Abigail took the bingo card. "Thank you." It made no sense for him to give it to her without knowing the thing was throwing bingo stuff at them. "May I ask why you're giving me this in particular? I have a use for it, but... I'm curious."
Zeke shrugged, suddenly avoiding eye contact. "Everyone who works here gets some to give to guests. We have bingo every night, so we're supposed to give them out as prizes, gifts..." he trailed off for a bit and spoke in barely a whisper, "
to cheer some kids up, it's just company policy, y'know?" If his cheeks weren't already frozen blue and covered in fur, they would be a red deeper than his jacket.
"Anyways," she said, turning to leave, "I'll make sure you have some food, so that you don't fucking starve before we sort this shit out..."
His apprehension disappeared in the blink of an eye. "Thank you!" he shouted. He let out a sigh of relief. "What I wouldn't give for one of
Sevanna's Seviper Egg Soups." Something close to a smile creased his lips. "Sevanna's a really great lady. I was nervous my first day here, but she treated me for my lunch break and made me feel a lot better." He shook his head. "Sorry, forget that. Best of luck with the bingo card. See ya." Goodbye taken care of, he twirled around in his chair to continue reading his book. It had... pictures and—was he reading it backwards?
Abigail wasn't but a step or two out the door when the TV spoke up again. "Yes there fucking is someone in the shed! What, have I been talking to thin fucking air for the past few minutes? There is a Zangoose here and you cannot tell me otherwise!"
"No, I'm sorry, no," Elbert instantly responded.
"It is absolutely impossible for anyone else to be on that mountain with you."
As the group headed into the Soupery, the door jingled a bell. Warmth coated the restaurant like a blanket. A call came from the back of the restaurant, "Oh, are thothththth thththome cuthththtomerthth? I'll be right out!"
"Impossible, literally impossible, and we're talking quantum mechanics here!" Elbert continued.
"Any word from the ski lift operator? Is Zeke playing hookie? That ain't like the boy," shouted the Rillaboom Rentals loudspeaker.
"Palkia covered every square centimeter of the place before combining it into one place. There was nobody there, and nobody could have gotten in without—do you know how ridiculous you sound?"
A seviper slithered out from the back room and stopped at the counter. She glanced at each guest, sultry eye lingering on Palkia for... uncomfortably long. "Well hello. It'thth been rather quiet thithththth week. Name'th Ththththevanna. What can I get for you?"
"Do you have any idea what is impossible with quantum mechanics? Nothing! You can do absolutely anything with them, but even with those, there is no way that anyone but you all are on that mountain." Elbert sounded angry, yet an edge of fear floated underneath his voice.
