Pensacola Beach, Florida
Monday, September 19, 2016
Shinji opened his eyes and found himself surprised, had the entire thing been a dream, a nightmare would be a more accurate description of what had happened, but instead of finding himself looking at the ceiling of his room, or more likely another hospital room, he found himself looking out a bus window as the vehicle pulled into a small parking lot in front of a wood sided building surrounded by sand dunes. Sitting up straight he stretched and looked around and then blinked owlishly, everyone that was important was here. Granted they all seemed to be asleep, but Toji was sitting across from him with Kensuke, Asuka and Hikari were up at the front of the small bus across from Misato and Kaji, and next to him Rei stirred slightly causing him to blush furiously. His last memories of her had to have been some kind of dream, because there was no way she would have done those things to him, and she wouldn’t have asked him to make that decision, a decision that could have ended the entire world. Looking behind them he found Doctor Akagi and Lieutenant Ibuki slumped against each other asleep as well.
Slowly the bus came to a full stop and with a hiss of the air brakes the door to the compartment opened allowing in the local heat against the cool of the air conditioner. This seemed to wake Misato who looked around for a moment and then realized they were no longer in Tokyo-3. “What the hell?” she almost screamed jumping to her feet. “Where are we?” This outburst of course woke the rest of the sleepers causing a small tussle between Kensuke and Toji which Hikari almost immediately put a stop to. The rest of the group simply looked around, a building with rooms, sand dunes with a single two lane road, the road signs printed in English, and now Shinji was seeing a large Caucasian man in shorts and button down shirt walking across the parking area between the bus and the building with two large dogs following him.
“Um, Misato” Shinji called out getting her attention, “someone is coming out to us.”
“Oh good, then maybe we can get some information.” Misato responded turning toward the bus’s door just as the man made the two dogs sit and stay outside the bus.
“Hello everyone,” the man said stepping up the bus’s stairs with a smile on his face. His face was round and merry and while he was probably overweight, he carried it well on his stocky frame. “I hope you had a pleasant journey and enjoy your time here at the Gulfside Rest, if you will disembark from the shuttle bus you can meet my girls here and then we’ll get your luggage unloaded and moved to your rooms. Major Katsuraki?”
“Yes,” Misato answered him with an arched eyebrow.
“I have a message here for you,” he said handing over a folded piece of paper. Taking the paper Misato started to read as he continued to speak. “Now, who’s ready for some beach time fun?”
Shinji watched as Misato having read the message at least once, probably twice, plopped back down in her seat and handed the message to Kaji who also read it. “Alright kids, you heard the man, unload and see if you have any luggage below, Rits, Maya, I need you to come with me after we all get settled.” Turning to the man she continued, “I assume you are James Bostwick.”
“I am,” he answered, “but please call me either James or Wolf, I haven’t been Mister Bostwick since I was in college, and just Bostwick since I was in the Marines.
Misato nodded, “Then I’m Misato,” she said still in a slight daze. “Can you at least tell us where we are” she asked?
James smirked a bit before answering, “As close to heaven as we can make it, or as the majority of visitors call it, Pensacola Beach.”
***
“Hey Shinji, how do I look?” Shinji turned to look at Asuka from the rack of shirts and beach shorts that he had been searching through to find something simple that fit and found her wearing a skimpy red bikini similar to the one she had gotten for her trip on the Over the Rainbow.
“Umm, it’s very nice Asuka,” he answered a bit unsteadily while looking around for someone, anyone else in their group. “But I don’t think James-san wanted us to buy expensive bathing suits, just something we can were tomorrow to go get more, proper clothing.” Misato had been rather upset that there had been absolutely no luggage for them on the bus, but James had assured her that even if their travel agent had lost all their baggage completely he would talk to his employers and get a stipend to re-clothe them, in the meantime he would buy a couple of sets of clothes for everyone so that they all had something to wear.
“No, its fine Shinji-kun,” he heard the older man answer from behind him. “One of the good things about living on the beach is that as long as it’s warm enough, swim suits are considered at least somewhat decent clothes, though you will want a cover-up to protect your skin as well as a pair of shorts and sandals.” Shinji watched in amazement as James caused the red head to go from scandalous with barely anything on, to something that had all the necessary things covered completely but still look good if pure tourist.
