@AloeVera groupMentallyImInACottage
Scenes and surroundings shifted so soon upon materializing. A forest-a real one; or at least what you think a real forest would look like, but before you could even reconsider the appearance of it, it shifts. A parking garage- an empty one. A clean pre-modernist building. A natural town square, clean and empty, other than the people. A small room with a table and a light. Someone's house. And yet, you always end up at this house, don't you? What are you supposed to do now?
You peek around the corner as if you're hiding behind a wall. You see them, but they don't see you. One in particular. The only one you recognize, at least, the only one you know for sure you recognize. The rest are too blurry, but they seem almost painfully familiar.
They turn their heads to face you. One speaks.
But you never hear what they say. The alarm that grips your bliss and slams it back into reality never goes off at the same time every day, but you wake up in a bed every time, so you already have a lot to be grateful for. Though your vision is blurry, you can tell it's no longer morning. It doesn't matter; you went to sleep late last night, so you got a healthy amount of sleep; at least, you think you did. When you find your glasses and put them on, the gentle glow of the clock reads 3:15 P.M.
Of course, it's raining today; it rains every day, but only seldom does it actually flood. Most of the time it's just sprinkling. At this point you've given up in investing in umbrellas; they're too poorly and cheaply made that buying a new one every two weeks is just a waste of money that you barely have. Instead, you throw on a simple lightweight coat and some rain boots, stuffing your work shoes into your backpack. Soft thunder rolls around you, alerting a dog next door in your apartment. You've heard that dog's bark every day but you've never actually seen him; you wonder if there's anyone that lives in that apartment other than the dog. As you grab a quick breakfast bar on your way out, you give your potted plant a suspicious gaze.
"Do you need to be watered today? Or would you rather I just leave the window open for the rain to feed you?" The leaves of your plant sway gently in response to your rhetorical question. Owning a plant oftentimes made people look at you like you're some sort of hippie, but it's the least you could do to avoid some sort of lung disease. Nevermind, you only have fifteen minutes until your shift starts at work, and it's about a ten-minute walk.
As you step out into the hallway of the apartment, you see someone walking into the vacant apartment door. He looked new; not like the landlord or some sort of official. He looked like a new tenant. As you finish locking your door, you try to introduce yourself, but as soon as you begin speaking, he shuffles inside and closes the door.
The lock clicks from the inside.
Weird.
You reach the stairs and make your way down, passing by Harmony on your way out. She looked exhausted, letting her feathered winged arms drag against each step.
"Long day at work?" You remark, causing Harmony to realize there was another person there. She nodded gravely, sighing.
"You'd think someone that enters a nature store would do so with good intentions, but most people just ask me passive-aggressive questions about why I care about plants."
Harmony gifted you the potted plant that you have because you were one of the few people that don't make fun of her interest in nature. Actually, she's had to give you a few, because the first one didn't get enough sun. The second one withered from air pollution. Harmony gave you a plant that didn't need as much sun and can last all year. It remains in your home to this day.
"Invest in an entry fee. That's what everyone else does to avoid assholish teenagers."
Harmony sighed again and shrugged haphazardly.
"The day will come, Jenny. The Hexa will bring us back to the way the world is supposed to be. Then they'll see why I've preserved these plants for so long."
You were still on the fence about that whole belief, so you simply nodded, wished Harmony a good rest, and continued your way outside.
As you exit, the wet concrete mirrors the endless neon lights and glowing signs that lit up the city. You never bothered to look up anymore; all you'd see were flying cars and smoke. And you didn't want to get rain in your eyes anyway. You start heading West, toward Kai's Kaleidoscope, the dive bar that you work at. Kai himself was Kaiholo, your boss, but also your childhood friend. Ever since High School, he's been your good friend, and he pays just above minimum wage, which is actually significantly better than any other job you could find, especially since Kai treats you well. You pass by several different people. You have the same route every day, and some of the people you know. You happen to run into your landlord, Myst, a shifter with a fierce attitude but a heart of gold. She's a friend of Harmony's, who convinced Myst to offer you a discount for your place. Myst seems to care about her tenants, talking to them about more than just rent, and offering help whenever she can, and sometimes even if she can't. You've never felt unsafe in the apartment because Myst is the best judge of character, and would turn down a potential tenant if she felt they were shady. Nevertheless, she couldn't protect you outside of her apartment, and often you'd walk home feeling uneasy. After you finish catching up with Myst, you continue on your way, cutting the time you have left to clock in thin.
