Somewhere, Joey found himself alone in a vast field of tall grasses swaying gently in the cool dawn breeze. He stood there, confused, wondering how he had gotten to this mysterious place. He looked to his right and saw nothing but an endless horizon of green grass, and so it was when he turned to the left. He had no choice but to walk forward, heading towards the highest hill in the area, hoping to find answers there.
After an arduous climb, Joey reached the top of the hill, and when he looked over it, he saw miles and miles of green grass shining in the golden sun. In a moment of complete silence, he whispered to himself nervously, “This can only be a nightmare...”
Suddenly, the silence was pierced by a mysterious whisper from behind him: “Soon, you will be in my shadow.” Joey quickly turned back, but found no one. However, he noticed a trail of footprints blazing with violet fire following him from where he started. As he looked at his feet, he found them burning with the same violet flame. Before he could comprehend what was happening, the flames quickly consumed him, turning him into a statue of ash.
Then, that mysterious voice came back again, saying in a low tone: “Your question is very close, and my answer is far from you...” At that moment, Joey woke up to the annoying sound of his alarm clock, and he was breathing rapidly. It was a strange dream, where he felt like he almost died of a heart attack. He got out of bed and looked at his phone, only to find a message from Chris saying: “We'll meet at the bus stop at 7:30, man!” He only had half an hour to prepare.
He went to the bathroom and showered, then brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. After that, he entered his mother's room, only to find her asleep. He let her continue sleeping and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He made two plates of pancakes and set out a plate of eggs and bread.
At that moment, his mother entered in a state of astonishment. “I'm sorry I didn't wake up earlier to make you breakfast,” she said.
Joey passed the plate of pancakes to her and said, "You arrived late yesterday from my aunt's house." Then he ate a few pancakes. His mother looked at him and said: “You know my sister very well. She talks a lot. I tried to avoid her, but I couldn’t.”
Joey put on his bag and said to his mother, "I'm going to go so I won't be late for the school bus. Good luck on the job interview, I love you." He ran up the stairs until he reached the ground floor.
At the bus stop, he met Chris and Alex. Joey was panting with fatigue and said, "I'm finally here. What did I miss? And why isn't Dave here today?"
Chris answered, “Dave went early because he had special projects. Don’t ask me how... I didn’t even understand what he said.”
"He said he was going to go buy a spare part," Alex added. Joey approached him and said, "Spare parts for what? He doesn't have a car or even a bike."
The bus to school arrived, and Joey, Chris, and Alex all got on, heading to the back seats where they could talk freely.
Joey started talking in a serious tone, "Have you found anything about Perry's company or not? We're still at ground zero?"
Chris answered in frustration: “We are even below zero. These guys are good at hiding information. Even that strange man who attacked us at Jerry’s store, he disappeared without leaving a single clue behind him. And we don’t even know, is he a robot made from by aliens who want to invade us or by a group of crazy genius scientists."
Alex interjected with emphasis: “As Chris said, these people are hiding something they don't want us to know. Since they started their company, they have been acquiring a lot of buildings and properties. Can you imagine a company that was created three years ago acquiring more than thirty-five properties?”
Joey thought for a moment and then said, "What if we go and check this company out? Maybe we might at least find something."
Alex responded loudly, causing the passengers to turn to them with suspicious looks: “You mean we should infiltrate Perry’s company?!”
Chris whispered carefully, "What Alex means is, are you crazy? Do you want to get caught by the cops or worse, get caught by them?"
Joey smiled and answered confidently, “Don’t worry, two of us will sneak out and the other will stay outside just to keep an eye on the situation. That way, it’s easy.”
From afar, there was a girl watching them and silently listening to their words, and they did not even notice her presence.
As events accelerated, it was time for recess as Joey, Chris, and Alex gathered in the school cafeteria, sharing breakfast. Moments later, Alex pulled out his phone and showed them a picture of someone.
“Who is this old man? Is he a homeless person?" Chris asked curiously.
Alex quickly replied, “Yes, he is a homeless person and his name is Gary. Everyone knows him as the Crazy Tramp, and he is said to have been caught sneaking around on one of Perry’s properties.”
Joey expressed his surprise, “Wow, this old man really isn’t afraid.”
“And what did they do to him when they caught him?” Chris inquired.
“They eventually left him alone because he didn't steal or destroy any private property.” Alex explained.
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After Joey finished his breakfast, he asked, “The question is, why are we talking about this old man?”
