S2, E4 | When Curiosity Killed the Cat

> 8th May, 2031 <

“Oh, I just love the colour!” a soft-spoken elderly lady remarks, standing by the side of a taller, much younger woman whilst gazing at a bouquet of flowers hanging from a nearby rack. “The tall, purple ones- what are they?” the younger woman inquires, the skirt to her bright yellow sundress flowing as she turns, redirecting her attention to a man in a green and white apron, his hands tucked behind his back.

“The perennials?” Andrew responds, uncoupling his hands to point at the piece’s accents, their tall build protruding from the sides of the pink lily centrepiece. “They compliment the whole arrangement beautifully!” the young woman remarks, her eyes relocating toward a bundle of blue flowers near the shop’s window front, “mom, come look at these!”

With a smile on his face, Andrew listens to the bell over his door ring, another patron entering the store as he turns around the front counter, leaving the mother and daughter to their mini-adventure. “I’ll be with you in just a second!” the store owner calls out, crouching behind the cash register in search of a large roll of transparent gift paper.

Gently tugging at the sleeve with his hand, Andrew slides his scissors through the wrap and slides a clean, plastic pot out from a stack of similarly green-coloured containers. Returning to a surface-level, the entrepreneur stuffs the clear foil into the pot before looking straight ahead with a welcoming expression, the corners of his mouth that had formed into a smile now quickly falling into a scowl.

“This is a cosy little shop” Dennis remarks, his right arm leaning against the store’s counter as his eyes pan across the room, “how much do you pay in rent? Like, ten grand?” His eyes wide, Andrew stands stoically as his two patrons continue to traverse his tiny plant heaven, clueless to the potential issue that resides just a few short metres away.

Receiving no response, Dennis matches his opposition’s stoic posture, leaning silently with big eyes as he waits for the man across from him to speak. “What are you doing here?” Andrew finally inquires, his flared nostrils indicating to the investigator that his presence is not welcomed, a gesture the older man pays little mind to.

“That’s funny of you to ask!” Dennis replies with a chipper attitude, slowly lifting from his lean as he strokes the patch of hair on his chin, “-I was in the market for a bouquet of red roses, and a quick search led me to the most well-reviewed little plant shop in town. I figured I’d stop in on my way to work.”

Furious, Andrew rounds the counter and approaches the investigator, his fiery display doing nothing to intimidate the private eye, the strange man’s hands coupling at his lap as the father approaches. “Leave my daughter and I alone or I swear to god, I’ll-” the enraged family man remarks, his warning cut short as the source of his vexation interjects.

“What are you going to do, Mr. Carrion?” Dennis interrupts, the question left in silence for a moment as the pest-like detective welcomes an answer, “go ahead- finish that thought.” Seething, Andrew remains standing in the investigator’s face, his heavy breathing the only thing to respond as requested. “Why won’t you just leave us alone?” the father relents, his confrontational attitude subsiding as his recognition of the circumstance takes a hold of him.

“I’m not incentivised to do so” Dennis answers honestly, taking a quick look around the small, plant-covered shop before following up, “would you close down this little shop here if I lived across the street and asked you to stop obstructing the view?” Without a warning, Andrew takes the private eye by the arm, dragging him to a more secluded corner of the shop before continuing the conversation, his voice noticeably more quelled than it had been seconds prior.

“There’s a difference between wanting a better view of some trees and wanting to put the worst eight months of our lives in the past” Andrew remarks, quick to defend his family’s right to privacy, “the girl you’re digging into like a badger just wants to move on with her life.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it” Dennis quickly retorts, crossing his arms against his chest as he leans back, both eyes kept at those on the father’s face, “if I did what she had, I’d want the same thing too.” Squinting, Andrew shakes his head with confusion, not following the lead that the thorn in his side appears to be leaving him.

“Do you know why I’m investigating you?” Dennis wonders aloud, the thought never having truly crossed the younger gentleman’s mind for more than a few seconds, “why would someone pay me to be the bane of your existence if there wasn’t a reason?” Looking off into the distance, Andrew rolls his eyes and sighs, both shoulders shrugging as his head shakes, opening the floor for the investigator to answer his own query.

