My heavy footfalls thud against the old wooden floorboards of my apartment, my constant pacing only being broken up as the steps occasionally fall upon the old worn carpet in the center of the living room.
My hands clasp a large mug of dark steaming coffee. My fourth of the day, the sheer amount of caffeine likely being the cause or at least heightening my anxiety as I struggle to to spill the overfilled mug in my shaking grasp.
Bringing the cup to my mouth I gulp down a searing mouthful, a gasp for air soon following from my lips as I feel the coffee burn my throat. My eyes begin to water as I swallow again, desperate to get the coffee down as I feel it snake down into my stomach.
Blinking rapidly I try to clear the tears from my eyes, my gaze falling to my coffee table as my vision clears only to leave me staring at the letter sitting pride of place at the center of the table.
Notice of Eviction
Dear Mr Hughes, due to defaults with regards to your rent we regret inform...
Before I can read any further or relive the terror that had gripped me when I had received the letter a loud knocking echos through the apartment. My heart flutters and my eyes go wide, my head whipping around as I mutter to myself.
"It's here..."
It had all started a few weeks ago, after receiving the notice to vacate from my landlord Rachel. Her granddaughter had handed it to me personally, the cruel young woman eager to revel in watching me read that I would be out on the street in a matter of weeks.
The athletic redhead's grin made the news all the worse, the sight of her fighting back bouts of laughter as the color drained from my face leaving me sick to my stomach.
However, none of how the letter delivered changed the end result. With limited savings and with no income I would likely be out on the street or couch surfing for the foreseeable future while I looked for any form of work.
The days passed by all to quickly, days spent frantically searching for a job between packing up box after box of games and clothes that amounted to my life up until this point.
It wasn't until the first week of the notice was nearly over that I had started giving up hope on finding anything. Between the lack of hearing back from job applications and the lack of any available couches on which I could search, it was becoming all too apparent that I would either be moving back in with my parents or living out of my car come the end of the next week.
Complaining about my predicament online, bemoaning the state of the rental and job markets, I had received an odd message. The stranger had also been in a similar position as myself, out of luck and on the verge of losing everything. However they had managed to stumble upon a way out...
The Fabled Medallion of Zulu.
They had gone on to explain how they had found the ancient magical item at a garage sale, likely by mistake or having been misplaced if the legends of the medallion vanishing had any truth to them. He had quickly stolen away with the supposedly magical item, using the thing to slip into the life of a local runaway before taking over his life like a hermit crab taking on a new shell.
Knowing full well that the medallion would make its escape at some point he had already decided to try and sell the thing, wanting to build a bit more of a financial cushion now that he was stuck living of 'his' rather poor parents for the foreseeable future.
For the cost of practically all my remaining savings he offered to send my the medallion, an offer that I had taken up with little to no evidence any of this was true thanks to a mixture of cheap wine and desperation.
That had been days ago, and now with the eviction looming I had expected the package to be delivered today. However, as the morning had turned to afternoon the idea that I had been scammed began to grow ever more present in the back of my mind.
The coffee, usually a comfort drink for me, had only made the situation worse as I jittered about the largely packed apartment waiting to see if I had been robbed or not.
As the knocking continues in an evermore impatient fashion I practically bound towards the door, my coffee spilling from my mug and splattering to the floor as I race across the apartment.
I frantically pull the front door open, the courier jumping a little in surprise and mid-knock as they clutch tightly at the small heavily wrapped package beneath his arm. His eyes dart over me for a moment, looking at the slender and towering pale figure in the doorway dressed in a pair of now coffee stained sweat pants and an old blue t-shirt that hadn't been washed in a week or more.
"Mr... Hughes?..." the young man asks, my head bobbing up and down as I nod eagerly to the question. As he holds out the package I quickly snatch it from him, slamming the door shut and locking it before he can say another word.
"H... eed.. sign..." the man calls out, his words growing distant as I shuffle quickly deeper into the apartment and towards my kitchen.
My fingers pull and tug at the packaging, the thick layers of tape likely being to keep the item from getting lost in transit like it was seemingly want to do. It takes more effort than I had expected, my nails and fingertips hurting as I finally rip the last layer of of tape and paper to reveal the tarnished silver chain and a hint of the aging bejeweled wooden medallion.
My eyes go wide as I move to touch the face of the ancient necklace, my hand quickly retreating as I remember just what this was meant to be and what it could be capable of.
Taking a deep breath I try to focus, my thoughts turning from the pounding rhythm of my heart to the plan I had been cooking up for the past few days.
"Okay..." I sigh, trying to calm myself down through the haze of caffeine and excitement. "It's time to...
No comments:
Post a Comment