Street signs

Street 52, 5:30 PM.

The dim lights of the lamppost fall on the faces of Joey and Chris as they stand beneath it, silently waiting for their friends to arrive.

The evening air is cold, and the orange light covers the street with a routine natural atmosphere, while the movement in the background is minimal.

Chris broke the silence after looking at his watch repeatedly:

Aren't these young people late? We've been here since exactly five o'clock, and no one has shown up yet.

Chris's tone was impatient, and his eyes were scanning the dark street for any sign of the others' arrival.

Joey smiled quietly, took his phone out of his pocket, and started typing a message:

"Don't worry, they haven't been late."

"But we were the ones who arrived early." He quickly wrote that he would be late for dinner tonight, then returned to look at him with a cheerful expression.

After two minutes, Alex arrived.

He stopped by them, catching his breath, and looked at them in astonishment:

"Oh, you finally arrived. Where are the others?" he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Chris replied sarcastically:

"Maybe they were scared and finally decided that the mission was too dangerous for them." Then he chuckled lightly, but he couldn't hide his anxiety, which was evident in the way he stood.

A confident voice interrupted them from behind:

"Do we look like scared people to you?"

It was Jeremia, who approached them with steady steps, hands in his pockets, accompanied by Salim and Rodri.

"Anyway," Chris continued, looking at Jeremiah and then at Joey, "I thought you guys would arrive tomorrow or something like that."

Joey took a step back and looked at Chris with sharp eyes:

"Enough with the mockery, we need to focus on what we came for."

Rodri joined them, appearing from the other side, and he looked a bit tired.

"And what are we going to do now? Where do we start?"

Alex replied after a brief thought:

"First, we need to look for Gary. I heard he's nearby. Let's spread out and cover as much ground as possible."

Joey shook his head:

"I understand, I will search towards the east. You all plan where you will search."

Without waiting, Joey began to step eastward. He didn't stop for long because he didn't want to waste too much time planning, as his actions were reckless.

Chris said enthusiastically:

"Alright, I'll search on Route 60." Then he turned to leave, his confident steps revealing his seriousness despite his ever-sarcastic tone.

Rodri looked at everyone and said calmly:

"So, we will part ways here. If any of you find something, you must inform the others immediately."

Everyone agreed with him, then they dispersed in different directions.

Joey started running, his heart pounding as he navigated the crowded streets filled with pedestrians and cars.

He was searching carefully between the corners and under the bridges, but he hadn't found anything yet. He asked some passersby, but their weary faces bore no answers to help him.

Sweat droplets began to form on his forehead as he felt frustrated.

And while he was passing by one of the cafes, something unexpected caught his attention.

Among the people sitting in front of the café, he spotted a familiar face...

Amy Harry sits quietly on one of the chairs, staring at her cup of coffee, lost in thought—this is the fitting description for her.

He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to go to her.

He approached her and said with a slight smile:

"Hello... Amy, right? I'm Joey, how are you?"

She slowly raised her eyes, looking at him slowly, contemplating his face with a cold, indifferent gaze, and said in a dry voice, "And you are Joey, right?"

Joey replies with a nervous smile, "Yes, I moved to your class last month."

Amy gives him a sideways glance and replies sarcastically, "Yeah, I know. You're the new guy who's been making waves lately... and Chris's annoying friend. So, what are you doing here all alone?"

Joey wipes his head with a hint of embarrassment: "Oh, right... I was looking for someone named Gary, but it seems he's not here. I've searched all the streets and still haven't been able to find him."

Anyway, what are you doing here?

Amy slowly gets up from her chair, glances at her watch for a moment before responding coldly again: "Nothing important. I was just drinking tea, but I'll leave now. I have something important to do."

Goodbye, maybe we'll meet later or maybe we won't.

She is about to leave, but she stops for a moment and turns around saying, "Gary? You'll find him in the garden to the south. He'll be there."

Then you leave without saying another word.

Joey is surprised for a moment; his simple understanding made him grasp what she said late.

"What?" Then he quickly recovers: "Oh, thank you!" and rushes towards the garden.

As for Amy, while she is on her way, she looks at her watch again, but this time the watch emits a faint static sound. She presses it with her finger and mutters, "I'll be there soon." In the blink of an eye, she disappears among the crowds and passersby.

In the direction of the south, Joey's steps were quick and eager.

He was searching for the homeless man Gary, hoping to find him before he disappeared again.

When he approached the garden, he heard a familiar voice calling him from behind. He suddenly stopped, slowly turned around, and saw Chris approaching him.

"Oh, Chris! I was just about to call you!" said Joey, taking a deep breath.