Unfurling his arms, the investigator opens his left hand, the palm he presents to the father containing a white and blue flash drive. “I’m not following you so I can ruin your life, I’m following you because Sophie’s account of events can’t be trusted” Dennis explains, extending the open hand for the father to take the item placed within it, “and this isn’t a ‘she’s a kid, she doesn’t want to get in trouble’ kind of thing, it’s a ‘this girl may have done something illegal’ thing.”

Pulling his head back a short distance, Andrew’s eyes lift from the flash drive and take back toward the private detective’s, a look of surprise coming over his face. “The public cops can concoct any little investigation they want, but it’ll never be enough to uncover any truth worth knowing” Dennis acknowledges, allowing the father to gently take the memory stick from his hand, “their reputation is already brutalised. None of them want to damper America’s party over their new feel-good story.”

Parting his lips, Andrew looks to the flash drive for a few additional seconds, the palm of his hand held open before his chin lifts. Pressing the sides of his gums together, the man attempts to respond, only to find the space before him vacant as it had been for the majority of the day, the detective’s presence replaced by an open floor as the front door’s bell chimes again.

“We’ll take the lily arrangement” the sundress-wearing young woman remarks, approaching the man with her elderly mother closely behind, the colourful assortment carried in her hands. His face still wearing the look of surprise, Andrew looks the woman in the eyes for a few moments before snapping out of his preoccupied state, trying his best to compose himself as he returns to the counter, a passing eye paid to the black car pulling off the side of the road just beyond his front doors.

= Generation Alpha is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and his entity of Pacer1 from the start of Season 1 onwards =

> 8th May, 2031 <

“You don’t plan on spending the whole day in bed, do you?” Izzy wonders aloud, her feet shuffling along the clothing-covered rug that sits in the centre of her room. “Not unless you do” Caden responds, wiping his eyes as he sits up in his girlfriend’s queen-sized bed, shirtless in only a pair of blue boxers.

“As you can tell- I don’t” the young woman replies, stepping into a pair of black jeans whilst setting aside a red tank top, “besides, the fact that my mom doesn’t get back for the next three days means that we have the entire weekend to ourselves.” Softly groaning as he stretches, Caden lowers himself off the elevated mattress in an effort to reach the adjacent bathroom door, his left foot wearing a grey sock whilst the other is bare.

“We’ve had the last two days to ourselves too, I don’t see what’s supposed to be different” the young man explains, running the shower as his voice begins to echo. “It’s nothing different, I just think we should do something we haven’t taken advantage of yet” Izzy replies, throwing the sleeveless shirt over her head before approaching the bathroom, watching her boyfriend reach for a toothbrush as he waits for the water to heat, “like, going on a road trip with no one to tell us not to?”

With a chuckle, Caden shakes his head as he lathers his brush with paste, a smirk having come over his visage. “My parents may like you, but they don’t like you enough to not kill me for hitting the open road with you” the young man responds, lifting the brush into his mouth whilst his girlfriend continues the conversation on his behalf.

“That’s why we won’t take your car” Izzy insists, watching her boyfriend’s amused expression take hold as she continues speaking, “I drive a shift made in the late 2000’s. The only thing keeping us from going would be if the engine had an issue with it.” Forced into silence at the will of his brush, Caden looks at his reflection in the mirror as his significant other proceeds, spinning a promising web of potential that- whilst lovely in spirit- doesn’t immediately strike him as feasible.

“We’ve both got straight A’s- as surprising as that is for someone with my work ethic- and can afford to miss every day of school from now until finals” Izzy proclaims, leaning against the frame of the bathroom door as her proposition is made, “we can afford to have ourselves a weekend in a cosy little town like, oh I don’t know, Chicago?”

Having slipped his brush through his lips as the girl finishes her thought, Caden nearly loses control of his gums as he spits the used paste with force, his wide eyes quickly drifting toward the bathroom’s exit. “When the fuck did Chicago become a small town?” the young man queries, earning an amused laughter from his incredibly influential second half.

