The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 3 - Chapter 44: Ari

Folks around me murmur and nod in approval.

Ellie pulls out an icebox full of bottled drinks from the back of her food truck. "Drinks on the house, guys. Go ahead and take one." A few soldiers grab some bottles and tosses them to other Revelers and Hoon Squad members.

I grab a bottle of flavored electrolyte water and so do Mathilde, Cithara, and Mezos. Then I let out a cheer: "To our big and crazy family. Let us all be well and have a kick-ass future. Cheers for The Remnants!"

Everyone cheers, pops open their bottles, and starts chugging. I start drinking mine — it tastes like coconut with a hint of berries. Not bad.

For the next hour, we stuff our faces with cake, slider burgers, deli meats with cheese, and — of course — Ellie's signature buffalo wings with an assortment of glazes and dry rubs. I find the sweet and sour pineapple glaze to be new favorite flavor. Sweet with not too much heat. It reminds me of how Dr. Williams made her wings when I was growing up. Even Mathilde likes them.

Samza also provides the music for our little party with a mix of old hits, new beats, and an album of original tracks with the bunny girl herself spitting on the mic. Not gonna lie, Samza's freestyling lyrics and rhymes are hotter than the burning Nevada desert.

Later that afternoon, Cithara, Mathilde, and I attend the Samhain concert near The Playa. According to the fliers, a multitude of bands will perform in front of thousands of fans, including the heavy metal hip-hop duo, Samzanonymous Mezospotamia — that's Samza and Mezos. According to the elderly residents of Black Rock City, they compare this event to Woodstock's final festival except almost all the bands are not signed to big record labels.

This is also the first time I witness Samza without a long sleeve shirt and, to my surprise, she reveals sleeves of tattoos on both arms. It's hard to make out the details from where I'm standing in the mosh pit but the sleeve's centerpiece on the right arm resembles a giant black iron robot with feathered wings. I take a squint and spot on the upper left arm a pale skin woman with white hair styled liked devil horns. She's wearing a red ball gown as she watches ominously with her demonic clawed hands open. While a shorter woman on Samza's left bicep appears with black hair, purple streaks, and a similar hair style, standing in front of the older woman. This one wears a demented smile while raising a bagged leg, waiting for the right time to strike with her bare foot.

Librascope could not identify the robot on the right arm, but identifies the women on the left arm as Ultimecia from Final Fantasy VIII on top and Juri Han from Street Fighter IV on the bottom. Seeing that Librascope could identify the women, I'm assuming Samza got this tattoo some time after her arrival on this world, possibly after discovering an interest in video games.

Samza appears in a black sports bra, white baggy pants, a long black belt around her waist, and black sneakers. All adorned with purple accents. She also has a gold chain around her neck. Mezos, on the other hand, is wearing a black, unbuttoned, sleeveless vest with a white buttoned dress shirt underneath, a blue loose neck tie, black dress pants, and white shoes. The boy also has a pair of circular-rimmed sunglasses over his eyes, and a black top hat on his head. Unlike Samza, Mezos doesn't have any noticeable tattoos.

I stand in the crowd, about thirty meters away from the front row with Mathilde standing between Cithara and me. Samza and Mezos are next, scheduled to perform a few of their songs. Samza strums her electric guitar while Mezos begins singing, starting calm like an opera singer, then shifting to a classical tune. Meanwhile, Samza supports him with either a guitar solo or a rapping session. Even The Revelers' resident bro, Dax, plays along with the drums. As for the choir and orchestra? Alexander blasts the composition through his speaker-like hands.