wtdtd
slow thinker, with crippling abundance of time
- Location
- The Netherlands
Or Poland and The Netherlands are different places?
All Wo-rk and No Play: An Abyssal's Trials in the Job Market (KC)
- Thread starter PyrrhicSteel
- Start date
- Location
- Warszawa Polska
No, you have diffrent experiences and operate in diffrent circles. People are the same in all places.
I maybe not have been clear. I was not talking about how they are treated, more how they are viewed.
People will admit to, talk about, fantasize about committing theft.
They don't do so about begging.
Theft is morally repugnant, same as being a beggar. However being a thief implies resorcefullness. Being a beggar implies lack of any useful skills.
Both can argubly be called parasites. There are far more books movies and songs about thiefs than there is about beggars.
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wtdtd
slow thinker, with crippling abundance of time
- Location
- The Netherlands
begging implies moral fibre.
Despite their own bad situation and how the world treats them, they refuse to hurt another.
EDIT.
Lets agree to disagree.
This is turning into a derail.
- Location
- The State of Denial
While Trinitite is an adorable jellyfish of destruction, she's not that great at lateral thought. Or thought in general. Still, her plan here seems to be that the Walmart and Fred Meyers both look like warehouses. Which would have supplies. Since she's an Abyssal, she isn't used to the concept of restaurants and fast food places, so in her eyes these giant buildings are her best bet for food.
And then, instead of going to the one filled with humans, which could manage to run away and radio for help, she targets the building that just closed with one single human outside of it. All and all, this is a remarkably good plan considering what we've seen the boat do before. She's still gonna get pepper sprayed though.
- Location
- Australia
If Trinitite was hit by pepper spray, I think she'd just die, no need for an airstrike.
- Location
- The State of Denial
That's author fiat, I suppose. Even slightly spicy food upset Trinitite, but if it's counted as a biological attack, her filtration system should save her. I would find it hilarious if Elizabeth accidentally wins the war for humans by finding out their critical weak point.
Edit:
Huh. How did I miss the AUTHOR saying that. >.>
MEANWHILE, in the
"Sir? I need some help with this call.
An Abyssal is calling us, trying to get us to persecute a war crime.
No, it's not a prank. Yes, I'm recording it.
Yes sir, she used the voice and everything, then the phone frosted over a bit.
Something about a orangeish-red mist from a civilian that burned hotter than the time she took a missile right between her elevators.
She.... she wants to sue 'The Entire United States' for free food for life.
Yes, I know we don't handle lawsuits.
Well, this isn't in my job description and you're the supervisor. This is above my pay grade."
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- Location
- Australia
Aw, that's another funny idea. Over on SB they have Trinitite somehow getting into the US Army. But here, Trinitite pursues a law degree so she can properly prosecute anyone who attempts to pepper spray her ever again.
11: The Shelton Raid
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
Elizabeth had to be dreaming. At some point in the last couple minutes, she'd nodded off and started hallucinating.
That was why she was within two feet of a being that would kill her from over the horizon if it had half the chance.
That was why the monster had just spoken to her, stating a fact like she was talking about the weather.
That was why several good pulls still failed to close her door…
"This building has food, yes?"
The monster who'd was preventing her from leaving was still there, staring at her. Compared to those fluorescent eyes, the rest of her face was a dark silhouette, but her killing intent was pretty clear.
"Yes." She nodded numbly.
"Good." The Abyssal replied, turning. "Come with me."
When a creature that could throw you through the nearby wall gives you an order, you follow it. Elizabeth scrambled out of the car, almost tripping onto the pavement as she attempted to catch up with the Abyssal. The employee parking was adjacent to a rear exit, but with how powerful she'd heard abyssals to be she doubted the aluminium door would provide much more resistance than a glass one. Since she was breaking into her store anyways, Elizabeth would do best to unlock it her before she caused any property damage. She just needed her keys, which…
She spun, looking back at her car. In her hurry to catch up with the monster, she'd left her purse behind. She'd run back and grab it, but the abyssal should be trying to kill her already. Running away didn't seem like a good survival strategy.
"Wait!"
The Abyssal paused, an outstretched hand only inches from obliterating the door. The Thing's eyes cast too much glare in the darkness for Elizabeth to read her face, but she was certainly looking at her, now.
"There are… Alarms on the door. If you pull it open without my keys, it'll alert the police."
The Abyssal stared back at her, dead silent. She was obviously angry with her. Abyssals were angry with everyone. Had she pushed her too far?
