Can I trust who you say that you are?

I... that was..

Oh God. Oh God, it's different but the same.

Mia... E-everyone saw that? I... that was what happened to her.

Jack? A-anyone?

Mia?

A party? I hope there's good food. I'd kill for a chocolate eclair or a big stack of Mother's buttermilk pancakes. -Er, Mom's pancakes. Dunno why I called her Mother there for a second.

This must be a huge thing for the gods to deliver new clothes like this. There's an motorcycle jacket like the one Joey let me borrow once. It's even got little NASA patches on the sleeves! And the other one is a striped blouse and skirt. It's weird how these showed up, but... well, gifts are gifts. And I needed some new clothes anyway!

Miss Elena person? Uhm... happy anniversary.

I'm doing a lot better now. Sorry if I worried you guys. It's been a little weird being the only one from my world here now that Jack's gone. But I'll be okay without him. I'm tougher than I look.

I'll make him proud. I'll do what he didn't and change things for the better.

Did somebody do something to the water? It tastes like somebody dropped a lot of loose change into it. And the way it looks... yuck. This would be a good time to bust out any bottled water, I think.

I wonder if the monsters made that happen. Or maybe it happened at the same time as the deer showed up. (Those apples sure look good, though. Maybe I'll grab one to eat for dinner. I miss the taste of a nice Golden Delicious without any bruises.)

He's gone. His belongings are still here, but he's... where did he go? He said he'd take me along on his next people-watching trip.

Not again. First Mia and now Jack.

I'm... I'm going to go for a walk. Mister Aaron? I'm the one who's going to be helping you. Hi.

...

I don't like being alone.

Hey Jack? Are you doing anything right now? I was thinking of heading down towards the beach. I'd like to smell the sea air, but those lobster monsters are a little too big or me to get that close to the water.

And did you see that fire last night? How'd that thing get started, anyway? It was huge!

I'm not as good at this, but...

Will you let fear control your lives? Will you let the boogeyman under the bed drive you onward? The monsters here aren't figments of your imagination. They exist. But will you let their existence trump your own?

These are our lives. Don't let those in power and in the shadows control you. This is your life. Seize it for yourself. Stand against them and shout so loud that you drown out their voices for good. You have voices, so use them! Shout, scream, sing, do whatever it takes to claim them as your own!

I won't be afraid of the monsters in the closet any more. I won't let any prince of industry say what I can and can't do. I was like you once. Scared, unknowing, a good little girl. But coming here opened my eyes to what was truly going on.

So please. Won't you fight with us? Won't you fight to make a better future?

We need you. Let us know you heard us.

Jack? Did you remember things now? I remember things now. Everything, actually. It's a good thing.

Oh! And, uhm, to the man I was talking to? S-sorry about talking about your hair like that. It's nice.

[Robin mumbles something to herself for a brief stretch of time. She doesn't seem aware that the device is still on. She stops talking to herself and speaks up again.]

...I liked your guitar playing, Jack.

...I-I....

Uhm... what is this place?

I-I don't.... I don't understand.

Who am I?

'M not as brave as Jack. If I were brave, I wouldn't have stayed on the phone line. I'd have charged down there and kicked down the doors if need be. Virus or cops be damned.

She needed me, and all I did was sit there and listen to the dead air on the other side of the phone.

...'M sorry, Mia. I let you down.

 

Uhm...

I didn't know this thing did voice recordings, too. It's like a little phone! Except I don't think it works like a phone. But yeah. This is Robin, by the way. I'm just trying this out to see how this communicator thing works. If you can hear this, say hi! Or type it, whichever one works for you.

Jack? [long pause] I'm feeling... weird. Things seem a little less muzzy around the edges. Does that make any sense? I... I feel things more now. More strongly, I mean.

I don't understand. Where is this? It looks like California, but I'd be dying if it was. (How long does that stuff they used last, exactly?)

Look, really, I haven't done anything wrong. I've been a model citizen. I'm not part of any group or anything. So why kidnap me from my own house while I was sleeping? Is this the Capital G? ...Oh my God, what if this is prison?

Is someone there? I need to talk to whoever's in charge here. I'm innocent!

Get me out of here!

...is this how Mia felt?