Volume I - Episode 9 Where: Melbourne, Australia When: E-Day, 7:40 am I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly. In 1967, John Lennon famously wrote the first two lines of I Am the Walrus while on two separate acid trips. In 2010, Jessica Bell had conversations with monsters. They swirled around her in the laneway behind Shotgun dance club, dark shapes clinging to the periphery of her vision, always there but never quite seen. They spoke to her in dark, mocking tones, their voices barely above a whisper, carrying softly in the crisp August morning air. "Come on, Lucy," they said, beckoning her to join them in the shadows. "Play with us." I'm not Lucy. I'm the Walrus. She took a few slow, teatering steps towards the pile of trash where she'd hidden her hangbag. Each step caused the pavement beneath her feet to flex and ripple. She paused to watch the slow-moving waves of asphalt roll down the laneway. The walls on either side of her spun with bright, effervescent colours. "You love us, Lucy. We can see it in your eyes!" No, I'm the girl with the sun in her eyes. And my name's not Lucy! Jessica reached the pile of trash. She picked up her handbag (Oh my gosh, snakes! The straps of my handbag look like snakes!) and hooked it over her shoulder. The monsters changed form. No longer dark masses of impenetrable shadow, they became bright and dazzling, like diamonds glinting in the sunlight. "Please play with us, Lucy," the diamond-like monsters begged. "We're your friends!" Diamonds are a girl's best friend, Jessica thought. Not monsters. You're not my friends. I have friends who look after me and treat me good. "Then where are they?" Good question, Jessica thought. Where were her friends? Now, let's see... Her best friend Kim had come over Wednesday night. They got dressed up and headed out to collect "the girls" for a night of hard drugs and even harder dancing. Wednesday night consisted of a few lines of speed in the car, followed by a few hours of broken dirty beats at Buffalo, the local suburban nightclub, a few pills, more speed, then a thirty minute drive to Shotgun after Buffalo had closed for the night. Shotgun had been pumping, as per usual. The girls loved it. Good music, good people, dark bathrooms for dark deeds. And best of all, it never closed. Most of the girls had faded and gone home Thursday afternoon. But Jessica and Kim (love her!) were no such lightweights. Kim had stayed until 8pm, when she had to leave for her shift at Silver Linings, one of Melbourne's premier strip clubs. High on life and amped on speed, Jessica had just kept on dancing. Had it not been for the inconveniently timed end of the world, Jessica would have declared it the best night/day/night of her life. "Where are you, Kimmy?" Jessica opened her handbag and pulled out her phone. Seven missed calls and fourteen messages. Well aren't I the popular one? she thought. At that very moment, with the city streets empty and humanity on the brink of extinction, Jessica's phone started to ring... Goo goo ga joob. First published: Saturday, 15 May 2010 Credits: FR-Venus by Freja Grace Lion Hair by Quarker Retro Babe by mytilus Character rendered in Poser 7 Pro Background photography by me Psychedelic pattern created using Filter Forge Pro Composited and postwork in Photoshop CS5 Extended