Keagan and Roy had hopped into Dan’s car as he had insisted on hanging out with Keagan.

They made it to Acan district and dropped off Roy at his place, which was a megaplex that wasn’t far from Keagan’s place.

Dan and Keagan made it to Keagan’s place and there they proceeded to “hang out”.

On the surface, Dan looked like a fun uncle type who enjoyed the most of what life offered. But Keagan wasn’t so naïve as to believe that hanging out was Dan’s only intention.

Keagan got two bottles of water from the fridge and turned on the TV before settling next to Dan on the couch.

“So… what do you want to do exactly?” Keagan asked.

“Well, I never got around to learning how to play games properly. So how about that?” Dan said as he removed his jacket and tie.

“Ok, how about we try the game I’m currently transfixed by.” Keagan turned on his gaming console and spent two or so hours teaching Dan the basics.

By ten PM Dan had already become accustomed to the routine parts of the game.

All that was left for him to start playing it.

The first match went well, Dan’s team ultimately lost, but he gained a ton of experience.

“Come on!” David yelled as he lost his fifth match in a row.

“Hey, shouldn’t you be on your way home by now? I’m sure your wife is back.” Keagan said with a yawn.

“Oh her? Mmm… you have a point. But before I go, how much does one of these cost?” Dan asked as he grabbed his jacket.

“Five hundred bucks for a new one, but good luck finding any of these.”

“Why’s that?” Dan asked.

“Mmm… not sure. It’s as though in some alternate dimension, some global conundrum prevented the company from mass producing them in this dimension. Ah well, I’m sure you’ll get yours easily enough.” Keagan said and shortly after he bid Dan farewell.

That’s one strange old man. Keagan thought. But in all honesty, Keagan didn’t mind it at all.

Keagan laid comfortably on his bed. He decided to amuse himself with some local news and after an hour or so, he found himself sound asleep.

.

..

Keagan woke up the next day with a fully charged mental battery.

It was Sunday so he didn’t need to get ready for work or anything of that nature so he crawled to the kitchen. He checked everywhere but couldn’t find any more quick microwaveable meals.

His soul sank. But then his mental fortitude lifted his spirits. He grabbed his wallet and left his apartment. He also remembered that he needed to make another spare of keys so the timing was perfect.

The streets of Acan were as busy as always.

Unity as a country had a colourful population, with people from all over the world, but Acan was the hub of social and background diversity.

Acan was also the busiest of Unity’s districts.

With thousands of people moving in and out of it daily.

Keagan found himself in a supermarket. He was lazily strolling through the isles when suddenly a cold chill ran up his back. He looked behind him and saw nothing too suspicious.

Well, there was a rather familiar-looking large man, but Keagan brushed the thought aside.

Keagan grabbed himself a dozen or so quick meals and headed to the checkout area. He paid for the meals and headed to the locksmith, but on his way there, he saw another large man with an uncomfortably familiar face.

Keagan got his keys copied and left the supermarket. On his way home he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed.

He looked back as he walked but saw no one.

Keagan eventually made it back to his apartment. Had one of the quick meals, but a shadow under his door revealed that someone had indeed been following him or at least, that's the conclusion he had come to.

Keagan wanted to assume that it was a potential threat. But last time he used that assumption, he bruised the daughter of the man who practically owned Lezzaro.

Keagan silently got up and walked towards the door. He couldn’t tell, but it seemed as though the shadow was vibrating or shaking.

Keagan quickly grabbed the door handle and opened it as quickly as he could, revealing Karisa.

She may have hidden under a hoodie and baggy pants, but Keagan recognized her instantly.

“Please let me in.” She asked. Her voice was hoarse and her eyes had bags beneath them.

Keagan looked around the corridors and then back at Karisa.

“Fine.” Keagan let her in and she stood behind the couch.

Keagan locked the door after closing it and walked over to Karisa.

His cold eyes inspected her body as though they were peeling the very flesh from her bones.

Keagan saw no damage aside from the slight discolouration around her eye. But that was from when she broke into his house so Keagan thought little of it.

“What happened?” Keagan asked.

His voice low. He made it clear that if it was sympathy she came in search for, she’d leave without receiving any.

“I got into an argument with my parents-"

“And you ran away?” Keagan interrupted.

Karisa nodded slowly.

Keagan now knew why those men he saw in public looked so familiar.

“So those guy’s weren’t just following me… they were following me to see where you were. If I could guess, they serve your parents directly. Meaning your parents already know where I stay… shit.” Keagan said.

Karisa trembled before Keagan.

He saw that she was struggling to stand.

“Sit. I’ll make you something to eat.” Keagan said as he walked towards the kitchen.

“Aren’t- aren’t you upset?” Karisa asked.

“Mmm? No, not really. I don’t like being followed but I don’t think I should punish you for something you didn’t do to me. The only way I could get angry at you is if-"

Keagan was interpreted by loud knocking. He looked at Karisa who was wide-eyed as well.

Keagan walked up to the door.

“Who is it?” Keagan asked, but received no response.

Keagan slowly opened the door and found two large men waiting on the other side.

They wore dark black suits, had cleanly shaven heads and wore sunglasses.

