CHAPTER TWO
What Viggo calls a private residence is really a smart mansion instead, and it knows that they’re here. The lights outside and inside turn on, a blazing golden in walls of stucco white. The garage door opens folding at their arrival. The black sleek muscle car with the darkest tinted windows growls and takes its sweet time, rolling in.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZXyZWsz7y
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Glad to get out of the car in one piece, Kirby grips his tattered jeans in the finest garage he’s ever seen. Viggo has already demanded in the car to return the tux. Viggo’s so wealthy, so filthy rich, that the rest of his garage lights up one at a time, illuminating a spectacular car show with silent fanfare.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSRwNBGVjx
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His brother tells him that he’s been shitting cash. You are so disgusting, Kirby almost says as a joke. The garage door closes behind them. The castle is now secured. It isn’t the normal modern home you would see in a magazine. He takes a stroll, realizing this the moment he sees the white opaque glass door. It has no knob or handle.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnheU5fsMfI
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJybCRX2Qko
There’s one way to open it, one way to close it. Viggo presses both his palms onto the white glass. His psycho orange eyes gaze into the mini camera three times and averts his eyes looking to the left, the right, and then directly. The door slides open, receding into the wall.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszSvmDtYFY
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Kirby hesitates at the entrance. A house under my brother’s complete control. My arms get sore from just thinking about it. Still, psychosomatic. All in my head.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaFd3q3knH
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16abztrmi0
Don’t worry. No cameras here. Viggo says spinning his keys and enters the foyer.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiu5Q6esVe
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Kirby’s eyes are glued to the striped skylights that bathe the foyer in white earth glow. So surreal. Plants rustle at the chilly vents, trying to be familiar and earthly. The door remains open behind him as they enter the house. He walks so silently that Viggo notices.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLrJ6qtT6T
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikpHXwuDYD
Why are you sneaking? Get in. Viggo guffaws and sneers, shaking his head. He kicks off his shoes. Barefoot he struts along the cold red stone floor. I forgot how bad your anxiety can get.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gtmUAqV5e
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEO4vbe8o7U
Kirby goes pink in the face. He drops his luggage, freeing up his hands.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuJwBDA0KY
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I walk … the way I walk.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsec87uv2Gz
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Viggo’s orange eyes close as he refrains from an eye-roll, “Oh.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbKHzuLpL5v
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That’s the hallway to my study. Off-limits.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTuDXueR0Jj
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Kirby gets tense at that phrase. It seems a boring, unpainted, distant area anyway. I bet that’s where he works and keeps all his creative projects and twenty-year plans. Probably a man cave to impress his friends.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TmcMKbBn4
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2jeL0RJft
Kirby and Viggo move on to the enormous red room stocked with white furniture and black electronics. Tons of video game consoles and collections. It’s like an entertainment room or a ballroom?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48C4BG8lau
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Club room, says Viggo. Off-limits.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXEKe7r2yZ
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Kirby sees a shrine to a movie poster on one wall. It’s not what made Viggo a break-out writer ten years ago but it’s his greatest achievement, almost. It’s Milton, Oscar-nominated but not worthy. It was a phenomenal biopic about the man behind Skyden, Garth Milton the one and only with his large iconic ears, played by Will Smith. And having his brother Viggo Hayes be the screenwriter and co-director nominated for the Oscars? That’s huge. By now, half the world knows the Hayes name.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwUbGdZOEyP
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBin9a3j5s4
He swells with pride. He remembers exactly how Viggo sat at the edge of his seat the whole time at the Oscars that night. The anticipation. He also feels sharp pain when Viggo learned on live television that applause and the trophy went to someone else.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uycAtcZxW
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2JfnhLXbE
They point to the bar in the nearest corner and share a look. Nothing more needs to be said about that but Viggo adds, Off-limits. Kirby swallows his pride. He has got to be joking! They travel into the open kitchen.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ7ze2Go8b
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeIFAcmrNU7
Before his brother could start, Kirby rifles through the empty cupboards. They’re stocked with nothing. That’s odd? Feeling watched, he matches Viggo’s unblinking stare. Viggo goes pink in the face too.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlpMegLAki
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AeDYGxevT
I do eat. It’s a habit of ordering take-out. What the hell do you want? Mexican, Italian, Mongolian, or Greek?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSUpg1yKOK
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xpc612XkD
Anything. I’m starving. Kirby approaches the windows, drawn to the backlit aquamarine pool. It even steams. Silhouettes of the palm trees rustle like a small jungle. What shatters the illusion of normalcy is the roaring cloud tapestry for a sky. He stops breathing each time he looks at it.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWTsOt3zrI
