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.