(The Adult Lounge)

  (David) Kenichi…

  His voice cracked as David mentioned the name. Still having his gun pointed upwards with his left hand, he looked at the ginger-haired man. He struggled holding his brown cowboy hat in his right hand.

  (David) What are you doing here…

  Kenichi, with his hands inside of his pockets, soullessly stared at the middle-aged man who continued to quake under his boots. Ruffling his hair, he fixed up his bck cowboy hat that was cricket, making sure the ridgeline was blocking anyone from seeing his eyes.

  Slouching his back, Kenichi looked toward Jenny. With tears dripping down onto the rich rug, Jenny’s hand held the spiked frying pan, shaking it violently as her legs were on the verge of buckling.

  David’s eyes started to twitch, sprouting a few veins from his neck as he noticed Kenichi ignoring him.

  (David) Answer me dammit! Why are you still alive!? Did you fake your death!? Was that it?! Oh…

  David slowly walked towards Kenichi, who still stood under the doorframe of the broken-down door. Walking over the many pieces of wood chips, David heard the sound of crunching and popping, his boots having crusted stains of chips and wooden needles that stuck to his boots.

  Reaching towards the ginger-haired man, David looked up at him.

  (David) You’re not a lich … so expin to us, expin to me how you become into this?!

  The gingered-haired man didn’t bother to open his mouth, his lips and cheeks motionless as he just folded his arms towards David.

  Jenny then stomped her way towards the man. Fastly moving through the wood chips with loud crunch noises, she was then towered over him by the sheer height difference between them.

  (Jenny) You promised! You promised! Why did you break your promise?

  Jenny had left fist tightly clenched as she looked up at the man. Her body tightened despite not having any veins on her forehead and neck, but she did however hold the spiked frying pan up with her right hand. With more cold tears rolling down her cheeks, Jenny’s eyes turned red from the amount of salty tears that clouded within them.

  The ginger-haired man moved his focus onto the woman with gsses, his face still emotionless as his legs and arms remained sucked into gravity.

  From across the room.

  (Boris’s thoughts) Just what is he? He’s not a lich, yet he works with them. Is he a sympathizer or a terrorist? Or maybe there is something else instead…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Boris, Jerry, and Loraine)

  Despite being held hostage, Boris didn’t have enough airway into his lungs, his chubby neck being armlocked by a meatless arm. Slowly, his face started to turn purple, his vision becoming blurry as his eyes started to fluster open.

  His chest began to stab itself, and the little air that was going through his lungs started to suffocate him. Putting his right hand towards his chest, he gritted his teeth, dramatically tightening both his hands.

  Jerry and Loraine continued to focus on the frail man who held Boris in a choking state. Seeing Boris tap the frail arm repeatedly, Jerry’s hands disturbingly shook the gun that he held, his finger on the side of the gun as he didn’t aim the barrel straight at the frail man.

  Meanwhile, Loraine looked down to the ground, her fists and body twitching at hearing the sounds of Boris’s attempts to breathe.

  (Loraine) … let him go …

  Her voice sounded frigid yet broken up, her throat contracting a bit of the vowel that escaped from her mouth.

  Pedro noticed Loraine’s tiny body shaking with animosity, so he turned his attention towards the little girl, putting his other arm under his chin as he used his hard-fisted hand to hold it up.

  (Pedro) I see you’re getting feisty now. I suppose you’re close to him?

  Loraine steadied her legs as she moved them a couple of inches apart, putting her right leg in a lunging state. With her right hand, she pulled out her Swiss army knife that was tucked away inside her jacket, firmly grasping the bde as she lowered her arm.

  (Pedro) You’re going to attack me? That’s a first, considering that anyone who knows about me would cower and flee at the mere sight of me being in a battle.

  (Loraine) Let him go!

  Pedro untightened his grip upon Boris, allowing much-needed air for him.

  Yet Boris’s face was still purple as his tiny lungs weren’t getting enough oxygen in time. Inhaling as much air as he could, his chest felt the stabbing sensation even more, gripping his chest with both his hands, digging his fingernails into the area of his heart.

  Pushing herself against the wood, Loraine lunged towards Pedro, pulling her arm back with her knife in tow. Locking into Pedro’s right bck eye, he aimed down the knife as she edged closer and closer to her body.

  (Pedro) Now this is more like it!

  Pushing away Boris with his left hand, Pedro opened himself up for Loraine to hit him, his hands open as his legs were spread out. Straightening his back, followed by his chest and stomach out in the open, his head arched back as he saw the incoming kid speeding towards him.

  Merely inches away from his face, Loraine thrust her right arm that held her rge knife, pushing it forward into Pedro’s right eye. As soon as it made contact—

  The knife and her entire arm went through Pedro’s head like air…

  (Loraine) W-What?

