Lukacs and Zoé walked out of the shopping mall. People rushed past them, an ambulance wailed in the distance, and a small crowd had gathered in the parking lot. Lukacs glanced toward the people, briefly considering whether to send the entire group after the boy with a single snap of his fingers. Then he realized he didn’t have enough charge for that. He’d need to recharge soon—preferably tonight.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZtziP5PhW6
He reached into the pocket of his coat where he kept his cigarette heating device. Without a word, he handed it, along with all the refills, to Zoé, then took her hand and led her across the street.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMkREYxb1Q
They’d have to find another store since they couldn’t pay for the items they’d picked out here—after all, a young boy had suddenly fallen ill...
...
They stood in front of the supermarket across the street while Lukacs studied the display window.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡinbFeIkqXx
‘When we get home, I want a rematch,’ he declared, speaking more to his own reflection in the glass than to Zoé, who was smoking beside him.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwuJbO0YE7
The girl covered her mouth with her hand.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMuUECZvU6J
‘I thought you’d be satisfied with this much. I really wanted that warrior figurine. I had to leave it because of you.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufiLIqpolg
‘You could’ve just taken it,’ Lukacs shrugged.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5f7FUy46au
‘And you’d handle the cops?’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF4Qf2xPUbf
Lukacs shrugged again. Zoé exhaled smoke and flicked the spent refill away. The butt spun through the air, bounced off the curb, and rolled under the cars. Lukacs looked at the girl, who held out the device to him with her large yellow eyes.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcF45RMUFy
‘Keep it. I’ll buy myself another one,’ he said.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysaJDU7Gez
Zoé tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with sudden realization.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRi90PlgbFm
‘So this is how you make me owe you. Clever.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ZmWcTMs0R
Lukacs sighed.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTWC57m1tZ
‘Rematch?’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5f5FbuAVc
‘Rematch.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM550LIVzY6
Lukacs nodded in satisfaction. Zoé grinned.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovmAM0Y52D
‘But I’m only playing for fun today. Hope you don’t mind.’ She twirled into the motion-sensor doors, arms outstretched. ‘So, are you coming, or what?’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYB1kh0wcfA
Lukacs spat on the ground.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0fwHnH3IN
His saliva didn’t hit the pavement until after they’d already disappeared between the aisles. It slid down the supermarket’s glass wall, right where Lukacs’s own reflection had stared back at him moments earlier.
...
They piled the most diverse assortment of chips, nachos, gummies, chocolates, plush toys, and beers into their shopping carts. Zoé only filled two carts, but for Lukacs, that was more than enough. Some shoppers lined up at the windows to watch the ambulance parked in front of the other supermarket.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhN42IL68Pz
‘What happened there?’ they murmured.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0CYFDDYcp
‘Someone got sick,’ an old woman muttered.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUrAKuG12Lf
‘Probably because of the prices, like in that Sheep O. Slaveman story.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYQFoIPmQed
‘Which one?’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPxyWGudQ7
‘You know, the...’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRALB1Jw5b
Lukacs waved dismissively. He knew Sheep O. Slaveman’s dystopian tales but had never related to them. The protagonist always found himself in situations with no way out—facing unaffordable prices for items anyone should be able to buy; caught in bomb threats at malls where you couldn’t leave without paying first, and only with a card, and so on. Lukacs thought it was all utterly bland and pointless. No one cared about another person’s suffering; no one cared about anyone else’s fate. Why should a poor man read stories satirizing his grim reality? And why should a rich man read about the exploitation of the poor in critical, sarcastic prose? It was meaningless.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6hnznLtW0
Lukacs was still shaking his head when he and Zoé got in line to pay. In front of them stood a slick-haired, greasy-looking bureaucrat, chattering into the phone pressed to his chest. When he noticed them, he turned and asked:92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGW8NRVluQ
‘Do you know what happened across the street?’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbukqeSLQuW
‘I snapped my fingers, and someone had a heart attack,’ Lukacs replied.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBrTSLYKCF0
Zoé burst out laughing, and the bureaucrat nodded blankly before returning to his call.
