Long enough to put on some clothes, at least

The mother stood up with her daughter and said, “That sounds like a great idea, mister, um.”

“Peters, Edmund Peters. Please, call me Ed.”

After thanking Ed and introducing herself as Jen, and her daughter, Emery, she turned to the nearest wall and started examining the point store interface. It was simple, just as Ed had claimed. A small window appeared in the wall before her, lining up with her gaze, and offered a search bar, some item categories, and a string of information at the top that included her full name, Jennifer Ferrante; her point total, currently 10; and her store funds, currently zero dollars. Her daughter had a similar window in front of her, but listing her own name, with one less point, and funds reading $100.

The layout itself was intuitive, but Jen wasn’t particularly skilled with technology. Afraid to make any mistakes, she asked her daughter, “How do you use this?”

Emery sighed. “It’s just a touchscreen, mom.” She tried to exchange one of her mother’s points for dollars, pressing the double-headed arrow symbol between the two currencies. When nothing happened, she guessed, “It seems like you have to do it yourself. Just press this here, and then type in the search bar for the kind of clothes you want.”

Jen did as she was told, exchanging a point and then searching for clothes. She felt very uncomfortable changing in a small room with a bunch of strangers, so she spent some money on a cheap folding screen, along with a pair of comfortable jeans and a nice, white blouse. The clatter of the screen as it slipped through the wall drew some eyes, but she gave a sheepish look and the others quickly understood what she was doing when she started setting up the screen to block their view of herself and her daughter.

Meanwhile, the angry police chief was cussing up a storm while his subordinate searched for his boss’s favorite brand of briefs. At first, the chief had asked for a gun, without even trying to search the shop himself, and threatened to fire the younger officer when he said the store didn’t have any. After so much verbal ****, the younger man was beginning to wonder if he really had to listen to his boss anymore in this new reality. If he stopped helping his superior, and then somehow they escaped the room, there would certainly be hell to pay. Thinking about that possibility, the officer decided to continue listening to the irate older man’s orders, at least until he felt certain that they weren’t going to get out.

Fifteen minutes later, the group was dressed, and Ed stepped towards the middle of the room to facilitate the discussion. He had spent two points on a cheaper version of his usual black business suit, and felt much more confident now that his rotund form was thoroughly covered. The material was far less comfortable and fitted than what he was used to, but any of his suits back home would have cost considerably more than the $1000 he had available to begin with. Additionally, he was **** to spend too many points, based on what the voice had said about dying at zero points, and how hard it might be to collect more.

“Well then, now that we’re all dressed, I suppose we should begin with introductions. I’ll go ahead and start. My name is Edmund Peters, although just Ed is fine. I’ve been serving as the representative of California’s 56th congressional district for the past six years. Born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Would you like to go next, Ms. Soria?”

Ed gestured to the muscular woman leaning against the wall on his right, who was now clothed in gym shorts and a loose, grey t-shirt.

“Leticia Soria. Mixed Martial Artist. You a fan?”

Ed nodded enthusiastically. “But of course! You’re a homegrown talent from the streets of LA! A feminist icon for winning the mixed gender heavyweight world championship. Everyone’s heard of you, right?”

Most of the others looked at Ed and Leticia with a blank stare, but Anne playfully smacked the young man standing next to her on the back of the head.

“Are you joking?” she asked. “You were the one who told me about her, Jack.”

Jack rubbed his head, giving the rest of the room an embarrassed smile. “Uh, well, the name sounds familiar, but I didn’t really remember what she looked like. Sorry.”

Leticia shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. You’re next.”

“Jack Kim. Uh, I’m an accountant, from Manhattan.”

Anne rolled her eyes. “And I’m this idiot’s roommate. Anne Nguyen, neurobiology grad student.”

Jen gave a little wave when it was her turn to speak. Her conservative, long sleeve blouse and typical, neat mom jeans stood in stark contrast to her daughter’s short sleeve gamer tee and ripped black jeggings.

“Hello, I’m Jennifer Ferrante, but I go by Jen, and this is my daughter Emery, a high school senior, on the honor roll. I’m a stay-at-home mom, and my husband fixes cars for a living. We’re from Nampa, Idaho. I hope we all make it out of this alright.” Jen ignored her daughter hiding her face at being introduced as an honor student, and looked towards the two police officers.

“Quite a variety of locations,” Ed remarked, “But it seems we’re all Americans. You as well, sirs?”

“Yes,” the chief barked. “Chief Tim Greco, Fernsdale PD, Indiana.”

“Officer Frank Owens,” said the dark-skinned man beside him, “Also Fernsdale PD.” The two were dressed in casual business attire, similar to Jack’s, although Greco had also asked Frank to buy him a long, brown overcoat and striped tie, which he wore unbuttoned over his collared, white shirt.

“Alright then, nice to meet you all,” Ed said, “Although these certainly aren’t the best of circumstances. Does anyone have any clues as to where we might be?” Ed looked hopefully at Greco and then Anne, the two he thought most likely to have some ideas.