Simon was backed against the wall of his room, staring at the screen in front of him with the message:
[MISSION IN PROGRESS]
Katherine shook him, worried.
"What's wrong with you? You're pale!" She demanded to know, touching his forehead to check for a fever.
Simon stayed silent for a few seconds, feeling the warmth of Katherine's hand as he calmed down.
'If I tell her about Clara, she'll think I've gone completely crazy,' he thought, swallowing hard.
"I'm fine, really," he said, forcing a shaky smile. "Just… need some air. Shall we go get the check now? The sooner we get our vacation, the better."
Katherine looked at him with a raised eyebrow, noticing his attempt to change the subject but not wanting to press him too much.
"Fine, let's go… But I'm serious, tell me if something's wrong," she said.
Simon laughed nervously, relieved that Katherine didn't want to keep pushing with questions.
As they left the apartment, the system's screen didn't reappear, giving him a sense of hope.
'I gotta calm down, just need to play some lottery numbers, maybe this isn't so bad,' he thought.
As they walked through the streets, bundled up in their coats against the near-freezing temperatures, Katherine wouldn't stop complaining about her old job.
"I'm not gonna miss dealing with grumpy customers in the mornings," she exclaimed with a smile.
Simon let out a laugh, finally feeling a moment of peace after so much stress.
"You're right, once I win the lottery, we won't have to deal with that ever again," he replied, laughing along with her.
Katherine looked at him oddly, as if he'd just said something stupid, making Simon realize he'd said too much.
"Uh-huh… Sure, when you win, buy me a castle or something," Katherine joked, giving him a light nudge with her shoulder.
'False alarm,' he thought to himself, letting out a sigh, 'guess it's ridiculous to talk about the lottery like it's a sure thing…'
"You know? If I really won the lottery, the first thing I'd do is move out of that dump," Simon said, remembering how all his problems had started because of the apartment he lived in.
Katherine pulled out a cigarette, lighting it to 'warm her body,' as she liked to say.
"That place is like that only because you never clean; I don't think moving would make a difference."
"Ouch," Simon replied, but he couldn't say anything to argue her words.
They walked calmly for a few minutes until a shiver ran through Simon.
The system's screen flickered for a second in his vision, showing only broken pixels before fading away.
Simon blinked, trying to ignore it, but then something caught his attention in the distance.
While they waited for the traffic light to change, Simon could see a young woman in a gray dress far off.
She was standing among everyone else, but her gaunt appearance, tattered and wet clothes, made her stand out.
Simon was baffled by the calmness of everyone around the girl, who clearly looked injured with bruises on her arms and face.
Her clothes were light, as if she were in the middle of summer, and combined with being wet and the freezing cold, she was at risk of dying from hypothermia.
Once the light changed, Simon ran toward her, taking off his coat as he went.
Katherine watched him, confused, not understanding what he was doing but trying to catch up anyway.
Once in front of the girl, Simon smiled, offering her the coat with both hands.
"You should wear this; it's too cold," he said. "Want me to take you to a hospital…? It looks like you had an accident."
The girl's eyes widened, making Simon clearly notice her dull, grayish pupils devoid of any shine.
"You can see me…" the girl said, smiling in a way that made her skin start to tear.
"What the hell…?" Simon took a step back, dropping the coat onto the street's asphalt.
"You can see me! Hahahahaha!" The girl's laugh was psychotic, sending chills down Simon's spine.
Her body began to contort, her laughter growing deeper, her shoulders dislocated, her neck bent at an impossible angle, and her smile revealed extremely sharp teeth.
Suddenly, the system's screen flickered in front of him, displaying a message before vanishing:
[HOSTILE ENTITY]
Katherine finally caught up to Simon, standing next to him.
"Why the hell did you run off?" Katherine demanded, almost out of breath. "And put your coat back on! Don't you feel how cold it is?"
Simon turned to look at Katherine, stunned. She couldn't see what he was seeing.
'Another hallucination?' Simon thought, closing his eyes and sighing.
But when he opened them, the girl, now morphed into a creepy creature, was still there. Staring at him with empty eyes.
'It's real… Damn it, it's real…' His breathing quickened, his shaky legs frozen in place.
Katherine couldn't make sense of Simon's behavior, but noticing the traffic light was about to change, she grabbed his hand, forcing him to walk.
As they did, Simon got closer and closer to the creature, which began to reach out its hands toward him.
Simon closed his eyes, bracing for the worst, but after walking a few meters, nothing happened.
Katherine pushed him against a nearby wall on the sidewalk, forcing him to look her in the eyes.
"You have to tell me what's wrong with you!" She shouted, angry. "How can I help you if you don't tell me what's going on?"
Simon turned to look at the spot where the monster had been, but in its place was now Clara, waving at him from afar with a mischievous smile.
She stared at him silently for a few seconds before turning around and vanishing into thin air.
A buzzing filled his head, and the system's screen appeared in front of him.
— You owe me one, good luck out there <3
The '<3' made his heart skip a beat, as if someone were toying with him.
"Simon?" Katherine insisted. "Answer me… Please…"
Simon kept staring at where Clara had been, the system's message still etched in his mind.
'What's going on? Was that thing real? Did Clara… save me?' He wondered, but seeing the worry in Katherine's eyes, he decided that whatever it was could wait.
"Sorry… I promise I'll tell you everything when I can," he said, his voice low.
Katherine nodded, biting her lip in frustration, not knowing when Simon had started keeping secrets.
Their friendship had never been like this.
"Fine… It's a promise."