Esper Chapter 4: Into Winter’s gray sky

Part 1

Katie Vang and Nicolaus Thompson sat totally dumbfounded at the sight of Amala Singh, floating in midair, levitating! She hovered over a hundred feet in the sky engulfed in flowing purplish mist, gazing into the distance towards Trenton. Vernon Marino pulled himself up from his recent fall to the dirty forest ground, knocking debris off a once clean tracksuit.

“Yo! Amala, they’re here! Mind coming down for a second?” Vernon cupped his hands over his mouth and bellowed upward to the petite airborne woman. She took notice of her name being called, then gracefully descended back to earth. Once her stylish black boots touched the ground, the purple haze faded.

Amala cleared her throat, then spoke. “Hello, Everyone.” She said with what could only be described as her ‘business smile’.

“How…” Before Nicolaus could breathe another word, Vernon raised his hand, pausing the conversation.

“Your questions have ‘ta wait! We’ve got to welcome our other company first! Follow me!” With a glee filled stride Vernon silently read something on his smartphone while leading the group to the front of his property.

“Hey…uh, what was all of that? How were you flying?” A fair inquiry posed by Katie about Amala’s new ability. It was met with her cutting those purple eyes toward the perky redhead, then back without an answer. “That’s pretty rude.” Katie stated.

(Katie really says whatever crosses her mind, huh.) Nicolaus had become aware of the young woman’s apparent lack of reservation, a bad habit. Expecting an animated response from Amala, he was surprised when she didn’t react at all. Katie turned to her spiky haired pessimistic ally, seeking some form of support. “Uh…Amala, come on. Give us…something.”

Sighing, Amala obliged by answering. “Just wait. It’s better if we’re all together. That way, I won’t have to explain this theory that Vernon and I have been talking over twice.”

“Theory?”

“These powers…I’m unsure of the details, but we all had those dreams, or visions, right? Vernon wants to see if we all have similar powers.” Nicolaus and Katie were clamoring for information but knew Amala wouldn’t offer more. Upon reaching the front of Vernon’s property, they reunited with their two youngest members; Harper Wolf, the stubby Asian teen, and his lankier pal, Vergil Trask. The teens wearily trudged up the hill, dragging their heels and complaining.

“Alright! Everybody, back to the woods!” Harper and Vergil groaned in unison. Enthusiastically, Vernon brought the group back to the clearing. “So, as Katie and Nick’o have already seen, we’ve figured something awesome out! Amala, if you would…?”

Amala lifted her arms whilst shutting her eyes. Gravel and dirt surrounding her rumbled. After a few seconds the purple mist formed from thin air, engulfing her body. Tiredness crumbled away from the teens’ faces, replaced entirely with elation and astonishment as Amala floated upward! At first it was a few centimeters, then inches, then over six feet in the air!

“Holy fuck!” Harper exclaimed so loud that Nicolaus, standing beside him, shielded his ears. Vergil stuttered uncontrollably; composure totally lost with no ability to get out a single word.

Amala levitated for a bit more until taking another deep breath and slowly lowering to the ground. “Is that good enough, Vernon?”

“Excellent!” As if the Cheshire cat had replaced him, Vernon smiled a smile like no other!

Hoping to finally gain information about that new found ability, Nicolaus stepped forward with a head full of questions. “This is just too insane. Where do I even start…?”

“It happened after you dropped me off.” Amala explained. “I missed a step going upstairs and fell, but this power suddenly made me float back down to the landing.”

“We ran into each other after the doctor examined us, and she showed it to me. I decided that showing you guys would be cooler than just telling you over the phone. Surprised, right? Cool, right?!” The others blankly stared at Vernon, elated like a child who’d gotten ahold of a new toy.

“Okay…” Fingers running through his hair, Nicolaus collected his thoughts. “Look, this is nice and all, but we’ve got a lot to talk about-”

“Oh come on!” Harper shouted, cutting Nicolaus off! “Nick, you can’t tell me that you don’t want to learn how to fly!”

“…What makes you think we can all fly?”

