Participants:
| Scene Title | Apocalypse Now |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Marjorie and Anna talk about death, normalcy, and the apocalypse. |
| Date | November 14, 2010 |
This large and free parking lot located in the heart of the Bronx was once the site of the Primatech Paper Company Research and Development building. Destroyed by an explosion in 2009, the buildings remains were bulldozed to the ground and the land paved over, creating a much-needed area of free parking for northern Manhattan. The spacious lot is surrounded by redbrick buildings, with a used car dealership across the street.
The parking lot here is emptier than usual, and most of the cars that are here have been broken into by the looks of it. The stench of death and decay looming even here, even now. It'll likely linger around New York for a while longer. The riots weren't pretty, not for anyone. But especially not for Anna.
The girl is sitting with her back against one of the cars, reading a book in the fresh air. She seems unhappy, and while she is wearing some make up, it seems to have been damaged by her own tears. Still, the girl isn't crying right now, just reading. Reading some thick book.
Upon closer inspection it becomes apparent that said book is the Holy Bible, and Anna is reading somewhere near the end. One of the last, if not the, last books that are collected in that physical book.
As she is reading, a cigarette is in her mouth or left hand at all times, she's smoking. She's still young, but she's smoking that cigarette as though it's second nature.
Even as she's reading, it doesn't seem linear, she's flipping back and forth, possibly searching for something… an answer, perhaps. Or something else, who can tell?
Marjorie has been holed up in a hotel nearby for days. At first, it was to hide from Griffin. And then it was to hide from the fallout of Messiah. And then it was simply to hide. Oh, if she had not been a mother, how different these things would have been for her. But she is a mother, and as a mother she must do motherly things like hide.
Seeing that thigns are starting to calm down, however, she ventures out. She wants to buy a car - the last few days have made it clear that always having a vehicle of quick getaway is probably good. And she shouldn't be afraid anymore. Messiah is dead, her brother is dead, perhaps there is nothing left to fear.
There is a stinging in her heart, knowing the last things she wrote to him were 'I'm afraid of you, I don't trust you, you're a killer.' But it's gone now, and she has Owain to think of.
Owain is the 10 year old boy in jeans and a polo beisde her, being tugged along while holding Marjorie's hand. Marjorie herself is in a sweater-dress with leggings, her hair pulled messily up. She didn't think to grab Apocolypse-wear when she left home.
But the sight of Anna makes her sotp. Owain looks up at her, curiously, then over at the girl. Marjorie sighs. She should just keep walking by. But kids. She's always had a soft-spot for kids. She turns toward Anna and takes a few steps. "Sweetheart, are you alright?"
As she is adressed, Anna looks up from the bible. She inhales a puff of smoke before exhaling again. "Do I look like I'm alright?" She bites, but she closes the bible nonetheless, her finger slipping in between the pages to remember where she was.
"Sorry, that wasn't the right way to say that." Anna says after a brief pause, "I.. I just heard a friend of mine died in the riots…" And as the girl speaks, tears start to flow yet again, further destroying the already ruined makeup, and the girl has to fight to keep herself from sobbing.
"You'd think I'd be used to death by now.." Anna complains, looking back up to Marjorie, "I mean… she's not the first friend to die.. and it's not like it's as bad as when my aprents died…" Okay, so she's slightly angry at herself for not staying strong. "Why can't life be normal again…?"
Marjorie nudges Owain to the curb. He's directly in front of Marjorie, and he pulls out his cars to play with them. He's in earshot if he wants to be, and in a flash Marjorie can leap forward to grab him if needed. This accomplished, the young woman settles in beside Anna. She is only a child, after all, and children are Marjorie's weak spot. "It gets back to normal every now and again," Marjorie promises. That's her experience anyway. But 'normal' will just come to mean something different. Life's always changing." She reaches into her purse and pulls out a small baggy with a handful of ginger snaps in them. When she left, she brought with her handfulls of her famous baked goods to help keep Owain quiet. And she has some left. "Here, in case you're hungry. I made them myself - I'm a baker, among other things."
"How can life go back to normal when my parents are dead, when everyone I grew up with has died?!" The girl calls out, complaining and asking a question at the same time. "I have nobody left, no family, no friends… closest is a fucking foster family."
The girl sighs again, accepting the ginger snaps and chewing on one of them, eating it. It keeps her quiet for a while… not to mention it prevents her from smoking while she chews on that thing.
After finishing the first ginger snap, Anna stretches out her hand, "I'm Anna." She speaks, forcing herself to smile through her tears. She's trying to be brave, that much is obvious. She's also not doing a very good job at it, which is also obvious.
Marjorie reaches out and shakes the girl's hand, very gently. Her own hands are very soft, and the lingering smell of sugars and sweets still clings to her. On the curb, Owain makes a loud 'vroom!' sound as he '2Fast 2Furious'es his cars off the edge of the curb like it were a cliff. Marjorie keeps her attention on Anna. And she sighs as she hears the girl's story. "I'm sorry," she says, something awkward that poor Anna will have to get used to. "Life isn't always fair. But you'll settle in, and I think eventually you'll be happy enough. Do your foster-parents treat you alright?"
"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault now is it?" Anna bites sarcastically. She's in this mood between sadness and anger that is typical of the grief process for some. The younger kid with his car earns a faint smile, however, and Anna looks back up at Marjorie, "Yours?" She asks, nothing more needs to be said for the question to be complete.
"I guess they do, but still… they're a substitute… they're not my parents, and they never will be. Thanks to those bloody evos…" Anna sighs, "They should lock 'em all away, far away from us humans." She has this annoying tendency of late to complain about Evos near Evos. "Don't you agree?"
