There were only two days left before campaigning could officially begin. Only three had announced their candidacy to run in the election in the Capital District. They were Waldo, Ryan, and Joan.
Joan, Sally, and several of her friends were out enjoying drinks at a downtown coffee shop. Kelly and Julia carried the tray over to the girls.
‘I forgot what all of you ordered, so I bought everyone a mochaccino,’ said Kelly loudly as she placed the tray down.
‘That’s what we all ordered anyway,’ joked Sally.
They all giggled.
‘The one with coconut milk and cream is for Joan,’ said Kelly as she placed the mochaccino in front of her.
‘You remembered,’ said Joan excitedly. ‘I believe in the rights of Sapes. Dairy is such a cruel industry.’
‘When you become chief, you’ll be able to make law changes that will fix all of that,’ said Kelly energetically.
‘Woah!’ exclaimed Joan as she took a sip of her mochachino. ‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to win first. Besides, leadership is being renamed. It’ll be governor instead of chief.’
The girls chatted for a while while they drank their drinks.
‘Wham!’ exclaimed Joan. ‘Feels like my head is going to fall off. I had better exit stage left. I need to be on top of my game for this campaign.’
‘You do that, darling,’ said Sally as Joan gradually got to her feet.
Joan leaned forward and kissed Sally on the lips before she cautiously made her way out of the coffee shop.
‘She’s such a fighter,’ said Sally as she watched Joan staggering across the road. ‘I believe in her.’
‘Oh, she truly is remarkable,’ commented Julia. ‘I do worry about the weight being placed on her.’
‘It is our duty to lift her and the Democracy Chasers to victory,’ said Sally with a big smile.
‘I’m not sure we are maximising our team’s talents or giving ourselves the best chance of victory,’ said Kelly.
‘I’m not sure what you mean,’ said Sally with a puzzled look on her face.
‘No doubt Joan is an excellent leader, but so are you,’ said Kelly.
‘She’s right,’ said Julia, reaching out to touch Sally’s hand. ‘You are a great motivator, and you work so hard.’
‘Aww, thanks,’ said Sally as she began to blush.
‘At the moment, there are three candidates for the residents to choose from,’ said Kelly. ‘We don’t know their criteria for voting. They have never voted before. Let’s say they vote randomly, kind of like what the guy over at the counter is doing now.’
‘I think you’re right,’ said Julia. ‘From the way he’s moving his finger, I can tell he’s selecting coffee using the eeny meeny miny moe method.’
‘If they are doing that for coffee, they could be doing that for voting,’ said Kelly. ‘If that is the case, each candidate has a one-in-three chance of winning.’
Sally frowned as she started to think.
‘Our main objective is that a Democracy Chaser wins,’ said Kelly.
Both Sally and Julia nodded.
‘We can increase our chances of winning if Sally also stands as a candidate,’ said Kelly enthusiastically.
Both Julia and Sally looked back at Kelly with blank expressions on their faces.
‘There would now be four candidates,’ said Kelly as she leaned forward towards the other two. ‘Two of them would be representing the Democracy Chasers. Our chances of winning increase from one in three to two in four.’
‘Oh, I get it, I get it, I get it!’ said Julia jubilantly as she clapped her hands. ‘It’s like a lottery. Buying a second ticket doubles your chances of winning. It’s the same for elections.’
‘Yes, yes,’ said Sally as she also started to get excited. ‘I understand now. Why did we never think of this before?’
Kelly shrugged her shoulders.
‘How about all three of us declare our candidacy?’ suggested Julia excitedly. ‘That’ll give us a four-in-six chance of winning.’
‘Would be nice,’ said Sally. ‘But we don’t have enough money for all three of us to declare our candidacy.’
Kelly pulls out a pouch containing gold coins.
‘I intended to donate this to the cause,’ said Kelly, as she looked doe-eyed at both Julia and Sally. ‘After our chat today, I want both of you to use this money to help fund your applications.’
‘Kelly, you’re so amazing,’ said Sally. ‘This plus our campaign funds is enough for both of us to register our candidacy.’
‘Both of you are so amazing,’ said Kelly as she reached and held both Sally’s and Julia’s hands. ‘If either of you wins, we are all winners.’