“Vernon can, right?” Katie spoke up, getting a confident grin from Vernon in response. “Spike, we’ve been doing nothing but waiting and worrying for weeks after Newtonville. Don’t you think we could use a little distraction? A little fun?” The normally perky redhead pleaded. Nicolaus gave in almost immediately. “Yes!”

“Alright, listen up, I’ll explain the theory…or you know the theory that Amala explained to me.” The always assertive Vernon took charge and strolled over to one of the many trees nearby. “First, you’ll want to grab hold of a tree, trust me on that! My back’s still sore from the fall. Anyway, take a deep breath and close your eyes.” The enthusiastic young Italian-American man explained with gusto! The others listened closely, despite Vernon’s apparent giddiness being a bit off-putting. “Now…this part is where things get a bit abstract, so pay attention. You’re going to use your mind to move a part of your body that doesn’t exist.”

Confusion overcame the group. “What?” It was Nicolaus who attempted to get a more concrete explanation. “You can’t be…” Memories of the odd mist on Newtonville Rock interrupted him. The concept Vernon pushed wasn’t dissimilar to when he attacked the police officer; a sensation akin to a phantom limb. “Never mind, continue.”

Amala jumped in, trouncing her boss’s spotlight! “It’s simple and at the same time a little difficult to contextualize. You need some semblance of imagination to make it work. Close your eyes and I’ll try to form a visual with you.” The gaggle of young people followed Amala’s orders, peeving Vernon at his loss of authority. “Imagine…steam, exiting your body. That steam is a long trail leading upwards, it’s under your total control, like another arm. No matter where it’s coming from…make it wrap around your body. Engulf your body as if you were to be covered in a thick coding of…let’s say honey.”

“Honey?”

“Quiet Nicolaus! Stay focused.” That chastising of Nicolaus made Vernon openly snicker. “Move it slowly…over every part of your body…on every limb. Now…once you’ve got that done, I want you to use it to lift your body…do it as if you were lifting a baby bird…don’t squeeze! Remember, this is your body.”

Sighing, Nicolaus completely gave up on making the method work. “Amala, I don’t get this. It’s not working.” Minutes went by and no one was able to make the abstract concept work.

“Maybe I’m not communicating this right…” Amala pondered aloud.

“Worked fine for me.” Vernon chimed in. “Hmm…” The young man schemed. He slowly approached Nicolaus from behind, unbeknownst to his co-worker and wrapped his arms around the other young man’s waist, tightly!

“V-Vernon what the hell-” Before he could even properly react, Vernon took off floating upward in the air with a translucent burgundy mist enveloping him! Terrified and flailing about, Nicolaus screamed and bucked trying to break Vernon’s grip! “Cut it out, asshole!”

“Best stop moving! I don’t know how steady I am or how much weight I can support.”

“Vernon, put him down, now! What are you doing?!” Amala yelled!

“Chill! I’ve got an idea!” As the eager man hoisted his co-worker farther and farther up, Nicolaus’s stomach sank. “I’ve got you. Just don’t move. Alright, I’m going to drop him! Get ready, just in case Amala!”

“What?!” Everyone reacted in shock as Vernon released his hold on Nicolaus, who plummeted toward the ground! Just as Amala prepared to leap to Nicolaus’s aid, blue mist envelop him! The young man slowed, just short of the ground, and landed with the lightest of thuds.

“See!” Vernon exclaimed! To everyone’s astonishment, the experiment was a success! Nicolaus was both astounded, but also livid!

“Are you fucking insane?!” The young man jumped to his feet, legs rattling and yelled at Vernon!

“I was thinking you just needed a little push, like before at the ridge. Also, that’s how Amala’s power first activated, so…” With a smug grin of success, Vernon cautiously drifted back down to the ground. Nicolaus got ready to punch his co-worker, however Amala pushed by him and slapped her superior right across the cheek!

“What kind of idiot are you?! He could’ve been killed!” Amala’s normally solemn demeanor was blown away! Everyone was surprised, even Amala, who blushed and looked away; shocked by her own outburst. “…Sorry.”

