As We Know It
Chapter 4It was hot as hell in Tulsa, and this was especially true on any day in the middle of July - this may be because of its location directly above the seventh circle of Hell, but even they had central air conditioning. Zac didn't know this, however, and simply let out a frustrated sigh as he opened up the door to his apartment and felt the hot, muggy air hit him.
He went through the usual routine and threw his keys down onto the table, then immediately proceeded to open the refrigerator to dig up something he could eat. Considering the size of his apartment, this took approximately four steps to accomplish. There were several take-out boxes that were starting to look a little iffy - Zac picked up a carton of Chinese food he was eighty percent sure was less than a week old, and decided he might as well chance it.
Sweet and sour chicken in one hand, and the TV remote in the other hand, Zac nestled into place on the couch, and he tried not to think. He tried not to think about the bizarre woman he had met that morning, and tried to imagine it was some elaborate dream he had carried with him throughout the entire day. Instead, he thought about how fucking hot it was, about the broken air conditioning system that had been sitting in the window uselessly for about a month, and about how Isaac was supposed to help him fix it.
The air conditioner began to whir as it turned itself on.
"Uh..." Zac set down the food and remote and went to investigate. He really didn't know jack about fixing these things, but he was almost positive that he hadn't even touched it. He looked at it for a moment, his hand hovering with tentative unease, not sure why he was afraid to do so now. Eventually he pulled his hand back and sighed.
"Lucky break, I guess."
On the TV, a familiar voice - one he recognized as the local evening news anchor - crackled with interference before beginning to speak once more.
"Recently, there have been reports of a surge in the crime rate, not only here in Tulsa, but throughout the entire United States. Sources say that the end of days it coming, and that everyone should please remain calm. There is nowhere you can run, nowhere to hide. You're all going to the same place anyway. Back to you, Craig, with the weather."
Zac's head whipped in the direction of the TV, which had gone fuzzy and dark. He was going crazy, he was sure of it now - the air conditioner, the TV, the woman in his car - none of that could have been real. He sat back down on the sofa, shaky. He tried to eat - his Chinese food had a distinctive Not Right taste to it, so he decided to toss it. On his way back, he picked up his guitar, which was tucked safely into its case and kept behind the couch. It was one of few things in his apartment that he bothered trying to keep safe. Feeling tired, stressed, and hungry, he needed something to occupy his mind. He strummed a few chords, mindlessly. He dragged his fingers over the strings, and they found their way towards the comforting, familiar chords of "Lucy." He hummed along, the words naturally following the melody. His stomach growled at him, and he paused.
"I wish there was something around here to eat," he continued in a sing-song voice. No sooner than he had said that, there was a knock on the door. Zac very seriously contemplated not moving, but eventually set down the guitar and eased off the sofa towards the door. Standing in the doorway was a pizza delivery guy who didn't seem entirely sure he knew why he was there.
"Um... did you order this?" he asked.
"No, but I'll take it anyway," Zac said, taking the box from the bewildered boy. The boy took off in the other direction before Zac could finish getting his wallet out of his pocket.
"Thanks," Zac called after him, blinking in confusion.
For the time being, Zac didn't care how it had gotten there - he sat down with the pizza and bit into a slice.
"So it's music then?" a voice came from across the room. Zac coughed, half biting into a slice.
"Jesus Christ," he wheezed, his eyes set on Lilly's familiar figure as she approached him. She reached her hand out, and Zac shrunk back instinctively.
"There‘s no need for name calling," Lilly said with a smirk, and reached past him. She picked up a piece of pizza from the box and took a bite. Zac knew that all logic was telling him this was bad news - to throw her out or call the police - but he was too fascinated to do anything but watch her.
"How did you-"
"There's also no time for stupid questions. But I do have to say, I‘m impressed. Sure, nothing world shattering so far, but you‘re really getting the hang of this. Baby steps, I say."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Haven't you been able to feel it?"
"Feel what?" Zac felt his cheeks becoming hot, feeling as though there was some kind of joke that he wasn't in on.
"How powerful you're becoming."
"I haven't felt a thing," Zac said firmly. It was a lie - for the past several days, he had been feeling something, even if it had been a crazy something. More than that, he wasn't nearly as good of a liar as he liked to pretend he was. Lilly looked him over, and Zac felt a fleeting worry that she might literally devour him.
"So that pizza you're eating, how did you happen to come upon that?"
"Coincidence, I guess. It happens, wrong address."
"And the air conditioner?"