"What are Police?"
It took a few seconds for Elizabeth to wrap her head around the question. Abyssals didn't have police. That was odd, but it left her without any good reference to respond. How could she phrase this in a way a hate-monster from the ocean could understand? She was regretting avoiding the dreadful topic in the years since the war began.
"Police are the people who'll call the Navy."
"Ah!" The Abyssal exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"
We.
"Where are your keys, then?" The monster asked.
Elizabeth pointed back to her car, backing away from The Abyssal. When the monster didn't seem to object, she turned and ran the rest of the way. Driving away wasn't an option- she'd kill her, or she'd let her go and ruin her store anyway. However, inside her purse…
Finding the keys to the store was a simple matter, but she wasn't done after pocketing them. Opening her purse, the manager started hustling through the contents. Her wallet was useless, of course. The small canister of Pepper Spray couldn't be nearly enough to deal with an abyssal. What she needed was… There.
Failing to get her trembling hands under control, Elizabeth fumbled with her mobile phone. Light filled the Sedan's cabin as the phone activated. Somebody had to know what was going on. She couldn't do this for long without the monster noticing, but dialing 911 wouldn't take long at all.
"What's that?"
"Eeep!"
Elizabeth jumped, almost slamming into The Abyssal which was right behind her. Staring over her shoulder, at her phone.
She was going to die here.
- - -
The human was toying with another one of those strange devices. Trinitite recalled something about 'cell towers' and 'contacting' from the Pacific Lilly, but never really learned its name or purpose. Some sort of communication equipment?
"Uh…" The human was staring back at her, having dropped the thing on her seat. "That's a… it's…"
"Were you 'calling the Navy'?" It seemed like the logical choice for her. She'd said its what the 'police' would do, and they were at war, after all.
"No!" She replied, a little too quickly. "Not at all, I was just using the light to help look for my keys!"
Right. Beyond the glow from the device and her own eyes, Trinitite noticed the vehicle's internal lights were on.
"Not everyone has glowing eyes to… uh…"
"Do you have them?" Trinitite questioned, moving on from the topic. She would need the human to get into the warehouse for supplies, but obviously she couldn't trust her. Maybe summoning her rigging so she could have lookouts on the woman would be a good idea.
"Yes." The human replied, nodding.
"Let's go, then."
The warehouse seemed much smaller on the inside. As the human activated the building's internal lighting, she immediately noticed the opposite wall standing far too close for the building she was in. Was the warehouse split into several small rooms? Who would do something like that?
"Is this it?" Trinitite demanded, overviewing the shelves stacked with labeled boxes. Useful, but...
"This is just the loading area." The human replied, flinching when Trinitite turned to look at her.
"What else is there?"
"The-" The uniformed woman stopped, taking a moment to swallow. "The Store."
- - -
Under better light, the Abyssal didn't seem quite as terrifying. With the store's lights completely illuminating her, the monster's skin and clothes looked less 'ethereal' and more 'plastic,' like a sci-fi monster prop seen off set. Was that strange neck guard made out of actual teeth? Her glowing eyes, no longer the only source of light, failed to obscure her emotions, and Elizabeth found reading the monster's human expressions easier than she thought.
Elizabeth wasn't sure they had any emotions beyond 'brooding' and 'angry', and seeing the Abyssal's stern face when they had entered the loading area failed to challenge her assumption. All of that changed when they'd left the employee area and opened the door to the store proper.
The monster came to an abrupt stop, The manager almost bowling into her dark cape. With the door half-open, she had to lean around the The Abyssal to get a look at her face.
Her eyes were wide, rapidly darting between aisles and the products they contained. Her mouth had flopped open, loose as the Abyssal's face lit up in amazement.
"Is all this… food?"
"No?" Elizabeth replied. "I mean, this part of the store is dedicated to foodstuffs, but the rest-"
"What all do you have here?" The Abyssal cut her off, leaving the doorway and pacing the Dairy aisle.
"A lot." Elizabeth answered, unsure if the monster actually expected her to list off their catalogue. The Abyssal grabbed a yogurt container from the shelf, turning the plastic up in her hands like an ancient artifact.
The way she examined the cup of yogurt, an undisguised sense of wonder plastered on her face, reminded Elizabeth of a kid in a candy shop. The fact Elizabeth knew the monster could tear her in half only made things more surreal.
