The blood drained from Lyle’s face when he heard the news. Panic had him glancing around the bar assuming everyone would attempt to attack him if they knew his birthplace. They’d never be able to tell from looking at him, as the two countries were known for similar traits. But that didn’t stop the fear that ignited within Lyle.

People in the bar had begun bashing Remdians and their asinine plan to attack. They started shouting about what they would do if a Remdian soldier were to enter their house. Not one of their brainstormed responses ended in a peaceful solution.

With sweaty hands, he placed the full glass of beer back on the bar. He glanced up at Sally, her eyes watched the scene unfold with equal parts horror and fury. He could almost see the steam billowing out of her ears as people used her bar to scheme their evil thoughts.

“I’m sorry Miss, but I think I should go,” Lyle spoke softly.

Sally snapped her gaze towards him, before calming her emotions enough to address him. “I get that, kid. I’m truly sorry this is what the world has become. Keep yourself safe and know if you’re ever in a bind, I’ll always be here.”

Lyle felt the generosity in her words. A part of him knew that she would protect him with her life, all he had to do was ask. Yet, he’d never do that to her.

With a final nod, he turned and made his way to the door. He pulled his hoodie up shielding the anguish on his face from the others.

He stepped outside and felt instantly chilled to the bone by the cold, night winds. A shiver laced its way down his spine as he took in the streets of Caledorn. The buildings still stood tall, the air still felt fresh, the temperature remained typical autumn weather. Nothing had really changed, but at the same time everything was different.

With the bar at his back, Lyle started the walk to his apartment.

A smile outlined in sadness etched its way on to his face as he imagined the little home he might have to give up. He had lived in the tiny one-bedroom apartment for a few years, ever since graduating from a Caledornian university. Lyle had made it a home. Regardless of the size and the location, he felt safe within it. Even if its minuscule kitchen forced him to eat out or rely on microwavable meals, he wouldn’t change it for the world.

To keep himself distracted from the harrowing thoughts, Lyle decided to check his phone. He noticed one new voicemail. He tapped away on the handheld device, eventually putting it to his ear.

His mother’s voice consumed the silence around him.

“Hey, hon. This is mom. Well, I suppose you already guessed that. Anyways… Uh… Oh, boy. How do I say this? Your father said I should have written it down and perhaps he was right.” A long pause caused Lyle to pull the phone away from his ear, checking to see if it was still connected.

It was.

Then, the voice began again, “Well. I’m sure you’ve heard about the possibility of this insane invasion. I honestly have no idea what’s going on. Everyone here is in a panic as well.” His mother’s words bled into one another with the speed at which she spoke. Lyle felt nauseous knowing that he hadn’t even considered her own fear in all this. Her fear for him.

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“I don’t know, Lyle. It’s just a mess. But… We want you to come home. We… we think you’ll be safer here. I know you love it there, but maybe just for a little while? Until all this blows over?” There was a pause.“Think about it, hon. And call me back soon. Love you.”

A soft click ended the call, followed by an automatic voice stating, “End of voicemails.”

Lyle took a deep breath and considered his options. In terms of fight or flight, he’d always felt more in servitude of flight. He’d never been in a fight and never desired to be in one. He’d been called fragile infinitely more times than tough, but something about running from this made him sad. He didn’t want to leave the Caledornian friends he’d made behind. Yet, he didn’t want to lose his own life either.

Lyle ducked down through the last alley before he got to his apartment, his mind racing with future troubles.

When he took note of where he was, he cleared his mind, trying to stay alert. It was always a dreary area that reeked of violence, but it cut about ten minutes out of the commute for him.

He tried to be inconspicuous as he meandered through the unlit corridor. He kept to the shadows in hope of avoiding anyone seeing him as an easy target.

About halfway through the alleyway, he heard footsteps in the distance. His heart began to race while his mind tried to soothe him. His pace instinctually increased, the streetlights on the opposite end slowly got closer, too slowly.

“Oi,” a thunderous voice yelled out.

Lyle bit his lip to avoid screaming out. He kept on the path, ignoring the shout completely. If he had been scared of that alley before, the rising tension of battle only made it that much worse.

“Oi. Lyle!”

At this, he stopped in his tracks, fear paralyzing him in place.

He didn’t recognize the voice, yet the person calling out to him clearly knew his name. With such a name as Lyle, coincidence surely wasn’t an option. Lyle’s breath increased as he battled against his own sense of logic.

“Lyle! You left this at the bar,” the voice rang out again, getting closer each time it called out to him. The voice felt like a physical entity wrapping itself around Lyle’s neck and feet, making it impossible to move or call out for aid. He was utterly stuck, begging for the world to swallow him whole.

“C’mon man! I’m just returning your wallet, least you can do is meet me halfway,” the voice boomed through the tiny cavern.

With no control of his own body, Lyle’s hand moved to his back pocket. A sense of unease filled him upon finding it empty. If this person had his wallet, they’d know he was Remdian. He feared what that would mean for him, especially in such a dark place.

Choosing to have a little faith in humanity, albeit minuscule, he cautiously turned around to face the voice. He couldn’t make out any discernible features in the darkness, but they appeared to be running towards him.

Fear blossomed in Lyle’s chest once more as the figure got closer. Seconds from impact, Lyle screwed his eyes shut, awaiting the inevitable assault. The footsteps halted, only panting could be heard. Lyle raised his hands in surrender, his eyes still tightly closed behind his glasses.

“Yo, man. What are you doing?”

Lyle braved opening one eye a sliver. The person before him looked young, a similar age to Lyle. His eyes held no ill intent, his body was relaxed, not akin to an offensive position.

“Uh… I thought you were going to fight me,” Lyle confessed.

A chuckle came from the other person, “Nah, man. Salls asked me to run after you and return this.” He held up a familiar brown leather wallet. A wallet that Lyle’s father had given to him years prior. The edges were worn and scarred.

Lyle hesitantly reached for the memento. The random patron released it to him without hesitation.

“Thanks,” Lyle breathed out. “I’m sorry about that.”

“No worries, man. It’s a creepy ass alley. I mean, I avoid it at all costs,” the man chuckled. “Anyways, I’m gonna head back now, just doing my good deed for Salls, Lord knows she’s helped me more times than I can count.”

The man turned and started jogging through the alley back towards the bar.

“Wait!” Lyle called out, forcing him to turn back with a skeptical look on his face. “What’s your name?”

The man chuckled, “Seth!”

“Thanks, Seth!” Lyle called out to the darkness. Seth raised his hand and disappeared into the shadows.

Lyle too continued on his journey. On the walk, he made up his mind.

He stepped into his home and instantly started packing up all his belongings.