Resident Evil: The Sitcom (RE8 Sitcom Au)

Part 3: Three Goths Walk Into A Pharmacy

Baby carrier hooked in the crook of his elbow, Ethen Winters took his first venture into the town proper. The night's snow gilded each roof, tree, and mailbox. A faint dusting fell as songbirds sung chorus. He felt as if he'd driven into a Christmas card, complete with holly, jolly, and cheer for every little boy and girl. If a sleigh had soared overhead, he wouldn't have been in the least surprised. 

The few shops that were open glowed like beacons in the grey light of 6:00-something am. Duke's, the general store smelled of linoleum and musty wallpaper, and carried every conceivable item a mountain dwelling towny could need. From frozen produce to climbing equipment, the stuffy little store had everything. The owner and proprietor, a portly man quite predictably named Duke, had a pleasant yet unnerving sense of knowing just a bit more than you did about everything, even yourself. But Ethen waved away this paranoia and whisked Rose and himself back into the cold.

The drug store was far less inviting. The fluorescent lights flickered, illuminating an insect's graveyards behind the plastic casings, and the grooves in the surgical-blue tiled floor were filled to bursting with the detritus of decades of footfalls. The whole place felt like..grime. Grime and decay and malevolence. 

Ethen held Rose's carrier close as he filled his prescriptions. Goosebumps popped along his arms and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Why the paranoia? Why now? He wracked his brain for what could be triggering him but nothing rang a bell. He'd moved here to get as far from any reminder of Louisiana as possible. He gripped the counter, praying for the pharmacy clerk to return so he could leave this god forsaken mini-mart. 

The faintest of murmurs caught his jittery attention. Three girls, maybe late teens-early 20s, loitered around a defunct soft-drinks fountain at the front of the store. All three looked like what Ethen could only describe as "Gothy". Black clothes and chokers and stuff, one even had hair dyed a deep unnatural black. They looked like the kind of kid you'd see hanging around the loud stores at the mall; not even shopping, just...being in the way...like decorative advertising for the cheap garbage sold within. 

He watched them from the corner of his eye as he finished his shopping, and couldn't ignore their icy stares in return. Just as he decided to forget about these teenage creeps and hustle out the door, Rose awoke from her nap and started squalling. Ethen shushed her under his breath, but it was too late. The youngest of the girls had trotted over and was leaning over Rose. 

"Oh my god she's so small, shh shh no don't cry you're so pretty!" she cooed. 

Ethen pulled the carrier up into his arms and stumbled back. The dumbfounded girl still squatted there in her ripped skinny jeans and fishnet gloves, round pale face twisted in concern as the others came up behind her. 

The tallest, a blonde with gauges and lip rings grabbed the first's arm,"Danny it's a baby, not a fucking dog."

"Yeah," the other tugged the cooer to her feet, you gotta ask first, dip."

"Sorry sir," said the blonde, smiling and showing a gum piercing, "kids, y'know?"

Ethen stood staring at the three of them, trying to form some kind of response.  A croaked "Thanks..." was the best he managed, slamming his back into the swinging door. 

"Hey wait!" the blonde followed him out into the blustering snow.

He said nothing, throwing his bags and Rose's carrier into the backseat. 

"Just moved in right?"

"Yeah? And what about it?"

"Can we take you to breakfast as an apology?"

Ethen was caught in the completely wrong mental gear, "What?"

"Everyone knows you're new and my sister's a nosy dipshit"

Ethen contemplated this statement as snow blew into his collar. The goth and the dad watched each other in silence for a few more moments. "No way!" 

The girl stood there as he buckled Rose into the carseat and slotted the keys into the ignition. Ethen could see the shapes of the two sisters peering through the glass door of the pharmacy behind her. He sighed and rolled cranked down the window, "What's your problem? Scram, kid." 

"We took the bus.." She stood in a complete absence of busses. It was a really big absence. Snow was sticking in her hair as she stood knees bowed together like a lost dog, metaphorical tail between her legs. 

Ethen pinched his nose, "...Get in the car then."