(Quintiles 29, 59 / 3:50PM)

(Johnny) What do you mean that we’re leaving Lagefor? I was just about to buy a house for me and Ellie!

(??? on phone) You and that goddamn cat! Can’t you listen boy?! Unless you have a death wish then get the hell out of there!

A young blonde-haired man spoke through a black phone placed flat on a magenta-colored table. As he put the phone next to his ear, his eyes sharpened as he looked down at the phone.

Next to him was a girl three years younger than him, her brown long hair and cat ears perking up as the blonde-haired man continued to stare at the black phone. With her hands slightly shaking, she placed her furry palms on his shoulders, putting her chest onto his back.

(Johnny) Then where should we go then?! What place do you want us now?!

(??? on the phone) Just get to the ranch at Haxouburg. You can follow that simple rule, right feline fucker?

Johnny then shook the phone violently, his fists clenching the phone tightly as creaks of the metallic phone started to appear. Elizabeth, the cat-human, started wrapping her arms around Johnny, nudging her head on his back, making a soft purring noise as she closed her eyes.

Sensing her, Johnny’s hands loosened their grip on the phone. Johnny cleared his throat as his eyes began to water.

(Johnny) … Yes father…

As the phone hung up from the other side, Johnny still held the black phone that was attached to a chord of the mainframe. In an instant, Johnny lifted the phone high and slammed the phone hard onto it, as his arm shook vigorously from the strength used.

Elizabeth continued to purr and hold onto him. Johnny, who was breathing heavily, continued to stare blankly at the magenta desk.

(Elizabeth) Johnny, it’s ok. If we have to go, we have to go.

(Johnny) Ellie, you know that if we go back to Haxouburg, they aren’t going to treat you that well. You know how the ranchers act to beast humans.

(Elizabeth) And you know how strong I am, right?

Letting go of Johnny’s waist, he turned towards them as he felt the comfort of her hands gone. She took a couple of steps back to take a full view of Johnny, her brown eyes gazing at the tall young man in front of her. Clasping her hands, she looked up towards his face to see gray eyebags beneath his eyes.

(Elizabeth) We could work things out together like always, right? We still have a long time left together so all we need to do is listen to your father.

(Johnny) But that’s the problem Ellie … he tells one thing and asks for another. At this rate, I feel like I could never leave my family.

Looking down onto the wooden floor, he hid his face so that Elizabeth wouldn’t see his tired face. Putting herself right in front of him, she then extended her arms to reach to his face, clasping both hands onto his cheeks.

She rubbed her thumb back and forth along his cheek, sensing the pale yet tired face he had. Johnny then looked up towards her, the tears from his eyes barely containing themselves, and his cheeks were rubbed with care.

(Elizabeth) It’s ok…

She then let go of his face and looked up at him with tears. With a couple of tears rolling down her face, she nudged herself onto Johnny’s muscular yet slim chest.

(Elizabeth) We’re going to be ok…

Wrapping his arms around her, Johnny slumped his head onto Elizabeth’s shoulder, letting out one single tear of his right eye. Clutching her tightly, he stared at a map of Haxouburg, the country to the south.

Seeing the brown map filled with towns and cities, he also noticed a railroad that goes around a loop across the southern country.

(Johnny) I promise you this … we will have a better future…

(Johnny’s thoughts) Even if my family drops dead.

______________________________________________________________________________

(Quintiles 29, 59 / 5:56PM)

(Boris) So you went to go eat after that huh? That explains why you and Loraine took a long time getting here. Are you sure that you weren’t followed the whole time?

(Jenny) I promise you, I wasn’t. I looked back to make sure that the old man wasn’t following me.

In the adult lounge, Boris, Jenny, David, Jerry, and Loraine were all standing up in the back of the dimly lit room.

Boris, whose body began to shake, turned his head towards Loraine, her face slightly sweating from her forehead as her hands began to get clammy.

(Boris) Are you alright, Loraine?

Lorraine’s left hand was held by Jenny’s right, remaining silent as she looked down. Seeing this unusual behavior coming from her, both David and Jerry looked at one another.

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Giving each other a nod, David walked towards Loraine, putting his right knee on the ground as he made sure his face was leveled with hers.

(David) Did you know what the old man looked like? Can you at least describe his appearance?

Loraine kept her mouth shut, hunching her shoulders. Jenny, her hand being shaken from the tremors of Loraine’s body, held her hand firmly, putting her thumb on her hand.

Rubbing it back and forth, she looked towards Boris, nudging Loraine to take a couple of steps back as she stepped forward.

(Jenny) The old man looked to be in his mid-50s, but he looked really strong. He had metal glasses, green eyes, and a weird white robe. And his hair was bright green!

Boris then put his hand onto his chin, slightly angling his head. Tapping his chin with his pointer finger, his temples started to form sweat as they ran along his chubby cheeks, hitting the dark brown wood.

Noticing that Boris was thinking into the abyss, the rest of them kept their focus on Boris, with David and Jerry folding their arms and Jenny and Loraine shaking their hands.

(Boris’s thoughts) Someone told me long ago about it! Who was it?!

Boris got a bead of sweat onto his eye, causing him to lose focus completely. Clenching his fists, he put his right hand into his pocket to bring out his handkerchief.

Firmly grasping it, he rubbed his head furiously, especially the area where the bead of sweat hit his eye.

Until he suddenly stopped.

