Chapter 2: Where are we?
In front of them, an infinity of blue. The sea and the sky, merging in one. And the sun, big and hot. The sound of the wave.
The cold and the winter were nothing but a fleeting memory.
Marion, who was closer to the waterside than Lili, looked around with surprise. The waves hitting her calves slowly. In front of her, a beach of golden sand.
Impossible.
That was impossible. A dream… How else would they have ended up here? When a few minutes before, they were at a road.
Marion rubbed her eyes again, to be sure…
And again…
She pinched her cheek, her arm, then she slammed herself.
"What… I'm not dreaming?" She asked with a strangled voice.
Behind her, Lili swam like a wet cat to the seashore, collapsing on the warm sand without a word.
"A concussion? Must be a hallucination. -Fucking hell it's too hot here!", getting up fast, she threw a few inch away her scarf and her coat.
" Yes! It's hot!" shouted Marion, taking off her clothes " Why the hell it's hot? Lili, hit me! Maybe it didn't hurt me enough!" She said, getting closer to her friend.
The blond looked at her friend with a deadpan expression and grabbed her coat to yeet it at her.
"Better?", her voice showed her desperation.
"Urgh" said Marion, yeeting the coat off her face. She inhaled the hot and humid air of the seashore.
"Sooo, I'm not dreaming, you aren't too or the coma is really different than what I was told"
"I mean… We've never been in a coma to really know soooo….", Lili shrugged.
"You're… not wrong. So, if we're not in a coma and we're not dreaming either… Then where are we?"
The blonde looked around, thinking deeply.
" Apart from the sea and the sand we can't see much… Which is kinda weird 'cause we know that beaches are like, always crowded you know. More so with how hot it feels!", she got up after a few silent seconds, stretching herself. "Best thing that we can do now is to let ourselves dry with the sun and to see later if we can't find a city to get some infos!"
"Yes, you're right… And if there is no city… Well, lucky for us, I had a survival course! And first lesson, finding a water stream… there should be a city on the way."
"Yep! For now… Let's warm up in the sun, and take off your clothes to dry faster!", she took off her turtleneck, her boots, and her pants, spreading them on the warm sand.
Marion did the same, peeling layer one by one like an onion. She kept only her shirt and her soaked jeans. Then, with an infinite sadness, she took her phone out of her pocket. The screen was black and broken. Probably to the jump and their little bath… She grimaced.
"Well, it's sure that I won't use him… my poor babyyy"
Lili watched, grimacing at the sight.
"Chin up! Anyways he was already half dead, no?"
"I was supposed to take it to tech support tomorrow" she whined "Fuck, my 128go"
"We'll find that dingbat of a driver and he'll pay up. Won't have the choice anyway…"
"Oh trust me, when I found him, if he's able to eat a yogurt it will be a miracle." grunted Marion, a vicious glint in her eyes. "But it's a matter for another time! Right now, the sun is here!"
Without a second thought, Lili nodded quickly and laid down on the sand, closing her eyes and letting the sun warm her.
Marion looked at her incredulously, her eyebrows almost rising in her hair.
"No Lili, we have to find the city, not to do a nap."
She shook her head, stubbornly keeping her eyes closed.
"Nah-nah, we're not dry yet, and I won't take a stroll in a unknow city in panties~", her voice dragged down, sleepily.
Marion laughed loudly, and decided to sit.
(Et en eng "bah" ça existe pas, c'est "well")
"My god, so it was what you meant when you said 'warm up in the sun', smiled Marion. I should have known… Bah, after all, why not ? And maybe when we will woke up everything will go back to the norm" she closed her eyes.
Yes, after all, why not appreciate the sun for a little bit.
"Exactly!", she softly laughed, "as if something like this could really happen in real life, it must be my need of sun and sea that created this…", little by little, her voice lowered, until she fell asleep.
Marion shivered, she fluttered her eyes slowly, chasing the sleep away.
She was cold.
She was cold ! It was good news ! She was supposed to be cold ! It means everything has come back to normal !
She opened her eyes, a joyful smile on her face. Oh what a funny story it will be to tell this one !
But in front of her, no snow or road. It was the ocean, and below her feet the cold sand.
They were still on the beach. At her side, Lili was sleeping peacefully in a little ball. To warm up certainly…
"Lili !" Shouted Marion, shaking her friend " Lili, wake up ! We're still on the beach !"
