Mai and her friends didn’t want to be in the Hisui house for another minute so they headed back to my parents house with the main group. I decided to just take Lonnie, Julio, and George to the apartment and we were armed to the gills. Pete was left behind as the main guard here at the house and was given the other AK Rifle. Michelle was already heading to the grocery store after some assurance that she was ok.

Why can’t we come master? Sally’s Symbiote whined.

You’re an old ass dog. Well. You’re part of one. You can’t really be getting yourself into gun fights with mind controllers at this age, I told her. She whined again but thought nothing else.

Food was going to be a problem. Me and the boys would scavenge as we went but the rest of the group was going to suffer. It was like the legion command constantly made us burn more calories through some sort of shared processing. I would have to figure it out with Kendall, and Cindybot, if she would give us an idea on how we could improve the logistical nightmare.

Hey are you doing ok on food I thought to Daphne.

Yeah she had a stocked kitchen we’re fine. Oh we just found a Moped and some gas she replied.

Awesome finally. Work with Kendall on what she’s doing with food storage, we might be getting a lot of people soon I thought to her.

Murderers and thieves Juli whispered in my mind.

We headed to the apartments in a quick jog and worked on a plan as we went. After an hour that went by way too soon we were there.

“This plan is ridiculous we look so dumb,” I said as Lonnie rolled me in the Walmart shopping cart we grabbed along the way. An odd, thin white looking fly buzzed around us.

“Bro please you’re supposed to be quiet,” Julio admonished.

How were you able to kill me? Julie asked.

The plan was to go into the apartment guns blazing with everyone except me hiding in the shopping cart, with a musty old black comforter hiding over me. I’ll heal the group as anyone is shot while we look for Jennifer and convert people to my legion. If there was a challenger, they would know I was there because of the map, but he or she wouldn’t know exactly who I was in the group. Cindybot confirmed that our maps only got that advanced at the thousand plus minion stage.

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“What’s my range for Tap now?” I asked the AI while suffering from certain mold disease as the heavy comforter suffocated me. We made our way through the apartments and into my old building's patio area.

“30 feet or so. Shit the map really is showing a challenger ahead Jon,” she said while twirling around me.

Julio shot down my neighbors door where I last saw Jennifer in my mind. As the door opened we we saw our plan crumble. Mr. Beasley and Jennifer were both holding handguns up to their heads and looking nonchalant. A man was sitting on the disgusting sofa in between them drinking what looked like a McDonald’s sweet tea.

"They're about 40 feet away," Cindybot whispered softly.

“Oh Jon no need for the theatrics,” he said. He sounded like an old Englishman. In a way he looked like one too, just much dirtier with a shabby blue suit and wiry white hair.

“Why between Ian and Jennifer here, I feel that we’re old friends already,” he said with a disarming smile. His AI Ball suddenly appeared and began to process.

Ask him what he wants I thought to George from under mold mountain.

“Uh, what do you even want?” George said awkwardly.

The man looked over at George with a frown.

“Jennifer,” the man in the blue suit said. “Shoot your left foot”.

Jennifer proceeded to shoot her foot in a loud and resounding bang as we all freaked out in panic. I jumped out from under the comforter and tried to run toward her.

“What the fuck was that!” I yelled at him.

“Stop right there! And put all the guns down,” man in blue said sternly. Jennifer was profusely bleeding from the foot and now on the ground, all while still showing no emotion on her face. The man in blue then calmly took another sip of his tea.

He closes his eyes for a second too long every sip boss George thought.

“Jon you weren’t taking me seriously when I said I wanted to speak. No. Don’t try any of your trigger words, Jennifer has already told them to me. If I start to hear anything out of your mouth I don’t like they’re both dead. And believe me, you can’t beat me anyway Jon,” the man concluded.

“What do you even want man?” I asked in desperation looking at Jennifer bleed hopelessly, and inching closer to her.

“Finally we can negotiate!” he laughed to himself and took another sip.

“My name is Kevin. I own a large chain of these you know?" He said pointing to the McDonald's cup.

"Ian be a dear and keep your gun on Jennifer now. Jon stop moving unless, you know.”

“So where to start,” Kevin began to monologue. The same fly from earlier was still buzzing around for some reason.

I’m here Jon Michelle thought to me finally.

Next sip take the shot we have places to be I told George.

"I was visiting a distributor at a local warehouse to check on a supply issue when it happened if you can believe it. All of those people. Mine. So whatever you're thinking of, don't. Of course a lot of them are still working my restaurants. A man has to eat a lot more now you know? So afterwards I ran into Ian here and-"

"Wait you're making people work at McDonald's during an alien apocalypse? With no pay?" Lonnie interrupted while shuddering. Lonnie was right this man was pretty evil.

"Will you control your minions what is this? How can they talk like they're still important?" Kevin said with disgust as he went to take another sip of tea.

Everything happened almost immediately: George picked up his gun and shot Kevin as his eyes closed, I jumped back in the cart, and Lonnie pushed me right into the man.

"Devour!" I yelled as I tossed the hobo blanket onto Mr. Beasley.

Julio hummed the McDonald's theme song as I went into the white room.