Crickets in a forest dimly lit by lanterns. On the trees, on the ruins, every pale ember cast a small glow to the endless sea of silhouettes. Jessica, Valerie, and Shannon followed the contemptuously silent niece of the leader of The Woodsmen. Danielle guided them with her kerosene lantern, guard Jimmy to the rear, while the girls surveyed their surroundings in curiosity. Jessica decided to prod.
"You see bears out here?"
Silence.
"No bears? Okay."
"What about ghosts?" said Shannon. "Weird shit that goes bump in the night? Azareans ever bother you?"
Silence.
"Your uncle seems cool, at least," said Valerie. "Does he let you drink? That's probably all I would do if I were living out here. If yes, don't say anything."
Danielle stopped in her tracks. "No, I just shoot things."
"Same! High-five..."
Danielle scowled over her shoulder, leaving Valerie to hang as she stepped off.
Jessica placed her goggles, spotted the run-down manor in their direction. It looked older than anything in the modern world. "Are we going to that house from the History Channel?"
"What are you talking about?" Danielle stammered.
"That old ass house in front of us."
"How the hell..." Danielle looked back, saw the goggles, and scoffed, "Yes."
They trod around the back of the ancient structure, leaving the front door alone, came upon yet another cellar hatch. It may have been their only option since the house looked like it was made of cards.
"You can take a break, Jimmy. Have a good night," Dani said.
"Ma'am." And the Woodsman tipped his hat.
Opening the cellar door, Danielle motioned her guests inward. They could see nothing, hear nothing, and fear plenty, with the exception of Jessica. Her lenses highlighted the stairs.
"Not ominous at all."
"I know this movie," said Shannon. "This is the part where the dumb white girl gets chainsawed by the man in the ugly mask. I'm the comic relief, so, naturally, someone has to go before me. Valerie..."
"Ni madre. El que tiene mas anos se va primera. Adelante, vieja."
Tired of protests, Jessica set foot on the stairs. At the bottom, an upsurge of delight quelled the eeriness and made her beam. The room was littered with old-world widgets, knick-knacks, and crap. Compelled by curiosity, she sped to the nearest pile and started digging.
"What do you see, Babel?"
"Scans show non-contemporary perishables and, what some might describe as, garbage."
"One man's garbage is a woman's treasure. Why does that sound weird?" Things went black, the goggles suddenly gone from her head.
"What nonsense are you spoutin'?" said Danielle, pressing the lenses against her face.
Jessica calmly reclaimed the goggles from her clutches. "Different worlds..."
"I can't see shit!" said Valerie.
"Ugh!" Danielle's stomps overtook the room, ending when the light of a lone fire appeared in the center. She tipped the candle in her hand to light a hanging lantern, which revealed a rocking chair underneath. She lit another candle, then another, and another. Several flickers later, the entire basement was visible. The shabby interior contained wondrous piles.
Danielle set the candle on a nearby drawer. "Do all girls in the city throw hissy fits over dumb things?" A question Valerie, Shannon, and Jessica answered together.
"Maybe." "Sometimes." "Yes."
"How do you deal with yerselves?"
"Fudge brownie ice cream," said Jess. "City food is amaze-balls. Unless you're vegan, I suppose. Although, I did have vegan ceviche once, and it was undeniably great."
"Not gonna lie," started Shannon, inhaling the room, "I've always wondered what it would be like living alone in the forest."
"I ain't alone," Danielle scolded.
"I didn't mean it that way."
"Whatever..."
Shannon sauntered over to Jess, who dug deeper into the strange pile. Together, they found little of use but plenty of curiosities: VCRs, a rusted printer, round hats, old-brand shoes, weights, perfume bottles, a paperback book the likes of which nobody had seen before, followed by a smartphone whose name Shannon tried to read. "...Phone 7," she muttered. "This is broken garbage."
"Hey, this old Samsung turned on," said Jessica. "Dude, are these flip phones!"
Danielle arrived and stole Jessica's phone. The girl grumbled over to the nearby rocking chair, sat down, and rocked with the rifle on her lap. When Jessica and Shannon stared overlong, she spoke softly. "This is the stuff we were made of before ET came."
"What is ET?" said Valerie, inspecting a Walkman.
"It's 'The story that touched the world,' a film directed by Steven Spielberg," said Jessica.
"God. Do you know everything or just pull random facts out of your ass?"
"It says right here on the box." Jessica held up a VHS case with the title ET.
"Huh... What else is in there?"
"Whatever techs was around more than a hundred years ago," Dani muttered.
Jessica heard the resignation in the girl's voice, so paused from digging. Under normal circumstances, the pile of vintage items would swell her excitement and nostalgia levels. But instead of enthusiasm, she felt a gnawing void.
"This stuff is amazing, but I'm not that excited. Why is that, Valerie?"
Homegirl shrugged, face pucked. "A week ago, maybe. A week ago...."
"Hey." Shannon beckoned them close. She had an unsolved Rubik's cube in her hand. "Check this out." She began solving the portable puzzle as Jessica tentatively watched. In a minute, she successfully arranged all six colors.
"Not bad," said Jessica. "I haven't seen one of these since..." It was one of the first gifts from dad. "It's been a while. I think my record was six or seven seconds."
"You're a liar," Dani said spitefully. "I ain't never solved one of those."
Shannon grinned at Jessica. "You hear that?"
"I heard it."
Shannon reconfigured the Rubik's cube and randomized the color patterns, then she placed the puzzle in the palm of Jessica's hand. Jessica rotated the cube, precision irises scanning all sides. Slowly she trod over to Danielle, and as she did so twisted the puzzle pieces before her eyes.
"Done."
From her seat, Dani blinked in disbelief. She grabbed hold of the puzzle to closely inspect the results for herself. Every side was a flat color. "Is that all? Show me again. You did something."
Jessica smirked. "Yea, I did. I solved it."
"Hmmm." Danielle twisted the cube until the colors were random again. To be certain, she twisted the rows for a long period, tensing her fingers as if that would complicate the puzzle. "Okay," she said, pushing the cube into Jessica's gut, "ain't no tricks now."
Again, Jessica inspected all sides. Danielle's scowl was intense. This time, Jessica decided on a new pattern before returning the cube. Blondie's face lit up in victory, but a frown quickly reformed. The colors came in stripes, which left her puzzled until Jessica grabbed the cube and solved all sides while maintaining eye contact.
"Showing off again, are we?" said Valerie.
Face red, Dani stood up, seized the Rubik's Cube then immediately sat back down, eyes askew "Witch," she muttered under her breath.
"Is that supposed to be an insult?" said Jessica.
"Cinderella got proven wrong," Valerie exclaimed. "She's going to have to get over it."
Danielle threw the Rubik's Cube away. "Fine!" After laying her rifle aside, she stormed over to a dark corner of the room. Back in view, she lugged something none of them had ever seen, not in person.
Jessica gaped at an actual record player, complete with arm, cartridge, needle and hardly a nick on the turntable; moreover, none of the buttons seemed to be missing. Danielle carefully lay the vintage instrument on the rocking chair.
"If you're so smart then get this to work!"
"That's a classic piece of Americana," Shannon gasped. "Old as hell, though... Jess is smart, but she's no wizard."
Jessica nodded in bitter disappointment but could hardly match the dullness of Dani's frown, which seemed too morose to fire back. Eyes askew, the blonde bit her cheek and mulled over the record player.
Rolling her eyes, Jessica lifted the player and examined the parts. "This ancient tech has an output point, which means it needs a secondary connection, presumably a speaker. Do you even have one?"
Valerie winced. "You mean they used to sell stuff without speakers?"
ns 15.158.61.48da2
