Bill took a quick sip of his coffee before letting out a dry chuckle. “As much as I wish I could leave you alone, buddy - oh, sorry - I cannot promise that. I don’t know how to live in this world. It is not easy for someone who sees reality from the perspective of old times." he sighed hopelessly. ”I need someone to guide me. At least in the beginning.”
He turned not only his head but his whole frail body towards the uncertain Hades. Only now did he notice that the man moved away from him. This saddened Bill. “I disgust you, don’t I?” he informed him almost immediately, understanding now what was causing this unpleasant atmosphere. “You think I’m a hideous creature. That I came here to be the epitome of all your woes.” Bill shook his head. "That’s not true. And if that’s what I get as a thank you for being nice…” He shrugged. Bill was indifferent to everything now. He didn’t even know how to finish this sentence.
Her contact didn’t respond immediately, which wasn’t entirely surprising to her as this Hook fellow seemed to be the secretive type of person. She figured that he didn’t live life as wholly online as some others did but Know It All hadn’t failed her before and she doubted that they would now. She was right, it appeared, as a simple four-line response from the contact brought her basic, but useful, information.
She took in all this information without a single twitch to let him know that anything had changed—but of course, everything had changed. She cleared the messages and then swiped out of the app, switching back over to the notes app, pretending to have been typing away.
It seemed she had slightly underestimated the Captain, as it looked like he had a feeling that Stacey wasn’t who she said she was. That was okay, he could suspect her all he wanted, but he really had nothing concrete to accuse her of. Her lip quivered, and then she hung her head forward appearing ashamed of her actions. “I understand, Captain Hook. I must seem suspicious to you but I assure you it’s nothing like that. As I said, I’m writing an article for a newspaper, and it’s called Life in Las Levendas.” She looked up at him, a sudden heaviness weighing down her features. “I know you’ve never heard of it, and that’s because me and my sister… we’ve been trying to start our own business, for months now, and still no has really ever heard of us. It’s so- hard.” She took in a gulping breath, as if she was trying to get her emotions under control. “It’s true, I was going to write an article on you, but it was mostly going to be an opinion piece rather than anything else… but then I saw you in the window and, you have to understand, a piece with an interview featuring the Captain himself? That would put Life in Las Levendas on the map!”
She sighed, rubbing her head. “We’re not part of anything criminal, I swear. We just-” Anastasia met his eyes with a saddened, tired expression on her face. “We just really need a break. And…” She bit her lip, glancing around with hesitation, before leaning forward, her voice lowered. “It’s kind of personal. My sister—my younger one, not the one who I own the newspaper with—is eighteen. All of the victims have been under twenty-one. She- she could…!” A hand flew to Anastasia’s mouth as she choked back a sob. “Ellie is everything to me and Kate, Captain. If we lost her… I-I–” She shook her head fervently, taking a moment to compose herself. “I’m sorry for being so unprofessional, Captain, it has been tough times for all of us. But there is nothing to be concerned about of me… really. I’m just trying to do what’s best for my family, just like everyone else.”
“No, no.” Hades said quickly. “It doesn’t have anything to do with you. It’s… It’s all about me.” He admitted with a sigh. “I’ve always been terrified of my powers. The fact that I could do something like that… Do something like reanimating you perfectly, even as a little kid… It’s always scared me. And even though I try to block them out, this is a big city… A city full of crime.” His voice began to shake again. “I hear them everywhere I go. People who are suffering for eternity, who want relief and answers and justice I can’t provide. Muggings, hostages, murders, homeless people, car crashes. So many. And they’re all in pain, all screaming… All screaming at me… They do it all of the time, and I can’t stop it.”
He stood for a second, lost in thought, taking deep, labored breaths in an attempt to calm down. “There’s a woman wailing right over there.” He said, nodding over his shoulder to a fountain behind him. “She was drowned by some goblin teens for her purse. All that was in it was a twenty, a bunch of declined cards and expired gift certificates, and a travel pack of maxi pads.”
Bill listened to him silently. He didn’t know how to react to this sudden confession. Bill was not suitable for such poignant conversations. And he was hopeless with comforting others. He just nodded and muttered. “I am sorry that I accused you of not accepting me.” A small sigh escaped Bill’s lips as he listened to Hades mention what his lost souls were asking him for. Bill couldn’t remember if he ever begged to be returned to the Land of the Living. Perhaps… sometimes, he dreamed of seeing his beloved lady, one more time. Probably that’s why he was here.
“Look, I don’t know what you’re going through, but it sounds pretty bad.” He stated. He took a long sip of coffee before continuing. “If my leaving is really going to help you, then I will respect your decision.” He groaned.
