Chapter 3:

Ruby's saloon was empty at this time of the afternoon. Ruby was wiping down the bar while Lottie sat at one of the tables and practiced writing her alphabet. Ram and Lex sat at their usual table nursing their drinks, deep in discussion.

"Are you sure, Lex? You actually heard this from a reliable source?" Ram queried for the third time in three minutes.

"Yes, I'm sure. They saw him, he's alive, that's what they said," answered Lex.

"Lex, people just don't come back from the dead," Ram said, shaking his head.

"Well we don't know that he was ever actually dead, do we. And then there's you and Amber who came back, and that whole Zoot thing, so I'm not putting any money on it being impossible," Lex countered.

"Well, we need to get this information back to the mall as soon as we can."

"Great, tell the others hi for me."

"Lex, I can't go back to the city. Techno's aren't exactly welcome there anymore, and after what happened with the computer after the rebellion, well, let's just say I'm public enemy #1."

"I suppose we could use some of the profits from the casino to pay one of the kids in town to do it."

"Lex, you don't really trust this information to a stranger do you? Besides, we have no guarantee that they would ever deliver the information to the Mallrats."

"Lottie could make the trip, she's been to the mall before."

"Lex," Ram rolled his eyes and glanced in Lottie's direction, "Lottie's ten, she's not even allowed to cross the street by herself."

"Oh come on, she's the best pickpocket in town…"

"Lex!" Ram said loudly, "You are going."

"No, I'm not!" Lex yelled back.

"Why not…oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. It's because you're scared of poor little May…Papa."

"Shut up, Ram!" Lex shouted, getting to his feet.

"Calm down, calm down...Look, you're the only one who can go back to the mall and deliver this information. Just think, you'll be a hero. They'll all forgive you, you know the Mallrats, all caring and stuff. And as for May, well she's probably not even at the mall anymore. And if she is, she's probably forgotten all about it."

"Forgot about being pregnant?" Lex said, looking at Ram like he'd gone crazy.

"No…" Ram rolled his eyes again, "Forgot about wanting you to take on any fatherly duties."

Lex was still looking at him disbelievingly. "Alright, look, Jack will be able to help us get the software I need to beef up our security at the casino; you know we've been having some problems lately with cheats. We're losing money on them, they've figured out a way to beat our system. We need to upgrade, keep them guessing. I'll make you a list of things I'll need and Jack can help you round them up. And while you're there, you can deliver the information to Jay. How's that sound?"

Lex looked thoughtful for a moment…"So just how much money are we losing?"

Since the rebellion the Mallrats had worked hard to rebuild the city and their dream. Jay, Amber and Slade supervised things and the others took shifts in different sectors of the city making sure that things were running smoothly. They all did there part, Jack ran the computer network that controlled the power and the water, Trudy and Ellie ran the hospital, Salene and Daryl ran the school and Ebony ran the police station. May stayed out of it all, she wasn't interested in what any of them were doing. As far as she was concerned, life was still chaos.

It was 2 pm, at last. Everyday she watched the clock, and everyday at 2 pm she snuck out of her room and down the hall. And then she was at Salene's door. Salene had the afternoon shift at the school; she left the mall at 2 pm everyday to teach her classes.

May listened at the door for a moment, to be certain that there was no one moving around inside, then slowly pushed the door open. She stood in the doorway a moment taking in the room. There was Pride's picture on the nightstand, but there was only a single bed now, hers had been moved down the hall months ago. Memories flooded back, this was where they had kissed, where she had told Salene that she loved her, where she had told her about Pride's last words, and where their relationship had ended.

May walked into the room and sat down on the bed. If only things hadn't gotten so out of control. If only she had made different choices, if she had told Salene the truth about Pride, made her understand how much she loved her and that they could make it work. If only she had been smarter, and not fallen for Mega's lies. If only she hadn't gotten pregnant…

That was always where her thoughts ended up…why was she pregnant…how could it have happened, how could she have let it happen.

She felt the baby kick again and a wave of nausea washed over her. She lay down on the bed clutching Salene's pillow to her chest. Soon tears began to flow again and she became lost in her misery, and in sleep.