Suzy’s Strange Saga
Considering how fucked things are in town and your woozy condition, you probably wouldn’t be safe walking the streets right now. This woman also seems okay; she’s actually being more helpful than most would. Most would’ve just drove off, let alone offer to give you medical attention.
“Alright, let’s go.” You say and the woman nods and helps you head towards her black truck. You around and see your accident isn’t even being paid much attention to. Other vehicles are merely driving by and nearby onlookers lose interest. You look over at the other vehicle on the far end of the street that slammed into you. The front end of that one is trashed and the driver has gone half way through the windshield. He’s a bloody mess and isn’t moving.
“You think that other driver is dead?” you ask.
“Dunno, I didn’t check on him. I just checked you first since you were closer to my vehicle. Just going by his appearance and the fact he hasn’t moved I’d say it isn’t good. Can’t save everyone though. Come on, let’s just get off the street and out of this town.” She says.
The woman helps you into her truck and then gets into the driver side, before you know it; she’s started it up and driving off.
The interior of the truck is pretty nice. Comfy seats and everything. The dashboard looks like something out of a science fiction movie. Must be a really new model.
“You doing okay over there? You don’t feel like you’re going to pass out do you?” the woman asks.
“No, not really. Still just sore mainly.” You respond.
“That’s good. Maybe you’re okay for the most part, but it doesn’t hurt for you to get checked out. My name’s Lilith by the way.”
“My name’s Suzy.” You say.
“Didn’t think your name was actually mud like you said back there. Still, sort of a strange reaction you had laughing about your car crash.” Lilith says.
“Yeah, well I’ve just been having a really bad day and that accident just sort of topped it, so I guess I just laughed instead of crying like I have been doing for the past couple days.”
“Hmm, you been having a lot mood swings lately?” Lilith asks.
“I don’t usually have mood swings at all, but like I said, there have been some major events going down in what was my previously calm life that have really fucked with my stability. I’m getting thrown out of my house, my boyfriend broke up with me, I can’t get a job, I just trashed my brother’s car and I have no idea what my future prospects are going to be. Things can’t get much worse.”
“Oh they can always get worse, but yeah if all that shit has happened to you, then I guess your laughing at the car crash situation is a little understandable. Self defense mechanism and all.”
Lilith’s inquisitive nature causes you to be a little inquisitive too.
“You a psychiatrist or something like that?” you ask.
“Eh, something like that. I observe a lot of human behavior for the company I work for. Usually other employees, but lately it’s mostly been non-employees in relation to the company.” Lilith says.
“You wouldn’t have any job opening at this company for unskilled labor would you? A cleaning woman perhaps?” you ask.
“Heh, well I’m not exactly involved in the hiring process, but Ground Zero is a big company and we pretty much have a lot of openings for all kinds of positions. I’m sure I could find something for you.” Lilith says.
There’s a pause as you aren’t sure what you just heard.
“Wait a minute. Did you just say you work for Ground Zero? That company that’s been putting out all those annoying ads non-stop for the past few weeks?” you ask.
“Guilty as charged. Trust me, I know how annoying those ads are all over the place, but I’m not involved that department either.” Lilith remarks.
“I didn’t even know you guys even had a headquarters here in a small town like this one.”
“It’s more of a small branch office really and it’s so non-descript most don’t even know it’s there anyway. We do have a bigger place in Security City. Sometimes I go all the way out there to do my job too, but since I live just south of town it’s a pretty long drive as you might expect. In those cases I usually just sleep at a hotel room paid for by the company until my work there is done.”
“I thought you said your brother lived south of town.”
“He does. We live together. It’s a large house that’s been in the family awhile and we did grow up there so we never wanted to get rid of it and we just decided to keep living there. Might sound a bit child like, but why move when you don’t really need too?”
“Hey you don’t need to tell me. I wish I didn’t have to move from my home. So does your brother work for Ground Zero too?” you ask.
“No. I wish he did since his talents would really be useful to us, but Leslie’s really not a fan of the corporate lifestyle despite the fact that I keep telling him he wouldn’t even be working in a position that requires dress codes and such. Leslie’s also always been a bit of an independent thinker too. He could’ve easily been a doctor working at a hospital pulling down lots of money, but he prefers his humble private practice. Who am I to tell him to do something that doesn’t make him happy?”
“Well you certainly sound like a more understanding sister than my own who is kicking me out of the house.” You respond.
“See, that’s not right. Family should stick together. Well at least that’s what I was always taught. Even when you don’t agree with them, you should at least help them out, not leave them twisting. I’m really sorry to hear that your sister is doing that to you.” Lilith says.
“Thanks for your sympathy, but she’s always hated me and I imagine my brother will too now that I’ve wrecked his car, though to be honest he didn’t really care that much about me either. I’m sort of a black sheep.” You say.
