(Episode II) (Act 3)

“Mr. Homer, sir…” she began, prepping herself for the worst.

He didn’t respond, or even turned to her as he typed away on the A.R. interface at first. Jackie thought it was him being him, but she noticed from his profile that he was like Tracy, but different, maybe at the advance stage of the same school. Whereas she seemed to think over her words; Leslie was beginning to talk but stopped himself trying to shave down what he’s about to say.

“Please. Mr. Homer is your doctor and my dad,” Leslie sighed out. “Just Leslie. Make fun of it, but just know that you have a gun whereas I have a whole fleet to fight back with.”

“Okay, right, Leslie,” Jackie said. “…Where there…Other girls checked in here…?”

“Men, women and even children; sadly enough for that last one,” which sounded like a jerkish dig, but the tensing of his voice implied he’s not quite over that. The shift-warped boy was still clear in Jackie’s mind and he must’ve seen many. “You need to be more specific.”

“Right, sorry… Around my age? Possibly arrived whenever I did…?”

“And that narrows it down to… A couple of people tonight, who all are being transferred to the Shift Research labs as we speak and not even the one here.”

Leslie pushed a series of buttons and the room started to air out.

“Lucky for you, stupidity loves company,” Leslie presented Jackie what she wanted.

The white shells folded backwards into the walls of a regular, modern hospital room. Counters, computers, medical equipment where at the usual places… And curtains, right near Jackie’s bed. Leslie walked over, pulled them back, to reveal Maddie wearing a hospital gown, heads behind her head as she listened to music.

“OH MY GOD MADDIE THANK CHRIST,” Jackie exclaimed excitedly.

Even with the earbuds, Maddie jumped in her own skin, staring at Jackie before instantly softening… Then it turned back into the stare as she took them out, “I’m glad that you’re alive and all, like seriously I thought you were dead, and I don’t know how the fuck I was gonna handle that? But fucking hell, chill.”

She possessed the ghastly eye-rings too. It made the meeting a tad bittersweet.

“Sorry, sorry!” Not at all judging by the wide smile she was sporting, hands clapped together. “I’d hug you right now if I could!”

“And plunge my family into even more debt from the broken back you’re gonna give me?” Maddie inserted an earbud back, laying down again. “But yeah. 3 for 3, baby and I know it’s pure luck that I’m still breathing.”

Leslie pulled the curtain behind Maddie, revealing an Aiko wide-eyed, eye-ringed, deranged, gripping at the bars of her bed.

“THIS PLACE IS A PRISON,” she bellowed. “NO MOVEMENT, FOR WHAT FEELS LIKE ETERNITY!”

“Whhhhhy do you fucking people scream all the time?!” Maddie whined out comically. “I’m listening to Grunge and these guys’ yelling lyrics sound quieter!”

Aiko’s curtain was pulled back, revealing River on a different, but also completely damaged, PC.

“To be fair, it’s produced and mixed to be that way,” River pointed out, not looking up or at her. Possibly eye-ringed as well.

“Suck your old ass laptop’s dick, Glasses,” Maddie swatted back.

And finally, Tracy was revealed, looking upwards at the ceiling with an almost vacant look, eye-ringed.

“…You okay, Tracy…?” Jackie was concerned. All this, possibly taken away.

“…I am… Perfectly, in fact… But there’s no way that I’m going to pay for any of this—” Tracy said, eerily calm.

“Yeah,” Maddie agreed, “Our asses are already done, that just adds raw dirt to the wounds.”

Jackie breathed a sigh of relief, as she felt her eyes welling up, “I just… I can’t believe that we all made it—”

“So, you thought we were all dead and you survived?” Aiko asked, pausing her insanity.

“N-no!” Jackie shouted, “Just--!”

“Oooooh, sounds like it!” Maddie teased.

“Definitely did,” River added on.

“Might as well be,” Tracy resigned, that might’ve been an unmonitored slip up.

