PART I - TRAVEL
I arrived in Kansas City at 12:25am, and immediately received a text stating: “Welcome to Kansas City. Collect your belongings and prepare to exit the airport. Tell us the number on the closest pillar outside, and a white Hummer will collect you shortly.” I made my way outside, texted the pillar number, and a white hummer showed up quickly. I quickly got in, and the driver immediately took off without acknowledging me at all. She had blonde hair tied into a bun and was wearing a sparkly black dress. I was just embracing the spooky mysterious vibes at first and matching her energy, so I didn’t ask her name or anything… and then it became one of those moments where too much time has passed and it would be too awkward to do at this point lol. But because she never confirmed who I was (like how Ubers do when you get in), I started having the thought that I definitely could’ve gotten into the wrong car accidentally and been kidnapped by the wrong kidnapper lmao… wouldn’t that have been ironic?
The entire (40 minute?) car ride was spent in silence— no talking, no music. However, the weather couldn’t have been suited for the vibes, because the lightning storm and rain were INTENSE. I honestly felt bad for her because I really don’t know how she could see where she was going. It was definitely a very scary car ride, but not even for the reason they were intending.
I was trying to look around for anything noteworthy inside of the car, but it was really dark and impossible to see. My mind started to wander again, and I wondered if there was something or even someone hiding behind me in the trunk. I tried to discreetly sneak glances when I could, but all I could see in the darkness was a big blanket (like one of the ones you would use for moving), a couple of bottles of unknown chemicals (?), and for sure a carton of eggs. Not sure of the relevance there, as eggs aren’t dairy, but it’s such an odd thing to be in the trunk of a car, so I was sure to make note of it.
We pulled up to the hotel around 1:30am, and she, again, said nothing- just unlocked the doors. So I meandered over to the front desk and told the employee that “I think I’m checking in,” to which he appropriately responded, “you… think?” “Yeah, I think someone got me a room here. I’m on a … trip” (I truthfully almost called it a work trip just to make things a little less weird, but i’m not a good liar so I stopped myself lmao). He was able to pull up my name and handed me the keys. I entered the room apprehensively, not sure what to expect– and much to my surprise, there were gifts laid out on the bed, including champagne and a jacuzzi tub??? in the room??? I knew from the texts and the driver that we probably weren't dealing with Recurves here, but the hotel definitely solidified that suspicion. In addition to the gifts, there was also writing on the bathroom mirror in red lipstick: “we’ll be seeing you soon… xx sleep well.” Of course, y’all know me by now, I just immediately started panicking because how the fuck am I supposed to go to sleep without any indication of what time to be wake up or be ready by??? So I texted them for confirmation, showered, put on some Dateline for ambiance, and then tried to get some sleep.
PART II - A BAR, A CONTRACT, AND A GAME OF POOL
The next morning, I did my makeup, got dressed, and then waited for them to give me instructions. At about 11:15am, I received a knock on my door and it was none other than the Dairy King himself, telling me I had 5 minutes to get my stuff together and meet him outside. I obviously didn’t need the 5 minutes because I had been sitting on the edge of the bed like an eager school child since 9am, but I grabbed my backpack and my film camera and headed out. Before leaving, he quickly took my picture with the infamous polaroid camera (honored, truly).
Outside of the hotel was a black SUV, and the dairy king was armed and ready with his camcorder as I walked up (I did have to tell him his lens cap was on though lol). The driver was a girl with red hair (why does everyone have red hair?? I feel like this is more than a coincidence at this point), and next to me in the back was a woman we haven’t seen before. She was a stunning black woman wearing all black except for her high heels which were covered in rhinestones. I didn’t ask her right away, but I eventually learned that her name is Madison. She asked if it was my first time in Kansas, to which I said yes. She didn’t seem to understand why I would ever fly to Kansas of all places to do this shit. I told her I honestly didn’t know what I was here to do, but I got sent a plane ticket so I got on the plane.
