"While many people sing like angels, others sing like demons." News anchor of Good Morning New Orleans, David Broad was looking right into the camera after the commercial break was over. "Joining us today in the studio is no other than Jayne Alvers. We're happy you have you on the show Jayne."
"I'm happy to be here." Jayne sat up strait on the other loveseat on the set. The glass wall behind them showed fans and onlookers with signs. Instead of an expensive dress that she would only use once, she had on a polka dot shirt with denim shorts and converse.
"So you've been in New Orleans for a while shooting a movie with Dina Granger. Can you tell us what it's about?" Whenever she was in an interview, Jayne liked to answer her question thoroughly without giving anything away.
"It takes place in a small town that get's struck by several tornados in one day." Jayne explained. "I basically play a waitress involved with saving whoever I can. For the part, I wound up exercising more than before. Running is one thing, but running with wind pulling you back is a different story."
"So did you get sucked in?"
"I can't tell. You'll have to wait for it to come out."
"And what's the movie?" David asked. "Just tell me the title."
"It's called 'Angry Air'." Jayne clued in. "The first preview of the movie will play at the Halloween party going on at the Marriot."
"And who will you go as?"
"My friends and I are going as pairs, so we're all characters from the same series." Jayne sounded excited. "Only a fortune teller could guess my costume right and that's when I began to believe what he said!"
Arthur was watching the interview as the plane was drawing a conclusion to its expedition. They were above Louisiana when the flight attendant over the intercom told everyone to pack up. Arthur looked to the seat beside his to see Ariadne was fast asleep. Not asleep, she looked dead. Arthur felt her forehead to check and felt nothing unusual. Since all her things were already stored, he figured to wait until they would actually let them leave.
People from the back started pouring out as quickly as they could. Arthur waited like a guard dog for the aisles to clear. His hand gripped Ariadne's shoulder.
"Olivia…" he shook her gently. "We're here. Wake up."
Ariadnes eyelids rose slowly as Arthur took her coat and threw it over his arm.
"We're here?" she asked tiredly.
"Yes, we're here."
Ariadne stretched her arms and stood up, grabbing her carry-on and walking out like a zombie. After surviving customs, Arthur pulled over a taxi. New Orleans was a colorful city in a way different than Las Vegas; all the streets were prepared for All Hallows Eve. Through the glass, Arthur could hear all the jazz bands and street dancers.
New Orleans seemed like the Emerald City of Oz with purple and gold in the mix; there wasn't a care in the world. Everyone was happy. Too bad Ariadne didn't feel the southern cheer; she was so tired after going though strict customs that she just wanted to snooze. She would distract herself on her laptop, but the battery was out.
After reaching the hotel, it began to pour. Rain blazed down to the concrete. The taxi pulled over to the front, which was shielding them from nature's tears. Ariadne followed behind Arthur like a curious little girl. She wanted to see how he always got away with fooling people.
The person at the front desk was a petite woman with tan skin like all the locals and green eyes. She smiled as Arthur came up. Ariadne watched as Arthur checked them in. When he said, "One bed please." Ariadne started having too many ideas.
"Here are your keycards, zand your in suite 211. Enjoy your stay Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley."
"Thank you." Arthur nodded his head and pulled their luggage cart out of the next customers way.
"One bed?" Ariadne spat.
"Don't think of it like that. We're married. Happy married couples share a bed."
"So we take turns?"
"If there's a couch, I'll take that." Arthur replied calmly as the elevator opened to the second floor. "Now when we go in, feel free to go right back to sleep. We meet Mr. Granger at seven for dinner."
As he opened the door, Ariadne was reminded of earlier times. She recalled walking into the hotel room with him before. This time they weren't setting up exploding timers. The room was nothing like the one in the inception; it was less modern and a little more colorful, like the city.
"I'm going to take a shower." Arthur placed their bags down beside the bed. "Please, rest." His arm hovered over to the bed. Ariadne took her laptop out of her bag and went around the bed in search for a plug. The lamps were connected to the wall and powered by batteries so they didn't need any. Looking on both sides, there was no plug in sight.
"There are no sockets by the bed." She said. When she designed hotels, she was sure to put the plugs beside the beds. It was one of her architectural pet peeves. Arthur looked over at the desk.
"There's a plug there." He said. "But seriously, take a nap. I don't want you dozing off at dinner." Arthur gently took her laptop from her hands and strung the cord out of her bag.
"Thank you Rodger Rabbit." Ariadne spoke in a different, higher voice. She crawled onto the squishy comforter and dug her head into the pillow.
"Take off your shoes before you go to sleep." He ordered, noticing her shoes were still on. She kicked them off carelessly and let them hit the wall. Arthur sighed and picked them up, placing them down neatly by the door.
If she played her cards right, he would be her maid in no time. Maybe she'd get him to wear the costume. The hissing of the shower served as a rainy night sound effect. It soothed Ariadne into falling back to sleep.
Five girls ranging from the ages eleven to thirteen looked over the most recent treats in their buckets before running to the next house. One had her hair in a high ponytail, wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt. Another one wore a leopard cat suit. The third girl had a blonde wig with a fluffy coat over her baby blue dress. Another one was wearing a union jack dress, her hair color making it the perfect costume and the last was wearing a simple black dress. It was her first time getting to wear one and she was overjoyed. Obviously, these girls refused to wear jackets unless if it was for their costume.
