in ten minutes and I'll have something spectacular that you'll both love."

Joy Ride

We speed through the cluttered city streets in a stolen cop car going 60 mils per hour. Is this dangerous? Is this unnecessary? Could we get caught? Yes, yes, and yes, but it's also fun, and when were we ever going to get this chance again? We even had the lights and sirens on. We did huge, NASCAR turns. At times we came a mere inches from crashing into a building, but it's all exhilarating. It's fun. I pretend we're the Blues Brothers and we're driving through a mall. We end our joy ride at Norm's Fantasmagorical Fountain Shop. We haphazardly park the car outside, and there we see and long line of people waiting to get in.

Guilt

Olivia tossed the keys in the air with her left hand and snatched them with her right hand. She stopped when she saw me enter the room with a heavy head. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be excited about driving the cop car." "I feel guilty." I sigh. "About what?" She asks. I point behind me to the other room with the prisoner. "He'll be fine." She says, dismissively. "I don't know about that." "He's not our responsibility." "But he could starve to death." I say. Olivia takes a deep breath.  "We can find him some food and bring it back here, but I will not release him." I nod in agreement. "That's fine." "Good. Now let's get out of this place."

The Prisoner

We soon found ourselves eye to eye with what could very well be a crazy prisoner. He had a long, gnarly, black beard.  His eyes showed he hadnt slept for days, and he wore a dirty, tattered , trench coat.  He was locked up good, but Olivia I chose to stand away from him against the wall. "It's so good you came to save me." He says with a crooked smile. "What makes you think we'll save you." Olivia snipes. "You're here aren't you?" "That doesn't mean anything." She says. "It means everything. Now that you've seen me. You couldn't possibly leave." "Watch me." She says without any emotion. She walks out of the the room and doesn't look back. For whatever reason I stay behind. "She'll be back." He tells me.  "I don't think she will." The prisoner thinks for a moment. "I suppose I don't need her to get me out." "Yeah you do. She has the keys." "Then you should get them." "I don't know. I'm not convinced I should." "Convinced? You need convincing?" He says, grabbing the metal bars and shaking violently. "Yes, I do. Especially after that display." I say. "Look at me. I was left here alone. Forgotten." "What did you do?" "What does it matter? I'll starve to death. " "Maybe you deserve it." I say coldly. "Deserve it? You think I deserve it? You think anyone deserves this?" He shouts. He grabs the bars and shakes violently again. I walk away from the mad prisoner. I don't want it to happen, but as I'm exiting, his words enter my brain and guilt enters my soul.

Breaking In

Most the cop cars were located in the back behind a fence. I don't mind climbing fences. In fact it's actually one of my favorite activities. However, if I did that now that would mean I'd have to hot wire a car, and it didn't exactly go well last time. I got schocked. So, we did the next best thing. We broke into the station. We pounded down the door, smashed glass, ripped open countless desk drawers. Did I enjoy the process a bit much? It's possible, but can you blame me? When we finished the place looked like a tornado hit it. There were files and papers scattered everywhere. You couldn't see the linoleum if you tried. I was about ready to give up when Olivia walked out of the room. She came back a second later with a set of janitorial keys. She jangles them to get my attention. "Did you know where those were the whole time?" I ask. She nods. "Most of the time." "Why didn't you say anything?" "I don't know. I was enjoying watching you go mad." I sigh. "Ready to go?" She nods. "Don't leave." A voice cries out. Neither Olivia nor I say anything. "I know you're there." It says. We still don't say anything. "Please, they left me here all alone." "Who left you here?" I ask it. Olivia mouths "Why?"  to me. "Oh good. I was hoping you'd talk to me. I've been longing for communication." "Who are you?" I ask. "A prisoner." It replies. "How long have you been here?" "A long time. A very long time." It says. I start to walk to the voice. Olivia grabs my wrist. "Don't ." She says. "I have to." "No, you don't." She insists. "Yes, I do. He needs us. He needs food." "This could be a trick." "I'll take the risk." I say pulling away. I continue to walk towards the voice.  Olivia reluctantly follows.