Stunned, Vernon held his hand to his face. After swallowing his pride and some anger, he apologized. “…I’m sorry.” It was an earnest apology. “Nick’o, I’m sorry.”

“Well…” The awkward pressure to forgive can be difficult for anyone. Nicolaus didn’t want to accept the apology, but the group looked at him awaiting a response. “At least it worked.” It felt like the air had been sucked out of the entire clearing.

“Can…we try? You know, just a little less dropping.” Harper, whether it be from wanting to break the tension or pure ignorance, spoke up. It worked by giving everyone something to cling onto for the minute.

Part 2

It looked more like the ground was slowly drifting away as opposed to being able to fly, Nicolaus thought to himself. He was floating, dumbfounded and rather scared as he continued upward. “Hey Spike!” Katie called out to him from below. “How does it feel up there?” She, as well as Harper and Vergil, all remained grounded, unable to take flight themselves.

“It’s…weird. Feels like I’m being pulled up by my back…or something.” Nicolaus didn’t want to admit it, but Vernon was right with his earlier example. (Even though there’s no actual body part, I can feel some sort of weight. Like…my brain is being weighed down, maybe. This mist - it’s like the mist is a part of me; it feels like an outer layer of skin.) Amala and Vernon were also airborne, allowing a comparison of mists around theirs bodies. Nicolaus’s was a strong, translucent azure blue; Vernon’s mist was burgundy and Amala’s was a deep mauve. “Hey Amala, Vernon, why are these mists different colors?”

“No idea.” Amala replied. “Could be as simple as just being different people, so they’re different.”

“Hm…” Vernon framed his chin with an index finger and thumb. “For a second, let’s assume we’re all feeling the same weight in our heads right now.” An idea clearly was beginning to form, to the dismay of both fellow floating co-workers. “Now that we’ve confirmed those powers weren’t some kind of fluke, how about we give that experiment with the tree another go?” Vernon pointed at one of the many saplings littering the woods. “I’m willing to bet if this mist or haze or whatever, is under our control like another arm, we can use them like arms!” With a nod, Nicolaus tried to focus.

(This feeling is a little different. I can feel the weight over my skin extending, like a sleeve lengthening.) The blue haze surrounding Nicolaus began slowly reaching toward the ground. “Everybody be careful! I…can feel something. It’s working!” An amazing sight, as the mist flowed onward! More excited than the others at this revelation and wanting further results, Nicolaus persevered through an erupting migraine. The haze wrapped around a small, slightly wilted tree! “I…feel…something…it’s heavy!” The young man focused intensely, his head beginning to roar in pain!

“Nicolaus! Stop!” Amala called out, but Nicolaus pushed on unabated.

“Not yet!”

“Nick’o relax! Your nose is bleeding!” Even Vernon warned, with genuine concern in his voice!

“No! Al…most…there!” Nicolaus grabbed his own wrist as if he were lifting an extremely heavy dumbbell! With an exaggerated tug the blue mist tore the tree from the ground and tossed it upward past all the flying members of the party and beyond the clouds! “S…s…ee…” Nicolaus’s consciousness faded, blood oozing from his nose as he rapidly plummeted back toward the earth!

“Nicolaus!” Amala flew rapidly after her co-worker, catching him just short of the ground! “Nicolaus! Nicolaus! Say something! Hey!” She screamed and shuttered in fear, hoping for a response!

“Look out!” A cry came from above the two! Amala looked up, greeted with the tree from before careening back down toward them! With every ounce of her willpower, she quickly threw herself backward to avoid being hit! It wasn’t until Amala had already cleared herself and the barely conscious Nicolaus of danger, that she noticed Harper, Vergil and Katie still in the falling tree’s path!

Amala lacked the frame of mind at that time to do anything, and simply fell to the ground shielding Nicolaus tight in her arms! The tree crashed to the ground kicking up clouds of dirt everywhere! “Oh no…” Amala said in shock.

