The humidity was thick as I walked into the Florida pharmacy and sat down. I had an appointment for my booster shot, yeah, I’m one of those who believe in immunizations. I sat down and grazed on a social media feed; I forget which one, and a man walked in. He was taller than most, but older than me. He looked to be about seventy, but in really great shape.
He looked around at the chairs. There was one person sitting alone in each set. He chose to plop into the empty chair next to me with a huff. He was wheezing, behind one of those baby blue surgical masks, and I nodded to greet him.
“How long you been waitin'?” He asked.
“Me, oh, for about ten minutes.”
“I need to get this fuckin’ shot, I just need to, I hope they hurry.” He said as his eyes darted around the room surveying.
For those who know me, know that people tend to open up to me, sometimes telling me things in their life I have no business knowing. I’m not sure if that is a skill set or a curse, so I had to ask this eye darting, what appeared to be, “crazy”, person, why he needed to get the booster, other than for extra protection.
“Why the hurry?” I pried.
“Look at this,” he said. He held his smart phone screen and showed me.
“What am I looking for?”
“That symbol on the top, do you see it?”
“5G?” I asked. I didn’t know. I was sitting in a pharmacy, in a state that some people sarcastically dub, “country” , and couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. Beads of sweat, despite the fucking air conditioning in the pharmacy, swelled on my forehead and dripped into my eyebrows. My patience with this slow-moving pharmacy made me want to scream and strangle this deranged fucker with his 5G. After the incident with the coughing masked man in the Aldi store in the last city, I really didn’t know what to expect from this guy, so I had my reasons to be angry and defensive. Where this conversation was heading, especially here in the south, was beyond any Twilight Zone episode.
“Exactly! That’s it, with this booster and this signal, do you know what this is going to do for me?” He asked.
“Give you extra COVID protection to your body, and a faster internet speed on your phone?”
“You’re one of those? You just don’t understand, do you, you people will NEVER understand!”
“Understand what?”
“I’m an indie artist, I have music that I’m selling, and this is my chance.” He said. His eyes darted faster as the pharmacy filled up with more people. His free hand jittered and shook.
“How is the booster and the 5G going to help? I’d like to know, I’m an indie writer.” My head was spinning and relishing in the world of overactive possibilities. If he had any answers, I needed to hear them.
“I’m going to be tracked by the 5G, and the booster is going to increase my advertisement potential.” The man said, “this will boost all my sales!”
I just stared at him, politely got up, and left the man sitting in his seat. His eyes furled in anger and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as I got up, my name was called for the shot. I walked in, was jabbed in the arm, and left. The deranged man’s eyes darting and targeting me each step that I walked to the front exit. Sunshine filled my eyes when I left the store. I lifted my Pixel, and you’ll never guess what I saw at the top of my phone, 5G.
This was the first time that I’d ever seen this signal. There’s a part of me that wants to believe the man’s fantasy was true. I guess only time will tell.
Tim Eagle is an author who lives full time, on the road, with his wife, Maria and their dog, Cocoa. He grew up in Michigan and is inspired by the dysfunction, insanity, and nepotism of rural America. His most current novella, Krae and The Vasectomus Trilogy are both available in e-Book and print. Find Tim Eagle at timeaglefiction.com or here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tim-Eagle/e/B004JOB5OS and on godless: https://godless.com/collections/vendors?q=Tim%20Eagle If you liked reading this, sign up on timeaglefiction.com and get alerted whenever something new is posted!
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