“So, what do you think?” Ren asked.

“What the hell is this supposed to be?” Scales asked as he observed the eyeball encased in ice.

“Beats me. Sunny and her friend found it,” Ren supplied, irritated. He wanted to punch a wall. “Figured you’d probably want it since you’re good with this shit.”

“Am I being paid for this?”

“I thought you’d be paying me.”

Scales’s helmet raised a judgmental brow. “Fine. Ten percent of what I usually give you.” When Ren opened his mouth, Scales continued. “Twenty. And not a single penny more.”

“Damn, man. Fine. Whatever.” Ren fell into the recesses of Scales’s’ sofa as the doctor walked into another room to observe his new item. Ren grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned on the TV. As soon as the news anchor began talking, Scales’s voice pierced the room again.

“I didn’t say you could stay here and make this place your home. Get out of here!”

“Shit, man, fine!” Ren said, tossing the remote onto the table and throwing his arms into the air. “I’m going, I’m going.”

“The authorities are still investigating the strange occurrences of NEON in the area. With local law enforcement on the case, there is—”

Ren stopped to turn off the TV, sighing. Whatever the eyeball was covered in, Scales would know soon enough.

---

June and Sunny sat on the couch together while June quietly clicked through the channels for something interesting to watch. The air had been awkward between them after Ren found her and Benji. Sunny struggled for a reason to speak until something on the TV grabbed her attention.

“Wait, what was that?” Sunny asked as she leaned forward.

“The news?” June asked. “You never like the news.” She clicked back a few channels, stopping when she saw the graying news anchor. A black, oily-looking substance was pictured in the top-right corner.

“Police are still investigating the cases of NEON found in Kast Legari. Researchers are concerned there could be more to this substance than mere addiction. Like many recreational drugs, the effects have included increased appetite and dopamine production. Unlike other recreational drugs, however, sleep deprivation was discovered as one of the symptoms and is the leading cause for concern at this time.” The man looked down at the stack of papers in his hand and flipped the front page over. “A small group on social media has come forward recently, hoping to recover from this intoxicating drug. We talk to Kathy now, who’s on the scene with one of the unfortunate souls who fell into a life of drugs and crime.”

The channel froze for a few seconds until a younger woman with brown hair and a microphone appeared. Beside her was a man who looked to be in his late teens. His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes dirtied and pocked with moth holes. Another man in law enforcement clothing stood behind him, the young man’s hands cuffed behind him.

“Kathy here on the scene,” the reporter said, looking at the camera, “with a young man named Sebastian. He says that a life of highs isn’t what it seems and that he only wants to return to the person he once was, stating that he barely recognizes the person he’s become.” The woman looked at the man. “Sebastian, do you have any words for those watching today?”

“It ain’t worth it,” he said with a deeper tone than Sunny expected. “I can’t *bleep* sleep, man. I haven’t slept in *bleep* days. I don’t even—”

June changed the channel.

“June!” Sunny exclaimed. “I was watching that!”

“I don’t think that’s appropriate for a girl your age,” June said with a more dire tone than usual. “Let’s watch something else.”

A more lighthearted show came on as Sunny wondered more about the NEON substance. It looked just like the substance she and Benji had seen the night prior.

Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

---

Benji felt weird riding without Sunny by his side. He’d taken a seat in the back of the bus where he could be left alone, the night of the Lurker attack still weighing on his mind. As much as he wanted to know what the eyeball meant, he knew it was out of his hands now. Whatever Ren and the others would find out, he and Sunny would have nothing to do with it. Not after the stunt they pulled.

He sighed as the bus pulled up to the school. With his jack-o-lantern beneath his arm, Benji kept to the back of the line. From his experience, he’d learned it was the best way to avoid comments or bullying. The bus driver had intervened once, not because of the words, but because of how loud they were. He avoided looking at the driver on his way out.

A sprinkle of rain had many kids running for the front door. Benji didn’t mind the rain and maintained his comfortable pace as he approached the school steps. He stopped at the stairs when a familiar wispy voice intruded on his thoughts.

“Benji. We need to speak with you,” Kiska said. Her sudden presence caused Benji to flinch, nearly dropping his basket. He wasn’t sure if he could speak back to her at such a distance. Kiska hadn’t exactly been clear as to how her telepathy—if that’s what it was—worked.

Benji turned his gaze to the forest line on his left. He couldn’t see anything from where he was, but something told him she and G were just beyond that line somewhere.