Alex interrupted, “First, this old man seems to know a lot about the conspiracies going on in this city, and second, before he became homeless he had some connection to gangs and the underworld, at least that’s what I heard. And last but not least, we have no other lead than him.”
Joey thought for a moment and then said, “Okay guys, we only have this old man or this thread as Alex said, and in order to achieve our goal we must meet this old man anyway.” With a decisive move, he slammed his hands on the cafeteria table, signaling the end of their meeting.
Meanwhile, a strange boy joined them and offered, “Can we join this crazy plan of yours too?”
Chris responded cautiously, “What do you want, Jeremiah? Are you looking for people to joke with?”
Jeremiah smiled and replied, “It's just that we would like to go with you on this dangerous mission.”
"You and whom with you?" Joey asked.
“Just me, Slim, and Rhodri. To be honest, Slim was the one who convinced me to say this. He thinks he saw strange people two weeks ago and he hasn't been able to sleep well since then. Therefore, he wants to investigate this matter with you.” Jeremiah explained.
“What kind of strange people is he talking about?” Joey inquired.
“Just one second.” Jeremiah said and called to Slim and Rhodri to ask Slim again about the people he had seen.
“How do I say it,” Slim explained, “they looked like humanoid reptiles or lizards, gathered in an alley in Brooklyn. Imagine the view, man.”
Alex commented, “That's why my mom doesn't let me go into the alleys.”
Chris asked suspiciously, “Are you sure, Slim, that you weren’t hallucinating or something? Man, look at your words, reptilian humanoid? This doesn’t even make sense.”
“And you too,” Slim says in a clearly annoyed tone, his eyes shining sharply, “take a look at what you’re saying! You’re talking about soft men and conspiracies... Do you realize what you’re saying?”
In a tense moment of silence, Rhodri interrupts them. He slams the table with his hand so hard that the entire cafeteria shakes, saying in a loud voice that cuts through whispers: “First of all, I don’t believe any of you or your hallucinations. It’s just that I have two superstitious friends, and that’s why I’m here with you. So, everyone calm down now!” He looks at them all with a serious look that carries within it a silent feast.
Then Joey intervenes, his voice measured and his eyes roaming the faces of those present: “Rhodri is correct. We are not here to quarrel. We must agree with each other.” After a moment of contemplation, Joey, Chris, and Alex decide to have Rhodri, Jeremiah, and Slim accompany them on their next mission.
“We'll meet on 52nd Street at 5 p.m.,” Joey says, drawing up a meeting plan in his mind.
After a while, Joey says in a low voice, almost a whisper, “There's someone who's been watching us for a while.”
Chris asks him with increasing curiosity: “Who are you talking about?”
Joey answered him cautiously: “There, at that table in the corner, is a girl sitting alone, holding a notebook and a pen in her hand. I think she has been watching us since the beginning of our meeting today.”
Chris says in a surprised tone: “Oh, that girl? I know her. Her name is Amy Harry Walter. She’s in class with us, haven’t you noticed that?”
"I know, I know! Keep your voice down, you idiot," Joey says nervously. "But she's been watching us ever since we were talking about Perry's company and Gary the Tramp. Don't you think that's weird?"
Chris replies with a serious face: “What's weird about a pretty girl watching us? Maybe she likes me, or something.”
At that moment, Amy looks at her watch, gets up from the table, and leaves the café with hasty steps.
Rhodri confidently says to Slim: “Today we will verify the truth of your words.” The three leave, leaving behind questions hanging in the air.
Then, a girl comes with her friends to their table and says to Joey in a challenging tone: “Hey Joey, how about we continue our race? Or are you afraid of losing?”
Joey says to her with a confident smile: “I was just waiting for you to ask me. How about we go now to the jogging field, where I will prove to you that victory will be mine.”
"How long have Joey and Chloe been friends?" Alex asks in amazement.
Chris answered him while drinking his juice in a playful tone: “Since Joey’s first day here at school. They raced together for the first time in gym class, and the race ended in a tie. Chloe did not accept a draw with a new beginner at school, so they decided to repeat the race again and again, and each Once the race ends in a draw for the day, they will race again to end the argument.
---
The countdown echoes through the open space, and as the number "one" echoes, Joey and Chloe shoot like arrows from bows. The fans are screaming Chloe's name, but their encouragement does not take her focus away from the goal. She advances steadily, passing Joey with calculated steps, but he remains behind her, a shadow that does not leave her.
