“Well, if that’s the case, we can’t go anywhere, can we? Should we just hide in the hotel?”
“No. That would be the worst thing we could do. We have to keep moving. I think.”
“Well, then. Come on. Let’s move.”
The girls made their way into the store and found a single clerk in the shadows of the fluorescent light trying to clean up the wreckage in the room. The woman carried a stack of empty boxes to the counter. "Y'all are gonna pay for whatever you take." The woman pulled a gun from the small of her back and placed it on the counter and Sariana jumped. "We understand each other?"
"We do," Alicia said. "My friend here just needs a couple of new outfits. I have money."
The young woman looked Alicia and Sariana over. Alicia flashed her credit card. "Credit card machines are down," the clerk said. "Cash only." Alicia opened her purse and displayed a handful of cash. "That'll work," she said. "Ain't much left, though." A look of recognition came over her face. "Hey, I seen y'all on TV, ain't I?"
"Yes. Hi. I'm Alicia Parker. Triton News Network," she reached out to shake the woman's hand as Sariana watched cautiously from a safe distance. The clerk didn’t appear to be a threat. Sariana slowly began exploring the store.
"Nice to meet you, ‘Lesha. Ain't that girl the 'princess' from last night's news?"
"Yes, she is."
"Bless her heart," the woman whispered. "Is she okay?"
"She's a sweet girl. She's lost her parents; can't find her family. She's a little confused."
"Poor thing," the woman frowned. "You reckon some new clothes might make her feel better?"
"I think so, yes."
"Well," she smiled. "It always gets me out of a funk! Let's see what we can do for her."
The clerk and Alicia caught up with Sariana and found her browsing the remaining sun dresses on an overturned rack. "You like those, baby?" the clerk asked. Sariana nodded and smiled. "I wonder what size are you? I'm thinkin' eight or ten, am I right?"
"I think that's about right," Alicia answered for her.
The girls picked out several dresses and other outfits and made their way to the changing rooms. The clerk kicked boxes and stray clothing out of the way, making a path for Alicia and Sariana. "Damn animals," she muttered. "World ain't ended yet." Sariana began trying on the clothes as Alicia waited and the clerk went back to her clean up duty.
A few moments passed and Alicia heard yelling from the front of the store. She peeked her head around the corner and saw the clerk holding a man at gun point. He was holding goods from the store and was apparently trying to leave without paying. "Drop it, motherfucker!" the clerk shouted. "You gonna pay for that or I'll take your fucking head off."
"What do you care?!" the man shouted back. "Ain't nobody holding you responsible for this shit!"
"It's the principle, asshole!! Thou shalt not steal!!"
"Oh, really? Murder's a'ight wit' you, though?"
"Drop... the... tankini."
"You fuckin' crazy, you know that, bitch?"
"I'm gonna count to three...”
"It's for my wife...”
"One...”
"Aw, hell. You crazy! You crazy as shit!!"
"Two...” The man dropped the clothes. The clerk still held the gun on him and the two continued their stare-down. "You just walk out the store, ya hear?" said the clerk. "And don't you never come back."
The man began laughing. "You fuckin' crazy, bitch. You fuckin' crazy."
Alicia noticed Sariana behind her, also watching. She had seen the entire stand-off. Defeated, the man left and the clerk let out a deep breath. She reset the safety and wiggled the gun back into the rear of her jeans and began walking toward the changing rooms. Alicia scattered Sariana back to the mirrors. "This looks nice," Alicia said about Sariana's latest choice.
"Oh! It sure does," the clerk beamed, coming around the corner. "Don't you just look precious?! I love that color on you!"
"Well, I think we've made our choices," Alicia said.
"Good! Let's go get you rung up!"
The girls followed the clerk to the front of the store, with Sariana wearing one of her new dresses. Alicia was running late getting to the studio this morning. She needed to stay in the good graces of the network if it were to be Sariana’s pulpit. She knew it would be in her best interest to arrive with something for air, especially following yesterday's incident. This woman would be ideal, she thought.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Alicia said to the clerk.
