Sharon Himmanen sat at the table plugging away on The Guy (her laptop, you dirty-minded people, her laptop). "Come look at this!" She called out to the other Natpackers.
"What?" Alora looked up from the candles she was toying with at the other end of the table.
Amy put her book down and carefully standing, she reached for her glass and groped her way to Sharon's chair. "Wow!" She squinted, leaning in with her nose pressing against the screen, "That's really <hiccup> great!"
Sharon Bhandari walked slowly toward the computer, squinting and holding onto furniture. Like most Natpackers, without her glasses she was in bad shape.
Sharon H. moved the mouse to the center of the picture of Nick she had put on her web page, the arrow turned into a boxing glove and she double-clicked. The nice, clean (some might even say attractive) picture of Nick disappeared and was replaced by a picture of Nick with a black eye.
"Oh <hiccup> I want to try!" Amy bounced unsteadily. Leaning in front of Sharon she double-clicked on Nick's face and his picture reloaded, this time with a bloody nose as well.
Sharon H. smiled, "Took me all afternoon to get it. Keep clicking and it beats that lying, blood-sucking, impotent rodent into a bloody pulp!"
"Very cool." Alora giggled, "Just don't let Pod see that."
"Yeah," Sharon B. added, "she might not think it's very funny. Can I try?"
"Knock yourself out!" Sharon H. stood up and let her fellow NatPackers take turns pounding on Nick, while Amy blindly felt her way back to the couch.
"What time are we eating?" Alora asked, returning to her candles.
Sharon H. poured herself another cup of coffee and said, "There's food in the fridge. But we're all gonna eat when the 'Shoppers' return."
Sharon B. squinted at the computer screen, "I hope they hurry up. I've been in these clothes for far too long." She clicked again and giggled as Sharon's new toy gave Nick a fat lip. "And some new glasses and contacts would be helpful, too."
"No kidding," Amy agreed, "My shins <hiccup> are all banged up from running into the furniture."
Alora rested her chin on the table as she watched the flame melt away the wax on the candle. "I can't believe those parasites stole our luggage! I had everything out of my dorm room in there. Everything that I took to school with me! Gone! It was all supposed to go back to California with me after we leave Toronto." She blew out the candle and pulled out a new lighter to re-light it, "And if I see anybody walking around in my Forever Knight jacket, I'm gonna rip it off their body! I don't care who it is!"
Her head burried in the fridge, Sharon H. said, "Well, Alora, it shouldn't be too hard to spot somebody walking around in an oversized jean jacket with a bright sunset and the show's logo painted on the back."
"And it has 'Cult of Skinner' painted on it, too." Sharon B. added absently as she continued virtually beating up Nick.
"Don't forget the 'Natpacker' embroidered on the front pocket!" Alora whined, then panicked. "Ack! You don't think someone would rip the embroidery out and put their own affiliation on there, do you?!"
Sharon B. looked up from the computer and tried to sound convincing, "No, I'm sure nobody would do that."
Alora dropped her forehead to the table top, "Yes they would!!! Damn Mercs! If my little sister had anything to do with this she is gonna be in so much trouble! I don't care if she was only following orders or not!"
Sharon H. said, "You can always make another jacket, Alora."
Amy wobbled as she tried to stand. "I'm hungry." <hiccup>
"I thought you were drinking your lunch," Sharon H. grumbled from the coffee pot.
"Sit down, Amy," Alora said, "I'll get you something. You'll only hurt yourself." Alora stood to raid the refrigerator. "Not bad 'nuff they steal my precious jacket they have to take all of our glasses and contacts, too," she bitched, squinting as she walked into the kitchen.
Stopping at the sound of a <clank> from the back, Alora asked, "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," Sharon H. answered as she peered around the corner and down the hall.
Amy leaned over the back of the couch, and managed to ask: "Do you smell that?" before she promptly proceeded to pass out.
Sharon H. turned to see Alora lying in a heap on the kitchen floor and Sharon B. collapsed in the chair. She managed to quickly (and thankfully!) blow out the candles before she too slumped over the end of the table, right next to The Guy.
Upon returning to the NatPack Hostel after an afternoon of trying to replace the articles stolen by the merciless Mercs, the Shoppers discover their fellow NatPackers have had a rough day.
"Sharon," Linda nudged her gently, to no avail.
Lynn walked over to Alora, who was on the kitchen floor and seemed to be mumbling (or is that singing?) in her sleep. "Alora!"
Alora's eyes struggled open, but she didn't move.
Lynn stood over her. "Alora? Are you all right? What happened?" She offered a hand, which Alora took and slowly regained her footing.
"I dunno."
Betsy shook Sharon B. by the shoulder, trying to wake her without knocking her out of her chair. "Sharon! Wake up!" She moaned as her eyes fluttered open.
Sharon H. groaned and the other Natpackers looked over at her. She sat up slowly and looked around, noticing Amy still suspended over the back of the sofa. "Gas," she said at the looks of confusion on the faces of her fellow Natpackers. "And I bet it was that damn vampire!"
"Gas?" Lynn looked at Alora (who looked like she'd just been hit by a truck).
Alora just shrugged, "Why? Unless they were looking for Nat?"
"Amy!" Kelly rolled her over onto the seat. "Wake up!" She shook her shoulder for several seconds before giving up. "That gin," Kelly grumbled before turning back to the others. "Forget it, she's down for the count. Let's check and see if there's any damage."
The women split up, taking with them whatever blunt objects they could find (never know when someone else decides to stop by and gas a house full of Natpackers). Several minutes later Lynn yelled from the back of the house, "Come here!"
"What?"
"Look! Our dirty laundry is missing!" Lynn didn't know whether to be disgusted or grateful.
"Laundry?" Mei looked around, "Why couldn't they take the dirty dishes instead?"
Betsy groaned, "Great. It wasn't bad enough they took all of our clean clothes? They had to steal the dirty ones too?"
Jaime looked around the laundry room quickly and noticed the pile of towels on the floor. "But not even all of the laundry. It looks like they just took the socks!"
"Blackmarket, dirty socks: Next on Geraldo!" Kelly deadpanned as she turned and headed back down the hall.
"I think I need an aspirin," Valerie groaned.
"I bet Nick did this!" Sharon H. seethed on her way back to the kitchen.
"It's broad daylight, Sharon." Leslie tried to reason.
"Then he hired a Merc! Either way, I know he's responsible for this!" Sharon returned to The Guy. "Let's see how much more damage I can do," she booted up Nick's picture again...