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The other side of the sky.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXo23jrV5r
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Kirby sees Viggo on a call. He obsesses on the glaring fact that if he weren’t deaf, he could listen to the kind of man his brother is right now. Even if it is just for something as ordinary as dinner. But he’ll have to find out through other means. He’s accepted that. Charades can be fun, sometimes.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcg4A5mYzE3
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6AOEqDeQq
Viggo opens up his laptop as well, to his surprise. He looks too busy and restless or hasn’t yet lost his need for control. He looks like he’s working!740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rvsaRB3gB
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0D04CMyLRr
Kirby squints. I see now. Is this my competition?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqLG4zqMDr
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But I don’t want him to be competition.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNIO6fXPjF
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Kirby snaps out of it and his face lights up. He waits for Viggo to end his call and asks him: Hey, do you remember? We had to be what, like seven and eleven, back in the cornfields of good ol’ Iowa. We made popcorn at the concessions that summer. Man, it was so hot from the sweltering sun and the punishing zings from boiling oil and burning kernels from hell… 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcLR0XvGYQ8
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWo6UmD7Rm
Why remind me? Viggo pinches the bridge of his nose.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZvTPBXLegO
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Let me finish. So you remember. Kirby scowls. You should also remember this. We went to the train tracks even after our mom and pop said not to…740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAZFR8AB3N
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Viggo’s face goes blank so Kirby hurries. But of course, along comes a train.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqFF3sUHU8
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An enormous, wailing black train. A dragon of midnight fury leaving behind a mountainous trail of volcanic smoke. Pebbles leap up. The tracks rattle.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGB8V1u1z0
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6P0bmI4p80
I didn’t hear it, but you did. And I was too far across the bridge too busy gazing down at the river beneath the wooden planks. We were so high up. 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdX2L6VaGg5
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The river was too far down and too shallow that a jump would mean fatal.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Vmi4vWASA
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I was just lucky to look your way. You weren’t good at sign language. In fact you sucked! They laugh as Viggo starts to clap hands.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMF1tEIJQQ
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7oiaUtXwr
I was trying to say “Train!” Viggo pounds the counter several times. “Train!”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVLejZeK5m0
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5r9bhuMLuT
You said “Sit! Sit!” They laugh harder.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxX9ikwBJYL
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rtLzKneqo
Seven year old Kirby Hayes sits cross-legged, smiling and waving and signing “Sit!”. Behind him, the monstrous train rams oncoming. Now, the twenty-five year old Kirby would pause the romping suspense to slow motion. The smile on that kid’s face, slowly but surely, falters and drops.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtdCSiUcrEG
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIetIrQOzQL
Why are “train” and “sit” the same handshape? AND in the same position? Viggo’s neck starts showing veins. Senseless! Enough of this. Pool is off-limits. It’s Mongolian, and they deliver in twenty minutes. Guest room is that way. He points to the east wing of the house. That wing becomes split-level. I’m going to change. My bedroom is there. Off-limits. He points to the west wing of the house which also is split-level. Viggo feigns a smile.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNfxU5PHG7
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYhJtK5tBC
Don’t feel free to look around. Your dinner might get cold.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJoyupMSo5
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Whatever you say. Kirby walks down the east wing. So much for bonding.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGdqkb69rL
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The television ceiling seems to open up the place like a museum, and the mirror walls help reflect all the color beams. Teasers and tv spots play with dramatic fanfare. Pure octane. His back rumbles with the hallway’s volume from the surround speakers.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdCZojcGzG
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“DON’T. LOOK. BACK.” A screaming Amy McAdams runs away from someone, anyone, in a flashy chase sequence, and then comes the crashing title, Don’t Look, by everyone’s favorite remake-ruiner Blaine Tabs.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZWHonJTDh
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The mirror walls turn out to be tall storage closets with mirrors as doors. Kirby checks in them. They’re big enough for three people to stand and hide in. What are they even used for? When he learns that each and every one is vacant and unused, he has to wonder.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZD4kkjkzi
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwr3QlzNYp
But the hall narrows and twists, adding to the number of black doors to his agitation. These doors all happen to be locked, requiring Viggo, except for that laundry room.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwkD81sEX7
