Chapter 4

I reached out, key in hand. I sighed as I unlocked the door to my house, walking in right after. All of this weirdos walking around. How could they possibly believe a stupid story like the one they suggested?

I stared at the book in my hand, I haven't heard much about Arcosto's stories, nor was I that interested. I mean, they're called stories for a reason, right? Let's be honest, it's probably all bull anyways. I placed the book on the shirt table before taking my suit off. I went to take a shower, changing into a much more casual attire. I walked out the shower, hair damp, wearing a red shirt and black pants. I sat down on the ground, staring at the old television we had.

I felt bored.

I was supposed to be at work today, but I think I got chased out? I mean, what else was I supposed to do? I stared at the book, the obvious thickness and length of it unbearable for me. There is no way I was going to have the patience to read that whole thing. I picked the book up and flipped to the back, just wanting to check the page number of the last page.

'230'

That's way too long. Hell no am I going to read it.

I tapped the tabletop, looking around aimlessly, not really sure what to do. It felt boring, like I was supposed to be doing something. I felt a slight vibration in my left pocket, so I pulled out my phone, checking to see what was up.

My sister had texted me the words 'this is bad!!!!!'

I sighed and decided to wait for her to follow up. She did just that, texting, 'I didn't win the free cookies competition!!!!! 😣'

I let out a small smile and texted her back, 'Don't you have lessons right now?'

I waited for some time before I saw her reply. 'It's a break'

'Stop using your phone then.' I texted her.

'Don't wanna!'

She proceeded to send me a picture of herself. I looked at it and sighed, thinking about how to punish her when she got home. My sister had taken a selfie, smiling, some of her classmates looking in her direction. Behind her, the there was a whiteboard, the teacher staring right at her. I did not receive another text after that one.

I put my phone down and leaned back, pulling out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. I was about to light one, but remembered how much my sister hated it when I smoked in the house. I put the cigarettes inside my pocket and stood up. I picked up my phone and left the house.

Since my only job was to read a book, and I didn't want to, the next best thing would be to walked around and find someone to explain things to me. It was the next best thing, and it wasn't as if I had anything better to do either.

I walked out, humming to myself as I put my shoes on swiftly. I walked out onto the streets, where people roamed. I could ask random people off the street, but I doubted they would be too keen. I passed the shifting crowd and towards a place I go to often.

The Barto Bar

It was a bar where the more eccentric of people would gather. I was a regular myself, and by far the most normal. I drink, smoke and chat there every now and then, though my sister would usually get mad if I did. The drinks were good, and the people there were interesting to talk to. Of all places, the Barto Bar has to have someone with knowledge on Arcosto's stories.

I pushed the tackily designed door open, hearing a familiar ding of a bell when I did.

"Welcome." I heard someone say.

I nodded in the direction of the person who had welcomed me. He was a young man, looked young, not really sure about why he decided to work in a bar either. He was maybe… give or take a couple of years younger than me, possibly 21. He had a fair complexion with a slim frame. His hair was black, and he had eyes that seemed to glisten. If I remember correctly, his name was Choso.

There were only a few people in the bar, the bartender, Choso, and one or two customers excluding myself. I walked up to the bartender and sat down. The bartender was a big dude, tall, muscular and just all around big. He had a dark complexion, and seemed to always be bored. He looked at me with those expressionless eyes of his, his dark eyes bearing into me. He asked me, his voice deep and slow. "What do you want?"

"Um… What's the specialty today?" I asked him.

"Raspberry Surprise." The bartender said, not in the least bit enthusiastically. "The brat came up with it."

"It's pretty good." Choso said, taking a seat beside me.

He slung one leg over the other and looked me in the eyes. He was smiling when he snapped, saying, "It's like a, y'know. Bang, Shika! Explosion of flavours, y'know? Like Boom! Fireworks ain't got nothing on this."

"Very… helpful…" I told him.

The bartender sighed and went to make the drink. Choso faced me and asked, "So… what's up? It's a pretty odd time for you to come here. You got fired?"

"No, it's complicated." I said.

"Oh, what's the problem?"

I sighed, scratching my my head. "I got a promotion recently, and my first job is to read this book."

"Oh right, you can't read long texts." Choso nodded. "And?"

"Yeah, so I came here to ask whether anyone knew about it." I told him.

"Fire away."

"It's called Arcosto's twelve stories?"

Choso clapped and pointed at me excitedly. "I know that one! I read it when I was younger and damn was I really interested! Holy, the developments and what happened? Loved it! Not for the younger audience, of course, but to think that someone came up with all that is amazing!"

"You know about it?" I asked.