“Mm. Interesting. My brother and I are sort of black sheep as well, since we’re not religious like the rest of the family, but like I said, it hasn’t completely ruined our generally good relationship with most of them. To be honest though my brother’s personality is more likely to do that than our lack of religious beliefs.” Lilith laughs.
You aren’t quite sure what to think right now driving with an employee of Ground Zero. Certainly was a pretty unexpected twist of events. It’s even more surprising that she’s seemingly pretty nice since you’ve always had the idea that someone working for GZ would be on the cold and uncaring side. You’re just hoping that after her brother checks you out, she’ll help you out on the job front somehow. Whatever you’d be doing, it probably would pay more than a cashier at a comic shop.
You and Lilith are silent for a bit while she tries to concentrate on getting out of town. Eventually after several near misses the pair of you are finally out of there.
“Shit, I thought we were going into another accident a couple times.” You remark.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy in town lately. Should be relatively smooth sailing from here though.” Lilith says.
“How far do you live?”
“Oh, not that far. We’ll be coming up to it soon enough.” Lilith says.
“Your brother must really be a good doctor to have patients coming all the way out here to see him. Is it mostly a steady supply of the richer folks making the journey?”
“Not as many as you might think. Honestly, Leslie gets more people that don’t have health insurance or are otherwise on the poorer side really. People who don’t have anyone to help them. As to how folks get to the place, well my brother’s got a couple assistants who drive people to him and they more or less provide this service for cheap. Occasionally my brother will drive people back to his clinic himself. Like I said, he could’ve been pulling down a lot of money, but he prefers the more personal touch of private practice.”
“Well, he certainly sounds like a humanitarian.” You say.
“Oh he is. He is. More than you know.”
About a half hour passes and you see one of those old colonial houses in the distance. It’s very isolated as there isn’t another house in sight and you haven’t seen another one since you left town.
“Is that your home?” you ask.
“Yep, that’s it.” Lilith responds.
“Pretty big. Looks very old.”
“Oh it is on both accounts. I mean of course inside has all the modern luxuries, but I wanted the outside to still have that old charm.”
“Pretty isolated out here.”
“Yeah. It has its advantages though.
Lilith soon turns and pulls into the house’s extended driveway and stops the vehicle.
“Well we’re here, you okay to get out of the car by yourself?” Lilith asks.
“Yeah. I actually don’t even ache as much now and I’m not dizzy at all. I’m wondering if I’ve just wasted your time.” You say.
“Nonsense, this hasn’t been a waste of time at all. I actually enjoyed our conversation on the way here. I don’t really talk to many people outside of work and my brother.”
You get out of the truck and take a look at the house. It’s even more impressive now that you’re in front of it. A lot of care has obviously gone into its upkeep. You notice another car in the driveway that looks a lot less fancy than Lilith’s truck. Must be her brother’s vehicle.
Lilith is still in the truck fumbling around with something in her purse as you continue to take in the sights. Eventually she gets out though.
“Okay, sorry about that. I got so much shit in this bag I sometimes have to recheck to make sure I got everything.” Lilith says clutching some keys and her large bag.
“Sure, no problem.”
“Let’s go around the back. It’s quicker to get to Leslie’s office that way. Just follow that path.”
You walk on the stone path that leads around the back of the house and Leslie follows closely behind. Along the way see a few rows of well-tended blue and purple flowers on both sides of the pathway.
“Aren’t they lovely?” Lilith remarks.
“They certainly are colorful. I’m not too familiar with flowers though.” You say.
“They’re called Morning Glorys. My brother though keeps calling them Morningstars. I think he only does that because that’s our last name and he can’t be bothered to remember a new name with morning in it.” Lilith chuckles.
You stop walking.
“Did you just say your last name was Morningstar?” you ask.
“Yes, why?” Lilith says.
“My boyfriend’s last name was Morningstar.” You say.
“Is that right? Wow, what are the odds?”
You suddenly feel very uneasy.
You slowly start to turn around and before you can react, Lilith grabs your arm and stabs it with a needle. She injects you with something before you can even pull away.
Whatever it was is taking effect almost immediately and you’re already beginning to lose your balance.
“Careful, careful. Don’t fall on the flowers now.” Lilith says.
You can’t even speak; you just look at Lilith in shock as you fall on the pavement struggling to remain conscious.
Lilith crouches down and stares at you, as your eyes start to close.
“…now I know who you are. Bobby mentioned you to me a couple times recently when he was trying to convince us to go live in his compound. Never figured you’d be the same Suzy. (Sigh) Too bad you told me you two broke up though…guess that explains why you’re not at the compound with him.”
You grab at Lilith, but she easily pulls away from your weak grasp. She just continues to look on at you as a scientist might look at a test subject.