"Some sort of wiring... problem." Zac was feeling less sure of himself and his answers by the moment.
"And the people at the store this morning?"
"What about them?" he asked, though really, he knew that had been a little weird, even for him.
"The TV just now?"
"Uhm..."
"Just kidding, that was me. I was just fucking with you," Lilly said with a smirk.
Zac recognized the distinct feeling of a headache coming on, and rubbed at his temples accordingly. Lilly's smile faded, realizing that he didn't seem to get the joke.
"Just think about it," Lilly said, setting down the pizza she had been working on and turning to face Zac, her eyes bright with excitement; Zac noticed that they almost looked like flames, the way the light reflected in them. "You want all of these things, and suddenly you have them. You want people to leave you alone, and then... poof."
Lilly, who had inched so much closer to Zac as she was speaking that he couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable, grinned manically. Zac inched very slightly away. He didn't like the proximity to her, and he didn't like the feeling that she was giving him - something different than fear or confusion, but the feeling of his own blood running cold with realization.
"Since you're clearly a figment of my overactive imagination, or otherwise a manifestation of stress, or..."
"Don't strain yourself," she said, having returned to her pizza. "What is that, Psych 101?"
"You're not really here. You can't be - it doesn't make any sense."
"Humans, always dismissing everything when it seems the least bit unlikely."
"What do you mean humans?" Zac paled at the word.
"You're not exactly of my stock. I come from a place a little further down south," Lilly said, her tone flat. Zac got more of a sense that she sounded like a tour guide, bored with her own routine, rather than what he thought she was really trying to say.
"I'm dreaming?" the words were more hopeful than questioning.
"Sorry, nope."
"Then apparently there's some kind of evil entity sitting in my living room and eating pizza with me, and the world is coming to an end. Right in Tulsa."
"Bingo."
"I don't believe this..."
"Don't make me go through all of this again," Lilly sighed. "Do I need to write up some cliff notes for you?"
"Well, excuse me for having a little trouble processing this. It's a bit much to take in, even if I did believe you."
"You've got thirty seconds, so get used to the idea."
"Fine, I'll play along for a minute then," Zac said slowly. "Let's just say that you're not completely insane and the world is coming to an end. Why the hell are you telling me about it? What am I supposed to do?"
"I'm telling you about it because you're almost ready," Lilly said, a hint of fondness in her voice. "Everything depends on you. Call it fate, call it whatever you like, but you're the one, Zac. Anyway, you don't have to be so dramatic about it, just think of this as a game. There are two teams, and you're our star player."
"And what side are we supposed to be on?"
"The one that wins, obviously."
"I think I prefer soccer," he said, his voice sounding distant and faint even in his own head.
"Just relax, Zac. It'll come naturally, I promise. This is the gig you were born to play."
Zac found himself speechless. He looked at the pizza sitting on the coffee table, in order to find anything to look at, other than Lilly's prying eyes. He couldn't look for very long; his appetite was long gone.
"Why don't we go for a walk?" Lilly said, breaking the silence. "You look like you need some fresh air, and let's be honest - how much longer are you going to have that around? I can explain everything."
"Sure," Zac said, feeling powerless to do anything but agree. He stood from his seat, paying no mind to his guitar laying out in the open, or bothering to lock the door as he walked out. Somehow, it didn't seem particularly important anymore.
He followed her outside, into the sweltering heat, but the thick, muggy air didn't seem to hit him. Getting fresh air in his area was more of a joke than anything, but he didn't comment, anxiously waiting for Lilly to speak. He picked up his pace, glancing to either side occasionally as they went. Walking down the street in his part of the city was inadvisable at best - at worst he'd likely be walking back home without his shoes. And he really liked his shoes.
"Look at all of this," Lilly said, glancing briefly in either direction. Zac looked and only saw tall, hideous buildings. He kicked aside a discarded beer bottled and continued forward.
"Looks like a lot of trash to me," he said with a shrug. "There's nothing really special here."
"Isn't that the point, though? There's nothing here for you, the world's gone to shit Anyway, what is there to lose?"
"Um." Zac struggled to find a decent response to this, but couldn't quite come up with any. "Fair enough."
"But if things could start over a different way... you have the power to do that. And that should be an amazing feeling, shouldn't it?"
"What would I have to do?" Zac said, stopping in his tracks. This idea, this crazy idea, was sounding more attractive the more he considered it.
"Just stick with me," Lilly said. "And I'll show you exactly what you should do."