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The television ceiling strip, along with the ceiling fans, movie trailers, and news channels, is getting addicting to watch. His leaned neck and dropped jaw start to hurt. Oops, drooling. Kirby looks back and thinks he’s seen a shadow.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsIfpmbG29
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Nah. Nothing. Just the fans. What’s worse, he’s lost sight of the living room.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JhVCHsM3h
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Somehow there are two hallways back... His eyes widen. Am I seriously lost in Viggo’s house right now? It doesn’t even look like a house.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDs61p5pE72
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The corridor rumbles with a suspenseful chord heralding another villain or doomsday coming next week. Dun, dun, dun!740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PCpGoHWpT
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One square of the ceiling zapped to jumping static beans. Kirby’s heart does a skip.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxDu1u37XD
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Bzzt. His phone vibrates.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKBvUnboS2
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It’s another text from that private number.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZJ2IyTOPfr
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He asked Chance Gott an hour ago how he found his number.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG52dE69If
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I work for Skyden as tech support. I hack for a living. That’s why I brought up spooks on the flight. I look for them. Found your number from the manifest. Sorry if it disturbs you, you can ask me to leave you alone. 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArYi4Sca52
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If you really are who you say you are. Who else could it be? Um, someone among the paparazzi who’s excellent at extracting inside scoop. Or it still could be the gorgeous one-in-a-trillion potential husband Chance Gott.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoyRTKLhiv
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Kirby fires back several texts. No, but thanks for explaining. Actually, this is an emergency. I’m lost somewhere in my brother’s house.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTfhWwpFnc
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Bzzt. That was fast. You’re lost in a house?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXcqOW0mk3
Bzzt. Use your nose.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEicfpZ0eH
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I’m in the east wing which looks and smells like a shoe store. Do not laugh at me. Kirby sighs wandering upstairs. He sees a darker hallway dead with inactivity.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8QXmLHT5s
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Is someone there?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnc7UdLGgY
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Bzzt. His phone lights up in time, so he shines away the dark. No one’s there. Just an ajar door to a dark room. For some reason, he expects to see Viggo. Huh.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnq9rnv0zt
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He rolls his shoulders to take the edge off and checks the phone.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQYzxtCBza
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Chance says: Lol! We’re men, we both should know something about architecture.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGsAFEBvba
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ebwJ23Cyr
The heat ducts and windows are for external walls and cold air vents are for internal, I know that much. Kirby pauses to look. There are none to be found. Due to Skyden’s synthetic environment and perfect weather, there’s not much need for them.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZe9wwA5Bf
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I see your point. I’m new here as well.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMof663SJ8g
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Kirby thinks of the explosion and the body parts colliding into Skyden. In space, nothing holds death back. That theme’s the point of his movie, that’s why he won the internship, and that’s how he’s here. Kind of creepy.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2e4gy5nZJF
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He texts Chance a question that’s bothered him for a while. Do you know what happened with that jet?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrT9MP2dwlw
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡetgyDJB4hO
This time, no reply. Instead, the air vent somewhere whooshes cold wind in his face. Kirby draws closer to the room at the end of the hall. Inside the lights turn on, revealing the guest room. He hops on the king size bed, already cherishing the plush pillows. Ack, thank the Lord. He’s completely dogged tired.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHs2lLzmg6s
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbxmQi1wGO
One entire wall becomes the television. The channel is set to happy teary audience dancing on the Oprah show, but he’s more interested in Iris Frisk’s webcast. Upon finding the keyboard remote, he shuffles through websites and brings up her face full-screen. He double-checks. The phone remains dormant. And no one stands at his doorway to spy on him. Now relax and watch, he tells himself.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvb6y3CRKY
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Iris Frisk looks somewhat like Emma Stone with her dark auburn hair, squealing hysterical laughter. She somersaults in her zero-gravity room.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNmbp7tIE2
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She looks at the camera through her ridiculous reading glasses and snickers with her perfect teeth. English subtitles translate every word: “Hello everybody hello, I’m finally settled here in my dorm room … on Skyden... I sure hope nobody turns this off!”