Without warning, the monster bit into the plastic container, sending globules of strawberry-dyed yogurt splattering across Elizabeth and any products nearby. The sudden motion caused the manager to yelp in surprise as The Abyssal's face twisted in disgust. In a moment, the plastic chunk of container was resting on the floor, a trail of yogurt and saliva marking where it had impacted and slid across the floor.
"What is that?" She turned, the yogurt-filled hand pointed at her aborted meal.
"Plastic." Elizabeth replied. "You're not supposed to eat it."
"I figured that." She stated, wiping the pink off her face with her cape. "Good Aluminum, though."
Maybe 'bull in a china shop' would be a more accurate metaphor.
- - -
This was amazing.
There were so many flavors! So many Textures! So many colors! Beyond the water, bunker oil, and avgas she'd had for all her life, there were a million different drinks! She didn't have any time to try every soda, juice, milk, beer, wine, oil, and sauce, so she found herself darting down the aisles, storing one of every bottle, can, and jug she could find in her hold. If she ever lost the fleet chasing her, she'd make a point of trying it all. The same went for the canned goods, all kinds of meats, some "bread" stuff, and a million other things that the human told her was food.
They also had Ice Cream, like what Mother would occasionally hand out to the fleet. When Trinitite was beating herself up over letting one of her sisters get injured, or one of the cruisers had lost a floatplane in training, or if everyone was thinking about the destroyer who hadn't come home last sortie, she'd be there with several cups and plenty hugs. The temptation to clean the warehouse's shelves had been enormous, but The Abyssal resisted. That was Her Princess's food. When they'd reunited she'd ask for some more.
Assuming that thing that walked out of Bikini was still Her Princess.
They had fruit, too! In the Abyssal fleets fruit was a cherished possession, and the Wo sisters always made a point to bring back fruit when they returned from a successful supply run. Not only did Her Princess love them, but those who'd stayed behind were willing to do all sorts of favors for a slice of Pineapple or Mango. For Nostalgia's sake, Trinitite plucked a few pineapples, instead one. She'd save the second for when she found Her Princess.
The labels themselves had been very useful, but the numbers below them… What was the point of those?
"That's money." The human stated when she asked, patting down a few pockets on her uniform. "I don't have any on me, but it should be fairly obvious when you see it. Someone gives it to you when you do a job for them, and you can exchange that for things you want in this store."
"So it's like a favor…" Trinitite started, imagining the process in her head. "...That you could give to anyone?" The human nodded, and the Wo-class reeled with the implications.
The Crossroads Fleet normally dealt through The Supply Depot Princess at Mindoro, but often they had been forced to work with… less acceptable fleets in order to get specific supplies. If they had this 'money,' they could just give a sum of the stuff to those Mother didn't actually want to help, and the other party could go to a like-minded fleet for help.
"That's brilliant!" She exclaimed. Oh, if this 'money' existed in the abyss how many problems would have been solved! "So you use this 'money' to motivate the people who, say, collect fish?" Trinitite redirected her attention to the human.
"That's right."
"And then you turn around and offer it to everyone else in this city, using this warehouse?"
"Yes."
A perfect scheme. Someone collects and delivers food to the city, and everyone else, who were busy with their other human tasks, only had to walk a few miles to get their supplies. All this person had to do was maintain the warehouse and set the required money right.
"How do I get this 'money'?"
The woman opened her mouth, before closing it with an audible click. It couldn't be that hard, else they wouldn't have so much fresh fruit here. It would go bad before anyone got it!
"Well?" Trinitite asked, taking a step towards the worker. With the human military chasing her, she didn't have much time to wait for people. It was difficult when there were so many new things to explore, gather and gawk at, but she needed to move with at least some speed.
"Uh-" The worker's eyes widened at The Abyssal's approach. "Um-" She started backing away, but the effort was aborted as she bumped into the apple stand. "Get a job?"
"How do I do that?"
- - -
You're an Abyssal. You don't.
This thing had already stolen enough to bust the store's shoplifting budget for the next four months, and had only slowed down because she'd sampled everything in this half of the store. Elizabeth wanted to shout at the girl in front of her, chew her out for shoplifting, and ban her from Fred Meyers, but she wasn't dealing with some teenage punk. She was dealing with An Abyssal. The kind of creature that could throw her through the ceiling and enjoyed depopulating islands on her spare time. Humor her.