"I don't believe I threw it, baby. My name is Amber."
"Amber, I'm sure you know that we overheard your confrontation with that man. Would you mind if I interviewed you for the network? It might help to keep some of the vagrants out of your store."
"Me? On TV? Oh, I don't know...”
"It really is something that people should hear from you about. You're standing up for what's right and I think that's fantastic."
"Well, it's a matter of principle. It just ain't right to be stealin' things that ain't yours."
"I agree. So, what do you say? Can I get the camera?"
"Oh my. Okay. You gotta let me fix my face, though."
"Deal."
Alicia told Sariana to stay put and ran outside to the truck. She grabbed a remote bag and unloaded the gear inside. "Think you can hold this and film us?" Alicia asked Sariana. "It's easy."
"What do I do?"
"Just make sure that you get Amber and I in that view finder. Press this button and try to hold it steady. Don't worry about doing anything fancy. No close-ups or anything like that. We'll take care of all of that in editing."
"Yes. Okay. I think I can do that. What does this have to do with the ascension?"
“If I don’t have a job, we can’t get your... our message to the people. I need to turn in a story.”
Amber returned from the back of the store not looking much different than she had when they last saw her. Alicia gave a countdown and began the story.
"We live in chaotic times. Since the arrival of the OWL, many small business owners and shop-keepers have struggled with the looting problem. This morning, I witnessed a brave woman meet danger head on as she stood up to a would-be thief and thwarted his plans to rob her store. She had to stare this man down... with a gun. Wait. I don't like that. Keep rolling. It was a show down and she ended it with a gun. I don't know. We might use the first one. Anyway. Two. One. That brave woman is with me now, Amber shit. I'm sorry, Amber; I didn't get your last name...”
"Mitchell."
"Two. One. That brave woman is with me now, Amber Mitchell. Amber, tell us what happened."
"Well, this asshole...”
"Oops. Wait. We can't cuss."
"Right. Sorry."
"Two. One. Amber, tell us what happened...”
"Thank you, 'Lesha. Um, the man in question entered our premises at about ten A.M. and I could tell immediately that he had trouble in mind. I've seen me a lot of looters lately, so you get to know the type...”
"How many times have you been robbed since the appearance of the OWL?"
"Gosh, I can't tell. While I been here at least five times but they come in at night when we ain't here. They done broke our windows, you see that?"
"Can you swing around over there?" she asked Sariana. Sariana got a shot of the boarded up windows. "Okay, back to me now." Sariana swung back around. "You sell clothing. Do you think people are stealing the clothes out of necessity or...”
"Oh, hell no. They're just doin' it for kicks. 'Cause they can. Ain't nobody needin' clothes right now. Hell, that man today was stealin' a ladies swimsuit. Can you believe that?"
"Now, Amber, you carry a pistol to keep the looters away. Have you ever had to use it?"
"Not yet," Amber looked hard into the camera. "But you mark my words... I will."
"This isn't your store, correct?"
"That is correct, Miss Parker. I am an employee of Fashion Bug Incorporated."
"
How long have you worked here?"
"I been here five years in May. I am the assistant manager."
"The man robbing you today raised an interesting point for what it's worth. Why do you care? It's not your store...”
"'Lesha, that's the very problem right there. It is my store. I might not own it but I look after it like it's mine. I take pride in my work. Besides, stealing is wrong. You don't just steal."
"Well said. Have you ever thought of just abandoning your job and giving up?"
"I did think about it when they stopped paying me. I ain't got a paycheck in two weeks. I reckon I'll stay with it, though, until the next shipment day. If the clothes don't come, maybe I'll just lock 'er up and go home."
"Thank you, Amber, for your time... and for your bravery."
"There's more like me, 'Lesha," Amber said sternly to the camera. "If a looter takes nothing away from seeing this here story, let them know that. I ain't the only one with a gun guarding property. This is Alabama and we got better morals than that. You better watch your ass or we'll kill y’all dead."
