The flight back to New York was a long one, but thanks to the change in time zones, it was only just past midnight, relatively speaking. After the men disembarked, they collected their bags and went their separate ways, Jeffrey heading to the closest hotel while he awaited the delivery of his truck and Derrek making his way back to his apartment. They hadn’t spoken since leaving the Schadenfreude, but they had a mutual understanding that their silence didn’t need to be broken.

Derrek stared out the window of his cab, taking in the familiar scenery of bright lights and swarms of pedestrians flooding the streets. He thought about how many of the people he passed at the breakneck pace urban traffic moved at weren’t, in fact, human. His eyes were opened in a way he never even considered before, and he had a nagging suspicion that anyone he saw wasn’t who they seemed. He thought of the horrors he had seen that night and realized it could have happened anywhere at any time.

His train of thought was broken, however, when the cab came to an abrupt stop.

“Fourteen dollars, seventy-three cents,” the driver said in a gruff, angry voice.

Derrek didn’t say a word as he reached into his wallet and handed the man a twenty-dollar bill, then exited the cab and retrieved his bag, making his way to the door of his apartment building.

“Hey! Your change!” the driver called out through his open window.

“Keep it,” Derrek called back as he entered the building.

He went to his mailbox in the lobby and found it almost completely empty, save for a small parcel, roughly the size of a brick. He wondered briefly what it could be before remembering the hat he bought online. As he made his way up the stairs, all he could think of was how the seller must have ruined the brim by cramming it into the package the way they did.

He put those thoughts aside as he reached his door, however, and focused on finding the proper key. As soon as he did, he entered his moderate apartment and was struck by the smell of dust that had accumulated while he was gone. He could see a solid layer on every surface as he made his way to the bedroom, guided by the green light of his eye. He tossed his bag into the corner, kicked off his shoes, and dove into his queen-sized bed, sending a cloud of dust into the air, which he completely ignored as he drifted deeply into sleep.

It was a loud clanging that stirred him from his slumber, prompting him to shoot upright in his bed. He listened for several seconds, holding his breath as he concentrated, and heard a faint shuffling sound coming from where he guessed was his kitchen. He silently crept out of bed and grabbed his pistol from his bag. He was surprised it made it through customs, but he supposed security was more lax for stowed luggage. Either that, or Discord called in more favors than just the truck.

He slowly opened his bedroom door, making his way through the darkness that had enveloped his apartment toward a light at the end of the hallway, where he assumed his intruder was, gun at the ready. As he reached the end of the hall, he pressed himself against the wall and peeked around the corner.

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He saw a large figure moving around, digging through his fridge and pantry, apparently doing its best to remain quiet. It wasn’t until he saw the silhouette of a bushy beard against the refrigerator light that Derrek decided to reveal himself.

“Why do you always have to break in?” Derrek asked, causing the intruder to jump and drop the container of butter he was holding.

“Damn it, Derrek, why do you always have to be so sneaky?” Jeffrey yelled as quietly as he could, picking up the butter and turning back to the stack of ingredients he scavenged from the fridge. Among them were eggs, no-doubt-expired milk, and grape jelly, which Derrek had no idea was even there.

Derrek tucked his pistol into the back of his waistband and walked over to the kitchen area, leaning against the counter in front of his coffee maker, away from the rancid foodstuffs.

“You might want to smell that stuff before you try and cook with it; it’s all been sitting there for six weeks.”

Jeffrey looked at him for a brief moment before opening the milk and taking a whiff. He immediately recoiled back and started coughing, doing his best not to vomit from the smell. He held his breath and screwed the cap back on, holding it out as far away from him as possible as he frantically looked around for a trashcan, eventually spotting it on the other side of the fridge. After he carefully placed it at the bottom of the bag, he went back to the ingredients, wondering if any of it was any good.

“I was going to clear the fridge out in the morning. What are you even trying to do?”

“Well, I was going to make pancakes,” Jeffrey said as he pulled the trashcan around to the counter, dumping the rest of the ingredients into it, “but I’ve suddenly lost my appetite.”

The men laughed, and Derrek grabbed his coffee pot and began filling it at his sink, starting a fresh batch of coffee with grounds he kept in the pantry above the maker. He stood and watched the pot slowly fill while Jeffrey continued rummaging around the fridge, unsuccessfully searching for anything edible.

The coffee maker gave out a short beep, and Derrek pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, filling both with the liquid energy he thrived off of. He handed a mug to Jeffrey, who was inspecting a carton of eggs before deciding not to risk it and tossing it in the trash, accepting the mug and raising it for a toast, which Derrek happily met with his own, prompting them both to take a long sip. They leaned against the counter and continued sipping their mugs silently until Jeffrey broke the silence about halfway into his mug.

“So, what now?” he asked, looking ahead instead of at Derrek.

He considered it for a moment, then answered, “Nothing’s changed. Come morning, I’m going to Will’s office, and I’ll win Frostbyte from him, fair and square.”

Jeffrey looked at him with a surprised expression. “That’s what you’re thinking about? I’m still stuck on the vampires.”

“Just because the world isn’t what we thought it was doesn’t mean my goals are any different. I went to Germany because I lost our last game, and you, Discord, and everyone else there showed me everything I needed to see. I’m ready to take my seat.”

Jeffrey continued to stare at him for several more seconds, taking in the seriousness in his eyes. He took another long sip from his mug and looked back forward, cracking a smile hidden from Derrek’s view.

“Then here’s to however many years of kickass leadership you have to offer,” he said, raising his mug toward Derrek.

Derrek smiled. “We’ll see how it goes,” he said, and he met the mug with his own.