"Businesses like to put up signs that say 'help wanted'" Elizabeth started, unsure. The Abyssal nodded, motioning for her to go on. "Walk in and say you need a job. They'll ask you some questions, and give you a few tasks to do. Do those, and they'll give you money at the end of the week."
The answer seemed acceptable enough for the monster, because she soon turned and made her way to the other half of the store.
"This is where people trade in their money for the items?" The thing called over her shoulder, motioning to the check-out stations.
"Yes."
Elizabeth had plenty of memories at each one of those stations. At four, she watched a husband and wife get into an argument so heated one declared their intention for divorce. At eight, she'd been called to calm down an insane woman who just knew her 12-year-old coupons would be honored. She'd almost been assaulted at twelve. However, in her years in retail, she wasn't sure anything compared to this. If she survived, she'd have one heck of a story.
If she survived.
"You have books here, too?"
Elizabeth's mind must have been wondering, as she hadn't realized they'd already passed the check-out area. That was another issue she had to deal with. The Abyssal was much more alert than she was, and every time she tried to fall behind the monster would stop and wait for her. She was trapped, until the monster no longer found her useful. After that…
Elizabeth shivered, suppressing the thought. What could she do until then? The abyssal seemed enthralled by the current selection of literature, but after that she'd pass customer service and walk into apparel.
Customer Service. The place with the phones.
Elizabeth stiffened, examining the Abyssal again. She'd cracked open a cookbook, eyes obscured by her unkempt hair. If she was slow about it…
As softly as she could manage, she sidestepped, inching towards the edge of the aisle. One step was followed by another. Another.
"Going somewhere?"
Elizabeth jumped, shouting a reflexive "Of course not!"
How? Did she hear her? Elizabeth examined her footwear again: Flats on tile. Compared to the Abyssal's bare feet, they weren't exactly stealthy. The cookbook slapped shut, and the Abyssal looked up at her.
"Well," She stated, walking towards Elizabeth and out of the aisle "Let's see what's over… there…"
That wasn't a good sign. Elizabeth traced the Abyssal's gaze past the Customer Service station (thank goodness), and into the Makeup Section.
…oh.
Oh, no.
That was why she was within two feet of a being that would kill her from over the horizon if it had half the chance.
That was why the monster had just spoken to her, stating a fact like she was talking about the weather.
That was why several good pulls still failed to close her door…
"This building has food, yes?"
The monster who'd was preventing her from leaving was still there, staring at her. Compared to those fluorescent eyes, the rest of her face was a dark silhouette, but her killing intent was pretty clear.
"Yes." She nodded numbly.
"Good." The Abyssal replied, turning. "Come with me."
When a creature that could throw you through the nearby wall gives you an order, you follow it. Elizabeth scrambled out of the car, almost tripping onto the pavement as she attempted to catch up with the Abyssal. The employee parking was adjacent to a rear exit, but with how powerful she'd heard abyssals to be she doubted the aluminium door would provide much more resistance than a glass one. Since she was breaking into her store anyways, Elizabeth would do best to unlock it her before she caused any property damage. She just needed her keys, which…
She spun, looking back at her car. In her hurry to catch up with the monster, she'd left her purse behind. She'd run back and grab it, but the abyssal should be trying to kill her already. Running away didn't seem like a good survival strategy.
"Wait!"
The Abyssal paused, an outstretched hand only inches from obliterating the door. The Thing's eyes cast too much glare in the darkness for Elizabeth to read her face, but she was certainly looking at her, now.
"There are… Alarms on the door. If you pull it open without my keys, it'll alert the police."
The Abyssal stared back at her, dead silent. She was obviously angry with her. Abyssals were angry with everyone. Had she pushed her too far?
"What are Police?"
It took a few seconds for Elizabeth to wrap her head around the question. Abyssals didn't have police. That was odd, but it left her without any good reference to respond. How could she phrase this in a way a hate-monster from the ocean could understand? She was regretting avoiding the dreadful topic in the years since the war began.
"Police are the people who'll call the Navy."
"Ah!" The Abyssal exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"
We.
"Where are your keys, then?" The monster asked.
Elizabeth pointed back to her car, backing away from The Abyssal. When the monster didn't seem to object, she turned and ran the rest of the way. Driving away wasn't an option- she'd kill her, or she'd let her go and ruin her store anyway. However, inside her purse…
Finding the keys to the store was a simple matter, but she wasn't done after pocketing them. Opening her purse, the manager started hustling through the contents. Her wallet was useless, of course. The small canister of Pepper Spray couldn't be nearly enough to deal with an abyssal. What she needed was… There.
