Poisonous Food?

A man with salt and pepper hair and a five o' clock shadow stepped into view. "Go on. Eat it." He insisted. I put the strawberry back on the table with its brothers and sisters. "Was something wrong with it?" The man asks in a suddenly concerned tone. "Perhaps." I respond, coyly. "Well, don't let one bad one stop you. I'm sure there are plenty of other good ones." "I don't think we'll be eating the strawberries. Or any of the other desserts for that matter." I say. "And why is that?" "Because you poisoned them." Olivia blurts . The man leans in. "Excuse me?" "You heard her." I say. "Yes, I think it's an absurd accusation." "Is it?" Olivia asks. "We have no idea who you are and we have no reason to trust you yet." The man sighs. "Fine. I'll have one as well." The man walks over to the table. He takes the biggest chocolate covered strawberry he can find. He then takes a huge bite and swallows. He looks over to Olivia. "There,nothing happened." "Yet." Olivia adds. "And nothing will." He assures. "Maybe you're right, but I prefer to wait a while." She says starring into his eyes. The man nods slowly. "If that's what you wish then we will wait."

In the Helicopter

Up and up we went. The late autumn wind pushed us back and forth as we climbed the rope ladder. Eventually we made it to an empty room of the helicopter. There was no one there, but there was a dessert table set up for us. I picked up a chocolate covered strawberry. I examined it closely, wondering if was poisonous. "Go ahead." A not so far off voice said. I turned around quickly. A man in a black suit came out of the shadows. "Go ahead." He said again. "You'll need your strength."

Next Mission?

Not long after I uttered the delightfully vauge words "I want a new mission" , I heard a swoosh, swoosh directly overhead. Olivia and I looked up at the same time. We saw a black helicopter hovering over us. A second later it dropped a rope ladder. All the sudden the briefcase I was holding felt significantly lighter. I then knew without a doubt that this helicopter was for us.Whatever it was, good or bad, this mission was ours.

Wishes Fufilled

"I think I know what's going on here." I said as we crossed the rickety bridge. "And that would be?" "Isn't it obvious? Everything we've said outloud from the steaks to the bridge has instananeously materialised." "It could be a coincidence." Olivia says. "It could be, but I doubt it." "Then if you're right we should keep asking for things." "We should, but let's go big this time." "Ok, what do you want now?" She asks. I take a deep breath. "I want a way out of this forest, and I want a crystal clear mission for us." There is a beat. Nothing happens."What now? Olivia asks.  "Now we wait. Hopefully not long."

Foot Bridge

As is often the case when we have no idea where to go ,we wandered. The only difference is that this time our wandering led us to a deep pit. We stared down at the abyss and wondered where exactly should we turn next? " How deep do you think it goes?" Olivia asks.  " I don't know, but I sure wish we had a foot bridge of some sort." Immediately after I said that I felt the brief case become lighter. Then two by fours appeared out of nowhere. They flew through the air and formed into a footbridge. "That was freaky." Olivia says in stunned amazement. "Yeah, you think it's safe to walk across?" I ask. "Yes, I do." "How do you know for sure?" Olivia smiles at me. "Because that bridge was made for us."

Check, Please

We finished our mysterious, but delicious stakes. Afterwards we offered to pay. The cook told us that we alrady paid. Olivia were convinced that he had somehow mistook us for someone else. We tried to tell him this many, many times. But he wouldn't hear it. He knew, at least in his mind that we paied. Not wanting to argue anymore we thanked him for a good meal. Then, with full stomachs and clear heads we took off once more into the great unknown

Almost Ready

We continued to sniff the air and follow the trail of the pepper air. Eventually we came across a man grilling in the middle of the forest. He had a red checkered apron and a look on his face that suggested he was expecting us. "You came just in time." He said. "For what?" Olivia asks. He chuckles slightly. "For dinner of course." "I think you have us mistaken for someone else." I say. He furrows his brow. "Didn't you two want steaks?" Olivia and I glance at each other. "We did-" "Good. It's almost ready."

Food for Thought

We exited the creepy cabin with a brief case full of money. We knew that in time Chad would ask us a favor. It was more than likely something devious. However, we were willing to put those black thoughts far back in our minds as we imagined all the good that could come out of this money. "What do you want to buy first?" Olivia asks. I think for a moment, then I respond. "Dinner." "Dinner sounds good. What would you like?" "Steak." "I could go for steak. With patato?" "Of course." I say. I sniff the air. It smells of pepper and barbeque. Initially I keep my findings to myself because I assume I am hallucinating, but then I noticing Olivia sniffing the air. "You smell that too?" I ask.  "Yeah it smells like someone is cooking a steak, but it can't be." "I think it is. Let's follow our noses."

The Catch

Chad opens the briefcase. He revels multiple rows of fifty and hundred dollar bills. Olivia and I stay where we are. "What's a matter? It won't bite." Chad says. "What's the catch?" Olivia asks. "Catch?" Chad repeats. "Yeah, what do we have to do for you?" "Nothing." Chad says, snapping shut the briefcase. "Really? Nothing?" I reply. "Well, not yet at least." "When is yet?" Olivia asks. Chad smiles. "You'll know. In the mean time all I want you to do is catch this." He tosses the briefcase into the air. I watch it spiral towards me in slow motion. Then, as if I were a football player, I reach out my my arms and the briefcase lands gracefully in my arms. After I catch it I look up to Chad, but he is gone. Long gone.

Sign Here

"Can you make out any of the words?" I ask Olivia while squinting my eyes. "No, can you?" "No.This sucks. He'll probably be back any moment and I still have no idea what this contract says."  "So? We just won't sign." Olivia says. I sigh. "Yeah, $10,000 is a lot of money." "It is, but I don't trust him." "Nor do I." I reply. Olivia smiles. "There. Looks like we made a decision." "Yes. We're gonna sign." "What." Olivia shouts. "We'll find a way to get out of it." I say as I sign my name. Olivia takes a deep breath and signs after me. The moment the paper has both our signatures it vanishes. "Now what?" Olivia asks. "Now, you claim your prize." We turn around to see Chad holding a large brief case filled with money.

Tiny Type

The papers Chad wanted us to sign turned out to be a contact with teny,  tiny, microscopic type. I strained my eyes trying to read the type. "They're just words." Chad says, watching my squint. "I know that, but what does it say?" "Just the standard contract stuff, you know." "No, I don't." I say. "Don't worry about the words. Don't you want $10,000?" "Of course I do, but-" "But what? You want to know if I'm screwing you over?" Neither I nor Olivia responds. "Well, I can assure you I am not." "We don't exactly have much reason to trust you." Olivia says. Chad takes a deep breath. "Fine, you two want to read it, I'll let you read it. I'll leave with my driver, so you two can have some privacy in reading. However, when I come back I expect a decision to be made." Chad starts to walk away. "How much time are you giving us?" I ask. "Enough." He shouts back before exiting with his driver and leaving us alone in a strange cabin.

Time to Sign

"What kind of papers are those?"I ask. "They'e the kind that needs to be signed." Chad responds sarcastically. "But what are we signing?" "Papers." "Give us one good reason why we should sign?" Olivia breaks in, disrupting our banter. "Of course you don't have to sign. You don't have have to do anything you don't want to do. However, I would take another good look at my driver." We turn back to the driver. He holds a knife again, but this time it's even bigger than before.  "You can't fool us. That's just illusion." Olivia says. "Would you bet your lives on that?" Chad asks. There is a brief pause. Olivia sighs. "No. We'll sign."

