Lukacs and Zoé walked out of the shopping mall. People rushed past them, an ambulance wailed in the distance, and a small crowd had gathered in the parking lot. Lukacs glanced toward the people, briefly considering whether to send the entire group after the boy with a single snap of his fingers. Then he realized he didn’t have enough charge for that. He’d need to recharge soon—preferably tonight.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsAiUbGrpuv
He reached into the pocket of his coat where he kept his cigarette heating device. Without a word, he handed it, along with all the refills, to Zoé, then took her hand and led her across the street.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJLkQdgAIbH
They’d have to find another store since they couldn’t pay for the items they’d picked out here—after all, a young boy had suddenly fallen ill...
...
They stood in front of the supermarket across the street while Lukacs studied the display window.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBV9EVGucjr
‘When we get home, I want a rematch,’ he declared, speaking more to his own reflection in the glass than to Zoé, who was smoking beside him.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8a1mWwism
The girl covered her mouth with her hand.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmQjtCxz2z
‘I thought you’d be satisfied with this much. I really wanted that warrior figurine. I had to leave it because of you.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdK9E46ZdWS
‘You could’ve just taken it,’ Lukacs shrugged.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRrbqRTeWA
‘And you’d handle the cops?’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnd3KrNJE2
Lukacs shrugged again. Zoé exhaled smoke and flicked the spent refill away. The butt spun through the air, bounced off the curb, and rolled under the cars. Lukacs looked at the girl, who held out the device to him with her large yellow eyes.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSlrOBzvwK
‘Keep it. I’ll buy myself another one,’ he said.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFzKLppekep
Zoé tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with sudden realization.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WfGckyy8K
‘So this is how you make me owe you. Clever.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNK6ltZqvAf
Lukacs sighed.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIN4G5xtJ7
‘Rematch?’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilVsXbijNi
‘Rematch.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ED4fFCgMH
Lukacs nodded in satisfaction. Zoé grinned.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHKZpdwL4V
‘But I’m only playing for fun today. Hope you don’t mind.’ She twirled into the motion-sensor doors, arms outstretched. ‘So, are you coming, or what?’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymbcJLc2Ln
Lukacs spat on the ground.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmEpdnT7jD
His saliva didn’t hit the pavement until after they’d already disappeared between the aisles. It slid down the supermarket’s glass wall, right where Lukacs’s own reflection had stared back at him moments earlier.
...
They piled the most diverse assortment of chips, nachos, gummies, chocolates, plush toys, and beers into their shopping carts. Zoé only filled two carts, but for Lukacs, that was more than enough. Some shoppers lined up at the windows to watch the ambulance parked in front of the other supermarket.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtnxyUgpC6
‘What happened there?’ they murmured.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODVyDnPfBM
‘Someone got sick,’ an old woman muttered.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ffkZyjjjF
‘Probably because of the prices, like in that Sheep O. Slaveman story.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaXpBcVfcQ
‘Which one?’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGbDLoBquA
‘You know, the...’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQcT8y2S8U
Lukacs waved dismissively. He knew Sheep O. Slaveman’s dystopian tales but had never related to them. The protagonist always found himself in situations with no way out—facing unaffordable prices for items anyone should be able to buy; caught in bomb threats at malls where you couldn’t leave without paying first, and only with a card, and so on. Lukacs thought it was all utterly bland and pointless. No one cared about another person’s suffering; no one cared about anyone else’s fate. Why should a poor man read stories satirizing his grim reality? And why should a rich man read about the exploitation of the poor in critical, sarcastic prose? It was meaningless.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkXPzcddoY
Lukacs was still shaking his head when he and Zoé got in line to pay. In front of them stood a slick-haired, greasy-looking bureaucrat, chattering into the phone pressed to his chest. When he noticed them, he turned and asked:66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJe9T8EXqk
‘Do you know what happened across the street?’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhc9e9zeKyA
‘I snapped my fingers, and someone had a heart attack,’ Lukacs replied.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlpcBIArQ3c
Zoé burst out laughing, and the bureaucrat nodded blankly before returning to his call.
