Sam rushed down the sidewalk, eager to make her appointment. After an agonizingly long week, the photos were finally ready.
She decided not to develop them herself. Something in her mind stopped short of the work, and after taking the film to be examined prior to development, she was glad the little voice in her mind was right. Something in those photos was going to change their world, but she couldn't risk an amateur mistake in the process.
Sam yanked open the door to the camera store, greeting the closest employee with her wild energy.
"To the back as always, Sam, Mr. Felder is waiting for you."
"Thank's Mark!"
She walked quickly, ringing the bell as soon as she arrived at the counter of the development department.
"Ms. Manson, welcome back. The wait was well worth it. Every photo came out right. I'm surprised at that too, as you said it was left in the elements."
"I mean, in the cup holder of a lawn chair overnight in the desert. Not really the elements, but that's not the proper care for camera film either."
"No. I put them in order for you," he reached under the desk and pulled out a bin labeled 'L-Z', and scrolled through the front to the 'M's.
"In order?"
"Yes. Theres a few photos in there that looked of poster board, with glued words on it. You'll see what I mean."
He handed her the packet.
"You'll have to come back and tell me about it. I'd love to meet the kid who did the modeling for your science project. Or Halloween preparation, I couldn't quite tell."
She gave him a weird look, baffled.
"Uh, yea. Honestly I don't have a clue what was on it, but if I get all the pieces, i'll bring you the complete puzzle. Have a good weekend!"
Sam waited until she was alone in her bedroom to look at the photos. Trepidation kept her from peeking with her family around. What if they did something bad out in the desert and this was proof of it? None of them could remember anything excluding going to bed, but there are freaks in the world. Maybe someone drugged them, or hypnotized them, or, or—
"1. Keep the reel after you develop the photos."
The first photo read, indeed, a picture of black poster board with white lettering. The green background around it was odd, but she couldn't place any green rooms in any of their houses or at the school. These photos were taken somewhere she's never been. Sam flipped to the next picture.
The photographer was shaky, apparently. The picture was slanted, fuzzy and sort of out of view. Some kind of green expanse filled the picture, purple rectangles scattered down the location. It certainly wasn't somewhere on earth, Sam thought. Unless.. maybe a game room or escape room of some kind. There was nothing else of interest in that photo, so she flipped to the next one.
Something blocked a third of this photo, like it was taken from behind a wall. The visible portion depicted a strangely shaped television screen. Shockingly, she recognized what was displayed on it: Casper High School. She couldn't remember that school being in the news recently, but…
The next photo was of a strangely dressed person, though the face was cut out. Someone stood in robes, posing a peace sign in one hand, and a stick of some kind in the other, though the top was also cut off. In the background hung the same strange tv from before, although nothing was on it this time. Examining the photo religiously, Sam tried to take in every detail, searching for anything that would give her a clue. There was the edge of a coffee table to the side of the person, a man, she thought, and some kind of reflective cylinder sitting atop it.
It kinda looks like…
"2. I'll explain everything, but the photos are for you Sam. Forgive me?"
Her phone rang, startling her. She switched it to silent, ignoring the text and flipping to the next picture. This one held the first hint towards the photographer's identity. They stood on the edge of a lake, in the first picture to look like Earth. The cloudy sky was settling and made this experience seem a little more common. She focused on the artist's reflection in the water, and frowned. It's a male, that's for certain, but the white stuff from the prior photo is hair, and nobody has hair that white naturally. It has to be dyed. And what's with the all black clothing. Are they goth too? Is this someone from her group? Oh, ew, is it Elliot? Her phone buzzed twice.
The following three were of the sky: the milky way, a sunrise, and a sunset. They were stunning, and deserved to be hung in a museum; how they got it to look like the sun was right there, and… are those stars twinkling?
Sam was mesmerized, shocked at the detail and realism captured. Why was she given these?
Why was she chosen?
A photo of Saturn. Saturn! Like it was right in front of them. Holy shit, this photo could make millions. Who is this?
Briefly, she considered photoshop, or theft of a photo from NASA's gallery, but that didn't feel right. These photos were too detailed, too personal. Her phone vibrated several more times.
"3. Did Jazz like the space rock I got her?"
A boy, no older than fifteen, with white hair and the most striking green eyes grinned at the camera selfie-style, holding up the same rock Jasmine took home a week ago. Sam dropped the photo to the pile on the ground and shuffled them together, gently shoving them back into the envelope. She put it in her bag, and threw it over her shoulder.
Sam didn't read her texts until she was already on her way to Tucker's house, waiting at a red light.
15:45 Tucker: I was right, it's a speaker. Not working though. Still working on the slot thing.
15:47 Jazz: Decided not to take rock to appraisal. Choosing to believe it's a gift from him, instead of a piece of gravel or smtg stupid.
15:48 Tucker: I think theres a projector built in. Testing, now. Remember those Disney story toy movie projectors and reels? Think like that.
15:52 Jazz: Geez you just unlocked a memory for me, Tucker.
16:00 Tucker: GET OVER HERE NOW! Bring film, bring rock.