Bill slowly got up from the bench and was ready to head to a nearby pub to discuss the possibility of performing there, when he suddenly heard a man asking him something. He stopped abruptly in surprise. “What?” he murmured. “Where did you get that question from? I didn’t expect to hear that from you.” He laughed sluggishly. “I have a place to live.” It wasn’t a lie, but Bill’s “place to live” couldn’t be called a home. It was a disgusting, moldy hovel that cost him almost all of his hard-earned money. He had to pay the rent every month, and what was worse, the owner of the apartment was a terrible and boorish skunk. She was ignoring all the electricity and water problems he had been reporting to her. However, Bill had to live in poorer luxuries. “It’s not a perfect place to live, but it could always be worse.” He smiled reassuringly.
Arthur had expected it. The new magazine, unknown on the market, so it was impossible to prove whether it actually existed or not. The man nodded. If it hadn’t been his first time, he would probably have believed her. Stacey… she was lying exceptionally well, and it was hard to guess what was genuine and what was not. It was definitely not her first time. “I see. I am rooting for you to succeed.” He smiled, raising up his crossed fingers. The honesty gushing out of his voice could have been unexpected. However, Hook wasn’t sure if the newsletter was real or, it was just a figment of Stacey’s imagination. If the girl was telling the truth, why not praise her for it? The captain believed that it was good for young people to develop. But it wasn’t right for them to lie. “It would be an honor to hear what you have written so far. If you would like to show it.” He proposed. “I’ve read a lot in my life. It seems to me that I will be able to advise something.” under the guise of support, he really wanted to check if the girl scribbled something or it was just a scam. He had little hope that he had been wrong about her all this time. Unfortunately, the girl has not helped him so far in reducing his suspicions about her.
“I don’t think my personality is interesting enough to write such a serious interview about me.” Hook commented on her attempt to gain his trust by praising him. It hadn’t been the first time for Arthur to hear such compliments. “The mayor would have been better, Miss Stacey. However, I understand that talking to her is practically impossible. However, I heard that she recently announced that she would answer any questions related to the kidnapping. If I were you, I would already be there,” he advised. Satisfied that he had managed to finish the topic about himself so smoothly, he smiled even more widely. He shifted in his chair, carelessly placing his robotic hand on the table.
He leaned back from the girl, noticing how her expression changed. Her face turned serious and sad. Hook raised an eyebrow. He only expected one thing. Crying. Yes, he guessed again. Stacey began to complain that she was doing all this for her little sister (whose existence Arthur was not convinced of, but he didn’t want to question it). Hook nodded. “I think you have now made a serious mistake.” He began and ran a healthy hand through his greasy hair. “There may be wiretaps here; someone could have heard you, even though you were whispering.” He wasn’t sure if it was enough, so he added. “And such an article would definitely attract a lot of attention. You understand what I am striving for here." He tilted his head to the side, looking at her meaningfully. “If I were you, I would try not to stand out. Do not pock your nose into somebody else’s affairs, because it can be dangerous, not only for your sister but also for you." Despite his best efforts not to be impressed by the girl’s lamentation, the captain failed in that battle. He couldn’t leave it like that. He decided to help her, but probably not in the way she expected.
“Okay.” He tossed a tip for the waitress on the table and quickly finished his coffee. “Let’s go.” He said while getting up. “You will come with me to the police station. If you are nervous about your sister, you can report it, and I will try to help." He offered cheerfully. “You will tell me if you saw anything suspicious recently. It will definitely be safer to talk about it there than here. For now, we will forget about the interview. Do you agree with such a proposal?”
“Would you like to say at my place? There’s a loft in the garage over where the car’s parked… I could hook you up with a bed and mini-fridge up there.” Hades offered, guess that Bill’s place wasn’t the best. After all, it must’ve been hard to keep a stable job while dodging the fact that you’re a living corpse.
Bill frowned, even more surprised. Naturally, however, he was too lazy to wonder why Hades suddenly decided to help him. Nor did he think about the possibility that the second (and very peculiar) roommate could be too much of a burden for the already tired Hades.
Bill shrugged, his lips twisting in a friendly grimace. “It all sounds great.” He nodded. “If that’s not a problem, I’d love to move in.”
He struggled to get up from the bench, instantly desiring to sit on it again. “I can move in there even now. Would you like to help me with packing? During our way there, you can tell me a little more about the apartment." He offered lazily.
Hades put on a small smile as the man agreed. “Sure. Where’s your place at? Do you want me to drive?” He offered, searching his crowded pockets for his keys. He tried not to stress too much about what Meg would think about this. When worse came to worse… She didn’t really have to know about this, did she?
Bill nodded. “The block is in the suburbs, I’ll tell you the directions,” he smiled. Bill might have noticed that something was bothering Hades, but the musician was not very interested in the cause of his stress. He shrugged. “Do you live alone?” he asked just for the sake of saying something and a desire to keep the conversation going. However, Bill hadn’t expected an answer to that question.
“No, actually.” Hades admitted as the two got into his car. With a bit a force, he was able to turn the key and get the engine spluttering back to life. The mechanism had always been a bit sticky. “I live with my room- With my girlfriend, Meg.” He said, having to remind himself to call her that for the eightieth time.
“I assume you’re living alone at the moment?” He asked.
