“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Annie’s ever-cheerful voice rang out, stopping Ed’s hand in its tracks. At her words, sparks lit up from the table and zapped at his fingers, sending a warning jolt through his arm.

His arm tingled and went numb. The tips of his fingers singed as small wisps of smoke swirled through the air.

The cameras snapped to him, zooming in on his fingers and face.

Ed slipped his fingers into his coat in a vain attempt to hide his thoughts from the camera. His face tinged red with embarrassment as he looked down. Stupid stupid stupid. Of course they had stuff in place. The shock snapped him out of his greedy thoughts and he sunk into the plush chair, afraid and wanting to disappear. His hand shot for the door, trying futilely to open it.

The drive continued in silence. Annie said nothing and no one came to get him. The car didn’t suddenly stop, nor did someone drag him out and kill him. Nothing happened, as if they didn’t care about his attempt at all.

Truely, they didn’t. They didn’t care what he did at all. His fate was already sealed the moment he stepped foot in that club.

The drive continued with nothing else of note happening. Ed stayed hunched over in his seat, afraid to move in the slightest. He kept his eyes locked on his lap, not even wanting to look at the briefcase again, lest he be tempted to try again. He would much rather stay in this nervous boredom than test fate and shock himself again.

The car distanced itself from the club. Weaving through the densely packed city, it rose higher in the city before stopping at an inconspicuous factory warehouse. The car parked itself in the empty carpark, bathing the area in light.

“You can take the briefcase now. I hope you enjoyed your trip!” Annie’s bubbly voice flooded his brain as his seatbelt unbuckled and the briefcase was shoved into his arms. The door opened up and before he could think he was thrown out of the car.

Staggering forward, he caught himself before he fell flat on his face. Looking around, he felt like he was in a ghost town. He never expected to find a place this deserted that wasn’t derelict.

The car drove off, leaving Ed on his own in the dark. The only source of light coming from an overhead light above a small side door.

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Ed looked around the empty carpark, feeling as if he was surrounded, despite the emptiness. Everywhere he looked, he felt like someone was staring back at him. He was almost certain that he wasn’t alone.

Keith definitely has someone watching me. Clutching the briefcase he made his way to the door. Let’s just get this over with. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jacket before making sure he was presentable enough to meet up with whoever it was.

A sign hung on the door, telling the world that the warehouse was closed for the day for maintenance.

After spending a few minutes easing his nerves, he opened the door and stepped in.

Just like the outside, the warehouse was dim, as if someone had made sure all the lights were turned off before getting off work for the day. It felt weird to Ed. He was so used to city lights being on all the time, no matter the hour of the night. So to find a place that was so dark was just unsettling.

Warning bells rang out in his mind. That sign isn’t good enough. This is way too suspicious. What if we get caught? He walked deeper into the warehouse as his mind began to spiral. He walked past rows of storage shelves, filled to the brim with boxes of all different shapes and sizes. What they contained, he did not want to know. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

His heart pounded in his chest, as it felt just that little bit harder to breathe. The deeper in he went, the more his senses flared, telling him that something was lurking in the darkness. He felt a pit in his stomach, and his hands go clammy.

For better or worse, he soldiered on against his instincts, and went deeper into the warehouse. As he did, a single spotlight lit up, causing him to jump back with thoughts of running away.

In the spotlight was a man standing near a table with a disgusted look on his face. He was dressed in a black suit and his hair was neatly trimmed and styled back in a quiff. He looked professional and clean. His style was understated and business-like, but still screamed of wealth. The style of dress seemed annoyingly familiar to Ed, like it was sitting somewhere in the back of his mind.

He didn’t fit with Ed’s idea of what a rich person looked like. He had only met a few people who could be considered rich in the lower city, but both of them made sure to outwardly display their wealth in how they dressed.

The man seemed to hold the entire world in disdain, as he looked at his surroundings in disgust. He didn’t want to be in this hellhole for a second longer. This only worsened when Ed stepped into the light, and he was able to take a good look at him. He gagged at how disgusting Ed looked, and hurriedly blocked his nose so that he wouldn’t have to smell him.

Something about him screamed unimaginable wealth. To Ed, he seemed out of place with this world. It was then that everything clicked together, and Ed realised where he had seen something similar.

On the tv, the male characters would often be dressed like this when on their way to the office. Ed must have seen this once when walking by. That’s why it felt familiar.

Is he?... From the middle city?