She then asked “do you feel relevant now? Because you are. Now, when we get to this dive, keep your mouth shut and don’t embarrass us. Yes ma’am, understood 
The remainder of the drive was spent with Milkman pointing his camcorder at me and lots of polka music. Oh, and of course he pulled out an entire gallon of milk to take some sips from, duh. We pulled up to a little bar shortly after. Milkman went to open the door for Madison, but she told him that was my job– so I held the door open for both of them, obviously. I just do as I’m told, I don’t mind. Upon entering, I immediately spotted Morgan and Darren at the bar. My eyes then swept across the rest of the establishment, and I saw Dorothea and Pia sitting at a table with Lily standing behind them. I smile at Darren and Morgan as we walk by, and then Madison and I take a seat across from Dorothea and Pia. Darren eventually ends up sitting at the end of the table in between Madison and Dorothea, and Morgan mainly stays at the bar while Milkman walks around with his camera. Someone (I think Morgan or Darren, I’m honestly not sure lmao too much was happening and I was looking the other direction) slams a shot glass in front of me and tells me to drink it.
Y’ALL — it’s insane how alllllll of the warnings and personal decisions to not eat or drink anything I’m given goes IMMEDIATELY out the window the second I’m told to drink it. I didn’t even second guess it or try to politely give a “no thanks i’m good” lmao I just slammed that shit like a whisky aficionado. And for me (someone who really doesn’t drink, and when I do it’s something fruity and bubbly and tastes the least like alcohol humanly possible), this shit was stroooong, and it was a big shot (again, I say TO ME— because I can already hear Morgan and DLB laughing at me). So I slam that shit and suddenly all I can think about is how my fucking throat is burning and my eyes are watering and how I’m a dumbass for not even hesitating or looking at who the fuck handed me the drink before pounding it. Needless to say, being the lightweight I am (and the fact that this shot was taken on an empty stomach), it went straight to my head. I, hand to god, was feeling a buzz from this one shot. Which is… pathetic, I’m aware lmao.
Now, I don’t know if it was the whisky, the adrenaline, or just the talk of contractual obligations, but this conversation is unfortunately the fuzziest part of the day for me. I’m seriously hoping that Pia remembers more of it than I do because I know it was important, but to be faaaair a little over 12 hours prior I was in LA and now I’m in a dive bar in Kansas with DLB, Morgan, Milkman, Dorothea, Lily, and Madison– it was a lot to take in!! BUT I will do my best to relay the general info of this meeting. It was clear immediately that things were contentious and divided between the Redcurves and the elites who, for whatever reason, brought Pia and I as witnesses for the respective sides. Darren seemed to be frustrated and exhausted of the entire thing, just wanting it to be over with. I'm going to do the details I remember from this conversation in bullet points because I think that will be easier:
- There was no need for introductions or small talk. It was clear that Madison and the Redcurves knew each other, and have a long history together.
- Dorothea seemed emotional that it was Madison specifically. It gave a vibe that maybe Madison had done something hurtful to him in the past, and now they had the audacity to send her to complete the contract. He called it "disrespectful."
- She asked him if her skin color was an issue to him, and he scoffed at that and said "we all bleed red."
- Throughout the process, Dorothea seemed to rely on Lily to help him with thinking of words he was meaning to say or where to sign on the contract, etc. It's clear that Lily is his "right hand man" and helps him out a ton.
- Madison mentioned something about their agreements being made in "shadow and light"
- The contract was brought out, and everyone had to sign. Pia and I signed as witnesses. Everyone also had to say "bear witness" to Milkman's camera as further proof.
- Darren did slip the contract closer to me at one point, and all I could make out from it was that the title mentioned something about land ownership and blood rites.
- When the contract was finalized, Dorothea wanted to celebrate the "Redcurve way" which was someone revving a motorcycle inside of the bar really really loud and cheering, which was hilarious.
It was then decided that they would do a “fun” little wager— me on behalf of The Elites, and Pia on behalf of the Redcurves. It was game of pool, and the agreed upon wager was that if the Redcurves won, their witch would be released, and if the elites won, Madison suggested that Cletums should get “bled out.” Obviously, alarm bells immediately rang because I guuuuess i’m team Elites (bc of my loyalty to opie, being assigned to Dymuntz, and they brought me on behalf of them), but we all also know I’m actually “team friendship,” and it’s not very friendly to play a game of pool where if I win, someone dies??? I haven’t met Cletums, but he seemed cool
I’m not trying to be the reason he dies. Dorothea, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem offering up his son. He mentioned him being a fuck up and not being there. Pia had never played a game of pool, and I don't consider myself good at pool by any means, but I've definitely played my fair share of games. Our respective sides were helping give us tips, etc. throughout the entire game... but it was cleeeear that we were gonna be there a while lol. At the start of the game, Darren pulled me aside and told me I needed to initial at the bottom of each page of the contract. I figured this was my opportunity to try and read little bits and pieces quickly, so I was taking my time. The only words I could pull out other than the title being something to do with land ownership and blood rites, were "occult," and something about "hallow's eve" I think??? There was seriously so much. But as I was skimming, Darren told me to just sign it, and I agreed. In my defense, Darren, I trust you and I always have. Signing something you've given me in the past has never done me wrong before, so I trusted that you wouldn't hand me something that would harm me. I also consider Morgan to be my friend, and he was there as well. If you guys wanted me to sign something, I would sign it. You know that... and I'll touch on that later.
