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Chapter 5

  Far from the sea in a land they don’t know, they tried to figure out where they are but every street and every corner looks the same to the point the simple twists or turns made them feel nauseous.

  Perched above the highest building they attempt to solve their problems but instead become lost in a sea of suburbs, Lisa pulls out her compass only to see its confusion as the needle struggles to find north.

  Meanwhile Arthur sits close his eyes watching the only entrance to the roof, he rests his hammer in his arms as if it was a baby caressing the engraved words on its shaft. Lisa gives up trying to figure out where they are and sits next to Arthur hoping he’d help with her frustration but he doesn’t notice Lisa as his eyes are focused on one point.

  Lisa sees the engraved words on his Hammer, “Exterminate Evil” she reads “What does it mean?” She tried to start a conversation with Arthur.

  “It’s my job, that’s what it means” said Arthur, his eyes still glued onto the door in front.

  Lisa nods understanding his words “You’re a lot more normal than I thought you’d be” she says.

  “That’s because I am normal” said Arthur “I do things differently but in the end I’m just like you and that dumbass over there” he points to Oscar.

  “Fuck you Arthur” Oscar responds. “anyway, we’re still lost so we need to figure this out”

  Arthur mentions that they’re still in California, he points to a direction which he says leads to a highway that goes straight to a city near Arizona.

  “How are you sure? Everything here looks the same” said Lisa.

  “Let’s just say one of these houses isn't like the others,” said Arthur.

  As if remembering something Oscar uses his binoculars to scour the houses, “you mean torched?” He says.

  Lisa also uses her set of binoculars to look at the surrounding buildings, everything is well preserved aside from one blackened by fire.

  “Did you do that?” Lisa asks but she has a feeling the one responsible is nearby and carrying a hammer.

  “It’s hurtful that you’d suspect me of committing arson without any prior evidence” said Arthur “Well I did burn that house down, but how did you know it was me?” He asks.

  Instead of answering the other two just shake their heads, Oscar proceeds to look for the highway Arthur mentioned while Lisa confronts the arsonist.

  “Why did you burn that house down?” She asks.

  “I grew up over there, just thought it would be funny,” said Arthur.

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  “What?! We’ve been lost in this maze of a town for days and it turns out you actually lived here?” Said Oscar.

  “You two were too busy sightseeing, I didn’t want to take away your enjoyment” said Arthur.

  “Okay fair point, but having a tour guide would lead to a better experience. Don’t you agree?” Said Oscar.

  “You have to be lost in order to find a place that can’t be found,” Arthur says with his best pirate voice.

  “Okay, I see what you’re trying to do but that Jack Sparrow quote has nothing to do with whatever this is” said Oscar.

  “It was Captain Barbossa who said it” corrected Arthur.

  “Who the hell is Captain Barbossa?” Asked Lisa.

  The two look at Lisa and then trade quiet glances, Oscar decides that he’s still not done sightseeing and asks to be guided through the ghost town Arthur once called home. Arthur agrees but sets his own terms, he will show them around town but in return he’ll be allowed to drown himself in beer.

  All parties shook hands and the tour started with Arthur finding the nearest bar and supplying himself with drinks, as per agreement he showed the interesting parts of town, from a scenic lake to his favorite bridge Arthur delivered what he promised ending the tour within the comfort of an overly fancy bar.

  There was no source of electricity to light the inside of the bar so Oscar and Lisa settled onto a window side table playing a game of chess while Arthur wobbled in the darkness drinking to his heart’s content.

  Within the unseen darkness of the bar Lisa hears something scurrying, it sounded too light and too small for a human and the way it moved felt eerie. She signals Arthur to be alert and calls Arthur to her side, Arthur stumbles towards her mumbling with slurred and incomprehensible words.

  She positions herself between Arthur and the darkness using her body as a shield for her most vulnerable member, she draws her machete and attempts to triangulate where the creature is. Her focus is drawn away from the shadows as she feels arms resting on her shoulders and Arthur’s weight pressing down on her.

  “Relax Lisa, whatever’s running around over there is too small to be a threat” said Arthur.

  “You can’t be too sure” said Lisa, she gently shakes off Arthur who felt the message and gives room.

  Oscar shuffles closer to the two and takes responsibility for the intoxicated Arthur.

  The creature finally reveals itself as it slowly peeks out of a corner, it looked like a newborn baby but it had no trouble standing and walking on its own, its eyes glowed a faint green against the dim room, its skin is an unhealthy shade of gray, its arms thin are thin but its stomach is bloated and full of green veins.

  “A baby? Really?” Arthur remarks unimpressed by what he sees “That’s not very original” he says before wiping his mouth.

  Unnerved by the sight Lisa steps back she looks over to see Arthur missing and Oscar with a disappointed face, Lisa sees him pointing at the baby to which she turned at a perfect time to see Arthur appearing from the darkness and kicking the infant across the bar.

  The baby flies into a window and splatters on a table, limbs and spine bent yet still alive and fighting for air.

  Arthur celebrates as if he’s scored a goal in the world cup, he raises his arms high cheering for himself in a sloven fashion. The other two watch as Arthur approaches the baby hammer raised and ready, he could just step forward and swing but for many reasons he presents himself as a slow and dangerous entity.

  Paralyzed and out of options the baby starts to transform, its torso expands, its arms and fingers stretched longer and and further than any man could reach but before the creature could grow into a bigger problem Arthur smashes its head with his hammer.

  For a moment the room turns somber, blood spills out of the table and drips to the floor. Arthur sets his hammer aside as he draws his blade, he cuts the monster open and extracts the liver.

  For a second Arthur pauses staring at the large organ in his hands “Fuck I don’t have anywhere to put this” he says.

  “Don’t worry buddy, Oscar is here to save the day” He says while running into the darkness, opening doors and drawers along the way.

  The other two stand quietly as Oscar returns carrying with him a metal container and packets of salt, Arthur submerges the liver in a mixture of beer and salt while Oscar studies the corpse.

  “What are you two doing?” Asked Lisa.

  Oscar and Arthur exchange glances, before staring at Lisa.

  “Securing food” said Arthur as he returns to work.

  “Are you sure it's food?” Lisa notes the creature’s uncanny resemblance with humans.

  “This is a type two Mimic. Almost every type two is edible, especially their livers” Explained Arthur.

  They flee the crime scene and take shelter a reasonable distance away from the site of murder, Lisa sits alone in a corner unable to relate with the other two as they talk with excitement about Arthur’s recent kill. As their conversation died down Arthur spots a quiet Lisa and decides to join her, his approach was awkward and he struggled to start a conversation so he sits near waiting for the right words to come to mind.

  “Do you Enjoy killing monsters?” Asked Lisa.

  Arthur hears her loaded question and hesitates to Answer, but he thought about their first meeting and how she accepted him despite being covered in rotten blood.

  “Yeah, I can’t deny that” Arthur answers with honesty.

  Lisa had another question in mind but she doesn’t want to ask, Arthur could sense it from the look on her eyes.

  “Killing monsters is all I’m ever good at, it’s what I’m meant to do” said Arthur, he takes out his hammer and uses a piece of cloth to wipe away the drying stains.

  “This thing is all I have left”

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