If Keagan’s life wasn’t at stake, this situation would have been rather comical.

“Is Ms. Astali inside?” One of the goons asked.

Keagan wondered what would happen if he lied and said no.

“Yes.” He said reflexively.

The guard to Keagan’s left took out a phone, dialled a certain number and raised the phone to his ear.

Keagan’s heart began beating like an ancient drum and beads of sweat formed on his brow.

“Yes sir. She’s here.” The goon said.

“No, sir. She is inside the home of one of the employees.”

“Yes sir.” The goon said before offering Keagan his phone.

Keagan’s heart completely stopped.

“It’s for you.” The goon said with a blank face and monotone voice.

Keagan took the phone and raised it to his ear.

“Hello,” Keagan said nervously.

[Ah, first off. Allow me to apologize for any trouble my daughter may have caused.]

Said a soft and rather low voice.

“Uh- who is th-"

[Oh, where are my manners! My name is Andre Astali, father of Karisa and although this is not important right now, your boss.]

The man introduced himself.

“I see… My name is Keagan Keita, oh and about Karisa. She hasn’t been that much of a bother to me specifically.” Keagan said.

[That’s good! I’m sure you can imagine her circumstances. Busy parents, tons of privileges. She almost sounds like a cliché rich girl, hehe.]

Andre joked.

She’s in her fucking twenties! Keagan cursed internally.

“Yeah, but I wonder why she’s acting the way she is,” Keagan said.

[I’d like to know the answer to that question as well. Mmm… unfortunately the timing prohibits me from speaking with you at length. Which is quite the bummer considering how nice you are to talk to, hehe. When I heard my daughter was in Acan, I half expected you to be a drug lord who’d demand ransom or something.]

Andre said.

Keagan didn’t know whether to blush or shudder.

“Er- yeah… hehe.” Keagan laughed awkwardly.

[Now, I have some business to attend to. Do me a favour and keep an eye on Karisa for me. I’ll make it up to you.]

Andre said.

“Mmm… I don’t know sir…” Keagan groaned.

[Oh? I was under the impression that you and Karisa were friends.]

Andre said.

“It’s- it’s not that. It’s just that Karisa can be a lot to handle at time’s, I’m sure you know this.”

[I know, that’s why I’m asking you to keep her safe while I clear up my schedule. Or were you expecting some kind of incentive?]

Andre’s voice lowered by several octaves.

Keagan felt his presence even through the phone.

“No sir. I just want some assurance. Remember this is your daughter we’re talking about. If anything were to happen to her, I’d have hell to pay, no?” Keagan said, returning an equal amount of intensity through the phone.

Unfortunately, Keagan didn’t hold much power in this situation.

[Are you saying that my daughter isn’t safe there?]

“No, but like I said, this is your daughter we’re talking about. I just want to know whether I’m in the clear should anything I can’t control happen.” Keagan said. He then realised that he and Andre were talking about Karisa as though her opinion on the matter didn’t matter.

Keagan laughed at himself for even thinking about that.

Of course, her opinion didn’t matter.

Keagan just wanted to ensure that his ass wouldn’t burn if Karisa or her family started a fire.

[I see your point. It wouldn’t be great for me either if she caused trouble in the open. I like your cautiousness. Ok, how about this. Take care of my daughter and if she does act up, make sure it's behind closed doors. I don’t care if you have to use Mot and Yrrej, just get her behind cover and let her throw her tantrums. Then when I’m done with my work, we reunite as one big happy family.]

Andre suggested.

Keagan wanted to run away.

“Sounds reasonable.” He said as the call ended.

Keagan handed the phone back to the goon.

“The boss said she’ll be staying with me for now,” Keagan said and the goons left. He closed his door and took one big breath and sighed.

“Now you’ve really done it.” Keagan hissed.

“Getting your dad involved wasn’t what we agreed on, but I guess it’s too late to regret anything,” Keagan said as he returned to the kitchen where he prepared meals for both he and Karisa.

Keagan ate as he pondered where his life was going.

At this rate, Catalina would most likely have something for him as well.

Keagan checked and saw that Karisa hadn’t eaten much.

“Eat. You’ll need the energy.” Keagan said as malice oozed out of his eyeballs.

Karisa trembled as she looked into Keagan’s annoyed eyes. She lowered her head and ate away at the rice and pork on her plate.

Fifteen minutes later Keagan got up and did some light stretches.

Karisa watched attentively as he undressed.

“What? Wondering what I’m going to do? Well, let’s just say I’ve got a hankering for ice cream and guess what? I’m fresh out of ice cream.” Keagan said. He then went into the bathroom, got changed into a tracksuit and dashed out of the apartment.

Karisa was left alone, with no idea what was happening nor what plans he had in store for her.

She stood completely still and in no less than ten minutes, Keagan had returned. He was covered in sweat and his breaths were frantic.

Keagan closed the door behind him and placed a certain box into the fridge.

“Take off your clothes.” He said as he stormed into the bathroom where he took a quick shower.

He then got changed into his old clothes and by the time he got out, Karisa had already undressed.