The pool table was in the back of the bar, alongside a bunch of arcade games. It was quarter operated, and Morgan dumped a ton of quarters into my hands and said "here, you'll need these." It was so many quarters that most of them just immediately fell to the ground. Not sure why i needed that many, but I left them on the table in the arcade (sorry Morgan lol). During the game, Dorothea and Lily were trying to fuck with me- he kept getting in my way and bumping into me, but I didn't mind. I thought it was funny. They did whisper and laugh at me a bunch of times though, which isn't particularly nice. At one point Dorothea said that Lily liked me, and she sniffed me closely. I honestly really like Lily- she's a little odd, but I immediately had a soft spot for her when I saw her. Some other things that happened while playing:
- Milkman brought his gallon of milk inside of the bar and started sipping on it. He nodded it towards me as a sort of offer, and I made a gesture that suggested honestly, maybe lol. I laughed and mentioned how that shot they gave me was stroooong. He laughed with me and asked me if I drank, to which I said not really.
- Milkman told me not to trust the Redcurves.
- Madison was giving me tips and reassuring me not to let Dorothea and Lily get to me. She also mentioned multiple times as a pep talk that "remember, even if you can't score- just try to fuck up her game."
- I was definitely trying to play, but I'm not sure if I was giving it my all, considering I knew in the back of my mind that Cletums life was on the line. But giving that Pia hadn't played before ever, I was at an advantage.
- Darren, at one point, walked up to me with his back towards every one else and whispered that "this was all an act" and that they were putting on a show for me.
- I asked Milkman, "are they really going to kill Cletums if I win?" and he said "what do you think?"
- I asked Dorothea where Cletums was today, and he mentioned that he loved his son but that he was fucking up.
- I can't remember what prompted it, maybe just to intimidate her, but Dorothea got very close to Madison, and Milkman stepped in between them and got in Dorothea's face. It's clear that Milkman answers to Madison and is there, in at least some capacity, to protect her.
- Milkman handed Darren the polaroid camera, and told him to "take pictures" in demanding way. Darren took the camera, and then threw it against a chair.
While being in the bar, I'm pretty sure that every side told me not to trust the other. I'm being pulled in every direction. I'm sure that they all know that I'm an easy target to persuade because of my empathy. I guess, they did warn that vulnerability is dangerous, and I'm learning that quickly.
Madison told me multiple times not to worry about losing because they "have plenty of witches," and she truly didn't seem overly concerned that they lost that one. I opened the door for them as we left, and Madison told Milkman to get the car. She actually called him Milkman, so I questioned her if he had a name or if she really calls him that too, and she said yes she calls him Milkman. We all got back into the black SUV and started driving.
PART III - THE DAIRY KING
We didn't make it very far before we pulled into the parking lot of a Dairy Queen, and the Dairy King got out. He got a red dipped cone and proceeded to walk around the outside of the car and aggressively eat it. We all sat in silence listening to the polka music while watching him outside of the car almost inhaling the cone. I asked Madison, "what's with the music?" and she said "what? you don't like polka music? what the fuck is wrong with you?" I told her I didn't mind it, was just curious because it's a unique choice. She looked around and scoffed at the sight of the town and said "it should've been Rome." Madison was getting frustrated with being there and called him back into the car, where he finished the last bit of his ice cream cone. That poor man... the speed in which he ate that whole thing was insane. We began driving again, so he handed me a hood and told me "put it on and don't fucking move."
TO BE CONTINUED...
(Going to post this as is because it's really long, and then finish typing up the last part right now.)