"All right. I think that does it. Let me see the camera." Alicia took the camera from Sariana and stopped tape. Now she had something to take to the office. Not a bad story, either. "Sariana, you want to go on out to the truck? I have to get Ms. Mitchell to sign a release. Lock the doors once you get in."
Sariana went outside and Alicia produced the standard-release paperwork for Amber to sign. It seemed a bit silly to be signing legal documents in the midst of an apocalyptic event but it would be just Alicia's luck that only lawyers would survive the rapture.
"You think she's gonna be okay?" Amber asked, nodding toward Sariana.
"I hope so."
"It's nice of you to be taking care of her."
"Thanks. If you could sign here...”
"Sure." Amber signed her name on the release. “You know what? Y'all just take those dresses as a gift from me...”
"Are you sure? I have the money."
"I know. I keep this copy?"
"No, the yellow one."
"Oh, okay. There's somethin' about that girl. I feel like I want to help her too."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. When she was on TV and she was sayin' she was a princess and junk and that she wanted to save everyone... I don't know. I just felt like she meant it, you know? It's like I can just feel that she's got a good heart."
"I think she does."
Amber waved to the girl in the truck. Sariana waved back. “Awww. I just want to give her a big ol’ hug and tell her everything’s gonna be all right. I could just eat her up. Sweet thing.”
“I’ll certainly tell her that you wish her the best.”
“Please do. I hope she gets better. Y'all take care of yourself."
"Thank you, Amber, for everything."
"Hey, what time is this gonna be on the news? I gotta get my boyfriend to tape it."
"I'm not sure. Is this your cell number on the release?"
"Yes."
"I'll call you and let you know, okay?"
"That's great, hon. Thank you!"
"Thank you. Don't kill anybody, Amber."
"Baby, I ain't makin' no promises the good Lord knows I can't keep!"
The next stop was the studio to drop off the tape and inform Hal of the plan for the day. The crowd had thinned in downtown Tuscumbia and the place looked like a war zone. Most of the partiers had either gone home or passed out in tents set up along the roadside. It was a lot easier to navigate but the entire town was littered with beer cans; empty fast food wrappers and what looked like the remnants of fireworks. The yellow fog continued to escape the tear and today the sky itself was a burnt yellow. Alicia stole a glance at Sariana in the passenger seat and saw that she was troubled. "Once I drop off the tape," Alicia said, "We're going to go find the DJ, okay?"
"Do you think that many of these people went home and will stay inside?” Sariana asked, referring to the smaller crowd.
"Maybe, honey, I don't know." Alicia put her hand on her shoulder. "Hang in there. We're going to do this right, okay?"
"Okay." Sariana let a weak smile cross her lips and returned to taking in the landscape.
Alicia locked Sariana in the truck and went inside the studio. She was greeted with the jokes she had anticipated. "All hail the Queen," bows and such were all par for the course. She found Hal and handed him the tape. "Good story: crazy Alabama redneck protects her store against looters. Needs editing."
"Okay, great." said Hal. "L.A. wants you to take a look into the morale of the soldiers at Ground Zero."
"I can do that but I'm also going to try to get the DJ on the air."
"Graham Barry?"
"Yes. That needs to be my top priority."
"He's holed up at his house. The military is just as thick there as they are at Ground Zero. You won't get anywhere near him."
"I can try. I'm working an angle here, Hal. Where does he live?"
"What's the story?"
"I want to know more about why the OWL addressed him by name. He has something to do with this and I think it's deep."
"It's already been established that it's not a prank. Alicia, there's a hole in the sky."
"I'm not talking about that. Why did the OWL contact him? Why Tuscumbia, Alabama, for Christ’s sake?"
"They said 'Enjoy the music', we think it has...”
"You think they're music lovers, Hal?"
"This area has a big musical legacy. Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, The Rolling Stones, they've all recorded albums here."
"Really, Hal?"
"They have."
"I know they have, but spacemen didn't cross dimensions to tour Fame studios. Are you retarded?"