“Katie! Vergil! Harper!” Through plumes of debris wafting upward, Vernon frantically dove into the dirt cloud! The man, nearly blind, desperately floated about, until ending up face to face with a vantablack visage! “What?!” The shock caused Vernon to lose his balance and crash land! Black mannequins, as dark as night, no light reflecting off of them, laid awkwardly posed, and up piled into a pyramid. Their hands extended, hosting the tree up from the ground! The disturbing figures each possessed a singular blue, human-like eye staring blankly ahead.

Off to the pile’s side sat Harper and Vergil, rattled. “Vernon, o-over here!” Vernon got back up and ran over to the boys as the tree slowly rolled down the mass of mannequins and to the ground.

“Where’s Katie? Katie!” Just then the sound of multiple pieces of glass cracking came from behind the distressed man. The mannequins began crumbling, and then, all at once shattered like glass, fading away, leaving nothing behind. Beneath the pile, Katie’s unconscious body lay. Vernon ran up and checked on her. “Thank God, she’s breathing. What the fuck was all that…?”

Part 3

Time ticked by as Vernon brought Nicolaus and Katie assorted medical supplies. Nicolaus plugged his nose with napkins, attempting to stop the bleeding, meanwhile Katie laid on the couch using her forearm to shield her eyes.

“I feel like shit…” Katie stated, downtrodden and devitalized. “Tell me what happened again.”

“…I don’t know. I guess…you used some kind of power.” A shaky and all be it unsure answer from Vernon was all that could be offered.

“It was fucking weird!” Harper shouted! “I saw you put your arms up and then out of nowhere a bunch of clones shot out of you - but they weren’t clones - they looked kind of like you, but they were completely black! I mean, like beyond black, super black!”

“…Can we all do that?” Vernon started trying to make clones himself, but Nicolaus stopped the eager man.

“Vernon, can you bring up your mist really quick?” Vernon obliged, covering himself in the haze once again. Nicolaus reached into the mist, holding his hand in place. “Hmm…Amala, can you do it now?” Without explanation, Nicolaus moved over to Amala who also brought up her mist; placing his hand into the haze, then nodded. “I noticed it before I was completely out. When Amala grabbed me, it felt really warm, like an oven. Amala’s mist is different from yours Vernon, and I’m guessing mine too, not just in color, but in what it does. Maybe…we all have different powers.”

“Fuck yeah! I knew it!” Harper cheered, jumping to his feet! “I’ve been thinking about it, but now I know for sure then!”

“What have you been thinking about?” Everyone listened but Nicolaus inquired.

“Oh…uh…just that you guys must have telekinesis!” Quickly adding!

“…Telekinesis? You mean like the power to move things with our minds?” Lightheadedness finally overwhelmed Nicolaus, falling back onto the couch.

“Yeah! I mean, it makes sense! You were able to uproot that tree from the ground!”

“Then, why is mine…warm?” Amala dispersed her mist.

“Fuck if I know.” Harper’s rude response sat poorly with Amala, pouting at him from behind. “Vernon, how about you try using your mist - er, telekinesis…to grab something small. Like the remote, grab the remote off the table!” A small television remote sat on Vernon’s living room table. Vernon didn’t say it aloud, but he thrilled to test the power.

“So, Nick’o, you tried thinking about it like a hand or…what?” With an unenthused wave as lackluster confirmation, Vernon focused, making a small sliver of the burgundy haze reach out and grip the remote. “I’ve got it!” Elation quickly soured when the mist pushed down on the remote and cracked the table’s glass surface! Vernon stopped immediately by dispersing his mist. “Well…guess I need more practice.”

“This means the three of us have similar powers then. I still wonder why my mist is warm.” Amala again openly pondered.

“I wonder why you didn’t help us…” Katie muttered.

“Huh?” Everyone fell silent.

“You saved Spike but didn’t even bother with us.”

“I-It wasn’t on purpose! I was just thinking about getting to Nicolaus at the time!” Weather due to those allegations or lack of social skills, Amala began to shrink before the pressure.

“…Yeah, okay…” Katie rolled over, facing her back to the group as she massaged her temples.

