The next day Marvin went out for some grocery shopping. The last days had been so incredibly dazzling that the normal course of things had been completely shattered. Since the beginning of the events Angie and him had neglected to buy food or to actually care for any practicality. And since their fridge was beginning to turn empty, Marvin had been dispatched for an important mission.
But when he arrived in front of the usual grocery store, he found the metal shutters pulled down. The store was apparently closed. Yet it was Saturday morning, it should have been open. Strange, thought Marvin walking further.
He went to another store, but this one was closed too. What a pain… With a pregnant wife waiting for him at home, he couldn't afford to get back without any supplies.
Trying to find a place where he could find some food, paying more attention along his way, he noticed that most of the shops, restaurants, drugstores, were shut down. The trash was visibly not collected. But the streets weren't empty, though. There were people here and there — quite a lot of them actually — hanging around, but everything was closed. Putting two and two together, Marvin started to understand that in case of an alien invasion, probably most of the people wouldn't care to go take their jobs. So nothing was running properly anymore.
He finally arrived in front of a supermarket. It was closed too, but people had actually broken the metal curtains. Shattered glass from the windows was spread all over the place.
People were getting inside the supermarket without any fear of getting caught. Nobody was caring to stop them anyway. So they were jumping inside, stealing or taking for free, getting out with as many free items they could possibly grab.
Marvin got inside too, carefully avoiding the broken pieces of glass all over the floor. He noticed that the people around him were not the same kind as the troublemakers who were burning cars for fun the previous night. These ones were not thugs, just regular people. Fathers and mothers, youngsters and elders, people who until a few days ago were decent and respectful persons. People who were polite. People who always waited for the green light when crossing a street. They were now experiencing a kind of dull freedom they'd never expected before. They were enjoying the short-lived thrill of the absence of rules and of the momentary abundance of free stuff.
Momentary abundance, that's right, thought Marvin. It won't last. The shelves were almost empty already. What will happen after everything is looted ? Where will it be possible to still get supplies? Marvin managed to find a couple of cup noodles forgotten on a shelf. He also got some not too good-looking fruits, and a tiny piece of cheese. Before leaving, he walked towards the animals department and grabbed a bag of dry cat food.
Then he walked straight to the checkout. While everyone around was rushing out with their looted merchandise, Marvin took out his wallet, and although there was no cashier at all to check on him, he registered the things he took on an automatic machine. A man with his arms full of goods saw him paying and started laughing:
"Hey man! Don't you know they're coming ? It's the alien apocalypse, are you mad? No one has to pay for anything anymore. It's doomsday!"
Marvin paid the amount due and put his credit card back in his wallet.
" If it's doomsday, why do you care to keep your money ?"
When he arrived back home, he started apologizing:
"Hey babe, I'm home! Sorry, I couldn't find much… People have gone completely…"
"Sssshhh! Don't speak too loud."
"Why? What's going on?"
"It's Fluffy. She doesn't want to be disturbed."
"Where is she?"
"On the balcony."
The cat was sitting on top of the railing, turning her back on them. She was silently watching outside the city's high towers. Only her tail was waving a bit.
"What is she doing?"
"She's trying to focus."
"Focus on what?"
"Ssshhh! She said we should not disturb her. She's trying to reestablish contact with her space crew…"
Fluffy was profoundly meditating. Her two eyes were closed now, as she was trying to open the inner eye of the mind, her spiritual vision which transcends space and time. The ears were attentive, scouting the skies. If not for her fluff, slowly waving in the wind, and a slight quiver that was agitating her whiskers from time to time, she would have appeared as still as a statue. This lasted for quite a long time. Now in the warm sun of the early afternoon her fur seemed to shine brighter, from the usual dark silver to a luminous polar grey. Marvin and Angie couldn't say for sure but it seemed to them that she was almost glowing.
"Oh, my kitty!" whispered Angie. "Look at you! You're gorgeous!
"Don't disturb!" intervened Marvin.
"It's fine." said Fluffy, and she jumped down the railing and came back in the living room.
"So? Did you manage something?"
"No. I can't seem to find them. Probably their amplifying system is down."
"That's a bummer…"
"Yes, indeed. It's impossible to reach them, so we can't communicate anymore. They don't receive my orders. I must find another way."
"You'll do it! You're a powerful being, aren't you ?"
"Yeah, whatever. We'll have to find this Gropius guy you met the other day."
"Really? Why?"
"Because they have certainly locked him by error as the target for their communication. Apparently they are still able to send messages, but their orientation system is malfunctioning. If they send a message addressed to us, it will be he, Gropius, who'll receive it. Maybe he already knows something important. Or maybe he will receive a message later with all the relevant information. So we must find him."
"You mean, I'll have to find him?" asked Marvin.
"Correct."
"But why is it so important? I mean… What kind of information should he know ?"
"Well, they could, for instance, send him a location for an appointment."
"An appointment?"
"Yes. The plan is they eventually come down to Earth to take me and my general to the Fluffy galaxy."
"Wow, wow! Wait a minute!" started Marvin. "Nobody's taking our baby to any sort of galaxy…"
"We have no choice." answered Fluffy with a calm but firm voice.
"Is that true?" asked Angie. "You plan to take our baby away from us?
"I'm not going to take him away for good. But he has his own path, his own destiny to fulfil…"
"What destiny? He's not even born yet!"
"I know it can be a very unsettling for both of you. But you've got to trust me. We have no choice, we've got to save the Earth. Now let's see if we can get hold of Gropius…"