The Criterion Apocalypse

Benji and Molly entered the stairway of the derelict apartment complex known in the town as, "Circuit City" to meet their contact. It was a place popular for media dealings, those uninvolved in the business seldom showed their faces from the depressing rooms they lived in. The rest of the locals dealt with the desperate visitors attempting to buy highly sought-after items from the degenerate merchants selling them at exuberant prices.

At night, these buildings became highly susceptible to crime, mostly from the fully-armed collectors that scampered through like moths to a light bulb. 

Molly's contact would introduce her and her girlfriend to a reputable dealer in the top suite level of the building. He was said to hold some extremely valuable merchandise they couldn't leave without. He was also said to pack enough protection from anyone trying to double cross him.

Benji started humming louder through the beaten-down spiral staircase hall. She noticed vegetation growing through the seams of the concrete floors, cobwebs nestled through the dimly lit flickering lights. Below them, an old rat nests in bunches of trash that smelled nauseating.

"Dun-Dunun-nun Dun-Dunun-nun..."

"Would you shut up, Benji?" Molly snapped "I know you're humming that Han Zimmer score again. Now's not the time for joking"

"I'm just saying, this is a pretty dramatic situation"

"Yes, It's intense. I know that, but we're safe"

"You sure?" Benji said rolling her eyes.

Molly nodded her head. "Yes. Of course. Don't worry. I'll keep you safe just do me a favor...".

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just hold that tongue of yours until we get there. Don't know how sketch the dealer is, all I'm saying is be on your toes for this one.".

"So, who we meeting first?"

"A friend."

"Is it a girl?"

"No. Just a guy"

The both of them nervously paced around rising higher to the dark side of the staircase. Benji reacted to every little sound she heard in the dark.

The little rat footsteps startled her much worse. Most of the rooms in the building looked abandoned too, except a few of them with occupants lounging around by their doors holding clubs. They stared up and down towards any stranger they hadn't met and usually challenged them.

Benji was 21-years-old, she had been by Molly's side for a great duration of her life, but she was too young to remember the days before the Power Grid shut down and when the DNS servers were attacked. She had no nostalgic fondness for old films, though she often enjoyed their stories through second-hand accounts from her older neighbors.

Molly could easily tell Benji's discomfort through the many tics she displayed under stressful situations. Benji would wrinkle her nose or clear her throat when she was nervous. She'd twirl her long platinum hair that fell down to her lower back. Her freckled face would also twitch.

Molly enjoyed the way Benji dressed in eccentric fashionable clothes. She'd often find them abandoned on the streets.

Molly was 26-years-old and contrary in terms of style and demeanor to Benji, she wore heavy combat boots that were usually dirty covered in grass stains or mud, an army-green jacket filled with Movie pins. She'd also keep her favorite combat knife tucked in its secret pocket. Her hair was a mess of dirty blonde dreadlocks that she'd shave away with her knife when it grew too long.

After several misroutes in shady hallways, Molly lead ahead guiding Benji to the right location. "C'mon, don't get left behind".

Benji stood gawking at articles of dirty clothing left by the side of the stairways. "Ooo, I like this one."

"Crap-Shit-Damn!" Benji muttered leaning backwards stiff against the walls. A large rat had ran from the trash pile between her feet.

"Alright, calm down Benji"

"I just saw freakin'... Ratatouille!". 

"Don't freak out too much" Molly returned back to Benji and comforted her by rubbing her shoulders.

"Thank you...This whole place just gives me the creeps".

"I know, baby. We're close though and we need to Yippie-Ki-Yay this thing and get the hell out of here".

Molly continued on and heard her friend Leroy whistling the theme to "Kill Bill" nearby, he had been patiently waiting for them by the top step of the stairway.

"Aye, There she is!" He quickly got up to Molly and extended his fist out. "Pound it!"

Molly smiled.

"C'mon, don't leave me hanging"

She fist-bumped him while imitating an explosion sound. "C'mere you, almost didn't recognize you". She hugged him tightly.

"I know! New haircut. You like?" I'm glad you made it!"

"Oh, it's so good to see you, dude. You still running with that group of losers in those motorcycle hand-me-downs".

"Uh, Molly. Those losers are my cousins" he laughed. "But yes, yes I am".

Benji stood behind her awkwardly waiting to be introduced.

"Oh! This is Benji. I told you about her".

Leroy extended his hand out to shake Benji's hand, "Hey. It's a Pleasure."

"Hi..." Benji forced a smile and extended her fist out accidentally. Then quickly opened her hand to shake his instead. 

Molly smile raised an eyebrow noticing her awkwardness. Then continued chatting with Leroy while Benji hurriedly followed behind passing by a hallway riddled in colorful graffiti of popular 20th century A-list actors.

Benji reached inside her purse to make sure the hadn't forgotten the wad of cash.

They continued turning the corner, inspecting the numbers of the rooms.   

"So how far is this old dude anyways? "

"Just a little further around the corner. Room 1408"

"Ah, poetic" Molly said, "If any creepy shit happens, at least it's the appropriate room number."