"So glad you made it"

I looked back into the infinite darkness to try and get an idea where the voice was coming from. All I saw was black. When I turned my head to the fireplace Chad Billington was standing there, nonchalantly, as if he were there the whole time."I  said I'm so glad you made it. Please, come out of the gloom." Neither Olivia, nor I respond. Chad claps his hands. A moment later every single light in the cabin pops on. The sudden brightness causes us to wince. "My apologies for  the assault on your retinas, but I did ask you to come out of the gloom." "What kind of game are you playing?" I ask, still squinting. "A game? Whatever makes you think that." "There is a madman out there." Olivia shouts. "And what does this madman look like?" "He's your driver." She says with gritted teeth.  "You mean the man standing behind you?" Chad asks. Olivia and I turn to see the driver standing right behind us.He holds a butcher knife in a sinister fashion. Olivia yelps while I'm frozen in place. "Come now, what are you so afraid of?" Chad asks. "Because he wants to carve us like a pumpkin." Olivia shouts. "With What? His ball point pen?" Chad says. "He has a large knife." "Look closer." Chad instructs. We look at the knife. All the sudden as if by magic, the large knife turns to a small pen. Chad walks to the driver. "You see, the pen truly is mightier than the sword." I take a deep breath. "What's going on?" I ask. Chad smiles smugly. "I  want you to sign some papers."

The Dark Room

Sometimes I watch a movie and I shout to the screen, "No, you idiot. Why would you go in there?" But now I know. It's curiosity, or greed actually. However, in this instance, for these two characters it was curiosity. We stepped into the cabin into a dark, dark room. Our footsteps echoed in the darkness. There was nothing but dark for a long time.  Then out of nowhere we saw a flame. It was a torch at first,  but it grew into a massive, lit fireplace. Olivia and I both expected someone to be standing there. Instead a familiar voice called out from somewhere in the shadows. It said "I'm so glad you made it."

The Cabin on the Hill

The cabin at the top of the hill was much further away than we realized, and the hill was steeper than we had anticipated. At times it felt as though the cabin was being pushed further and further away. However, after much struggle, and perhaps losing a quart of sweat, we reached the top. It was then that we realized that this was no ordinary, quaint cabin. The front door had a sleek, art deco look, and the doorbell was a diamond. I pressed the doorbell. It rang three times to the tune of an old fashioned grandfather clock. Then, as if on it's own, the front door popped open.

Flicker

We had our shield, but it wasn't as strong as it could be.It kept flickering like a faulty lightbulb. It did this for a long while. Eventually the flickering ceased and we were left with no shield at all. Luckily, the path in forest was becoming clearer. We could now see a cabin at the top of a hill. It appeared that the residents were home. Perhaps they were friendly. Perhaps they could help.

Lost Him?

We lost him, or so we wanted to believe. The maniac was no where in sight, but I've seen most of the Halloween movies. I know that just because the killer walks slowly it doesn't mean that he won't turn up out of nowhere. I also know that the victim's panicked breathing often gives away their location. I quickly covered my mouth. The only sound to squeel on me now was now was my heartbeat. I knew only I could hear it, but it felt like a million decibels. I didn't know what to do. Then I looked up. I saw pink wrapped around me and Olivia. I turned to Olivia. "You had energy to do that?" "Some."

Keep Running

Chases don't end till one of the parties is dead or simply too tired to carry on. Our pursuer was both tenacious and ruthless. He ditched his wheels in favor of his feet. I'd say he was making things even, but he was carrying a very sharp, very large knife. Olivia and I were starting to feel exhausted, however we couldn't give up. We had to keep running. Our lives depended on it.

Moonlit Knife

We were bruised,but not broken. The fall took much out of us though. It took both of us several minutes to get our barrings. When we finally got to our feet we saw the most grizzly sight waiting for us at the top of the hill. It was the limo driver. He held a butcher knife up high above his head. It simmered in the moonlight. He then cackled madly knowing full well that  the hill would be no obstacle for him.

Chased By a Mad Driver

We ran as fast as we possibly could. The mad car at our heals. Luckily there was a ray of light. Technically there were two. The car's headlights allowed us to see in the dark forest. It gave us somewhat of a path. However, just like in a bad horror movie I tripped over my own foot. Because I was holding Olivia's hand, she fell with me. We both fell hard too, rolling down a steep, muddy hill. We rolled down the hill, gathering more and more momentum until we we finally crashed into a cracked log.

What Kind of Help?

"Who exactly do you think is here?" I ask. Olivia ceases waving her arms for a moment. "Help is here?" "Who?" "That car." As soon as the words leave her mouth she realizes that the car is probably no friend we want to wave down. Unfortunately, it is too late. We are caught by blinding headlights. We hear small trees snap and break under the weight of the speeding car. Olivia grabs my hand and she screams "Run."

Rumble

Growl, growl, rumble, rumble, growl. My stomach makes noises. At first only I can hear it, but then the growles become louder. Olivia takes notice. "Perhaps we should rummage for food." She says.How 'bout those berries over there?" "I don't know if that's a good idea." "They're probably edible." "Probably isn't good enough." "Ok. They're definitely edible." "You don't know that." She says. "You're right I don't." There is a brief silence followed shortly by a Vrooom. Olivia springs up. "That your stomach?" "No, was that yours?" We hear the vroom again. "No, it's a car. Someone is here." She says excitedly. "Who?" I ask.  "Who cares?" Olivia jumps up and down. She waves her arms and she shouts "We're here!"

Saunter, Wander, Meander

The new adventure started off with a jaunty saunter, followed shortly by some wandering, and then finally some meandering. The woods were much deeper then we anticipated. I'd say we were off couse, but we didn' t choose a course to begin with. "Well, I suppose now's about the time we should figure it out." Olivia says. "Figure what out?" I ask. "How to get out of here." I half smile. "Yeah, that would be good."  Olivia looks up. "Rats." She says.  "What's a matter?" "I was hoping I could spot the north star or some sort of constellation, but the sky is blocked by many braches." "Maybe if we just keep going in one direction we'll eventually get out of the forest." I suggest. "I thought of that, but knowing us we'd probably walk in one huge circle." "How would we do that?" "I don't know, but it sounds like us." "Yeah, I guess it does. You got any ideas though?" "No, and I'm starting to get hungry." "Me too."

The Next Adventure

We decided to leave Chad were he was and be on our way. We knew deep down inside that if he was fighting the pink hearts this much the only sensible thing to do was walk away. The woods were deep and dark. It was somewhat frightening, but also exciting at the same time. We took comfort in knowing that our next adventure was just right around the corner.

Fighting the Hearts

Chad slumped up against a nearby tree. He had an idiotic grin on his face, and his eyes showed that he was a million miles away. "Is he ok?" I ask. "Yeah, he's fine." "Then why does look like that?" "Like what?" "Like we broke his brain." I say. Olivia shrugs. "I don't know. He's probably going through something that his mind can't comprehend." "That makes sense it's just I've never seen that before. " "Maybe no one was able to fight it before. Which is why we should be on our way." "I  don't undetstand." "Look at it this way, if his mind is able to fight the pink hearts I seriously doubt he'll be on our side when he comes out of it." Olivia explains. I stare at the struggling for consciousness, Chad. "But look at him." "He'll be fine. We can't babysit him." I bite my lip. "Ok. You're right.  We should keep moving."

Forest Walk

"It's a nice night, isn't It? Not too cold, and It's early enough that there are no mosquitos." Chad says. "Quit stammering . What do you want from us?" Olivia snaps. Chad lightly chuckles to himself. "You already know.  I want Russell Myers." "But why do you want him?" "Money, thats why. Honestly , I'm surprised you two weren't able to gather that. When in doubt guess money." "Yeah, well,  I don't think we'll be able to find him." I say. "No,you will. And you'll do it promptly." "You're not listening to us. We can't find  him because we have no idea where he is." I inform. "I don't care. You will find him." "What will you do to us if we don't?" Olivia says. "You don't want to know." I sigh."Olivia,fire the hearts." Olivia fires a pink heart into Chad's chest. A moment later he slumps against a tree with a stupified look on his face.

