The Keepers

THE STORE ITSELF LOOKED OLD OUTSIDE LIKE AS IF IT HAD BEEN HERE FOR AGES. I went inside and saw an array of bizarre things I've seen for the first time in my life. Just by looking at the collection on the wall sent chills to my spine. No wonder the place was empty. Who in their right mind would like to have these things? It felt like the place itself is history.

I saw him sitting on the weirdest chair I had ever seen. If the devil had a chair on hell, it'd probably look like his chair.

He was reading a book with a cover unfamiliar to me. He's so in to it that he didn't hear me move closer to him.

"Are-"

He was startled and promptly jumped out of his chair when he heard me.

"Welcome to Hooligan's! How may I-"

He stopped speaking when he recognized who I was.

"Sin." I was right. He was the man beating Ghed up. He used to lead a gang. I knew a lot about his underground businesses before. He was famous there. I just did not know this side of him.

I throw at him the copy of article that he wrote about the pen. I had it printed. "You wrote this, didn't you?"

He read it for like a couple of minutes then gave it back to me. I felt him tensed. "You have to leave now."

"Not until you answer all of my questions."

"I'm actually closing the store now."

"No, you're not."

"I don't know anything about it."

"Of course you do."

His expression changed. He started looking around his store. He looked cautious-and scared. He went to close the door and windows. It's clear that he didn't want anyone to hear us, like as if we're talking about something that should not be spoken of.

"It's the pen, right? Why would you not talk about it?"

"Shut up."

"No."

"You don't understand."

"Make me understand it, then."

"That pen- I don't know anything about it, okay? Now if it's not too much of a bother, I'm going to close my-"

I placed an envelope on his desk. I made sure I brought enough cash for him.

He opened it and I saw his eyes widened when he saw it. He hesitated for a while but then moved closer to me and gave me back the money.

"Leave."

"How much do you want?"

"Leave." He was pushing me to the door when we heard footsteps.

"Damn it." He took a deep breath before he went to the door.

Two men stepped in. They look more like goons to me. They did not notice me because I was standing on the corner, hidden in the dark.

"You need to pay us now, or you die."

"I-I really tried hard to find money so I could pay you. Please give me one more day, I promise I-"

One of the two men pushed him hard on the corner. "You don't tell us when we get our money, you piece of scum-"The man took a gun from his jacket and put it straight to his head. He was about to pull the trigger when I moved out of the shadow.

"How much did he owe you?"

They all looked at me.

"I see. You're inviting friends here now, Buck."

"How much?"

"4,000 dollars."

I gave the Buck a look. He's sweating hard and he looked desperate. Well, I'm not going to do this for free anyway.

"Here." I gave him the envelope I was supposed to give to Buck. "It's more than enough." He took it from me and opened it. When he figured out that it's real, he turned to Buck again.

"Don't ever try to run away from us again or you'll get what you should have got tonight." Then they went out of the store.

When they're finally out, Buck gave out a deep breath. Like as if he had been holding it for ages.

"Now you owe me. You could either give me back my money now or tell me about the pen."

"Look, I'm grateful for what you did but that pen-" He pointed out the copy of his article on the table. "That will do you no good, so please stop searching for it."

"I'll decide about it myself. Now tell me what you know."

He sat on his chair and searched something in his drawer.

"Where's the pen?"

"I lost it."

He froze when I said those words. "Can you say that again?"

"What?"

"You lost the pen?"

"I did."

"What the- Why?"

"Is it that important?"

"That pen- is way too powerful to get lost and-"

"And?"

"It's cursed."

"What do you mean?"

"Whoever gets a hold of that pen dies, unless you're the owner."

"Funny. Are we in a manga series or something?"

"I'm not trying to joke. It's real."

"And how did you know about that?"

"How many did you see die because of that pen?"

I remembered the man on the train station, the girl, and those two men who came at my house looking for it. Was it really because the pen is cursed?

I was starting to get more and more curious about it. "What do you know about that pen?"

"We don't have much time. We have to find it first. Or everyone could be in danger."

He started packing his things. He put a lot of bizarre things inside his bag then picked up an old sketchpad.

"Where's your house?"

"My house?"

"Yes. Your house."

"Why?"

"Because we need to leave now!"

I didn't move. "No. You tell me first everything about it or we don't-"Then there was a loud bang. We froze for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on then he put his backpack on and dragged me to his back door.

"Where are-"

"Shut up if you still want to live." He pushed a button then I felt a swift motion of going down then we were suddenly out on the train station.

"How did we-"

"I said shut up!"

"Hey! You don't tell me when I should speak or when-"

He paid for our seats then dragged me inside the train. We sat down silently. I felt his anxiety. Like something would happen any moment now. He took a deep breath then relaxed on his seat.

"Why did you drag me out of your store?"

"Because they found you. And it's not a good thing."

"Who found me?"

"The Keepers."

"Who are they?"

He just gave me a blank look. Like he doesn't even know how to start explaining things to me.

