//------------------------------// // 19) Day in SF // Story: New Human // by MyVodka //------------------------------// Everyone sat inside Phil's borrowed van, listening to a mixed cassette tape on a radio, as Phil drove. Rainbow spreads her wings to stretch inside the car. Twilight read Catcher in the Rye, sitting inside an egg chair. Lyra and Spike played slept in the back of the van. "Man, this is tiring!" RD yawned, "How much till we go to Gavin?" The van is filled with boxes of Cap'n Crunch cereal, old cartons of milk, a few bottles of alcohol and a cooler. Lyra had made the boxes of cereal and cartons into a bed with some pillowcases, turning them into makeshift pillows. "Rainbow, we just entered the highway. Emeryville is too far from here." Phil said. "Its like an hour or 2 from where we are. So just relax." Twilight closed her book, "Why're we going to Emeryville again?", she asked. "Pick up Kevin, remember?" The two girls looked at each other, "Its already a month?" RD asked. "Felt just like a couple days." "Summer kinda goes likes that. We're just picking him up again." "Why? What happened?" Twilight crossed her legs in the egg chair. "Well, there was some freak weather in the Philippines and he had to evacuate to Hong Kong." Gavin said. He stuck his head out of the window and sneezed. "No one's gonna bless me?" He stuck his head back inside. "You're Unholy." Phil muttered. "What did you say?" "Nothin'..." The group watched as they pass through San Francisco. They stop inside a parking garage near Pier 39 on the top level, which included a Safeway and a 24 Hour Fitness. They exit out to stretch while the boys clean the van. The ponies, out of boredom, explored the Safeway that was under the garage. Lyra looked at an ATM to her right, "Hey, any of you have a credit card?" "Nope." Twilight responded, "Rainbow?" Rainbow moved her head to the ATM, "Yeah, but its not usable for this ATM." "Oh..." The girls moved on deeper into the store and looked at some flowers. The girls stop in front of a building with paint that was wearing off and the ground was dirty. The building had a big sign that said ,'Ernie's Antique Shop, Remember the Past', written in gold letters. A neon sign was hanging on top of the front window with the words 'OPEN' lit up. The girls looked at each other and decided to walk inside. "Woah, this place is like the thrift store." Lyra commented. Inside of the store was much cleaner than outside. The wooden flooring left a big shine that mirrored the girls; music plays from the intercom that was composed of the old vinyl records hidden behind the desk; a collection of antique weaponry was stocked in the back of the store. Twilight stared at the weapons, "Just saying, but why would anyone just leave display weapons out in the open?" "Relax Twi, they're encased in glass. No one is gonna steal it." RD said in a calm voice. "Besides, no one would steal a medieval ax in the middle of a big city. They'd be caught in a few minutes." "You know this how?" "Airport Police officer, remember?" "...Right" Twilight puts her hands in her pocket. The music stopped for a moment, a man began to talk through the intercom. "Will the owner of the White Sedan come to the front? You left your lights on!" A man ran outside of the shop to his car. The music went back afterwards. "So guys, anything you see?" RD asked. Twi looked at the large book section of the shop. She looked through the books, but nothing seemed to interest her except the books; The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck and Battle Royale with the cover ripped off. "I got these, only costs $15." "What about you, Lyra?" RD looked at her watch. 2 in the afternoon.. She looked through the vast vinyl collection, on a rack, next to the books. She had an employee next to her for advise for good music. "So.. What do you recommend for me that is good?" The employee whistled as he thought, "Hmm, that's tough." He walks towards a section at the end of the rack with the words, 'Legendary' on the top. "Come on, Twi. Is that all the books?" "Yup." She places the books on the counter. Another employee scans the books and puts them in a bag. "$17, plus tax." Twilight gave the employee a 20 dollar bill and received her change. RD looked through the vintage comic section, reading a Harbinger comic. A noise of 2 boys arguing can be heard nearby. "Spiderman sucks ass, it's all about Deadpool!" An asian kid said. The other boy, a white teenager, argued back. "No way. Spiderman is better! Deadpool is just some mercenary with no weapons. Spiderman has superpowers." RD rolls her eyes and walks away. The boys patiently await for the girls to return. Phil smoked a small cigarette outside of the van, sitting on a lawn chair. Gavin his camera to take pictures of places nearby as the sun began to die down, setting the mood for some of his pictures. The radio began to play love songs from the local radio station. "Hey, did you call the girls?" Gavin took a picture of the ocean. "Yeah, 15 minutes ago." Phil looked at his phone. "Hmph, 4:39 & still not here." Gavin used a pair of binoculars to look at the ground. "Oh shit.." "What?" "I see... Some crack addicts on the street." He keeps watching them, "They look like they're... doing it..?" Phil jumps out of his chair, he runs next to his friend, taking the binoculars from his hands. "No they're not! They're just kissing.." He threw the binoculars back to him and wiped his eyes. "Damn, that hurts my eyes" Suddenly, a gust of wind brushes off the lawn chair, flying off of the parking lot. "The hell!" RD was carrying the girls around her arms, holding onto their merchandise. "Sorry, Phil! These wings we're meant to fly!" She puts the two ponies on the ground, as with the bags. Phil spits out some dust from inside his mouth and starts the car. "Alright, kiddies! Uncle Phil is starting up the van!" "Such a pedophile.." Gavin murmured to himself. "So.. What did you girls get?" Gavin asked. "Got anything good?" "I got a couple of old books.." Twilight looked through her receipt, "Anyone know what these books are about?" "The Jungle is about the meat packing industry in the 1920s & its poor conditions; Of Mice & Men is about these 2 guys looking for work, pretty sad story honestly; and Battle Royale..." He paused. "I don't wanna ruin your reading experience honestly with that." "Why not?" "It's kinda scary." "Why? "Read it, bookworm." RD yawned, "Man, this is so boring! We're waiting for your friend & his arrival time has been called on 20 minutes ago!" Her new aviator jacket kept her warm in the cold night at the airport. The driveway was almost jammed with cars picking up their friends and loved ones. A boy, wearing a trilby hat and nice clothing came up to the van. He carried only a small luggage bag and a black acoustic guitar. He removed his hat and smiled to Twilight and the others. "Hello!" The voice was different, but his face was recognizable. Everyone looked at the boy's face, it was Kevin. "Hey there."