Chapter 4 VHS

A sports car parks in front of the skyscraper. A man in a formal black suit went outside. The people there greeted him as he went inside the elevator.

"Good morning, Mr. De Vermont." The butler said.

"Good morning, Mr. Morris." Fabian said.

"How's Charles doing?" Mr. Morris asked.

"He's been a good kid. He doesn't cause any trouble." Fabian said.

"I'm glad to hear it." Mr. Morris said.

They went to the 20th floor where Fabian's ground office is.

"What's up, bro." Vincent said.

"This is bad." Sandro said.

"What happened?" Fabian asked.

"Leo called me. He said about a woman who suddenly vanished into thin air." Sandro said.

"Her identity?" Fabian asked.

"He doesn't gave a name." Sandro said.

"He's probably on his way now." Benjamin said.

The sun is rising and the birds are chirping. The trees outside are creating a cool breeze. Megan gets up and goes to the kitchen. She grabs a glass of water and heads to the bathroom to wash her face. She stares at herself in the mirror for a while.

"Holy shit." Megan said.

She went to the living room and found her car keys still on the table. There was no sign of the snacks or drinks she had bought from the store. She checked her phone and saw that it was already 9 in the morning. A text from Lany popped up.

"Yo, I'll be there in a minute." Lany texted.

She took her time to have a cold shower. After changing her clothes, she went to the kitchen to cook some bacon and eggs. She made a black coffee and leaned on the fridge.

"Yo, Meg. I had a missing call from you." Lany said.

Megan almost dropped the coffee.

She has spare keys to Megan's house because she's the one who helped her rent it at a negotiable price.

"You remember I called you around 2AM." Megan said.

"I just saw this like an hour ago, what happened?" Lany asked.

"Some shit is going on in my head."

"I'd love to hear about it, but lemme eat first." Lany said.

She gets two plates and puts them on the counter. They eat the bacon and eggs along with the garlic bread.

"Yo, can I stay here for tonight?" Lany asked.

"Thank god, you asked that. Anytime." Megan asked.

"You're not gonna ask why I got kicked out of home?" Lany said.

"I already can tell. You got caught by Auntie smoking pot in the bathroom."

"You put it so well. Mom even throwed her solid sandal at me, luckily I ran away fast." Lany said.

"How's work?" Megan asked.

"I might resign again. Being an assistant in a corporate company is a punishment. Why would I even got this job in the first place? Its toxic." Lany said.

"Well, you chose that company, you must suffer the consequences. I told you they have a fucking toxic environment. My colleague worked there before then he quit 'cause of their team leader having a god complex and ordering them around for some shit." Megan said.

"I must really have to find a better company to work with." Lany said.

"Good luck finding that company." Megan said.

"So, what's up, Cous? What happened?" Lany asked.

"I went into a fucking dystopian world just around past midnight. I ain't lying, it feels fucking real."

"What does it look like?"

"The houses, they're all futuristic. And some shit flying in the sky. I even met a scientist."

"What his name?"

"Leo. Fuck, I forgot to ask the surname."

"Meg, I know you. I been know you since we were in a fucking womb. And you just smoke weed occasionally if something good happened to you."

"Exactly. I'm not on drugs. I just smoke."

"Whatever happened there, it's the fucking universe telling you, Meg."

"Fuck the universe. Why me?"

"Cause you're the chosen one."

"Cut the shit. This ain't good, Cous. I might need a therapist."

"You don't need a therapist Meg, you have to find out what the fuck is going on. Besides it's gonna cost you a lot, therapist is for the rich people. We endure." Lany said.

"I almost forgot, I have to help Uncle Lim to his restaurant. Come on, little fella. You're gonna be useful there."

"Oh I heard about the explosion and shit. It's good that everybody's okay. Let's gow." Lany said.

Megan grabs her keys and they drive to Avenue Street.

"Megan?" Sandro said.

"That's her name." Leo said.

"It's too early. This shouldn't happening." Fabian said.

"She'll be fine." Leo said.

"She almost got killed, Leo. Those dizziness is a warning sign of radiation." Fabian said.

"It's not her intention to opened the portal. It's gonna be a problem for The Boards." Benjamin said.

"We need to gave Megan an permission to travel." Vincent said.

"It's the only way for her to not to open the main portal again." Sandro said.

"I'll approve that. We're having a meeting with The Boards right away." Leo said.

They arrived at the Avenue. The restaurant is looking good now. David was helping Uncle Lim load the truck with some tools. An engineer and workers started to renovate the place.

"Is this gonna cost you a lot, Uncle Lim?" Lany asked.

"David insisted it and his Engineer friend. It will not cost too much, I'll have the discount. Pretty amazing, right?" Uncle Lim said.

"That's cool." Lany said.

"What's up, fellas!" David said.

"Nah brotha, how you doing?" Lany asked.

"Looking good as always." David said.

"Who's keeping the bar?" Megan asked.

"It's Liz and Viv. Isaiah and Mathew are there too." David said.

"We should visit Jess." Megan said.

"That's a great idea." David said.

