James sighed as he put away the photograph. “Thanks anyway,” he told the two homeless men before walking away.

He dodged a pile of trash as he left the alley and shuffled down the street. He tried to hold it back, but his face curled into an angry snarl. He had just blown ten dollars on two transients that didn’t have the information he sought. The private detective had taken thousands from him, only to tell him there was a chance his uncle was somewhere in this derelict neighborhood. And now, here he was, taking flagrant risks with his safety, all because of fond memories of his favorite relative.

Alan had been the only one in the family that really understood him. Others sympathized with him, but that was hardly enough. Alan had the same wild eyes, the same vivid imagination…the same inability to deal with other people. He didn’t get to see much of his uncle during his childhood–he seemed to bounce from job to job, from city to city, just to stay employed. Despite having an advanced STEM degree, he had to fight to keep a roof over his head. It seemed so unfair.

Then came the odd day when Alan moved back in with his aging parents, bringing his few possessions into their basement. James visited him around this time, and found a profoundly changed person. The impish glint in his eyes was still there, but all the joy had drained from his face. He seemed sluggish and remote. He had peppered James with many questions about his career, his friends, and any women he might have been seeing. James remembered how crestfallen Alan looked when he conceded their lives were unsettlingly alike. Alan had wished he could provide some advice, but had none, other than to press on, for that was the only way something good could possibly happen.

Three months later, Alan abruptly vanished. News didn’t filter down to the family for at least a week; by then, any trail had gone cold. His parents left the basement untouched, hoping he’d return, and that things would go back to normal. But no one saw him again.

It was now five years later; the family had given up on ever finding him. But after building up a decent nest egg, James decided to spend some of that money to find his missing uncle. It bothered him that his favorite family member lived such a thankless life, and he vowed to uncover what happened to him. The sparse available clues pinned his last known whereabouts to this neighborhood. James felt tears form in his eyes as he pondered what sort of horrible setbacks would lead Alan to such a decrepit place.

He idly glanced down an alley as he passed by. A brief flash of recognition fired in the back of his mind; he hardly noticed it. A few doors down, he abruptly stopped walking. What was that odd sensation he had back there? Retracing his steps, he turned down the side-street to find a drifter laying in the filthy alleyway, his back propped against a cinderblock wall, its paint faded and chipping away. His torn, shabby clothes barely concealed his emaciated form. The disheveled, greasy hair and unkempt beard didn’t look familiar at all. What James had noticed as he walked by, subconsciously, was the impish glint in the eyes.

Hardly daring to believe, James knelt before the vagrant. “Uncle Alan?”

The indigent didn’t move at first. Slowly, he raised his eyes to behold James, staring blankly. He blinked a few times, then a smile crept over his face, and a twinge of color came back to his cheeks. “James?” The tramp suddenly grabbed James’ hands. “Is that really you?”

“Yes!” James exulted. “I’ve been looking for you for months! I can’t believe I found you!”

Alan let go of James and pushed himself toward the wall, sitting in more of an upright position. “Of all the people to find me,” he wheezed, “I’m glad it was you.”

“But what happened?” James implored. “How did you end up like this?”

Alan smiled distantly, his mind suddenly elsewhere. “Oh, it’s a long story, lad. And one I doubt I’ll have time to tell you. But it was wonderful!” He turned to look at James, his eyes lit up like they had been years ago. “I’ve had the time of my life! I wouldn’t trade it for the world!” He looked wistful for a moment. “I practically had the world in my hands.” For an instant, the joy returned to his face. “I had power! I had vitality!” He suddenly transfixed James with an intense glare. “I had women!”

James looked up and down his uncle’s bedraggled form. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you,” he apologized. “What the hell happened to you?”

Alan looked down, contemplating his sorry state. “Oh, don’t you mind that,” he chuckled. “Just a shell. Little more than a pawn. Nothing to be concerned with.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Are you serious?” James snapped. “You look like crap! What did you do to yourself?” His eyes widened. “Are you on drugs?”

Alan’s face formed a beaming smile. “Yes,” he admitted. “And no. It’s not really like that. But it was certainly a craving. One I would do anything to satisfy. And it was worth everything I had to give!”

James frowned. He had a hard time reconciling his memories of his favorite uncle with the burned-out husk now before him. “Let me help you get back home,” he offered. “Everything is the way you left it…except there’s a little more dust.”