Some Kinda Test

Half a block away we decided to lower the pink shield. It felt like a good place to do so. There were no cops around, and we were on a dirt road headed towards a forest. There was,however, a familiar stretch limo that pulled up beside us. Chad Billington lowers his window. "Well done." He says. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you." Olivia sneers. "No, you shouldn't have.  But,  I wanted to say congradulations." "On what?" I ask. "On a job well done. You two exceeded my expectations." "This was some kinda test, wasn't it?" Olivia asks. "Yes, and you passed." "So you never wanted us to find Russel Myers then?" I say. "Oh no. I still want you to find him. In fact I require you to find him." "Eat shit." Olivia says with the utmost venom. Chad throws open the door. Olivia readies herself to fire a heart. "Stand down. I'm not gonna hurt you." He says. "Yeah, prove it." Chad gets out of the car slowly. Olivia watches him the entire time. "Relax. It's a nice night. I thought we could have talk while we go for a walk. Where were you going anyways?" "We don't know." I reply. Chad smiles. "That's the best place to start. "

Surrounded?

There were a total of six police cars waiting for us.  They all aimed their guns at  the entrance. They braced themselves for a standoff. "This is your final warning. Come out with your hands up." The chief instructs through a bullhorn. The officers get no reply. "We will open fire." They still  recieve no reply. The chief turns to his men. Just as he's about to give the go ahead, a bright pink light shines through the doorway. It is Olivia and her bubble. Because she hadn't used this power in quite some time she had a massive amount of energy stored up. Energy that she was able to captivate and hypnotize her enemies with. We walked out of the bar with the bright, pink bubble wrapped around us. All the officers looked up at us in awe and wonder. They didn't say one word to us as we walked further out. In fact they parted, much like the red sea, and they let us go our way.

Trust Him/ Don't Trust Him

Chad was nowhere in sight in the darkened bar. It led us to believe that perhaps Chad didn't lock us in the basement again. Maybe the wind blew the door shut, and because the door was ancient it locked. We still didn't view him as Angel, but we decided not to hate him anymore. At least until we had more evidence against him. Knowing that there was no Russell Myers in the bar(or anyone for that matter) we made the choice to leave. Unfortunately someone else did as well. "WE HAVE THE PLACE SURROUNDED. COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP." I look to Olivia. "Just when I was starting to like the guy."

Fire Extinguisher

I was hoping to find an ax. I really wanted to chop down the door and shout "It's showtime." Alas,  no such luck. We did, however, find a long since expired fire extinguisher. It certainly did the trick. I bashed the fire extinguisher against the door untill the wood fractured. After that Olivia kicked in the rest. We crawled through a little hole that we created. We now found a freedom. It was the darkened, gloomy freedom of an abandoned bar, but it was freedom none the less.

Locked In the Basement...Again

After spending an entire afternoon filling up on dust and other people's memories, we decided to leave the dark basement. Unfortunately, when we reached the top of the stairs the door was locked. "Bastard did it again." Olivia says, jiggling the doorknob. "I can't believe we trusted him." I reply. "We didn't." Olivia heads back down the stairs. "Where are you going? There's no window in this one." I say. She stops halfway down the stairs. "I know, but there is bound to be an ax or something. We will get out of here."

Shoebox Memories

The shoebox was filled with sepia tones from long, long ago. Every picture had that same stern, poised smile. I examined each serous face. Not because I thought I'd recognize somebody, but because I wanted to see. I wanted to look into their eyes. I wanted to see if they could tell that they were on the cusp of tomorrow. I figured at least two people must have known that something big was about to happen. I picked two kids and one older woman who I felt "knew" things. There was nothing scientific about my choosing. I simply picked three people randomly. Who knows? I could be right. Not that I'd ever find out though. "Fascinating stuff, isn't it?" I say to Olivia. "Sure is. I just love seeing how people dressed back then." "You think someone is looking at us right now?" I ask. Olivia looks around for surveillance cameras. "No, I mean do you think someone is looking at a picture of us?" "It's possible. What with social media and what not." " I mean do you think someone who lives years and years into the future is looking at a picture of us at this moment?" "Oh, that's quite different." "Yeah, what do you think?" Olivia blows a raspberry. "I suppose It's possible." There is a brief pause, then Olivia places all the pictures back in the shoebox. "No more picture time?" I ask. Olivia shakes her head. "I think it's time we got out of the basement."

Basement Storage

Ever been in the basement of a bar or a pub? It's surprisingly very interesting. For starters, they're big. Much bigger than than you would think. A small house would fit into some of the basements I have seen. This one definitely. It's basically a massive storage space that is filled with a bunch of stuff that no one ever bothered to throw out. There are dead Christmas trees, there are fake Christmas trees with busted lights, and there  are old signs for when the bar was called Finnigan's. Olivia and I marvel at the useless crap. We realize we won't find Russell Myers, but we don't care. We are far too focused on our surroundings. We find a light blue shoebox with the words "Pictures" written on it. Olive and I pop the lid. We decide to delve into a past that we never lived through, and wax nostalgic about memories we never had.

Condemned Bar

Going into it, I didn't have the highest expectations of finding Rusell Myers. But we ventured in the bar anyways. Partly to humor Chad, and partly to pass time. We soon found that this bar was condemned. There were no tables or stools. There wasn't even a bar. There was, however many beer bottles scattered around the floor filled to various levels. This we believed ment there would be squatters. We walked all around the bar and through the kitchen. The only other signs of life we saw were broken glass, cigarette buds, and spilled grease everywhere. Things were looking grim,but as we got to the backdoor we noticed a stairway. Presumably leading to the basement. "You want to check it out?" Olivia asks. "You think he's down there?" Olivia shrugs. "I don't know. Who cares?"

Outside the Biker Bar

The biker bar looked worse than I remembered it. There were broken windows, the door was hanging on by one hinge, and the grass was up to my knees. I half expected a lion to pop out at any moment."Here's the place." Chad says, opening the limo door. "Doesn't look like anyone's there." Olivia replies. "They're there." Chad snaps. "I don't know." "They are. They just redecorated." I sigh. "I believe that." I reluctantly get out of the limo. Olivia follows. Chad slams the door after she leaves. I quickly pull the handle, but it's locked. Chad lowers his window. "May I help you?" "Yes. Get out here." I shout. "I don't think so." Chad raises his window. I jiggle the handle again. Once more Chad lowers the window. "I need you." Chad shakes his head. "No, you don't." The window is raised a final time.  I look at Olivia. She looks back at me. We both wonder how we got in this mess.

Late Night Drive

I said the biker bar. Truth be told I have absolutely no clue where Russel Myers would be, but I said the biker bar because it felt right. It must have felt right to Chad as well because that's where we are headed to. Either that or he's toying with us. All I know is that we've been driving all night. It is now 3 a.m.  My eyelids are so heavy. I want to sleep, but I can't. I don't trust this man. It's been hours, and he hasn't said a word. He just sits there and stares at me as if he's piering into my soul. I'm tired and frightened. However, I don't give in to either. Instead I sit up straight and I stare back.

In the Limo

We sat in the back of a limo on a long, weird, C - shaped couch. We sat on one side. Chad sat on the other. I had never been in a limo before. It was a shame this was my first experience. "You should relax." Chad says to me as if he can read my thoughts. "It's easy for you to say." Olivia replies. "Yes, I suppose it is." Chad reaches into a mini fridge. He pulls out a bottle of champaigne. "This will help." "We're not in the mood." Olivia says. "Nonsense." He takes out three glasses and pours the champaigne. "You have nerves. I see that, but it's nothing a little bubbly can't cure." He hands us the glasses. I start to drink, but Olivia stops me. "Don't drink that." "Normally, you're right there is the formality of the toast before one can drink, but we can forget about that." "I don't care about formalities." Olivia says. "Then what's the problem?" "How do I know you're not trying to poison us?" "You don't." "Oh, now I really want to drink this." She says, sarcastically. Chad takes our glasses. He then lowers his widow and splashes the drinks out of the window. "There. Better?" He asks. "A little." Olivia says. "Good. Now that we've gotten that out of the way we can get down to business."  "I think I know where he is." I say. "Where?" Chad asks with slight meaner tone. "Take us to the biker bar." Chad nods slowly at my request. After that he taps on the glass that separates the driver from the passengers. The driver lowers the glass. Chad speaks to the driver without either one of them turning their head. "We have a drive, a long drive ahead of us. But we have a lead. It better be a good lead."