(Boris’s thoughts) Wait a minute … handkerchief …

Boris took a long look at the white handkerchief in his right hand, his hand still firmly shaking at the white rag.

(Boris’s thoughts) I remembered the man had a handkerchief, but who…

Putting his left hand onto his left eye, he put an abundance of pressure on it.

Until it finally hit him.

(Joseph in Boris’s thoughts) Be careful of him, he may be a germaphobe but he is sure one smart bastard.

(Boris) Oh shit … oh shit …

Boris took many steps back until his back hit the dress drawer, his legs buckling fast as his breath started to come in faint pants. His arms tried to hold onto the dresser, but even they failed him, causing him to land on his bottom.

(David and Jerry) Boris!

Both men ran towards Boris, helping him get back on his feet. With their excessive strength, they put both of their arms around Boris, helping him stand up as he couldn’t find strength in his legs.

(Jerry) What happened? Did you know who it was?

Boris continued to be covered in a drenched sweat, his breathing extremely irregular as he couldn’t even have the strength to breathe normally. David brought out a little inhaler from his jacket, putting the inhaler into Boris’s mouth. Clicking the button on top, much-needed air went inside Boris’s lungs, letting him breathe in more air into his tiny lungs.

Pulling the inhaler out, David put his right hand on Boris’s shoulder.

(David) Hey. Boris. Talk to us, who is he?

Boris turned his head towards David, his face ghostly pale as his breathing came in slowly.

(Boris) pants … he’s the weakest of the generals … pants … Joseph … pants … told me all about them…

(???) Don’t spoil it for them chubby.

A voice was heard somewhere in the room, or rather…

It was behind the three men.

Out of the large dresser, came a skinny and frail young man, his hair black as his skin was pale as the snow.

He had eyes, a nose, and ears, everything that made him human, but…

(David) Boris get—

As he rapidly drew near, the three men in slow motion smelled the putrid odor that radiated from the man. At a glance, David saw black tar dripping from his eyes, its entire body just emitting an extremely foul odor that can be smelled by a certain creature.

Which caused David to hesitate at the slightest interval.

The frail young man in question managed to sneak behind Boris, tightening its feeble arms around Boris’s chubby neck.

Everybody took a couple of steps back, their eyes glaring at the tall man simply holding Boris hostage. David’s forehead had a vein popping out of his neck, his eyes twitching as his hands started to clench.

(David’s thoughts) I could’ve gotten Boris out, but his odor was just too much…

The frail man who had black tar oozing out of his ears looked towards Jerry. Putting his right hand on his cheek, the frail man tilted his head slightly as his eyes remained hungry on Jerry.

(???) Long time no see Jerry. Remember me?

Jerry quickly pulled out his AR-15 that was tucked nicely inside of his jacket. With his right hand, he handled the pistol grip and placed his left hand on the handguard.

Pointing the rifle towards the frail man’s head, the man let off an ugly smirk, his teeth yellow and black as it showcases its abhorrent decay.

(???) You still don’t remember? That time we saved those kids? When you were still a rookie?

Jerry’s hands started to shake gently, but he nodded his head away and continued to aim at the man’s head. Noticing that Jerry wasn’t backing down, the man then walked towards Jerry, still having his arms wrapped around Boris’s neck.

Boris continued to remain silent, as his body was tugged along with him.

Everyone, including David, had their guns or weapons on standby, holstering them for any given opportunity to strike.

As the man managed to reach towards Jerry, the man stood up straight and looked slightly down towards Jerry’s face.

(???) You let me die, did you not?

(Jerry) No way…

Jerry let out a loud gasp as he pointed his gun slightly down. His hands started to shake again and he too ka step back.

(Jerry) Pedro?

(Pedro) Ah … now you remember…

The door to the front of the room flew open.

Flying halfway through the room, the door crash landed onto the furthest couch that Boris usually sat on, the wood being bent in half as it looked like it was kicked by force.

Everyone turned their eyes towards where the door used to be, their eyes seeing a dark silhouette figure standing menacingly in between the doorframe. Pedro, also seeing the silhouette with its fully black pupils and eyes, let out a small sigh.

(Pedro) Late to the party again, Kenichi?

(David) What did you say?

(Jenny) w-what…

The dark silhouette then walked into the room, seeing everyone’s faces turning towards him. The more the silhouette walked closer, the more distinguishable he was.

(David) What the hell…

The man wore all-black clothing, followed by a black mask that covered his face. His hair was ginger and all over the place, followed by the man having a normal light-toned complexion. His eyes were blue and bright, with his height roughly the same as Jerry’s, while his body build was much skinnier than other men, almost to Luke’s slim-toned body.

The ginger-haired man looked towards everyone, his eyes soulless and unwavering.

David and Jenny continued to stammer, their eyes and hands beginning to twitch as they looked like they saw a ghost.

(Jenny) K-Ken … Ken…

(David) How are you still alive…

Tears rolling down Jenny’s cheeks, shaking the spiked frying pan on her right hand. With her left hand, she gripped her stomach as she continued to hyperventilate as the figure continued to stare at them.

David put his brown cowboy hat down with his right hand, pointing his gun up to not aim at him. His eyes wide and his jaw slightly opening, he started shaking his head as he started to mumble to himself.

(David’s thoughts) Is this a dream? Or is this our reality?

Loraine however, sniffed the air coming from him, noticing a vast difference between him and Pedro.

(Loraine) sniff sniff … he … doesn’t smell…