Alan coughed violently, finally settling down. “It’s too late for that,” he pined. “I’m not long for this world.”

“Then we can get you to a hospital!” James sputtered.

Alan shook his head. “They can’t help me. This is beyond them. No hospital, here or anywhere else, can do anything for me.”

James was taken aback. “What are you talking about?” Tears formed in his eyes again. “I can’t believe my favorite uncle has ended up like this.”

Alan snorted out a laugh. “Look at me, going on about myself. How have you been, lad? We have some catching up to do.”

James looked down. “Not much to report. I have a job I can’t stand. I don’t have much in the way of friends. And no woman will associate with me for very long.”

He looked up after a moment, expecting to see some sympathy in Alan’s eyes. Instead, he had a manic grin, one he had seen so many times before. A chill washed over him; what was going on?

“I expected as much,” Alan finally answered. “And that’s why I’m passing this on to you.” He fumbled with his collar, tugging on a piece of string around his neck. As it tightened, a gleaming ring popped up from his chest, suspended on the cord. Despite his uncle’s filth, the ring shone like it was freshly polished.

“What is that?” James asked.

“The answer,” Alan answered, “to everything.” His eyes grew dismal as he looked at the filthy strip of cloth. “This used to be a gold chain,” he related. “But that was a long time ago. I think it’s a shoelace now.” He shifted his head side to side. “One moment…let me get this over my head.”

As he tugged on it, suddenly the shoelace broke, and the ring flung itself away. James caught it in mid-air; Alan smiled. “Good on ya, lad!” He bowed slightly and moved his hand with a flourish. “I now bestow this gift upon you.”

James looked closely at the ring. It was gaudy to the point of being ostentatious; strands of gold wrapped around a solid ring, enclosing a jewel on one end. The jewel transitioned from blue to green effortlessly, looking like an eye from several different angles. Along the circumference of the ring, partially obscured by the gold strands, was some sort of writing, in an ornate alphabet James didn’t recognize.

He winced at the misplaced opulence. “What am I supposed to do with this?” he groused.

Alan’s smile became beatific. “Put it on, obviously! That’ll answer all your questions!” He paused dramatically. “You’ll become the Avatar!”

James moved to put it on his left ring-finger. “So what exactly does that…” He suddenly trailed off. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as his pulse quickened.

Without warning, the alley had been transformed. Gone were the grime and the decay; everything looked new. Even the nearby pile of trash appeared to be ordered and arranged. He turned to look toward the street; gone were the dilapidated store fronts and the cracked pavement; in their place was bustling boutiques along a flawless concrete boulevard.

The pedestrians had changed, too; gone were the shuffling castaways of a cold, harsh world; now, well-dressed gentlemen, and ladies in beautiful dresses, strolled by. Late-model cars drove down both sides of the street, moving in fits and spurts, following each other too closely, but otherwise orderly.

He noticed something in the corner of his eye, almost out of his vision. It simply stated “Rank: 0 (fresh face)”. He didn’t know what to make of it.

James sniffed a few times. The rotting, stultifying reek of the city streets had been replaced by…nothing. The air actually seemed fresh. Gone, too, was the oppressive humidity.

He looked into the distance. The greenish-brown haze of smog was no longer there; the skies were clear and blue, providing an unobstructed view of the nearby hills.

“This is incredible!” he gushed, turning back to Alan. “How does–”

Alan wasn’t there. There was no sign of him. James quickly wrestled the ring from his finger; abruptly, the alley returned to normal. The grime, trash, and horrible stench returned; the transition shocked him. Alan was there, too, just as before.

“How does the ring make all this happen?” James asked. Alan didn’t respond. He looked different. James knelt down for a closer look. “Uncle Alan?”

His skin was deathly pale. James felt his cheek; it was cold to the touch. Looking closer, Alan’s skin appeared to be much dryer than it had been only a minute before; he had simply shriveled up. James stood up quickly and backed away, breathing heavily, staring wildly at his uncle’s corpse. Several moments passed.

Slowly, he dialed his cell phone, not taking his eyes off of Alan. After a few rings, a female voice answered. “Aunt Kathy?” he said.

He paused a few moments, taking another deep breath.

“I found Alan.”