New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

"Yeah, yeah. Don't mention it." David said, waving his hand.

"Did you know?" Alexander asked.

"Nah. I just didn't want to stand by while a poor chap was getting his ass whooped. No need to thank me. I would do the same for anyone." David explained, touring the penthouse.

He whistled as he walked in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the view.

"Quite the crib you got yourself here. Must have cost you a pretty penny," he said, walking out on the balcony.

Alexander shrugged in answer. To which David chuckled.

"I take it you have been using the list I sent you to its full potential? Good. The funds will help you and me in the near future." David said, leaning on the balcony rail.

Silence filled the air. David turned around, looking at Alexander.

"What? Did you think I gave you that list just to help you? Out of the goodness of my heart? Come on, Alex. I thought you would understand me better by now." David said, shaking his head like a disappointed parent.

Alexander wanted to slap his smug, patronizing face. But he knew better than to pick a fight with him now.

"You see, I'm ok in funds, for now. But soon, maybe a year from now, I will need another big influx of cash. So you will be my cash cow. So be sure not to spend it all and make that money grow." David said, before walking back inside the apartment.

Alexander clenched his fists as the man walked by him.

'What is he? A thug?' He growled in his mind.

David jumped on the sofa like it was his own, turning on the television, and lifting his feet on the coffee table. Alexander walked in front of him and smacked them off.

"Keep your feet off my furniture. You are already dragging mud all over the floor. Don't put some on the coffee table. What kind of shit hole do you live in to have mud on your boots?" Alexander growled.

David only gave him a snarky smile in response. Then his face turned dark.

"You picking a fight, wolfy?" He asked, slowly getting up.

"This is my home. You want some respect, show some in return, you damned corpse." Alexander said, taking another step forward.

Both men were nose to nose, staring intensely at each other. Then David started laughing heartedly.

"Good! Very good! I like that attitude. You will need it when shit eventually hits the fan." He exclaimed, taking a step back and going to sit at the table on the balcony.

He then started chowing on Alexander's omelette, much to his displeasure, but he let him be. He instead pulled out a beer from the fridge and opened it.

As he was taking a swig, he heard David say, "'an I 'ave one of 'hose?" With his mouth full.

"Shut up and eat my omelette, you damned raccoon!" Alexander replied, giving a murderous stare.

David laughed and kept eating until the plate was empty.

"Woo! My compliments to the chef, that was scrumptious!" He exclaimed, pushing the plate away from him.

"Why are you here, David?" Alexander asked him, sitting down across the table.

"Oh! Yes! I'm just here to check out your new place and tell you the time of day." He answered, with a big smile, akin to a shark grinning.

"Seriously," Alexander said, putting down his beer bottle.

David stretched out, trying to snatch the bottle, but Alex smacked his hand away.

"Sheesh, so stingy!" David said, caressing his hand.

"I came here to tell you I will need your help soon." He then said, his face becoming serious again.

Alexander crossed his hands on the table, listening carefully.

"In a little less than two months from now, we will need to be someplace nearby, and I will need your help for a... demonstration, of sorts," David said, sounding mysterious.

"What kind of demonstration?" Alexander asked.

"Aww. I don't want to tell you yet. Where's the fun in that?" David replied, trying to look coy.

"Stop fooling around, David. Does this concern what's coming?" Alexander asked, a vein pulsing on his forehead.

"Gosh, you're no fun. You know, I just act like this with you. You're a mystery to me, you know? I don't know how you'll turn or even if you'll survive the first incident." David said, looking at Alex weirdly.

"Anyway! I will need you to be at a specific place, at a specific time, all of which I will text you in due time. For now, I just wanted to tell you to be frugal with our money." David said, looking out to the city.

Alexander looked at the cityscape too, getting flashbacks of that horrible memory that was in David's head. He still had nightmares sometimes, of that woman getting torn to pieces.

When Alexander turned his head back to David, the man had a look of nostalgia mixed in with melancholy. He couldn't quite understand how the man was feeling.

Who would, though? The man had died and been brought back into the past, only to live through the events that led to his demise.

It had to be a terrible feeling to know what was to come and not be able to undo it completely. Just thinking about it made Alexander feel down.

David then clapped his hands together, changing back to his earlier playful smile. Alexander could guess it was just a facade, though.

"Alright! Well, my job is done. Keep your phone nearby. I will text you the place and time when the time comes," he said, before getting up and walking toward the elevator.

Alexander looked at him walk away, without moving. When David was almost at the elevator, he hollered at him.

"Hey, asshole! Take care."

"Same for, dipshit!" David responded, getting in the elevator and disappearing as the doors closed.

'To think our future depends on such an oddball,' Alexander thought, turning his head to look at the city again.

He stayed there for a good while, letting his thoughts wander, thinking about how he might be an oddball too, if he changed the lens he looked at himself from.

After spending an hour outside, he cleared his thoughts and walked back inside his home. The sun was slowly setting in the west, projecting streaks of orange and red in the clouds.

'Time to go back inside. I have a journey to plan!' He thought, walking to his room and entering his pod.

"Log in," Alexander said, closing the lid of the pod.

*Launching 'New Eden'*

*Logging in*

*Welcome back player Astaroth*