Failing to get her trembling hands under control, Elizabeth fumbled with her mobile phone. Light filled the Sedan's cabin as the phone activated. Somebody had to know what was going on. She couldn't do this for long without the monster noticing, but dialing 911 wouldn't take long at all.
"What's that?"
"Eeep!"
Elizabeth jumped, almost slamming into The Abyssal which was right behind her. Staring over her shoulder, at her phone.
She was going to die here.
- - -
The human was toying with another one of those strange devices. Trinitite recalled something about 'cell towers' and 'contacting' from the Pacific Lilly, but never really learned its name or purpose. Some sort of communication equipment?
"Uh…" The human was staring back at her, having dropped the thing on her seat. "That's a… it's…"
"Were you 'calling the Navy'?" It seemed like the logical choice for her. She'd said its what the 'police' would do, and they were at war, after all.
"No!" She replied, a little too quickly. "Not at all, I was just using the light to help look for my keys!"
Right. Beyond the glow from the device and her own eyes, Trinitite noticed the vehicle's internal lights were on.
"Not everyone has glowing eyes to… uh…"
"Do you have them?" Trinitite questioned, moving on from the topic. She would need the human to get into the warehouse for supplies, but obviously she couldn't trust her. Maybe summoning her rigging so she could have lookouts on the woman would be a good idea.
"Yes." The human replied, nodding.
"Let's go, then."
The warehouse seemed much smaller on the inside. As the human activated the building's internal lighting, she immediately noticed the opposite wall standing far too close for the building she was in. Was the warehouse split into several small rooms? Who would do something like that?
"Is this it?" Trinitite demanded, overviewing the shelves stacked with labeled boxes. Useful, but...
"This is just the loading area." The human replied, flinching when Trinitite turned to look at her.
"What else is there?"
"The-" The uniformed woman stopped, taking a moment to swallow. "The Store."
- - -
Under better light, the Abyssal didn't seem quite as terrifying. With the store's lights completely illuminating her, the monster's skin and clothes looked less 'ethereal' and more 'plastic,' like a sci-fi monster prop seen off set. Was that strange neck guard made out of actual teeth? Her glowing eyes, no longer the only source of light, failed to obscure her emotions, and Elizabeth found reading the monster's human expressions easier than she thought.
Elizabeth wasn't sure they had any emotions beyond 'brooding' and 'angry', and seeing the Abyssal's stern face when they had entered the loading area failed to challenge her assumption. All of that changed when they'd left the employee area and opened the door to the store proper.
The monster came to an abrupt stop, The manager almost bowling into her dark cape. With the door half-open, she had to lean around the The Abyssal to get a look at her face.
Her eyes were wide, rapidly darting between aisles and the products they contained. Her mouth had flopped open, loose as the Abyssal's face lit up in amazement.
"Is all this… food?"
"No?" Elizabeth replied. "I mean, this part of the store is dedicated to foodstuffs, but the rest-"
"What all do you have here?" The Abyssal cut her off, leaving the doorway and pacing the Dairy aisle.
"A lot." Elizabeth answered, unsure if the monster actually expected her to list off their catalogue. The Abyssal grabbed a yogurt container from the shelf, turning the plastic up in her hands like an ancient artifact.
The way she examined the cup of yogurt, an undisguised sense of wonder plastered on her face, reminded Elizabeth of a kid in a candy shop. The fact Elizabeth knew the monster could tear her in half only made things more surreal.
Without warning, the monster bit into the plastic container, sending globules of strawberry-dyed yogurt splattering across Elizabeth and any products nearby. The sudden motion caused the manager to yelp in surprise as The Abyssal's face twisted in disgust. In a moment, the plastic chunk of container was resting on the floor, a trail of yogurt and saliva marking where it had impacted and slid across the floor.
"What is that?" She turned, the yogurt-filled hand pointed at her aborted meal.
"Plastic." Elizabeth replied. "You're not supposed to eat it."
"I figured that." She stated, wiping the pink off her face with her cape. "Good Aluminum, though."
Maybe 'bull in a china shop' would be a more accurate metaphor.
- - -
This was amazing.
There were so many flavors! So many Textures! So many colors! Beyond the water, bunker oil, and avgas she'd had for all her life, there were a million different drinks! She didn't have any time to try every soda, juice, milk, beer, wine, oil, and sauce, so she found herself darting down the aisles, storing one of every bottle, can, and jug she could find in her hold. If she ever lost the fleet chasing her, she'd make a point of trying it all. The same went for the canned goods, all kinds of meats, some "bread" stuff, and a million other things that the human told her was food.
