Dee and Mikey sat together at the dinner table.
It was night-time.
It was raining
Mikey wasn't hungry once again.
It had already been a month since Mikey's family was brutally murdered. Mikey had stopped going to school 2 weeks prior. A month since the Investigators shut down the case and placed Mikey into Dee's care- More like, forced Mikey into his care. Most importantly. It had already been a month since Dee made THAT promise to Mikey, the promise to help him get strong, the promise to help him get his revenge. The promise he knew he SHOULDN'T keep.
"Mikey, aren't you going to eat? Your food will get cold"
"I'm not hungry"
"You've been saying that for days now. Please eat something"
"i'm fine"
"You're a growing kid Mikey, you need to eat something to grow"
"I'm Fine"
"Atleast eat something small-"
"I'M FINE!" Mikey shouted at Dee "YOU'RE NOT MY MOM, DEE!". Dee was visibly shocked. Mikey was no longer the starry eyed boy that he once was, although Dee fully understood the reason why, it didn't work to lessen the shock in any way. "Mikey, I just want you to be okay" Dee said, reaching out his right hand to comfort Mikey. "DONT TOUCH ME! DONT TOUCH ME!" Mikey shouted at the top of his lungs. Dee recoiled back due to the shock, he hadn't truly understood how much the events of the prior month had affected Mikey's mental state.
"Mikey... I just want to help you"
"Then why don't you! You haven't found the Alien that killed my Parents! You haven't made me stronger! You haven't even apologised!"
"Apologised?... for what?"
"For not getting there any faster!"
"Mikey... I'm-"
"My mom would still be alive if you got there sooner! If ANYONE got there sooner! She was alive!"
"..."
"Now both her and my dad are gone, and I don't have anyone else"
"You have me, Mikey"
"Don't make me laugh!"
"I want to help you, Mikey!
"NO YOU DON'T!"
"Mikey, Please!... Just let me help you"
"I..."
Mikey stood there, Stunned, in the dining room for what felt like forever. The white noise of a broken fire alarm, Beeps and hoots from distant vehicles and the incessant sobbing of a 10 year old boy were the only sounds audible enough to be heard in the moment. "I-I don't want your help anymore" Mikey said his words cutting through his cries. "Why not Mikey?" Dee asked, crouching down to Mikey's eye level. "You're a liar Dee" Mikey said wiping snot from his nose with his Shirts sleeve "A really big liar". "What do you Mean?" Dee said, in truth, he knew exactly what Mikey was talking about but he still played dumb. "You shouldn't tell lies, Dee" Mikey said his face now puffy from the crying "Especially not big kids like me"
"Is 10 years old that big ?"
"It's big enough. Dee"
"Big enough for what?" Dee could sense where this was going
"Big enough to find the Alien that killed my Mom and Dad"
"Mikey, you know we can't just-"
"THEN WHAT CAN WE DO?!" Mikey shouted tears welling up in his eyes
"We..."
"YOU'RE USELESS!" Mikey shouted before running screamed before running out of the apartment. "Mikey! Wait!" Dee shouted, reaching for the young boy. SLAM!. Dee quickly opened the door only to be met with a view of the street, and no signs of Mikey. "This is Bad" he thought to himself, thinking of all the things that could happen. This WAS Zen City, one of the most Corrupt, Poverty-stricken, Crime infested cities on the planet.
The same city under the nigh-tyrannical rule of the Zen clan.
The same city were children Mikey's age went missing daily.
"Dear God, I pray that Mikey doesn't run into anyone dangerous" Dee said as he put on a coat, grabbed an umbrella and exited his apartment, locking the door behind himself.
End of Chapter 4.