Leroy laughed. "Man, I forgot how much of a movie buff you are. Anyways, this isn't the dealers house, it's just where we'll be safe."

They finally made their way over to the room and Leroy knocked three times. An elderly man answered the door. He didn't bother greeting and walked over to his kitchen to finish his cooking. He had an old cowboy hat on and a red robe, looked like he could handle his own in a fight if he wanted to. Molly and Benji learned this wasn't the location for the dealer there. It was rather a neutral area to make their exchange. The old man had filthy couches in his waiting room, old wrinkled up movie posters decorated the walls of Clint Eastwood flicks. The whole room smelled like blood sausage and piss.  

Benji held her nose for a while before Molly gave her the death stare.

"Stop..."

Benji lowered her hand from her face then sat on the corner of one of the recliners, cupping her kneecaps and pressing them together uncomfortably. She looked around the room and noticed the old man's parrot hovering out of his cage.

"Squawk. Feelin' Lucky, Punk."

"Yeah, old man's cool" Leroy whispered before sitting down on one of the longer couches with Molly.

"So when's our guy coming?" Molly said. 

"In a few"

Molly reached to explore Leroy's long denim jacket, exploring the many Stanley Kubrick patches accessorized around the chest and backside. They swapped nostalgic stories while Benji quietly sat trying to get the attention of the parrot.

"Psst Psst" 

The old man while batching up his meal, flipping the eggs sizzling in the pan. He turned annoyed to Benji in the corner. "Leave Harry alone!"

"Oh... Sorry"

Five minutes later, an ensemble of consecutive quick knocks is heard.

"I got it", Leroy rushed to open the door. 

There, the dealer showed up with his friend. Leroy and him shared a very intricate handshake. The dealer had long dark brown hair and sunglasses. He looked like he was in his early 30s, with streaks of grey on his sides but a young face.

He lifted the suitcase handcuffed to his wrist and slammed it on the coffee table. "Let's get this party started!" he said in his noisy voice distracting the old man eating quietly in his dining room. 

He looked at Molly and Benji up and down but lingered on Benji's a little longer and winked.

Molly scowled at the dealer invasively staring.

The dealer unlocked the handcuffs and opened the suitcase showing off his folder case." So, what can I do you two lovelies for? A couple of Rom-Coms? Some Disney movies like you chicks seem to enjoy so much. Me and Leroy go way back so, I'm going to give you guys a good price here.". 

"We are actually just looking for a copy of Brian Del Palma's Scarface" Molly said bluntly. Benji stood besides her, trying to get a peek inside the suitcase. 

'I got ripped CDs too. Some cassettes, I got a few Blu Rays. Some movie guides and magazines. A few scripts if you're into that. I know a guy whose got a projector if you want some pre-built movies. You said Scarface. I ain't got that. So what else you buyin'? 

Molly became irate.

"Uh, any good comedies" Benji quickly interrupted.

"I got plenty"

"Any Wes Anderson?" Benji asked excitedly.

"Ha. She said Wes Anderson"

"So that's a no then?" Benji rolled her eyes.

The Dealer sighed. "Look, I got some early 2000s flicks, mostly Frat-Pack, some Adam Sandlers. You're not going to find some artsy independent bullshit movie in this state, you'll need to go out to Utah for that shit. But, I didn't come across town to sell some broke bitches one DVD. A mans go to eat so you need to respect my niche services. Buy a couple of these, pay the delivery fee or we're going to have a big problem"

"You serious Leroy?" Molly looked disgruntled turning to her friend who looked disappointed and awe struck from the dealers behavior.

"Look bro, I told you we're not jerking you around. They'll pay a good price for the movie they requested first then we can look at the rest.".

"I don't know what you're talking about, L"

"Another lost cause" Molly shook her head and groaned reaching to her jacket pockets.

"Hey! Hey!" The dealer said stepping back and quickly reached to the back of his pants to pull out the rusted machetes from their sheaths.

Benji started to blink aggressively shaking nervously and rubbing the back of her neck.

"Crap-shit-Damn!" She blurted.

"Yo, what the hell is up with her" the dealer laughed and pointed at Benji whose tics began to flare up. Is she re-"

Molly finally pulled out a large combat knife.

"Last words out of your mouth better be- "

Leroy interrupted her in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Ok, Ok, Guys. Please. Let's chill for a minute". 

"Sorry Leroy but, I didn't come this far out for scraps. Theres a minimum!"

The old man cocked a double-barreled shotgun and pointed it at the dealer.

"Alright, listen here you long haired-prick. You know the rules. I'm only going to say this once, you grab your junk and get out of this apartment. But, I better see you walk down that street in five minutes, or we and the neighbors are gonna recreate the ending scene of The Godfather and get you nice and perforated".

The dealer and his friend carefully walked backwards towards the doorway closing his suitcase with disc case holders and his thin DVD player inside.

"Wait! Do you at least know with whom I can find with a copy?", Molly said to the dealer as he's exiting. She pulled out a bill. I'll pay for the info.

He laughed. "Why don't you Suck...My..." 

