Chapter 2
Back to the Grind
Jayce strode into the cinema for the first time since the shooting, his black clothes offsetting his red hair and pale complexion. A couple of workmates called out to him, welcoming him back, and congratulating him on his bravery. Taking a few moments to chat and mingle, Jayce finally made it to the office, ready to sign in for his shift.
'Jayce,' The Manager's voice rang out over the subtle hum of the computers and constant ringing of the office phone. Jayce turned to look towards the source of the voice and was greeted with the usual frame of the thrity-something womanly figure of Monique; dressed in a silver silk blouse, pencil skirt and neckerchief, her brown hair held tightly in a bun at the back of her head with a pair of chopsticks. 'I wasn't expecting you for another week, Hero.'
Jayce blinked various thoughts out of his mind, attempting to regain some level of professionality 'Um, yeah. I called though, the other day. I spoke to Jonno, he said to come on in.'
'We both know Jonno never tells me anything.' She strode towards Jayce, sliding past him to get through the narrow space between desk and wall and over to the roster pinned to the corkboard. 'And he didn't make a note of it on here. Looks like... Dave has your shift.'
Jayce's heart sank. He knew Wednesdays were one of the few days he'd have to work with Mia now the holidays were over. 'Yeah. Fine. When can I start back up again?'
'Give yourself another week to recover, and give me a call. Hold on...' Monique rustles around the desks until she finds a business card. Scrawling something on the back she hands it to Jayce. 'Here's my mobile, just so you don't get Jonno again.'
'Thank you-' Jayce starts before he's interrupted by Dave poking his head through the door to the ticket box.
'Anyone seen Mia?' the dreadlocked man queried as he looks back and forth between Jayce and Monique. 'No?' the two figures shake their heads nearly in unison. 'Damn.' The dreadlocks just clear the doorway as it closes.
'I'll see if I can find her.' Jayce says as he heads for the staff-room door.
'Thanks.' Comes the reply as Monique returns to her office.
Jayce makes his way through the staff area and into the service hallway.
'A...' He mutters as he passes a door. 'B.... Projection...' He traces his fingers along the wall as he approaches the door he wants. 'C.' With a click the door opens revealing a nearly untouched pile of paint and random cinema-related spare parts. Clambering over a torn seat the man makes his way to an unfinished door and pulling it open he heads up the steep concrete stairs towards the steel door at the top.
'Mia?' Jayce asks questioningly as he slowly pushes the door open. 'Mia, you up here?'
'No...' came the nearly whimpered response.
'Hey, you okay?' Jayce asked, as he pulled himself through the doorway and over to the sullen figure seated on a concrete block beneath a large satellite dish. 'What's happened?'
Mia raises her gaze to meet Jayce's, her bloodshot eyes and puffy black lids evidence of her sadness. 'Nothing. Don't worry about it.' She sniffs loudly, wiping her nose on her sleeve in the cold cloudy air.
'You know I've been doing some tests with that whole mind thing.' The statement came seemingly from nowhere and caused Mia's mind to stumble over it, pausing before turning to face Jayce, motioning for him to continue. 'Let me show you... Pillows.'
Darkness.
Mia opened her eyes, laying on her back staring up at a wonderfully orange sky at sunset. The light was unnaturally even all around, making everything visible enough to interact with and see, but just dark enough to evoke a sense of mystery. She felt the ground she was laying on through her work clothes, it was soft to the touch much like 'Pillows?'
'Pillows.' The voice of Jayce softly floated from behind Mia. She turned around to meet his barely-lit gaze, like her he was still dressed as before. 'A whole world of 'em. Mountains of pillows, valleys of cushions, rivers of... other soft things. Possibly teddybears.'
'What?'
'Not much else to say really. I like sunsets. They're nice and calming.' Jayce moved over to sit right next to Mia. 'Time passes here much faster than in the real world. I've timed it; An hour here is about the same as one second out there. I've spent months sailing seas, flying through the skies and even shooting through space.'
'But...'
Jayce sighs as he takes Mia's hand in his. 'We can do anything here, for however long we want. We can run around throwing pillows at each other or just sit and chat. Whatever you want. I haven't figured some things out yet, so if there's anything you want just say and I'll do my best to make it for you.'
Mia sat in silence for a moment letting it all settle in. A niggling question rose to the front of her mind 'What happens if you get hurt here?'
'I've already tested that one. Started by pricking my thumb, I won't tell you what else I did...' Jayce broke their gaze to stare at the sky. Bright purple clouds whisked across the orange expanse. 'Suffice to say that no injury inflicted here made it to the real world.'