Pete Reacts

Predictably, Pete did not take the news well of Chad dropping the case.He swore a blue streak. Cussing him left and right. Saying things like "snake" and that he had a bad feeling from the start. Chad just stood there, stoned faced while Pete got redder and redder. Eventually Pete took a break from his tirade. My guess is to take a breath. "Now that you have that out of your system." Chad says, calmly. "I don't have anything out of my system." Pete shouts. "I figured you would be upset so..." Chad reaches in his inside breast pocket. He pulls out a thick bundle of cash. He then hands it to Pete. "What's this?" Pete asks. "It's for you. Happy?" Pete stares at the bundle in his hands. Chad sighs. "Fine." Chad pulls out another bundle and hands it to Pete. "Now if you excuse me I have more important matters to attend to." He walks to the front door, ushering me and and Olivia to follow. "This isn't over." Pete shouts. "I'm sure." Chad says. He walks through the front door. Olivia and I follow. There we see a stretch limo waiting for us.

Drop the Case

"Russel Myers? We're seriously revisiting that subplot?" Olivia says. Chad chuckles to himself. "It was always on my mind." "Sounds like you need a hobby or two." Chad squints his eyes. "Where is he?" "We didn't know then, so what makes you think we'd know now?" I ask. "Because you are two years older and thus two years wiser." "I don't know about the wiser part." I say. "Where is he?" Chad asks yet again. "We don't know. Can't you just sue us and get it over with?" Olivia asks.  "Is that what you want?" "Not really, but it seems better than this." "Then I'll sue you. I'll squeeze every penny out of you. But I won't stop there. I'll push you down. All the way down, and I'll make sure you never come back up." I bite my lip. "What if we can find him?" "Then I'll drop the case, but that's only assuming that you can find him." "I think I know where he is." I say. "You think or you know?" "I know where he is." Chad smiles smugly. He then straightens his tie. "Good. Just what I wanted to hear. I am going to go through that door and give my client the unfortunate news that I can no longer represent him. You two are to wait one minute and then meet me on the other side." We watch Chad exit. Olivia turns to me. "We don't know where Russel is. Why did you say we did?" "I was trying to get us out of trouble. Think I might have made things worse."

Chad Arrives

Pete entered the full service gas station with his fancy, big time lawyer. It felt obvious that Chad remembered our faces, but he played coy untill Pete introduced him. Even then he never came out and said he remembered us. He danced around it, saying things like "you look familiar."  After Pete introduced us as the homegrown terrorists who blew up his store, Chad asked if he could speak to us one on one. Pete didn't mind. Especially when Chad explained that it was in the name of pscholological torture. Chad took us to a small, dark room. There were cobwebs and spiders
everywhere. Here Chad's demeaor gradually changed. He relaxed a little, but only a little. He pressed his hands flat against the table and leaned in. "Listen up. Listen good. I don't give a shit about this man's business. All I care about is Russel Myers. You get me him and we're gold."

Ask Jim

Getting Rita to change Pete's mind was clearly not gonna work. I had one more idea though. We were going to talk to Pete's brother, Jim. It was still a bit of a long shot, but it was worth trying. "You want me to do what?" He asks. "We want you to call off his lawyer." "What makes you think I could do that?" "Because you're his brother." Jim nods slowly. "I am, but at the end of the day Pete's gonna do his own thing." "So, you're not gonna talk to him?" I ask. " 'Fraid not. I've been down this road before... well, maybe not this exact one, but I know how it'll end." "It could be different this time." I say. Jim shakes his head.  "Doubt it." "So, that's it then." "It's all I can do." "But you didn't do anything!" Olivia shouts. "Maybe not enough, but you should have thought of that before you blew up his bait shop." "We didn't blow it up." "Hey, I'm not saying it wasn't funny, but maybe you shouldn't have done it." "For the last time we didn't do it!" Jim backs up slightly. "Fine. You didn't do it." He glances out the dirty window. "Something catch your attention?" I ask. "Yeah, my brother's here, and it looks like he's got a friend."

Change Rita's Mind

"I ain' t happy ta see ya." Rita declares as she enters the diner. "We need to talk." "And I ain't gonna talk to ya either." Rita angrily shuffles to our booth a moment later. "Alright. I might have to talk to ya. But only because you're in my section." "You have to get Pete to call off his lawyer." Olivia says. "Why should I do that?" "Because the guy is ruthless." I jump in. "Good. Serves you two right." "What exactly did Pete tell you?" Olivia asks. "Well, he told me that you two exploded his business." "We didn't blow it up." I blurt. "That's not what he told me." "I'm sure it wasn't." Rita leans in. "Look, maybe you two didn't get your hands dirty with any devices, but I've got a mind to believe that you were in on it. Where I come from that makes you just as guilty." "We didn't do anything." I say. "Maybe you didn't. And maybe this fancy lawyer will prove your innocence." "It won't be a fair trail." I insist. "That's not my problem." "There is not a damn thing we can do to change your mind, is there?" Olivia says. "I'm afraid not. Now, if we're done here I got work to do." I grit my teeth. "There's just one more thing." "And what's that?" "I want the check."

Through His Heart

Chad Billington was going to be Pete's lawyer. This is the same lawyer who for reasons I don't remember locked us in the basement of his lush mansion. It's possible that Chad harbors no ill will towards us. It's even possible that he doesn't remember us, but I'm not holding my breath. I know the best way to change Pete's mind is through his heart, and I also know that Pete's heart works at the American Classic Diner. Rita doesn't start till later. Much later. We don't mind though. We can wait. Heck, this time I might even try the beef Wellington.

Pete's Message

Pete speed his pick up truck to us. He slammed the breaks when he was less than a foot away. After that he threw open the door and stamped his way to us. "You two are going down." "I believe you mentioned that before." Olivia says, as calmly as possible. "No. You don't understand. I called my lawyer, he's in love my case. So much so that he's gonna do this pro bono." "And that's supposed to make us scared?" "It should. He's famous." "What's his name?" "Chad Billington." Olivia and I turn to each other. "I take it the name rings a bell." Pete says smugly. "We might have heard it." I reply. "Just thought I'd let you know what you're in for." Pete walks away. We watch him drive off. "Chad Billington is the one who locked us in his basement, right?" "Yep" "Are we screwed?" I ask. Olivia sighs. "I hope not."

"What Have We Wrought?"

• "What have we wrought?" I ask, staring at the night sky. "We didn't wrought anything. It was already wrought." Olivia replies. "Maybe. Or maybe we sent it home." "You could be right." She says. "You think so?" I ask. Olivia shrugs."It's possible. All I know is that idea feels a lot better than the alternative." "What's the alternative?" "That we unleashed unimaginable chaos upon the world." "God, I hope that's not the case." Olivia nods. "Me too." There is a brief pause as we take in the infinite possibilities while gazing at the infinite sky. In the distance I see a cloud of smoke. I don't think anything of it at first. Then, I realize that it is a pick up truck speeding towards us. "Our friend's back." I say, pointing to the truck. "Oh, shit." "You think he's got good news for us?" I ask sarcastically. Olivia half smiles."Oh yeah. That can only be good news."

