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[1stwitness]

"...this, most definitely, is not home."

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[lady_bols]

Alex holds a hand up against the glare of fluorescent lighting. Someone pushes a shopping cart passed her, and she can hear a low, tinny jazz rendition of Stairway to Heaven playing overhead.

"Oh god. No. No, please."

[1stwitness]

"What manner of hell is this?"

He glares at the dead-eyed shopper on general principle, standing protectively close to Alex.

[lady_bols]

An old woman who bears a startling resemblance to the faceless creature they met in Ichabod's sitting room gives them a broad, plastic smile.

"Hello! And welcome to Walmart!" She says exactly the same thing to the people now angling to get passed them, in exactly the same tone.

Somewhere, there's popcorn burning. And there's an infant wailing its lungs out in the distance.

"Hell is absolutely right. God, what did we do to deserve this? Come on."

She leads him down the main aisle of the store, deeper and deeper into the labyrinth.

[1stwitness]

"Why are we going further in?" he wants to know. "Should we not be seeking the exit?"

[lady_bols]

She turns back to face the way they came in, one hand curled around her midriff.

"That's the entrance and the exit. You want to try going out that way?"

Something tells her it won't be that easy.

[1stwitness]

"..." He eyes the door suspiciously. "I think we have to try. If it fails, at least we will know."

[lady_bols]

She gives him a crooked grin and gestures for him to lead the way. She follows him right out through the automatic doors, and is not at all surprised at what she sees.

"Hello! And welcome to Walmart!" It's like they never even left.

Alex quirks an eyebrow at him.

"At least we can get some water and I would kill for some paracetemol."

[1stwitness]

"Overpriced water", he says grumpily. "But the pain medication, of course, you must have."

[lady_bols]

"Yes. Only I don't have any cash on me."

She glances around as they walk farther into the store again.

"Up for a little petty thievery?"

It really isn't an option at this point.

[1stwitness]

"It strikes me we have little choice", he says dryly. "And if this place isn't real, it will hardly matter."

[lady_bols]

She smirks at him, and beckons him towards the grocery aisle. She's moving slower than before, but still, it's with purpose.

"I can't even imagine what this place must look like to you. It's the height of consumer gluttony. Prosperity run rampant."

She reaches into a stand up cooler and plucks a pair of cold waters out, handing him one. She looks around for anyone wearing a blue vest and doesn't see anyone, so she unscrews the top and takes a long drink.

The pills are on another aisle, and she starts to kneel. "Damn it. That's a bad idea. Can you get those for me? Yes, in the yellow box with the blue lettering."

[1stwitness]

"Who owns it?" he wants to know, handing over the box. "Surely something this vast can't have a single storekeeper."

[lady_bols]

"No. It's what's called a multi-national corporation. It's a vast system, from mass production in China and the Far East making products for pennies on the dollar, abusing their workers into obscenely long work days, to a distribution network that undercuts workers rights, again, pays them shit, and destroys local economies because the smaller stores can't compete with the incredibly low prices that abuse allows them to sell at."

She doesn't even think twice about tearing the box open and stuffing the empty cardboard back onto the shelf. The bottle goes into her pocket until they're a few aisles away. And then she opens it, peels back all the foil and cotton, and fishes out two Tylenol. She washes them down with her incredibly overpriced bottled water, and looks back at him.

"And yet, they survive as a store because they offer a whole economic class the means to feed, dress, and entertain themselves with what meager wages they do make."

[1stwitness]

"And... people know this is happening? And allow it to continue, just in the name of commerce?" He glares viciously at... the store in general, apparently. "Then by all means, steal. Steal everything you can carry."

[lady_bols]

She chuckles, and then winces as her ribs remind her, they're still off the map.

"Right, well, I don't want to get tackled by security, so let's just see if we can't find our way out of here, and back to the bar. I don't know about you, but I need a drink."

They slip through the gardening section, past the multi-coloured plastic chairs and tables, umbrellas and barbecues, past the beach balls and other assorted children's toys. She starts down one aisle, and sees a woman with a cart piled so high, it looks structurally unsound.

"Let's go around. There has to be something around here."

[1stwitness]

Ichabod, visibly, resists the temptation to kick the cart in passing.

"Do these places generally have a back door?"

[lady_bols]

"I honestly don't know. I've never had reason to look for one."

They turn down another aisle and into what looks like the clothes he's seen young men wearing on the streets of Sleepy Hollow. She grabs one off the rack and slips it off the hanger, again, without even looking around.

"Here, put this on."

[1stwitness]

Ichabod looks at it.

"Must I? Really?"

But he's already shedding his coat again and reaching for it.

[lady_bols]

"Yes. Absolutely."

She tries to keep a straight face, because laughing right now would really hurt.

[1stwitness]

"And what does this logo signify, may I ask?"

When it's on, he buttons his coat over it like armour.

[lady_bols]

"It's for a comic book character. A super hero."

She waits until he's all buttoned up again, and takes off in another direction. If he's used to terrain navigation, he might realize she's circling the centre of the store.

"Do you smell that? It smells like..." She turns her head again. "It smells like fresh air."

[1stwitness]

He knows navigation, but this is entirely unfamiliar ground, and the landmarks are very strange. He latches onto that like a hunting dog, though.

"And fresh air means outside. That way."

[lady_bols]

The centre of the store is a broad open area. Well, as much as any area in Walmart can be described as open. There are dome tents and camping gear spread out over a swatch of astroturf that is standing in for the Outdoors.

Alex's head casts around.

"No, I lost it. Shit."

[1stwitness]

"One moment." He stands still, closes his eyes for a moment and concentrates, then turns, eyeing the astroturf with deep mistrust. "Over here."

[lady_bols]

She waits, and watches. And when he follows, she does so. They walk through the little city of dome tents. Something's rustling inside one of the tents. She approaches, holding up one hand to tell him to hang back.

With one finger, she gingerly pulls back the rain fly.

There's an explosion of movement and sound, and something small and black flies passed her face, up into the high ceilings of the store. She jerks back, startled to the point of letting go a loud squeak.

And then she laughs, wincing again at her ribs.

"Bird! It was just a bird!"

[1stwitness]

"...good Lord." He blinks at the tent, then up into the ceiling. "Now where did that come from, I wonder...?"

The only sensible thing to do is to look into the tent, really.

[lady_bols]

He's greeted by the same particular brand of darkness they've experienced all through the night. It's accompanied by the sweet scent of yucca flowers and a breath of cold, dry air, clean and crisp.

Alex's heart is still pounding from the start. "Well?"

[1stwitness]

"This is definitely the way out." He turns back to look at her. "At night, a dry place, and a smell of flowers, though not one I recognise."

[lady_bols]

"Thank God. Let's get out of here." She's trying not to worry about how this wild ride will end, if they'll ever find their way home. She's also trying not to think about Gene, sitting there, waiting for her to come back and worrying about when she didn't.

She takes his hand as she kneels, and goes down on all fours, crawling into the darkness. This had to be another step closer.