The ATM disappeared. Rondell found himself looking at a piece of paper with POP QUIZ written at the top. Rondell looked at what was written on the paper.
1.) YEAH!
2.) THE COTTON GIN
3.) APPOMATTOX
4.) 755
YEAH! was highlighted. A+ was written in red pen at the top of the page, signallising to him that he must pay attention to this word.
And then Rondell was back at the ATM, but it was giving him the same message all the other hallucinations had given him, flashing over and over.
YEAH!
YEAH!
These words were replaced by a picture of a lion wearing a beanie cap.
IT'S A LION!
IT'S A LION!
IT'S A LION!
IT'S A LION!
This, he expected, was just a nonsense hallucination; despite the fact that these were very uncommon.
The piece of paper appeared again, the word YEAH! on it, faded and erased, eraser scraps covered around it. The image of the tentacle-skull riding the penny-farthing appeared once more, drawn on the page, yet still moving across it, animatley.
Rondell staggered backwards.
He looked up. He was in his apartment, the lightbulb swinging back and forth above his head, his shadow dancing across the room, as a single cockroach crawled up the wall.
And then the wall opened up, and Rondell could see the football field inside his apartment, the fans in the bleachers holding up their signs once more.
YEAH
And they flipped again, to show the picture of the tentacle-skull riding across the signs. And they flipped once more to show a giant olive on their third side.
The field had disappeared. Rondell, wondering what was happening, ran outside, looking for the ATM once more, knowing that it was somehow trying to tell him something.
One of his friends was there, pressing random buttons as if it was a video game.
Rondell ran up to his friend and shouted at him to go away, knowing he might have broken the ATM's message. The friend ran away.
Rondell suddenly turned to his side, to see the Grim Reaper was standing in front of him once more. His cold image was almost familiar since its last visit.
His friend came up to him again and tried to talk to him, but Rondell angrily shouted at him to leave him alone.
After his friend left, Rondell looked behind the Grim Reaper to see twoother peopleat the ATM. Vandals. If his friend hadn't broken it, these two sure were. They were holding it upside down and shaking it violently, as wads of cash fell out of it. They were robbing it...destroying it...
Rondell yelled at them even louder.
Gah! thought the first one. It's the schizo!
The two of them exchanged a facial agreement to run.
The dropped to ATM to the ground, no doubt damaging it more.
Rondell awave of resentment washed through him.
Just then, a disconcerting chill echoed across the wind, unnoticed by all but one.
Something was coming.