"Of course! It's quite popular in Horus City, y'know. Actually, it'd be kinda weird for someone not to know about it."

"Sure… what's it about?"

"You see, there's this place called Pho City, right?" Choso said, jabbing the table. "It's kinda like Horus City, but worse. It's probably made up, heard the author is also from Horus City. So this city was going about their daily life, right?"

I nodded, pretending to actually understand what he was talking about.

"Then these disasters struck!" He said, slamming the table for emphasise. "Each one occurred one at a time until the twelfth one occured, and at that point, the whole city was wiped out! The author said that he survived, but judging by what he described, it was impossible! He even said that there was one more event should not all humans be annihilated! Ridiculous! But it's interesting though."

"Really? Mind telling me about the stories?" I asked him.

The bartender placed a glass in front of me. The glass was filled with a red liquid that seemed to be glowing for some reason. I stared at it before staring at Choso. I asked him, "is this safe to drink?"

"Of course it is." Choso replied. "I tested the recipe myself."

"Why is it… glowing?" I asked again.

Choso rubbed his chin and looked over at the bartender. "You added enough, right?"

"We aren't here to kill our customers, brat." The bartender sighed. "No one's drinking that much of that stuff except you."

"Nonsense!"

I curiously took a sip from the straw. The taste hit, and instead of any fruity or alcohol flavour, I ended up getting hit with a strong taste so distinct I gagged. The back of my throat burnt, and my mouth felt like it was on fire.

"W-Wha This?" I asked Choso.

"Surprise!" Choso laughed. "I had a few drops of my special hot sauce in the drink. I called it raspberry to trick people, they'll be real surprised when they taste it!"

"That's disgusting!" I gagged, trying not to puke.

"Haha." Choso laughed before walking away. "Anyways, I need to go do my job now."

"I'm not finishing this." I told him.

Choso turned around and grabbed the drink, bringing it to his mouth, completely ignoring the straw and chugged it. I watched, a mix of awe and shock as he downed the whole thing. He placed the glass down as if nothing happened and smile, walking away.

"Weird child." The bartender told me.

"I'll have a beer." I told him.

As I waited, I thought about what Choso had told me. How the city Pho was annihilated by these disaster. It seemed oddly similar to what Tickie Ursup had told me. However, it was probably just bullshit made up by some delusional man. I mean, it's not like people knew what was outside the city, and even if the events happened, according to Tickie, Arcosto's was supposed to be a survivor. A survivor of disaster capable of wiping out a city? Nope, there's no way that guy was sane.

I sighed and brought the beer mug to my lips. Since I got a promotion, I guess I could spend a little more money. Besides, the drinks here were cheap.

I heard the ring of a bell.

"Apollo you motherfucker." I heard someone say.

The person sounded aggressive, like I had killed his dog or something. I turned around and saw someone. He had stringy black hair and black eyes, his face twisted with anger. It was Kogen Taksony. What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be at work? He did not seem to be joking around, why did I do to make him this pissed?

"Calm down." I told him.

Kogen aggressively grabbed my collar, shoving his face close to mine. He said, "You think I'll let you off after what you've done? I'll fucking kill you."

"The hell did I do?" I asked him, trying to loosen his grip on my collar.

"You think you can pull a prank on me?" He shouted. "You think I'm an idiot? You want to do what those in the past did to me, huh?"

"Okay, okay." I told him. "Literally have no idea what you're talking about."

Kogen raised his fist.

"Um… you're joking, right?" I asked.

He swung at me, but either due to his rage or if he wasn't in the right state of mind, he missed. I reached back and grabbed the glass of beer, slamming it into his face in desperation. The glass shattered, and Kogen screamed, stumbling backwards. I stepped away as well. The sound of breaking glass had forced both the bartender and Choso to turn and look at Kogen.

"What's up with him?" Choso asked.

"I have no idea." I replied.

Kogen got up once more and glared at me, as if possessed. What's up with him? What made him this angry?

The bartender had already left the bar and was walking towards Kogen. The big man towered over him, and Kogen couldn't do much as the bartender held him down.

"Let me go! Let go of me you fuck!" Kogen screamed.

The bartender looked back at me, obviously uninterested. "Leave. Now."

"Thanks for the drinks." I said before I left.

I walked as fast as I could, not running. Running felt weird, it's not like Kogen was chasing me. I looked around, I don't think Kogen knew where I lived, but if I went home, he might find out. Since he was following me, I guess I have to find a more crowded place where people could see him and call the police. I sure as hell wasn't calling the police on my own colleague. It felt weird.

I looked at my surroundings once more before walking off. I'm not sure, but I think I could hide somewhere in the shopping mall.