"Pleasure to meet you, Galo sir. Is it alright if I come in?" Janus asked with a single foot in the doorway.

"Sure, sure." Galo waved for Janus to step inside his room. He extended one hand towards Janus, inviting him to shake it. It was just pale and wrinkled as the skin on his face. Janus accepted the invite and made a firm grip, taken back by how cold his skin felt. "Nice to meet you, too. Itzel says you're not from around here?"

"No sir," Janus said, shaking his head. "I'm from... out of town."

"Which town?"

"Oregon."

"Oregon?" The old man became confused. "Never heard of that one."

"It's far away from here. Nothing much happens there anyway. It's not surprising that no one has heard of it."

"It's gotta be better than Labrisson at least!" Galo let out as hearty of a laugh as he could, showing off his jagged and yellowing teeth.

"Judging by the short time I've been here, I'm inclined to agree," Janus replied with a small smile.

"If it ain't Labrisson, then it's automatically better. Tell me Janus, what brings you all the way here if 'Oregon' is any better? Not sure why anyone would come to this city if they didn't have to."

He turned toward Itzel looking for answers but only received a shrug of her shoulders as a response. He faced Galo once again as he tried to formulate an answer. "Uh... I'm here for research purposes." Janus looked back towards Itzel to see if she approved of his response. The woman mouthed the word 'what' as she squinted her eyes. "I'm looking to study...the culture of this city."

"Culture? That's what fellas in Oregon are worried about?" Galo almost looked disgusted with the way his face contorted. "All the things going in this city and that's what concerns you the most?"

Janus felt his nerves begin to get to him. "No, no. It's part of my job," he said quickly. "I'm a researcher. I go from city to city collecting data on its inhabitants. Customs. Trends. It's all for marketing purposes."

"Ah, a marketer. You must be making big money then."

"If only," Janus said with a phony scoff. "I'm at the bottom of the food chain. That's why I'm stuck here in Labrisson. All of the more experienced people get to go to the nice cities on the company's dime— I mean Token."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Damn. You must be at the very bottom if that's the case."

"Yeah. Tell me about it."

"Itzel," the man said as he turned towards his daughter. "Why don't you go get our guest something to drink?"

"All we have is water, dad. Not like he has any options."

"Well get him a glass."

"I am a bit parched," Janus said to Itzel quietly. With a roll of her eyes, she headed back to the kitchen. When Janus turned back around, he saw Galo begin to upright himself completely. With the blanket still on his lap, he sat up straight on the edge of his bed. He brushed a few of his thin gray hairs to the side and made eye contact with Janus.

"So, how did you and my daughter meet?" he asked, his once cordial tone now stern.

"She and Gurk rescued me. We don't have too many Essencima over in Oregon. I had no idea what I was doing when I saw one up close. Fortunately for me, those two were there at just the right time to bail me out."

"Sounds like you didn't do your research before coming to Labrisson. Otherwise, you would have known just how bad our Essencima problem is. We already got the most Essencima out of anyone because of the Refinery Sector. And according to Itzel and Gurk it's only gotten worse over this past year."

"Yes, so I've heard."

"What kind of Essencima did they save you from if you don't mind me asking?"

Janus froze, looking around the room to buy himself some time to form a reply. "Uh, I can't remember. You know how it is. There are so many different kinds of Essencima these days," he said while faking a smile. "Who can keep track of—"

"It was a few Lurkers," Itzel butted in. She gave Janus his glass of water. "Three of them."

"You can't even handle some Lurkers, son?" Galo asked Janus, looking surprised. "How do you plan on making it here in Labrisson if you're going to let a few of those get the best of ya?"

"Don't worry, Dad. That's something that we're going to work on," Itzel said.

"You better. If he's going to stay here, he'll have to earn his keep. And taking out Essencima is his best bet."

Janus took a sip of the water. There was a strong taste of chemicals and minerals in it, but he mustered the strength to swallow despite the peculiar tang. "If Exterminating doesn't work out, maybe I could work in one of the shops or restaurants. Or even in the Refinery Sector."

The other two became silent upon hearing the last sentence. They both looked at each other, sorrowed, before Galo faced Janus once more. "You really don't want to do that. Trust me. The shops don't pay enough to get by. That's for younger folk to help their parents earn some spare Tokens on the side. Not something that you can make a day-to-day living off of. And you certainly don't want to spend any time in a Refinery that you don't have to." With a wave of his hand, Galo activated the projector on his dresser. An image appeared in thin air. It was of a happy family; there was a father, a daughter and a mother.

The daughter looked to be no older than ten years old, giving whatever had taken the picture a big smile. Her brown hair was long and in a ponytail that cascaded in front of her jacket. Behind her stood her two parents; the father's smile was more subdued. His build was brawny and his skin a deep bronze. He placed his hand on the shoulder of his wife that was just a few inches shorter than him. She was smiling as well. The woman looked much like Itzel, with an almost identical flowing brunette ponytail and deep brown eyes. What set her apart from the woman currently in the room was the slightly more angular face.

"Can you guess who these people are, Janus?" Galo asked with a smile, pointing at the floating image.