I turned the silver knob and pushed the door forward. The room was dim yellow. It was partially empty, besides a few tall wooden cabinets. It was big enough for four people to maneuver around comfortably. Tim rested on the edge of a twin-sized bed, chatting with Roger, who sat in a tiny chair. His legs blocked the chair’s limbs, and for a moment, I thought he was levitating. They weren’t cracking jokes, yelling, or even scuffling with each other. Their conversation was calm and normal-toned. It was kinda weird not seeing them act the way they usually were, but I was willing to get used to it.

They were so immersed in their talk that I had to knock on the door a few times to get their attention.

They both turned their brainless heads. "Jill!"

I couldn’t help but smile. “I see you’re doing fine.”

“Of course, I’m doing fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Already, I wanted to leave the room. “Not you, Roger.”

“Rude.”

“Quit sulking and leave the room. I want to speak with Tim alone.”

Tim's eyes shot out of his head. “Did I do something?”

“Who do you think I am? Some sort of monster that punishes whenever?”

“Yes,” Roger said without hesitation.

He was so lucky we weren’t home. Otherwise, I would've beaten him till he screamed. Luckily for me, I had another trick up my sleeve.

I clasped my hand against my leg. “Roger, you wouldn’t mind if I spoke with Tim, right? If you don’t, please exit the room. Otherwise, stay and face potential consequences.”

“O-Ok, ok. I’ll leave. Stop giving me that scary smile. You’re creeping me out!”

And he did just that.

Once Roger left and closed the door, I sat on the chair parallel to Tim’s bed. Its bedding was a weird green, probably because of the lights. He sat upright with a pillow supporting his back.

“So, what is there you wanna talk about.”

Without a word, I climbed onto the bed and pulled him close. My chin hovered just past his shoulder, the bedframe a few inches from my face.

“Ji—Woah—too close!” Tim’s hands shot up, not giving a hug back.

“You know how much you had me worried?”

“Jill?”

“Do you know how it feels knowing if someone you care for so much is alive or not? Do you have any idea how frightening those thoughts are?”

“Are you crying?”

“Of course I am, bastard.”

I felt a light pat on my head. “You hardly show your vulnerable side. I guess you are human, after all.”

I snickered through my lonely tears. “What is that supposed to mean?”

He said nothing and patted my head like an adult calming a child’s tantrum. Oh, how the tables had turned.

I pulled myself back, wiping my sticky face. “Enough of this. So, anyways, what happened?”

“I-I don’t really know myself.”

“Do you not remember anything or what?”

“No. For the most part, I do,” Tim said, shaking his head. “But I have no understanding why everything happened.”

I crossed my legs, my elbow resting on my quad while my chin snuggled against my thumb and index finger. “Walk me through everything you remember.”

***

“That's all I know.” He was curled into a ball, trying to hide his pitiful face.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Your friend did this to you?”

“N-No! He didn’t. Avery said it was something he didn’t want to do, but he had no choice. It wasn’t his fault—”

“Cut me a break. You’re still considering him as a friend after what had happened. It doesn’t matter whether he planted the seed or not. Truth is, he’s still the cause for this situation to bloom.”

I had a feeling something was up. He would hardly speak, and when he did, it was always something weird. At that time, we encountered a flying SCAR machine while heading to Walisburg. He somehow knew it wouldn’t attack, claiming he’d seen one before. So what? Did all flying machines not attack?

Or what about the time at the table when we were chowing town or stew? He knew the Walisburg event was later that night, which I found strange. He was unconscious for how long? And he still knew the day of the event? Not even the boys knew. Well, yet again, I don’t tell them much.

Everything was too convenient. He knew exactly when the event was—exactly the type of machine we encountered. And…

Did he know Tim and Roger were going to stumble upon him? Did someone plan this entire thing? But how could that even be? Ugh! This whole thing got my head tangled like a large pile of rope.

“Hey Jill, if you pull your hair any harder, you’ll rip your skull in half.”

I got up, dropping my hands by my side. “I was just thinking of something.”

“Like what?”

“N-Nothing important.” I made my way to the door, my hand on the knob. Looking back, I said, “We’ll leave soon for the city, so be on your feet in a few.”

“Don’t worry. I can get out of bed, unlike a certain someone.”

I tittered at that stupid remark. After everything, Tim still had his humorous self. That’s something I love about Tim. He always smiled at the end, no matter what was thrown at him.

I closed the door without making a squeak. The main room had loud chatter, so I checked it out. Standing outside the room, Roger, Owen, and the women in black were laughing like they were the last three people on the planet. Roger was lying on his back, slamming his palm against the wood. Owen sat in one place with tears gushing out his red face. The woman was the only sane one. She barely moved, only covering her mouth with a fist. I couldn’t tell what they were laughing at, but whatever it was, it had to be worth it.

After leaning against the wall while my ears were bombarded with sound for quite some time, Owen finally noticed me.

“Oh, Jill!”

“She’s finally done talking to that pipsqueak.”

I pushed myself off the wall and walked closer to the action. “What's going on?”

“Oh, we were just telling her stories about Tim,” Owen said, wiping his eyes.

Roger, still on the ground, sat upright on his rear. “It was like a trip down memory lane. I don’t even remember half the stuff Owen said.”

“I don’t remember half the stuff you said.”

“Does that make us stupid then?”

“I guess so!”

They both started crackling again.

What the hell was going on? They usually weren't like this unless their moods were lifted.

While the two continued to laugh, the woman turned her head towards me.

“May I add I asked for stories in exchange for answers?”

“They had questions they didn’t have answers to?”

“Of course, dear. Everyone has some mystery they want to dig up.”

“What did they ask about?”

She gave me a short response. “Well, you can ask yourself.”

It was difficult to do so, considering how stupid they acted. Well, I guess I had to use my hands. I walked over to Owen and slapped him across the face. I made sure to pull back... somewhat.

“W-W-W-What the hell was that for!” He held onto his red cheek, looking around for answers.

Noises immediately stopped babbling out of Roger.

Well, good. I’ve got their attention.

“What question did you want answered so badly that you had to ask her?”

His face screamed seriously. “Is that why you nearly took off my face!”

“I had to get your attention somehow.”

“O-okay? Well, the answer I desperately wanted will forever change my life.” Owen let go of his cheek, sitting on the couch with full resolve. The one answer I couldn’t find myself and needed to ask someone with greater power is simple. I asked how I could improve talking to women.”

“Seriously?”

“Of course! There have been way too many times I’ve been to social gatherings and haven’t been able to do anything with the woman I talk to! My romantic abilities reached a plateau, so I needed some guidance to take the step I desired.”

Why did I even bother?

“Surely you had to ask for something serious, right?”

The woman jumped into this pitiful conversation. “Frankly, he couldn’t. I can only answer one question to those who come here.”

He wasted his question on that?!

“I don’t even wanna know more.” I turned away, now facing Roger. “So what did you ask? Please tell me it’s a little more sensible than his.” I didn’t have high hopes for a proper response.

“It’s simple. My obsession with Ionian items forced me to get the one answer I always wanted to know: What is the strongest Ionian item?”

Ah, ok, not as bad as Owen’s.

“Mkay, so what’s the strongest Ionian item?”

He instantly shot back. “Not saying.”

“Huh, why?”

“Just in case you try to steal it away from me.”

I threw my hands in the air in disbelief. I somehow forgot how stupid these people truly were.

The woman slammed her hands together, grabbing all of our attention. “Shall we proceed with the city?”