Simon was beat.
On his way to the café, a terrifying, grotesque monster had cornered him in an alley.
And, much as it pained him to admit, if it weren't for Clara, he'd be dead.
'Nearly ate me, damn it.'
He walked into the café with Katherine to pick up his last paycheck.
The smell of burnt coffee and stale pastries filled the air.
Jenny, his ex-boss, was behind the counter, her face red with stress.
The place was packed, with customers shouting orders.
Simon and Katherine pushed through the crowd.
Jenny spotted them and left the counter, wiping her hands on her apron.
"Hey, you two," she said, voice rushed.
"This is chaos. I need help."
Simon raised an eyebrow.
'Now she talks to me like she didn't fire me?'
"Come back to work," Jenny went on. "I'll give you a raise. Twenty percent more."
Katherine blinked, stunned.
"Seriously?" she said, glancing at Simon. "That's not bad."
Simon crossed his arms, a confident smirk on his lips.
"No thanks, Jenny," he said, catching Katherine off guard.
'The lottery's gonna change everything. I don't need this place.'
Jenny frowned.
"You sure? You won't find better."
"Oh, I'll find it," Simon replied, shrugging.
Katherine stared like he'd sprouted a second head.
"Since when are you so cocky?" she muttered, elbowing him.
Simon chuckled softly.
'Just wait, Katherine. I'll be sipping juice in a mansion soon.'
Jenny huffed and stormed back to the counter, yelling at an employee.
Simon and Katherine found a sticky table in the corner.
Katherine let out a whistle, watching the scene.
"Who'd have thought? First time I've seen Jenny actually work," she said, stifling a giggle.
Simon stayed quiet.
'Damn it, Clara… what did you get me into?'
He could still see the monster's fangs in his mind.
A bright screen popped up in front of him, red letters flashing.
— Don't blame me. Who talks to a corpse in the street?
Simon blinked, floored.
'Now you're reading my mind, Clara?'
Katherine looked at him, curious, her eyes locked on his.
For a second, Simon thought she knew what was going through his head.
He shook his head, uneasy.
'Just a bit longer. Finish the mission and I'm done.'
'I'll be rich.'
He grinned, picturing himself in a mansion, never working again.
---
They left the café and strolled down the main avenue.
Katherine wanted to hit a travel agency to plan a vacation.
Simon had other plans.
'I'm gonna ditch these debts.'
He spotted a lottery shop.
'There it is.'
"Hold up a sec?" he said to Katherine, playing it cool. "Wanna try my luck."
Katherine frowned, like Simon had lost it.
"Hallucinations, weird dreams, secrets… and now the lottery?" she pointed at him, hand on her hip. "What's next, you gonna say you see the future?"
Simon sighed.
'If I were crazy, this'd be easier.'
"No big deal," he said, shrugging.
He stepped inside.
He punched in the numbers and tucked the ticket in his wallet like it was gold.
The System's screen popped up again.
[MISSION COMPLETED]
Below, a message in blood-red letters:
— See? Not so hard.
Clara's voice whispered in his mind, sending chills down his spine.
'If I win, this ghost stuff is real.'
'If not, I'm booking a shrink.'
---
Outside, Katherine was waiting, clutching her coat and smoking.
Simon walked up, giving her a light pat on the back.
"You should quit that. I wasn't in there five minutes," he scolded.
"What are you, my dad?" she shot back, smirking playfully.
They kept walking, looking for a cheap travel agency.
Katherine touched the black brooch on her jacket, a recent gift from Simon.
"Hey, this brooch," she said, glancing at him. "It's weird. Where'd you get it?"
Simon's shoulders stiffened.
'Oh, crap. Clara's brooch. The one from my dreams.'
"Nothing special," he lied, forcing a laugh. "Saw it in a shop and thought of you."
Katherine raised an eyebrow.
"A shop? Doesn't look like it's from any shop. It's… cold to the touch, like it's got something."
Simon swallowed hard.
'Because a ghost made it, Katherine.'
"Come on, it's no big deal," he said, pointing at a travel sign. "Look, there's the agency."
Katherine narrowed her eyes but dropped it.
'Close call. Can't tell her Clara whipped it up.'
"A trip to the mountains wouldn't be bad," Katherine said. "Though I'd rather hit the beach. Some heat would do us good, right?"
"Anything that gets me out of this cursed city," Simon said.
He meant it.
Ever since the System turned off his "limited vision," he saw weird stuff.
People floating, corpses chatting with knives stuck in them, like Clara in his dreams.
After the gray-eyed girl, he learned not to talk to them.
'Ignoring them works for now.'
'But the paranoia's gonna kill me.'
Another message from Clara popped up, her voice whispering.
— They're ghosts, Simon. Think people only die in the city? I need you here for the next missions.
'The next missions?'
'Forget it, Clara. I'm out.'
---
The air grew heavy, like the world held its breath.
A cold laugh ran down Simon's spine.
Clara appeared before him, not a hologram, but solid.
Her red hair glowed under a streetlight, her eyes sharp as knives.
The air smelled of ashes.
"Leaving?" she said, her voice low and cutting. "Try it, Simon, and I'll drag you to hell with me. This city's mine, and so are you."
Simon stumbled back, heart racing.
He glanced at Katherine. She kept walking, oblivious.
Clara leaned closer, her smile sharp as a blade.
"And don't think it's just you," she whispered. "Step one foot out of this city, and your precious Katherine pays the price. That brooch on her jacket? It's mine. I can find her anytime."
Simon paled, his breath caught.
'Katherine… no.'
Clara's laugh chilled his bones.
"Choose wisely, Simon," she said, her voice echoing in his head.
She vanished, leaving only her laugh behind.
The screen flickered one last time:
[New mission: Stay. Or both face the consequences]