Jack headed to the front desk and requested the donation forms. Though the paperwork was tedious, he finished quickly and handed it to the young intern behind the desk.
"Thank you for your donation, Mr. Bunny." The young male intern said kindly and entered the application.
"You're in luck, Mr. Bunny," the young intern said with a cheerful smile. "One of the movers just got back from their break and can head to your place right away."
Jack blinked his green eyes with surprise and clenched his fists with relief. He couldn't help but feel happy that he could get rid of his cursed TV as soon as possible.
He had already mentally prepared himself to sleep at a shelter tonight. Luckily, it seemed he didn't have to.
"That sounds great. Should I wait for the movers to guide them or just head home now to wait for them?" Jack asked.
"Um, you can ask them yourself." The young intern said with a weary smile as he turned his head to look behind Jack.
Before Jack could turn around he felt a round hand grab his shoulder causing him to instinctively flinch to escape.
"Hold on there cowboy, I ain't trying to hurt ya."
Jack heard the sound of a man with a thick southern accent. It was smooth and deep, making one trust him.
Jack turned around and saw his supposed mover, it was a tall man with slicked brown hair, he had a muscular build as his handsome square shape was surprisingly symmetrical which made him even more good looking. A single piece of long grass was in his mouth as he casually chewed on one side.
"Names, Gregory Timber." The man said with a thick smirk across his face. He was doing a terrible job at hiding the fact he was messing with Jack.
"You're from the south." Jack asked, surprised.
Travel was far more expensive in this world due to the apocalypse so finding people from different regions of America was much harder than before.
"Texas more specifically but yeah. How'd you guess?" The man scoffed. His coffee hazel eyes shimmered faintly as he stared at Jack's figure with curiosity.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself? It's not polite to leave another man hanging."
"My bad, my name is Hester Bunny. Are you going to be the one to help me donate my TV?" Jack said politely as he stretched out his hand for a handshake.
"Not just me. My ma and pa are helping too. They are waiting in the truck."
"Your family is doing a good deed. Thanks for the help in advance." Jack said with a warm smile as he felt Gregory grip his hand tightly.
Noticing that Jack didn't flinch at his strength and even responded in kind, Gregory nodded his head in appreciation. His entire chiseled face relaxed slightly as he pulled Jack into his embrace and patted his back.
"Hahaha, no need to be so polite. We are just a small family of veterans trying to get by." Gregory said lightly and let go of Jack after finishing his greeting.
"Let's get going. My ma and pa are impatient folks." Gregory said and began to leave the police station.
Jack glanced at the young intern, raising an eyebrow in silent inquiry. The intern nodded wearily, and Jack sighed. Gregory seemed trustworthy enough—laid-back yet strangely charismatic—but Jack still felt a flicker of unease about leaving with a stranger. Shrugging off his hesitation, he followed Gregory out of the police station.
As they walked, Jack and Gregory made some light conversation before finding that the other guy wasn't half bad. Although, when Gregory brought up his experience in the military and asked about his, Jack awkwardly coughed.
"Cough, I haven't gone into the military yet."
"You can't be serious. You think I'm dumb. You clearly went through some training at least. Just look…at you." Gregory said as his lips twitched.
Gregory's eyes reflected Jack's muscular frame, his steady green eyes flickered with unease after passing through shadows, and the tightly wrapped bandages around his arms and chest. Forget about having prior military service he looked as if he just came back from combat.
"Hehehe," Jack awkwardly chuckled as he could tell what Gregory meant.
He knew what he looked like at the moment but he wasn't planning on lying about such a little thing. Especially in front of a vet.
"No seriously. I'm just passionate about working out. In case of emergencies I want to be ahead of the escaping crowds." Jack lightly said with a soft sigh.
"A fit coward is better than a troublemaker. At least you can get yourself to safety and free the hands of the soldiers."
"If we had more people like you we could focus more on reclaiming old territory then staying huddled up here." Gregory said with some understanding.