“It’s true!” Amala growing deeply flustered!

“Come on you two, that’s enough.” Vernon moved in to play peacemaker just as Vergil’s phone started ringing.

The young man’s normally pale complexion grew further ghost like instantly as his eyes graced the screen. “U-Uh, Harper…” Vergil leaned over to his best friend, showing him the screen.

“Seriously? Alright, let’s go…I guess. Shit.” With an exaggerated sigh, Harper pulled out his own phone and started arranging a ride.

“What’s wrong?” Vernon inquired.

“Vergil has to go home, and my parents know I’m with him, so if I don’t go too then we’ll get in trouble.” Harper finished. “Alright, the car should be here any minute. Looks like this is all for the night.”

“Wait! Don’t you two want to figure out your powers?”

Vergil nodded, but Harper stopped him. “Nah. Any later and we’ll not make it home on time. Come on, Vergil!” The teen pushed his friend toward the door, seemingly escaping from the pushy man’s insistence.

“I’ll walk you guys out.” Vernon said, walking with the boys to their pick up spot. Once they were safely in the car, he bid them farewell and reentered his home. “…So…is this going to be another impromptu sleepover?” He asked jokingly.

“Hopefully not.” Nicolaus rose from his migraine induced stupor. “I wanted to discuss this with the other guys here but now we’ll just have to go without them.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“…I really want to get this out of the way.” He urged. Nicolaus briefly explained the day’s events. He spoke about the doctor’s visit, the missing bodies of the police officers and general confusion as to what was next for them.

“What you’re saying boils down to is that you’ve brought us more questions and no answers.” Vernon said in a slightly smug tone, offending Nicolaus.

“I mean…” Vernon cut deep with his response but was right. “No matter how bad the police in Trenton are, they don’t suck enough to miss dead bodies! All of this just doesn’t sit right with me. Where did the bodies go?”

“Maybe…a bear or coyote came along.” This casual shut down by Vernon agitated Nicolaus enough to make him snap back.

“Will you take this seriously?! Why’s this shit have be to a joke and fun for you?!”

“Excuse me?!” Vernon stood up, making Nicolaus feel he was being both metaphorically and literally looked down on, so he also got to his feet too! “Maybe you’re too busy pouting and brooding to realize, but I am taking this seriously. Very seriously! I’m trying to keep everything together! I’ve got to account for everyone, and everything!”

“No one asked you to! You’re trying to take charge for no reason! If you haven’t noticed, it didn’t work out that well before, when you nearly killed me!”

“I’m trying to take charge because no one else will!”

“Enough infighting! Holy shit!” Katie shot up off the couch and pushed the two men apart, squaring off like a pair of rams! “What the hell are you two even fighting about? This dick measuring has got to stop!”

“…” Nicolaus recognized his pettiness. Not even arguing about how things were being done, but more about Vernon being in charge, felt childish to him. “…Whatever. I just want to know what the hell is going on. We don’t even know the extent of these… ‘powers’ for God’s sake! First, we were having the same dreams, then we could throw people around with telekinesis, and now we can fly; plus, Katie can make these weird mannequins?! I mean, shit guys! Six people, six damn people died, but we survived! Carl…Carl and Walter died! Aren’t you all freaked out?!”

“…” Amala got up from the couch and raised her hand getting everyone’s attention, then nonchalantly stated… “I killed someone yesterday.” Shocked by the way she casually admitted to that, the others’ minds froze! “I’ve been thinking about that nonstop since it happened. Someone pointed a gun at me, called me some racist stuff, said they were going to kill me and somehow…somehow…I killed - no, destroyed him! I haven’t stopped thinking about it for a second! My mind is buzzing constantly with images of a man’s body folding, and contorting, and snapping, and breaking, twisting, and popping, and tearing - do you see what I’m getting at?!” Amala’s eyes reddened, just barely holding back tears and opening up to the group. Nicolaus thought back to their car ride from earlier that day. Treating the events as if he were the only one affected was selfish, especially after promising that Amala could talk any of her problems.

“…I’m sorry.”