“…still…I suppose this might make things a little more complicated. Oh well, I guess this will just make things a little more interesting too. Get some rest Suzy, we’re going to have a big day tomorrow.”
With those last words, you completely pass out.
“Alright, let’s go.” You say and the woman nods and helps you head towards her black truck. You around and see your accident isn’t even being paid much attention to. Other vehicles are merely driving by and nearby onlookers lose interest. You look over at the other vehicle on the far end of the street that slammed into you. The front end of that one is trashed and the driver has gone half way through the windshield. He’s a bloody mess and isn’t moving.
“You think that other driver is dead?” you ask.
“Dunno, I didn’t check on him. I just checked you first since you were closer to my vehicle. Just going by his appearance and the fact he hasn’t moved I’d say it isn’t good. Can’t save everyone though. Come on, let’s just get off the street and out of this town.” She says.
The woman helps you into her truck and then gets into the driver side, before you know it; she’s started it up and driving off.
The interior of the truck is pretty nice. Comfy seats and everything. The dashboard looks like something out of a science fiction movie. Must be a really new model.
“You doing okay over there? You don’t feel like you’re going to pass out do you?” the woman asks.
“No, not really. Still just sore mainly.” You respond.
“That’s good. Maybe you’re okay for the most part, but it doesn’t hurt for you to get checked out. My name’s Lilith by the way.”
“My name’s Suzy.” You say.
“Didn’t think your name was actually mud like you said back there. Still, sort of a strange reaction you had laughing about your car crash.” Lilith says.
“Yeah, well I’ve just been having a really bad day and that accident just sort of topped it, so I guess I just laughed instead of crying like I have been doing for the past couple days.”
“Hmm, you been having a lot mood swings lately?” Lilith asks.
“I don’t usually have mood swings at all, but like I said, there have been some major events going down in what was my previously calm life that have really fucked with my stability. I’m getting thrown out of my house, my boyfriend broke up with me, I can’t get a job, I just trashed my brother’s car and I have no idea what my future prospects are going to be. Things can’t get much worse.”
“Oh they can always get worse, but yeah if all that shit has happened to you, then I guess your laughing at the car crash situation is a little understandable. Self defense mechanism and all.”
Lilith’s inquisitive nature causes you to be a little inquisitive too.
“You a psychiatrist or something like that?” you ask.
“Eh, something like that. I observe a lot of human behavior for the company I work for. Usually other employees, but lately it’s mostly been non-employees in relation to the company.” Lilith says.
“You wouldn’t have any job opening at this company for unskilled labor would you? A cleaning woman perhaps?” you ask.
“Heh, well I’m not exactly involved in the hiring process, but Ground Zero is a big company and we pretty much have a lot of openings for all kinds of positions. I’m sure I could find something for you.” Lilith says.
There’s a pause as you aren’t sure what you just heard.
“Wait a minute. Did you just say you work for Ground Zero? That company that’s been putting out all those annoying ads non-stop for the past few weeks?” you ask.
“Guilty as charged. Trust me, I know how annoying those ads are all over the place, but I’m not involved that department either.” Lilith remarks.
“I didn’t even know you guys even had a headquarters here in a small town like this one.”
“It’s more of a small branch office really and it’s so non-descript most don’t even know it’s there anyway. We do have a bigger place in Security City. Sometimes I go all the way out there to do my job too, but since I live just south of town it’s a pretty long drive as you might expect. In those cases I usually just sleep at a hotel room paid for by the company until my work there is done.”
“I thought you said your brother lived south of town.”
“He does. We live together. It’s a large house that’s been in the family awhile and we did grow up there so we never wanted to get rid of it and we just decided to keep living there. Might sound a bit child like, but why move when you don’t really need too?”
“Hey you don’t need to tell me. I wish I didn’t have to move from my home. So does your brother work for Ground Zero too?” you ask.
“No. I wish he did since his talents would really be useful to us, but Leslie’s really not a fan of the corporate lifestyle despite the fact that I keep telling him he wouldn’t even be working in a position that requires dress codes and such. Leslie’s also always been a bit of an independent thinker too. He could’ve easily been a doctor working at a hospital pulling down lots of money, but he prefers his humble private practice. Who am I to tell him to do something that doesn’t make him happy?”
“Well you certainly sound like a more understanding sister than my own who is kicking me out of the house.” You respond.
“See, that’s not right. Family should stick together. Well at least that’s what I was always taught. Even when you don’t agree with them, you should at least help them out, not leave them twisting. I’m really sorry to hear that your sister is doing that to you.” Lilith says.
“Thanks for your sympathy, but she’s always hated me and I imagine my brother will too now that I’ve wrecked his car, though to be honest he didn’t really care that much about me either. I’m sort of a black sheep.” You say.
