one day, one day, Dixie Damelio steals everyone's houses and I, along with every other person - have to find our way back to normalcy and find out where everyone else went.
as if this day isn't crazy enough as it is, I immediately assume I am hallucinating (even though I've had more than enough sleep). I step inside and I break the circle by kicking one of the members out of place. everyone in the circle gets up and one shouts "why did you do that?". I turn around and it's that guy I met earlier, "what are you doing in here?" I questioned. "these are all of the refugees" he said, "I need to talk to you in private, Y/N" he asked.
"how do you know my name?" I yelled. he rolled his eyes and didn't respond; I shrugged at him as we walked out of the circle. after a quick brisk, we entered the beauty department, (which I always thought is unnecessarily bright). "do you recognize these refugees?" he asked. "no, they just look like random people you'd see on the street". I affirmed. "are you 100% sure they're not more D'Amelio's or people who are affiliated with them?" he interrogated.
"yes I'm sure... why ask me?" I said as I pointed at the circle with my palm. "I don't know, I don't use TikTok. I just laugh at stolen TikTok's from 4 months ago on Instagram reels." he made clear. "ew you use reels.." I said, disgusted "major red flag". he rolled his eyes again and guided me back to the circle. "wait" I paused, "what is your name?" I asked. he turned around and looked at me like this: I don't know how to explain this face in words so like here
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he stopped for a second and then continued as if I never said anything. I assume he's just trying to be cool by being anonymous; but if I'm going to stay here, he will tell me his name. we arrive back at the circle and they have started to build a fort. I tried asking one of them a question but they shushed me and gave me a hammer to pin the tent down.
"why do we need to do this?" I asked. everyone stares at me and they all go silent in a way that suggests that they would all hear me out. "if we're going to try to take our homes back, why are we settling over here?" I cautioned. everyone exchanges eye contact with each other and ignore me. they go back to work as if they heard nothing, I run out of the fort and try to keep myself entertained in isolation for the next couple of hours. I look over at my "stolen" phone and check the time.
7:53 PM
I sigh and lay down on my DIY mattress. I hear someone walking toward me and I prepare myself for an attack, but it's just one of the circle members. it's a female, maybe 13-16, she is short and has wavy brown hair. "hi" she says as she slowly puts her hand up. I wave back to her and she starts walking toward my mattress. she sits near the mattress, crisscrosses, and starts the conversation. "so what do you think happened?" she asked. "I'm not sure"
I sighed, "I think this is all just a really weird dream that I can't wake up from". she pinches herself "well I wouldn't cling on to that idea if I were you". she explained, "this feels too real". I get up from my laying position and sit on my mattress "you're right" I began, "but what are we going to do about this?". she gets up from the cold tile floor and goes, "you decide; I'm all ears."
she turned around to start walking away, but then she stops and twirls back. "I think I might know something about thi-" she is interrupted by the intercom, "all fortress members report to the— fort, duh." said a familiarly unenthusiastic voice. I don't affiliate myself with the circle, so I have no immediate reaction. the girl waves goodbye at me and runs back to the front of the store.
(tw: the next paragraph is cringey but yk character development or whatever😍)
I've never been the one to come up with ideas for a group but I have always wanted to lead one, in this situation I feel so knowledgeable but I'm too scared to say anything. I already know what I want to do, but I'm scared they won't listen to me. I've always been ignored, I always feel invisible, I feel like she's been the only one who cares about what I want; I want to be a leader. but if I'm going to be a leader, I must be confident.
I get up from my mattress and pace over to her as she walks away, my bare feet on the cold tile feels like I'm walking over a frozen lake. I put my hand on her shoulder, she is startled by that. she turns around and stares with her eyes locked on my hand." what are you doing?" she probed. we exchanged eye contact for a couple of awkward moments before I broke the silence by asking "what is your name?"
she lifted my hand off her shoulder and she turned to face me. " my name is...Desiree.." she replied. Desiree turns back around and walks away. I return to my mattress and feel a sense of accomplishment from my confidence. after a few minutes of navel-gazing, I decided to do something I'd never done before: drive a car.
I rise and walk from my bed-'room' i walk back to the candy and chips aisle and take my favorite snacks ever. cosmic brownies, hot Cheetos puffs, and some gummy cola candy. I jog towards the entrance of the Walmart and pass the fort, no one in there is asleep, and Desiree is talking to the circle, she's probably gossiping about our short conversation from literally 5 minutes earlier.
the unnamed crossbow dude (what else am I supposed to call him? Reel user?) stares at me from the left side of the fort. I run out and try to make sure nobody follows me. the streets have never been quieter, the light pollution is starting to fade from the lack of energy usage. I can see my sign, Libra, in the sky as I walk around the parking lot, I notice a lot of car keys on the floor, probably dropped from people's pockets after they all vanished.
I decided to go looking for the nicest and newest car to drive. I feel shameless because morals don't apply if no one is affected, right? I grew up with third-person racing games so I'm pretty much an expert, [SIDE NOTE: NEVER DRIVE ON THE ROAD UNLICENSED BECAUSE "I'M AN EXPERT AT RACING GAMES"] but does it matter if no one is on the road? I can turn at any intersection, drive on any lane, drive on the interstate at over 100 mph, and won't have to worry about a car in my blind spot, I can drive AS FAST AS I PLEASE.
the sudden realization of this makes me thrilled. I see the perfect car: a beautiful cabriolet that I won't have to break into because the roof is down. for some strange reason, the keys are still inside the car. This car was parked in the online pick-up spot because you know wealthy people can't be will DIE if they're touched by a ghetto area like an average Walmart. I start the car with a push-to-start button. the wild roar of the engine draws attention from the circle, and the unnamed crossbow dude comes out of the Walmart building.
he walks over to me and I put the car in reverse, I drive out of the parking lot with multiple scratches and dents left on the other surrounding cars, I urge myself to run him over but he waives himself (never thought he would do this, to be honest). he walks over to the car and I apply the parking brake.
okay listen, this part has enough words already so I'm just going to continue on the next 😘😘 Slay Queenz.