Jackie was going to fight back, berate them for thinking that… But only could laugh, earnestly, as she waved her hands.

“You got me~!”

Maddie smirked, hands behind her head. “So, I guess we all got that crash course?”

Jackie slowed to a stop, thinking about if they shared the same “dream”, but ruled it out. Maybe the room was sealed in such a way where they individually had a pocket Leslie or other nurses had to visit…?

“Yeah,” Jackie responded, and heard the others agree as well. “A lot to take in.”

“A lot of bullshit was what it was,” Maddie said flat out, but sighed. “But it’s my bullshit, now…”

“I understand it the same way I understand most philosophy,” River began. “…I somehow do.”

“Thank goodness, because I think I need another ‘smart phone cave man’ explanation…” Aiko admitted.

“…Yay siVis… Totally worth it…” Tracy raised a stiff thumbs up.

“Don’t you have insurance or something?” Maddie legitimately asked.

“Sure,” Tracy said, with no assurance at all.

“Still… What a whole mess, this has been… Can we even remotely salvage this?” Jackie mused, looking at her hands, every detail shown, outlined.

“Who cares?” Maddie answered. “We’re alive. That’s all that matters.”

“But it’s different, going to be different from now on.”

“It’s been different since, like, forever.”

“We’ve thrown our chances of normalcy away, for good this time.”

“We’ve established that we’re all freaks in our weirdo ways.”

“Our lives are going to be much harder, more intense and will overall suck now.”

“We literally ended up here because we knew how much our lives sucked, right?” Maddie glanced over at Jackie. “We’ll deal. I guess. Still alive, though.”

Jackie sighed, but still maintained a smile, “It’s pretty fun, ‘arguing’ with you.”

“Shittalking is literally the only thing I’m good at~”

“…Y’know, medical care and know-how aside,” Jackie gently ribbed.

Maddie was struck by that, and quickly closed her eyes, pretending to listen to music again from her bud, not responding at all. Jackie assumed that’s just her character and she was fine with it.

…But it was kinda weird, that she only recalled just that. Maddie’s helping, getting hurt… But the why being hazy…

This reunion distracted them from Leslie, who seemingly “vanished” only to “reappear” coming back into the room.

“I let you all have your moment,” he said, crossed arms. “So, do you all want to segue towards an awkward one with letting your families come in?”

Everyone performed their respective cringe.

“Oh my goooooood. Here comes Captain Buzzkill, doing his fucking job, unparalleled at his art,” Maddie whined, at least confirmed that he made his rounds with the others…

“Trust me,” Captain Leslie Buzzkill responded. “I can rant and talk up a storm and none of you could care less. But I’m sure whatever they’re going to say to you, even if it’s a ‘I’m so glad you’re alright’, is going to crush you. So that’s why I asked.”

Why must you be so hard to make a call on? Jackie in her thoughts, once again revising them.

The girls stewed in the silence until they heard Leslie say, “Up to you.”

Jackie planted her elbows and rose up, looking to the rest of the girls, searching their expressions. And from the display, she didn’t even need to confirm that she was wearing the same one, her version of it. She lowered herself back down to the bed, sighing.

“You may…” Jackie looked to the side.

Leslie nodded, opening the door for the flood of bodies. The crowd found, darted for, and hovered over their respective location.

What was before Jackie were her loving, dutiful parents. Her giant of a dad, much taller than her somehow, broad in every sense of the word that his black winter, puffy sweatshirt made him somehow huger of a man. And despite all that grisliness, his blue eyes were warm, his stubble covered smile soft. His face was something she recognized, when he felt pity. Her mother was tiny by comparison, wearing a tight long-coat that was brown. Her hair was neat and prim considering, having a straight fringe that was above her purple, round glasses frames. Her normally neutral, professional face was overwrought with relief as she saw her daughter again.

Jackie waved, with a mixed smile of her own, “Hey Mom. Dad.”