“Around the same time I bought these?” Izzy responds, sliding a pair of thin, plastic tickets from her back pocket with a pair of logos adorned upon them, “I thought the games were in St. Louis, but Chicago’s close enough for them not to go to waste.” With her grasp, two reflective strips brandishing the logos of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs face Caden’s eyes, which begin to open further.

“I got us tickets for Sunday, and if we leave tomorrow afternoon, we’ll get there by night” Izzy remarks, her proposition suddenly garnering more favour from the half-nude man with a brush in hand, “just say the word and I’ll return them, but if-” Stopped in her tracks, Caden rinses his mouth with a cup of water and places his hands against each side of his girlfriend’s face, their lips pressing together as the mood lightens.

“Is that a ‘yes’?” Izzy asks aloud, watching the smile come over Caden’s face as he nods, letting out a laugh as he retreats to the bathroom. “Keep them and fill your tank” the young man remarks, slowly closing the door as he steps out of his underwear, the shower curtain sliding open as he steps inside, “we’re going to Chicago.”

Her smile widening, Izzy nods to herself as she returns the tickets to her back pocket, a sudden buzz emerging from her watch as Caden steps beneath the running water. “Meet me here, we need to talk- it’s urgent” the young woman reads aloud, her eyebrows furrowed as she checks the contact’s name, a clear look of disgust appearing over her face.

Preparing to dismiss the message, Izzy lifts the watch to her lips before a second buzz arrives, drawing her eyes to the screen once more. “Spare Caden the hassle and meet me instead. If you don’t, I’ll have to keep trying him. He doesn’t want that” the second message reads, only to follow up with a third and final memo, short and brief, “meet me and I’ll leave you both alone.”

|

> 8th May, 2031 <

“Daddy!” Olivia shouts, bursting through the door that Elaine opens with her arms extended, her small limbs wrapping around her father’s leg with the force of a tiny weightlifter. “Hey there, ‘Liv!” the man enthusiastically greets, swiping the young girl off her feet as he lifts her into his arms, his look of exhaustion one that the girl’s driver can sense, though she cannot.

“How was your day, sweetheart?” Andrew inquires, pulling his head back to get a better look at his offspring’s face, her lively eyes and cheerful display bringing a look of pleasure to his face. “Mrs. Delores said I was smart, and Duke said he was smarter, so we had a maths quiz and I got a better grade than him!” Olivia chirps, speaking as if she were trying to battle a bullhorn for vocal supremacy, “I got a better grade than the whole class too, and Mrs. Delores said I was the best at maths!”

“You’ve got a little Albert Einstein on your hands, Andy” Elaine remarks, closing the door as she further enters the home, her bright, red lips arched into a smile. “It certainly seems like it!” Andrew responds, lifting his hand to receive a high five from his energetic daughter, “she’ll be writing the textbooks we used to land people on Titan in a couple hundred years, won’t she?”

“What’s that?” Olivia replies, the question confusing her father, who asks her to clarify, “what’s a textbook?” With a wide-eyed response, Andrew stares at his youngest in silence for a moment before redirecting the conversation. “That’s not important, but do you know what is?” the father replies, failing to hold back a brief laugh as he slides the knapsack off his daughter’s back, “homework. Do you have any?”

Responding with the affirmative, Olivia reclaims her bag as her father sets her down, allowing her to race off to her room to complete the assignments requested of her, a nightly tradition she takes glee in performing. “I’m serious, she could become someone really important someday” Elaine proclaims, watching the energetic exterior Andrew had erected fall aside as he nods, turning back for the kitchen island as he slides out a stool for his friend to occupy.

“It’s only a matter of time before she’s as important to everyone else as she is to us” the man responds, rolling his once-cuffed sleeves as he opens the fridge. “Well, she has a great role model to get her there” Elaine claims, graciously accepting a glass of lemonade the family’s patriarch pours for her, “It’s really rare to see a father do so well when he’s given so little to work with. Your parents would be proud of you.”

With a glass of his own, the father taps the rim of his glass against his acquaintance’s own, shaking his head as he lifts the cup to his lips. “No, they wouldn’t” Andrew replies, taking a quick drink before clarifying his response, “nothing I’d ever done was good enough for them. Every success had a downside that was somehow three times worse and more worth talking about.”

