Business

"Hellooooo, wakey wakey!" Simon's voice echoed through the cold, dimly lit room.

"Huh... where...—?" Sarah groaned as she stirred, her eyes slowly adjusting to the sparse light. The room was eerily empty, the walls made of raw concrete, chilling the air around her.

"You're... almost home, Sarah." Simon's voice emerged from the shadows, his figure stepping into the faint light.

"What... what do you mean?" Sarah asked, her voice shaky as the reality of her situation began to set in. She tugged at her wrists, feeling the weight of the thick chains binding her to the wall.

Simon tilted his head, a cold smile forming on his lips. "Oh, you remind me of Tyler…"

"T-Tyler?" Sarah's voice broke, her heart racing. "Did you... did you do something to him?!"

Simon chuckled softly. "No... not yet. But I will, if he doesn't do exactly as I say."

Fear coursed through Sarah's veins. She could feel her body trembling as her hazel eyes filled with tears. "What do you even want?" she asked, desperate, her mind racing for any way out of this nightmare.

Simon crouched down, his face mere inches from hers. "You know, when someone's being threatened, and the stakes are high... the best way to get them to listen to your side is to raise the price of failure." His voice dripped with malice as he gently lifted her chin with two fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You, Sarah, are the price."

Her breath hitched. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Simon whispered, his voice low and chilling, "that Tyler wouldn't want to watch those pretty eyes of yours—" He paused, looking directly into her tear-filled gaze. "—the eyes of the only person left who cares about him now that his parents are gone—fade away."

Sarah's breath caught. "His... parents... gone?" Her mind raced, trying to process this new horror.

Simon's eyes darkened. "Anything wrong?"

Sarah couldn't speak. The terror was overwhelming, suffocating her ability to respond.

"Come on, don't leave me hanging," Simon said, his tone mockingly cheerful. "We were having such a nice conversation. A little back and forth, y'know? Not a monologue."

"What am I supposed to say?" Sarah whimpered. "I don't know what you want..."

"You will soon enough." Simon stood up, his figure towering over her. As he turned to leave, Sarah called out desperately.

"S-Simon! I... I don't recognize you. What the hell is going on? What are you doing?!"

"I know." His voice was calm as he disappeared into the shadows, muttering to himself. "We'll need to move you soon... before my grandparents start asking too many questions about why I'm keeping the basement off-limits."

After locking the door behind him, Simon pulled out one of his untraceable phones, dialing a number he had memorized.

"Hello?"

Tyler's voice came through, confused and tense.

"How are you, Tyler?" Simon's voice shifted, adopting a tone that was unrecognizable.

"I'm... fine. Who is this?" Tyler asked, his wariness growing.

Simon smiled wickedly. "Look ahead of you, Tyler. See the doctor's face? Does it look like your parents are doing well?"

There was a pause on Tyler's end. Simon had heard the faint sound of footsteps near Tyler's phone, the rhythm of medical beeping in the background—a hospital. He had timed everything perfectly.

Tyler slowly looked up at the doctor, whose grim expression confirmed his worst fears. "Who... who the hell are you?"

"Call me ED," Simon replied, his voice dripping with false friendliness.

"Ed?"

"ED, as in Eternal Death."

"What do you want?" Tyler's voice was shaking now, his eyes darting around the room as if trying to spot whoever was tormenting him.

"You won't find me there, Tyler. But here's the thing: you've found yourself in quite the mess. I can help you clean it up... Though; I'm aware that to convince a 'buyer' to your 'product' you need to present a better offer. The new stake is Sarah, Tyler. I don't know what had they offered you, but Sarah is the only thing that's holding up your sanity right now. Without her, you're nothing. I'm sure you understand that."

"S-Sarah? DID YOU—"

"Calm down, Tyler. You don't want anyone overhearing this, do you? If a single person becomes aware of this conversation, Sarah will die. And not just die... she'll die in front of you, in a way that will haunt your every waking moment. You'll wish you could close your eyes, plug your ears... but you won't be able to escape it."

Tyler's heart raced, his hands trembling as he struggled to comprehend what was happening. "Did you... do something to her?"

"Not yet," Simon said smoothly. "But I will. Unless, of course, you cooperate."

Tyler swallowed hard. "Okay... okay, I'll do whatever you want."

"Good boy. After your parents die, you'll receive an address on a piece of paper. Go there. No questions. Everything will make sense soon enough."

"D-Die? My parents—" Tyler's voice broke, but before he could finish, the line went dead.

Simon put the phone down calmly, his smile widening. Everything was going according to plan.

He returned to Sarah's holding room, where he quietly approached her, now unconscious from the tranquilizer he had slipped into the room's air. He needed her moved to his personal lab before anyone noticed her absence.

"Perfect," he whispered to himself. "Perfection..."