Inside His Head

"You know why I picked you out, don't you?" Davies asks while walking Todd down a cold, dark corridor. "It's something I know, isn't it?" "You could say that. As a boss I would assume you would know much." "You would be correct." Todd responds, feeling flattered someone notices his depth and intelligence. Davies stops abruptly. "But what do you know?" " I know lots of things." "But specifically. What is your areas of expertise?" He asks. "My position has changed over time slightly."  Todd says, hesitantly. "Then in your prime. What was it?" "I oversaw the health and wellness of my people and -" "Your people?" "Yes, my people?" "So, you are saying you had a society?" Davies snarls. Todd nods. "Precisely." "And where did the other two fit into your society?" "They were a splinter group. They set out to discover the unknown." Todd explained. "Sounds like they're a bit nosey." "They can be." "I sense some animosity in your voice." Davies points out. "It's fine." Todd says, brushing it off. "They don't respect you. Do they?" Todd looks away before responding. "Not as much as they should." Davies shakes his head. "It's a shame. They don't understand your potential." "They do they just ..." "They just what?" Todd does not respond. "You can't even reply. You don't need them. Stick with us. We will give you the respect you deserve."

Davis is Back

Norm, Todd, and Jones watched the door with eager anticipation. When it finally swung open they were surprised to see Davies with an overly enthusiastic grin. "Good news. You don't need to be quarantined anymore." Todd foolishly smiles. Davies catches Todd's smile out of the corner of his eye. "Just him." He says, pointing to Jones. "Why just him?" Norm asks, defiantly. "Because those are orders." Davies howls back. Jones stares at his pillowcase. "What's the matter? I said you could go." "I know. I'm just not feeling well." Davies bites his lip. "It was dinner wasn't it?" "It may have been." "I knew it. Those fuckers never cook the food that well." Davies stares at Jones for a moment. "What is it? Projectile vomiting?" Jones nods weakly. Davis grimaces. "Fuck. Fine you stay here for now. I'll come back later." Davis starts to exit. He turns to Todd. "But you're coming with me."

Find Weapons

Todd frantically searched the room for any small items that he could easily place in his pockets. "There's nothing." He shouts, worriedly. " "What? Did you expect them to leave out the surgical tools?" Norm taunts. "Shut up. Did you check under Norm's bed?" Jones asks. "I did. Nothing but wood panels." "No, we don't want to rip that apart. We can't destroy the place." Jones says. "And why not? They are playing to kill us anyways." Norm snaps. "They already don't trust us. They can't come back to see the room in disarray. They need to believe that we know nothing. If they come in here and it looks like everything is in tact that means we have the upper hand." Jones cautions. "What should I do then?" "I may have an idea." Jones limps off his wheelchair and hops onto his bed. "This is a crappy, old wheelchair. I'm almost certain that the two front wheels will come off. But only take one of them off." Todd does as he was told. He was able to take off the wheel with minimal effort. "Now what?" Jones tosses Todd a pillowcase. "Stuff it in there." Todd places the wheel in the empty pillow case. He starts to pace back and forth with the pillow case. "No, don't  do that. Sit on the foot of my bed, and place the pillowcase on your lap." Todd carefully sits down at the foot of the bed with the pillow case. "You nervous? It's ok if you are." Jones asks. "A little." "Understandable. You probably have never done anything like this before." Todd stares at Jones for a moment. "That's where you are wrong. I attacked O'Neil." "You what?" Norm shouts. Jones takes a deep breath. "Keep that fire. We may need it."

