Power Outage

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – After the Rush

 “I just got lost!/Every river that I tried to cross/Every door I ever tried was locked/Oh and I'm just waiting til the shine wears off,” went a song from the radio being played on the PA system.

            After getting out of the crowd, Alex says to herself outloud while gasping, “What’s… with the… oldies… music about… getting… lost?”

            “Don’t… know… but… I like… this… band…” answered a rather feminine voice.

            Alex catches her breath and turns to the person that answered; it turns out to be Carol, “Thank goodness, someone I know… wait… you like Coldplay too?”

            “Yeah, Damian would always play oldies music at home, so I started to like them, along with some other artists.”

            “In my case, I just don’t like today’s music, too suggestive or a lot of cussing.”

            “That’s true,” a moment after Carol says that, the ringing noise is heard from her purse, “Hold on, I gotta take this,” She rummages through her purse and pulls out a left, black latex glove labeled: Talk-to-the-Hand, which is causing the noise. Carol puts on the glove and a circuitry pattern appears, creating a small glow. She places her fingers close to her ear and her wrist near her mouth, “Hello? Right now… I think I’m at the directory. Really? But this is your only day off this month… alright fine. Do want anything for lunch? Uh-huh, ok. Love you, bye~”

            “Who was that? Damian?” Alex asked with great curiosity.

            “Yeah, he wants me to go on a food run then meet him at work,” Carol said happily, putting the glove away.

            “…I’ll go with you.”

            “But you haven’t asked me out yet,” said Carol jokingly.

            “I don’t swing that way…” Alex replied, her face a little red.

            “I figured that much,” Carol’s tone shifts to a serious one, “I’ve seen how you were staring at Damian, be careful though. If I see that you get him hurt in anyway, I’ll kill you.”

            Alex feels a slight knot in her throat. She asks, “You must really like him, don’t you?”

            Carol goes back to a more playful tone, “Of course he saved my life when I was a puppy, and raised me since then.”

            “Is there a story that goes with this?”

            “Not telling,” Carol sticks her tongue, “Okay, let’s go.” She checks a map nearby of the building and heads to the food court.

 Alex follows her thinking to herself. I can’t tell if she’s okay with me trying to date Damian. Hmm…

At the same time at the start of the chapter, a confused Damian complains, “How the hell do I end up on the second floor DURING a crowd rush!?!?” at the moment, Damian is on the second floor, Fitness Center, “At least the music is good.”

His Talk-to-the-Hand, a blue one, starts ringing in his pocket. Damian puts it on and answers, “Hello? You opened one here too? But it’s my day off. Fine, but I better be getting overtime for this. Okay talk to you later sis,” he hangs up and sighs, “Better call Carol.”

He curls his middle and ring fingers on the glove. A small screen appears in the space between the index and pinky fingers, displaying a list of various options. Damian selects contacts and selects Carol. He uncurls his fingers and places his hand into position, waiting for Carol to answer. When she does, Damian says, “Hey Carol. I’m at the… fitness center apparently, where are you?. Yeah, bad news, there’s a shop here too, and I have to go help out. I’m sorry. Hmm… I don’t know what’s nearby, so surprise me. Mmmkay, talk to you later. Bye.”

He puts his glove away, and narrates, “And I’m off…”

“Good thing I stretched  before the rush started,” Marvin muttered to himself. I should probably call Alex and Allen… Marvin examines his phone and curses to himself, “Damn no reception, even in the 23rd century…” Marvin looks around and sees the arcade a few yards away. Might as well check out the arcade since it’s here…

He rummages through his backpack while standing next to the entrance of the arcade. Marvin pulls out two metal rings, both of which have the number 13 displayed. Hope they accept these…

The metal rings with number displays are called MiseRings. As opposed to the old monetary systems of previous centuries, MiserRings are virtually indestructible and lightweight. All that is required is to have one on each hand, numbers face down, and place your hands on the sensor in front of any counter or other designated area. The numbers on the rings show the registry number of the rings, to avoid mix-ups when removed.

Worried that your kids losing or simply outgrowing their rings? No problem. Just go to your nearest Man-a-Lo-or-Hi Technology and one of our many employees can resize or track your rings using  our patented DNA Tracer, programed to memorize the genetic code of its registered users.

The two paragraphs above this sentence was part a commercial on a display screen next to the arcade.

That was strangely convenient… thought Marvin, but he shrugs and enters the arcade.

Allen is alone somewhere in the clothing district. How’d I end up here? His eyes start to wander, he smiles. Maybe I’ll swing by the changing rooms…

A few steps away from the changing rooms, Allen’s tail is stepped on by a thin man wearing a very retro, as in tie-dye, shirt. The man is also fanning himself, even though the mall is air-conditioned. Allen curses under his breath. The man steps off his tail, and apologizes, “Sorry about that, by the way are you a copier or a linguist?”

“Lingüista…” Allen says in a harsh tone.

“Really? Based on your tone, I would have said copier.”

“And based on your shirt I’d say you don’t go out often.”

“Point taken…”

“Now that that’s settled, I’m Allen,” he says while holding up a paw.

“Kirby,” he says while awkwardly shaking the paw.

“So what’s with the fan? It’s winter.”

“I’m an acidic.”

“That’s sad. What happens when you have to use the bathroom?”

“Surprisingly, nothing. Same applies to organics.”

“Weird…”

“Yeah… Hey, have you seen a strange-looking elevator?”

“Strange-looking?”

“Supposedly, there is an elevator on the second floor that can only be accessed by people with powers.”

            “Nope, haven’t seen it, but I’ll keep my eye out for it.”

“Thanks, if you find anything, I’ll be at the bar on the second floor.”

Kirby leaves to browse for a more recent shirt.

            What was I going to do again? That’s right, changing rooms. Allen thought to himself, keeping his mouth shut to the point of people believing he is a normal cat. What the ---