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I shoot awake in a cold sweat with a heavy gasp. I hold my head in my hands.

"Ugh... Another nightmare? Great. Just amazing," I tiredly whisper to myself while trying not to wake up Mac, "Why the hell does this keep happening?"

I rub the crust from my eyes and look around the dusty, dimly-lit garage. Mac is fast asleep at his workbench with his head lying on the table. I'm sure that gasp of mine would have woken him, but it looks like he hasn't budged. I look to my left and notice Mac's computer monitor is on. He has a new email I'm guessing. I'll ask him about it later.

...I can hardly remember what my life was like before Mac took me in from the streets, and that's okay with me. I've been having these recurring nightmares about it, however, and they've been bothering me ever since. That last one took its toll on me; It got my heart racing. I hope the nightmares stop soon because I'm kind of afraid to fall asleep at this point. All I can do is wait.

I pull the long strands of black hair away from my face and get out of bed. The cold cement floor chills my feet when I give myself a well-deserved morning stretch. After that, I sit back on my bed, slip on my boots, and put on my favorite striped sweater. I glance a little to my left at the alarm clock situated right next to my bed.

Oh, crap! It's eight o'clock! I shout in my head, We're going to be late!

I quickly twist my boots' lock dials to keep them from slipping off my feet and rush over to Mac, who is still fast asleep. I snap my fingers three times next to his ear.

"Mac? Mac! Wake up," I lightly smack his upper back with my hand, "We overslept, Mac. C'mon, wake up."

"Hmm," Mac groaned in his sleepy, gravelly voice, "Go back to sleep Sachi. We don't work on Sundays."

"Sunday?" I spun around to check the digital calendar above the alarm clock, "Dude, What are you talking about? It's Monday!"

"Oh, shit, is it seriously Monday?" The realization set in as Mac lazily stood up from his chair, accidentally letting his rounded glasses fall to the table.

"If we run fast, we can make it to the diner before eight-thirty," I assure him as I pick up his glasses and wipe them clean.

"Yeah, yeah," he yawns, "We'll go in a minute. Let me check the mail first."

I roll my eyes and hand Mac's glasses back to him. I go to our laundry basket, pull out my still-wet coat, and hang it up on a conveniently placed nail on the wall to dry. After doing that, I make my way to Mac who is already situated at his office desk looking at the new email. He has a puzzled look about him, so I asked him what was wrong.

He responded with, "Oh, it's nothing, Sachi. Probably just spam," and turned off the computer monitor so I couldn't read the message.

''Probably?' What do you mean, 'Probably?' It's either one or the other,' I thought, He's hiding something, but... Mac never hides anything from me...

"Alright, Sachi," He stood up and said, "Let's go; We're late."

"I know, Mac, I know.," I returned, "Besides, I told you that first, remember?"

"Bah, Whatever."

Mac adorns his big silver boots and tosses on a considerably large red hoodie. He slings his duffle bag over his burly shoulder and exits the garage. I follow him down the alleyway after locking the door behind us. Once Mac and I exit the alley, we make a b-line to the diner as fast as we can. I'm a noticeably better runner than him, so I made sure not to go too fast. The chilly morning air moves against us as we run, causing our ears and cheeks to turn red from the bitter cold of the orange season.

We finally arrived at our destination completely winded from the run. We both wheeze for a while and try to catch our breath as Mac unlocks the front doors of the diner with the keycard.

"Ugh," Mac groans, "I'm getting too old for this."

"But you're only fifty-six," I say, still catching my breath.

"Bah, Whatever." He grunts.

I let out a giggle and give him something I don't normally give anyone: A smile.

"Ah, there's that pretty smile of yours!" He quipped.

I blushed slightly from embarrassment, but it's masked by the redness of my freezing face, "Oh, shut up..." I replied.

As we both stepped into the diner, I sighed in relief as I felt the warm air of the building blow over me. My face is still red and numb from the cold, however.

"Alright, hon," Mac said after hanging up his hoodie, "Let's get busy."

I nod to him and turn on our bright neon 'OPEN' sign behind the window, and after turning around, I spot a tall male figure sitting at the bar. Mac was facing my direction, so I quickly pointed to the man.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Hey, Mac," I say, still pointing, "We just opened, right? So, when did that guy come in?"

Mac twisted himself around and faced the guy who was still sitting at the bar. He tilted his head in slight confusion but then suddenly broke into a chuckle.

"Heh... So when did you sneak in here?" Mac spoke up, "I thought you said you'd arrive in the evening."

The man stands up from the bar and turns toward us. He's about 220 centimeters tall and is wearing a weird black jumpsuit along with dark grey boots and gloves. After getting a good view of his face, he looks strikingly similar to Mac.

'Wait... Does Mac have a...?' I thought.

