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| - Stephanie Barmms unlocks her jewelry shop’s doors, and opens them. She looks around the room with tired eyes. She sits down at the desk. She picks up one of the necklaces and inspects the craft. Little by little, she finds each impossibly small imperfection. She places it carefully on the desk. Stephanie: Even the necklace is crafted wrong. The woman slowly goes up into her room. She unlocks the door and opens it up, revealing once again her messy apartment. She walks to her bed and slams onto it, proceeding to have a bit of a bounce after words and then a moan. Stephanie lays in her bed, eventually dozing off. Then, she starts to hear a ringing sound from her cellphone. She notices it’s from Carolina, which makes her hang up. However, she doesn’t let go of the phone. Instead, she looks at her contacts. Detective Hemsworth is in there. She proceeds to call him. Stephanie: Hello, Hemsworth? Look, I know it’s late… Hemsworth: This isn’t the best time to talk about our little business, Stephanie. Especially on a phone. Stephanie: Look, I just need a little bit of relief. I can trust you. Could you perhaps… Take the day off? We could go out and eat somewhere. Hemsworth pauses for a moment. Hemsworth: I think that would be lovely, Stephanie. They start to discuss the times, and within no time, the call ends. Stephanie takes her covers and brings them over her body. Then, she proceeds to sleep. ~~ The next day, me and Stephanie are eating at a coffee shop. Hemsworth has a apple fritter and coffee. Stephanie has a jelly donut with a coffee. Stephanie: Thanks again for coming, detective. Hemsworth: You don’t have to be professional, miss. Let’s call each other by our first names. We’re having a day off. Stephanie: Right, Jacob. Hemsworth: So I understand you’re in between a rock and a hard place? Stephanie: Yes. My brother was framed and now I’m losing the trust of my best friend. It’s been a tough week. Hemsworth: I’ve had tougher, trust me Steph. Stephanie pauses. She looks at me. Somehow, some way, that last word caught her attention. She took a better look at my face, inspecting it. Despite my scarred eye, I was incredibly handsome to her. Hemsworth: I mean, we don’t have to talk. I’m just gonna enjoy the rest of his fritter. Stephanie snaps out of it. Stephanie: Sorry. I was gonna say, I think I needed a break. From all of this. That’s why I asked you to come. Hemsworth: You needed some company? Stephanie: Yes, company I can trust. Hemsworth: Well, you got the right guy for that. I smile and sip his coffee. Stephanie picks up her glazed donut and takes a messy bite into it. She closes her eyes out of delight. Stephanie: It’s been so long since I could enjoy such a simple meal. Hemsworth: Well, it’s healthy to take breaks. Stephanie takes another look at me. Before she stares too long, she goes back to focusing on her food. Hemsworth: The lack of sleep is getting to ya, isn’t it? Stephanie: I suppose so. Before long, we both finished our drinks and food. I got up and threw away the wrapper of my donut and returns both mine and Stephanie’s cups. Then I sit back down with my ginger ally. Stephanie: Thank you, Jacob. Jacob: No problem, Steph. Stephanie pauses again after hearing the shortened version of her name. She only has a look at my facial features. Jacob: I did that intentionally this time. Stephanie: What? Jacob: It’s not hard to deduce, miss. Something about shortening your name triggers something. Now what is it? Stephanie smiles and then gives a small giggle. Stephanie: I dunno… I feel like a young girl again that way, that’s all. Jacob: Hmm. Teenager, I suppose. Stephanie: Why, yes. You… You’re using your detective skills right now, aren’t you? Jacob: I’ve deduced that you like someone. Stephanie: Well. (She pushes her hair back to make the signature flip.) I might. But I don’t think it happens that fast. Hemsworth shrugs. Hemsworth: A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be so indecisive. Stephanie, after a pause, gets up and follows me out of the coffee shop. She was slightly smiling, which brought joy to myself. ~~ Kevin O’Reale simply looks at the top of his bed in a hidden room somewhere underground. His arms twitch slightly. Then, weakly, he reaches to a counter top for a syringe and slowly injects it into his right arm. His eyes become lazy and he gives off a moan. Seth Dwarn, an engineer, is a