This is a continuation of a one-off that can be found here.
Caveat paced down a dark street in St. Louis. He had to do most of his moving around at night, due to the horns and red skin. He used to be afraid of places like this, but really he’d been in much worse situations than this in the last year. Besides, today he had a goal that was too good to pass up, despite the sketchiness of the source. It had definitely been disconcerting to start hearing voices, but in the end he still listened to it.
He finally reached the point he’d been told about. It was a narrow alley, between a couple of office buildings. The alley itself became progressively more filled with trash the further back you went. His heart was racing, but he didn’t care.
He looked down at his watch. It was almost time, according to the voice.
He wondered what kind of power he’d come across. He’d been told that it would make a lot of his issues much easier to deal with, and that it wouldn’t be hard to bargain with the guy. That meant that it was most likely a curse to whoever had it, but it would somehow be helpful to him. That ruled out all of the more obvious powers, since they were usually without major drawbacks.
The second hand hit 15 on his watch, and Caveat sighed. He didn’t see anyone, but he didn’t come all this way for nothing.
“Hello there. I believe you could do with my assistance.” He spoke out into the night, in no particular direction.
He felt something gripping his shirt, and noticed a filthy looking man with a long beard and longer hair standing in front of him. He looked like he was about to cry.
“You… You can see me?”
“Well, now I can.” He lifted the man’s hands off of his shirt.
The man released him, and stumbled backwards. He began to cackle for a moment, then looked back up. Looking at him was actually a little difficult. Not just for his pitiful appearance, but he was literally blurry. “You’ve gotta help me, man.”
“You’re not even mildly dissuaded by the fact that I look like the devil?” He gestured to his horns.
The man laughed and broke into a coughing fit. “I haven’t spoken to another human in a year. Sure I started with praying to god, but it didn’t take long for me to start trying for you instead.”
Caveat nodded in surprise. This man truly was desperate. “Alright, then. What seems to be the problem?” He leaned up against a clean patch of the alley wall.
“I just woke up one day, and everyone was ignoring me.” He looked down and wiped his eyes. “I had a wife and kid. At first I thought it was some kind of joke, or maybe I’d done something to make them mad, so I just went into work. Everyone there ignored me too. Things went on like that for weeks before I couldn’t take it anymore and left. I started making money by robbing places, since they just ignored me when I walked into the back. You’ve gotta get rid of this curse, man. I’ll do anything!”
Caveat felt a smile creeping across his face. “Anything?”
“Anything.” The man nodded fervently.
He had to think quickly here. He’d been expecting to give this guy something for his power, but now he was going to get something in return for taking it. The first thing to consider was if he actually wanted this power. It seemed like the man could get peoples attention if the stars aligned, and not being noticed would certainly be a boon for him. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose. Secondly, he had to consider what to ask for in return. He already had enough fake identities, so he didn’t need that.
“Tell me, where did you work before all of this? What did you do?”
“I did security for a tech company. Syngenuity. I worked in one of their warehouses.”
“Alright.” Caveat nodded. A favor from a security guard could definitely be useful. “Alright, then. I will take this curse from you, but there’s a caveat. You have to return to work at the same place, and you will owe me one favor to be redeemed at a later date.” He held out his hand.
“That’s it? Deal!” The man fervently shook Caveat’s hand.
A green light swirled around them, and the man stopped being blurry. Caveat handed the man a piece of paper with a phone number scrawled on it.
“Contact me when you get settled again.”
“Yes, thank you!” The man nodded excitedly, and ran out of the alley.
Caveat smiled. Another good deed done. He walked out of the alley with his hood off. He walked past several people, and none of them appeared to pay him any mind. Out of curiosity, he waited until he found a man walking alone, and tapped him on the shoulder.
The man turned around for a moment. “Get lost asshole.” He continued walking, then stopped and did a double take. “Holy shit…” The man broke into a sprint and ran away.
Caveat smiled. This would work nicely.
This is the last bit of a short arc with Caveat during the hiatus, so I hope you enjoyed!
I am currently making good use of the hiatus, studying, dealing with some personal things, and doing another project, but don’t worry, after I’m done studying, I’ll be able to finish Season 3! I’m still plenty well on track for a March release.
(Photo credit: Pexels Free Photos)
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