"Brother!" the man finally spoke, "Long time no see, yeah?"

"Er- Yes. It has been a while since we've spoken," Mac replied, "But I don't believe you answered my question, Zac."

"Well, I figured I'd talk to you before you started work so I'm not interrupting."

"Hang on a second," I said, "Mac, you never told me you had a brother."

"Um, right," Mac replied to me, "I was going to tell you, but it looks like I forgot."

"I'm Zackalon, Mac's brother," he said, "And who might you be, darling?"

I don't like him. And what kind of name is 'Zackalon?' I shoot him a weirded-out look and give him my name.

"'Sachi,' huh? Short for 'Sachiko,' yeah?"

"...Yes."

"Cute name! Alright," he held out his arm, offering a handshake, "Pleasure to meet you, Sachi!"

I keep my arms to my sides. For some reason, I just don't feel comfortable shaking his hand. Mac looks at me with a disappointed expression and Zac pulls his hand away awkwardly.

"O-oh you just have to excuse her, Zac," Mac said to his brother hastily, "She can be a little rude most of the time."

"Ah, no worries; It's fine," Zac says, turning towards the kitchen door, "Now, let's begin our discussion in the kitchen. Is that alright with you, brother?"

'Meeting? What meeting?' I thought to myself, 'Is that what that email was about?'

"Oh! Of course!" Mac replied to his brother then looked right at me, "Don't even think about eavesdropping on our conversation, girl. Got it?"

Yikes. I've never seen him this serious before. This meeting must be confidential or something.

I lie straight to his face, "I won't," and he enters the kitchen with his brother.

...

Carefully and quietly, I approach the kitchen door and lightly press my left ear against the hard, yet hollow, metal. Their voices are both somewhat deep, but I think I distinctly remember Mac's voice being a slightly higher pitch. I'm guessing he's the younger of the two. I move my head a little lower on the door to see if I can hear them more clearly.

"...Are you one-hundred percent sure about this?" Mac asked his brother, "Because I don't think I remember seeing you at the KCC graduation ceremony."

"Come on, Mac, Just because I didn't graduate from Kueski Culinary College doesn't mean I can't take over the family business while you're away." I heard Zac reply to him.

"Well, I don't care! You're not running the diner and that's my final word."

"Who's going to run it when you're away then?"

"...I'll have the girl do it for me. I can teach her the recipes."

"Sachi? You and I both know that will put her at high risk of being discovered by the city's police."

Mac hesitates for a moment then grumbles, "Damn it... You're right. I can't put a person like her in that kind of danger."

"Do you understand now? You can leave the diner to me, and I will give you my word," Zac continues, "I promise I will make sure the girl is safe from the police; I will guard her with my life."

The room falls silent for a minute until Mac responds.

"Okay. I know what must be done... And I'm all for it."

“Good. You still have your equipment, yeah?"

"I'll have to dig my suit and my UVR out of the closet sometime tonight. I'll be sure to leave first thing in the morning so I can spare both me and Sachi the emotional moment. She would want that."

"You know you're supposed to wear it at all times, but I understand. You two have grown close, eh? - You and the girl?"

"Yeah," Mac goes quiet for a second, "Reminds me of Meila."

"Right, your daughter..."

"Yeah."

"Alright then, let's not talk about it anymore," I hear the sound of Zac standing up from a metal chair, "Give me a call in the morning, and I'll be here to take over for you."

"Sounds like a plan. Will I be getting my new orders from Umbra tonight?"

"I'm sure of it."

"...Should I tell Sachi about this?"

Zac hesitates, "I wouldn't, but I'm sure you'll just tell her anyway." He laughs.

Mac laughs with him and stands up from his chair. The two begin making their way to the door-

'Oh shit, they're coming!' I shout at myself in my head. I swiftly move away from the door and plop myself into a booth by the diner windows. 'I hope they didn't hear me.'

Zac exits the kitchen first and Mac follows. They both walk to the front doors and stop to shake hands in silence. After that, they give each other a 'bro hug' and Zac leaves the diner with a loud, "See you tomorrow!" How subtle.

"So," I got Mac's attention, "What was your meeting about?"

"I'll tell you later," he replies to me quickly, "For now, let's just give the customers what they came here for."

I look around the diner. It's completely empty.

"What customers?"

Mac scans the diner as well then lets out a deep sigh, "Must be another dead day then. Oh well. Just relax for a while until someone comes through those doors."

I say, "Alrighty," and slump in my booth as Mac heads to the bar to pour himself a hard drink.

My mind begins to wander after a short while and I start thinking about everything I overheard during their conversation. Questions keep popping up in my head like, 'Why is Mac leaving?' and 'Why hasn't he told me about this Umbra person who's giving him orders?' I'm sure he'll tell me tonight at the garage, but If not, I'll have to gather up some courage to say something.