8.

The shop assistant watched the three women as they walked through her store.

Odd, she thought.

They were quite the oddest trio she had seen in some time. It was her opinion that a lot of the crazies seemed to have gone on holiday since... well, that time. Whether they'd somehow all returned with their psyches miraculously readjusted, or they had simply become subsumed in that strangely terrifying other-world, she didn't know, but it was her opinion that the world had become much saner and was a better place for it. She hoped to goodness that these three weren't a few nut-case-returnees, especially if they were in her shop.

Well, her boss's shop, anyway.

They looked a little ostentatious, even though they were obviously trying to blend in – a difficult feat in an empty shop, but what made it all the more impossible was their attire. All three wore long coats and dark berets, like something out of the cheesiest spy thriller. Two of them, the dark haired brunette and the redhead were vaguely familiar looking, even from beneath their hats and behind their dark glasses –

Dark glasses? the assistant puzzled. It's raining outside...

– the third, the black haired one, also looked familiar, but wrong, somehow. The assistant didn't know how that could be. She'd obviously never met her before, so how could she know she looked wrong? This one, too, wore sunglasses, a larger pair that obscured more of her face than those the other two were wearing. She was also very pale; so pale, in fact, the black hair looked almost shocking in contrast with her alabaster skin.

Is she a goth? the assistant wondered, then she thought: Maybe they're celebrities... celebrities from before...

She watched them as they pulled various items from the rack of clothing, appraising them against the black haired girl who stood awkwardly, not offering much help. She was young, the youngest of the three, maybe in her mid teens and it was obvious to the assistant that she would rather have been anywhere else. The redhead scolded her occasionally for her lack of input. She looked a little older, though not by much – the brunette, however, was obviously in her twenties. Under the long coat, she wore slightly more rugged clothes than the younger girls, slacks and a tough jacket with the collar up – work clothes she presumed, an assumption that was proved correct when the brunette looked across to her and she spied a courier's logo on the jacket. The woman quickly looked away again.

Well, if they are celebrities, they're obviously down on their luck. A bit like her store, actually. There wasn't much call for fashionable clothing these days, as was evidenced by the lack of other patrons in her shop.

Her boss's shop.

Still, they must have had it tough since... then. Thinking that seemed a little stupid; they must have had it tough before and during, as well. Everyone had.

But they had it tougher than most.

For some reason that thought made her shiver.

Maya sneaked a look at the shop assistant, noting how the young woman was watching them, curiously. It had taken them almost a week to plan this excursion to buy Rei clothes, a week of careful planning, finding a store not too close to either of their apartments, but not so far as to increase the risk of Rei being spotted. They'd waited for a day when the weather was poor, so that there would be fewer people on the streets and in the shops. Maya had thought the plan well formed, but that was before Asuka's insistence on the apparel – long trench-coats, berets (and a wig for Rei) and large, movie-star style sunglasses – which was now threatening to backfire on them.

"Asuka, these 'disguises' are attracting too much attention!" she hissed.

"Don't be stupid, my disguises are perfect!" replied Asuka, haughtily. "Besides –" she pulled Maya close, "how much more attention do you think we would attract if people could see our faces!"

Rei bumped into a clothing rack, almost knocking several of the hanging garments from their hangers.

"I can't see with these on..." she mumbled, reaching automatically for the oversized sunglasses.

"Don't you dare take them off!" Asuka snapped, grabbing her hand and swiftly readjusting the black wig that had come askew, revealing a few strands of the blue hair hidden beneath.

"But..." began Rei, unhappily.

"No buts, you'll cause a riot if you take those off!"

"Can I help?" called the assistant from the counter on the other side of the small shop. Asuka turned a pleasant smile on the woman.

"No, thank you, we're just browsing."

"Do you need any assistance with different sizes?"

"No no, we're fine, thank you."

"Can I show you to the changing rooms in case you want to try items on before you buy?"

"Oh, no, thank you very much, we should be fine!"

The smile on Asuka's face was becoming decidedly fixed as the questions continued. Beside her, Rei tripped over a display and disappeared among the coats that hung upon it.

"No, really, we're fine," continued Asuka.

"Are you sure?" replied the assistant, craning her neck to see where the young girl had gone.

Why won't she leave us alone? wondered Maya. Then with a sick feeling; Maybe she thinks we're criminals...

Maybe they're criminals! thought the assistant with a sudden thrill of fear. Criminals in my (boss's) shop! Should I call for help? Call the police?

Her unease grew as the redhead pulled six or seven items, apparently at random, from the shelves and stalked towards the counter. Almost subconsciously, she shrank back as the girl approached. Behind the redhead, the brunette was extricating the perhaps-goth from the display.

Was it her imagination, or had her hair changed colour?

"We'll get these for now," said the redhead, slapping the mismatched clothes down on the counter, snapping the assistant's focus back to serving.

"R-Right, okay madam, one moment please."

She began scanning the clothing, ringing up the items on the till beside her. In her haste, the redhead had unwittingly picked up some pretty high priced garments, it seemed. She grimaced as she read the total on the till display.

"I... I don't have enough..." she mumbled as she sorted through her purse.

"Would you like to put some items back?" asked the assistant, nervously.

The brunette strode forward.

"I'll cover it," she said, pulling cash from her own purse. Behind her, the goth trailed towards the counter. Her hair had returned to its original black colour, but the dark glasses had vanished.

And she looked terrifyingly familiar. Suddenly, she knew why the hair looked wrong. Black wasn't the original colour at all.

"I know you!" squeaked the attendant, backing away. Her back hit the wall behind the counter with a thud.

"Rei, your glasses!" gasped the redhead, looking round.

Rei! That Rei, the one from... her... but... it couldn't be!

"No!"

The simple denial slipped from the attendants lips as an anguished moan, but it didn't change what she was seeing – couldn't change it. She was real.

"No, please, no!"

At Asuka's exclamation, Rei raised a hand and touched her face, mild surprise on her features. She lifted her eyes to Asuka.

"They must have... when I fell..."

She turned away, starting to walk back to the rack of disturbed clothing, but Asuka caught her arm. Her face was pale and she was staring at the shop assistant, who had backed up against the far wall and for some reason was moaning as if she was in pain.

"Forget them, Rei. We have to go, now!"

The young German yanked her back round, pulling her swiftly towards the exit. Rei looked back and saw Maya throw down a bundle of notes and gather the clothes from the counter.

"That should cover the bill," she told the assistant, "keep the change."

The assistant seemed incapable of replying as they left the shop.

For several moments after they had gone, the assistant remained frozen, her back pressed against the wall. Then, all of a sudden, her knees gave and she sank down to the floor, sobs beginning to rack her as the numbness of shock ebbed.

The monster... I saw the monster.

Why had she been here? Why had she just left? Was the world going to end for a second time?

"I don't want to go back to that place," she choked. Then a thought struck her.

Nobody knows...

Somebody had to stop her, catch her, kill her... but if she was the only one who knew...

Pushing herself onto her knees, she groped on the counter top for the phone that sat there, spilling it down into her hands. With shaking fingers, she punched the digit for an outside line.