Ren clicked his heel against the wall behind him while Maxis set up the game.

Calling a shot had become a regular rule between the two. Ren learned when they were kids that Maxis was a very competitive person. Not that Ren was complaining. He was happy to accept a challenge. After a while, though, it became clear that whoever went first usually won the game. It was rare that either of them missed their shots. So, to make the game more interesting, they allowed the players to call shots. Bank the ball in a called hole, and you’d double your points.

There was a catch, though. Sink the eight-ball and buy the other a drink.

“Scales tell ya when he’ll get results back?” Maxis asked as he dragged the balls to the center of the table using the rack.

“Nah. Vague as ever.” Ren clicked his tongue. “Probably gonna take him decades if he’s complaining about a little bit of spit in his sample.

Maxis paused, frowning. “Spit? That’s what contaminated it?”

“Yeah, I had to use my soda cup to collect the stuff.”

Maxis’s frown deepened. “No wonder he’s upset.”

“You kidding me? You’re taking his side? It’s all I had on me!”

“I don’t take anyone’s side. Besides, you knew you were going back. You didn’t think to grab some other container on the way?” Maxis lifted the triangle off the deck and walked to the side opposite Ren to line his shot. “That was pretty stupid of you.”

Ren groaned. “Okay, whatever, fuck you too, man.”

Maxis snickered, and the balls scattered with his shot. It’d become a bit of an unspoken rule between the two of them that Maxis would start by splitting the stack. Of the two of them, Maxis had a minor advantage. Ren chalked it up to being the son of a bar owner.

Sunny perched on a nearby sofa closer to the pool table, watching with bright eyes and a wide smile. She much enjoyed watching them go at it for a bit.

“Your move.” Maxis let the cue slide down his hand so the fat end hit the floor. He grabbed a chalk stuck in a small groove beneath the table and rubbed it against the tip before blowing it off.

“Scales seems a lot more uptight lately,” Ren commented and leaned forward to get a better view of the balls. He tilted his head from one side to the other, his eye on the striped ten-ball. Ahead of it was the striped thirteen-ball. A smirk stretched wide across his face. “Thirteen, left corner pocket.” He pointed at the hole.

“Calling shots already?” Maxis scoffed.

“You know me.”

“Yeah, damn fool you are.”

“We’ll see.”

Ren pushed against the inside of his cheek with his tongue, clamping down it gently with his molars. He shifted the cue between his index and thumb fingers, holding his breath.

Tonk!

The ball soared across the table, clipping the thirteen-ball with a clack and ricocheting between the walls of the right-most corner. The thirteen-ball moved steadily and clunked into the corner as Ren had predicted.

“Booya, bitch!” Ren cried. “One ball and you’re already on the ropes.”

"This is just the beginning, bucko,” Maxis growled as he observed the table.

“Scales was really mad, then?” Sunny asked.

“Oh yeah. Dude’s too uptight, for real. I mean, it’s just a bit of spit. He knows it’s from me, doesn’t he have like, my DNA already or something? Should be easy to sort out if he’s as great as he claims. Maybe he’s a sham after all.”

“I don’t think it’s quite that easy.” Maxis regarded Ren with an incredulous shake of his head.

“Maxis,” came a voice from the stairs. It was Sigg—Maxis’s father. He motioned with his head. “Come here. I need to talk to you for a moment.”

Maxis sighed and set his pool cue against the wall. “Duty calls. Be right back.”

“I’ll watch your balls for you,” Ren said, laughing.

Maxis followed his dad up the stairs, and Ren leaned against the wall, sighing. “How are you holding up, Sunny?” It’d been a while since they discussed the fight with the Lurker. Ren knew Sunny was a tough cookie, but even she choked up occasionally. What she went through to get him back would’ve scarred any kid her age. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

Sunny looked down at her feet, taking her time to respond. “I’m doing fine.”

The tone of her voice said she wasn’t being entirely truthful with him, but Ren knew better than to pry when it came to Sunny’s emotions. Her father’s circumstances were still a sensitive topic and probably would be for years to come. Ren regretted that the Lurker discussion likely brought up some awful memories.

“Well, uh,” Ren scratched the back of his neck, “if you ever need to talk to someone, I mean… I’m here. If you need it.” Ren’s cheeks began to burn, and even he knew it had nothing to do with the alcohol.

Man, why am I so bad at offering emotional support?

That shit was too complicated. What good did it do to dwell on stuff that was in the past, anyhow? They were here now, living and going through the motions. Best to live in the present and take things as they come. Bad shit happened to good people all the time. So, he vowed to try and smile any chance he got.

No matter what.

Sunny offered him a bewildered stare. Damn it, he must’ve come off like a fool.

“Don’t worry,” Sunny said. “I will.”

“Great,” Ren said, and flashed her a smile.