With a start, Lili woke up in a panic, a terrified screech escaping her. She looked at Marion, confused, and looked around her. Little by little, her face took an ashen hue. Then, frozen and silent, her breath became uneven.
"Fuck, oh shit !" Said Marion when she saw the deadly paleness of her friend. In a jump, she stood up and took Lili 's shoulder. "Lili ! Breath ! Everything is ok ! Breath with me ! In !" she breathed in, "out" she breathed out.
Lili did the same with difficulty, breathing in and out to calm herself little by little.
"You're a little better ?"
Without a sound, the blond rummaged through her pants, taking her phone which was still whole. She tried to turn it on, mumbling and chewing on her lips, her eyes fixed on it. The screen stayed stubbornly black, her eyes moistening as time passed without any change. Finally, a ray of hope, her screen blinked and stayed on, showing her screen and the no-connection symbol. Then, everything turned back to black. She sniffed, tears gathering and flowing freely.
"N-No connection… M-Marion…", her voice shivering, she looked at her friend, "W-What are we going to do…"
"Lili, Lili look at me, everything is going to be alright. You know how it is ! Blank zone ! It happens ! Like you said, we will find a city, ask someone to lend us a phone and everything will be alright ! Don't worry, it's going to be fine" reassured Marion, taking her in her arms.
"Let's put on your sweater before we get sick. And after, we will try to find something ok ? It's ok" she whispered quietly, letting her go.
Sniffing again, she nodded and put her clothes back on. Checking that she had everything, she looked at Marion again, and suite unsure, got back on her feet.
"O-Okay… L-Le'ts go. I-I want to go home…"
Marion nodded and extended her hand. Lili took it and they started to walk slowly. The night was here for quite some time now but, luckily for her, the sky was clear and the moon full.
Quickly, the beach disappeared to let place to a lush and dark forest. They fumbled their way along, unsure where to go, when suddenly, Marion stopped in her tracks.
Not noticing it, Lili kept walking and hit her nose on Marion's back, letting out a little surprised scream.
"M-Marion? You're okay? What's happening?", still shivering at some moment, her voice was still calmer than earlier.
"Look, said Marion, pointing to a spot on her left, "I think it's a light!"
The blond shifted on the side, trying to find the light, and shouted out a little "Ah!" when she found it. "A city! Or… More like a village…?"
"Yes !" Replied Marion joyfully, "Come ! Maybe we will find someone to help us !"
Following the light, the forest cleared little by little, showing soon enough the entrance of a village…
A… Quite empty village.
Blinking, Lili silently looked around, worry gnawing her. Then, a light bulb lit up (in her head?).
"Of course! It's far too late for people to be out right now!"
"Yes, there should be a police station nearby. We should go more in the center, we will see someone at some point" said Marion, looking at her surroundings.
The village was like any other, maybe a little old with what seemed to be oil lamps. A little seaside village, at night, that's all.
They walked together in a deaf silence, their steps on the ground as the only sound echoing in the streets. Even after ten minutes of wandering, not a soul was met except little kitties.
Suddenly, Marion's foot grinded on the floor with a screeching noise.
She looked down, under her shoes was a simple sheet of paper.
Curious, she took and flipped it over, showing it at Lili.
A well-known face looked back at them. A familiar face, that under normal circumstances, should have never be found in the middle of a street, on the ground.
A poster well-known after seeing it a thousand times. But not in real life, never in real life! Never in the street, like this!
With a bloodthirsty smile, Buggy The Clown was facing them. Under, in a inky black, words as clear as day:
"Wanted, dead or alive."
Notes:
Lili and Marion translating in english their story a chronicle :
"I forgot the word !"
"How do we say politely 'fuck you' already?"I HAVE THIS WORD ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE FUCKING HELL"
Lili: I want to express savage, dangerous and pointy in a smile, I know that an expression exist, but I CAN'T FUCKING FIND IT
Marion : toothy ?
Lili: NO IT'S NOT I'M CRYING *Cry in confused frenglish*
Marion : LILI LOOK WHAT I FOUND *looking at the reader* Dear reader, It was brought to my attention when I searched for a word for this chapter that the official word to describe an evil laughter is BWAHAHING ( yes I need to put it in capital) . So, to be REALLY CLEAR, every time Buggy will be laughing? We will use it. Consider yourself warned !