Her checkered neon yellow sneakers kick off the wall. Her knee-high sock-wearing legs tuck in, transforming her into a drifting crumpled ball of paper that lands in a laundry basket. Her messy red hair gets really ruffled when she emerges. “Score! Just kidding. Even if someone turns off the zero-gravity, it takes time to wind down. That way, nothing breaks. Smart.” Her index finger taps her temple with neon yellow fingertips. She floats mid-air again.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6k9yvdiry8
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Kirby starts searching his room for the zero-gravity button. “Hi, I’m Iris Frisk and this is my cat Bunny and this is our webcast. No rimshot this time because actually I’m going to address the recent Skyden tragedy.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxISlXh3qf
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28yPE3yGWC
She leaps into her swivel chair as her white hairy cat Bunny sails in the air. “My thoughts and prayers go out to families and friends of the fifty-plus victims. Bunny, get out of my face. Okay here’s what we know and what we don’t.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhZg1nPlCH
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She points to overlaying bold text seeming to shout: WHO DIED?
“Most of you scrambled back to your lives, in record time thanks to our ‘outstanding’ (corrupted) ‘commercial’ (subliminal) ‘media coverage’ (... control). “What you didn’t realize was that unfortunately a lot of celebrities died tonight While it wasn’t the first time, it certainly is the worst. The claimed passengers have become the Buddy Hollys and Aaliyahs of our generation and I have here with me a copy of the manifest. So brace yourselves.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9stFMj3lTJ
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“We know that, Bunny move it, uh we lost Robyn Byrd. Known for her eleven best-selling romantic detective novels about everyone’s beloved widow Mrs. Harper. We may never know if Mrs. Harper will consider sweetheart Mr. Tuff’s marriage proposal or if she catches and arrests whoever killed her secretive husband. No rumors yet whether or not if someone will pen the last book. Farewell, Byrd. You left us too soon.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LG8dZLq9K
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Meh, no offense to anyone who knows Robyn Byrd, thinks Kirby. I didn’t really care for the Harper series. Too many adverbs and open-ended chapters. However they had nice book covers with scantily clad men to gaze at. Sometimes her name was one of the highlights for a gay teenager walking through a sleepy bookstore on a summer day. Still tragic to lose her, all around.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGVlVlu4KT
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“We also know that we lost, wow. It’s as if fate went lengths to deliberately upset the fans. Again, brace yourselves. We also lost … Blaine Tabs.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioveJqlRie
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No way. Kirby leans forward, rubbing his goosebumps. Pegasus Studios won’t be the same after this. And if Skyden won’t be the same after this, then neither will the world.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8sTY0b8Pu
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“That’s right. Famous for slasher remake ruiner Don’t Look and long-awaited sequel Argonauts 3: Nova War, the still-in-production third chapter from a meticulously planned seven-part project supposedly set to release this July. Does this mean the date will be pushed back? Either way, major disappointment and despair for the world over! We weep. I can just see every Facebook wall post, every Tweet hashtag mourning the precious yet mysterious life of Blaine Tabs. Will the Argonauts chain stay afloat without its genius creator? Damn it comic nerds, you better cross your toes, sacrifice lambs at your altars, and pray. Because chances of another Blaine Tabs blockbuster coming by every two years? Too slim at this point, mi amigos. Tsk, too slim.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7nCr3KFs0
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She chomps from her blueberry pie. “Mmm! Bunny, out of my air space.” After having gone down a long list of fifty-plus names and their feats of success, Iris Frisk moves onto the next overlaying bold text seeming to shout: HOW AND WHY?
“Before we get back to what this means for Pegasus Studios’ future, Horizon Airlines claim that nothing was wrong with their planes. There was no misfire or malfunction of any kind. No drunk pilots either. So, was it cyber terrorism and were these people direct targets? Was the jet hacked and then rigged to blow? If so, then how? And why?” Iris ponders pulling a red curl, relieved that it isn’t white or even her natural color, strawberry blond. Her bovine hazel eyes stare listlessly into her desk.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2TK7mWct4
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Finally she plucks her cat face to face. “Tell me what you know, Bunny. What do you know?” The white hairy cat shrieks a pitiful mew, as if put on the spot. “Then again, for a tuna dish, you could say practically anything.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJpTMUnXmU
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Bzzt. Kirby pauses then decides it’s a good time as any for a toke. He pulls out a prescription bottle and a pipe from his luggage. He checks his phone.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOl5Fpwb88
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Sorry. First day on the job. What do you want to know... stud muffin? 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQcF1KtOIv
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He blinks, smiling but faltering. Is this really Chance?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwm0YshDyWT
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Cute. :) That is all Kirby can think of to text back.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyJbZT8M4x
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Ah, sounds like you got a girlfriend? Or boyfriend? :( 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIi0JHdcq8
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He breaks into an embarrassed smile. This sounds like inquiring. His smiles falters once again. Or interviewing. Kirby texts: How do I know you are who you say you are? No reply. Kirby scratches his head, stir-crazy.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIR63soVXw7
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Bzzt. It’s a photo! Definitely Chance Gott, and surprise, shirtless in a poorly-lit gym. His v-line, black mesh shorts, and brick biceps are signs that he’s been playing football all his life. Of course, he flexes one arm, his left one, and poses with a low come-hither stare with those arrogant and wild jungle green eyes. His mouth is either snarling or slacking, hungry like a wolf.