“Hey, guys, sorry about that,” Maxis said, descending back down the stairs with a fresh new beer in his hands, scrolling through something on his phone. He took a swig and breathed a sigh of relief. His face was noticeably redder than it had been before he left. “That hits the spot. Too much goin’ on lately, man.”

“What was that about?” Ren asked.

“Eh,” Maxis shrugged his shoulders, glancing at Sunny. “Weird shit goin’ on with the bar is all.”

“You mean besides the shootout,” Ren said with dripping sarcasm.

“Oh, shut up.” Maxis paused, his gaze nailed to Sunny. “Eh, I guess Sunny’s seen plenty of this action already, so it couldn’t hurt to tell ya. Our shipment was late. Not by just an hour or two, either. We’re talkin’ days. Had no idea what happened until just today. Well… they found the shipment around Scarrow’s End near the outskirts of the city. Come to find out, the driver was torn to shreds.”

“The fuck? Like, ripped apart?”

“Yeah,” Maxis scoffed, “and it gets worse. Take a look at these.”

“I dunno if I wanna see that,” Ren flinched.

“Don’t worry. These were taken after it was cleaned up.” Maxis and Ren leaned closer while he scrolled through the pictures of the attack. “Wild, right? Holes were ripped out of the side of the truck. Huge claw marks everywhere, so they think it might be some big Lurker similar to the one you two encountered.” He shrugged. “Workin’ theory, anyway. This is the third time it’s happened in a week.”

Ren furrowed his brow and drew back. “Shit, you’ve lost three shipments?”

“Oh, no, not us,” Maxis corrected as he pocketed his phone. “This is the first time this shit’s happened to us.” He took another drink of his beer and nearly tripped over an imperfection in the floor. Catching his balance, he went over to his pool cue and grabbed it with his free hand. “Third time in the district. We ain’t the only ones with this problem. Seems like it’s only happening to shipments with meat. Bastard must be hungry.

“So, Dad’s talkin’ how we should start armin’ the drivers just in case this happens again.” Maxis sniffed. “But this is the first time this sorta thing has happened to us. Really jumpin’ the gun as far as I’m concerned. Gettin’ them armed and trained, and makin’ sure it still fits under the clause of our insurance policies and… man, it’s just too much work to think about, ya know? We got enough shit goin’ on as it is.”

“Whoa, hold on now. The Lurker I fought off was reported by a handful of dumbass teenagers only a day after an incident. How the fuck is something like that staying hidden for so long?” Ren asked. “Shouldn’t someone know what this asshole looks like by now? Or where it hangs out? Nobody snapped a picture or a video or anything?”

“I dunno, man.” Maxis sighed and walked up to the opposite side of the pool table. “Just reportin’ as Dad’s tellin’ it to me. I don’t know much more than you do. Was my turn, yeah?”

“Uhhh.” Ren couldn’t remember. “Yeah, I think.”

Maxis lined up his shot as he spoke. “Cops found the stuff, though, at least. The missing shipment, I mean. It’s gone bad, obviously, and most of it was eaten anyway, so I guess that’s a loss. But since these events are gettin’ more common, I’m wagerin’ it’s just a matter of time until someone catches up with it. Usually, they’re pretty good about this stuff.”

“Was the shipment near the Cinderwoods? Where Ren and I fought?” Sunny asked.

Maxis glanced at her and smiled. “Yeah, that’s right. The Cinderwoods. That place is gettin’ even more dangerous to walk around in lately.”

Ren rolled the pool cue between his hands as he pondered the situation. Was it a coincidence? The Lurker he fought was fiercer than what he usually dealt with, and much closer to civilization too. Normally they know to steer clear of populated areas. But the event wasn’t strange enough that Ren could call it a unique incident. Sure, Lurkers like that were rare, but they weren’t unheard of.

Still, though, Ren thought as he observed his new arm, why do I have this nagging feeling?

“Don’t let it worry you,” Maxis continued. “They’ll catch the Lurker eventually.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Ren said.

Maxis took his shot, and the ball glided across the table at a gentle pace. It bounced between a pair of striped balls, landing in the same corner pocket Ren had scored in only minutes ago.

“How’s that for a called shot?” Maxis said.

“Yeah,” Ren muttered, lost in thought. “Wait, what the hell, man? That wasn’t a called shot. Don’t start cheating.”

“Yeah, it was.” Maxis laughed. “You’re just not payin’ attention is all. Like usual.”

“Like I’m gonna trust the word of a stumbling drunk ass like you,” Ren snapped.

“Sounds like the talk of a loser. Why don’t we make this more interestin’?”

“Yeah. Why don’t we?” Ren reached into his pocket and slapped down enough cash for a few drinks. “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is, cheater?”

Maxis clicked his tongue. “You’re in for a world of hurt.”