Chereads / Evanescent Bloodlines: Before the Storm / Chapter 4 - Phineas Anderson Arc - How to Rack Up Debt in One Night

Chapter 4 - Phineas Anderson Arc - How to Rack Up Debt in One Night

.One Month Ago

Out in the countryside of Ireland, there sits an abandoned looking building that has curtains on the windows, covering any activity that may be happening inside. Inside the building, there is Patrick Anderson, the irresponsible younger brother Phineas Anderson.

Exposition

About one year ago, when he was 19, he had a running in with some of the boys of Nilesbury. He bumped into one of their Debt collectors on his way home from the pub. The drunken Debt Collector, Sean, wasn't too keen on social signals. So, he mistook this mistake as a call to fight since Patrick did not apologize afterwards. He even looked back at Sean, looked away, and walked faster. Sean took this as a cowardly way of Patrick saying he wanted to fight. Sean is the one who really threw the first punch. But to Sean's surprise, Patrick was a tough one who beat him in this fight caused by a misunderstanding. Immediately after, Sean proposed that Patrick join Nilesbury. Patrick had been having problems at home with pleasing his father, Connor. Many times, Connor wanted Patrick to throw some fights as a means to get money from the bets. When Patrick refused, Connor called Patrick a worthless son and told him to not come back until he learns to listen to his father. Angered by this since Patrick was an adult, he stormed out at night and went out drinking. At this time, Patrick was about to go home to his father, but he saw a unique opportunity. He went with Sean and joined Nilesbury behind his father's back. Disappointed by this, Connor chose to focus his attention on Phineas to be the heir to his position as the Anderson Clan leader. A year passed, and Patrick made good friends with Nilesbury. He spilled secrets of the Anderson Clan in exchange for higher rank in Nilesbury.

Back to the Story at Hand (One Month Before the Present)

Patrick is gambling with some very dangerous people. The time is well past midnight as the moon is up at the top of the sky and the sounds of the crickets' mating calls from outside could be heard through the covered-up windows. A man with a square jawline, brown eyes, a right triangle shaped nose, reddish-brown hair parted right, broad shoulders, who is wearing a brown fedora coupled with a white dress shirt and a jacket over his shoulder slammed his cards down on the table. "Read 'em and weep, lads!", the man yelled excited. The lit cigar in his mouth surprisingly didn't make what he said hard to understand. The other men at the table were angry and shocked that he won again. "Aww!!" "Come on!" "Really" "Shit! I only had a straight" Another drink man across the table complained. This man has a sharp jawline, green eyes, a medium sized nose, light brown hair short and shaved on the sides, was wearing a brown sleeveless shirt, and wore a single brown leather glove on his left hand. "Come on, that's the fifth time you've taken the victory", this man complained with a bored tone. "Yer ruinin' the fun fer the rest of us." All of the men laughed in unison, all except for Patrick Anderson, who was almost out of money. The laughter stopped when Patrick couldn't pay the bet money he owed. He didn't anticipate that the man with the cigar would win a fifth time. They all looked at Patrick coldly.  "So, are ye goin' to pay the money? You lost", asked the man with the cigar while wearing a scary grin on his face. "If not right now, I'll give you time to get it together." "O-okay, I will", stuttered Patrick, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to pay the money back in whatever time they would give him. "You have three weeks", said the man with a cigar, his face and tone turned cold like his cigar that just went out.  Don't delay." Patrick gulped nervously while sweating all over and shaking.