‘No, darling, I didn’t learn anything; some dad was joking earlier. No, darling, I can’t get you anything from there. You’ll have to settle for what’s here...’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdC9ecrnbeG
Lukacs sighed. Zoé nudged his arm and pointed to a rack of Kinter Bountys near the register.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fUPCMudBS
‘Want one?’ she asked.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYwt1dIyBJ
‘I want to split it with you.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW86Mwb4hnA
‘Oh, how sweet,’ Lukacs replied sarcastically, tossing a handful of Bountys into the cart with exaggerated flair. Half of them fell, which wasn’t surprising given the mountain of chips they’d already built. Smiling, Zoé crouched to gather the chocolates. Casually, she added:66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGXDeRWVOu
‘I still want to go buy a phone and some new games for the Gamestation afterward.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0flqKXzZ0u
‘Sure.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutcuY4Sxgu
‘I won, remember?’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jVOCkcUZb
‘Shut your mouth.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYGPextABBs
Zoé giggled again.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ00MGHjfuky
‘You’re so funny, Lukacs. Did I ever tell you that?’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKPqth9m5r
Lukacs shook his head, ignoring her.
The bureaucrat quickly paid—with a Black Card, of course—and rushed out to the parking lot. Lukacs was sure the man was one of the wealthy from Silk Valley. Thinking harder, he might’ve seen him before. Lukacs watched him closely, even ignoring the cashier as Zoé began placing their items on the counter.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6WiFBgUL3
What kind of car does he drive?66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRyIpy7zow4
Standing on tiptoe, he spied the man getting into a plain white Nustang from two years ago and backing out of the lot. Lukacs exhaled in relief. He doesn’t have a better car than me. He unclenched his fist, realizing he’d been ready to snap if the unyielding truth demanded it.
He turned to help Zoé, noticing the cashier’s disapproving glance for not assisting his "daughter."66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdLUwodBem
‘Is there a problem, kid?’ he asked the cashier, clearly a student worker.
Once, Lukacs had worked too—though not for long. Until the day he found the wallet. But as a teen, he spent afternoons behind a register, working late to help his father and brother, and to afford weekend outings. Memories of those days flashed before his eyes like a distant, faded film.
Those drunken nights by the Ren River near his high school; stolen kisses from classmates; hazy, lavender-tinged rooms filled with the scent of passion. He saw the boy he used to be—charming, angelic, a true ladies’ man. Those teenage nights lived forever in his heart, an eternal homage to his past self.
Of course, everything had changed the day he found the wallet now resting in his coat’s inner pocket—the wallet that gave him everything and took it all away.
I should’ve left it where it was.
The student silently scanned their items while Zoé packed them.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJCX3XDOcg
‘Cash or card, sir?’ the cashier finally asked.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGlB5iGYQV
‘Cash.’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHDAov1l4E
‘That’ll be 120 Till.’
Lukacs reached for the warm leather wallet, breathing faintly, as if alive. Inside was the exact amount, along with two black cards engraved with the image of Sheramiel, the rebel archangel. He handed over 120 Till, then stuffed the remaining ten thousand into the cashier’s pocket. The boy stammered in protest:66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsst83nJucC
‘But, sir...’66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXbVvfZYta
Lukacs grabbed his vest and stared deeply into his eyes.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTBBQ2tOHb
‘Keep it, son.’
...
They walked out just as the deceased boy’s body was being loaded into the ambulance. Lukacs shook his head, pushing their cart toward the car. Zoé followed happily, loading the trunk. Lukacs glanced at the crying girl beside the ambulance and considered killing her too—it would be merciful. Ultimately, he dismissed the idea, savoring her suffering. Maybe he’d ask Sheramiel or Braxas for her address, just for fun.
‘I could use a smoke,’ he muttered.
Zoé silently handed him the device. Lukacs’s eyes briefly glimmered with an unusual mix of emotion—gratitude, perhaps. He waved her off and resumed packing.
‘Forget it, Zoé. I already promised to get another one.’
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4EYIuFMpP
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoV3HyhYMQg
important note: "Till" is the same like USD
ns160.79.110.169da2
