Signing in at the hotel proved to be a breeze. They did not need to go to any counter, ask for the room, or anything of the sort. As soon as they stepped inside the hotel, a sharp-looking blond woman approached them with a smile and greeted them, butchering their names, but it was nice they did not need to say who they were and what they wanted as she explained that there was a porter ready to take them to the tenth floor and room number 1044 that was made ready for them.

As a parting gift, she gave them an even warmer smile, a head salute, and an elegant black wireless key with Hotel Seven insignia on it.

Before she was gone, Tala almost asked her who was the person who arranged all of this and when would they be able to meet him, but after taking a peak at the inside of the envelope, something told her to just keep her mouth shut.

No need to tell anyone I do not know shit. They'll be more confused than me and then I'll have to explain things to them.

As soon as they got in the elevator, Chitto started to pull Tala’s sleeve and started to bug her to tell him what was in the envelope.

“Not now,” Tala cut him off sharply, not ready to deal with him or the envelope in front of their porter who looked as if he had just won Mr. Olympia competition, his shoulders as wide as Chitto’s and Tala’s combined, his neck almost non-existent.

"We offer very exclusive and private accommodations, so please feel free to ask if you may need anything, anything at all,” he said with a smile as they rode up.

A second later, the elevator brought them to their floor, and the porter showed them the way. "Your room key will open the door to all the amenities we have here, including a spectacular swimming pool that we have on the 37th floor and also the spa center. The use of saunas on the 33rd floor is free of charge and the staff there stands ready to offer any kind of spa treatment that you may like. I think they have like... twenty-five different ones."

"Cool, I have to check that out," Chito said, happily. “Maybe I can try them all.”

Tala flashed that slick black wireless key and the door opened offering them the view of the room that made Chitto whistle. It was a suite with a lot of space, an elegant beige couch, a loveseat, and a very big screen TV. In the back was the door to the bedroom that had a big window toward the city skyline. If not for Howey's place, that was probably the most expensive room Tala and Chitto ever saw.

"If you need anything, you let me know, and I'll be happy to help," the porter said with a persistent smile on his face, bringing their attention back to him.

"Can you wait here a second," Tala told him and pushed her brother inside the room.

Then she moved away from the door where the porter could not see her, put her hand in the envelope, and took a hundred dollar bill out.

"Thank you," she said as she gave him the tip.

"This is... Not necessary. I didn't even help you with your luggage."

"Oh, I know. But... we will definitely need some help later on. So, just take it," Tala insisted.

"When did we become the millionaires? A hundred dollar bill?" Chitto asked a moment later when they were left alone.

"Well, I think you have to tip them something, and I did not have anything less," she said and on a round coffee table emptied the contents of the envelope.

Four big money bundles with stamped bank paper tied over them, a stainless-steel key, and a white paper came out.

Chitto’s eyes went straight for the cash. "How much do you think it is?" he asked.

"Well, each bundle... it says it's 10 grand. So, I guess, forty thousand dollars... minus one hundred."

"Shit. Are you sure we were not transporting drugs or something? Maybe that's what it is."

"It's not drugs."

Tala looked at the paper. It had a message for her.

'Hope this helps a bit. If you need more, Royal Bay Bank on Seventh Avenue, deposit box 1022, the password, 124dkl2d. Good luck!'

"Shit, what does that mean?" Chitto asked, reading the message over her shoulder.

"I do not know."

"Let's go there and see."

"Relax, Chitto. First, I need to stop and think. Maybe even take a shower, a long one. You know, it's been pretty crazy.”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Lock the door, lock the door," he suddenly said and jumped toward the door, suddenly remembering the zombie from that morning.

When Tala did not respond, he right away ran to the door and locked it.

"You think he was a zombie?" he asked.

"Chitto, I do not know. Two days ago, I would have told you how crazy you are. But now, I just do not know. I know I'm glad we did not get bit."

"Yeah. Me too."

"You think if it's okay we could go to the swimming pool?"

"Sure. Do you have a swimming shorts?"

"Nope."

"Then, maybe first we need to go and shop. Not that we should not do it right away. Just let me take a break, will you?"

Chitto saw how his sister was upset and unusually stressed out and decided to quiet down and give her some breathing room.

There were a few reasons why Tala was feeling like that. For one, she expected to meet Howey's boss. Had a million and one question for him. And now, ‘Hope this helps, good luck,' note. What did that even mean? She could not guess. But if forty thousand dollars was supposed to make her feel better, it could not be anything good. Also, she knew she completed the mission and was promised a triple bonus no less. But, the system was quiet.

She went to the bathroom and didn't even care how neatly the towels were folded or how pretty the fresh sunflowers in the vase looked. She rab the water for a bath, noting that she did not know that the water could flow so much, so fast, and decided to check about the system.