Idea

After waiting by the phone for a few hours, I felt it safe to assume that James Bean would not be returning our call. He was most likely busy, but even if he wasn't I didn't really care. The only thing that bothered me was we failed to locate ice cream. "Should we keep going?" I ask Olivia. She shrugs. "Might as well." She starts to walk away, but stops when she notices I'm not behind her. "Something the matter?" She asks. " I think I have an idea." I say, looking across the street to the police station. "What?" "What if we take one of those cars?" "What?!" "Let's take one of those cop cars." "Are you crazy?" She shouts. "Maybe. But think about it? It would make a hell of a lot more sense than walking." "We can't do that." "Why not? No one's going to stop us." "What about the soldiers?" I shake my head. "They won't care. They just want a chance to be normal." "And this will make them normal?" She questions. "More normal. Come on, haven't you always wanted to drive a cop car?" Olivia takes a deep. "Okay let's steal a cop car."

Pay Phone

As it turns out the abandoned city is one of the few places on Earth where one could find a payphone. We spotted it outside of a rundown police station. There was graffiti all over the sides of the phone, but it worked. We picked up the receiver. There was a dial tone. Neither of us hand any spare change, however, I did not few this as a problem. I knew James Bean was well off. I was going to collect call him. Reverse the charges. He was good for it. I called collect. When the operator on the other end asked for my name I took a deep breath. This is when you want to make your name and message as clear as possible because there is no guarantee that the person on the other end will pick up. After I heard the beep, I said as loudly and as clearly as I could "HI THIS IS SCOTT AND OLIVIA WE'RE IN THE ABANDONED CITY THAT WE TOLD YOU ABOUT. WE REALLY REALLY NEED YOUR HELP GETTING ICE CREAM. THANKS. BYE." I exhaled.. I waited a moment for James to pick up the phone. Unfortunately all I heard was a click followed by silence. I hung up the phone. "What happened?" Olivia asks. "Couldn't get a hold of him. Wanna try again?" I ask. Olivia shakes her head. "No, I don't want to bother him." "Then what should we do?" "I'm assuming he has caller ID. He'll call back."

Ice Cream Search

For a better and  brighter tomorrow ice cream must be found. This we knew. This was certain. However, we had no clue where to find it. We weren't even sure if there was any ice cream to be found in the city. We only relied on our childlike enthusiasm which soon dissipated after a short round of pointless searching. "Maybe we should give up." I suggest. "Give up, are you nuts?" "Maybe." There is a long moment of silence as we continue our search down a lonely alley. Finally, Olivia speaks. "Remember James Bean?" I roll my eyes. "Yeah." "Maybe he could help." "I don't know about that." I say. "Why? Don't you think it's worth a shot? He is a psychic real estate agent after all." I shrug. "I guess I just-" "I know you don't like him, but you got to admit it's worth a shot." Olivia interrupts. I nod slowly. "Yeah I suppose you're right. Now all we have to do is find a phone." Olivia half smiles. "You don't have a phone either?" I shake my head. "Nope."

Wilber

The wounded soldier insisted that we referred to him as Wilber because that's what the nametag said on his uniform. If I didn't know any better I would have thought that was his real, biological name. As soon as he put on the candy cane stripes and paper hat there was a twinkle in his eye. He quickly got to work putting things here and there. He told us of all the possible things we could do with the shop. It was clear he was at home. Random soldiers even popped in off the street. They never seemed to mind when we told them that we didn't have any ice cream treats at this time. They all were perfectly content talking to Wilber. However, Olivia and I knew this wouldn't last, and so we set out to find ice cream treats.

New Clothes

There was no soap or towels or curtains in the upstairs apartments. Something the wounded soldier would soon find out. When he came downstairs he was still soaking. His clothes clung to his body tightly. I couldn't imagine it was comfortable.  "We're sorry. We forgot there's no towels." I say.  "That's fine. I'll dry soon enough." The soldier rests by a booth. "I was thinking about doing something else." "Like what?" Olivia asks. "I don't know. But I don't think I want to do anymore soldiering." "Well, the world is yours." Olivia says. The soldier smiles. "That it is." He starts to unbutton his shirt. "What are you doing!" Olivia shouts. "I'm no longer a soldier hence I don't need the uniform." "I get that, but you can't change here." "Why not?" He asks. "Because I said so." The soldier leans back. "Alright. I didn't have anything to change into anyways." "I can help with that." Norm says. He scurries behind the counter. I can't tell what he is doing , but I hear him muttering "where is is it?" A moment later he reamerges with a pile of clothes. He presents it to the soldier. The soldier studies the clothes carefully. "Candy cane stripes?" "Yeah. Guess some employee left 'em behind. Now they're yours.Wear 'em if you like. But don't change here. Ok?"