They also had Ice Cream, like what Mother would occasionally hand out to the fleet. When Trinitite was beating herself up over letting one of her sisters get injured, or one of the cruisers had lost a floatplane in training, or if everyone was thinking about the destroyer who hadn't come home last sortie, she'd be there with several cups and plenty hugs. The temptation to clean the warehouse's shelves had been enormous, but The Abyssal resisted. That was Her Princess's food. When they'd reunited she'd ask for some more.
Assuming that thing that walked out of Bikini was still Her Princess.
They had fruit, too! In the Abyssal fleets fruit was a cherished possession, and the Wo sisters always made a point to bring back fruit when they returned from a successful supply run. Not only did Her Princess love them, but those who'd stayed behind were willing to do all sorts of favors for a slice of Pineapple or Mango. For Nostalgia's sake, Trinitite plucked a few pineapples, instead one. She'd save the second for when she found Her Princess.
The labels themselves had been very useful, but the numbers below them… What was the point of those?
"That's money." The human stated when she asked, patting down a few pockets on her uniform. "I don't have any on me, but it should be fairly obvious when you see it. Someone gives it to you when you do a job for them, and you can exchange that for things you want in this store."
"So it's like a favor…" Trinitite started, imagining the process in her head. "...That you could give to anyone?" The human nodded, and the Wo-class reeled with the implications.
The Crossroads Fleet normally dealt through The Supply Depot Princess at Mindoro, but often they had been forced to work with… less acceptable fleets in order to get specific supplies. If they had this 'money,' they could just give a sum of the stuff to those Mother didn't actually want to help, and the other party could go to a like-minded fleet for help.
"That's brilliant!" She exclaimed. Oh, if this 'money' existed in the abyss how many problems would have been solved! "So you use this 'money' to motivate the people who, say, collect fish?" Trinitite redirected her attention to the human.
"That's right."
"And then you turn around and offer it to everyone else in this city, using this warehouse?"
"Yes."
A perfect scheme. Someone collects and delivers food to the city, and everyone else, who were busy with their other human tasks, only had to walk a few miles to get their supplies. All this person had to do was maintain the warehouse and set the required money right.
"How do I get this 'money'?"
The woman opened her mouth, before closing it with an audible click. It couldn't be that hard, else they wouldn't have so much fresh fruit here. It would go bad before anyone got it!
"Well?" Trinitite asked, taking a step towards the worker. With the human military chasing her, she didn't have much time to wait for people. It was difficult when there were so many new things to explore, gather and gawk at, but she needed to move with at least some speed.
"Uh-" The worker's eyes widened at The Abyssal's approach. "Um-" She started backing away, but the effort was aborted as she bumped into the apple stand. "Get a job?"
"How do I do that?"
- - -
You're an Abyssal. You don't.
This thing had already stolen enough to bust the store's shoplifting budget for the next four months, and had only slowed down because she'd sampled everything in this half of the store. Elizabeth wanted to shout at the girl in front of her, chew her out for shoplifting, and ban her from Fred Meyers, but she wasn't dealing with some teenage punk. She was dealing with An Abyssal. The kind of creature that could throw her through the ceiling and enjoyed depopulating islands on her spare time. Humor her.
"Businesses like to put up signs that say 'help wanted'" Elizabeth started, unsure. The Abyssal nodded, motioning for her to go on. "Walk in and say you need a job. They'll ask you some questions, and give you a few tasks to do. Do those, and they'll give you money at the end of the week."
The answer seemed acceptable enough for the monster, because she soon turned and made her way to the other half of the store.
"This is where people trade in their money for the items?" The thing called over her shoulder, motioning to the check-out stations.
"Yes."
Elizabeth had plenty of memories at each one of those stations. At four, she watched a husband and wife get into an argument so heated one declared their intention for divorce. At eight, she'd been called to calm down an insane woman who just knew her 12-year-old coupons would be honored. She'd almost been assaulted at twelve. However, in her years in retail, she wasn't sure anything compared to this. If she survived, she'd have one heck of a story.
If she survived.
"You have books here, too?"
