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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyo88p9pwQ
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEdfmiOiwu
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTlA6hvF7l
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxibiNi5Hqb
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgO4RP90Qem
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUDbaYEDKz
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65whXxgH3D
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKJ7luepSZ
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQoC1Ab9EC
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdVYiriajR
Don’t worry. No cameras here. Viggo says spinning his keys and enters the foyer.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GMLokjO3P
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNu9NhYM5PF
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1ZFMW9fu0
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSXNOLcxM2
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2ofmqJuT4
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXC0bGXSYot
Kirby goes pink in the face. He drops his luggage, freeing up his hands.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsBdQbHnhtk
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmmu1E7oe6
I walk … the way I walk.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTmqhCOB3f
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6baB4WWZx
Viggo’s orange eyes close as he refrains from an eye-roll, “Oh.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVJUilnV1U
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijMtwKy52K
That’s the hallway to my study. Off-limits.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuaaFRTmMLa
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaU0I0zKgmF
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhw5cTYUtii
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwIuIaY8OQ
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?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHNIS57FZG
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pqhplXITI
Club room, says Viggo. Off-limits.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRCuUebtiu
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06fNCrm8qs
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCpvBxRroe
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7z8IPeSVJ6
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRvb2gRY3M
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5S69nBmvz8
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrTI5e2dVz
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0MyKl3PV4
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gYLZ8HjUg
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9yITetc4UM
I do eat. It’s a habit of ordering take-out. What the hell do you want? Mexican, Italian, Mongolian, or Greek?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4nfuqgn9q
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYA6FOLQCuO
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXY7yC9Bqr
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIM8VOKjmhw
The other side of the sky.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qt3Pgr8ZO
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC0YsYbYgKH
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadao8BWKaE
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2Oj40p6Ns
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!763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXm6kATCcs
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XoYQMdvLr
Kirby squints. I see now. Is this my competition?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzwmekOUfl
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhziUSzFxd1
But I don’t want him to be competition.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsl52zolwW8
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3TV1cSvSf
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… 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlYcNjLQv1
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHvDgrj38M
Why remind me? Viggo pinches the bridge of his nose.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8JX79w8a8C
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVvO95dmEu
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…763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAmghrZrFk
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2b36FkCkg
Viggo’s face goes blank so Kirby hurries. But of course, along comes a train.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBCHyrR7j8
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoXtifXh75
An enormous, wailing black train. A dragon of midnight fury leaving behind a mountainous trail of volcanic smoke. Pebbles leap up. The tracks rattle.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2Sj5aUtyZ
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfc6wPw5vl
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. 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWye3LE8re
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklwufiNBr7
The river was too far down and too shallow that a jump would mean fatal.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlKw2WjEWN
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHMxli8XCRu
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqRrNiWGAx
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB458ZjyFz5
I was trying to say “Train!” Viggo pounds the counter several times. “Train!”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EiDxu913W
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8uWiVoLID
You said “Sit! Sit!” They laugh harder.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68Blr5IWR0
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0mmWeUg0HZ
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1NpimB2ym
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGg50sNmi0D
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpg9LSo2QT1
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGDjIG6N3Q
Don’t feel free to look around. Your dinner might get cold.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTV3UV09qg1
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JGp3q2aiF
Whatever you say. Kirby walks down the east wing. So much for bonding.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucyH3lrAYU
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMShrEYMlk7
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NkOXEZX30
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl1wBXI2ob5
“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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcdaWQNI7c
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWaxwR4my0
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITr1V8CHTv
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxi5omhhvUD
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2EDBsSmWdo
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwCwR85MPV
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzIF1PXvjz
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGm4Exekxd
Nah. Nothing. Just the fans. What’s worse, he’s lost sight of the living room.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnwpqz5k1n
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAj77CnDDDv
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfQm5FB8Dw
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKkEqnIDZMy
The corridor rumbles with a suspenseful chord heralding another villain or doomsday coming next week. Dun, dun, dun!763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQspqtIFMA
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfglNmiT3u
One square of the ceiling zapped to jumping static beans. Kirby’s heart does a skip.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlObWk64dX
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQiafw6rwU
Bzzt. His phone vibrates.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpgC65YYJm
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidojwSXwII
It’s another text from that private number.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiy2dUuvL37
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15ajZQQAuS
He asked Chance Gott an hour ago how he found his number.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5FkL0W1YG
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXaR4gBWbv
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. 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpL51PQA8IT
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbVCiVoNItj
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZx860P0mg
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sKhE6ueuD
Kirby fires back several texts. No, but thanks for explaining. Actually, this is an emergency. I’m lost somewhere in my brother’s house.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NcmLaTNDy
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZLSBNZ9oJ
Bzzt. That was fast. You’re lost in a house?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zJg4ca9Vz
Bzzt. Use your nose.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wajGZRV5A
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1u1vKPejqd
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMptW4CUTU
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBI7kX8Jfg
Is someone there?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFZgE1QHmT
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvpCb5cvu3
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnJi89ghfn
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtzpUsql0m
He rolls his shoulders to take the edge off and checks the phone.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOpPPqWbTm
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdUCgMLTTY
Chance says: Lol! We’re men, we both should know something about architecture.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQfeuSbyVN
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8yHfwuAx6
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtv0BD5gm4l
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0js6DEVLBE
I see your point. I’m new here as well.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn89ff92ZnZ
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBTZa8xP2W
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYjj7Fl1ia
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6jZFVNUl3
He texts Chance a question that’s bothered him for a while. Do you know what happened with that jet?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcgyoiaWmd
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkSdGgI5F30
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGLqZqdZ7H
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLTpzxIlnW
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv6McSWRLRS
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoeyySZjyF
Iris Frisk looks somewhat like Emma Stone with her dark auburn hair, squealing hysterical laughter. She somersaults in her zero-gravity room.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohUkqMbCiR
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBfqS34db7r
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7Vzv5hIX4
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78oOPjQ4D3
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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQhmVxC2pN
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJYRtoYNwL
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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLjcskfGZS
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXqhZe4k6h
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcCKNVJnPro
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡut5FnAoJLt
“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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFep47aytn
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwW9Pta3S8C
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3eyG0Xd2Z
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVk2576Cqt
“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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcS5JKjfOY
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8F8HkQ9KVH
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLeIl2UDZPG
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSR9zuncb8x
“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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTncpihbPcB
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnZy8s7h7Gh
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HW1oOwdd3
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBZfVwcEmC
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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjblQsm6FN
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPraw4rspW
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaTbZns5m2
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlZLwczIvq
Sorry. First day on the job. What do you want to know... stud muffin? 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdw7MyaAehH
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4g8MJCEQz
He blinks, smiling but faltering. Is this really Chance?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrmJ49vpAh
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcS9wkZTqpP
Cute. :) That is all Kirby can think of to text back.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdJGt96ftO
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FpZhGAFjS
Ah, sounds like you got a girlfriend? Or boyfriend? :( 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5j9O3QySm
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadTMviiFvO
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ5GVjrV7Rd
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jOkO5HJmX
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?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5YOORxz6U
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZjCPNlKJO
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54nJw1Da4P
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaQxNflzMV
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡff9las7T74
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsmd9NCAFNl
He’ll just have to arrange to meet, so he can stop wondering. But for now…763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnQTd0224Wj
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJB6uqcGNZN
Kirby texts: Was the jet hacked? Do they know who did it?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKD3Nk8ApU
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PBnmcvKyu
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uOHo9ROBT
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcoFbY59PH2
A carry-on. Was this a suicide bomber? 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAyA7ygOah
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lIxBomJCx
He waits for a reply.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe68yGeMt3T
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ksB5BTSWF
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqajBJeRNQ
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6fPsBda37
That smells like weed.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBZK1pMr7V
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnC7m0tP3R
Kirby blinks. It is. Want some?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8jT9CYoEd
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfYp83PmD2
Mine’s better. They have better strains here. Viggo hands over a steamy plate, looking distracted. I microwaved it. Your dinner got cold.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm74UsNg5GH
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCyYkqyhD5
It hits him. I’m starving! Kirby grabs it and chows down.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIz0N2BjGAZ
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJWq5PrWLX
What are you watching? His brother looks at the wall and goes pale.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdlTYDEld16
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GWe1yqq4D
That strikes Kirby odd since Iris just got here. You know her, Viggo?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFO6CnRT8N
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFoPKfDz9z
He snarls before composing himself. We dated.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfvzCB7hTi
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMqoNL5mzN
Kirby doesn’t react other than: I see.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaGd64zDjd
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9EZF07I42
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… ”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡectw2MYo4M
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlYUSaRHFHs
Kirby and Viggo stare, hanging on every word. “Dr. Taylor.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlIO2KRaoyE
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFueO92iYaU
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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDAYJ5gWzXc
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uA9cq0lyZ
The Hayes brothers stare ahead.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfOQTIdXNop
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nrkcVGMXw
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.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEA5KCl0HEr
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8fkdRqoEFo
“Oh shit,” says Viggo. Chills trickle down Kirby’s spine. But there’s no time for that.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIHn599YMPa
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGA1GvUbfi
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?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWa0wfcoTef
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWv5Sx1ljDK
Kirby nods but that’s not enough.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcglfqrGQr4
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3VzF2H3wk
No! Say it to me. 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgt5kumU3im
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSpZMk7S1T
Kirby says: ‘I have no comment at this time.’763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtjPlcrsZB
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9CUb873irj
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?763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pUWlw61jh
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjGpGM9Ml2r
Kirby nods, having a hard time following. It’s too dark to see.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJcozrnq1J
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPzTqmWRnr
Viggo grabs his wrist. Okay?!763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4zo14B3Lx
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzk8rG61HJK
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTHuwmHx9vL
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUswpjZEub
A crazy smile ignites on Viggo’s face. He looks excited.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcshIoBWzZ1
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhwbskv7Dk
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6LIFXUjlwk
The murmurs are restless.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwbKSgqIYh
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHD782ZGon
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabAIifJqaZ
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ594W4k8Xog
They talk, talk, talk. All about Dr. Taylor.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxneL3S2SE
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOyJQUPGZfs
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhoHG6Rn0jM
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjM6xyow36I
Two rivers of black ink stain the mask, streamed down from eye squints.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DsXOOidko
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZofuq8SeUJ
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UVm52DkAI
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmfmMD6gUf
“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... ”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOh2Fg90JHz
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBcdGOYd2N
“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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARL7UfJgZB
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopKFHnK8fS
“‘God help me,’” reads the reporter with a flat face.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLV2B6ANUwn
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8WmyXc6wG
“No, with feeling, idiot. It’s ‘GOD!! HELP ME!! This can’t BE my life.’”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡao1tOXhQ0W
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRukcWQtyy
“‘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." 763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkelL3DbXA
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAwhZjvtXhb
“‘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?”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfn1wzPThjF
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcrkxUXrQb
The Spook turns off the music then claps. “Don’t quit your day job.”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX27OaYzJnk
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSuqS6uxEg
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.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9j7fz0oUw
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrrbDhGvNmi
Halfway down twenty floors, the Spook remembers something and halts, hanging from one hand.763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJ4419ozwL
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXD2j5c2Mk
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…”763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvitAnnJUD5
763Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUW3SL36uHP
#dayone :(
THE SPOOK IS SAD
Jack Steele Adams
ns216.73.216.238da2
