The Tiger and the Moth

Chapter 8

Emily went to her back seat, and pulled out her suitcase, slamming the car door. She handed it to Brian.

"Okay I'll go with you," Emily said. She carried Becky and Ginger's cage with her other arms.

"A cat?" Brian said.

"Yeah. You've never seen one before?" Emily asked.

"That's not what I said," Brian said. She handed Brian her cat Ginger.

"What town are we in?" Emily asked while Brian opened the back door to his station wagon, placing Ginger inside.

"Biloxi," Brian said.

"What state is that?" Emily asked.

"Mississippi," Brian said, shutting the door.

"Wait a minute. So you're telling me I drove to the other side of the country? All I remember last night is that I was passing Arizona before the storm began to hit. I couldn't of driven that far," Emily said. "It doesn't make sense."

"There's a lot of things that don't make sense around here. You'll see. That's the least of your worries," Brian said. He leaned against the trunk door, crossing his arms.

"I didn't know there was life here," Emily said. "Everyone assumes there's few people living here or that's it's uninhabitable."

"Whose everyone?" Brian asked.

"It's in schools, it's taught. People know it," Emily said.

"They're not far off. It almost is," Brian said. "It's only a matter of time before it's gone. The earth will go back to the way it was before people were here. It's inevitable." Emily didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything.

They pulled away from the side of the road, and onto the street. Brian had the windows rolled down. Emily's hair began to fun. She kept trying to pull it down. Brian turned to look at her and began to laugh.

"What?!" Emily yelled. "I can't hear you with the wind." Brian laughed at her.

"I didn't say anything," Brian said. Emily's brown hair flew everywhere and created a mess. She looked unamused and he smiled. He rolled up the window a little bit.

"So you live here in Biloxi?" Emily asked.

"I grew up around here, so you could say so," Brian said.

"Why are people so scared of here?" Emily said. "There's got to be a reason why it's uninhabitable." Brian rubbed his fingers on his lips and thought about the question.

"Sometimes things unexplained happen and people blame it on something when they don't know what it is," he said.

"It's not like California at all or the rest of the country. It's so open, all the space and fields," Emily said. Emily looked out the window and marveled at the trees. She didn't understand why the rest of the world thought this place was gone. What did Brian mean by unexpected things?

"If you could drop me off at the center of town, that would be fine," Emily said.

"We should be there soon," Brian said. "I could take you to the guy I know."

"Okay," Emily said.

The narrow road filled with trees turned into a two way street, and eventually into a freeway. The traffic was starting to move. Pedestrians were directing traffic where water levels were high. Brian turned some music on.

"I hope you like the Flaming Lips," he said. They listen to music while riding down the coast.

Traffic ebbed and flowed slowly. She noticed him bobbing his head. When they made their final turn towards the coast, that's when she saw it, and her mouth opened. She couldn't realize what she was seeing. Brian looked over at Emily.

"I'm guessing California doesn't have oceans?" he asked. The coastline was clear and the sand was a pale white but the sand looked rough and somewhat rocky but filled with water. Small waves came and hit the sand bar. "I've never seen an ocean before," Emily said. Brian rolled down the windows, and stuck his elbow out.

"You don't have an ocean out there?" Brian asked.

"The Pacific is dried up," Emily said. "It's a big hole in the ground."

"The Gulf isn't as nice as it looks. The water is pretty dirty an polluted," Brian said. She stretched her hand out to grasp the wind, opening and closing her fingers. Brian turned the music down.Emily noticed there weren't a lot of cars parked along the coast. The majority of them were on the freeway. Large trees hung over large estates with stone, and brick and with support beams.

"If more people knew about here, they would not be living in California," Emily said.

"It isn't what it seems," Brian said. "Life here is unpredictable at times. Sometimes the tide changes when you least expect it."

Emily was feeling frustrated at Brian's open ended remarks. She didn't understand how things could be unpredictable. It was the nicest climate she had ever been in. Up ahead, Emily could see hotels and tall buildings in the distance. The buildings were not as tall as the ones in Los Angeles but they were grand and old. They pulled up towards the center of Biloxi and drove along the road. Brian pulled the car over near a long sweeping gravel driveway. It was beginning to rain.

"There's a man named Donald who could look at your car. He might know about those types of cars," Brian said.

"Thanks Brian. I don't know how to thank you," Emily said.

"Good luck," Brian said.

"You too," Emily said. She picked up her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. She got out and open the back doors, picking up Ginger's cage and Becky. She shut the door.

"Wait," Brian called. He rolled down the window and turned around in his seat, reaching back for something. Emily hesitated.

"Here," Brian said. He handed her a large, blue and white stripped umbrella. "You should use it."

She tried pulled the top off.

"No, like this," Brian laughed. He got out of the car, and held the umbrella by the base, and pressed the metal button, pushing the umbrella open. He closed it quickly and handed it to her.

"Thanks," Emily said. Brian got back in his car, and pulled away from the sidewalk. She held it, and carried Ginger's cage. She was running out of arm arm quickly, so she had Becky roll beside her. She turned and saw Brian begin to pull away, but he lingered there watching her go down the driveway.

Emily put her palm out to touch the rain. She had never felt this before. A few cars went by, and they put their windshield wipers on. She realized she was one of the only people walking around outside. It began to rain a little harder. She looked up and saw a sign swinging from the white fence post. The Crescent Hotel. Emily looked back and Brian's car was fuzzy in the distance. There were also some people in front of her when she squinted ahead. The driveway was covered in trees that were so tall, they were stretching over the top of the driveway.

As she got closer to the hotel, she could see the stone facade and the white pillars that went down from the second to first floor. It was an old building, and was painted yellow with green, red and purple small details in the windows and pillars. At the top of the hotel, windows gazed out towards the driveway. The hotel was like a large decorative box, almost like a present, Emily thought. She had never seen a building like this before. The sounds around her were enticing. The sounds of beetles and birds, and trees crackling with the wind. The rain made noises Emily could not describe.

The front of the Crescent Hotel had a large wooden porch painted beige that wrapped around the front of the house, and had three steps leading up to the large front doors. A man with sandy blonde hair wearing rain gear, and a girl a little younger than Emily stared out at her in the driveway. They greeted some people ahead of her, but by the time she was approaching the front she was the only one left. They watched her from the door. When seeing them, Emily paused then proceeded to approach the house. Emily, saturated in water, sopped up the front steps.

"Welcome to the Crescent," the girl said. "My name is Delilah."