Strategy

"Why would you say that? What could possibly possess you to say that?" Norm scolds Todd. "I had no idea he would react like that." Todd says, trying to defend himself. "You had no idea? Look at me. I was shot. And this guy over here had a knife in his leg." "I didn't think anything I said was that bad." "You told him that you are the boss. Do you know how bad that looks?" Norm replies. "No, I don't." Todd says, stubbornly. Norm turns red. "It's bad. Let's just say that. They already didn't trust us." Jones jumps in. "So now what?" Todd asks. Jones stares at the closed door for a moment. "See if the door is locked."  Todd walks over to the door and jiggles the handle with no luck. "It's locked." "Of course it is." Norm sneers. "Well, there's no widows, and as far as I can see that's the only exit." Todd says. "No, escape would be unwise at this time." Jones replies. "Then what do you suggest?" Norm asks. Jones looks directly at Todd. "Pocket any and all small items that could be used as a weapon. A bludgeon would be preferable, but I'm not against a shank." "What?" "You heard me. They'll be back."

What to Do?

"What is there to do here anyways?" I ask, looking at my surroundings. Olivia plops down on a big, red couch. "I have taken many of naps on this thing." She says proudly.  "I haven't been gone that long." "I have taken one glorious nap on this thing." She corrects. I smile. "Besides napping, is there anything else to do?" "No. Which is why you should nap. I take a nap and a then I look at the giant clock. It's like the best time machine ever." "It does sound tempting, but I'm not tired. Also how do you sleep with the constant ticking? Doesn't it drive you nuts?" I wonder. "It did, but then I got used to it. It became like a white noise." "I don't think I could ever get used to that." "Give it an hour." I shake my head and sit down next to Olivia. "What do you think is going on with Todd and them right now?" I ask. "I don't know, but there is no way they could be having more fun then us."

Waiting Room

Tick, tick, tick. Olivia sat under a giant, analog clock. The kind that grade schools use, but bigger. Much, much bigger. So big that it took up half the wall. It wasn't a bad room to be stuck in. There were comfortable chairs, the temperature was perfect, and it was well lit. There just wasn't anything to do in there . That's all. By the time Eagle Eyes opened the steal door, and threw me in Olivia was beyond happy. Not even because it was me, but that she would now have someone to distract her bored mind. "How was it?" She asks excitedly, wrapping her arms around me. "Weird." I answer simply. She breaks away from the hug. "That's all you have to say?" "Well, I don't think I'm on his good side anymore." "I gathered that from you being down here. What happened?" She asks. "Oh, he wanted me to shoot the sun." "He wanted you to shoot the sun?" She repeats. "Yeah, strange right?" "It is. But that's all he wanted you to do?" "As far as I know." "Ok. Did you shoot it at least?" I shake my head. "Why not?" "Because the sun looked like a smiley face." Olivia squints her eyes. "What?" "You know, It looked like one of those yellow smiley faces. They were really popular in the 70's." "I know what that is. It really looked like that though?" "It did." "That's a little disturbing. I can't say I blame you for not shooting it." Olivia takes a breath. "And then what?" "And then he wasn't happy. So, now I'm here. What is this place anyways?" " I was told it was the it is the waiting room." "What are we waiting for?" Olivia shrugs. "We're waiting. That's all I know."

Shoot the Sun

Eagle Eyes handed me his jacket gun. "Ready? On the count of three we blast the thing to hell." I shook my head hesitantly. "One.. " I raised the handgun. It was much heavier then I thought it would be. I had never held a gun, let alone fired one before. I was nervous and couldn't keep myself from shaking. "Two.." I took a deep breath to steady my aim, but then I saw the cartoon eyes staring back at me. How could I do it? "Three!" Eagle Eyes fired his rifle directly into the mouth of the smiley faced sun. It then broke off into a million little, yellow balls of light. The balls of light scattered in every direction. Some went in the abandoned buildings. Others landed in the streetlights. All of them did their part to illuminate the ghost town. In the end the city started to look alive again. I marveled at the sight and thought to myself perhaps Eagle Eyes did a good thing. "Pretty, isn't it?" He asks. "It sure is." I say in admiration, sticking my head out the window. "It's a shame you had nothing to do with it." He says, jabbing my side with his rifle. "What's this about?" "You showed your true colors today." "What are you talking about?" I ask. "You didn't help. Now, earlier you mentioned how you wanted to see your girlfriend. No problem. I'll take you to her."