Paradise Two
Paradise, California
Adair went straight to Paradise, California in an adjacent dimension. She knew of Damascus’ resistance to the plan, but it couldn’t be helped. Damascus was only a few days old when he and Adair were separated. Her friend and fellow muse Rollett caught her with Damascus and denounced their friendship. He vowed to never have any further contact with her.
At the time of Adair’s capture, Rollett was the only one who knew of Damascus’ existence, there was no doubt in Damascus’ mind that he was the one who turned her in. Adair did not want to see Rollett just for his help, but she wanted his version of the events.
“When I was captured, where did you go?” Adair asked as their trip came to a close.
“Sumer. I believe it is called Iraq now,” Damascus said from the dark corner of the bridge.
“Why there?” Adair asked without turning her head. Time did not exist in dimensional travels, but to Adair it felt like three days had passed.
“I returned home and lived among my people for awhile, but…” Damascus trailed off.
“They started to notice things…like why you don’t walk in the sunlight?” Adair asked with her eyes closed.
“They started to notice all of the dead bodies that were washing along the Mediterranean Sea,” answered flatly. “It didn’t take long for me to find a doorway through dimensions.”
“Do you think you can find another doorway?” Adair asked eagerly
“Yes, but what about Medusa?” Damascus asked as Adair got up as the ship started to slow to a halt, “What if our plan didn’t work what if she doesn’t join a side?” Damascus asked gliding behind his creator.
“That was the whole point of our visit, to show her that her life is in jeopardy and that she has to choose,” Adair flipped her hair, “We have our own problems,” Suddenly a space ship zoomed past the two of them leaving throwing a mime in their path.
When Adair and Damascus recovered from the time bomb she looked at the console, “One month!” she screeched.
“Damascus!” she shouted. “A whole month!”
Damascus just looked at her.
“A whole month! Whose ship was that!” she pulled up video of what took place, but before she could replay anything a message appeared in the ship’s system.
Adair opened it to reveal an audio file, a guitarist’s intro played before a voice spoke in Deltorian, Damascus did not speak Deltorian so Adair turned on the translator, ‘How’s it going gal, and vampire guy. This is your friendly neighborhood space pirate and I’d just like to say how happy I am that you found my way out of that prison Adair. Do as I say and I’ll tell you where they have your body.”
Adair slammed on the console in a fury, “No! I got out of that on my own! I didn’t have any help!” She and Damascus put their hands on the back panel of the space ship and teleported to the Earth while Adair fussed.
“I am a scientist, an Alchemist! I don’t need help from space pirates to save me!” Adair continued to complain while the two walked the streets of Paradise, California.
Damascus grabbed Adair by the arm as she whined about the message, “Are you even listening to me!”
“Look!” The two looked out into the streets of Paradise in shock and worry.
“This is wrong, this is supposed to be a ghost town, not a…” Adair looked around with Damascus and saw a flourishing, happy yet crowded city.
“Ahh!” Adair shouted. “That’s the!” Adair and Damascus looked at one another and then back at the tall structures before them. “Um, I may be a little rusty on my geography but since when does Christ the Redeemer and the Statue of Liberty live in the same city?!”
“They don’t.” Damascus said flatly.
People ran through the streets dancing and more importantly singing. “What’s up with all the singing?” Adair asked loud enough for a passersby to hear her.
“You must be new!” the tall sandy haired man walked towards Adair with a big smile.
“Sure, why not? I’m new, what the hell is happening?” Adair asked still irritated by the space pirate as she flung her arms in defeat.
“Oh don’t despair newcomer, our god is here,” he grinned.
“Your what now?” Adair’s face fell flat.
A song by a group known as the Ivy played in the background, appropriately called “You Don’t Know Anything.”
“Our god, he moved the symbols of peace and freedom right to this spot, using music,” the man continued to explain as he held his hands out to the Statue of Liberty and Christ the Redeemer.
“You mean sound!” Adair said annoyed.
“No dude, I mean music,” the man’s grin was wide and goofy.
“No...you mean acoustic levitation, he’s using acoustic levitation and now he’s a god? Who is this guy?” Adair asked.