"You'll know, soon."

"Why not now?"

"Because-" Then the train stopped and darkness came after. I felt somebody pulled him out of his seat.

"Oh, shit!" He gave the man one good kick then started running away. I was confused for a moment. He headed off to the door but he could not open it.

"Hey, do something!"

I gave him a confused look then started fighting off the men who were following us. They were covered with black suits and were wearing half masks. Strangely, these men were strong. I smelled blood when I got kicked right into my stomach. My poor wound has reopened.

"Damn!" I kicked him too and pushed him away. This isn't good. The more we try to fight them off, the more they seem to become less visible. I moved closer to Buck who was busy wrestling with some men.

"Should we just die here?"

"No." Then he pushed a button and the light returned to the train. They disappeared the moment the train was lighted. What was so strange was that people were looking at what we're doing with weird expressions. It's like they see us like we're crazy.

"They could not see the Keepers. That's why."

"What are you two doing down there? And you- you're bleeding!"

My eyes went down to my stomach. "Oh shit."

When the train finally stopped we immediately took off. Buck walked with me to the pavements.

"Don't you have a car?"

"Do you think I'd be riding a train if I have one? Idiot."

"But you're rich, aren't you? I mean I saw you gave those loan sharks the money then you-"

"Not all people need a car to live."

"Well we badly need one now, don't you think?"

"Uurgh." We started walking slowly until we reached my house. We stopped for a moment. We're standing in front, our shadows under the bright lamp post. He gave both me and my house a doubtful look.

"Do you really live here?"

"Yes. So?"

"But this is not a house! It looks like nobody has been living here for the past decade!"

Not surprising. The house looked old and weary outside. There were wild plants on the wall and spider webs almost everywhere. The paint on the wall has took off already and it's now nothing but mud and dirt. The window panes were full of rust and dust too.

I took my phone out then used the app to connect with Sonia to open the door. Buck walked behind me, probably scared of what he might have to see.

"There's no need to be scared. You're shop is no better."

The moment I took a step in, I immediately heard Sonia's voice.

"Master is home. Would you like all the lights to turn on, Master?"

"Yes. Thank you."

To Buck's amazement, all the lights turned on and he finally saw the inside of the house. "Cool"

Unlike what it looked outside, my house looked well-taken care off inside. I made sure to keep it this way for the past 11 years in case my parents show up but then they never did. I still do the same thing for my house anyway. This is my home, after all.

He sat down on the fancy chair that I have in the living room. "This is good, smells good too."

I went to the kitchen to clean my wound and to get the first aid kit. Then went back to the living room and treated myself.

"Do you need help?"

"No."

"Okay." He stood up and walked around the house. "You have a nice home. But why did it look haunted outside?"

"The less beautiful it looks, the less attention it gets. I like things that way."

"I see. We'll have to stay here for quite some time until we find the pen."

I stopped and looked at him. "Who told you that you can stay here?"

Then he pointed himself. "Me."

"No you can't. You tell me everything about the pen, then you leave. I don't care if you die out there."

"I can't come back to the shop for the time being. The Keepers will be looking for me, too."

The Keepers. "What the hell are they? And who the hell are you?"

He raised his right palm. "You know, there's no need to use the word 'hell' in all of your sentence. It's creepy."

I just gave him a bored look. "Speak about it now, or you'll really have to leave."

"I don't know how they found you this early. You're not even eighteen yet. Something must have gone wrong with the Architect's plan." Then he stopped walking around when he saw my parent's phonograph. Then turned around and looked at me.

"They raised you well."

I looked at the phonograph too. Did he know my parents? Who the hell is this man? He seemed like his in the same age as I am. "I raised myself well."

He just shrugged his shoulder. "If that's what you think."

"Who are you?"

"I think you're asking the wrong question."

"What?"

"You should be asking me who you are. Who you really are."

"Stop beating around the bush, you idiot. Now tell me what the Keepers are or I'll kick you out."

"The Keepers are the guards of the Sinners. They catch all of those who offend the law or disobey the rules. They don't know names, just the sin committed. They are crazy about catching Sinners. And they follow no one except the Punishers. They show no mercy. I have no idea why they're here. Something isn't right."

The more Buck talk, the more confused I became. What's this about? Am I being pranked or what? This is not even funny. He walked towards me and sat down.

"And you are not an ordinary human being you thought you are."

"Do you know me?"

"Everybody from my world knows you, Sinister."

My eyes widened when he said my name. Only few dared to call me that.

"What are you?"

He took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, I'm a- You don't really need to know about it." Then he laid himself on the sofa. "I'm really tired."

I stood up to wake him up but he has fallen sleep already. I still have a lot of questions in my head. I looked at my watched. It's 5:00 AM already. No wonder I feel tired and sleepy too. I gave Buck a glance then went to the basement to get a rest. I'll think about this mess I'm in when I wake up.

"Sonia? Turn the lights off."

"Yes, Master."