Arthur could feel the blood pumping in his ears.
Derrick smirked, and placed his hands on his hips. His basic polo shirt and jeans still showed their usual signs of wear. From behind his back he pulled out a cigar and lit it with a snap of his fingers. With a deep breath he took a drag and blew purple-green smoke into Arthur’s face.
“Christ, you're pathetic. How did it feel? You got me fired and then died. What a rollercoaster of a day.”
All around him other voices snickered.
“Fuck you.”
“Classy. No wonder you worked my counter.” Derrick smirked as he ran a hand through his hair. “You want to sit down after that? Take a fifteen-minute break? Ain’t like you're trying to charge me for it this time.”
“You never paid me for those, asshole!”
Arthur took a step forward, his teeth clenching so hard they hurt. His nails dug into his palm and he wanted to throw a punch. He looked around for Augustus, ready to order him to beat Derrick.
“No? I sure felt like I did every time I listened to you whine about it.”
Another plume of smoke blew towards his face, and he coughed. Unable to form words as Derrick continued to speak.
“Now, listen. I know I’m not your boss, anymore. I get it. However, I want you to listen to me. As someone who has run a business, to someone who is failing at it. The deal they offered you is the best you’re going to get. Take it. You were never designed to be a leader. A follower born, you. Pathetic.”
“Shut up!” Arthur growled out the words as he took a swing.
As soon as his fist struck the cloud of smoke, Derrick vanished. He whirled around, trying to see if there was a way out. The cloud pressed closer, swirling and forming another figure. Demonic Dan, baseball bat over his shoulder, his facial tattoos writhing snake like across his bald head.
“Loser. You should have run, or fought. Imagine getting killed by a punk like me?”
“You killed me!”
Arthur would have said more, but his mind couldn’t manage to focus on worlds. Rage filled him, anger overwhelming everything else. He lunged forward, swinging out with the knife clutched in his hand.
This time he hit something solid, but Demonic Dan simply laughed in a strange squeaky way.
“Little too late for that? Maybe if you take their deal you can find me. Leave the city, Arthur. Come on. You’re too pathetic for this to work. Run away.”
“It should have been you!”
Once again his knife struck home, this time however Demonic Dan didn’t take it lying down. With an enraged squeak he lashed out with his bat striking him in the shoulder. He could feel bone shatter and he screamed.
Another pair of hands grabbed him from the mist. He struggled and kicked, but it wasn’t enough. Soon he was dragged into the mist. The purple-green smoke enveloped him, and he started to hear voices. One in particular caught his attention.
It was rich and smooth, reminding him of those aged male actors who had retired but still made their money selling perfume and luxury coffee. The type of voice designed to make you feel like they were part of the in-crowd. A crowd that you desperately wanted to be in to.
“Arthur,” the voice said. “Arthur take the deal.”
Arthur squirmed and kicked, unsure how long he’d spent being dragged across the floor.
“No! Leave me alone.”
“Arthur, Arthur, Arthur.” The voice was chiding now. “Be reasonable. I’m offering you a way out. You don’t want this. She’s not going to have your best interests at heart. Take the deal. We can come to an agreement. All you have to do is stop struggling. Let it go, and agree to speak to me. That’s it.”
His heart hammered in his chest as he continued to struggle against the hands that pulled at him. Another set joined in, their grip feeling strange against his legs. He wanted to scream, but the voice filled his head.
“Give up. Give in. Take the deal.”
Over and over again the words echoed, until he screamed just to hear something else.
“Shut up!”
The words were still in the air when he found himself out of the gas cloud. Nyssa and Augustus both stared at him. Eyes wide as they let him go. Augustus was bleeding, a knife Arthur didn’t remember dropping held in one hand.
Worry filled Nyssa’s voice as he tried to sit up and listen to her actual words. All he could hear was the tone, and her telling him to sign the form.
With a shake of his head, he finally managed to figure out what she was saying.
“What happened?”
“Well,” he started and then stopped. His mind couldn’t concentrate, so he decided to start with something he knew. A familiar figure.
“Did I ever tell you about my boss Derrick?”
***
By the time he’d finished his story Nyssa had managed to help him to one of the chairs.
She’d been supportive, though quiet, as he spoke of the people he’d seen. As he finished his explanation he saw Augustus move to stand over the corpse. For some reason he was surprised it was still there.
A part of him half-expecting it to be teleported away or turn into ephemeral mystic vapors. Not simply lay there like a deflated balloon. No more gas spilled out of the wound in its head, now visible thanks to the tablecloth laying in a pile at its feet.
“What happened out here?” He managed to croak out. His voice felt rough, which didn’t surprise him. From what Nyssa said his yells weren’t quiet.
Nyssa looked hesitant to start as she looked over at Augustus. The larger rat shrugged, and waved at her. Arthur felt guilt as he looked at the blood matting the fur.
“Sorry, Augustus.”
All he got in reply was a shrug and a grunted squeak. Though there wasn’t any anger in his employees' expression. With a gentle toss Arthur watched him throw the knife onto the table. It clattered on the polished wood.
That drew his eye over and he cursed. The wine bottle had smashed on the floor. As he studied the areas he kept seeing flashes in the corner of his vision. Purple-green smoke creatures. Faces, mostly. People from his past. An ex-girlfriend, a teacher who never liked him, customers he remembered throwing fits.
He shuddered, wanting nothing more than a distraction.
“Nyssa,” he asked again. “What happened?”