‘I’m sorry, I’m too excited,’ said Julia as she rapidly began fanning herself. ‘Let’s go and declare our candidacy now.’
‘Let’s do it,’ said Sally confidently. ‘I’ll go back to the headquarters and pick up the campaign money.’
The three girls gave each other a big hug. Sally and Julia grabbed their bags and rushed out of the coffee shop.
Kelly sat back in her seat. She had a big smile on her face.
That evening, Sally returned to Joan’s apartment. Joan was lying in bed feeling unwell.
‘Oh dear,’ said Sally as she sat at the end of the bed. ‘Don’t stress. I’m going to be with you every step of the way.’
‘I know you will,’ said Joan as she lovingly looked into Sally’s eyes while reaching out to touch her fingers. ‘I’ll be fine. I suspect there was something up with the coconut milk.’
‘I have some great news,’ said Sally excitedly. ‘Julia and I will be going through the same journey as you.’
‘Of course, my candidacy was always going to be a shared journey,’ said Joan. ‘We are doing it with the common goal of shifting power from the few to the many.’
‘Exactly, it is about returning power to the many,’ said Sally as she started to bounce a little on the bed. ‘We need to give ourselves the best chance of winning.’
‘You better believe it,’ said Joan. ‘Our budget might be small, but we’re going to run one heck of a campaign.’
‘Better than that!’ announced Sally. ‘I’ve just tripled our chances of winning.’
‘Do tell,’ said Joan as she sat up in the bed. ‘You’ve just given me an injection of energy.’
‘Julia and I have declared and registered our candidacy for the Capital District election,’ said Sally as she started clapping her hands.
Joan bowed her head down and covered her face with her hands.
‘That’s certainly not the response I was expecting,’ said Sally, sounding annoyed. ‘You should be thanking me right now.’
‘You used our entire campaign fund, didn’t you?’ asked Joan, looking up from her hands.
‘I did indeed,’ said Sally, nodding her head confidently. ‘Truly money well spent.’
‘How could you not consult me?’ asked Joan.
‘There’s no time,’ said Sally. ‘And Julia was enthusiastic….’
‘There’s always time,’ interrupted Joan. ‘I couldn’t give a damn about Julia’s enthusiasm.’
‘I understand,’ said Sally. ‘You’re not thinking straight. You need rest.’
‘I’m thinking perfectly straight,’ said Joan angrily. ‘We can no longer campaign, and you have split our voting base.’
‘In other words, you’re saying I’m a fool,’ said Sally as tears began to well up in her eyes.
‘I suppose I am,’ said Joan as she folded her arms.
‘You’re right, I am a fool,’ said Sally as her voice started to crumble. ‘Everything about the Democracy Chasers has been about you. You make all the decisions. You make all the speeches. And, of course, you are the one to run in the election. It just makes you mad if anyone else ever even takes a little of the spotlight from you.’
‘That’s not true,’ said Joan. ‘We’re a team.’
‘Your team,’ said Sally as she got off the bed. ‘I’d do anything for you. Sometimes, I wish you would for me.’
Sally walked out of the bedroom.
‘I’m sorry,’ called out Joan. ‘Please don’t go. I’ll pull out of the election.’
Sally slammed the apartment door as she left. Joan climbed out of bed but fell over at the bedroom doorway. She clutched her stomach in pain.
Sally did not have anywhere to go. She sat outside the Democracy Chasers headquarters. She was sobbing gently into her hands.
‘Sally, is that you?’ called out a voice.
Sally looked up. It was Kelly.
‘Oh my gosh, what happened to you?’ asked Kelly as she scurried over to Sally.
‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’ said Sally. ‘I got so mad with Joan. I shouldn’t have said the things I said.’
‘You’ve both been under a lot of stress,’ said Kelly. ‘Just give it a bit of time. It’ll all be fine.’
Sally nodded and smiled.
‘I can put you up tonight,’ said Kelly. ‘If you have nowhere to go.’
‘Oh, I don’t know if I should do that,’ said Sally. ‘I don’t want to put you out of your way.’
‘You can’t sleep out here,’ said Kelly. ‘I have a hotel room. I’ll let you sleep there; it’ll give you some privacy.’
‘You’re so good to me,’ said Sally as she got to her feet. They both embraced.
Kelly took Sally to the hotel room.
