I hope Nugs isn’t bored out of his mind right now. All I left with him was lunch and some movies. I kind of envy him. If it was me I’d use the extra hours to just sleep-in and try not to think about anything. Not work, not Nomads, not achieving my dreams. When I’m sleeping I don’t have to worry about anything. Makes you wonder how some people could hate sleeping.

‘‘Emma? Emmaaa?’’ I heard my boss David’s distant voice get louder as I came to. I must have been dozing off, while working the front desk no less. I look over at David and for a second I consider saying or doing something, but I honestly can’t be bothered.

‘‘Is everything okay at home Emma? I know we have no customers right now, but you can’t sleep on the job.’’ He sounded concerned, but I knew it wasn’t for my well-being, just for the profits.

‘‘Yeah, everything is a-okay.’’ I replied with a sarcastic smile and a thumbs-up.

‘‘You sure? I mean you show up to work tired, you look like you haven’t slept at all. Where’s that cheery disposition you’re always known for?’’ He was being really persistent, but through all of that only one line stood out to me.

‘‘My cheery disposition?’’ I asked with a hint of exasperation.

‘‘Yeah,’’ David rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, ‘‘You know, how you cheer everyone up and display that can-do attitude.’’

‘‘I do?’’ I sighed and looked up at him. It’s probably best if I just come clean.

‘‘It’s Nuggets…’’

‘‘You had food poisoning?’’

‘‘No, I mean, Nugs. He’s this Nomad I found. He’s completely new to Kandon and I’ve been looking after him until he gets settled. It’s fine really, but it’s different looking after another person. I promise I won’t make a habit of being tired on the job.’’

‘‘So that’s how it is…’’ David trailed off and started scribbling something down on his clipboard.

‘‘I don’t buy that whole look-at-me-I’m-so-saintly act you’ve got going on. Just because you try to save one of those… Hounds, it doesn’t make you better than any of us.’’ Janet felt the need to air her own moronic opinion as she pushed a cart through the main lobby and towards an elevator.

‘‘No one fucking asked, Janet.’’ I smiled back in the most sarcastic retort I bothered to muster, flipping her off as the elevator doors closed behind her.

I looked back at David who didn’t seem to notice or care about our little exchange. In fact, he appeared to still be lost in thought until I waved a hand in front of his face.

‘‘Emma, this Nomad you mentioned… Nugs, was it? That’s his name right?’’ David sounded more excited than usual, which alarmed me.

‘‘Yeah?’’

‘‘Couldn’t you bring him with you next time? I’d like to offer him a job here at the Familiar and I think he would be a wonderful addition to our team.’’ I knew he was being sincere because David never joked about things like this when it involved money and labor.

‘‘David, dude… Nugs is like, not even one week old.’’

‘‘Hey, gotta start them early right? That just means he’s eager to learn.’’

‘‘Besides, Janet is xenophobic she’d freak out if you hired him. Although, if you do have to, could you fire Janet first and then hire him in her place?’’ I figured that would at least be a nice compromise. For my sanity anyway.

‘‘No can do, we’re short staffed as is, Janet will come around, you know, change her ways! People do that sort of thing, it’ll be a learning experience for her too.’’ David smiled enthusiastically.

‘‘Yeah, learning how to murder her coworker and get away with it. I’m telling you that girl is giving me bad vibes.’’

Before I could continue digging a hole for Janet’s prospective career the bell above the hotel entrance rang gently. ‘‘Emma! That’s your cue,’’ David put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a little shake, ‘‘Think about what I said okay? Bring your nugget boyfriend and I might get you your raise early.’’ He smiled for a second too long before taking off to somewhere deeper within the hotel.

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The man who came through the door was dressed in a dark gray suit and shining black shoes. He always seemed weirdly self-important, especially today. He was carrying a dark briefcase and appeared to be in a hurry. He was a regular at the Humble Familiar and had been since before I started working here.

‘‘Mr. Pumpernickel, how can I help you today?’’ I smiled and greeted him with the kind of soulless and robotic energy you would only find in the service industry.

‘‘If it isn’t Emma! My favorite. How is work treating you today?’’ He approached me with a smile, his voice was deep and had a commanding presence to it.

‘‘Like shit, I want to die I’m so tired.’’ I groaned and handed him the key to his room. As he leaned in to accept it I noticed that his undercut was freshly trimmed, but more importantly, the black horn tattoos over his eyes seemed eerily similar to the marks Nugs had.

Pumpernickel smirked back and adjusted his collar before accepting the keys, ‘‘That’s just work isn’t it? It’s all shit.’’

‘‘Well… Good luck with your shit work, Mister!’’ I waved at him half-heartedly as he walked towards the stairs.

‘‘Good luck with yours too, Emma.’’

‘‘Uh, Mr. Pumpernickel?’’ I blurted out, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to ask him the question that had prompted me to stop him.

He stopped and turned to look back at me.