It didn’t take long for everyone to find what they needed at the tourist shop, and James promised them that in the next couple of days they would all get to go up to the local mall or outlet store to purchase more clothes. Shinji, Toji, Kensuke and Kaji had all gotten two pair of shorts and four shirts while the girls, Misato, Dr. Akagi and Lieutenant Ibuki had all gotten swimsuits of various styles as well as cover ups. The swimsuits ranged from Asuka’s skimpy red bikini to something called a “Tankini” that Misato and Hikari had both gotten in different colors, to the full on unitard type suits of Dr. Akagi, Lt. Ibuki and Rei. Shinji was further surprised when the man paid almost five-hundred dollars American on just this little bit of clothing for them. “Are all the clothes around here this expensive James-san” Shinji asked with a cringe?
“Not in the least,” he answered. “This is a tourist trap that over-charges for cheaply made crap, when we go to a real store instead of this thieves’ institute we’ll find things much more reasonably priced so long as we’re not buying name brand.” The cashier shot the man a dirty look but he ignored it and walked the group outside and back down the parking lot to where their bus was parked.
***
“Kaji,” Misato said looking at the local news playing on the TV in their communal living room. “Something is not right. This area should be under water so deep we should need helium rigs to sit where we are.”
“Yet we don’t,” her boyfriend answered laconically.
“I cannot find anyone talking about the Angels,” she continued finally shutting off the TV. “There is also nothing on about the UN, that is with the exception of some kind of stupid global warming crap. Not even a word about Second Impact, it’s like it never even happened, like the last fifteen years we lived not only didn’t occur, but something else completely different happened."
“Its definitely strange Misato,” Kaji answered. “What did that letter say?”
“That there had been an accident of some sorts and that the group of us were to stay here until further notice for the safety of the program.”
“Well they could have picked a worse location,” Kaji remarked with a smirk.
“True,” Misato responded, “very true.”
Monday, September 19, 2016
Shinji opened his eyes and found himself surprised, had the entire thing been a dream, a nightmare would be a more accurate description of what had happened, but instead of finding himself looking at the ceiling of his room, or more likely another hospital room, he found himself looking out a bus window as the vehicle pulled into a small parking lot in front of a wood sided building surrounded by sand dunes. Sitting up straight he stretched and looked around and then blinked owlishly, everyone that was important was here. Granted they all seemed to be asleep, but Toji was sitting across from him with Kensuke, Asuka and Hikari were up at the front of the small bus across from Misato and Kaji, and next to him Rei stirred slightly causing him to blush furiously. His last memories of her had to have been some kind of dream, because there was no way she would have done those things to him, and she wouldn’t have asked him to make that decision, a decision that could have ended the entire world. Looking behind them he found Doctor Akagi and Lieutenant Ibuki slumped against each other asleep as well.
Slowly the bus came to a full stop and with a hiss of the air brakes the door to the compartment opened allowing in the local heat against the cool of the air conditioner. This seemed to wake Misato who looked around for a moment and then realized they were no longer in Tokyo-3. “What the hell?” she almost screamed jumping to her feet. “Where are we?” This outburst of course woke the rest of the sleepers causing a small tussle between Kensuke and Toji which Hikari almost immediately put a stop to. The rest of the group simply looked around, a building with rooms, sand dunes with a single two lane road, the road signs printed in English, and now Shinji was seeing a large Caucasian man in shorts and button down shirt walking across the parking area between the bus and the building with two large dogs following him.
“Um, Misato” Shinji called out getting her attention, “someone is coming out to us.”
“Oh good, then maybe we can get some information.” Misato responded turning toward the bus’s door just as the man made the two dogs sit and stay outside the bus.
“Hello everyone,” the man said stepping up the bus’s stairs with a smile on his face. His face was round and merry and while he was probably overweight, he carried it well on his stocky frame. “I hope you had a pleasant journey and enjoy your time here at the Gulfside Rest, if you will disembark from the shuttle bus you can meet my girls here and then we’ll get your luggage unloaded and moved to your rooms. Major Katsuraki?”