This year, their parents permitted them to go trick-or-treating without supervision. There would be patrol officers everywhere anyway. One mother of three of these girls had no worries and assured the other two moms that the girls were fine.
They stepped up to a house with two jack-o-lanterns poorly shaved and the one in the cat suit rang the doorbell. The green door shifted to show an elderly woman in an orange sweater, holding a decorative bowl.
"Trick or treat!" they all said. Their voyage was only beginning so these tweens were full of energy. They'd even be more hyper after eating their candy.
"Oh my goodness, the Spice Girls are here!" She squawked. "Let's see if I can find out who's who… Jules, your Ginger Spice."
"Yup." The red head nodded excitingly. "Easy."
"And Mirra, your Posh Spice!" The old lady tossed a Snickers into Jules's sack and got another one out for Mirra. "Jenaya, your Baby Spice, am I right?"
"Yes you are Mrs. Benson." Jenaya back in the day had a toddler voice.
"Matches you well." Mirra teased. Sporty Spice punched her shoulder.
"Maggie, your Scary Spice." Jenaya received a Butterfinger and Maggie was being given a Kit Kat.
"And last but not least, Ariadne! Sporty Spice!"
The thirteen-year-old future architect accepted the Three Musketeers bar she was being offered. "Aren't you freezing?"
"No." Ariadne shrugged. "It's not winter yet."
"I know, but you know Canada this time of year!" The jolly old woman exclaimed.
"Thank you Mrs. Benson." The girls said at different times before turning around to take the next house.
"I hope we get so much candy, we'll be sick for school tomorrow!" Mirra grinned.
"We'd have to eat everything we got." Maggie pointed out. They conquered their first street and proceeded to the next one. At their fifth house, they heard the sound of one of their moms.
"Girls!" Bliss Cavandar was running towards them, dragging her Belle costume along with her. "Girls, stop!" There was panic and distress in her voice. She was supposed to be partying! The girls waited for her to come to them. "We need to go home right now!"
"Why?" Mirra snapped. "We're not done!"
"I'm sorry Sweetie but we really have to go!" her breath was seen fogging up the air. "We'll get in trouble with the police if we don't."
"What did you do?" Ariadne asked. "Mom!"
"Home, now! I swear if you go home, I'll buy each of you a sack of candy! Maggie and Jules, I'm taking you both to your homes."
Ariadnes heart was screaming like a banshee as their excursion was cut off. What frightened her so much was that her mother wouldn't tell them anything. At home, they sat in the family room, not even bothering to eat what they had.
"Go eavesdrop." Mirra told Ariadne. "I wanna know what's going on."
Bliss was in the kitchen talking on the phone. Ariade crawled to the entrance and tucked herself into the corner. Her ears opened up to work as recorders.
"They're saying that Emma, who babysat the girls, was found dead in her front yard." Bliss explained to Jules's mom. "Rumor has it that she was beheaded, and this mad man is still out there. He killed another neighbor too… you know Mrs. Benson."
Mrs. Benson, the woman Ariadne was talking to less than an hour ago? Ariadne felt a glob in her throat.
"She fell down the stairs and broke her neck. But who's to say it was an accident?"
"Hey, what are you doing Princess?" Ariadnes head snapped to see her dad. "You shouldn't be listening to other peoples conversations you know."
"I know…" Ariadne stated, feeling herself about to cry. "But Mrs. Benson…"
"I know." Her father sighed. "Go to your room and eat your candy. We're safe here. Same with the clones!" He yelled out to alert the twins.
In Ariadnes room, the girls sat on the bed, slowly eating their candy. They expected a much better joy out of the moment.
"What did you hear?" Jenaya asked shyly.
"Emma is dead." Ariadne explained. "So is Mrs. Benson."
"How?" Mirra asked.
"I heard she fell down the stairs." Ariadne explained further. "Someone pushed her."
"And Emma?"
Ariadne sighed. "I'm gonna go peep and see if I catch him." To them, 'peeping' was taking a telescope or binoculars and spying on a person. The neighbor they peeped at was always in her underwear, dancing. It was almost better than TV.
"What if he looks at you?" Jenaya asked worried.
"He won't, Tweek." Ariadne placed her eyes over the lens. "She's there, taking her makeup off and talking on the phone."
"As usual." Mirra snorted. They waited a few moments.
"Oh no!" Ariadne took deep breaths. "I think I see him!"
"Where?" The middle sister exclaimed. Ariadnes fingers gripped over the plastic funnel. Her eye felt magnetically attached to the lens.
"Ariadne!" Mirra growled in frustration. "Ariadne!"
"Ariadne!"
She was shaken back to the hotel room as a twenty-three year old. Arthur had his hands on her shoulders like eagle talons. The first thing she noticed was that he didn't put on his shirt yet.
"What happened?" she wondered, looking up to him.
"It starts off with Emma and Mrs. Benson. I believe you can explain to me the rest."
Ariadne sighed and faced the fact. "I'm not done dreaming."