  Seeing that her arm passed through Pedro’s head, she took note of the ck of blood or even the ck of solid-state that his head was in, as if he was…

  Made out of Gas…

  (Pedro) Even if you hit me with your strongest attack, it wouldn’t do much to begin with.

  Pedro gripped Loraine’s wrist firmly, his hand squeezing and putting a lot of strength for her to clench her eyes and grind her teeth.

  Putting her left hand on top of Pedro’s hand, she tried to squeeze or dig her fingernails into him, but even then…

  (Pedro) I think you should be disciplined more, don’t you think?

  Pulling her body into his, he made sure that Loraine lost footing on the wooden floor, her feet barely dangling in the air. Having her close to her, he then started to rapidly spin, making sure both of his hands were csping both of her hands together.

  With Loraine spinning rapidly like a doll, Pedro steadied his feet on the ground.

  Loraine’s body was literally off the ground as her entire body was ying in the air. The blood that normally spread throughout the insides of her body started to rush towards her head, causing Loraine to clench her teeth.

  (Pedro) And up away you go!

  Just as Pedro was going to let Loraine go…

  Pedro was then tackled to the ground, having his whole body colpse onto himself as he hit the rich wooden floor hard.

  His hands let go of Loraine, who was still spinning…

  (Loraine) Aaah!

  Flying rapidly towards a random corner of the room, she headed towards an incoming wall. Before her body collided with the stone, she felt a body shielding her from the impact.

  Hitting the person, both of them fell onto each other, with Loraine opening her eyes slowly. Seeing who was below her, her eyes opened wide instantly.

  (Loraine) Boris!

  (Boris) Ah … my chest…

  Boris let out a low groan, his chest and stomach sore as he continued to lie down on the floor.

  With cold sweat drenching his cheeks and forehead, Loraine quickly got up from the chubby man and looked down. She showcased her goofy smile, putting a thumbs up at Boris who continued to breathe heavily.

  (Pedro) Aw dammit, Jerry!

  (Jerry’s thoughts) I don’t want to do this…

  Having his arm wrapped around Pedro, Jerry expanded his muscles, his right arm gleaming with strength as he pinned much-needed strength onto Pedro’s throat.

  (Jerry’s thoughts) Just please go to sleep.

  Pedro let out loud gurgles as tar dripped out from his mouth, his hands quickly tapping onto Jerry’s arm. Jerry had water and redness in his eyes, his nose sniffling softly as his legs were motionless on the ground.

  (Jerry’s thoughts) Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep.

  Pedro’s bck eyes started to roll in the back of his head, his gurgling and dripping turning violently as his entire body began to twitch hard. Jerry’s arm felt the increase of tar expanding on Pedro’s throat, the buildup of gunk causing Jerry to let out a single tear drop roll down onto the expensive floor.

  (Jerry’s thoughts) Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep. Just please go to sleep—

  Until his arm pulled back onto himself…

  But his arm felt like something vanished, like he just passed through simple air.

  Yet Pedro was right in front of him.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Jerry) W…W…

  Jerry’s face slowly started to turn pale, cold sweat drenching his face as his body began to shiver. His arms remained in pce like it was before, his legs twitching as he started to kick or tap Pedro with the tips of his feet.

  But he couldn’t kick him.

  (Jerry’s thoughts) W-W-W-What’s going on?! Why aren't I even touching him!? He’s right there!?

  Released, Pedro curdled himself up like a little ball, coughing and puking out tar that built up from within his throat. Pcing his right hand on his stomach, followed by his left hand caressing his throat, he remained in that position as his eyes rolled back to normal.

  Using his left hand to have a hold on the ground, he gave himself bance as his sharp bone knees helped him have much better stability, causing his body to stumble less.

  (Pedro) gasps … just breathe … gasps … I just got to breathe …

  Putting one knee on the ground, he continued to cough and spit out a couple of bck tar.

  His chest expanded a lot more as the air around him lessened, gently breathing in and out. Pushing his other knee off the ground, he turned around and saw Jerry lying as if his body was stuck to the floor.

  (Pedro) In all the years that we have worked together, I’ve never seen you this terrified before. You expected a lich like me to just drop dead by suffocation?

  Pedro then crouched down towards where Jerry was at, his face coated with even more sweat. Pcing his elbows onto his knees, he id his hands motionless as he formed a smug smile.

  (Pedro) You’re strong, but not smart. Remember that?

  A small gas cloud started to form around Pedro, the cloud appearing around his neck as he continued to look down on Jerry.

  Jerry’s body began to twitch. His breathing started to become more irregur by the second, Jerry started to fight for breath.

  (Pedro) Now Jerry … you know blessings. Well, do you know that there’s something much greater than blessings?

  Jerry’s eyes remained in eye contact with Pedro’s, his eyes wide opened and his jaw jittered with exuberance.

  (Pedro) I don’t have a blessing, I mean, who needs one when you have a curse?