Hal sighed. "Do what you need to do. There's a packet on him, including his address in the prep area. You want to take Steven with you?"
"You know I don't work with anyone but Brady. I'm flying solo." Alicia grabbed a Graham Barry packet and walked toward the door. She held the truck keys in the air on her way out. "I'm keeping the white SUV."
Outside in the parking lot, a small crowd had gathered around the truck. Her heart immediately sank. She shouldn’t have left Sariana alone again. Alicia rushed to the scene and found several men and women talking to Sariana behind her closed window. They didn't seem to be doing her any harm. They were just asking questions.
"It is important that you stay out of the rain," Sariana told them through the glass. "You are being misled."
"All right, break it up, everybody," Alicia said as she walked to the driver's side door.
"What does she know?" a man holding his little boy asked her.
"Did you hear her on the news?"
"Yes."
“That's what she knows. She's a princess from another dimension. She was sent here to warn you to stay out of the rain. So, stay out of the rain."
"Is she for real?"
"Buddy, who the hell knows what's for real anymore? I have it on good authority that she's telling the truth."
"How do you know? Who told you?"
"Her Grandma told me so. Keep watching Triton and we'll tell you more."
Alicia shut the door and started the truck. Sariana smiled at her. Alicia smiled back and began honking the horn in an effort to disperse the crowd. "Get the fuck out of the way!!" she shouted. Sariana giggled. "What's so funny?"
"Your temper will serve you well."
"Princess coming through, assholes! Move!"
Graham Barry lived in a small, quaint house not far from Ground Zero. When Alicia turned the corner to his street, she was immediately stopped by an M.P. On the other side of the block, she saw her competitors' trucks lined down along the ditch. There was military equipment as far as she could see. Like Hal said, it was impenetrable. "Do you think they'll let us see him?" Sariana asked.
"We might have to find another way. Don't worry. There isn't a celebrity that's been able to hide from me yet."
Sariana felt confident that Alicia would get her to Graham but time was running out. The fog in the sky grew thick and she knew that it was only a matter of time before the elemental rain would begin to fall. This was, of course, if the Humans didn’t find them first. An M.P. rapped on Alicia's window and she rolled it down. "Can I see your press pass?" Alicia gave the guard her credentials. "This is a general press query. I need your pass for this area specifically."
"I don't have one."
"You'll have to get clearance from national security. There's a press quadrant near Ground Zero...”
"I know, I know. I just don't have time for that at the moment. Look, it's very important that we speak to Mr. Barry."
"Yeah, you and every other reporter here, lady."
"No, this is different. This girl has information that could save his life."
"Well, just pass this information on to me and I'll be sure that Mr. Barry gets the message."
"It's not going to translate well."
"Look, lady, there's not much more I can do for you...”
"May I reach into my purse?"
"I'll need to draw my weapon, ma'am."
"That's fine. I'm going to produce a weapon as well...” That was the wrong thing to say. The soldier immediately called for backup and the truck was swarmed with M.P.s, guns drawn. Sariana was terrified. Alicia felt like an idiot.
"It's okay, honey, don't worry," Alicia told her. "Hold your hands up. They're just doing their job. It’s not what you think."
The girls sat with their hands raised until the lead M.P. barked at them through the window. "I want you both out of the vehicle now. Hands behind your head." They complied and the soldiers handcuffed them. Alicia kept gently reassuring Sariana that she had nothing to fear. "Ma’am, you stated that you have a weapon...”
"I do. It's in my purse. It's covered in plastic. Do not get any fingerprints on it. It's evidence."
"Evidence of what?" the soldier asked, grabbing Alicia's purse.
"I believe it contains the DNA of a being from another dimension."
"How does this relate to Mr. Barry?"
"We believe that the OWL-”
"What is the OWL?"
"The Voice. The aliens. Whatever. We believe we know why they have contacted Mr. Barry specifically. That blade contains the DNA from a being from another dimension intent on destroying us."
Ascension: Invocation Page 15