“Mm. Interesting. My brother and I are sort of black sheep as well, since we’re not religious like the rest of the family, but like I said, it hasn’t completely ruined our generally good relationship with most of them. To be honest though my brother’s personality is more likely to do that than our lack of religious beliefs.” Lilith laughs.
You aren’t quite sure what to think right now driving with an employee of Ground Zero. Certainly was a pretty unexpected twist of events. It’s even more surprising that she’s seemingly pretty nice since you’ve always had the idea that someone working for GZ would be on the cold and uncaring side. You’re just hoping that after her brother checks you out, she’ll help you out on the job front somehow. Whatever you’d be doing, it probably would pay more than a cashier at a comic shop.
You and Lilith are silent for a bit while she tries to concentrate on getting out of town. Eventually after several near misses the pair of you are finally out of there.
“Shit, I thought we were going into another accident a couple times.” You remark.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty crazy in town lately. Should be relatively smooth sailing from here though.” Lilith says.
“How far do you live?”
“Oh, not that far. We’ll be coming up to it soon enough.” Lilith says.
“Your brother must really be a good doctor to have patients coming all the way out here to see him. Is it mostly a steady supply of the richer folks making the journey?”
“Not as many as you might think. Honestly, Leslie gets more people that don’t have health insurance or are otherwise on the poorer side really. People who don’t have anyone to help them. As to how folks get to the place, well my brother’s got a couple assistants who drive people to him and they more or less provide this service for cheap. Occasionally my brother will drive people back to his clinic himself. Like I said, he could’ve been pulling down a lot of money, but he prefers the more personal touch of private practice.”
“Well, he certainly sounds like a humanitarian.” You say.
“Oh he is. He is. More than you know.”
About a half hour passes and you see one of those old colonial houses in the distance. It’s very isolated as there isn’t another house in sight and you haven’t seen another one since you left town.
“Is that your home?” you ask.
“Yep, that’s it.” Lilith responds.
“Pretty big. Looks very old.”
“Oh it is on both accounts. I mean of course inside has all the modern luxuries, but I wanted the outside to still have that old charm.”
“Pretty isolated out here.”
“Yeah. It has its advantages though.
Lilith soon turns and pulls into the house’s extended driveway and stops the vehicle.
“Well we’re here, you okay to get out of the car by yourself?” Lilith asks.
“Yeah. I actually don’t even ache as much now and I’m not dizzy at all. I’m wondering if I’ve just wasted your time.” You say.
“Nonsense, this hasn’t been a waste of time at all. I actually enjoyed our conversation on the way here. I don’t really talk to many people outside of work and my brother.”
You get out of the truck and take a look at the house. It’s even more impressive now that you’re in front of it. A lot of care has obviously gone into its upkeep. You notice another car in the driveway that looks a lot less fancy than Lilith’s truck. Must be her brother’s vehicle.
Lilith is still in the truck fumbling around with something in her purse as you continue to take in the sights. Eventually she gets out though.
“Okay, sorry about that. I got so much shit in this bag I sometimes have to recheck to make sure I got everything.” Lilith says clutching some keys and her large bag.
“Sure, no problem.”
“Let’s go around the back. It’s quicker to get to Leslie’s office that way. Just follow that path.”
You walk on the stone path that leads around the back of the house and Leslie follows closely behind. Along the way see a few rows of well-tended blue and purple flowers on both sides of the pathway.
“Aren’t they lovely?” Lilith remarks.
“They certainly are colorful. I’m not too familiar with flowers though.” You say.
“They’re called Morning Glorys. My brother though keeps calling them Morningstars. I think he only does that because that’s our last name and he can’t be bothered to remember a new name with morning in it.” Lilith chuckles.
You stop walking.
“Did you just say your last name was Morningstar?” you ask.
“Yes, why?” Lilith says.
“My boyfriend’s last name was Morningstar.” You say.
“Is that right? Wow, what are the odds?”
You suddenly feel very uneasy.
You slowly start to turn around and before you can react, Lilith grabs your arm and stabs it with a needle. She injects you with something before you can even pull away.
Whatever it was is taking effect almost immediately and you’re already beginning to lose your balance.
“Careful, careful. Don’t fall on the flowers now.” Lilith says.
You can’t even speak; you just look at Lilith in shock as you fall on the pavement struggling to remain conscious.
Lilith crouches down and stares at you, as your eyes start to close.
“…now I know who you are. Bobby mentioned you to me a couple times recently when he was trying to convince us to go live in his compound. Never figured you’d be the same Suzy. (Sigh) Too bad you told me you two broke up though…guess that explains why you’re not at the compound with him.”
You grab at Lilith, but she easily pulls away from your weak grasp. She just continues to look on at you as a scientist might look at a test subject.
“…still…I suppose this might make things a little more complicated. Oh well, I guess this will just make things a little more interesting too. Get some rest Suzy, we’re going to have a big day tomorrow.”
With those last words, you completely pass out.