  Pedro glinted his eyes as he took in a whiff. Licking his lips, he suckered them as he rubbed his stomach with his right hand.

  (Pedro) Mmmm … I love that smell. The smell of human odor at its finest. You know, liches like me love that smell. I mean, I don’t bme the zompires that seem to be attracted to it too.

  The white cloud that was around Pedro’s neck started to grow, its diameter reaching the height of Pedro’s head. For the cloud that sat on top of his head, he brought up his two hands, closing his eyes as he steadied his breath.

  (Pedro) 100% oxygen…

  Still having the cloud on top of him, Pedro brought out a piece of it, his breathing slowed as his body rexed. Despite his head itching to bring his face inside of the cloud, Jerry arched his back.

  (Pedro) Don’t worry, I’ll make this quick and painless for you.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (David and Jenny)

  Both adults stood in front of Kenichi, shaking their bodies as they were catching their breath.

  (Jenny) Say something…

  Jenny put her left hand onto her chest, her cheeks having red water stains as she continued to roll down hot tears.

  Seeing that Kenichi continued to stare at them both, not moving his mouth at all, Jenny’s left hand that gripped her skirt grabbed Kenichi’s colr. Shaking savagely, Jenny’s eyes narrowed yet her tears continued to pour forth.

  (Jenny) Say something!

  Pushing his face down as his eyes focused on the girl with gsses, he finally opened his mouth.

  (Kenichi) I have no memory of you.

  Jenny took a couple of steps back as she let go of his colr, her pupils diting. Putting a hand on top of her mouth, she shook her head.

  (Jenny) You’re lying …

  (Kenichi) I don’t know you or him. Never recalled you two in my life.

  Jenny’s grip on the spiked frying pan began to tighten, her eyes narrowing more onto his face, causing her to quaff. Gritting her teeth together, she pointed her spiked frying pan straight toward Kenichi, her face turning beet red as her legs created a stance.

  (Jenny) Liar! You remember me! You’re lying!

  (Kenichi) Shut up.

  (Jenny) You’re just a liar! A liar!

  (Kenichi) You’re getting annoying.

  Rapidly extending his hand towards Jenny, Kenichi tried to grab a hold of the pan despite his face not budging a sweat or nerve.

  But a hand stopped him from doing so.

  A firm hand gripping his wrist.

  Gncing with his eyes towards a middle-aged man, Kenichi’s arm remained still as he continued to stare into David’s eyes.

  (David) I don’t want to do this…

  David then pulled out a simple pistol from his jacket, gripping the gun with his right hand. Aiming it right at the bck-cd man in his early 40s, David’s breathing started to fasten, yet his grip on the gun didn’t falter.

  (David) But I must.

  David then used his left hand that held Kenichi’s right wrist to turn like a door knob, turning it counterclockwise as his grip continued to hold him in pce.

  Kenichi, his hand on the verge of dislocating, rapidly turned his hand in the opposite direction at a rapid speed.

  Letting go of Kenichi’s wrist, David jumped back as he aimed the gun toward him, his finger on the trigger sweaty and pale.

  (David’s thoughts) Forgive me, Gabriel…

  David pulled the trigger, sending a rapid fire of six bullets unching right towards Kenichi.

  David watched as those six bullets charged straight forward to the fully bcked clothed man. As the bullets were halfway towards Kenichi, he saw the bullets—

  And took a step back as the bullets grazed him, the front of his jacket having slight burned marks as the fiery gunsmoke and metal ruined the leather.

  With the world in present motion, David saw Kenichi unfazed, the bullets hitting the corner of the door frame.

  (David’s thoughts) No way… he dodged them… no one has ever…

  Looking down at his grazed jacket, Kenichi stroked the slightly burned leather, his fingers rubbing the little hole as his finger started to go red. Pulling back his fingers, he looked up towards David, his eyes sharpening with his right hand forming a fist.

  (Kenichi) You’re dead.

  Focusing his attention only on David, Kenichi reached towards his lower back. With a slight smirk on his face, he steadily brought out two pieces of metal from his holster, one on each hand.

  David unloaded the six cartridges used in his attempt, the metal hitting the wooden floor with heavy cnks. His hand reached again inside his jacket and felt a small box of his ammo. Taking out six bullets, he swiftly pced them into the chamber of his pistol.

  Jenny, however, clutched her spiked frying pan vigorously, hyperventiting as she puckered up her mouth.

  (Jenny’s thoughts) Oh no… no, no, no…

  With a push of a button, the pieces of metal brought out a double-edged sword from its chamber, the metal coated with bck as it shined the dark room.

  (David’s thoughts) Not his weapons…

  And with another push of a button, the lining of the bde that was the sharpest part of the sword ejected a small chain…

  A chain that most chainsaws used.

  (David’s thoughts) Fuck…