He thundered down the stairs quickly--hoping to avoid Maru’Chi--but he was unfortunately caught by her again. In fact, she was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps. “There you are.” she said, regarding him with a cruel smirk. “Just here to remind you that you must return home by seven today, and you will be taking the day off for the next week afterwards.”

Joseph bit his lip and muttered, “Understood.” 

Maru’Chi nodded, satisfied. “Alright. Good. You may hurry, then.” 

Joseph said nothing in reply and began his last day on the job before his vacation. He headed outdoors and immediately felt his walkie talkie buzz. He was informed that there was a robbery occurring at District C, so he headed there directly. On the way there, he couldn’t help but keep thinking of the interaction he had had with Petunia the night before. It wasn’t she he was necessarily thinking about, but what she had said that kept him preoccupied. She had spoken about what she liked about designing clothes, and he found himself thinking about what he liked about his own job. 

Exercise. 

Camaraderie.

Skill.

Talent.

Thinking about these things made him long to keep doing his job even more. In fact, he felt a cold sense of emptiness pervading his being--like ice that was slowly melting--upon accepting the fact that he would be going on vaction soon. Luckily, arriving at District C distracted him from reminiscing too much. He stopped in his running, coming to a screeching halt as he dragged his heels into the cement in a peaceful neighborhood. This was a human neighborhood in which all the houses looked exactly the same and had the exact same interiors as well as exteriors. Joseph found himself liking the uniformity of it all, and thought that the Erulanites had good tastes in homes. There were no ugly inconsistencies or unexpected surprises, which made him feel quite comfortable as he strolled down the sidewalk, looking for the house number that was consistent with the one being robbed. 

5321. He thought to himself, repeating the number over and over so he wouldn’t forget. But, he didn’t have to remember for long because, in a moment, a scream and a crash told him exactly where the house in question was. He hurried to it, kicked the door down, and sped inside. He had his gun at the ready as he surveyed the entryway; he saw no one there. The lights were turned off, and he heard another scream coming from upstairs. Once he had seen that there was no one in the entryway, he brushed past his surroundings without giving them a second thought--he was not interested in the decor or design as he was in his own House lately. He moved fluidly, peering around each corner before pointing gun and checking the next room with a quick glance. Eventually, he arrived at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor and padded up them on swift, silent feet. He still moved cautiously, but sped up his pace dramatically, as he knew someone else must be in trouble. 

Eventually, he heard where the commotion was coming from when he arrived at the top of the stairs. It was coming from the master bedroom on his right. There was more screaming and yelling, and there was orange firelight glowing under the door. Joseph wasted no more time on being cautious and dashed to the door. He took a deep breath upon reaching the door that was painted half-blue and half-pink--annoying him to no end with its a-symettry--and then twisted the knob and admitted himself inside. 

Upon entering, he was alarmed at what he saw.

He lowered his gun momentarily. He saw his twin brother, Mouse, pointing his gun at a woman and her baby, saying the most repulsive words that had ever entered his ears as the master bedroom went up in flames all around them. 

“Undress and I will let you go.” Mouse demanded. 

Joseph surveyed the room.

Joseph’s arms felt light and airy for a moment--like they didn’t really exist--like he was watching the whole scene from outside his own body. His nose twitched, his eyes were wide. Eventually, he refocused on his twin and pointed his gun at him. “Mouse, you’re under arrest. Drop your gun.” 

It was a simple matter to arrest him, despite the fact that he was his twin, until he seized the woman and her baby and pressed his gun into her neck. “Make me.” Mouse answered.

Joseph lowered his gun. His brother was backing up toward the window, an arm looped around the woman’s stomach. “I suggest you leave, Joey, before I blow her brains out.” 

Joseph had frozen with his gone lowered. Too many unwelcome thoughts and feelings entered his consciousness, and he had no idea what to do with them. They overloaded him like a computer being overloaded with too many data files, and he froze. 

He let Mouse back toward the nearest window, and when Mouse was close enough, he kissed the woman’s neck affectionately and then dashed out the window, breaking it. He closed his eyes bitterly, and then looked toward the broken window with his gun, once again, at the ready. He was going to pursue his twin when his walkie talkie rang out and he was charged with going on a different mission. He could have alerted the Guard that there was a more pressing mission at hand--a rogue member of the Guard--but somehow, he felt like he couldn’t. He grumbled to himself and then left the house, trying to forget about the incident. Unfortunately, throughout the rest of the day, it kept coming to mind.