“Thank you for your purchase, Gladys. We hope you had a pleasurable experience with us today at U-Mart,” the self-checkout kiosk said.

“How do you know my name?” Gladys asked, confused how it could have possibly known who she was. She had made sure she paid with cash since going to a family reunion earlier in the summer.

“Aunt Gladys, never, and I mean never, pay with your card at U-Mart. They take your information and use it in all kinds of horrible ways. I’ve seen all kinds of stories online about it. They’ve done some really nasty stuff to people,” Gladys’ niece, Joann, had told her with a shiver. Ever since then, Gladys kept her credit card locked in her glove compartment when she went inside U-Mart.

Unnerved, Gladys quickly picked up her shopping bags and made for the exit. She could hear other shoppers being greeted at other self-checkout kiosks.

“Good afternoon, Ron, please scan the barcode on the items below.”

“If you have any questions, Tracy, don’t hesitate to press the “Help” button on the keypad.”

“Excellent savings today, Samantha. Utilizing those U-Mart Weekly Savings Flyer coupons saved you fourteen dollars and fifty-three cents. We congratulate you!”

Gladys stopped for a moment and looked in horror. There were thirty kiosks, all occupied with customers, and all were chatting away merrily with the checkout screen in front of them.

The sun was blinding when Gladys stepped out in the parking lot. She shielded her eyes and tried to remember what section she had parked in.

“It’s some sort of hologram setup they have,” Joann had also told her. “Pay attention sometime, it can be raining cats and dogs when driving down the highway, but when you pull into the parking lot, it’s always clear skies and sunshine. It puts you in a good mood to spend money.”

“It’s either 2-G-1 or 2-G-2,” Gladys whispered to herself and stared out at the great expanse of the lot.

“Have trouble finding your vehicle today, ma’am?” a voice startled Gladys.

She turned and saw a man standing behind her, smiling.

“I just don’t remember what subsection I parked in, no big deal,” she said and started to step away.

“Not a problem at all, if you know your make and model, I can look it up for you,” the man called out cheerfully. Gladys stopped and looked at him again. He had a long ponytail and his clothes looked ill-fitting and filthy. Still, he had to serve in some sort of official capacity, he was wearing an official U-Mart Parking Area Assistant vest after all.

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“Well, I don’t want to bother you,” Gladys said.

The man waved a small handheld device. “No bother at all, I’ll just run it through my lookup here and give you an idea of where you need to go,” the man replied.

Gladys took a deep breath and tried to will herself into trusting the man. He was still smiling, but there was something about him that made her uncomfortable.

“No, thank you,” she said and darted off with her bags as quickly as she could.

Gladys walked down a row of parked cars and looked around.

“I’m sure it was 2-G,” she muttered to herself. She had been walking for twenty minutes and the sun beating down overhead was starting to wear on her and doubt about her memory was starting to creep in.

If only U-Mart had a place for customers to sit and take a rest. These parking lots are huge and people might need a break before they get to their automobiles. Maybe that’s something they would like to hear about in an email about, she thought.

“Never give them your email address,” Joann had said. “I’ve heard stories from people that I know personally that have signed up for U-Mart’s daily newsletter. At first, it’s all great deals but after a while it turns into like hypnosis or something. They keep repeating the same words and phrases and before you know it, you’re volunteering your bank account numbers and offering to try to talk your neighbors into joining.”

Gladys sat down in the shade of a van and rummaged through her purse until she found her cell phone. She thought that maybe she could call U-Mart’s Guest Care Line and they could send someone out to help her, but the phone didn’t have any service and the battery had been drained down to almost nothing.

“This thing was plugged in all night,” she whispered. “How is it almost dead?”

Throwing her phone back in her purse, she leaned back against the van and closed her eyes. Within seconds, she slumped over, sound asleep.

“Looks like we got a Rip Van Winkle here!” a voice boomed Gladys out of her slumber. Bolting upright and blinking, she tried to make out the figure in front of her. It was a man, but not the one from before, this was somebody else. With the sun directly behind him, she couldn’t quite make out his features, other than that he was exceptionally tall. So tall, in fact, if she didn’t know better, she could have sworn he towered over the van she was lying next to.

Gladys tried to scramble to her feet but found her strength was zapped. She was tired and quickly realizing very sunburnt.

“How long have I been here,” she asked. Her tongue felt swollen and her throat was dry.

“Long enough to get yourself quite the tan, I’d say,” the man replied, his voice jovial.

Gladys squinted up at him. She still couldn’t see his mouth, or his nose, or his eyes. His profile seemed to vacuum up all the light from around him.

“I thought it was all a hologram out here. How did I get burnt if the sun isn’t real,” she asked and tried to lift herself up again, but a feeling of nausea rose in her chest and she fell back to the ground.

The man gently placed a hand under Gladys’ arm and carefully helped her up. “Holograms can still get you pretty good, especially when they’re a U-Mart Brand Parking Lot and Facility General and Pleasant Hologram,” the man said.

“May I just stand here for a minute and get my wits? I’m awfully tired,” Gladys said and leaned back against the van again.

The man let out a chuckle, low and like a growl. “Oh Gladys,” he said. “You can stand there for as long as you like. You’re not in any rush to get where you’re going.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Gladys asked.

“You’re here now. Under the sun with me,” the man said and leaned his face close to Gladys.

“I don’t understand,” Gladys said, fear lurching into her stomach.

The man wrapped his arms around Gladys and pulled her towards him. The air squeezed out of her lungs and she let out a gasp.

“Look at me, Gladys,” the man said.

Gladys looked up at his face and tried, with all her might, to scream.