‘‘Yes?’’

‘‘Actually… Nevermind! I wasn’t sure if you got the right key number… You know what, just ring up the front desk if you have any issues and I’ll take care of it.’’

‘‘Thank you Emma, I will.’’ He turned and continued walking.

It would’ve been ridiculous to ask him if he was a Nomad after all this time. Of course he was. Those tattoo horn marks, the name Pumpernickel which was based on food just like Nugs’. All the evidence was there, but what did it all mean? That I was kind of an idiot for not having noticed sooner? Probably, but it’s not like I knew any Nomads that well until I met the guy who was chilling in my apartment right about now.

After work I hit the streets shambling, the exhaustion of today’s shift setting in way sooner than I had wanted it to. As I walked towards the bus stop I remembered that I needed to pick up some groceries for tonight’s dinner. I should try to find something healthier than nuggets and mayonnaise. Speaking of Nuggets, should I act on David’s request and bring him to work? Would it be right to put him through that when he was only just learning how to be home alone? Personally it’s not something I’d feel comfortable doing, but if we were two people making money it would be a lot easier to buy food and pay rent on time.

‘‘Excuse me Miss, would you consider joining the fight for freedom?’’

A man who looked like he’d been standing on the street corner for hours approached me with his arm outstretched, he was holding some kind of flyer, probably related to the Freedom Initiative Party. Common out here on the streets, all the people who join them seem passionate about going beyond the walls. As if something great awaited us out there.

‘‘No, sorry.’’ I turned him down and continued walking. I’m just too tired to care.

‘‘You’re gonna die in this city, Miss. You’re gonna die without learning the truth!’’

I kept walking, his voice growing more distant as I thought about what to make for dinner…

Hauling a couple of bags of groceries up the stairs to the apartment wasn’t a big deal, even though I had to carry more now that we were two people living in the same tiny space. With a weary pull of the door knob I pushed the door to my place open, leaning on it with my shoulder as I called out. The apartment was dark, he hadn’t even turned much of the light on. Then again, that just meant we would save on electricity. ‘‘Hey Nugs! I’m back, brought some food..’’ Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a couple of small round eyes? Judging from the blood trail they rolled over from the inside of the room. I immediately felt my blood run cold, forcing the door open faster than before.

‘‘Nuggets!’’ I called out again, adrenaline pumping through my veins at the sight of another person sitting next to him. Someone I didn’t recognize either. ‘‘Hey Emma.’’ Nugs said, he didn’t look hurt, but he sounded scared, or was he surprised? He took something that the stranger handed to him. Fuck this, I’ve been working the whole day I didn’t need shit like this in my life right now.

‘‘Who the hell are you? Get out or I’ll kick you out!’’ I storm up to the stranger who seems to be… A tiny blob of a man living inside the body of an adult? With the head deflated like it was, it was easy to see that the little blob guy was piloting his much bigger vessel from the mouth. The blob cowered as I stood over him. ‘‘I-I was just about to leave! Wasn’t I, Nugs? I just came to give you both an offer!’’ His voice was pathetic, sleazy. He pointed at Nugs and nodded his head. ‘‘Think about what I said, yeah?’’ And with a twist of one of the teeth, the blob commanded his human body to stand up and begin walking backwards towards the door. ‘‘I didn’t mean to intrude or nothing, but think about my offer!’’

And just like that he was gone.

I would have pursued him further, but Nugs didn’t seem to be hurt or anything and well. At least he wasn’t with the Goblin King. East Kandon was full of dangerous people that’d take advantage of you, any opportunity they got, but it also had its fair share of eccentric weirdos. Another few seconds pass as the stranger disappears, closing the door on his way out too. How polite.

‘‘Are you okay, Nugs?’’ I turned to see that he was watching a movie. I hadn’t even noticed the TV was on.

‘‘Yeah. Did you buy dinner?’’ He pried his eyes off the screen to look at the bags.

‘‘I’ll start cooking in a moment.’’ I looked down at his hands, curious about the thing the blob stranger had given him. ‘‘What did the man in the mouth say to you?’’

‘‘Oh this?’’ Nugs held up the card, looking it over once before handing it to me, ‘‘It’s an invitation I think.’’

Invitation? Odd, but whatever, let's take a look. ‘‘A casting call?’’

‘‘It’s for a movie called Racoon Heaven apparently.’’ Nugs yawned.

‘‘What the hell is Racoon Heaven?’’

‘‘Beats me.’’

‘‘Anyway, listen, Nugs…’’ I couldn’t tell him about David’s offer. Nugs just wasn’t ready for the working life. For now we had to get by on my income. ‘‘Don’t let anyone in while I’m not home, okay? Even if they say they know me.’’

‘‘Sure, but he seemed pretty harmless to me.’’ He shrugged.

‘‘Seemed, yeah. Point is even if he was, there are many people here who would want to hurt a Nomad like you.’’