With her head tilted to one side, Elaine remains quiet, allowing the father across from her to clear his conscience. “I got so much flack when Morgan told me she was pregnant. I’d just turned nineteen, I was living off noodles and water and had a kid on the way” Andrew recalls, his head continuing to shake as the memories flood back, “my father was so disappointed in me. He looked me in the eyes that night and said, ‘if only I’d raised you better, you wouldn’t have thrown your life away’.”

Her spirits falling, Elaine watches the man stare toward the ground for a few seconds before jolting out of his glum mood, remembering the company he shares in the present. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, uh-” Andrew begins to speak, apologetic for having soured the mood before his friend’s voice interjects, keeping his remorseful remarks from continuing.

“It’s okay. You’re not saying anything I’m not already familiar with” the woman proclaims, letting out a brief sigh as she leans against the island, her sombre expression meeting the father’s, “my parents were the same way.”

“Really?” Andrew asks, watching the woman’s teeth shine through her ruby red-shaded lips as she nods, laughing at the man’s surprise. “I was born in Alabama. The hardest slap I’d ever been given in my life was when I told my mother I didn’t believe in god at the dinner table with all the family. I don’t think she’d ever been that embarrassed in her life” Elaine replies, her eyes falling as a sudden thought corrects her claim, “well, maybe a few years later when I told her I didn’t want kids.”

“I don’t envy that position one bit” Andrew responds in a breathy tone, sharing a heartfelt laugh with the woman across his kitchen, her head shaking as their collective spirits lift. “I wouldn’t change it for the world, though” Elaine assures herself, shaking her head as she begins to return the glass to her mouth, “I’m sure she took it as me branding her lifestyle with my own stamp of disapproval, but I would’ve never known what I really wanted in life if I hadn’t.”

As the air goes silent, Andrew nods to himself as he lifts his glass, “to us” the man toasts, waiting for the woman to join him in celebrating their individual successes. “And to the lives we’ve lived” Elaine responds, lifting her glass into the air before pressing it back against her bottom lip, joining the home’s owner in a drink as the conversation calms.

“Is Sophie here?” Elaine wonders, the discourse’s natural redirection swinging toward the lone-unspoken soul of the home, her answer offered at the shake of her friend’s head. “She left the house before I woke up and- unless she has the quietest steps in human history- hasn’t come back since” Andrew answers, rolling his eyes as he sets his cup on the countertop.

“She’ll be flying the nest soon enough, huh?” Elaine queries, the man she speaks to rounding the island and drawing nearer, taking a seat in the chair beside her. “I just want her to be safe” Andrew admits, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the multi-coloured flash drive he’d received earlier, “but hell, I want her to be able to move on from what happened, and not even that can happen.”

As if it were a piece of trash, the man drops the flash drive onto the solid island surface, letting it gently bounce along the sleek finish before coming to a rest between himself and his close friend. “What’s that?” Elaine inquires, getting the hint that his mind has decided upon redirecting the conversation toward a more conscience-eating issue at hand.

“Someone has a private investigator following Sophie. I don’t know why and I don’t know what he’s looking for, all I know is that he’s out and about” Andrew explains, resting the side of his face against his right arm as his left hand points toward the memory stick, “he stopped by the shop earlier today to drop off this.”

Both confused and concerned, Elaine glances at the plastic device for a moment before looking for an answer to the obvious question. “What’s on it?” the woman asks, receiving a similar shoulder shrug to the one she’d received minutes earlier, the conflicted parent knowing as much as she does. “I don’t know. I didn’t get the chance to ask, and I’ve been trying to avoid finding out all day” Andrew responds, visibly holding back many of the thoughts that linger within his head.

“He said there were holes in the story Sophie gave to the cops, and that no one in the public service wanted to say it because it would make them look bad” Andrew explains, lost for what to think the longer he speaks, “he said she’s hiding something about what really happened at her mom’s. Other than directly, he pretty much flat-out told me it was something illegal.”