Chris raised his eyebrows, wondering, "Why? Did you find Gary?"

Joe shook his head and said, "Not yet, but I have a pretty good idea where it is. I met with Amy, and she told me where it is. That's why I came here."

"And where is he supposed to be now?" Chris asked him cautiously.

"In the next park. We need to move quickly before it disappears again," Joey replied with a clear look of concern.

Without further ado, they set off together towards the park with quick steps, as if they feared the opportunity would vanish at any moment.

Meanwhile, Alex was standing behind a trash bin, watching with cautious eyes as two people moved around the stores in the distance.

He remained there for a while, avoiding drawing attention, but he didn't realize that someone was silently approaching him from behind. Before he could move, he felt a strong grip on his shoulder.

He screamed loudly, frozen in place.

"Stop screaming like little princesses!" said Jeremia, laughing loudly, while Salim joined in the laughter.

Alex turned around angrily, giving them a sharp look: "Damn you! This is the last thing I needed right now."

Jeremia continued laughing, "Were you supposed to be looking for Gary, or did you forget?"

Salim added sarcastically, "We searched every alley and street, and we couldn't find you. That's why we decided to follow you, and here we find you hiding behind the trash can like a princess!"

The two continued laughing, and Alex's anger grew. He raised his voice, trying to take control of the situation: "First, I wasn't hiding; I was watching two people. And second, you insulted me for what I was doing!"

Jeremiah, trying to hold back his laughter, said: "And what about Gary? Did you forget we're here to look for him?"

Alex approached them, a serious tone in his voice: "Listen, I've been watching these two since we parted ways." They work at (Berry) Company."

Salim, with his laughter fading, it was obvious he would respond in surprise: "Are you serious?" Then he looked towards the store that Alex was watching and added, "It seems you're right. They are there in the shopping store."

Alex continued speaking in a calm tone: "I have been following them since we parted ways. They were visiting some stores suspiciously."

Jeremiah frowned slightly, saying, "Do you think they might be robots, like the one Joey and Chris encountered?"

Alex looked towards the store with deep thought: "I don't know yet. But if we observe them closely, we might discover something."

At 6:40 PM, Joey and Chris entered the park in search of Gary. The sky had begun to darken, and the last rays of sunlight were fading among the leaves of the trees. The air carried a slight chill, and the park was quiet except for the sound of the wind playing with the fallen leaves.

The two stopped next to one of the benches, searching around them intently. The park was vast, filled with dense trees and scattered stone benches. Finding Gary was not an easy task. Chris, who seemed a bit tense, asked a man walking by: "Excuse me, have you seen someone here named Gary?"

The man looked at Chris and then pointed with his hand towards the large fountain in the middle of the garden. "Yes, I saw him there a little while ago."

Chris and Joey moved quickly towards the fountain. The path was long, but he took a shortcut through a narrow passage between the trees. Suddenly, Joey felt a strong tug on his shirt by Chris.

"Look over there!" Chris said sharply, pointing towards a distant figure. "Isn't that Rodri?"

Joey paused for a moment and looked in the direction Chris was pointing. "Yeah, that's him... but, wait a second... is he holding a baseball bat?" he said, squinting to focus on what he was seeing. "And why is he waving it like that?"

Without hesitation, Chris approached Rodri, who was waving the bat in the air as if practicing. "Are you training for baseball or what?" Chris said with a sarcastic smile.

Rodri stopped waving the stick and glared at Chris coldly. "That's none of your business." Then he lowered the stick and added seriously, "Have you found Gary? Or are you still looking?"

"Yes, we found its location," said Joey excitedly. "It's near the fountain in the middle of the park. We need to hurry before it disappears again."

Rodri glanced at them quickly and said, "Alright, we need to move now."

The three headed towards the fountain with quick steps, but when they arrived, there was no one there. They stood staring at the empty place.

Chris broke the silence with a strong hit to the nearby lamppost, saying angrily, "Damn it, we're late!" His eyes were filled with frustration as he kicked the post again.

Joey placed his hand on Chris's shoulder to calm him down: "Calm down, I think I hear something... Do you hear that?" he said, focusing his hearing on a faint sound coming from behind the fountain.

Rodri looked back and said, "Yes, it's the sound of singing... someone is singing."

They all moved cautiously towards the sound. There was a man sitting on a wooden chair behind the fountain, playing a small guitar and singing softly. He was wearing an old hat and his clothes looked shabby. As they slowly approached, Joey could hear the strange words of his song.

"... I was hungry today, so I had a little bit of beans... They didn't taste very good, but it's okay, everyone gets used to it..."