“I gotta get to class,” Benji muttered, unsure if she could hear him. “We can talk at recess.”

A pause followed. Just as Benji was about to open his mouth, Kiska continued. “When is that?”

“A couple hours from now. There’s a tire swing by the forest line. Meet me there.”

“Very well.”

A sudden force struck Benji across his shoulder, shoving him forward. Benji gasped, catching the jack-o-lantern moments before it hit the ground. A taller kid—likely the one who hit him—snickered and shook his head.

“Dumb pirate’s talkin’ to himself again,” the kid said. His friends chuckled with him as they ascended the steps.

“Shouldn’t he be locked up in a looney bin?” one asked before entering the building.

The rain worsened. As the water soaked the shoulders of Benji’s letterman jacket, he felt a need to curl up beside a tree and collect his thoughts. Steeling himself, he drew a deep breath and entered the school.

Two and a half hours later, the teacher released Benji and his classmates for their fifteen-minute recess break. Grumbling as he approached the forest line, Benji occasionally looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was following him. It wasn’t often that recess started late, but of course, there just had to be one kid in the class who wouldn’t shut up. A punishment for one was a punishment for all.

Once Benji stood beside his favorite tire swing, he craned over the canopy of bushes and flora to see the back of G’s head.

“G,” Kiska said. “Turn around. Benji is here.”

With a half-snarl, G turned around and settled into a sitting position, his head barely visible over the bushes. G scratched his nose, his gleaming yellow eyes wide with curiosity.

“So… w-what’s going on?” Benji asked, the sight of spilled blood from the night prior still fresh in his mind. Being alone with them unnerved him.

“I would like an accord.” Kiska’s translucent shape appeared beside G, floating a few feet off the ground. “Considering our circumstances, I believe we share a mutual interest.”

Her words were too formal, too complicated. Benji had to digest their meaning longer than he would’ve liked. He scratched the back of his neck and swallowed hard. It was hard to stay calm. “Uhhh, okay? So, what? Y-You want to team up?”

“That is correct,” she nodded. “Since you understand us, I think we would be strong allies.”

The thought of Sunny crying at home, desperately wishing for answers regarding her father’s death, surfaced in Benji’s mind. His heart broke at the idea, and as he exhaled, he nodded. “Okay. I’ll help.” The way he figured it, Kiska and G could do things he couldn’t, and most likely get to places where he couldn’t. To top it off, they were exceptionally dangerous. “What are you thinking?”

G gestured to his open mouth with one pointy finger. “Ah-ah-ah,” he grunted.

“Food?” Benji asked, blinking his one eye.

Kiska giggled. “Yes. As pathetic as it may be to hear, we struggle to find reliable food sources. I obviously don’t need food, but G does. We were hoping you may be able to fix that.”

“Hmm.” Benji crossed his arms in thought. There was an old shed at his house that might work. His father had set foot there one whole time since Benji met him. It was more the property of the local spiders than anyone else. “I might have a place you can stay. My dad is rarely home, so you can use my bed during the evening when he isn’t there.”

“Is that wise?” Kiska asked.

“It’ll be fine,” Benji said with a forced smile. He tried to remain optimistic about his situation, but the longer he talked with them, the more he felt he was biting off more than he could chew. “You’ve been following me anyway, right?”

G offered an enthusiastic nod.

“Yes,” Kiska added.

“We can meet at my house after school. We’ll talk more then,” Benji said.

“Thank you.”

“In the meantime, can you please pass notes between Sunny and me? That would help.”

“We can do this,” Kiska nodded. “G and I will make for Sunny’s place now.”

“Don’t you need her address?”

Kiska smiled. “We follow you, remember? We know where Sunny lives.”

Benji found that equal parts charming and kind of creepy.

“Okay… well, when you’re done, meet me at my house with a note from Sunny. If you can do that, then we can figure something out.”

“Splendid,” Kiska, her tone resuming its usual girlish charm.

“See you there,” Benji said, forcing another smile before turning on his heel and heading back toward the school. The more time he spent talking to them, the more likely they were to get in trouble. Treading on the line of the forest was already a good way to grab the teachers’ attention, and he didn’t need anyone else breathing down his neck.

His heart pounded against his chest, and a tiny voice urged him to get back to class. Despite the anxious feelings he was experiencing, however, a shred of him was glad he could do his part to help.

This is for Sunny.