Keagan stopped momentarily as his eyes once again fell upon her glorious figure. Her shorter than average height and larger than life breasts gave her an almost adorable look.

Her hair carelessly hung over her shoulders, but Keagan noticed that it had lost its pristine sheen.

She hadn’t washed it properly in a while.

He closely looked at her skin, which was fully exposed to him as she stood perfectly straight.

“Go bath. If I’m going to eat, it’s going to be on a clean plate.” He said as he went to the fridge. He took out the box from earlier, revealing that it was vanilla ice cream.

Karisa did as she was told and took a shower.

Keagan patiently sat on his bed as he played through various scenarios in his head. He didn’t want Karisa’s father to get involved this deeply, but he had dug his grave the day he let her set foot into his home.

Keagan comforted himself by believing that at the end of this, everything would fall back into place.

Karisa eventually emerged from the bathroom and although she had dried herself to the best of her ability, her skin sparkled due to the remaining water.

“Come here.” He said as he turned on the TV.

Karisa did as she was directed.

Keagan made her lay down with her facing the ceiling and her head near Keagan who had a tub of ice cream in his hand.

“Open your mouth.” Keagan said and Karisa did so. He then served the ice cream into her mouth as she lay.

“If you swallow even a bit of it, I’ll- just don’t swallow it,” Keagan said as he continuously served the ice-cold dessert into Karisa’s mouth.

After Karisa’s mouth was filled, Keagan then began eating the ice cream in spoonful’s.

[Just a daily reminder that Unity is currently the leader in science and technology. Don’t forget to check out the history of Unity in the Museum of Cynosure. Unity – The man-made continent.]

One reporter said.

“Tsk! Little do people know… Unity is built on the dead bodies of millions. Mmm? You know that?” Keagan asked Karisa who’s eyes were glassy.

Keagan wondered if the ice cream was too cold.

He placed his spoon down and crawled over Karisa.

He mounted her, but Keagan felt that she very much had the upper hand in their little predicament. Her breaths were evenly paced, even though she was breathing through her nose.

He looked into her open mouth and found traces of ice cream.

Keagan dropped his head to the point where his lips were mere nanometres from hers.

“I want the rest of it.” He whispered.

A single tear rolled down Karisa’s face as Keagan pressed his lips on hers.

She then fed him whatever ice cream she had left in her mouth.

Keagan felt Karisa’s hands running up his back towards his head and yanked himself away from her.

They both took loud gasps as their passionate feeding session came to an end.

Keagan dropped his head onto her chest and pulled up the blanket, covering them both.

“You seriously suck, you know?” Keagan said before eventually falling asleep.

.

..

Keagan was awoken by the sound of a loud explosion.

He opened his eyes to find himself alone in his bed.

The sounds of a distant heartbeat echoed throughout his room which was pitch black.

Keagan quickly got dressed and tried turning on the lights.

The lights didn’t turn on and it looked as though his room was getting darker. He grabbed his phone and tried calling Roy but there was zero network service.

Then suddenly, the TV turned on, but instead of a clear picture popping up on the screen, it was just a grey fuzzy image.

[It’s nothing personal kid. I- just- want- yo- to- kn- th-]

A fuzzy voice said at an unreasonably high volume.

The voice was so distorted, Keagan couldn’t tell whether the speaker was male or female.

The screen blinked and another voice said.

[YOUR FATE IS SEALED.]

[What on earth are you doing?]

Another asked before the TV shut itself off. His left hand also felt unusually tight, he looked at it and saw a simple watch.

It was mostly black but had numerous cracks on it.

Keagan didn’t remember owning a watch.

The echoing heartbeat returned, but this time it was much louder.

Keagan felt his breath become short.

It was getting harder to breathe, so Keagan dashed towards the door and opened it as quickly as he could.

What met him on the outside was a hellish scene. He looked into the horizon and saw pitch blackness.

No stars.

No moon.

Just darkness.

Keagan looked further up and saw the streets of Acan. Everything from buildings to cars hung precariously above him.

Keagan ran back into his apartment and grabbed his torch.

He went back outside and tried to shed more light on his surroundings, but the darkness was far too vast and far too pure.

Keagan’s heart raced. He trembled in fear as the darkness grew ever closer.

In a moment of panic, Keagan ran to the emergency staircase and headed straight to the ground floor.

Upon reaching the ground floor he exited the apartment building to find an endless ocean of snakes.

Millions, if not billions of snakes coiling around each other.

Some of them noticed him and began coiling around his legs.

Their black soulless eyes dug into the far reaches of Keagan’s mind as their cold bodies slithered up his body.

Keagan tried running back to the emergency staircase, but it was too late.

Many snakes had already gotten ahold of him.

They dragged him into the pit, without a single bite, nor constriction.

“No, no. No. No! No! NO!” Keagan screamed as the snakes pulled him into their dark, warm pit.

The heartbeat that echoed throughout the world grew stronger and closer.

So much so, that it was as though Keagan was right next to it.

The snakes continued to coil around him until he was completely submerged. He had become one with the darkness.

So terribly empty, yet calming.

Keagan’s mind went numb and his thoughts froze as he sunk into the gentle darkness.