“…Me too.” Both men lowered their heads in shame.

“Spike…Vernon, we’re all dealing with this. I-I can’t stop thinking about…having a person’s body destroyed in front of me and having all that gore blasted onto me!” The usually perky waitress’s pale hands shook like the legs of a new born deer. “I know you two are having a hard time, but we all are!”

“…” Nicolaus opened his mouth with the thought of responding, but with thick tension flooding the room it forced any defense back down his throat. Guilty, if only in his own mind of being totally insensitive, he thought it may be best to just leave for the night. On his way toward the front door however, Vernon halted the disheartened and humbled young man by the shoulder.

“Wait.” He pulled Nicolaus back into the living room. “You are such a drama queen, man.” Vernon walked to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of Vodka. “Everyone, sit down. Let’s just get it all out, let’s just get all our shit out on the table!” Pulling the freshly broken living room table behind him, he sat down and gestured for everyone else to join.

“What is this? Peer pressure?” Despite shielding his shame with pessimism, Nicolaus sat down as well. “Fine. If we’re going to do this, then let’s do it right.” Katie took a seat next to him and Amala sat down at the table as well. “Let’s try and keep this civil though.” Vernon pointed the bottle at Nicolaus and reluctantly, he took the first drink. “Agh! Holy hell! That’s strong!”

“Is it? I haven’t even had any. It was a gift from…from Walter.” That sour note froze the conversation until Vernon grabbed back the bottle and took a swig himself. “Wow!” Katie reached for the bottle and Vernon quickly yanked it away! “It is pretty strong…”

“Come on, dude. Hand it over!” He relented, handing the Vodka over as she downed some without hesitation. “Wow! That is really, really strong! Don’t know how much more of that I can take.” The spunky lass passed the bottle over to Amala next. She sighed, then took some of her dress to wipe the lip of the bottle and took a big gulp.

“Buhha!” Amala nearly spit out the sour drink, to which Katie snickered. “W-What is this stuff? Aren’t e-expensive drinks supposed to taste good?”

“Alright, everyone had a sip. So, can we start now?” Nicolaus attempted to get back on subject. Vernon handed him the bottle and he took another unenthusiastic sip.

“We should get to know each other better first. It’s a technique I learned in management training.”

“This is going to go great!” Nicolaus said sarcastically with a heavy roll of the eyes.

Part 4

(This needs to stop happening…) A hefty hangover and cold hardwood floor, offered little support throughout the long night to Nicolaus. It was the second time in two days that he’d slept in the house of a person he wouldn’t consider a friend, barely even a co-worker! Looking over to the couch he spied Amala, curled up in a blanket. Vernon was snoring, out cold, with his back leaned against the sofa’s arm. Light footsteps heading towards the door caught Nicolaus’s attention! It was Katie, trying to sneak out. She looked back, giving Nicolaus a smile, a wink, and holding her finger to her lips to signify he should remain quiet. The waitress’s bright red hair disappeared as she closed the door behind her, leaving without waking the others. (Guess she has some stuff she needs to handle. Whatever…I’m too messed up to stop her.)

Aftermath of the night before started taking its toll, so Nicolaus laid back down on the floor for a few more minutes until he heard groaning come from the couch. Vernon accidently kicked over two empty bottles beside him; noticing his not so friendly acquaintance was also awake, they stared at each other. Both scowling men tried in vain to remember if their night of drinking caused either to say anything unsavory to or about the other.

“Nick’O…I’ll just come out and say it. If I said anything messed up, my bad.” Surprisingly humble, Nicolaus thought of Vernon’s statement as being less than genuine.

(Probably another tactic he learned in management training. ‘Immediately seize the moral high ground’!) The pessimist countered… “Same…” Then immediately clamped his hand over his mouth! A sharp sensation of surged up in his throat, building rapidly!

The also hungover, but clearly less so, Vernon took notice of his co-worker’s face turning a sickly green. “Bathroom’s upstairs. First door on the left.” Nicolaus sprinted for the restroom!