Space Fish

We slammed the door and searched frantically for a lock. Of course with our luck we couldn't find one. We did the next best thing though. We pressed our bodies firm against the door. Bam! Bam! "This door isn't going to hold." Olivia shouts. "I know, but we can't let it through." Bam! Bam! Olivia runs off. "Where are you going?" I shout to her. "It doesn't matter what we do. That thing'll still get through." Just then the door bursts open. I get a glimpse of its hungry mouth. It comes at me, but I quickly dive out of the way. I watch it move past me. After that it moves into the horizon and up into space.

Catch A Falling Star

The bright, shiny star beckoned us. It wanted us to snatch it out of the sky.  I stretched my arm as far as I could, but the star was still a good foot away. I even stood on my tip toes in an effort to catch it. Beads of sweat were rolling down my face. I was about ready to to give up when the star fell further. It was now within reach. I couldn't believe it. I could feel it's heat on the palm of my hand. Luckily, out of the corner of my eye I saw many massive, razor sharp teeth. I quickly grabbed Olivia. We ran as fast as we could. The gigantic, space angler fish at our heals. Thankfully we left the door wide open. We ran through it, and slammed it behind us.

"So beautiful "

Initially we didn't discover anything extraordinary when we walked through the door. It looked like a regular desert. But then I studied the ground carefully. It was hard and filled with craters. The sky was clear. We could see every constellation, and a few asteroids in the distance. Olivia gasps in amazement. "It's beautiful. Isn't it?" I say. "It sure is." "I never thought I'd get to go to the moon." "We're not on the moon. Don't be silly." "Look down. The desert doesn't have craters like that." "But we can't be on the moon. There's no oxygen on the moon." I put my arm around Olivia. "I don't get it either, but we're here or at least somewhere very close to it." We admire the night sky for a moment.  "Can we stay for a while more?" Olivia asks. I nod."Good.  There is a star falling to us and I want to catch it." I see where Olivia is pointing. It's a bright, white star. It falls for a while, then it hovers above. We are both transfixed. I reach out my hand to it.  "So beautiful." She says. "So beautiful." I reply.

The Door's Allure

Pete sped off in a red hot rage that I'm sure was justified in his own mind. Olivia and I waited approximately one minute before turning to one another. Then in unison we both said "let's open the door." There wasn't anything spectacular about the door. It appeared to be just a regular, worn down, wooden door. Yet, it seemed to be calling our names, begging us to walk through. The allure was far too strong. We had to give in. We had to know what was on the other side. So I placed my hand on the doorknob. It was like ice. That's when I knew that something special, or at least interesting was waiting for us.

Just the Front Door

As if  a disappearing bar wasn't strange enough, things would soon get stranger. The bait shop had vanished as well, or at least the majority of it. The only thing that remained was the front door. There wasn't a sign or even any rubble to indicate anything else had ever been there. Pete jumped out of his car, screaming obscenities. "Are you sure we're at the right place?" I ask. "What the hell kind of smart ass comment is that?" "There's no sign. Maybe we took a wrong turn." "You think I got lost? I've lived here my whole life." "Just throwing out suggestions." "I told you not to answer that phone." He spits. "You're gonna blame this on us?" Olivia says. "Well, I was gonna just blame it on him, but now that you spoke up, yes, I'm gonna blame it on you as well." Olivia rolls her eyes. "Real mature." "It is. You know what else is mature? Me suing you." "You're gonna sue us?" I say. "You bet your ass I will." "But we don't have any money." Olivia snaps. "Even better. I'll bury you. I'll destroy you both." Pete walk-runs to his car. He opens the door and shouts to us one last time. "I will destroy you." He then takes off,  leaving us alone in the desert once more.

And then there were 3

"Well, that was my favorite bar." Pete says in disbelief. "Sorry, I don't know what happened." I say. "We don't either." Olivia replies. I look around. "Where is everybody else?" "You think they're dead?" Pete asks. "Maybe.  Maybe they never existed in the first place." Olivia suggests. "You mean like that movie with the sufer guy who wore a long, black trench coat?" Pete asks. I scratch my head. " The Matrix?" "Yeah, the Matrix." I shrug. "It could be like that." Pete takes a deep breath. "At any rate there is nothing left for us here. Might as well head back to the shop."

Shadow Man

I stood before the shadow creature. It's massive size dwarfed everybody in the room. I could see through it, and yet it felt solid. I don't know if I had ever seen this thing in real life with my own eyes, but it felt like it was always there. Taunting, mocking, making the room colder. The rage grew and grew. I clenched my fist. I readied myself to strike, and that's when it happened. It was no longer a shadow creature, but a darkness that went in and around me. It turned into a violent vortex. It whipped bits of the bar here and there. Not wanting to be impaled, I dropped. My face pressed against the disgusting floor. Eventually the nightmare ended. The vortex dissipated. I opened my eyes. The bar was gone. Not wrecked or demolished. It was physically gone. I was in the middle of desert as were Pete and and Olivia who were stunned beyond words.

Mikey Mantle

Pete took us to a bar that reeked of despair and vomit. I understand there has got to be only a handful of bars in the area, but somehow we ended up at the most depressing one. It was a room full of dour faces. The only one with cheery eyes was Pete. He talked on and on about baseball. Specifically Mickey Mantle, and how he changed the game. I wanted to talk about the prank call, but no matter how hard I tried the conversation always went back to baseball. I wanted to share in his joy and enthusiasm for America's favorite past time, but I couldn't. Perhaps it was because my brain was still trying to figure out who the mysterious prank caller was. Or maybe it was being in the bar too long, feeling the weight of a thousand worlds come crushing down. All I knew is my chest was in knots. I decided then to get some air. That's when I saw it. It was a monstrous shadow man. It had long, broad shoulders and was over twelve feet tall. It was busy playing pool, so it didn't notice me right away. But then when it turned it's faceless head to me an indescribable feeling of rage ran through me. I knew then that dispite not knowing who or what this thing was I had to fight it.

Waiting for Something Horrible

We stood guard outside the bait shop all day waiting for something horrible. The only thing remarkable that happened was the gradual setting of the sun. Pete exited the shop shortly after. He stared at us in stunned amazement. "I'll be. So this is where you went after I kicked you out of the shop." "Yes sir." I respond. "And you two have been here all day?" "Yes sir." He walks up to us. "Are you crazy?" "Quite possibly." Olivia says.  Pete walks past us. He ushers us to follow. He stops when he realizes we aren't behind him. "Ain't you gonna follow?" "Where to?" I ask. "You to stood guard for me the whole day. I owe you a drink." "Yeah, but no one showed up." Olivia says. "Then you musta done a good job."

In the Middle of the Desert

"What's the plan?" "The plan?" I repeat back knowing in my head that there could be only one plan. "Yeah, what are we gonna do now?" "There is only one thing we can do. We have to protect Pete." "You really think that that was more than just a prank call?" "I do." Olivia shakes her head. "Ok. What do we do? Do we force ourselves back into the bait shop?" "No." "Then what do we do?" "We stand guard. We stay vigilant." "Out here?" "Yes." "In the middle of the day?" "Yes." "In the middle of the desert?" "Yes." Olivia crosses her arms. "You're nuts, but you also could be right."

Bad News

Pete entered a darkened bait shop bemused, but not upset. "What's going on? You guys playing a game?" He asks with a grin. "Not exactly." I say. "Then what's going on?" "Someone threatened you." "Threatened me?" He says, still smiling. "Yeah, that's what it sounded like." "I don't understand. Did someone come by?" "Not exactly." "Then what happened?" He asks, his smile now fading. "Someone called." I say. Pete's smile is now gone and replaced with narrowed eyes. "Get out."  "We didn't mean any harm, but I think you should listen to us." Olivia says, trying to calm him down. "I'm listening alright. I'm listening to two people who could not obey one simple rule." "Okay, we broke a rule. But that's not what should be important right now." "Get out!"

Paranoid?

