This store wasn’t nearly as busy as Macy’s, though there were still quite a few people in it. Rose randomly walked throughout the aisles as Varian asked a store worker for help. Clearly the worker didn’t know what most of the things Varian was listing were; he looked very confused.
Rose looked at a weird do-hickey that was attached to one of the shelves. It was rectangular with a small lever inside it. Next to it was a small sticker that said: Try me! So, Rose did what the sticker wanted.
She flicked the lever up, and a small light emitted next to it, encased in a glass box. Rose stared at it in amazement, then flicked the lever down. The light extinguished. She played with it a little more. This was amazing!
After a little while of being amazed by the light, Varian came back up to her, his arms filled with various items.
“You got everything?” Rose asked.
“Almost. Just need a tool box from aisle three, but I’m afraid I don’t have enough hands for that.” Varian looked as if he was going to collapse from the weight.
Rose noticed an empty cart sitting on the other side of the aisle. She pushed it over to Varian. “Why don’t you just put that stuff in here?”
“Oh, right.” He chuckled nervously as he dropped everything into the cart. Rose pushed the cart-- with some difficulty-- to aisle three.
After picking up a small tool box, they carried on to a cash register. After the cashier rang everything up, she looked up at them with an unenthusiastic look. “That’ll be 250 dollars and 72 cents.”
Rose brought out a gold coin with a smile. But this time, the cashier stared at the coin with a blank face.
“I-is something wrong?” Rose asked.
“You expect me to think that’s real?” the lady inquired.
“Yes?”
The lady sighed, then picked up the coin. She tried bending it, then scratched at it, as if it was covered in paint. “Very well. It seems real. You may go.”
“Thank you.” Varian pushed the cart forward. But when Rose looked back, she saw the lady staring at the coin in wonder. Ha! She was just playing cool.
Rose padded in front of Varian as carted their things outside. She turned around and started walking backwards. “So, where are we going to build it?”
“Probably somewhere secret. We don’t need anybody knowing that we’re from a different dimension,” Varian explained.
“Have anywhere in mind?” Rose asked.
“I just got here, how would I-” he stopped mid-sentence, a grin forming on his face. He looked forward. Rose gazed towards where he was looking. An old-looking building that looked deserted. Marks from what looked like were once words stained the top of the building. Rose nudged Varian’s arm with her elbow. “Good thinking!”
“Thanks.” He pushed the cart faster as they approached the building.
Quickly glancing around to make sure no one was looking, they used a pair of pliers to cut the lock on the door, then slipped inside. Surely Home Depot wouldn’t notice if they “borrowed” their cart.
Once inside, Rose locked the doors behind them to make sure no one would follow. Near the doors was a tiny device like the one in Home Depot. She flicked it on, and light showered them.
Varian turned to stare at her. “How’d you do that?”
“Magic,” she said sarcastically, doing jazz hands. Varian just shook his head with a smile.
. . .
Rose’s stomach started to growl as she turned a wrench. She put a hand to her stomach. “Man, I could do with some food right now.”
The portal was about halfway finished, and they had been working on it for hours. Varian’s head peeked through the large circle in the middle. “We can stop and go get something to eat.”
Rose set down her wrench and stood up with a bounce. “Yes please!”
They walked around for a little bit, holding hands as they went up and down the sidewalk. Rose glanced all around, looking for a place that might serve food. Eventually, a wonderful smell hit her nose. Chicken!
Rose looked up at the building to her left. It said: Chick-fil-a. She turned left as Varian continued forward-- Varian was dragged once again.
Opening the doors, the wonderful aroma became stronger, and Rose stood in a small line. Varian stood next to her, trying to balance himself after being dragged.
“Smells good, doesn’t it?” Rose asked.
“Yeah,” Varian said, not really paying attention. He glanced up at some large windows with words. “Menu. Huh, must be the list of things you can order.”
The words suddenly disappeared, replaced with some different words and pictures. “Woah. How’d that happen?”
“I don’t know,” Varian said. “But we should pick something soon-- the line is moving.”
. . .
After a little bit of waiting, a tray was pushed towards them, a bag sitting on top of it. Rose grabbed it as Varian returned from the “soda dispensers.”
“I don’t know what I got, but I hope it’s good,” he told her.
They sat down at a small table with two chairs. They got their food out of the bag and started eating it. It was delicious.
“So…” Varian said after a moment of silence. “How’re you coping with… you know.”
Rae. Rose had totally forgotten about that after the craziness of ending up here. She sighed. “I don’t know what to think. I thought I could trust her… but Rapunzel’s right. You can’t trust anyone these days.”
Varian took her hand and squeezed it. “You can trust me.”
Rose smiled. “I know. But… ugh, it’s all so confusing! If only she’d talked to me first.”
Varian looked down. “I’m sorry I stabbed her.”
“What?” Rose had totally forgotten about that. If he hadn’t stabbed Rae, they might not be here right now. They might all be friends again. “Oh, right. Why did you do that, anyway?”
“I just panicked. I mean, she almost killed me, who’s to say she wouldn’t have tried to do the same to you?”
“We were sorting things out. We would’ve all been fine,” Rose told him.
“I know… and I feel awful about it. Can you please forgive me?”
Rose folded her arms as he gave her puppy-dog eyes. She rolled her eyes with a smile. “You know I can’t say no to that face.” Varian laughed.
Once finished with their food, they started heading back to the abandoned building. But Rose stopped at a bulletin board on the wall. All sorts of papers were pinned up on it. But one in specific caught her eye.
“Break the tension of your normal everyday life and have some fun with a little dance.” Rose read over the address. “Huh. Not too far from here. And it starts at eight.” She glanced at the clock. It read 7:05.
“Do you want to go?” Varian asked. Rose’s huge smile answered the question. He looked closer at the flier. “Semi-formal attire only.” He glanced at his and Rose’s outfits. “Guess we’ll need some new clothes. Again.”
Rose brought out a handful of gold coins. “Relax. As long as I have these, we can buy anything.”
Varian smiled at her. “Well then let’s go!”
YOU ARE READING
Blinded (A Sequel to "Sight")
FanfictionIt's been a few months since Zhan Tiri had been defeated, and everything was normal again. Until mysterious notes started popping up, and the threat of a new danger loomed over them all. ~cover by me~ Check out the trequel: Lost (Trequel to Sight)