“He’s a god,” the man continued to swoon.
“Oh please,” Adair sighed.
“He came from the heavens…”
“Wait…wait let me guess: he came a month ago.” Adair clasped her hands together.
“Of course, everyone knows that.” the man was laid back and surprised at how Adair knew.
“We have to find Rollett,” Adair said to Damascus as the two began to walk with the stranger.
“That’s the guy our god is looking for!” the man pulled his hair away from his face.
“Okay! That’s it! What is your name?”
“Donnie.”
“Okay, Donnie, stop calling him a god, he’s an alien, he’s from a planet called Deltor, actually he’s a criminal from Deltor…” Adair struggled to shout over the music. Kylie Minogue’s Aprhodite blasted in the speakers that surrounded the city. “What is up with the music?!”
A now serious Donnie answered, “He promised us, that if we all performed for him we’d be able to escape the dimensional drift or if we found this Rollett person.”
Adair’s borrowed human heart nearly froze, “He what?”
“He said that if the music appeased him he would save us,” Donnie looked at Adair and then at Damascus, he wasn’t as relaxed as he was before.
“I’m getting a weird vibe from you,” he noticed.
“That vibe that you’re getting from him is the fact that you’re not getting a vibe from him,” Adair answered, “Can you take us to this guy? Do you know his name?”
“You know…he’s never told us his name, my girlfriend is with him, she’s singing for him, I’m late…I’m supposed to support her.”
As Adair and Damascus followed Donnie she tried to think of which move would be the best. To find Rollett? But what if Rollett was with the space pirate? What if Rollett was already gone? He couldn’t have left without leaving a trail that either the pirate or Adair would have noticed.
The next song that came up made Adair smile a bit, ‘Four Minutes’ by Madonna and Justin Timberlake played throughout the dancing town.
“He knows we’re here,” Adair said as she shook her head.
With the next step that she took the sky turned dark and a large creature that seemed to be made of red smoke roared through the darkness and the silence. Adair heard myths of space creatures that visited different planets; because of the drift she was able to see it. The large bulky ethereal creature stopped and looked her in the eyes. This frightened Adair since she was standing in pure darkness. The only source of light was the red light that the creature lent to the darkness. Another creature crackled as it flew through the air, its mass seemed to be made up of lightning. Its wings were enormous when it screeched a loud boom of thunder echoed through the endless space that surrounded them.
The familiar sound of a large rubber band snap echoed through the air as the sunlight returned and the sky turned into an ashy grey. Adair expected for the screams of panic and fear to fill the streets but instead the citizens of Paradise, California only sung more.
Damascus put his
hand on Adair’s shoulder, it wasn’t until then she realized that she was crying, by the look on his face it was clear to Adair that Damascus had not seen what she saw “Let’s go,” she couldn’t find the words in that moment, she couldn’t find a way to explain that she just saw a death omen.
“This used to be a hotel,” Donnie whispered over his shoulder as he led the way.
Donnie led his new friends through the back streets of the former ghost town to a lavish ballroom surrounded by mirrors where a Deltorian man sat in the middle of the floor while a woman stood on the stage, “Don’t worry, we won’t leave until you’ve had your chance to sing.”
Damascus looked into the mirror to his left, “I have an idea.”
“What?” Adair asked.
The woman smiled when she saw Donnie but became worried, we he didn’t smile back, “That’s my...” he turned to tell Adair and Damascus that was his girlfriend he realized that the two had vanished.
The woman sang a song that the pirate had supplied, he looked down at a device when she sung a certain part, “Wait…sing that part again.” His eyes lit up with excitement. “Good job, Julie!”
“Thank you, but um, sir, name is Linda.”
“Whatever,” the man that stood before the woman dressed in light yellow didn’t look like a pirate at all. To Donnie, his girlfriend Linda, like all the other humans thought the strange man was looked normal. He had two eyes, two ears, a nose, a mouth, just like any other regular human.
They all admitted to themselves that his clothes were a little different, and that his skin tone seemed to shine like gold during certain parts of the day, but most chalked