Running Water

"What's that, little fella?" The wounded soldier says to Norm, leaning into his cane. "I ..umm fixed the water situation."  "Did he say we have water?" The soldier asks me. "Yes, he did." Norm says, annoyed, brushing past the two of us. Norm hops onto the counter and walks to the sink. "Behold." He shouts. He flips the faucet. A thick, black sludge comes out. "Gross." I say to myself, but loud enough Norm hears."It's natural. Just wait. " The thick black sludge is followed by spurts of a copper color and then a steady, thin, yellow. Norm shuts off the water. "What do you think?" "It's come a long way." Olivia says, trying to be as supportive as she can. "We have running water?" The soldier replies with wide eyes. Norm perks up. "Sure do." "And this would be everywhere? Not just here, but also upstairs?" "Yep?" "And would we have hot water?" "We should." The soldier smiles. "I'm going to take a shower." "Are you sure you want to do that?" Olivia asks. "I'm very sure."  "But the water is yellow." "Color doesn't bother me. It's warm. That's what I like to hear." "We don't even have soap yet." She says. "I don't mind. Hot water is a luxury I have not gotten to enjoy in a while. And that's what I plan on doing right now."

Tell a Friend

Norm left early in the day to figure out our water situation. I didn't know where he was going to go or who he'd possibly talk to ,but he seemed like a man (or shall I say raccoon?) On a mission. So I trusted him. The wounded soldier, meanwhile slept so late in the day that we almost forgot he was there. When he finally came down he appeared more relaxed. More calm. He thanked us multiple times and started to head out the door. Olivia stopped him. "You should recommend our place to friends." "I don't mean to be rude, lady, but does it look like I have friends?" "I don't know." "Well, I don't. " "What about the other soldiers? Isn't there someone you can tell?" I ask. He shakes his head.  "After the battle...after the explosion...we all kinda splintered. Everyone went their own ways." "Where will you go?" I ask. "Don't know. Maybe east." "You can stay." I say. "Thanks, but I don't believe in staying in one place for too long." I nod and help him with the door. Just as he is about to exit, Norm rushes up to us."Guys, fantastic news!" He shouts. "We have water!"

Back to Zero

The wounded soldier slept while we frantically cleaned the shop.  Despite the fact that he wasn't exactly the friendliest person, and we were vastly unprepared, it gave us all a boost of confidence. We all had the feeling that if he came in off the streets that others might as well. We went at it all day.  Sweeping, repairing the front door, tossing out practically everything. It still wasn't exactly presentable by the time we were done. But at least it looked like it did before the explosion. Still no electricity or running water. Norm, however said he could fix that. I believed him this time. At least I wanted to. We were now out of the negatives and back to zero. It felt good. It felt really good.

Unhappy Customer

There was indeed someone sitting there. I could tell just by glancing  that it was a soldier. He wore a light grey, camouflage uniform. Resting beside his booth was a wooden crutch.We tried our best to creep in unnoticed, but you can't sneak up on a soldier. Even if that soldier happens to be an ambutee. "Bout time you arrived." He shouts. "How did you get in?" I ask. "Front door was wide open." "But we were all out there. No one saw you enter." Well, I did. Now are you gonna serve me or not?" He turns to us. He has a deep, crimson scar that runs down under his left eye. "I don't know how to put this." Olivia says. "Don't know how to put what?" He replies, impatiently. "We don't have any ice cream." I blurt. The soldier sighs loudly. "What do you have?" "Nothing." "What do you mean nothing?" "We don't have anything." I clarify. The soldier turns beat red. "Then why do you have the sign?" I glare at Norm. "I don't know." The soldier sarcastically smiles. "I should have known this would happen. I should have know. Every time I get excited about something good shit happens. Ain't nothing good in this world." There is a cold silence. I try my best to diffuse the situation.  "We may not have ice cream, but we have lodging." "You have lodging?"  I nod. "We do." "Don't pull at my heart strings. I can't take much more of this." He warns. "We're not. We have rooms above the shop. They're open now. You can rest there if you like." Olivia says. The soldier exhales. "It would be nice to sleep in an actual bed. The past couple months I've been in tents." Olivia nods and turns to me. "Could you show him a room?"