"What are you doing?" Olivia asks in a decibel I'm not comfortable with. "I'm hiding." I whisper back. "And keep your voice down." Olivia rolls her eyes and sits next to me. "Who're you hiding from?" "I don't know, and that's the scariest part." "Don't you think you are being a tad paranoid?" "Maybe. But maybe I'm not." Olivia takes a breath. "If that's how you feel then why are here?" "Because Pete could be back any minute." "We could take the tunnel to Jim's and call the bait shop from there." Olivia suggests. "No, we can't. It's a long tunnel and he'll probably be back before we reach the gas station." "So, then our only option is to hide in fear until Pete shows up?" "Yep." "Makes perfect sense to me."

Decoding the Message

"The jig is up." What could that possibly mean? Was Pete involved with unsavory characters? Was this call a threat? Would someone bust down the door demanding for Pete? Would this character break our fingers until we squealed? Olivia attempted to calm my restless mind. She said it was most likely a prank call and nothing more. Initially I went with that. But it didn't take long for my wheels to spin once more. I imagined the most extreme, macabre scenarios. In the end I turned off all the lights, I shut all the blinds, and I ducked down low. Real low.

The Ringing Phone

Pete took Rita to see a spy movie or a western. I understand they're not exactly the same genre, but they both sounded right for some reason. While he was away he had me and Olivia watch the store. He told us that he doesn't get too many customers so our duties consisted mainly of cleaning. Seeing as how we cleaned the whole shop top to bottom the other day we felt we earned T.V. time. We watched a talk show host give paternity test results on a small, grainy television. Just as the host is about to tell us who the father is, we are interrupted by a briiiiiiiing. Now, Pete gave us specific instructions that under no circumstances should we answer the phone.  I wanted to respected that. I really did, but it was a red rotary phone. It's a classic look. And the phone kept ringing, so I dove for it. I picked up the receiver. In my most professional voice I said "Hello. " There was a brief pause followed by a cold voice. "The jig is up." After that there was a click and nothing more.

Nerd to Chic

There is a late 90's movie called She's All That. In it our protagonist is transformed from an ugly duckling to someone who was merely pretending to be an ugly ducking the whole time. Basically they removed her glasses and Bam! She's a whole different person. I almost feel like that is us as we're giving Pete instructions on proper etiquette. But now that I said that out loud is sounds more like a Henry Higgins/ Eliza Doolittle situation. All I know is the guy was a nervous wreck. So, who better to help you with emotional support then two people you hardly know? In the end we convinced him to take Rita to a movie because he was that concerned with what to say. A movie could help with that situation as it is two hours of not talking. Again, now that I said it out loud it seems a little strange. I'm sure it will be fine though...hopefully.

Suckers?

Of course she said yes. Of course she agreed to a date. I don't think anyone reading is surprised by that. What's surprising is that Pete made plans for the following day. Not that night. I guess so he could prepare himself mentally and emotionally. He also asked me and Olivia to help prepare for the date all of the next day. We  agreed. I'm not sure if that means we are suckers or really nice. Perhaps it's a bit of both. All I know is that tomorrow he is closing his shop, specifically so we can help him. This should be interesting.

"Honey"

Normally I try to avoid coming into restaurants right before closing. Everybody in the kitchen tends to hate you for it, and I end up wondering if perhaps there might be some spit in my food. However, I was willing to put such things out of my mind in the name of love, or whatever this was. Pete ordered a short stack. Olivia and I didn't get anything on the account of the fear of spit. That and we weren't too hungry. "You coulda ordered somethin' . I woulda paid for it." Pete says, wolfing down  the last of his meal. "Na. We're not hungry. Besides we wanted to spend some time with you." I say. "Really?" He responds in disbelief. Rita walks by with the check. "Anything else I can get you, honey?" Pete stares into her pretty, green eyes. It appears as if they have a moment, but then he speaks. "No, that'll be all." Rita smiles and walks away. "What are you doing, man." I say. "Calm down. What's got you so upset?"  "She's got the hots for you." "What makes you say that?" "Well, she did call you honey." "I'm sure that's just how she talks." "She didn't say that to us." Pete raises an eyebrow. "You two been here before?" "Yes, just the other day." Olivia jumps in. Pete nods his head. "I'm not surprised she didn't say that to you." "No, honey is not a word you throw around." I say. "Plus, I mean look at you." Olivia adds. "Alright. I'll do it. I'll ask her out." Pete raises his hand. A second later Rita walks back to the table. "Yes, Pete." "Rita, there is just one more thing I wanted to ask you.."

Odd Jobs

Pete assigned us various odd jobs around the store. They consisted of (but were not limited to) washing the windows, sweeping the floors, changing the lightbulbs, cleaning the bathroom. Nothing terribly difficult, but it was a little annoying seeing Pete sleeping or watching T.V. I suppose when one owns their own business they can work (or not work) however they choose. At 6 P.M. Pete shut off they T.V. "That was some good work today." He says, putting up the closed sign and turning off the lights. "What now?" Olivia asks. "Now I go home. You two may do the same." "Are you going to get something to eat.?" Pete raises an eyebrow. "I may. What's it to you?" "Well, working around the store we noticed you didn't bring a lunch and I don't think you went out today." I say. "No, I didn't." "Then we should take you out. It's important to eat. Our treat." Olivia insists. "Your treat? You're gonna pay for dinner with the money you worked off today?" "Possibly." Pete half smiles. "Okay. But I pick the place." "That works for us." I say. Pete glances at his wristwatch. "I know a great place. It should still be open."

Pay Back

We glanced in the bait shop through a dirty, glass door. Pete was dozing with his feet on the desk. He didn't bother to put a closed sign up, but he lock the door.  Olivia and I banged furiously on the door, jostling him up. He walked slowly to the door. When he finally opened it, it was clear he wasn't in the best mood. "What do you want?" "That's a fine way to treat a customer." Olivia replies. He laughs to himself. "You don't know. We could buy something." "Like those canteens that mysteriously disappeared?" "We intended to pay you back." I jump in. "Oh yeah? How's about you pay me back now?" I rummage through my pockets. I pull out all the spare change I can find. I place the change in his palm. He appears disgusted. "A bit light, don't you think?" "We can work for you. To pay back the cost." He stares at Olivia. "You really want to do that?" "Yes." "It'll be a full day's work. " "That's fine." "Full day's work with me." "Even better." She says as confident as can be. Pete shrugs. "Suit yourselves. Come in."

Like A Rom Com

Outside the diner I could tell Olivia was cooking up a mad plan in her brain. "I wonder.." She said out loud finally. "About what?" I ask, suspiciously. "About Rita. She seemed fond of Pete. Don't you think?" "She seemed to fancy him." "I think she was smitten. We should do something about it." She says, excitedly. "No way." "But I said we would." "I thought that was a polite thing one says to somebody without intending to follow through." Olivia shakes her head. "I intend to fully honor my words. It'll be like a Rom Com." I sigh. "I don't have a choice in this matter, do I?" "Nope. None whatsoever." "Okay. Let's play matchmaker. "

Old Fashioned

Rita didn't say a word to us as we cashed out. She barely even made eye contact with us. Finally, as we are about to head out the door she says "I don't hate cha." Olivia and I simply respond "Ok." "Really, I don't." She says. "Ok." "Really, it's that Pete I have a problem with." I sigh. For whatever reason I decide to take the bait. "What did Pete do?" "It's more like what didn't he do." "What didn't he do?" Rita brightens up.  "Glad you asked. He's been coming in for months and not once did he ask for a night out on the town with me." I shoot a confused look. "You're upset because he never asked you out on a date?" "Don't be surprised. A girl likes to out every now and then with a decent fella." "Why don't you ask him out?" Olivia asks. "Call me old fashioned, but I don't believe that's my job." "Sorry, I don't know what to say." I tell her. We start to exit again. "Well, shoot. You know him. Maybe you can talk some sense into him." Olivia half smiles. "We'll see what we can do."

Friends of His?