Joey smiled in confusion and tried to catch the man's attention: "Sir... umm, sir?" But the man continued singing, completely ignoring their presence.

Joe raised his voice this time, saying: "Sir!!"

The man was surprised and suddenly stopped singing, looking at them with wide eyes. "What the hell is going on?!" he said in an annoyed voice.

Joey approached with steady steps and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Gary, we are here to ask you some questions."

Gary interrupts him enthusiastically, saying: "Aha! I get it now, you are fans of my song, right?"

Joey quickly and somewhat confusedly replies, "What? No, no... it's not like that, it's just—"

But Gary interrupts him again, saying, "Hush... no need for an explanation." Then he pulls a pen from his pocket and signs his name on Joey's hand without asking for permission.

Chris mutters as he watches what is happening: "This man is truly insane."

Joey tries to talk to Gary again, but the latter doesn't listen. All he talks about are his songs that he plays on the streets.

Gary suddenly looks at Joey and asks him, "Do you like songs, boy?"

Joey replies hesitantly, "Yes, but why do you ask?"

Gary responds with excessive confidence: "Because I'm the biggest star here in New York, of course! Tell me, did you like my latest song?"

Joey responds with a clear lake: "Do you mean the song about the beans? Yes... it was good, almost."

Gary smiles proudly: "Aha! You have refined taste in this world that doesn't appreciate true art." Then he starts playing his guitar again.

But Joey quickly interrupts him: "Mr. Gary, we heard you broke into a facility belonging to 'Berry'." We are here to understand what you saw there, or what you know about them.

Chris intervenes, pleading: "Please, just tell us something useful."

Gary stops playing, then looks at them intently and says, "I think you've started to notice how strange this world is, haven't you? But for me, everything has become almost normal." Then he sighs and adds, "What do you want to know, kids?"

Chris responds seriously: "As we said, we heard you broke into a facility of 'Berry' company." What did you see there?

Gary asks him with a question: "And why do you care?"

Joey steps forward to say, "Because a month ago, we were attacked by one of their employees, and it was a robot. It tried to kill Mr. Jerry, but we managed to stop it."

Gary smirks: "Oh, those people... yeah, I've heard about them. They showed up three years ago and have been causing a lot of trouble lately."

Rodri asks him nervously, "So, are they really robots?"

Gary shakes his head in agreement: "Yes, but they are still beginners here in New York. The world is much bigger than you imagine, and there are things and people among us that we know nothing about. They are everywhere... but we simply don't see them." Then he laughs to himself.

Joey asks him, feeling puzzled, "What do you mean by the world being bigger than we imagine?"

Gary looks at him seriously and says, "If you were given the choice between discovering all the unknown secrets of the world or remaining in this ignorance... what would you choose?"

Joey thinks for a moment and then confidently replies, "If that means I won't remain ignorant of what's happening around me, then yes! I'll do it no matter the cost!"

Gary laughs loudly and says, "What's your name, boy?"

Joey replies proudly, "My name is John Morales."

Gary smiles and says, "You look a lot like him... did you know that?" Then he pulls out a small notebook from his pocket and hands it to Joey: "This will help you understand the unknown, John. But don't get yourself into trouble there." Then he leaves, leaving everyone puzzled.

Chris says, "At least we confirmed that this company is hiding very strange things... but what is this notebook they gave you?"

Joey stared at the old notebook, his fingers brushed over its worn cover before he opened it, exclaiming in astonishment: "This is very old... Look, it has a map of New York and some nearby states!"

Rodri frowned and asked anxiously, "What's strange about that?"

Joey flipped through some pages, his eyes scrutinizing the details: "There are areas and markings not found on any known map of New York..."

Chris approached and pointed his finger at a specific part of it: "What does this circle mean at the Statue of Liberty?"

Rodri noticed other scattered marks on the map, and muttered in surprise, "And there are seven more marks distributed across different areas..."

Joey closed the notebook with a firm motion and said seriously, "It seems we need to check it... what do you think?"

Chris studied the map for a moment before cautiously commenting, "But look... some of the markers are too far from us."

Joey exclaimed enthusiastically, pointing to one of the spots: "But this isn't it! It's very close, we can get there by bus, it's at the last stop. Why don't we go and see what it hides?"

Rodri hesitated for a moment, then asked anxiously, "And what about the others? Are we leaving them behind?"

Chris took out his phone and confidently replied, "I sent them a message that we found Gary, they'll stop searching."

Joey smiled firmly as he closed the notebook tightly: "So, let's go!"

And so, the three set off to explore the nearby mark, eager to uncover the secrets that this mysterious map might hide.