‘This is nice!’ said Sally. ‘How do you afford to stay here?’
‘I can’t really,’ said Kelly. ‘It’s temporary. I’m between places.’
‘Is it okay if I make myself comfortable on your sofa?’ asked Sally.
‘No, absolutely not,’ said Kelly firmly. ‘You take the bed. You’re my guest. I’ll take the sofa when I get back.’
‘You’re going out again?’ asked Sally.
‘I can’t help it. I’m a creature of the night,’ said Kelly as she promptly left the hotel room.
Joan had propped herself up against her bedroom wall. She was feeling even worse. Kelly approached Joan’s apartment.
‘Let the fun begin,’ she said as she shapeshifted into Sally.
She rushed into Joan’s apartment.
‘I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you like this in this condition,’ said Kelly.
‘It’s okay,’ said Joan as she looked up at Sally with a smile. ‘You’re back now.’
‘I got you some medication,’ said Kelly as she opened a small container.
She pushed four pills into Joan’s mouth.
‘You’re going to feel much better soon,’ said Kelly as she pulled Joan off the floor and assisted her back on the bed.
Kelly pulled a camera out of her bag. She set the camera up opposite the bed. She put the camera on a timer to take a photograph every thirty seconds.
Joan was in less pain, but she was feeling very confused and disoriented. Kelly turned the radio on; she turned the volume of the music up to maximum. She got on the bed with her.
Kelly shapeshifted into a different girl. She was wearing provocative and revealing lingerie. She was also able to shapeshift Joan’s clothes into lingerie that matched hers by just touching them. She shapeshifted into a different girl every 30 seconds. She pulled Joan into lots of different provocative positions to pose for each photograph. This went on for about twenty minutes. Kelly stopped when Joan started to foam badly from the mouth.
Kelly grabbed the phone and called for an ambulance. She picked up her camera and put it into her bag. She scattered the remaining pills on the floor and left.
Kelly went back to the hotel room. Sally was asleep. Kelly curled up into a ball on the sofa and fell asleep.
Sally woke up early the next morning. She turned on the radio for the morning news. The main story was about an election candidate who had been rushed to the Capital Medical Centre.
Sally shook Kelly hard to wake her.
‘I think Joan has been taken to the medical centre,’ said Sally in a panicked tone.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Kelly as she stretched her arms.
‘They just reported that a candidate had been rushed to the medical centre, but they didn’t mention any names,’ said Sally, still sounding alarmed. ‘If it was Waldo or Ryan, they would have said their names.’
‘Yeah, true,’ said Kelly as she stood up.
‘Let’s get going,’ said Sally as she tugged on Kelly’s arm.
They both ran across the city to the medical centre. They entered through the front entrance and approached the front desk.
‘I need to see Joan,’ insisted Sally.
The female on the front desk looked blank.
‘She’s a candidate in the upcoming election,’ said Sally. ‘It was reported on the radio this morning.’
She picked up the phone and called someone.
‘Someone will be with you in a moment,’ said the female on the front desk.
‘I shouldn’t have left her,’ said Sally as she began pacing. ‘I knew she was unwell. I’m so selfish.’
A medical expert approached them.
‘I can take you to see her,’ said the medical expert. ‘She had a rough night, but she is doing fine now.’
The medical expert led Sally and Kelly into Joan’s room. Joan was sitting up, eating a slice of watermelon.
Sally ran over to Joan and gave her a big hug.
‘What happened?’ asked Sally.
‘It’s all such a blur,’ said Joan. ‘They think I tried to kill myself. Of course, that’s nonsense. I think that, out of confusion, I just took too many of some pills. It’s all very strange.’
‘At least you had the awareness to call for help,’ said Kelly.
‘That was someone else,’ said Joan. ‘I don’t know who.’
‘How did you get hold of such strange pills?’ asked Sally.
‘Sorry, I’m still drawing blanks,’ replied Joan, frowning.
‘Stuff that,’ said Sally. ‘The only thing that matters is that you’re going to be fine.’
Sally leaned over and kissed Joan.
‘I want you to be the first governor of the Capital District,’ said Joan as she looked lovingly into Sally’s eyes.
‘Only if I can beat you to it,’ said Sally as she kissed Joan again.
Kelly shrugged her shoulders and left the room.
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