‘No, darling, I didn’t learn anything; some dad was joking earlier. No, darling, I can’t get you anything from there. You’ll have to settle for what’s here...’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UWjJsUq1x
Lukacs sighed. Zoé nudged his arm and pointed to a rack of Kinter Bountys near the register.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLoGax7sX0
‘Want one?’ she asked.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDAolx8UKk
‘I want to split it with you.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3tH4YL8la
‘Oh, how sweet,’ Lukacs replied sarcastically, tossing a handful of Bountys into the cart with exaggerated flair. Half of them fell, which wasn’t surprising given the mountain of chips they’d already built. Smiling, Zoé crouched to gather the chocolates. Casually, she added:92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKW7KE42xTR
‘I still want to go buy a phone and some new games for the Gamestation afterward.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWAWHJkSa0
‘Sure.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEtvAfoCth
‘I won, remember?’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBjkP3WETBL
‘Shut your mouth.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYTnOtNHz6
Zoé giggled again.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3eg697QV8
‘You’re so funny, Lukacs. Did I ever tell you that?’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCU5OSjGTV2
Lukacs shook his head, ignoring her.
The bureaucrat quickly paid—with a Black Card, of course—and rushed out to the parking lot. Lukacs was sure the man was one of the wealthy from Silk Valley. Thinking harder, he might’ve seen him before. Lukacs watched him closely, even ignoring the cashier as Zoé began placing their items on the counter.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcKsJPEQfx
What kind of car does he drive?92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVIqfwZSKz
Standing on tiptoe, he spied the man getting into a plain white Nustang from two years ago and backing out of the lot. Lukacs exhaled in relief. He doesn’t have a better car than me. He unclenched his fist, realizing he’d been ready to snap if the unyielding truth demanded it.
He turned to help Zoé, noticing the cashier’s disapproving glance for not assisting his "daughter."92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXpm4uTMqU
‘Is there a problem, kid?’ he asked the cashier, clearly a student worker.
Once, Lukacs had worked too—though not for long. Until the day he found the wallet. But as a teen, he spent afternoons behind a register, working late to help his father and brother, and to afford weekend outings. Memories of those days flashed before his eyes like a distant, faded film.
Those drunken nights by the Ren River near his high school; stolen kisses from classmates; hazy, lavender-tinged rooms filled with the scent of passion. He saw the boy he used to be—charming, angelic, a true ladies’ man. Those teenage nights lived forever in his heart, an eternal homage to his past self.
Of course, everything had changed the day he found the wallet now resting in his coat’s inner pocket—the wallet that gave him everything and took it all away.
I should’ve left it where it was.
The student silently scanned their items while Zoé packed them.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmebfBZsyi
‘Cash or card, sir?’ the cashier finally asked.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQlPlXjAWx
‘Cash.’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGfx5vtfPt
‘That’ll be 120 Till.’
Lukacs reached for the warm leather wallet, breathing faintly, as if alive. Inside was the exact amount, along with two black cards engraved with the image of Sheramiel, the rebel archangel. He handed over 120 Till, then stuffed the remaining ten thousand into the cashier’s pocket. The boy stammered in protest:92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLc4EwBWT7
‘But, sir...’92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP7fGN4fLsa
Lukacs grabbed his vest and stared deeply into his eyes.92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6C3HuMEWm
‘Keep it, son.’
...
They walked out just as the deceased boy’s body was being loaded into the ambulance. Lukacs shook his head, pushing their cart toward the car. Zoé followed happily, loading the trunk. Lukacs glanced at the crying girl beside the ambulance and considered killing her too—it would be merciful. Ultimately, he dismissed the idea, savoring her suffering. Maybe he’d ask Sheramiel or Braxas for her address, just for fun.
‘I could use a smoke,’ he muttered.
Zoé silently handed him the device. Lukacs’s eyes briefly glimmered with an unusual mix of emotion—gratitude, perhaps. He waved her off and resumed packing.
‘Forget it, Zoé. I already promised to get another one.’
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92Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYot5AL3CUo
important note: "Till" is the same like USD
ns216.73.216.72da2
