THE MOMENT
"This isn't what I expected...," Darcy whined openly as she trudged the well-worn path across the island. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and the last light of the day was fading fast. She knew she should have been quieter; but, she was fed up. She invested in the island because it seemed like a good chance to finally live the life she wanted at a fraction of the cost. It still took a wealthy amount to get in on the deal; but, now she owned her own piece of an island that she could stay at any time of the year. The best part was, she thought, that she would have an excuse to stay there all year.
A terrifying scream sounded off in the distance to her left and Darcy ignored it like all the previous ones. It only strengthened her resolve and she continued forward toward the main office. It was probably too late to get her money back. She'd invested over a year ago and now she was actually on the island. However, she knew she deserved something for the things she put up with. At the very least, accommodations somewhere else, away from the constant ruckus of tourists. She started to feel like luck was on her side when she spotted someone else crossing her path ahead. He was a young, handsome man in a royal blue suit with a chrome tie that reflected the dusky light. It was the tie that tipped her off. He had to be a Chroma Corp. employee, and she didn't recognize him. If he was new to the island, maybe she could talk herself into a better situation.
"Hi, excuse me!" Darcy jogged a few steps to catch up when the man paused and turned to face her.
"Hi, yes?" he asked.
"You work for Chroma Corp., right? I'm Darcy, one of the investors here," she smiled for the introduction and gave him a friendly wave.
"Hello," he nodded. "Yes, My name's Orion, what can I do for you?" he asked. His question was punctuated by another scream. This time the yell sounded closer and Darcy took the opportunity to gesture at the woods toward the sound.
"Can you do something about that?" she asked. "I'm trying to live a relaxing life over on my side of the island and it's proving to be difficult with all the noise. And forget about sleeping during the night, it's just constant screaming and moaning..., it's kind of ridiculous," she said.
"Huh...," Orion tilted his head at her. "You said you were an investor?" he asked.
"Obviously, if I own a section of the island," she replied. Deep down she knew she wasn't mad at him. But, she was mad and he was there.
"And, you read everything you signed... right?" he asked.
"I got all the information I needed from the presentation; my lawyers told me it was a solid investment," she replied. "What difference does it make?"
"Sorry," Orion chuckled and immediately apologized with a shake of his head. "I'm still new to the company myself and I was trying to get to the problem to be helpful," he shrugged. "But, if you didn't understand properly there's nothing I can do for you."
"What are you talking about ?" Darcy asked. At that point, she didn't actually care. She wanted to have a clearer idea of what she was going to say when she complained to his superior. He admitted he was new, so she wasn't going to ask for him to be fired or anything. But, he did need some coaching on his customer service.
"First, I have some questions. Your lawyers that said this was a good investment, did they say anything about you living on the island?" Darcy scoffed and shook her head.
"No one tells me I can’t live on my own property; I fired the one that tried," she said. Orion chuckled and nodded as another scream echoed nearby.
"Right, okay," he said. "You said you learned all the info you needed from the presentation; what did you take away exactly?" Darcy shrugged. She paid people to mind the details for her, and 18 months was a long time to hold on to information.
“I don’t remember, Chroma Corp., a multiversal company, seemed confident a zombie apocalypse was on the horizon. They would know, right?” she said. “It sounded like a good time to buy a private island and they were selling. I guess I just didn’t think it would draw such a large crowd; who knew so many people were rich?” she asked. “I suppose when the zombies began appearing people got desperate. Orion chuckled again and shook his head.
“You missed some important information; though, I guess only one person tried to tell you,” he said. “The zombie apocalypse is drawing people here, because this is where it is; it’s a theme park. Like a zombie safari,” he said. He noticed movement behind Darcy; but, he decided not to tell her about the approaching zombie. “The rest of the world is fine, I’m sure you could find a quiet spot somewhere,” he grinned as the zombie shambled closer.
“Wait, are people actually dying?” Darcy asked. She tended to be aloof, and demanding; but, she did care. To an extent. It was one thing when zombies were going to ruin the world anyway; but, if she invested in a killer park that was a heavier weight on her conscious.
“Of course not, where’s the profit in that?” he asked. “This island is serviced by AlterNet nanos; when you die you’ll respawn back at the lobby,” he said.
“No, I don’t feel the need to experience that. Thank you for the clarification, I’ll be returning to my room to make other arrangements,” she said. Darcy turned and screamed at the sudden zombie lunging at her.
“HELP!!” she didn’t even make it a step back before it grabbed on to her. Orion smiled at her and took a step back as well.
“I’ll see you at the lobby,” he waved at her and turned around.