We kept the charade going on for a while. Rita would pour us coffee, and we'd pretend we'd have no idea what she was talking about when she asked how she knew us. Around the fiftieth cup she told us to "cut the shit." Both Olivia and I pretended to be offended at such foul language in a family restaurant. "Can it. Who are you two?" "We're nobody." I reply. "Then why are two nobodies interested in me?" "I'm not really sure." Olivia says.  "Do you know a man named Pete?" I ask, quickly. Rita's expression slightly relaxes. "I know a few." "Do you know one that owns a bait shop?" Rita's eyes narrow. "I know the guy. You his friends?" "We barely know him." Olivia says.  "Good. Because I'd hate it if you were friends with that guy." Rita walks away. "She could have been a little bit more elaborate. I want to know what happened." I tell Olivia.  Olivia leans in. "I think we should go." "Yeah, I guess you're right. We been here long enough."

Rita Arrives

We had cup after cup of brown, barely caffinated coffee. Eventually, around a quarter to five a frazzled waitress stumbled in. She apologized countless times to Maxine. Maxine hardly responded. She just stood there,  stone faced, listening to Rita's excuses. When Rita was done telling her story, Maxine pointed to our booth. Rita laced up her apron. She had a confused look on her face as she walked over to us. "Was told you guys were waiting for me, but you don't look familiar. Have I seen you before?" I realized at that moment that there was no easy way to explain why we were there. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I raised my mug and asked "More coffee?" Rita bit her lip, holding back any annoyance or frustration. "Coming up."

Perfectly Decent Lunch

I got an all American burger in an all American diner. Was it to die for? Not even close. But was it satisfying after a long day in the desert? Yes, yes it was. "I guess this isn't the worst place. It's not exactly the best, but it's also not the worst either." Olivia says. "It's charming, isn't it?" I reply. "That is a word." A waitress comes by. She places the check on the table as she passes. Olivia grabs the check and flips it over. "What does it say?" I ask. "It's the total." "Is there a name though?" "No." I raise my hand. A second later our waitress comes back. "Can I ask your name?" I say to her. She points to a nametag that reads Maxine. "Does a woman named Rita work here?" "She does, but she won't be in till later." "How much later?" I ask.  "A few hours." "We'd like to wait if that's alright." "You gotta order something else. I can't have you just sitting around." "Can we get two coffees?" I ask. She nods slowly. "Coming up."

Classic American Diner

We kept walking for a bit. Eventually we found the diner, or a diner. It wasn't named Rita's. It didn't even have much of a name. Just a sign that said Classic American Diner. "They're right to the point." Olivia says, looking up at the sign. "I suppose Rita is a waitress." I say, walking up to the diner. "Hold on. Are you actually gonna go in there?" "We came all this way. It'd be kinda silly not to." Olivia jumps in front of my path. "But we don't know she's here." "We don't know she's not here." I quip. "Why do you want to see her?" Olivia asks. I shrug. "Boredom." "All the windows are dirty or cracked. This looks like the kinda place someone would get stabbed in." She shouts. "Realistically, I could get stabbed anywhere. Besides I'm hungry." Olivia shakes her head . She steps aside. I walk into the diner. A moment later she follows me.

Out of the Desert

A couple miles down the road the scenery drastically changed. There was green grass all around, and the air was not dry. It had moisture in it. Because of this it felt ten degrees cooler. I had heard about this affect before. People move to the desert from the Midwest or wherever. They plant grass and trees. Over time it alters the climate. "I don't see a diner." Olivia says. "How do you know it was a diner?" "It was named Rita's? What else would it be?" "Good point." I reply even though I am not convinced. "What if it's not a diner or a restaurant?"I ask. "You think Rita's refers to an actual house?" "Maybe." Olivia blows a raspberry. She looks around at the hundreds of identical, suburban homes. "If you're right then we'll never find her." She says. "You wanna give up? Do something different?" I ask.
Olivia shakes her head. "Not yet. I'm not ready to give up on the diner idea. "

Grab Supplies

Pete's  Bait Shop didn't have much, but it did have canteens. We took a couple and filled them up with cold tap water. Then we checked the map, in search of a local business.  We knew Pete frequented someplace for lunch. So there had to be something near by. We found a little area on the map circled in red. Underneath it was written Rita's.  "I think that's it." Olivia says. "Doesn't exactly look close." I reply. "No, it doesn't. But this time we're prepared." She says, holding up a canteen.

Watch Him Go

"There he goes." Olivia says as we watch the helicopter ascend high into the sky. "You think we should be concerned?" I ask. "You mean about him telling on us to his superiors?" Olivia says. I nod. "Maybe, but I'm not." "And why is that?" I ask. " I don't know, but I'm not." There is a brief pause. Olivia turns the question on me. "Are you concerned?" "A little." "Don't be." Olivia smiles. "The only thing I'm concerned about is getting out of the desert. But I feel confident we'll get out of here."

Nurse Back to Health

Extreme heat and lack of water can reek havoc on the human body. Agent Duncan was in even worse shape that Olivia and I were when we were lost in the desert. In order to nurse Agent Duncan back to health we set up a cot for him underground. We kept him there for three whole days. We would sporadically check on him, giving him food and water. Of course, to be on the safe side we took away his gun and his phone. On the fourth day, when Olivia and I went to check on him he was gone. The cot was neatly made, but there was no note. We took it upon ourselves not to inform Jim and Pete, but rather search for Agent Duncan ourselves. We walked the long tunnel to the bait shop only to miss him by a few seconds. Agent Duncan was in a black helicopter that was being lifted high into the sky.

Fix Him Up

Jim and Pete  were still drinking the bad whisky when we entered. By this time they were both out of their minds, but they were sober enough to see the disheveled agent we brought it. "And what's that?" Pete asks, with an almost childish grin. "It's a man. He fainted outside." I say. "Yeah, well unless he is a paying customer I don't want to see him." Jim says. "Oh, fuck off, Jim." Pete snaps back. Pete pours a shot of whisky. He walks it over to the agent. "No, he doesn't need that." I tell Pete.  "Nonsense. Do that body good it will." "Pete, that's the last thing he needs. Get him water."  Pete rolls his eyes and walks away. "See what I'm talkin' bout? We're supposed to bend over backwards because some nobody fainted outside my store?" Jim sneers. "I'm not a nobody." Jim and Pete both light up. "It talks?" Jim says. "And I'm not an it." Jim walks up to Agent Duncan. "And who would you be then?" "My name is Agent Joseph Duncan." "Agent?" "That's right, an Agent. For the United States Government." Jim looks up at me and Olivia. "Get him the fuck out of here." "What?" I say. "Get him outta here. If he is an agent like he says he is then they'll be more, and I can't have that. I won't have that." "They're already looking for me." "Excuse me?" "I said they're already looking for me. And if it ever gets out that you had a chance to help a friend of the government but you didn't, it won't look good for you." Jim bites his lip. He turns read, trying to find an escape. "He may be right." Olivia says. "Fuck. Fine. We'll fix him up. But then he's outta here."

Agent Duncan

The man who fainted was Agent Duncan. The desert appeared to have gotten the better of him. His black suit was tattered and his sunglasses were missing the lenses. He groggily opened his eyes. I held up my hands defensively. "We mean you no harm." Then, his expression changed. He furrowed his brow. Agent Duncan reached into his jacket to grab his gun. Olivia kicked his arm away. "He meant what he said." Olivia said. "I know what you did." He replies. "Oh yeah? What did we do?" Olivia asks. "You sent that thing after me." "What thing?" "Don't play dumb. I know what you did." Olivia leans in. "Listen. I don't know what happened to you, but we were in the van when you disappeared." "So, you really didn't unleash that thing?" "No." Agent Duncan sits up. "Where is the van?" "I don't know. I'm not even sure where we are." I say. Agent Duncan squints his eyes. "What's that building over there?" "It's a gas station." I say. "You think they have a phone. My battery died a long time ago." I take a deep breath. "Yeah, probably." I help him off the ground. Olivia and I stand I either side of him. We walk him to the gas station.