"System, why did you suddenly get all quiet?"

Instead of an explanation, she got the message.

[Mission completed successfully

Reward: Agents Marks 300 points

Optional Abilities: 3 Levels Upgrades]

Feeling relieved that at least the system did not malfunction or stop working, she sighed deeply a few times.

"And I thought I lost you. Good, when I take a long bath, maybe I’ll see about those abilities. Might be something useful."

The bath was so nice, she literally fell asleep. She woke up a few times, opened the hot water to warm the bath up, and dozed off again. It was almost two hours later when she got out, ready to drink some coffee, talk to Chitto, and make plans with him. Except, he was not there. Nowhere.

She called the reception and asked if they'd seen her brother, but they told her that they hadn't.

"He is probably wandering around," a woman suggested.

"Yeah, my key is gone as well," Tala confirmed.

"If you'd like, we can give you an extra key. And... we can ask the security to look for him on the security cameras we have around. I'm sure we can find him."

"Well, let's just wait a minute and then I'll let you know," she said and hung up.

She checked the table and was not sure but the four money bundles were still there.

Chitto came back a moment later before she could decide where to go and look for him. His hands were full with a bunch of groceries, and a propane gas stove. Camping gear. Hammer, knife. Backpacks.

“Where were you?”

“I told you, I went out.”

“Was that when the water was running and you were using your whisper voice?”

“What? No!” he said defensively, but his face said otherwise. “Come on! Like you can’t see it’s a zombie apocalypse!”

“So, then-”

“I went to the store to buy stuff. Can’t wait for people just to run and pick the best things out there. I’m not big. Didn’t you see our porter and other people around here? Even that woman who gave us the key to our room. She looked mean and tough as hell. They can just push me aside. Even children. So, I went to buy things.”

“Oh, that’s good. Sorry, I snapped at you. I was just worried.”

“I know. But you just can’t snap at me like that. You are then just like our mother.”

“Sorry. Okay, you were right. Let’s go and spend money!”

“You really mean it?

“Why not?”

“Cool,” he instantly lighted up. “I wanted to buy so much more but, then I figured I would not be able to bring it all in!”

“Not a problem now. Let’s just leave all this you got here and go back.”

“It’s just two blocks away.”

“Well, we better hurry. The zombie apocalypse is not waiting for anyone!”

“You really mean it?”

“Of course not! I mean, Chitto… We can't leave like this. We have to work as a team."

"I'm not a baby, you know." he said with a hurt in his voice. "Everyone in my class respects me, you know."

Tala was ready to burst out that they were not in the school anymore, but then she stopped herself, stood there, shaking her head, realizing she was not handling this very well. "If something happened to you, what would I do?" she asked suddenly, thinking how that just might be more true than she was ready to accept herself.

"Please, we'll do what you want. Actually, I want us to go grab something to eat and then sit down and make some kind of a plan. Just please, communicate with me. Please, pretty please?"

"With a cream, a splash of caramel topping, and a maple syrup on top?"

"Yes."

"Good. Because I just found this place that has those banana split ice creams."

"Chitto, I want to eat something real food first."

"Oh, they have burgers and other stuff in there as well."

The answer almost made Tala smile. But if this was the end of the world, she was not going to go down fighting and arguing with her brother. Maybe there was nothing better than an ice cream.

So in the end, she smiled, hugged him, and said, “We can do it all, just have to be smart. I think I have not been very smart… as of late.”

“Well… What do you mean, ‘as of late?’”

She pulled back and made a hand movement as if she was going to slap him, but he ducked away.

”You didn't run into any other zombies, did you?" she asked him.

"No. I really did pay attention. But... no, no sign of another zombie."

"Okay. Well, let's go and get that ice cream then."

"And a cheeseburger. I could eat that too."

"Sure, Chitto, whatever you want. But before we go, let me see if I can talk to Howey. This needs to be cleared up. He should know something."

"Yeah, most likely more than we do."

She used the room's telephone and the call went straight through but Howey was not answering. She tried again but with the same result.

"We can try later," Chitto said.

"Yeah," she said and picked up a ten grand bundle, splitting it in two and giving her brother half of it. "But let's be smart about this. What if there are no zombies and we have to use this money to live off for who knows how long, okay?"

They were just ready to leave the room when Tala got a message.

[New Mission Available]

"Give me a second," she said and ran into the bathroom.

"What is it?" she asked.

[Mission: Stay inside the Hotel Room for 24 hours

Award bonus will be tripled.]

"Shit,' Tala said, knowing Chitto was all excited about going outside.

It took her just a second to figure out what to do. She went out of the bathroom and with determination, told Chitto, "Let's go. If this is a zombie apocalypse, maybe this is the last chance to get us those fat burgers."