After barely making it to the toilet, rancid pressure eased in Nicolaus’s stomach. When the spiky haired youth finished washing his hands, he exited into the hallway and noticed some pictures of lined up on a shelf lovingly. They depicted Vernon through the years growing up. One of him holding a baseball trophy, surrounded by other children on his team. Another, snowboarding with his mother. Graduating from high school wearing a valedictorian sash where the two seemed especially happy. And finally, in front of his house, hugging his much older mother. There was only a single photo of what appeared to be Vernon’s father. It showed what looked like him as a newborn, his mother having had just given birth and his father leaning over into frame looking overwhelmed with joy.

Nicolaus was nearly thrown off the steps by Amala as he descended! That same sharp sensation building in her throat, the young woman pushed by with her mouth covered on the way toward the bathroom! Vernon chuckled and called out to Nicolaus. “Guess you two aren’t hard drinkers, huh?” He replied with a simple shake of the head. “Know where Katie went?”

“Uh…yeah. She left this morning. Looked fine, so don’t worry too much. More importantly, we have to report to work ASAP, right?” Nicolaus checked his phone noting it was already eleven in the morning.

“No reason to rush back, but whatever. I’ll E-Mail the office for myself. In the meantime, want me to call a taxi for you?” Another kind gesture shocked Nicolaus!

“Let me check on Amala first.” As he said that, the little Indian woman exited the bathroom. Her normally vibrant brown skin had lost a lot of its luster, and hair formally tied up hung draped over her face. “Hey, you up to share a ride back to…”

Amala stopped Nicolaus just short of finishing his question. “Y-Yes…whatever…okay?” Clearly woozy, she plopped down on the steps.

Everyone gathered up their belongings and a car drove up to the road that ran nearest to Vernon’s house. Amala and Nicolaus filed into the car as Vernon returned to his house. It took Nicolaus a second, but he recognized the same driver that’d driven him and Katie up to the house originally!

“Hey buddy, how ya’ doing?” He called to Nicolaus in the backseat.

“…Alright, I guess. Would you mind keeping the radio down? We were drinking pretty hard last night.”

“Sure, sure, no problem. New friend?”

“Yeah…in a way.” Amala had already zonked out in the backseat. The driver took notice and kept his voice down with his next question.

“There a reason you ditched the one from before?”

“Mind…your own…business…” Those were Nicolaus’s last words as he also drifted off to sleep.

Abruptly stopping the car at its first destination unintentionally woke the groggy young man in the backseat. “Sorry pal. Didn’t mean to wake you up like that.” The skinhead looking chauffeur said. Even though it felt like less than a second, the car had been driving for nearly an hour, reaching Amala’s apartment. Nicolaus felt a small weight pressing on his shoulder; it was the slumbering Amala. With a nudge, her eyes sprung open! Embarrassed at her unflattering appearance, she pushed away from Nicolaus fast enough to hit the back of her head on the car door window!

“Sorry…” Amala stated, getting out of the car and rushing for the door to her apartment! Suddenly, she stopped on a dime and turned around to the car door she’d left open! “Here.” Amala said as she attempted to hand Nicolaus some money from her purse.

“Don’t worry about it.” He replied.

“Just take it, okay?” Amala shoved the money into her carpooling co-worker’s hands and then left. Leaning back in the seat, Nicolaus rested once more as the driver brought him back to his apartment.

Upon reaching the destination, Nicolaus bid a farewell to the driver. That man yelled out to him from the car, however. “Don’t forget the rating, man! Also, that young lady was pretty nice too! Good job!” The young pessimist lost his already shaky composure and stumbled up the complex’s stairway.

As soon as the door to his place opened, the young man was greeted by a strong and savory aroma filling the entire flat. His sister’s boyfriend, the suave and affable Alonso greeted him while cooking over top of the kitchen stove. As for his sister, Danielle lazed across the couch, stretched out and half clothed.

“Dani, you will make an excellent mother.” Nicolaus’s obvious sarcasm made Alonso laugh as he invited his soon-to-be in-law to sit down for breakfast.

End of Chapter 4