They talked to Uncle Lim for a while, and they went to the hospital where Jess was assigned. The buildings are pretty big. It's like a whole campus.

"I love you guys." Jess said.

She opened a lunch box with a taco, a sauce, and pizza inside.

"It ain't a big deal." Megan said.

"We didn't cook it, Jess. We just ordered it." Lany said.

"I will, next time, I'm gonna cook and get you a real meal, Jess." David said.

"It doesn't matter if it's ordered or you cooked it. The thing is you bought my favourite." Jess said.

"Yo, Lany. How's your job?" David asked.

"Why is everybody asking about my job? I'm gonna resign, bro. I can't stand it anymore."

"You're lucky. We're hiring an intern for a maintenance work." Jess said.

"You're a life saver, Jess. When's the interview?"

"Well, I can give a good word about you." Jess said.

"Not gonna lie, having a backer is easy to get a job." David said.

"What can I say. We're just being practical. Besides I know the field." Lany said.

"That's great, I'll just call you tomorrow." Jess said.

Jess's shift was about to start again. She went back to work, and David had already left to get back to Uncle Lim's restaurant. Megan drives back home with Lany.

"Where's all the tape?" Lany asked.

"Liz borrowed it, she will get it back soon if she gets bored." Megan said.

"That little snitch."

"She said you have good taste tho."

"Oh forget about it. She can borrowed it anytime."

The afternoon passed by when Megan and Liz went outside the house for a smoke.

"You know, when I found this house, roaming around. The owner is nice, and acting different at the same time." Lany said.

"What about it?" Megan asked.

"He just stared at the house for too long. He even talked to it."

"Well, he cherished this house. He lived here for 20 years." Megan said.

"Yeah, it's just I dunno. There's something that he wants to tell."

"You know what, let's just grab a beer." Megan said.

They went at the Blue Lounge Bar. David was busy as usual. Vivienne was gossiping with Paul and Klaus.

Mathew and Isaiah were cleaning the mess from the billiards table 'cause of the drunken folks. It's like everyday life - you'll be pissed off at first, but then will remember that they are just having fun to ease their problems.

"Where's Liz?" Lany asked to the counter where David making a drink.

"Yo, she's at my studio." David said.

"She's watching some old science and shit." Mathew said.

"That's not a shit Mat, its a treasure." Lany said.

"My bad." Mathew said.

They walked through the back side of the bar and went to the stairs. When they opened the door, Liz was watching in the living room.

"There you are." Lany said.

"Yo, it's good that you guys here. I was about to call." Liz said.

"What you got?" Lany said.

"You might see this." Liz said.

Through the small television, Liz played a videotape. Modern houses and flying cars are shown. A family of three was in the video. The daughter was the one who's recording. They were all smiling and having a good time.

"Holy shit!" Lany shouted.

"What? What is it?" Liz asked.

"It's fucking real." Megan said.

"That's Mr. Harris, the owner of the house, Meg." Lany said.

"No shit. That is the world what I'm talking about, Lany. It's fucking real." Megan said.

"Hallelujah." Lany said.

"I'm jealous, you guys didn't even bother to include me to your adventures." Liz said.

"Allow me to explain." Megan said.

They talk for a minute. Megan told every detail.

"Holy fuck!" Liz said.

"I told you!" Lany said.

"We gotta talk to Mr. Harris." Liz said.

"I'm gonna give a call." Megan said.

She call Mr. Harris and he answered.

"Mr. Harris, sorry to bother. But can we talk in person, it's important."

"I'm afraid I can't right now, Megan." Mr. Harris said.

"Can I ask where you are, Mr. Harris?"

"That's the right question. It's beautiful here. I'm boating in the middle of West Sea. I already have a ten different fish caught. You should go fishing too, Megan." Mr. Harris.

"I'd love too, Mr. Harris. I guess I'm just gonna say it." Megan said.

"Go on, I'm all ears."

"Theres a tape recording video, we're watching right now. You was there and it look like its your family besides you. You're recording your house and cars flying in the sky."

"Burned it." Mr. Harris said.

"Why would we do that?" Megan asked.

"Just burned it. I'm gonna get back there soon."

"Let's just talk about this in person, Mr. Harris. We're not gonna burned it. I need an answer, I've been there."

"You travel from the portal?" Mr. Harris asked.

"I don't know, I was driving and things get changed. The surroundings, all of it."

"I understand, I'll be right back soon. Just hang in there." Mr. Harris said.

They ended the call.

"I told you, Cous. He's hiding something." Lany said.

"I can't believe what the fuck is happening." Liz said.

"This is highly suspicious." Lany said.

"Indeed." Liz said.

"You okay, Cous?" Lany asked.

"I dunno, I have a bad feeling. The way Mr. Harris sounds like that, he seems like he lives in that world." Megan said.

"Yeah, it sounds like it." Liz said.

"Let's just wait and see for tomorrow." Megan said.

"I'll have an overnight to your house, Meg." Liz said.

"That's a great idea." Lany said.

They all went back to the bar to get a beer to drink at home. Then they drove away to Cipher Street.