Chapter 2
O'HAIRE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
J.J. was sitting in one of the terminals. He, too, had seen the broadcast that Philip, Shawn-D and Belle saw. He was currently dialing the phone.
OPERATOR (over phone): The number you have dialed is inaccurate. Please hang up and try again. If you need help, please dial your operator.
J.J. hung up the phone and redialed.
OPERATOR (over phone): The number you have dialed is inaccurate. Please hang up and try again. If you need help, please dial your operator.
J.J.: No, it's not. I've dialed this number a hundred times. Why won't it work now?
J.J. hung up again and redialed.
OPERATOR (over phone): The number you have dialed is inaccurate...
J.J.: Shut up!
J.J. slammed his phone shut. Brady had been nearby and walked over.
BRADY: Hey, dude, what'd that phone do to you?
J.J. looked up.
J.J.: Oh, hey, Brady. I was trying to call my mom and Abby to ask if they'd seen this weird TV broadcast this afternoon, but my stupid phone keeps saying that the number I've dialed is inaccurate.
BRADY: Weird broadcast? You mean Days of Our Lives?
J.J.: That soap opera that perfectly mirrors our life story. It even mentioned that I was going to meet up with some friends in England this afternoon.
BRADY: I saw it, too. It somehow knew that I was on my way to Titan's Australian office for a meeting.
J.J.: This is too weird for words.
THERESA: What are you guys talking about?
Theresa walked up.
J.J.: Nothing that concerns you, Theresa.
BRADY: Hold up, J.J. Maybe it does.
THERESA: Let me guess, you guys saw that soap opera that tells our whole life story.
J.J.: How did you..?
THERESA: I saw it, too.
BRADY: But, what does it all mean? How can we be on TV but here?
Marlena walked up.
MARLENA: I might have an explanation.
J.J.: What is it?
MARLENA: It's a mutual declaration of the meaning of words spoken, actions, movies, etc., with a view to adjusting a misunderstanding or reconciling differences. But, that's not important right now.
BRADY: What's your explanation?
MARLENA: We're not real.
THERESA: What do you mean we're not real?
Marlena sat down across from Brady, J.J. and Theresa.
MARLENA: I figured it out this morning. I was on my way to meet John here, as he's on his way back from Paris. I was stopped several times on my way up here, because people claimed that I look like the actress who plays Marlena on Days of Our Lives.
J.J.: But, you are Marlena.
MARLENA: I know who I am. When they said that, they referred to me as Deidre, or Miss Hall. I did some research, and came to the conclusion that Deidre Hall is the actress who plays me on Days of Our Lives. I spoke with Shawn and Belle, and they've been experiencing similar situations all day.
BRADY: So, we're fictional characters who have somehow escaped the TV world and come into this one?
MARLENA: Precisely.
THERESA: We're not real?
MARLENA: Correct.
Theresa stood.
THERESA: Excuse me.
Theresa walked away.
MARLENA: Is she okay?
BRADY: Probably not.
J.J.: Shouldn't we go after her?
BRADY: Wait for her to cool off. We will in a little while.
Marlena stood.
MARLENA: Come with me.
BRADY: Where are you going?
MARLENA: To find Belle and Shawn so we can all decide what our next step is. If the show we're all from is about to end, then that's very bad for us.
J.J.: Why?
MARLENA: Because when it ends, we'll all die.