Her worries only increasing, Elaine tries to filter her thoughts before she can have the chance to speak them, not wanting to say anything that crosses a line. “So, what are you gonna do?” the woman settles on asking, listening to the chuckle that emerges from the father’s core, his answer to the question just as worthwhile as leaving it without one is.

“I have no idea. I don’t know what’s on this, I don’t know what he’s referring to, I don’t know what-” Andrew begins to ramble, speaking until his lips press together, shaking with the rest of his head before keeping him quiet, subduing his rant before it can carry him too far, “I don’t know.”

Her friend’s conflicted natural more than palpable, Elaine is left in silence, unsure of what she would do in this scenario, much less what she’d advise someone she cares for. “Do you want me to decide for you?” the woman inquires, watching the man’s eyes drift toward her in silence, his soft expression implying an assurance he fails to give vocally.

“I would look at it” the woman replies, climbing down from her seat as she continues to speak, “maybe it’ll help give you more clarity on what this person’s looking for.” As his eyes begin to stare toward the front of his kitchen blankly, Andrew’s cheek embraces the warmth of Elaine’s lips as their soft skin presses against him, giving him a compassionate peck on her way toward the door.

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?” Elaine requests, only returning for her car when the man responds with a hushed nod, remaining sat as left whilst the woman departs, leaving the kitchen in total silence as Andrew is left to his own, only the memory stick’s allure to provide him with company.

|

> 8th May, 2031 <

With the hems of her dark jeans tucked into a pair of calf-high boots, Izzy steps out of her car and shuts the door, taking a few steps ahead as she gazes at the apparent destination. Surrounded by a handful of five story-high buildings, the young woman sways from one side to another as she takes in the unimpressive scenery, moving the gravel that her feet stand atop.

“Sophie?” the slightly unnerved girl calls out, not stricken with much confidence the longer she spends in silence. Having left her keys in the ignition, Izzy steps into the shining headlights of her car, casting her shadow along the unsteady parking lot she ventures further into, the vivid illuminations leading toward the open door of an old, rundown warehouse.

“Are you alone?” a familiar voice soon calls out, its echo ringing throughout the large, empty interior, incapable of being missed by the approaching soul. “Yeah, why?” Izzy responds, halting her forward progress as her well-known counterpart emerges from behind cover, standing atop the loading bay she nears closer to. “Because I don’t even want to be talking to you right now” Sophie answers, her subdued voice still carrying a fair distance, “I’ll settle for you, but no one else.”

“Why even bother settling at all?” Izzy queries, tucking her hands into her back pockets as she draws closer, though still put off by the ground she walks, given a slight comfort in the presence of a familiar face. “Because some things are more important than respecting boundaries” Sophie retorts, turning away from the loading bay to slowly re-enter the abandoned building, finishing her thought in the process, “right now, I’ve got a problem that I can’t solve alone.”

“And what makes you think Caden would go out of his way to help you?” Izzy inquires, climbing the nearby steps toward the redhead’s level, “he hates you enough to give you a right hand, why would that change in the course of a few days?”

“Because I know he’d rather never see me again than have to see me every day” Sophie replies, pressing her back into a column a short distance from the cargo dock, “and since you took me up on my offer, I’d imagine the same can be said for you.”

“I don’t have any opinion on the matter” Izzy proclaims, a remark that finds the soft spot in Sophie’s head that controls intrigue. Still unsure of what this meeting is meant to be, the independent young woman comes to a stop across the spacious floor from someone she’d once been friendly to, but has now sided against. “Caden doesn’t like you, I like Caden, and I’m sure you can do the maths” she remarks, looking the changed soul across from her in the eyes.

“You don’t like me because Caden doesn’t like me, and you like him. Got it- but that’s not what I’m interested in” Sophie concludes, leaning against the towering pillar with her hands hung by her sides. Squinting, Izzy waits for a few seconds before responding to her once-friend’s declaration, “then what is it you need my help with?”

Her content expression turning into one of confusing glee, Sophie’s lips form a smile, one capable of bringing discomfort upon anyone it targets. “Information” the redhead replies, letting her hands sway back and forth as her back pushes into the pillar, thrusting her forward to allow her stroll to commence, the young figure of public investment beginning to pace from one side of the room to the other.

