Intransigence: On Hold[ish]

Prologue: Fortune Cookie Theft

Randi and Zea sat at the small wooden table, with steaming noodles in hand. The two had enjoyed visiting the small Mongolian restaurant regularly for months now, and even when their money was waning they still made a point to eat there.

"Can you even believe this?" Zea asked, tossing her hand towards the window across the room.

Randi shoved a large mound of noodles in her mouth as she looked up to her friend in confusion. "Wha?"

"The storm, stupid!"

Randi gazed out the window as she comprehended what Zea was referring to. They had been focusing on the strange weather nearly all morning. "Oh!" She said laughing at her absentmindedness. She stared for a few remaining seconds out the restaurant's vast front window. Rain bucketed down in large goblets from an overcast sky. Bright flickers of lightening streaked overhead at varying intervals of intensity. The brightness of the flashes left spotty lines across Randi's vision and she blinked several times. She turned back towards Zea after regaining her vision.

"Stupid!" Zea repeated with a laugh after a few moments. "I haven't seen a storm this bad since I lived in Boston." She added nostalgically.

"Yeah, it's really weird. I sort of like it though-what?" Randi asked looking up at Zea's sudden expression of excitement.

"What if..." She trailed off.

"What?" Randi repeated anxiously.

"What if it's the end of the world?" A glint of anticipation struck Zea's eyes.

"End times?" Randi questioned skeptically. Though disbelief struck her tone, butterflies of excitement coursed throughout her stomach. "I highly doubt that. I mean where are the signs? Wouldn't there be-"

"Shh!" Zea said waving her hand furiously in her friend's face. She started to concentrate fully on the low volume television, which sat on the wall behind Randi.

Randi swiveled her head around to see an all too stereotypical weatherwoman with thick blond hair pointing to the stormy areas on a digital map of the Northwest and babbling about how bad the weather was.

"It's traveling to Bangor." Randi said turning back around. "That's where my brother is stationed."

"I'm sure he'll be fine on the base." Zea assured, noting the vaguely worried expression on Randi's face.

"Yeah I'm sure you're right." Randi paused for a moment before sudden urgency hit her voice. "Holy crap do you see that?!" She all but shouted to Zea.

Zea spun around in her chair. "What?" She demanded.

Randi made no reply as she made a quick snatching movement.

After a whole minute, Zea slowly re-adjusted herself in her seat to face Randi. She eyed her friend suspiciously.

Randi grinned.

"What did you take?" Zea asked knowingly. She stuck her arm in expectancy.

Finishing her bite Randi replied, "Nothin' really." She then produced an empty fortune cookie wrapper and placed it on Zea's outstretched palm. As Zea closed her fist around the wrapper Randi patted her friend's curled hand a few times in a mock consoling manner. Randi then sat back in her chair with a smirk.

Zea stared down mournfully at the lone wrapper for a few moments. "Jerk." She simply said.

Placing her index finger and thumb under her chin Randi replied, "I know."

The two then let out a few hearty laughs at their own hilarity.

Soon afterwards they boxed their food. "K, take me home woman." Randi ordered as she grabbed her purse.