Another text: Satisfied?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHzUZkcixEp
740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYqiViqJo03
Kirby lets slip loud laughter. He grabs his mouth, dropping the phone. So that’s what’s under the grey jumpsuit. Snatching it, he starts to worry.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlytCvwevGj
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Anyone on that flight could have seen them talking. Anyone could have a trove of pictures of Chance Gott to send. Kirby realizes his mind is prepare to wage war with itself over this. How fun is that.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODbQC65EJJ
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He’ll just have to arrange to meet, so he can stop wondering. But for now…740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wbYRG3srn
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Kirby texts: Was the jet hacked? Do they know who did it?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ703A2hZTcY
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As far as they can tell, no. Mostly radio silent. They salvaged the wreck and there’s no sign of the system being tampered with. Something detonated inside. A carry-on. I can find out more but knowing this city, someone can leak it any second.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQZoXL2bFV
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A carry-on. Was this a suicide bomber? 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQJrYqTQGF
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He waits for a reply.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlA6o8JjgbC
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Viggo pats the wall and gives Kirby something like a heart attack. He’s wearing a different black and orange suit and looking wired awake. Like he doesn’t run on sleep. But Kirby knows otherwise, maybe starting to worry if his brother’s a workaholic.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSUT6WbO7y
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That smells like weed.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKFTu3pzATl
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Kirby blinks. It is. Want some?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4IgV5ObSy
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Mine’s better. They have better strains here. Viggo hands over a steamy plate, looking distracted. I microwaved it. Your dinner got cold.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJy82dwTHt
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It hits him. I’m starving! Kirby grabs it and chows down.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavohef8N7X
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What are you watching? His brother looks at the wall and goes pale.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ87dHkWOdC
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That strikes Kirby odd since Iris just got here. You know her, Viggo?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvgOj2CSU7
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He snarls before composing himself. We dated.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUXiPRp8o1
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Kirby doesn’t react other than: I see.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJbVCZ2R8a
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Iris Frisk laughs harder, spinning halfway to the ceiling with Bunny pouncing after her. The phone ringing gets her attention. She flies to it and blurts, “This just in! It is now being reported that body count is sixty and we lost another person of relevance.” She listens. “They’re saying it’s… ”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nf0tz8gm3
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Kirby and Viggo stare, hanging on every word. “Dr. Taylor.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHp8w12YYV
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Iris sits upright. She turns off the zero gravity. It winds down, and her cat lands like a plane. She looks devastated but determined, an inner strength forged from fire with Viggo? Kirby sobers. “He was a great man known for his classics and discovering the world’s modern writers and actors. What a tremendous, earth-shattering loss. Dr. Taylor was an overactive board member of Pegasus Studios who co-founded the contest with Viggo Hayes.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIlQUvGxst
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The Hayes brothers stare ahead.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhm41Ykj6Pg
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It shows on her face how the future goes somewhat blank. She processes it. “Excuse me. Dr. Taylor was supposed to be my mentor this year. Ours. Kirby Hayes and the interns, myself included, would have met with him tomorrow. For some of us, that dream is surely crushed. But his death begs the question: Why did he leave? And who will replace him? Reporters must be swarming around the Hayes brothers by now. This is field day for the press, and one hell of a storm coming your way, Hayes.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytu5AGILra
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“Oh shit,” says Viggo. Chills trickle down Kirby’s spine. But there’s no time for that.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1GuBArr9f
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Viggo goes to an app that blacks out and locks down the entire residence. His phone lights up their faces and he snaps his fingers. Kirby, focus. Let me take care of this. I know how to handle the sharks. Pay attention. Don’t talk to them. When they approach you, you say ‘I have no comment at this time.’ Got that?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PSey3Ln5J
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Kirby nods but that’s not enough.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9N2ZQoGLB
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No! Say it to me. 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmAjl1FlSi
