𝐅𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 • Randall Floyd

Chapter 8

IT was the same night.

Willa was standing at some car with two guys and another girl.

One guy in question had hair much longer and darker than hers that he decorated with a plaid flat cap—he introduced himself as Slater. The other guy had a middle part and wavy dark hair that framed his defined face—she caught his name to be Pickford over time in conversation. A similar thing happened with the girl whose name was Michelle. She had hair long like Slater's, only it was a warmer brown and she was sat across Pickford on the hood of the car as she played gentle melodies on a guitar and he laid back against the windshield.

Slater was stood next to Willa and they passed a joint of his back and forth between each other and Pickford and Michelle alike.

The four were engrossed in frivolous discussions about absolutely nothing.

Willa was next to take a drag as she held a cup of beer a little more than halfway full in her other hand. Then she handed to joint to Slater and asked him mid-inhale, "So, what's your deal?" She exhaled. "Can you use your product? Isn't that bad for business?"

"The business..." Slater begun, scoffing. "What is a product, you know? Capitalism is going to be the death of us if it isn't already and— and— you know, nature is the food of life and life is for living."

"Didn't, like, the pope say that?" Pickford asked drowsily.

"That reminds me," Slater perked up as high as his low vibration could go, "do you guys believe in God or, like, a higher power?"

"Ah, I don't know, man. I feel like the government created God to control us."

"It's true. They did it to distract us from the highest power of all."

"Yeah?" Willa chipped in with an amused tone. "What's that?"

"Aliens," Slater replied in a way that suggested he thought it was obvious. "Just earlier we were talking about "After The Gold Rush"."

"The Neil Young song?"

"It's about aliens, dude," Pickford defended and turned his head as far as it could go to look at Willa behind him.

Willa looked between them, laughing slightly. "You're both so full of shit."

"What do you mean?"

"It's about the environment."

"What?" Slater cried. "No it's not! How does no one know about this shit, man?"

"It's about the environment," Michelle agreed with Willa monotonously as she picked at the guitar strings.

Randall approached the car and occupied the empty space on the other side of Slater and next to the hood.

"Pink," Slater piped up when he noticed him which is what made Willa register he was there at all. She accidentally met his eye and she shifted her attention right to the sky and drank her beer. "Michelle and the out of townie think "After The Gold Rush" is about the environment."

"Maybe because it is," Randall replied.

"Oh god," Pickford uttered the same time Slater cried out, "What is happening here?"

"Then why would they mention spaceships?" Pickford challenged.

"I'm too blazed for this man," Slater shook his head. "They're getting in your heads. Can't you feel it? This country is warping your minds and you're all being too passive about it."

"Will," Randall said, and she begrudgingly met his gaze, "can I have some of that?"

She sat the beer nearer to him on the roof of the car. "You can have it. I'm heading home anyway."