"Okay, kid, drop the act—we know you live here," Neo said, stepping out from behind the counter. "And that most likely means you saw something last night."

"I don't know what you're talking about, I don't live here."

"What's the name of the motel you're staying at?" I asked.

"Um...I don't remember."

"Trick question, our friend saw your car parked in a driveway," Neo smirked, obviously proud of me for thinking of that question. Before, she could have explained it away as she was visiting family members or something. Not anymore.

"What did you see last night?" Neo asked, walking closer to her to tower over her, maybe force out an answer by intimidation.

But he didn't need to, after being caught in the lie, she caved and the truth came out: "I saw three people coming out of an abandoned K-Mart. That's it. I have no idea what you were doing, okay? And I don't want to know."

Neo and I shared a glance. Or, I think, it's hard to tell with those damn shades.

"Why didn't you just drive away?" Neo asked.

"Thought I saw a gun. Thought you guys might chase me and I had no idea where I could hide."

"So you hid in plain sight," I said, nodding.

"That's really all you saw?"

"What more was there to see?"

"Nothing." Neo motioned for me to unlock the door as he started back toward the counter.

I flipped the open sign back around, opened the door, then stood aside, holding it open for the (hopefully a) girl. She didn't move.

"There was no gun, was there?" The question was directed at Neo but he did not reply. "You guys are harmless, aren't you?"

"Stay away from K-Mart. Hell, Walmart, too, if you know what's good for you. Now leave. You aren't welcomed here anymore."

She whipped around in a huff and stormed past me.

"Hey, wait!" I called after her. "You and I can still hang out! Could I have your phone—annnnnd she's gone. Thanks a lot, Neo. We had a genuine connection there."

"You can find someone else who loves Earthbound and Mother 3. Who knows, maybe even next time it'll be a girl."

And so an argument ensued, me vehemently defending Zero's femininity.

Even then, I knew we'd see that specially marked beanie again.

#

Who did that asshole think he was? "The One"? With some big mission to save the world? Bullshit. You walked into that damn store just to look at some games, you didn't ask for all that shit. They were up to something and whatever it was you were now damn sure that they were not gun crazy maniacs.

So you were going to find out what they were doing in that K-Mart.

And what the hell was that bit about Walmart? Do they go in there at night, too? Maybe they're shop lifters? Too many questions, not enough answers.

You'd fix that. Tonight.

#

This time you decided to be smart. You left your car parked in the downtown area (away and out of sight of Neo's shop) and went the rest of the way on foot. You stayed as far away from the road as you could and moved as fast as possible. It would be just your luck for them to pass you on their way to the store.

But, luckily, not a single car passed.

You made it to the K-Mart in about ten minutes and, after making sure the coast was clear, you ran up to the side of it. You creeped to the back and glanced around the wall. No car. They weren't there yet.

Time to wait.

#

They showed up around thirty minutes later. Not just Link and Neo but the girl as well. All three of them filed out of the car, already talking about stuff you didn't understand.

"Think we'll finally clear the floor tonight?" asked the girl who, for some reason, had a guitar strapped to her back.

"Hope so," Neo said. "We're behind schedule."

"Oh, come off it," Link cut in, extreme irritation in his voice. "There isn't a schedule to this, you have no idea how many floors there are."

"Jesus, you're in a mood, aren't you?" The girl again.

"Can't really blame him, he did just find out his dream girl is a guy."

"OH MY GOD SHE SO ISN'T."

"Is this going to be a running thing between you guys? Cause I'm already sick of it."

Their argument carried them through the back door and was lost inside. You had no idea your gender was that ambiguous. You kind of dug their reaction, made you feel cool and mysterious.

You waited a full minute then went for the door. Locked. Shit, now what? The front, maybe? Worth a shot.

You creep back the way you came, pressed up against the wall and tense as all hell, you still feel a bit bad-ass. Without pausing to allow any second thoughts, you power walk toward the front doors, praying they're open and—

There's a noise from inside causing you to stop. Panicked, you backtrack and dive around the corner. That last move seemed a tad dramatic but you're glad you did it—all three of them came strolling out of the front doors. Why? They couldn't possibly be done with whatever they were up to, could they?

"I'm totally going to kill more than both of you tonight," said Link.

Kill?

"I bet you are," the girl said. "You've got so much built up frustration over your lover being a guy."

"OH MY GOD."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The girl said between laughs. "I couldn't resist!"

"Nice." Neo held up his hand for a fist bump which the girl happily obliged.

"I hate you both, I really do. Can we PLEASE drop that subject for fuck's sake?"

Their teasing continued until they were out of ear-shot. You watched them walk from the safety of your hiding spot. You didn't understand where they were going. The only thing in that direction was...Walmart.

You took out your phone and brought up the camera. You zoomed in to keep the group in sight. They walked up to it pretty confidently, like they belonged there after hours. You thought they might stroll straight through the front doors but they suddenly turned and headed off toward the side of the building.

They were out of your sight for three minutes before you decided they weren't going to double back. You left your hiding spot and started across the K-Mart parking lot, slow at first but you quickly built up into a run. You cleared the Walmart parking lot with no problems and slowed down as you approached the side of the building.

Back against the wall again, you risk a quick glance around the side of it—no one was there, just a rope blowing in the breeze.

Curiosity overrides caution and you take the rope in your hand. It's thick and caught on something on the roof. Or—no, you think it's a fucking grappling hook. In fact, you're almost positive that's exactly what it was. Who the hell carried a grappling hook around? These people got weirder by the second.

For a moment you consider turning back, that whatever ridiculous scheme those three are caught up in is just too weird and stupid for you to care about. But if you left now you'd never find out what they were really up to and you would never get to climb to the top of a building with the aid of a grappling hook.

How could you possibly pass up the latter?

#

Climbing up was considerably less awesome than you imagined. Your upper body strength wasn't the greatest, there weren't any helpful hand holds on the rope, and you kept getting twisted around somehow. But you stubbornly pressed on, eventually getting a good grip on the rope and firm footing against the wall. Once you had all that it was easy to walk up it.

Panting, you swung yourself onto the roof. Luckily no one was around—it had taken you an embarrassing amount of time to get up there and, in your head, their little group had been quietly watching you, waiting for you to get up before laughing.

You composed yourself and got back to your feet. The only thing on the roof, the only place they could have gone, was a door several feet away, likely leading back down into the store. You put your hand on the doorknob and silently pray that it opens. One twist and...you're in! Finally, a door cooperates.

Without any idea of what awaits you inside, you descend the staircase into the depths of Walmart.