When they finally reached Gregory's truck, Jack saw that there were already two people inside. In the driver seat, was a middle-aged woman with a cigar in her mouth. Her wide, unseeing eyes were a murky white, yet they carried an unsettling sharpness. She took a deep breath from the cigar in her hand and breathed out a cloud of smoke.
Besides her was a middle-aged man who was sleeping and covered in a thick layer of blankets. His gray black hair was roughly parted as his thick beard was, in contrast, neatly trimmed. A thick pair of headphones covered his ears making it no wonder he could sleep so soundly.
"Zzz…" The middle-aged man so snored loudly you could hear it through the car.
"That's my ma and pa. Me and you will hop on the back and they will drive us there." Gregory said casually as he dragged Jack towards the back of the car.
It seemed he wasn't planning on introducing Jack to his parents, which Jack didn't mind. But he was curious about Gregory's parents, especially his mother.
From the way her eye looked and how she didn't react until Gregory started talking hinted that she was blind.
But…she was behind the wheel.
Were they not afraid of crashing the truck?
Noticing the look in Jack's eyes that countless others had, Gregory padded Jack on his shoulders and briefly explained.
"My ma is blind and my pa is deaf. You don't need to worry about the truck crashing." Gregory paused before grinning.
"At least we don't."
Jack blinked, stunned. A blind driver and a deaf passenger?
How was that supposed to reassure him?
Jack opened his mouth to protest but hesitated at Gregory's easy grin.
"Actually, I think the truck looks a little full. I can just take the bus," Jack suggested hesitantly, his gaze flicking between the murky-eyed mother and snoring father.
Gregory let out a hearty laugh. "C'mon now, don't be scared. Ma and Pa have been together for years—best team on the road."
Before Jack could reply, Gregory grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the truck. Reluctantly, Jack climbed in, muttering under his breath, "This better not be how I die."
Gregory slammed his fist on the back window of the truck. His mother raised her head and suddenly punched her husband awake.
"Wake up! Gregory's back!"
"Huh? What was that?" Gregory's father jumped up from his car seat and took off his headphones.
"Ma take us to…"
"We are picking up a TV!" Gregory shouted without a hint of worry in his voice.
"..." Jack's eyes twitched as he decided to close his eyes to rest.
The truck rumbled to a stop outside Jack's apartment building, and he climbed down with a mix of relief and hesitation. Jack and Gregory hopped off the truck and Jack guided him to his room.
The shards of glass were long gone, replaced by a flimsy transparent plastic sheet that flapped slightly with every breeze. It stood out awkwardly against the building's otherwise uniform windows.
All evidence of his clever and desperate escape was all cleaned up.
Jack glanced at Gregory and saw that he didn't seem to mind the plastic sheet window and only kindly smiled to reassure Jack he wouldn't ask any questions.
"Thank goodness I don't have to explain why my window broke. I don't think I could handle the embarrassment." Jack thought to himself and patted Gregory's shoulder with clear appreciation.
He couldn't help but feel that Gregory was a much more trustworthy guy.
Jack adjusted his mental state and grabbed the door handle. It was cold to the touch, making Jack's heart jump for a second. Before he twisted the knob and easily pushed the door open.
As the door flew open, Jack and Gregory were greeted by a dark hallway. The lights to his entire apartment were turned off making it look more eerie and unsettling.
Jack scanned the hallway, his eyes narrowing as he searched for any trace of the ghost girl. Finding nothing, he stepped inside under Gregory's curious stare and flicked on the lights.
Warm and calm light filled the hallway eradicating the darkness and cold chill.
Even the haunted TV that was untouched no longer had any hints of its demonic nature. It looked just like a regular modern TV.
"Not a bad place ya got here." Gregory clicked his tongue as he complimented as they stepped in the living room.
"Are you sure you want to donate that TV? It seems to be a newer model so it must have been expensive as hell."