Elizabeth's mind must have been wondering, as she hadn't realized they'd already passed the check-out area. That was another issue she had to deal with. The Abyssal was much more alert than she was, and every time she tried to fall behind the monster would stop and wait for her. She was trapped, until the monster no longer found her useful. After that…
Elizabeth shivered, suppressing the thought. What could she do until then? The abyssal seemed enthralled by the current selection of literature, but after that she'd pass customer service and walk into apparel.
Customer Service. The place with the phones.
Elizabeth stiffened, examining the Abyssal again. She'd cracked open a cookbook, eyes obscured by her unkempt hair. If she was slow about it…
As softly as she could manage, she sidestepped, inching towards the edge of the aisle. One step was followed by another. Another.
"Going somewhere?"
Elizabeth jumped, shouting a reflexive "Of course not!"
How? Did she hear her? Elizabeth examined her footwear again: Flats on tile. Compared to the Abyssal's bare feet, they weren't exactly stealthy. The cookbook slapped shut, and the Abyssal looked up at her.
"Well," She stated, walking towards Elizabeth and out of the aisle "Let's see what's over… there…"
That wasn't a good sign. Elizabeth traced the Abyssal's gaze past the Customer Service station (thank goodness), and into the Makeup Section.
…oh.
Oh, no.
Greetings from California!
Once again, I'm forced to break what I thought was going to be one chapter into two. I want to have something out before I drop off the grid for the latter half of next week, and I feel breaking the Fred Meyers segment into two would make two reasonably-sized chapters.
Of note is I'm using my local Fred Myers as a reference for the store's layout, which isn't anything like the next two closest locations so I can guarantee it isn't accurate to the Shelton store. I couldn't find any reference material as to that particular store's layout, and unlike ww2 stuff it's hard to get the motivation to go that in-depth pertaining to research. Hopefully it isn't too confusing.
Rejected titles:
Grand Theft Abyssal
A Carrier's guide to economics
Too many ellipses
Once again, I'm forced to break what I thought was going to be one chapter into two. I want to have something out before I drop off the grid for the latter half of next week, and I feel breaking the Fred Meyers segment into two would make two reasonably-sized chapters.
Of note is I'm using my local Fred Myers as a reference for the store's layout, which isn't anything like the next two closest locations so I can guarantee it isn't accurate to the Shelton store. I couldn't find any reference material as to that particular store's layout, and unlike ww2 stuff it's hard to get the motivation to go that in-depth pertaining to research. Hopefully it isn't too confusing.
Rejected titles:
Grand Theft Abyssal
A Carrier's guide to economics
Too many ellipses
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- Location
- Elsewhere
And that's how the Abyssal started her cross-country journey with a unicorn on her cheek and too much mascara.
who will recognize her now!
- Location
- USA
This is entirely to adorable for words.
jwolfe_beta
Semi Genre-Savvy Overlord
- Location
- Canada
Poor old Saratoga is going to have such a headache when she learns what her daughter has been getting up to.
- Location
- Christchurch, NZ
"So how many weeks so I need to work to 'pay' for all of this? It's quite a lot, so maybe two or three?"
Though I wonder if victims of enemy commandeering (aka theft) do get compensated?
Though I wonder if victims of enemy commandeering (aka theft) do get compensated?
"No you cant have nothing but ice cream!"
"But I waaaant it!"
"She's taking one of everything! What does it mean!?"
"Clearly shes going to be taking out each city and town! A dastardly plan."
An analyst sitting off to the side eyes his cup. "What the hell is in the water around here?"
- Location
- The State of Denial
She's got a case of Monster and a bottle of Jägermeister. This is going to end well for everyone.
Just pray that she is a sleepy drunk.
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- Location
- USA
Imagine just how much candy she has if she really took one of everything. The imminent sugar rush is going to break at least a few buildings without any explosives involved.
- Location
- Hug the Moebot; Save the world
She is clearly planning on poisoning the country's supply of Icecream to destroy public morale and is taking samples to figure out the most popular flavour choices to target
well I don't think she is getting a job here, she stole nearly everything!
- Location
- USA
It's not stolen until she leaves the building, things can change.
Twei
I have a face!
- Location
- the land where they write things
- Pronouns
- They/Them
you could have stopped this
it's happening
Edit: seriously, though, while the Abyssal's complete ignorance of human society is entertaining, I honestly find it a bit of a weird conceit. I mean, they're (formerly) human ships, with human-ship-mannerisms like ice cream rewards, yeah? maybe they're behind the times, but you'd think they'd have some idea of how humans work
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