You step into the bar, noticing a few customers already, despite it being almost 3:30. A feline looking official sat in a booth with a canine looking professor, discussing something probably important. A quiet, brooding robotic man sat in the corner alone, writing something in a book and occasionally taking a sip of his fruity looking margarita. You step behind the bar, taking a moment to kick off your boots and put on your work shoes. Kaiholo walks up to you, mixing a drink.
"Right on the dot, I'm impressed. You sleep well this morning?"
Even though Kaiholo couldn't see, he somehow always knew what time it was. He gets a lot of credit for never messing up a drink, and it gets him tips.
"Hey, Kai," You began, exhaling the energy burned from the walk to work out of your system. "I think I did."
Kaiholo merely nodded, not bothering to ask about your dream this time. He usually asks about your dreams, deeply interested in hearing them, but today he didn't. That almost seemed weird, but you shrug it off. He turns away to pour the drink into the cup, sending it to the customer, some lanky blue-skinned boy with bright hair, you could only see the back of him.
Work was the same as usual, each customer more wildly different in appearance than the last, the numerous stories of battle, personal work experiences, or simply a hopeful wish in a better future. You mixed drinks and served them to the talkative customers until the day had completely ended.
The entire time, Kaiholo seemed off. It started to worry you. Kaiholo is a pretty strange character to begin with; and you'd know, you're pretty close with him, but this is off even for him.
As the two of you close up, you decide to ask what's wrong.
"I never got to ask if you slept well, Kai." You mutter, looking over at him.
You've never seen him with his blindfold off, except for one time, you accidentally walked in on him in the break room. He heard you come in and turned to face the wall before you could even process what you saw, but that's the closest you've gotten to see him without it on. As you look over at him, you watched him tighten the knot on the blindfold.
"I guess you could say I did. I think it was just the awakening that threw me off today."
You blink your eyes, unsure of what that could mean. Does someone else live with him? You've been to his place before several times, and haven't seen anyone else, not even a pet.
"Is it cool if I walk you home tonight?"
Having grown up together, you and Kaiholo have been to each other's places many times, and even stayed the night. Of course, it was equal to a simple sleepover, and it mostly happens when one of you need the company.
Tonight, however, Kaiholo simply shakes his head.
"That'd be more for your sake, don't you think?"
His remark sends your gaze down to the floor. What was that supposed to mean?
But you weren't going to give up that easily, were you?
When you finished closing, you decided to let Kai leave first; you decided to follow him home. For the first few minutes, he seemed fine, walking home no problem.
And then he made a different turn.
This isn't the way to his house, where is he going? You're almost struggling to follow him as he dips into several turns. You reach an especially trashy part of town, littered with trash bags, the smell of cigarette smoke and weed, a bunch of bandit-looking figures roaming the streets, and little to no light at all.
What is Kaiholo doing in a place like this?
He enters into a run-down building, definitely abandoned and almost falling apart. Confused and incredibly intrigued, you wait until he'd gotten far enough into the building before you enter as well, following the sound of footsteps.
As you turn the corner, you see a hallway, just barely catching the end of Kaiholo entering a particular room. You tiptoe your way down the hall, reaching the doorway. You peak around the corner, hiding behind the wall. You see them, but they don't see you. A group of different characters; aside from Kaiholo, there's a shady, tired-looking man with dark hair tied in a bun, standing next to a scruffy blond man in a red shirt. The two of them were talking to a cyborg looking man, with orange hair. Another cyborg, with dark hair and freckles, was talking to that lanky boy with light-colored hair. He had glasses, too. Kaiholo approached the three men and spoke a few words. You examine the room they were in; there were a few chairs, a table, a corkboard, and a makeshift bar. The corkboard had several papers and sticky notes pinned to it, like a cliche conspiracy theory. You couldn't read what was on the papers from where you stood, but you suddenly felt five pairs of eyes on you.