distance away from Professor O’Reale as he watches the man of pestilence thrive in his presence. Dwarn: I’ve been waiting days now. Still nothing. No response. How many times have these people bailed you out? O’Reale pauses for a moment, thinking. O’Reale: I think at least three times. Dwarn: I feel like I’m just a pawn. I’m getting tired of waiting. I want to go back to my wife, and my son. O’Reale: And how do you presume you’re going to do that? Dwarn was about to speak until he stopped on the beginning of his sentence. Dwarn: I… Don’t know. I’m just tired of waiting! O’Reale cracks his arms and slowly raises up. He removes his mask and breathes. His skin is a grey pigment and his brown hair is long and dirty. He simply smiles. O’Reale: At least you have something to keep going on for. Look at me. I can die any moment now if I don’t feed off of illness or a lifeform. Plus, we couldn’t support ourselves anyways. Dwarn looks at O’Reale and then at his Termite helmet on his desk. Dwarn: We can’t support OURSELVES? Kevin, who do you think we are? Children? Dwarn places his Termite helmet on his head. Then, positioning the antenna, he fires at part of the wall with a laser. Termite: We are STRONG by ourselves. But just think! If we joined… Virus: ...I could suck the life force out of many humans. It would be much more satisfying than this hell… Termite: And then we could take Mataline. Get back to the good old days, when we were the top trio of scientists! But instead, we could be the Coalition that Merrow told us about! Virus: We could turn in Emerald together! Termite: Yes! I could finish my original goal. And we could split the reward to bail ourselves out! Virus: I like the way you think. Termite: Touche! And I could go back to my family and take care of my son! Virus: Yes… Take care of your son. Virus sits back down on his bed and places the mask back on his face. He breathes slowly. Virus: *Koff* But when will we strike? Termite turns to a computer and sees a local news article on James Barmms’ trial. Termite: We could do it the day of that trial. When she is stressed. We could cause her to break down to her knees in anguish of her anxiety, and then we will quash her… The Overseer is in another room, talking to no one. Her glasses reflect the room Dwarn is in. Overseer: ...In one swift stroke. EheheheHAHAHAHAHA! ~~ Stephanie and I return to Barmms Jewelry, filled with joy and excitement. Stephanie was tugging on her ascot and I was enjoying the walk downtown in the rain. Jacob: Strange rain isn’t it? Stephanie: Nah. Even on the hottest summer days here in Oregon we can get rain. Jacob: It’s a hard as nails rain, for sure. And yet, this purple haze around us gets me thinking of the ol’ movies I used to watched with my father. Stephanie: What type? Jacob: Noir. 1920’s detective stories. I always wanted to be one when I was younger. You sometimes end up getting your life's dream come true, don’t you? Stephanie: I suppose so. Jacob: Don’t suppose. Be absolute. Stephanie: Alright alright. It’s VERY true. As the rain hit hard upon Stephanie, I realized it was much like a dream. As I said earlier, the rain was hard as nails and we were surrounded by a purple haze, complemented by the lights of business. And yet, the only thing that stood out was her green eyes. Oh, they sparkled like the Andromeda galaxy. Filled with such color. And her hair! I’d never seen such a red-head like her. The orange hair was like a waterfall as it splashed across her forehead and made a steady wave around her ear. Then, it cascaded down her neck to a certain end, where it bent. She was by far the most perfect woman I had ever seen. Even as our clothes got wet, we still had a warm-hearted feeling. And, as I gazed my eyes upon hers, the distressed woman smiled. She smiled a greater smile than I ever saw. Even when she as happy at the coffee shop. She was right earlier. She had shown her youth, and it was more shiny than a fine-cut diamond could ever be. Stephanie: Goodnight, Jacob. It was a wonderful first date. Jacob: G’night, Stephanie. I walked away from her. Part of me didn’t want to, but I was a busy man. She stood at the glass door, and waved good bye. I waved goodbye back to her. And then, a tune came to my head, and I began to hum it. It was like an iconic scene out of my youth. Something I remembered so distinctively. If only I could remember the name.
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