Molly slammed the door to his forehead. The Dealer banged on the door cursing out a storm before ultimately heading out.

"Can you just ask if he knows someone" Benji whispered. "There's like two dealers in this entire state"

"We'll pay double". Molly pleaded.

Leroy rushed outside of the door to the exit on the first floor to catch the dealer before they left. The old man stared outside of the window to ensure they had departed as promised. 

After affirming this he looked over to Benji and Molly.

"Be careful out there, girls. It's a dog-eat-dog world and that box cutter isn't going to save your behind. If you're looking for amenities in the end of the world. You'll need to prepare to kill for it".

The parrot flew over to the top of Benjis head.

"Squawk. Go ahead. Squawk. Make my day".

Benji laughed cutting the tension. They thanked the old man and made their way to the exit back down to the first floor where Leroy looked disappointed.

"He doesn't know"

"Leroy, I'm never going to trust your contacts again" Molly said. "What a waste of time. Damn hoarders in the world, in all my years alive I haven't seen so much as a copy of a Hitchcock, Scorsese, Tarrantino. I'll never find that movie. Maybe I imagined it ever existed."

Leroy sighed, "Look, I've known the guy for years when I rolled with the pirating gang. He's changed though. This end of the world shit finally caught up to him"

"He's still in the gang? Benji asked. 

"He has ties". 

"They're bound to know something about that copy then" said Molly.

All three walk over to their bicycles hidden in the untamed bushes on the side of the building. They hear the howling of wolves begin as dusk settles in. Leroy had a customized motorcycle-bike, he painted black and neon blue to look like the motorcycle from Tron Legacy. He pedaled off ahead of Molly and Benji who had modified electric bikes they had customized with Star Wars stickers.

"So whys this movie mean so much to you" Leroy said riding along them. 

"It's a long story"

"Give me the short version".

"Well", she sighs. - before the Grid blew up. I've watched it every weekend with my dad growing up. It's the last good memory I have before the world went to shit. Before he died joining the soldiers trying to protect the internet. But, I'm not special, we've all lost someone special in the War".

Who would have thought, we'd be killing each other for a slice of entertainment". Leroy laughed. "Instead of food or shelter or water, which we have in abundance. Nobody could have ever predicted we'd be so desperate to have some culture back in our lives".

"It's like a bad dream. I just want to wake up to a normal world again". Said Molly.

"I second that."

"You know I have owned the same few stupid movies for almost ten years now. They don't have any meaning to me anymore. Nobody bothers to trade anymore. We're all just afraid of damaging them these days..."

"Do you ever think about normal life before the wars?"

"Nah. Not that it wasn't great, I'm sure it was. I just don't remember it that well. My life, as a kid, was movies, soccer practice and hanging out with dad. I was too young to realize the infrastructure we had. Living to pay bills."

"Yeah, I remember a few things from that era too".

"What about the internet, were you connected?"

"Ohhh yeah I was 12 when it was still functioning. The vastness of information at your fingertips, millions of movies and music and information compiled in a span of a few seconds search. Then the Grid fell and took all that away... So many millions died to protect our data networks before the DNS servers and the cloud was destroyed. In the end all that remained was the old tech before the Digital Boom. That old lifestyle of worshipping celebrities and music it's now gone but it lives in our memories."

"This is how people lived before the Lumière brothers invented the moving picture projection", Molly sighed "Pure pandemonium".

"Damn! You two are going to make me cry!"

Benji yelled sarcastically trailing behind on her bike listening in the conversation.

"Real funny, Benji". "Y'know, I was ready to gut that punk" Molly said turning to Leroy.

He turned his front wheel sideways to the gravel and released his foot to break. Molly and Benji stopped as well.

"Molly, I know you can handle your own. But, please dont get riled up and risk your life for a movie"

"Oh, c'mon. Did we not storm the old antique store, a few months back nearly killing each other from those Raiders up North. For some stupid records and an old history documentary?."

Leroy laughed "Good point. I'm just saying nothing's wrong with good mental health. I want you to be safe". He pointed his fist and extended it out.

Molly fist bumped and waved him as he rode his bike to the other direction of the road. 

Molly and Benji continued to ride together where they sped pass packs of feral dogs chasing them and a few people driving old rusted cars. They rode pass abandoned highways several miles out to their home in an abandoned library. Their community had grown crops, farm animals, chicken coop and access to water and generators for energy.  

Molly and Benji huddled together in their bedroom next to the piles of reading material.

"You think those pirates could get us any Al Pacino movies at all?" Molly said stroking the palm of Benjis open hand.

"Oh, you are stubborn".

Molly yawned and dozed off. "Just saying, they should have the biggest movie of the freakin' 80s" she whispered. "I think the Criterion Collection re-released it a dozen times... Anyways, you going to bed soon?"

Benji gave her a thumbs up and reached for the combat knife inside her jacket pockets. She placed it onto the bed-stand and nestled besides her.

"Ok, Roger Ebert..." Molly smiled and shut her eyes.

Benji whispered into Molly's ear. "We'll give em hell tomorrow"