“Yes,” Misato answered him with an arched eyebrow.
“I have a message here for you,” he said handing over a folded piece of paper. Taking the paper Misato started to read as he continued to speak. “Now, who’s ready for some beach time fun?”
Shinji watched as Misato having read the message at least once, probably twice, plopped back down in her seat and handed the message to Kaji who also read it. “Alright kids, you heard the man, unload and see if you have any luggage below, Rits, Maya, I need you to come with me after we all get settled.” Turning to the man she continued, “I assume you are James Bostwick.”
“I am,” he answered, “but please call me either James or Wolf, I haven’t been Mister Bostwick since I was in college, and just Bostwick since I was in the Marines.
Misato nodded, “Then I’m Misato,” she said still in a slight daze. “Can you at least tell us where we are” she asked?
James smirked a bit before answering, “As close to heaven as we can make it, or as the majority of visitors call it, Pensacola Beach.”
***
“Hey Shinji, how do I look?” Shinji turned to look at Asuka from the rack of shirts and beach shorts that he had been searching through to find something simple that fit and found her wearing a skimpy red bikini similar to the one she had gotten for her trip on the Over the Rainbow.
“Umm, it’s very nice Asuka,” he answered a bit unsteadily while looking around for someone, anyone else in their group. “But I don’t think James-san wanted us to buy expensive bathing suits, just something we can were tomorrow to go get more, proper clothing.” Misato had been rather upset that there had been absolutely no luggage for them on the bus, but James had assured her that even if their travel agent had lost all their baggage completely he would talk to his employers and get a stipend to re-clothe them, in the meantime he would buy a couple of sets of clothes for everyone so that they all had something to wear.
“No, its fine Shinji-kun,” he heard the older man answer from behind him. “One of the good things about living on the beach is that as long as it’s warm enough, swim suits are considered at least somewhat decent clothes, though you will want a cover-up to protect your skin as well as a pair of shorts and sandals.” Shinji watched in amazement as James caused the red head to go from scandalous with barely anything on, to something that had all the necessary things covered completely but still look good if pure tourist.
It didn’t take long for everyone to find what they needed at the tourist shop, and James promised them that in the next couple of days they would all get to go up to the local mall or outlet store to purchase more clothes. Shinji, Toji, Kensuke and Kaji had all gotten two pair of shorts and four shirts while the girls, Misato, Dr. Akagi and Lieutenant Ibuki had all gotten swimsuits of various styles as well as cover ups. The swimsuits ranged from Asuka’s skimpy red bikini to something called a “Tankini” that Misato and Hikari had both gotten in different colors, to the full on unitard type suits of Dr. Akagi, Lt. Ibuki and Rei. Shinji was further surprised when the man paid almost five-hundred dollars American on just this little bit of clothing for them. “Are all the clothes around here this expensive James-san” Shinji asked with a cringe?
“Not in the least,” he answered. “This is a tourist trap that over-charges for cheaply made crap, when we go to a real store instead of this thieves’ institute we’ll find things much more reasonably priced so long as we’re not buying name brand.” The cashier shot the man a dirty look but he ignored it and walked the group outside and back down the parking lot to where their bus was parked.
***
“Kaji,” Misato said looking at the local news playing on the TV in their communal living room. “Something is not right. This area should be under water so deep we should need helium rigs to sit where we are.”
“Yet we don’t,” her boyfriend answered laconically.
“I cannot find anyone talking about the Angels,” she continued finally shutting off the TV. “There is also nothing on about the UN, that is with the exception of some kind of stupid global warming crap. Not even a word about Second Impact, it’s like it never even happened, like the last fifteen years we lived not only didn’t occur, but something else completely different happened."
“Its definitely strange Misato,” Kaji answered. “What did that letter say?”
“That there had been an accident of some sorts and that the group of us were to stay here until further notice for the safety of the program.”
“Well they could have picked a worse location,” Kaji remarked with a smirk.
“True,” Misato responded, “very true.”