“No,” Draven said as firmly as possible. “I can’t go with you. I don’t know who you are or what you’re doing, but I’m not going with you.” A broad grin came to the man’s face. Draven took a minute to curse his luck. Why did he have to always come across situations like this? “Come now, dumb American. You must come with me. The schivoka is waiting, you see.” “The… what?!” “The schivoka. The man who you have offended, the man who you must meet. Isn’t that why you came up to me, so that I could meet him?” “What the hell…? Man I don’t even know who you ski-whatever are. This is all just a misunderstanding and if you don’t mind, I have to leave now.” I tried to corner him but he blocked my way. That was a huge mistake. I shouldn’t have tried to corner him; I should have just turned back and run down the streets. It was busy, I could easily blend in with the people. The man saw my train of thought, he followed my eyes and shook his head at me. “Nah mate, I wouldn’t do that if I were
Draven woke up feeling fulfilled. He was in a cool house full of food. He stretched and stood up from the little round couch that seemed more comfortable than Leo’s bed. While strolling to the kitchen, he thought of Leo again. There should be a reason why the guy wanted to give away his house, right? There has to be something. Leo was too simple to just decipher. Why did he find this weird? Was it possible that he just decided to give everything he owed to someone he didn’t even know? Draven was lucky to have been there at the right time, yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it. At the same time, he believed it was possible. Leo was a spontaneous person. He acted so out of the norm so much that it became normal for Draven. While he was familiar with Leo’s issue with trust, it was bewildering that the guy would just give away his house and everything he owed, plus a stupid text and silly mysterious message. Draven opened the kitchen cabinet. It was stocked with cereals and all kinds o
He was a million dollars rich. Yup, Draven had counted the whole thing. It took him three days with less sleep and so many cups of coffee to get there. The ongoing three stairs were littered with cash that Draven had counted and wrapped in thousands.First of all, he was mortified that Leo was able to store that kind of cash. Draven did not know much about him, but from the little he knew, Leo was a privileged kid. Of course, people like that hardly have any value for money. Ever since joining the game, his value for money seems to have decreased day by day. Draven didn’t blame him; everyone reacted differently to wealth.Draven, on his own, was from a very poor, very restricted background. While his father had money and was ready to spend, Draven himself did not have a share of that wealth. If anything, he lived like a pauper in his own house. He ate scrambles of leftover food from his father and visitors. Draven’s father wasn’t exactly rich, but he had enough to feed both of them. H
Noah got right into work. Draven sat on the opposite couch, watching him. The boy’s hand flew over the keyboard, making loud typing sounds. Draven didn’t want to ask him too much questions and lose his focus; he had even brought out one more drink for the boy just to encourage him. Noah went on and on about how he would really like Draven to call his name in the future if he needs a favor he couldn’t afford. Draven simply nodded and remained sitted. He wasn’t sure he’d ever need Noah’s services again. Matter of fact, he didn’t even know what he wanted to do after this.Should he rally go after his father, like he intended? Should he visit them again and see how they’re faring or should he just punish them straight up? Draven was torn. He didn’t know what he wanted to do, or rather he did but didn’t know how he should act on it.For the past two days, he’d been thinking. His thoughts had been interrupted then by the neighbor’s kids again. The two of them had mocked him, wondering when
Thanksgiving is next week. It was on a Thursday, the most inconspicuous day of the week. It was the day most murders were committed, the day offenders and murderers were caught. It was just… a very mysterious day.Draven thought about this day for a long time. When the teenage boy who tracked them mentioned it, it played in his head over and over again, but not in a bad way. He had no plans to kill his family. He hadn’t even thought about it that way at all. What he meant by avenging himself was just showing them that he was now better than them, that’s all.Right?Well the boy wasn’t around to explain all of this to you, so there’s no need to overthink it. He might not even visit them again, seeing as how the whole thing was going. Draven started to play music on the speaker at his home. There was a car waiting for him in his garage, a tank full of fuel to help him. He had money, loads of cash to set him up for life, a bunch of neighbors who would want to introduce him to their daugh
Draven stopped in front of the door. It was a fancy little house that seemed to have faded over the years. He wondered how long he had been gone and why they had moved. Was it a year ago? It felt like a year ago, though now that he has calculated it, it was actually seven months ago. He’s been in the game for seven long months, and he wasn’t sure when it would end, or if it would end anytime soon. He could be in the game for years, years, before he even won. And what did winning mean exactly? They had not explicitly explained that. If they were getting money now as little wins, does that mean the biggest win would be a full mountain of cash? Oh, what would he do to place his hand on that cash? And if it was a big mountain of cash, doesn’t it make sense that only limited people—if not everyone-would have access to it since they won it?Draven groaned as he brought his mind back to the door and the girlish giggle behind the door. He was subconsciously trying to avoid this moment but he
Draven laughed for such a long time that he didn’t even notice the weird silence that engulfed the room. His laughter soared high and fast, and with his drunken self, it sounded as mocking as he expected it to be. He was mocking his father, mocking the lives that they live now. When he stopped laughing long enough to look at their faces, the first place his eyes landed on were the twins. Holly and Dolly.Such silly names to give silly girls, but it sort of suits them. Their long, snobbish nose, their bleached hair, and their overdrawn eyes. They looked like clowns, and honestly they didn’t even need a stage name for their stripping jobs.“Holly and Dolly just sound right for you guys in your new field, you know that?” He asked them.They both grinned, clearly pleased by his praise. They were so stupid to see the sarcasm and insult laced underneath. Draven was not in any way disappointed; in matter of fact, he found it hilarious. He looked at his father, and then his stepmother, and t
Jerome Hampton stared at his son, unable to react. He had never been stunned by anything in the past years, until his son suddenly arrived at his door in full of glamour and wealth. Where had he gotten all that money from? Jerome kept wondering. It’s been six months… or was it seven? He couldn’t really remember. Everything had become a long blur for a very long while, but he always knew when the end was coming. The way Draven had tracked them down to their new environment did not bode well for him. How much did he know? How much was he going to take? Matter of fact, how ignorant was he?He would have known best how to react in these situations if he knew how ignorant Draven really was. But now that he knew nothing, absolutely nothing at all Jerome knew that his chances were slim. His eyes traveled from Draven’s wild ones to his daughters; the razz girls that he had adopted from Meredith, when they all came to live with him. Jerome thought he could be happy, but he’d never felt more pr