She sighed, and started to explain. To make it easier to concentrate he lent back in his chair and closed his eyes. However, the intrusions stopped being visual. Instead, he heard the voice. It spoke anytime she took a breath, or paused for any reason.
“So, the corpses exploded, and you started yelling at what appeared to be nothing.”
(Give up. Sign the contract. You still have it.)
“We thought the gas was the problem, but when Augustus moved forward it didn’t affect him.”
(See. Even your employees are more capable than you. Give up.)
“That was when you stabbed him twice.”
(I can make it worth your while. What do you want? Money? Women? Men? Tell me.)
“Eventually he hit you to see if that would snap you out of it. Sorry about the broken bones.”
(I’ve dulled the pain. You should be on the floor, screaming. Your frail body destroyed. If not for me, you would be. Say thank you. I’ve prevented your agony and suffering. Let me help you again.)
“Then we grabbed you and started to try and get you to a chair, but it was like you were stuck in place.”
(My power is great. Sign the form and some of it can be yours.)
“Thank you,” Arthur broke in. “I mean it. An injured shoulder is better than the alternative.”
That got him a hissing chuckle from Augustus and a weak smile from Nyssa. Though, mostly he was grateful that the voice had stopped. He could tell from the dull ache in his shoulder the voice has told him the truth.
Arthur had seen Augustus fight enough times to know how much pain he should be in.
“What now?” Nyssa asked. “Are you going to be ok to walk back?”
To answer her question, he attempted to stand. Around him the world spun and he quickly sat back down. A chuckle sounded in his ears, rich and deep. He shook his head.
“Not without help. I wish we brought the Rickshaw, or told Theobold where we were going. This was a stupid risk, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about that now,” Nyssa said, Augustus squeaking in agreement.
“But I do.”
Arthur frowned, ignoring the flashes as he looked around. He hoped the box would heal him of whatever this was. His mind raced, but he couldn’t think of anything. They had plenty of chairs, plates, cutlery and tables. Plus the corpse. However, that wouldn’t help him now.
They needed Theobold, and he really only had one option, though he didn’t like it.
“Hey, Augustus, how fast can you run back to the store if you went for it?”
Augustus shrugged and squeaked.
“Good enough. Can you block off the back door with a table, and then run to get help?”
Another squeak.
“Thanks. Nyssa, grab a chair. Hopefully you can brain anything that tries to turn up.”
She scowled at him, and he tried not to chuckle as he listened to the voice. Making a promise he’d be ready to get up by the time Augustus got back.
***
Not long after Augustus left, Nyssa helped him to loot the demon's corpse.
With a trembling hand he reached out to touch it. Unsure if his power would work to give him stock from this kind of creature. To his shock, it worked. Though, there was something wrong with the prompt.
The popping sound was deeper, and seemed to reverberate in the air. Plus, the fact of the box lacking any kind of color or outline. Simple words hung in the air, laid out more like a report than the video game style he was used to.
Product Acquired
Kill: Demon Type 4
Killer: Augustus, Rat-Hybrid
Product Held:
Name: Demonic Pennies
Amount: Ten
Item Description: A soft fabric pouch (Black) that holds ten individual golden coins. Charmed to act as Golden Pennies at any applicable retailer.
Product Held:
Name: Demonic Core
Amount: One
Item Description: A pulsing stone that held the essence of this demon. Can be used in various applicable projects, or crushed to create a small amount of hallucinogenic mist. Has mysterious effects if consumed.
Would you like to send these items to your personal storage device?
Yes
No
Annoyance filled him at the clear and obvious description he saw in front of him.
“Why can’t my prompts be this nice?” He thought as he selected yes.
The body transformed into two cubes, and blinked out of existence with the most delicate of popping sounds. That done, he asked Nyssa to help him back to the chair.
As he waited for Theobold and Augustus to return, he looked around the area. Now curious about what else he could take.
“Hey Nyssa,” he asked, mostly to take his mind off the throbbing in his shoulder. “Do you think we can take these tables?”
She looked at him from her potion by the door. One hand on a chair as she kept peeking out into the street. “Why?”
Arthur paused, mulling the question over. They were good tables and sets, the question is what they could do with them. He couldn’t fit them all inside the store, though he could at least take some of the chairs to put behind the counter.
When he didn’t immediately answer, she spoke again.
“Do you just want to steal things?”
“Kinda,” Arthur admitted. “But I also feel like it would be a missed opportunity if we don’t. Plus, it would be nice to finally have some furniture.”
“True enough,” Nyssa nodded. “Maybe we could take some chairs and let people have a sit down meal.”
“Wait, say that again?”
“A sit down meal.” Nyssa sounded confused.
He thought back to Jemima asking him about hiring the kids, and how he didn’t have anything for them to do.
“Do you reckon people would come for a sit down service if we offered it?”
She looked at him, confusion clear on her face, so he continued.
“Jemima wanted me to hire Lucy, Billy and Thomas. She wants them out of the sewer. What if we used the new supply line to open a café? They can work there. Charge a little bit more for everything due to it being a dining experience.”
He felt proud of that one, even though he was sure he’d stolen it from somewhere.
Nyssa shook her head. “I don’t hate the idea. Maybe we could buy another building for it? I’m not sure putting it all on the street is a good plan.”
“We’ll see,” Arthur said as he caught sight of Theobold pulling up outside. “Besides, our rides here. Let’s see if we can even get it back.”
Beside him Nyssa nodded, and with her help they stood and waited for the others to join them inside.182Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡve9pMZMtdj