Norm's Fantasmagorical Fountain Shop

We slept until the early afternoon. I can't speak for Olivia, but I needed it. I was drained. When I get like that everything is dreary and focusing is impossible. So, I was glad to sleep. When I awoke I told Olivia all about Norm. I said how he was going to help us. That he was working diligently all night to clean the shop. It was difficult at first, but I got us both to be excited about an immaculate store just by talking. I shouldn't have tried, however.  We went downstairs only to find the place as dirty as we left it, and no Norm in sight. "Me thinks we've been deceived." Olivia says. "Is that you guys?" Norm shouts in the distance. "Yes, where are you?" I ask. "I'm outside. I'm almost done." "With what?" "I'll show you. Just come out here." We walk outside. The sudden sunlight nearly blinds me, but I'm still able to see the litter, the broken glass, and the door that's falling off the hinges. "Alright we're here." I say, annoyed. "Check it out." He says with a big smile. He points to an old fashioned, 50's style, electric sign with twisty letters. It reads Norm's Fantasmagorical Fountain Shop. Olivia starts to read the sign ouloud. "Oh, I almost forgot." Norm flips a switch in the back of the sign. It now has bright, neon, orange letters. "Norm's Fantasmagorical Fountain Shop." Olivia says in puzzlement. "Yeah, what do ya think?" "That's the name we're going with?" Olivia replies. "It's the best one we came up with." He smiles. Olivia turns to me. "Is it?" "Nevermind the name. We can't put it up." I say. "And why not?"  "Because we still have a lot to do. We can't have this sign. It'll attract people." "But I thought that's what we wanted." He says, baffled. "Not now. Not yet. Turn it off." I shout. Norm rolls his eyes. He complies with my wish, but it takes him longer than it should. It seems as though he is examining something on the sign or the window. Then he chuckles to himself. "What?" I say with gritted teeth. He turns slowly. By the time I see his face he has a cocky smile. "We're too late. Someone's here."

Possible Partner

"Well, Olivia and I were planning on reopening the malt shop." I explain. Norm squints his eyes. "Really?" "Yep." "This dump?" "It won't look like this when we open." I  say.  Norm examines the room. "You better get to work then." I sigh. "I know."  I pick up the broom and begin sweeping again. Norm stops me a moment later. "You know I could work for you guys." I turn around and study Norm. I try to see if he is joking, but he appears sincere. "You wanna work for us?" I ask. "Well, with you. I figure I come in here and pretend to work all the time. Why not do it for real?" I shrug. "I guess." "I could even come up with the name." He snaps his fingers. "I got it! Norm's Fantasmagorical Fountain Shop!" "Norm's  Fantasmagorical Fountain Shop?" I repeat. "Yeah, I know this is technically a malt shop, but we have soda fountain and I thought it sounded better than Norm's Fantasmagorical Malt Shop." "But why is it your name?" I ask. "Because I came up with it and my name is a name people trust." I shake my head. "Sure." "Hey, why don't you get some rest? It's late." "I can't. There's still so much to do." "I know, but I can work on it." I stare at Norm, baffled. "You sure?" "Positive. Remember that boat I made? I did that in a night. Cleaning this'll be a piece of cake." I nod slowly. "Ok. As long as you are ok with me leaving." "I'm fine. Go rest." "Alright. I'll do that." I exit the room and I prepare for some much needed Z's.

Window Repair

We worked long into the night with little, if any results. It seemed like there was an endless supply of broken glass.  Eventually around twelve, Olivia called it a night. She found a room above the malt shop and crashed for a few hours.  I, however, stayed behind. I wasn't expecting to get much done, but I wasn't ready to call it quits either.  I continued to sweep, but I noticed it was getting chilly. A cold wind was blowing through the gaping hole in the window. Luckily, I found a garbage and tape in the closet. I repaired the hole as best as I could with those materials. It made a horrendous noise when the wind crashed against it, but at least it blocked the weather. I stood back, admiring my work for a minuet. Then I heard something scurrying behind the counter. "Olive?" "Nope. I'm way cuter." A voice replies. I turn around to see Norm standing on the counter, wearing a paper hat. "What are you doing here?" I ask. "I should be asking you the same question."

Cleaning Time

We sat there for hours not saying a word. We tried to see past the dust and dirt, the shattered glass, and the cobwebs. We tried to imagine the store's potential. Eventually I pushed myself out of the booth. I then walked over to the broom that I carefully placed against the wall. "Could you see it?" Olivia asks. "At times. It's kinda hard to right now with the mess." "But you could see it?" "I think so." I reply. I start to sweep the glass. Olivia walks over to me. " I know you won't see it till it's here." She says. "I can imagine it, but it will never come to be if we're just daydreaming all day." Olivia sighs. "I suppose you're right. " Olivia finds a dust pan and we begin the arduous task of cleaning.