Chloe's breath quickens, and she mumbles between inhales and exhales, "I've trained every morning since we last raced... I'll never lose to him again." With every step, she felt the weight of fatigue creeping into her muscles.
They approach the finish line, and Joey's eyes widen as he picks up the pace, closing his eyes for a moment, drawing strength from all the miles he's run in the past. “Just a little... I gotta hold on...” Joey murmurs, like a talisman protecting him from exhaustion.
At a crucial moment, Joey overtakes Chloe, crosses the finish line first, and the silence turns into loud cheers. Drops of sweat fell from Chloe's face, and she panted, looking at Joey with looks full of admiration and amazement: "Damn... I was so close to winning."
The crowd gathers around them, and all eyes turn to Joey, who now stands, breathing deeply, wiping the sweat from his brow with his arm. He extends his hand to Chloe, helps her to her feet, and says in a shaky voice, "It was a great race, Chloe. You pushed me to my limits."
Chloe smiles tiredly, and accepts his hand in a sporting manner: “Next time, I will be the one who crosses the finish line first.”
In the end, the two leave the track behind, knowing that this race will not be their last.
---
From afar, Chris and Alex were nervously watching the end of the race. When Joey crosses the finish line first, Chris smiles broadly and tells Alex, “I knew Joey was going to win in the end.”
Alex looks at the track in amazement and says, “She was about to win, why is that?!”
“A bet means a bet,” Chris replies with a sly smile. He confidently receives ten dollars from Alex.
“Let's go get them,” Chris says, as they turn to Joey and Chloe, who are exchanging high-fives and smiles after the exciting race.
---
In the distance, Chloe's friends arrive as she prepares to go. “Next time, I will never go easy on you,” she says confidently. Then she leaves with her friends.
Joey greets her from afar and says, "Me too, I'll never lose." He waves his hand at her with a bright smile.
Thus, the race ends with moments of challenge and friendship.
---
From afar, Chris and Alex reach Joey and say to Joey: “You have defeated her badly.”
Alex replies: “Yes, she was closer than you, but you beat her.”
"Come on, let's go home quickly. I'm so tired," Joey says tiredly.
Chris interrupted him excitedly: “Where are you going, smart one? Break time has just ended, and we have five classes ahead of us.”
Joey looks at Chris holding a black bag and asks, "What's in the bag over there?"
Chris smiles and answers: “That's... nothing. It's just a chocolate chip cookie I bought with the money I won from my bet.”
Joey says excitedly, "Give me one!"
Chris says loudly, “I refuse!”
"Don't be stingy with your friend," Joey says defiantly.
Alex interrupts them seriously: "You two shouldn't forget our mission after school."
"Yeah, we won't forget it," Chris confirms. "We'll meet on 52nd Street later after school."
"Let's hurry! Class has started and we're still here," Joey says as he runs with them.
And so, they all head off to class, ready to continue their adventures after a challenging school day.
«««««««««««««
In complete darkness that almost swallows everything around it, and in an almost deserted place, five creatures that somewhat resemble humans, but they are not them, gathered. They exchange conversations in low voices, and tension appears on their features.
"Hasn't the boss arrived yet?" someone asks worriedly.
“No, he will arrive shortly.” Another responds patiently.
A third voice interrupts, “Shut up, Venus and Mars.”
Mars whines, "Why so serious? You know you don't always have to be serious when we have a meeting, Mercury."
Mercury stands face to face with Mars, "You know we are here to follow the words of our Holy Master, so you must remain calm, or I will silence you."
Mars draws his sword, smiling defiantly, "Looks like we'll be resolving this debate the hard way."
Venus sighs, "You two are always like this at every meeting. Aren't you tired of this?"
Mars and Mercury were about to face off, but a strong, stern voice interrupted them, "Stop now!"
Quickly, Mars and Mercury get down on their knees, and the remaining three do the same.
Mars asks nervously, "When did you get here, Boss?"
"I've had enough of hearing your arguments." says the leader, then looks at everyone and says, "Good, you're all here."
“Why are we gathered here today, Chief?” someone asks.
"Good question, Tsukuyomi." The leader says, and is silent for a moment before continuing, “The time for the astral alignment is approaching, and we must prepare the ceremony before it is too late, but first we must find the conjunct seal.”
Thus the chapter ends, leaving behind mystery and anticipation of what is to come.
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End of chapter to be continued...