Bad Whisky

I'm not sure if it expired or if it was just really bad. At any rate, that was the worst tasting whisky I had ever had. Olivia and I had one shot each, and we left. Jim and and Pete didn't seem to mind though. They were too busy singing Irish drinking songs off key. We left that drunken gas station and re entered the desolate world that is the desert. We both knew it was an odd choice, but we knew life moves fast. Too fast to stick around in a gas station. The heat hit our faces. We could barely keep our heads up. Something not too far away caught my eye. I squinted. It appeared to be a man staggering. He walked in a zig zag fashion, and then fainted. "We have to do something!" I shout, pointing to the fallen man. "Like what?" Olivia asks. "I don't know. Maybe we can drag him into the gas station."

Reunited

"What the hell you doing here?" Pete chortles at Jim's remark. "Well, what are you doing here?" He asks again. "Amazing, you go to my store, you scream your head off because I'm not there, and then when I do show up this is the welcome I get?" Jim studies Pete carefully. "Yeah, well, how are you doing?" "Fair to middle." "And how's business?" "Fair to middle." There is an awkward silence followed shortly by an even more awkward hug between the two brothers. "Ya son of a bitch." Jim says. "What? Did you think I wouldn't show?" Jim doesn't respond. "I had to make you sweat just a little bit." Jim shakes his head. Olivia and I start to head out the door. "Where you two going?" Pete asks. I start to reply, but Pete cuts me off. "They friends of yours?" "Not yet." Jim says. "Then they should stay a while. Have a drink." Jim looks at us. "Yes, just one drink." Olivia and I glance at each other and then back at Jim and Pete. "Sure, just one drink."

That Dirty No Good

Just like that we left Pete's Bait Shop. I understand that we could not wait around forever and Jim had his own business to run, but this was his own brother we were waiting for. Plus its not as if many people were clamoring to get into the full service gas station. That didn't matter though. Jim had his mind made up. In his brain Pete was the bad guy, and nothing could change that. We followed Jim back to his gas station in an intense quiet. Then, when we arrived, he erupted like a volcano. He let out a string of expletives. Cursing his brother this way and that way. Blaming him for things new and old. Seem and unseen. We tried to calm him down many times with no luck. It was almost as if he was performing a one man show to an invisible audience. The only thing we could do was take a seat and watch his nonsensical tirade. Finally, when he was out of breath, he stopped. The was a brief silence followed by an applause. Olivia and I turned our attention to the ladder. There we saw an older man. Much like Jim, but he had darker hair and a beard. The man clapped again. "Bravo, brother. I can see  you still have a flair for the dramatics."

Can't Wait Forever

Hunger began to set in as we waited for Pete. So, we did what any normal person would do in this situation. We raided his refrigerator. The only things we could find was one apple and a hunk of cheese, but we were thankful for something. It would suffice. "Where do you think Pete went to lunch?" I ask. "No idea." "What's around here?" "Not a thing." "How does he stay in business?" "I don't  know. Does it look like I know?" Jim snaps. Jim glances at his watch. "I can't wait around all day." Jim walks to the tunnel. "Don't you want to wait for your brother?" Olivia asks. "No, I don't. I got a business to run. Unlike him." He begins to descend the ladder. "But you came all this way." Olivia shouts. "So what?" He shouts back.

Out To Lunch

The layout for the bait shop was virtually the same as the gas station. Just replace the  air fresheners with night crawlers. The location of the entrance and exact was behind the counter just like in the gas station. The bait shop, like the gas station, was also tiny. Which is why it was confusing when we couldn't find Pete anywhere. Eventually we found our answer. A sign on the door to the outside read OUT TO LUNCH. "Son of a bitch." Jim cried. "How could do this to me?" "To be fair, he didn't know you were coming." I explain. Jim shakes his head. "Yeah. I guess you're right." "Maybe we can meet up with him. You know where he might go to lunch?" Olivia asks. " I might, but with my luck he'd already left there by the time I show up. No, it's best if we just wait right here for him."

Connecting Tunnel

We followed Jim down a dark corridor. I'm not sure why we chose to follow him, but I'm glad we did. It was much cooler under ground. "So, this is a tunnel?" I ask, half anticipating a sarcastic answer. "Well, it's not an elevator." Jim replies, not letting me down one bit. "This leads to the bait shop?" Olivia asks. "That it does." Jim's short answers are somewhat frustrating, but not as annoying as his quick pace. We practically have to run to keep up with him. "Did you make the tunnel?' Olivia asks, trying to catch her breath at the same time. "No, our father did." "Pete's your brother?" "That is generally what happens when two people have the same father. Come one, now. We have a lot of ground to cover and we aren't even at the halfway point yet."

The Nearest Business

"Looks like the nearest business is right there." Jim says, pointing to an old, yellow map. Dust flies off it and hits me in the face. It causes me to cough. Jim recoils. "You got something that's going around?" He asks. "No, not at all." "Then what's the cough?" "He's getting over it." Olivia jumps in. "Well, try and keep your germs to yourself. I can't get sick." "So, what is that business?" Olivia asks, changing the subject. "Pete's Bait Shop." My eyes light up. "So that means there is a lake around here." "Nope." "Maybe a river or pond? Some sort of body of water?" Jim laughs to himself. "Nothing of the sort." "Well, he must do well for himself at least." Olivia suggests. Jim laughs harder. "Are you kidding? His shop is in the middle of the desert. Who is gonna show up?" "Then why is his shop there?" "Who knows? You wanna visit him? I haven't seen him in a while." Olivia and I look at each other. "Is that a yes?" He asks. "We don't have a car? Do you?" I ask. Jim shakes his head. "Don't need one. Follow me." Jim disappears under behind his counter. After a moment, Olivia and I peak over the counter. We see a ladder going down a very deep hole. Then, as if he knew we were watching, he shouts from the bottom of the hole. "Are you coming or not?"

Big Jim's Full Service Gas Staion

We found another pointing cactus, followed by another one, and yet another one. It got the the point that we could no longer deny that these pointing cacti were somehow for us. We followed the cacti through many different twists and turns. We eventually ended up at Big Jim's Fulls Service gas station. The sign was rusted and missing letters, but there was and old man out front on a rocking chair. "Are you Big Jim?" I ask as I approach the old man. "Nope, Big Jim was my father. Just call me Jim." He puts out his hand. Olivia and I both shake it. "What can I do you for? You need me to fill up your car? Perhaps clean the windshields?" Olivia and I look at each other. "Actually, we don't have a car." Olivia says. "Then I'm afraid I can't help you." "Can we just step inside your station for five minuets? Maybe use the phone?" I ask. "Sorry, station's for customers only." "We'll pay for an air freshener." Olivia says. "All out." "We'll pay for something." Jim takes a deep breath. "Well, I know my father, Big Jim would never turn down someone in need, let alone the possibility of a dollar." Jim gets out of his chair. He opens the door to the station and ushers us in. "After you."

New Path

"How long did Moses wander through the desert? Was it forty days or forty years?" I ask, hoping it is the lesser of the two. " I believe it was forty years." Olivia says. "How long do you think we've been wandering?" "I don't know, but I doubt it has been forty years." "You think we'll ever get out of here?" I ask. "Yes, we have to." We walk in silence for bit. I notice a cactus that looks like someone pointing. I decide to show Olivia. "Check out the cactus." "What about it?" "Don't you think it looks like someone pointing?" "I suppose it does." She says casually before resuming walking. "I think we should take that path." I shout. "What path?" "The one the cactus is pointing to." Olivia squints her eyes. "I don't see a path." "But it could be pointing so something." I say, eagerly. Olivia shakes her head. "Ok, we can try that path."