Participants:
Also featuring Lars Lindgren
| Scene Title | To Become A Demon |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Amy meets with her father to say her goodbyes. |
| Date | May 2, 2009 |
Central Park has been, and remains, a key attraction in New York City, both for tourists and local residents. Though slightly smaller, approximately 100 acres at its southern end scarred by and still recovering from the explosion, the vast northern regions of the park remain intact.
An array of paths and tracks wind their way through stands of trees and swathes of grass, frequented by joggers, bikers, dog-walkers, and horsemen alike. Flowerbeds, tended gardens, and sheltered conservatories provide a wide array of colorful plants; the sheer size of the park, along with a designated wildlife sanctuary add a wide variety of fauna to the park's visitor list. Several ponds and lakes, as well as the massive Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, break up the expanses of green and growing things. There are roads, for those who prefer to drive through; numerous playgrounds for children dot the landscape.
Many are the people who come to the Park - painters, birdwatchers, musicians, and rock climbers. Others come for the shows; the New York Shakespeare Festival at the Delacorte Theater, the annual outdoor concert of the New York Philharmonic on the Great Lawn, the summer performances of the Metropolitan Opera, and many other smaller performing groups besides. They come to ice-skate on the rink, to ride on the Central Park Carousel, to view the many, many statues scattered about the park.
Some of the southern end of the park remains buried beneath rubble. Some of it still looks worn and torn, struggling to come back from the edge of destruction despite everything the crews of landscapers can do. The Wollman Rink has not been rebuilt; the Central Park Wildlife Center remains very much a work in progress, but is not wholly a loss. Someday, this portion of Central Park just might be restored fully to its prior state.
When you are homeless, the whole city in which you take residence might as well be your home. Or at least, that much might be the case when you are a family trying to stay together and support each other through the ordeal; much like the Lindgren family. Lars and Amber were out of a job due to the explosion, and their daughter was no better off, despite high school graduation and all.
Amy, despite being legally adult by now, stuck with her parents after the explosion, helping to support them as much as they supported her by now. That she had taken to petty thievery in order to get money for food was something she never told them.
Of course, things were changing now. For the whole family.
“Amy, my girl!” A friendly and warm voice greets the girl as she enters Central Park. A tall man with black hair and blue eyes march up to her and grab the girl, pulling her into a giant bear hug. Although a gentle one at that. He is in his forties, nearing on fifty. Some lines of age show this much, but he appears to be quite the cheerful man nonetheless.
“Ach, dad! You're crushing me!” Amy complains, although his embrace is not nearly as tight as she complains it is. Instead, the girl seems to be laughing happily; glad to see her father with rejuvenated spirits. “You're certainly in a good mood!”
Lars Lindgren calmly sets his daughter down on the ground again, giving her a wide smile. “As you should be, too!” he says, slivers of his accent still hearable. “I heard you managed to get a job, as well. I'm glad.”
Amy forces down a choke at this. She already knows that her dad had been offered a job, but now she has to pretend, act as if she had no idea. She feigns a look of surprise, her now decidedly more fake smile staying plastered upon her small lips. “As well?”
The older man laughed softly, scratching the back of his head much like his daughter is prone to do. “Yeah. A sister company to the one I used to work at back home in Sweden. They actually gave me a call on my cell yesterday. They're seeking new blood and I was recommended by my old boss.”
Or by a very powerful, dangerous individual who's intent on doing who knows what, Amy thinks, hiding the pangs of guilt she feels for lying to her folks and imagining what she might end up doing. Instead, she merely keeps up the facade, grinning happily. “That's.. great!” she exclaims, hiding her doubts. It is true that, with her parents in Sweden, she would not have to explain all of her absences from New York that might be coming.
Amy pauses, looking around, seemingly searching for something or someone. “Where's mom? Weren't she coming too?”
Her father nods, motioning back towards the city. “She's reserving a table for us.” All fatherly, he wraps his arm around his daughter's shoulder and leads her away from the park. “So, what kind of job was it that you got again, sweetie?”
The question caught Amy by surprise. No matter how much she thought about it, she never was able to find a job title that would quite fit what she was getting herself into and still not make her folks worry for her. And then, it just came to her, simple as it was. It might or might not fit, but it works. She smiles softly, leaning into the warmth of her father's embrace just a little. It was a little chilly outside. “An assistant,” she says, softly.
As Amy and her father continue to discuss their new jobs while heading over to one of the restaurants in business, the girl's thoughts go astray.
What she's really being employed and taught about is something else entirely. Her powers, of which her parents do not know, were vital to her being recruited. However, the fact that Adam found her has caused many a good things in her life. Her family will go to Sweden, find jobs and live well. She herself finally has money for food, room, clothes and even things like mp3-players should she so wish it. She can finally provide for herself.
For all of that, Amy had made a deal with the devil, agreeing to serve him. She knew that neither Adam's motives or actions were going to be especially pure and that she was about to cross into unknown moral territory.
But for all that she had been given, Amy would become a demon herself. She just hoped her parents would never come to know this.