"Sure was, I had to save for a while before I could afford it. But I just don't find myself using it much so it's better to give it to people who will take care of it."
"By the way do you want me to help you take it out?" Jack offered.
Gregory shook his head, "No need, I'm strong enough to carry it out on my own. I'll holler if I need ya assistance."
Seeing that Gregory wasn't interested in his help, Jack turned to his cursed TV again and silently took a deep breath. He walked over and unplugged it. After waiting a second the last bit of caution in Jack's heart melted away.
"Can she only come out when I'm alone?" Jack wondered to himself before turning to Gregory.
"All yours," Jack said as he stepped back to give Gregory the room he needed to take the TV.
As Gregory carefully lifted the TV, Jack's gaze wandered the room, his eyes landing on a slip of paper on the couch. Frowning, he picked it up and unfolded it, scanning the text while Gregory maneuvered the bulky appliance toward the door.
Dear resident,
After reviewing the security footage we have deemed you fully responsible for the broken window. The repair costs will cost 500 dollars and will be included part of your rent this month.
"$500? That's more than I have in my account right now. Great, just what I needed—another punch to the gut." Jack muttered as he felt his blood boiling.
"I'm going to speed up the development of my game. After I get the main storyline completed I'll post the beta for a few dollars." Jack muttered.
Based on the reactions on the initial launch he would prioritize certain updates to make it more popular to the masses. It would be best if he could get it uploaded by next week when the Stream's newly released recommendation list refreshes.
"Now that I think about it, this should be the first time I released a game so underdeveloped." Jack's eyes glowed with both worry and excitement as he walked back into his work room.
His computer had turned off at some point but what he was looking for was his wallet, keys, and phone.
Next time he was forced to abandon ship he would make sure that he took basic things he needed to survive with him at all times. He was lucky this time that he could return back to his apartment so soon.
If he was just a bit unlucky and couldn't, as long as he had his wallet and phone he could stay at a hotel until things tide over.
"I wonder if anything important has happened since I was gone." Jack thought to himself and looked at his phone.
"Hmmm,"
After turning his phone on Jack was greeted with dozens of notifications from Sarah.
"Sarah has been messaging…a lot. What's got her so riled up?" Jack wondered with curiosity and a bit of worry.
It hadn't been that long since they spoke this morning. Did she find a major bug in the game? Or was she hesitant on investing in his game?
With a bad feeling in his gut, Jack opened his phone and immediately read the messages before breathing a sigh of relief.
It seemed he was overthinking it.
Most of them were asking if she could share the game with her friend. A couple were cursing him after she kept dying in the same round over and over again.
"I forgot that Sarah's a chatterbox both in real life and online." Jack chuckled and looked at the latest message.
[Sarah Griffin]: Stop taking care of your secret family and meet me at the Square asap. I got good news! ＼(^^)／
"Good news?" Jack muttered, his curiosity piqued.
He glanced at his phone again, rereading Sarah's last message. Between the ghost girl, his mounting debt, and the looming deadline for his game, Jack figured he could use some good news.
The Square, which was short of Timber Wood Park Square, wasn't far—only a twenty-minute walk. Ten, if he caught the next bus.
"Bet," Jack said, deciding it was worth checking out whatever Sarah had to share. As long as he left now he could make it.
When Jack returned back to the living room all he saw was an empty TV stand. Jack stared at the empty TV stand, the room feeling oddly bare but infinitely less oppressive.
The cursed TV was gone—finally.
He let out a long breath, his muscles relaxing for the first time since the ordeal began.
"One less thing to worry about," he muttered.
Now didn't have to worry about another vengeful ghost coming out of his TV.
As long as the ghost girl from before couldn't come out of other electronics he should be safe. That reassurance was completely worth the cost of having his living room feel empty for the time being.
"Maybe I should donate the TV stand too. What am I going to do with it now?" Jack wearily smiled before shaking his head.
That was the least of his worries so he didn't place too much more thought into it and headed to the bus stop.