Marjorie listens, a smile on her lips but her eyes somewhat sad. "No, I don't agree," She says, her voice still gentle and sweet. "I think that there are good people and bad people. Good black ones, bad white ones, good asian ones, bad latino ones. Evos are the same, there are good ones and bad ones, and I think the same rules should apply for all of them." She sighs, looking over to Owain, her eyes very sad now. "At least, I think I think that."
Now she addresses the first question. "Yes, Owain is my son. He's 10. Although let me tell you a secret: He's not really my son. I've adopted him, he knows me to be his mother and I've raised him all of his life. But he's not really mine. I guess I would be his step-mother or adoptive mother, technically. But let me tell you, Anna, that my heart burns for that little boy. I love him as much as any real mother loves their real child. Even if I'm only a substitute for his real parents, I would bleed and die for him and I wake up every morning trying to find a way to make him happy. I'll never be his real mother, but I'm doing every single thing that I can. I'm sure your foster parents feel the same, or they will."
Anna shoots a glare towards Marjorie, an angry one at that. "People who think different are traitors to our species." The girl insists, "Those Evos want nothing but the death of us all, and that's why everything is going worse, why so many people are dying."
Back to the kid, "Maybe my foster parents do love me… but they're just… they can't replace my parents." Anna sighs, "I mean, it's better than living in an orphanage… but not much better, you know? I… just wish my parents were alive again… or that the bomb had never happened…"
"That would be better, yes. And it's not fair, but we have to make the best with what we have." She looks down, smiling a soft, re-assuring smile. Marjorie was born to be a mother, it comes so easy to her these days to appear motherly. "But I'm afraid you're in for a dissapointment if you think that all the world's problems are caused by the Evolved. Bad Evolved have done bad things. But bad Germans executed the Final Solution in Germany. That had nothing to do with Evolved, those were all humans. Bad Catholics tortured people during the Inquisition." She sighs, a little saddened by what she'll say next. "Normal, I'm afraid, is the constant existance of people killing people. Evolved, non-evolved…there wil always be bombs, Anna, and always be murder and terrorism and all the rest. It's different for us in the United States because those things touch us so seldom, but around the world they are every day occurances, and have always been. Death is…normal."
"NO!" Anna screams out, "Death is not normal… or at least.. it shouldn't be normal." The girl sighs as she calms down again a little, inhaling some smoke from the cigarette as though her life depended on it. Then exhaling the smoke again.
The girl opens up her bible again, "Some of what's happened reminds me of this." She points at the bible, it's opened at the Revelation to John, very last book of the bible, infamous for being about the apocalypse. "I.. I think we're getting close… or closer, anyway… to the End. The end of days…"
Marjorie reaches out ,setting a hand on Anna's shoulder to try and be comforting. She even rubs the girl's back a little. "Perhaps," she agrees, when Anna brings up the discussion of the bible. "Though I admit it has been years since I've read through one of those, it's nice to see a pretty young woman having an interest. It's true, it may be the end of days. Or it may just be dark days. We can only live under the assumption that there is a tomorrow."
"You should read again." Anna says seriously, "Jesus will save us… soon. It's not going to take much longer, I know it…" The girl holds up the bible towards Marjorie, "I have a few spares… take this, so you can read though it…"
"Anyway… the parallels are too large for it not to be a coincidence… for the end of days not to be heading towards us. We're at the beginning of the end… or maybe even the middle. Whatever the case… it's obvious it's all going to end soon…"
Marjorie reaches forward, taking the bible between her hands and setting it on her lap. "Thank you," she says, sincerely. "That is very thoughtful. I'll start reading it again tonight. It will be good to be reminded, at any rate."
Listening to Anna talk, Marjorie can only smile. Sure, the girl's a little bit wacko. But she's just a kid, and kids will be kids, after all. "Well, maybe it is the end of days. I don't pretend to know. I hope you won't hold it against me thought if I say I hope it's not the end of days - I have a son I'd like to watch grow up if I can."
It's not as much that Anna is wacko as that she needs an explanation, a reason. She needs to know why she's suffering so much, and this was the first answer she could find. "Of course I won't take it against you…" The girl answers the expressed hope, and that last comment brings a smile towards Marjorie's son.
"I.. don't think you told me your name yet." Anna comments after a brief silence, "Or if you did, I must not have caught it…" She smiles through her sadness, "So if you don't mind… what's your name?"
"Oh! I'm so sorry," Marjorie sets the bible down, her hands crossed, resting atop it. "I didn't meant to be so rude. Owain and I have been holed up in a hotel room for the better part of a week - apparently that's all it takes for my manners to deteriorate. I'm Marjorie Mihangle." She nods her head gracefully toward Anna, her brightly red-painted lips turned up slightly into a soft smile. "Forgive me for not mentioning that sooner."
"Nice to meet you.. miss Mihangle." Anna responds, extending her hand again, "Anna James." This time including her last name… the last thing she still has from her parents. She forces herself to smile as she gets up, "I… had better get going, church is congregating soon, wouldn't want to miss it."
"My contact info is on a sticker inside that bible… just in case you would like to contact me." Anna waits for a few moments before following it up, "I'd appreciate it if you would, so… please do."
"Sure, Anna," Marjorie promises, and indeed she will. "As soon as Owain and I get settled wherever we do, I'll be sure to let you know." She nods at the girl, and stands herself. "Owain! Pick up your toys, we're going." The boy starts to scramble to get things together, and Marjorie gives another nods to Anna. "Say hi to Jesus for me, hmm? I probably won't be able to get over there today while I try an figure out where I'm living."
"I will!" Anna responds to that request as she heads on her way, "Thanks for talking to me… I appreciated it." And with that said, and a wave of goodbye, the girl heads on… towards church, but not without stopping by at home to pick up another bible first.