“What’s Caden told you about me?” Sophie wonders, her casual walk forming a circle around Caden’s girlfriend, her eyes refusing to depart from the girl’s taller figure, “what do you know?” As if the air had began to thicken, Izzy finds it harder to breathe, her chest growing tight as her nerves begin to reappear, the situation she finds herself in only worsening the sinking feeling of dread that lingers.

“That you did something really bad and he hated you for it” Izzy answers truthfully, her right foot pressing into the ground as her left moves with her antagonist, spinning with the young woman a few metres away. “What else?” Sophie asks, unsatisfied with the reply she’d been given, though receives little more than what’s already been stated.

“That’s it. He refuses to tell me anything” Izzy declares, watching Sophie circle her as if she were the prey to a shark, the expression on the redhead’s face appearing unfulfilled. “Why should I believe that?” the menacing figure with a slender frame inquisits, narrowing her eyebrows as she continues to pace the floor, “you’re his girlfriend. If there’s one person he’d go to first- and it wasn’t me- it’d be you.”

“He hasn’t gone to anybody. He said he won’t tell a soul” the rebellious teen proclaims, finally noticing the slight change in the expression worn by the figure of false narratives, “he said it’s ‘for my safety’.” With a change more noticeable and responsive, Sophie’s visage alters, her sceptical expression submitting to an acceptance of greater strength, her tilted chin and equally-lowered eyes indicating a disappointed finding that has been bestowed upon her.

Her feet finally coming together, Sophie’s pace ends as she comes to a stop, looking to the ground with a disheartened look on her face. “You really don’t know anything?” the redhead asks aloud, only the following few seconds of silence preceding the turn of her head, looking her acquaintance in the moment straight in the eyes.

“I don’t know anything” Izzy assures, the conviction carried through the calm tones of her voice acting as a stamp of certainty to the integrity of her claim. With a sigh, Sophie lowers her head and nods, taking in a deep breath before repositioning herself, standing upright and extending her hand as she approaches the girl she’d once considered a friend.

“Make sure he says nothing and I’ll keep my end of the deal” Sophie promises, stopping within reach of the uncertain girl before her, waiting for the gesture she offers to be matched. “I’ve got too much on my plate to be bothered by things I’ve got no control over” she continues, locking eyes with Izzy as their hands collide, finalising the deal they’d initially agreed upon.

With a suspicious look in her eye, Izzy lets her hand shake proceed for a few, uncomfortable seconds, the silence she’s met with only adding to the shock of the sharp pain that strikes her core. Her method subtle, well-planned and executed to perfection, Sophie pulls both of her arms back, the right hand removing itself from the girl’s palm just as her left hand removes the knife she’d pierced her stomach with.

Her eyes widening, the wounded girl tumbles forward before standing with a hunch for a few seconds, the passing of which brings her to one knee. Stained with blood, Sophie’s left hand releases possession of the knife to her right, which swings through the air for a second time, this time plunging the blade into Izzy’s back.

With a shriek, the unsuspecting bystander to a much greater, unresolved issue falls to the ground, the side of her face colliding with the cold, cement floor. Given not even the slightest chance of gathering her breath, Izzy’s hand is grabbed at by her assailant, who undoes the strap around her wrist and snatches her watch, cutting her victim off from contact with the world beyond her unkind and seemingly endless stretch of vacated floorspace.

“I’m sure you make Caden really happy, but some things are more important than that” Sophie proclaims, an obvious hurry in her voice as she returns the way she’d entered, conjuring whatever sick justification her mind can weave the circumstances of her crime into.

“You said it the other night- you were curious to know more than what Caden would tell you” Sophie remarks, burying the room and the horribly wounded girl in darkness at the flick of a switch, her free hand grasping the rope of the loading bay’s door, “I can’t have that right now.” With a tug, the red haired killer cuts off Izzy’s only route toward an exit, slamming and locking the cargo bay door shut before hurrying away from the scene, ducking into the alleys without a moment to waste.

== Generation Alpha ==