Rune began laughing at this point the way things were going wrong, it was even worse than someone planted with bad luck. Because just when you feel like everything is about to get good, you get face-slapped again.
Zavry gritted his teeth. The light had been on for a long time now, do why did it have to be the exact time that he wanted to bath. He moved to turn, and then the light flickered back to its usual brightness.
The television came on.
It flickered to the screen, showing breaking news.
A lady sat there, clearly in a hurry.
Zavry, who was never the type to watch the news, stood there staring. The reason he stared was because he was still wondering how the television had turned on by itself.
It seemed technology was just too scary these days.
'It's AI,' Rune said, as if that was the only logical explanation for a television turning on by itself.
'Who knows? We're all being watched,' Rune added.
"No one asked for your dumb explanation… Let's hear what the news has to say," Zavry snapped as Rune clamped his mouth shut.
"News headlines… The power outage will begin in five minutes, as something needs to be handled urgently to avoid any further shock or harm. A problem has just been discovered.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. It appears the main site has been approached by soldiers. Reports say some aliens have intruded, claiming they're creating a home and have made contact…"
Just as Zavry tried to keep listening, Rune interrupted.
"Bro, go and bathe now. You've got like four minutes—just do a quick shower," he said.
Zavry cursed. He was actually interested in what was being said, but this dumb plant wouldn't let him listen.
"Bro, are you stupid? What would four minutes do for me? Are you saying I should shower without soap and sponge?" he snapped.
"That's better than not showering at all," Rune replied, matter-of-factly.
Zavry was silent before speaking again.
"I can't do that. It's better I wait for the power supply to come back when everything is fixed," he said to Rune, then added,
"Now shut the fuck up while I listen to the news. It's quite important," he said lazily.
Rune fell silent. Zavry turned back to the TV and listened.
"Thank you very much for listening. This is news on LIK. Stay tuned."
Zavry cursed. He didn't even hear the important part.
"You see? You could have just used that time you wasted to take a quick shower. But no—brother said being stinky was his calling." Rune dead panned.
"You really are pushing me to the wall," Zavry hissed in annoyance. He hadn't even gained anything, and the person behind all this noise was Rune.
"You seem to forget you're already resting on the wall," Rune replied, adding more fuel to the fire.
Zavry knew putting him to sleep now would be the worst decision—he needed him for the mission.
It seemed he wouldn't get to bathe until after the mission was completed.
Zavry walked lazily to the bed and threw the shirt and pants on top of it, the one he had planned to wear after bath. He walked to the kitchen area, opened the fridge to see if he could find any drinks or something to eat. He grabbed a plate of grapes with a bold note:
"DO NOT TOUCH: LEON'S FAVORITE."
He also took a bottle of water.
"Bro, drop it! Take anything else. Why does it have to be the one they said not to touch? There are lots of fruits in this fridge but you picked the one with a big warning," Rune saidun disbelief.
Zavry shrugged as he closed the fridge. He picked one grape from the plate, tossed it into the air, and let it drop into his mouth. He chewed calmly as he spoke.
"And do you think I care? That was just the one that caught my attention," he said with a nonchalant shrug.
"You need to learn manners. This pride of yours will take you nowhere," Rune said.
"Do you know what I realized? If you took your own advice into your daily activities, you wouldn't have become a mind-plant," Zavry fired back.
Rune fell silent, and Zavry was glad. The noise had been too much. He tucked the bottle under his arm and held the plate with same hand.
He moved his two fingers swiftly with the other hand, creating a portal. He entered it, and just like that, he stepped into a small room lit only by candlelight.
"Four minutes are gone… That means the power outage has started across the city," Rune spoke.
Zavry walked towards a torn book, picked it up from the shelf, and opened it.
"So, which city is our next mission?" he asked himself, staring at the empty middle page. Slowly, letters began forming as Zavry's eyes focused on the page.
'LIK,' Rune said, just as surprised as Zavry.
"Why would the mission be in our city? That's the last place I expected. Are you sure this is the right book?"
"Let's see… maybe it's another place with the same name, just a different world," Zavry suggested. Rune nodded.
Zavry opened the water and drank it down. The coldness ran down his throat, refreshing him. He flung the bottle aside and opened another portal.
They walked through the straight path, nearing the door, Zavry continued to eat the grapes. His expression remained neutral.
They walked until they reached the door. Zavry pushed it open. A cool breeze hit his face as the trees surrounded him.
'Where are we?' Rune asked.
"Ask me again, because this is not my first time coming here," Zavry said sarcastically.
"Well, simple. 'I don't know.' You could have just answered," Rune replied, his voice a bit annoyed.
Zavry looked around at the trees. This didn't look like LIK at all.
'What is the mission?' Zavry asked silently.
"I don't know. This mission feels different," Rune responded.
Normally, Rune was supposed to know what they were supposed to kill…but this time, he didn't. And that alone was strange.
"Then we'll find out ourselves," Zavry said as they walked further through the trees.
Eventually, Zavry noticed a red and white sign rope surrounding a larger field as the middle part was a very large hole.
A board was there,
"STAY OFF – ALIENS ARE IN."
His exhaled and inhaled loudly.
So this was the mission?
The news that said aliens were here—he was supposed to kill them?
"Bro, this was the last thing I expected," Rune said, surprised. Who would've known?
Zavry popped another grape in his mouth and gently placed the plate on a tree branch. He walked to a particular branch and peeked down, just as the news had said the area would be under control.
Was this it? He wondered.
As Zavry stared at the soldiers, who held torches and were pointing around the trees, they walked past the branch he was hiding on.
From how big the hole was, Zavry guessed the aliens must have been here for days now. But then again…why were they in this world?
One of the men spoke up.
"It's shocking how things like aliens are actually real."
Another added,
"That's not even the problem. How are we supposed to kill them without putting our lives on the line?"
He then added, "I have a wife and children. I won't put my life on the line just to become some hero to the world and later be forgotten, while my family is left with nothing but pain and grief to the end."
The other man shrugged.
"Not to mention, we don't even know how far underground they've dug, if not for the power outage we would not have been aware they were aliens" he said.
Zavry listened as their voices began to fade…they were leaving.
He moved to step out from the branch, but just as he did, one of the soldiers turned.