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Kirby says: ‘I have no comment at this time.’740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ToMmreE2v
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Perfect, that’s half the battle. Viggo’s eyes are darting everywhere. He paces the floor in the dark. Kirby could hardly make out what he’s saying. No talking with anyone, I mean anyone. Don’t be careless with public posts and private texts. Eyes are on us that much harder. You’re here for one thing, your internship. Okay! Okay?740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5LSJDwBty
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Kirby nods, having a hard time following. It’s too dark to see.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jBotBuXfO
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Viggo grabs his wrist. Okay?!740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArbrOQX9w9
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Kirby stares wild-eyed. His face turns ugly in the small glow. He jerks back his wrist. Touch me again, I’ll break your face.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREc6S63wsO
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A crazy smile ignites on Viggo’s face. He looks excited.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbIVg9l6m6
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The murmurs are restless.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3tT3HjP2M
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The rest of Skyden stare at their television screens in their rooms, on their phones, and all over the skyscrapers. The murmurs spread like fire to kerosene. Breaking news on CNN and Fox of Dr. Taylor’s passing. Hushed rumors spread like a thunderstorm, a pulse of irrevocable and irreparable plague.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfBmWOkCYt
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They talk, talk, talk. All about Dr. Taylor.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfJiykBXmN
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On the ledge of one of the roofs, a masked person kneels. The brown mask is a wooden drama mask with two faces: an upside down smile on the top and an afflicted frown on the bottom. If rotated 180 degrees, it is a placid smile. But right now, the mood is a pained, twisted, and agonizing sorrow.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgdn6nMPwB
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Two rivers of black ink stain the mask, streamed down from eye squints.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnrGKZWS0B
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Next to the Spook’s thick black dusty boots is a music player. In front of a glorious rectangle of bokeh light, a black-gloved finger presses play. Suddenly, opera wails full volume with awe and horror! The Spook stands before an enormous rainbow-burst television screen on a building under the gloomy mist of Earth’s endless clouds. Inspired by the crying crescendo, the grieving Spook raises both claws. They ball into shaking fists.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYR7K2POQEc
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“BREAKING NEWS!” The television shouts with alarm. That gets the Spook’s attention. As the opera plays on, the reporter booms the city at a rapid pace, “The shocking leak regarding the suicide note that was found at Dr. Taylor’s residence is in fact not a hoax. Confirmed by the FBI. Dr. Taylor’s last words are... ”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9vbok1OWO
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“God help me!” The Spook says with a guttural garble. It’s like a small electric guitar solo or a razor whine. A horrible sad face looks down at the little people in the streets. Both black gloved hands grip shoulders of a husky jacket in a frantic hug.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmzWbHfuwk
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“‘God help me,’” reads the reporter with a flat face.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MzUHvzcN9
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“No, with feeling, idiot. It’s ‘GOD!! HELP ME!! This can’t BE my life.’”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7uDyzjFgV
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“‘This can’t be my life.’” The reporter hems her throat and struggles to say it word for word, “‘It is too stagnant. It is too complacent.’” The music swells to such perfect pitch that the Spook has to howl off the rooftops, “Too stagnant! Too complacent! Too old! Something HAS to explode! Might as well make it me." 740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHmUUkzjsY
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“‘Something has to explode. Might as well make it … me.’ You can find the rest of the manifesto online. It alludes that the explosion was orchestrated by none other than beloved, legendary, and now mass bomber Dr. Taylor?”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwKLmKwlF2T
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The Spook turns off the music then claps. “Don’t quit your day job.”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6YRa2ADUi
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The reporter continues with several guest speakers as the gloved fingers clamp to the side of the building, clearly with magnet clips built in. The Spook scales down, hanging above the vivid city of Skyden.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1a0HKnkOTV
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Halfway down twenty floors, the Spook remembers something and halts, hanging from one hand.740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlGBBVY81F
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The other gloved hand brings out a smartphone and a Twitter account with zero followers. The sad Spook’s mask tilts as an overwhelmed dog would, completely on the verge of tears. The right hand thumbs in a message. “Hashtag. Day. One. Frown…”740Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPoVP3oPJA
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#dayone :(
THE SPOOK IS SAD
Jack Steele Adams
ns216.73.216.176da2
