Page 53 - The Muse 2021

Lizzie always travelled in style. Her private jet was being remodeled, however, so she had to book a ferry ride at the last minute. She even booked out all of the seats around her so that no one would be able to sit near her. And although it may have cost a little extra fee, Lizzie was willing and able to pay off anything that came her way--not everyone received high monthly payments to dress up in luxury clothing and conversate with an ancient lizard like Lizzie did! She hadn’t anticipated how many tourists were still going to be on the boat. When she got onto the ferry, she wiped off her seat. She was terrified of getting lively germs all over her and her designer purse. She was Queen Elizabeth and demanded excellence.
Lizzie gracefully exited the germ-infested ferry and headed straight to the east wing of the mall. This wing housed the mall’s luxury brand stores and was filled with no one but divas who paid for overly expensive luxe items. Along with the materialism of it all, the view of the horizon and fellow dormant volcanoes aside, the Beauté Volcanique was the perfect picture. Lizzie had contempt for the tourists who came to the wing. They didn’t even have the money to buy the designer items and would just go for the picture-perfect views. The “mediocre” wing, as Lizzie preferred to call it, housed shops and department stores typical for a mall. I mean, who would ever want to go to a Bass Pro Shop? All the losers who have nothing to do with their lives except go fishing? Ew, Lizzie thought while cringing at the idea.
Lizzie had just gotten paid and made stops at both Stella McCartney and Louis Vuitton. She was exhilarated at showing off her new items. While Lizzie posted more pictures, she made her way to Gucci with her heavy bags in tow. While checking her Instagram, she noticed a small pool of red bubbling up through a crack in the ground in front of her. She thought it looked like lava. The mall began to rumble. There was a shaking and shriek coming from below. Lizzie screamed, yelling for help.
The crack in the ground widened and lava started to seep throughout the wing. Dropping her bags, she turned on her heels and ran away from the lava in front of her. She was headed towards the west side of the mall.
Panicked, Lizzie looked at the mall map. Which of these stores can help? Lush? No. Nike? No. Oh, maybe the Bass Pro Shop! They might have some raft gear or boats that they could spare for me, Lizzie thought.
Since the Bass Pro Shop was in the west wing of the mall, she had to hurry. Lizzie wanted to make sure that she was first in line for an exclusive raft to transport her back to the mainland safely, and again, without any gross strangers. After sweating up a storm, Lizzie finally arrived at the Bass Pro Shop.
“Do you have anything that could be used for me to escape this island...like a boat or something? Isn’t this some type of survival shop? Whatever. I need help. Are you willing to help me?” Lizzie asked the cashier as she was rumbling through the store's items to salvage some sort of raft.
The distraught and panicked man looked at her and put out his hand.
“The name’s Maxime. And yes, I can help you escape the volcano. As long as you don’t try stealing the store’s items, woman!” Maxime exclaimed sarcastically.
Lizzie squirmed as she put her hand out to shake Maxime’s; he was willing to help, so she was forced to embrace the hand shake.
She introduced herself. “Lizzie. And thanks, Maxime, but do you have some sort of plan?” she asked hesitantly. Maxime glanced at Lizzie for a moment.
“Yes. There’s a boat that’s owned by the Bass Pro Shop for deep sea fishing. My plan is to get as many people
onto the boat as possible and escape that way.”
Lizzie could only nod and followed Maxime, knowing he would keep her safe. He seemed like an avid survivalist.
From every corner of the mall, the loudspeakers exclaimed, “Evacuate! Evacuate! The volcano is predicted to erupt within the next fifteen minutes. Evacuate now!”
Maxime shouted, hurrying people to follow them to the head of the nature trail behind Beauté Volcanique and many began to gather around them. The trail was their saving grace that would lead them from atop the volcano down to the docks. Lizzie peered into the deserted path. It had recently rained, and the lush trail was littered with puddles and dead trees. The docks were a lengthy walk from where they were and there was no way she could remain stable in her high heels down that steep, slippery path. Lizzie looked down at her feet and knew that her Louboutins posed a problem. She couldn’t imagine trying to follow Maxime down the trail in them. She also knew that the heels would just slow her down. She couldn’t afford that since there was going to be a large, anxious group of people trailing behind her and Maxime, pushing their way to get off of the island.
In that moment, she threw them off. Lizzie cringed as she felt the muddy grass squish under her feet. It hurt to know that her beautiful shoes would be destroyed in the eruption. With Maxime in the lead, the group began their trek down the trail. The volcano grumbled and the group quickened its pace.
“My feet are killing me. This is so disgusting,” Lizzie whined to Maxime. I guess this outfit is going in the trash, she thought.
He snapped back at her that the volcano was erupting around them. Her cries were instantly put to a halt. 53