Nebulous Emperor

"Closing time, boys!" The same voice as usual yells out.

Nave stopped mining and dumped his nonexistent gains into the pile.

He put his gear back into the area it belonged. And headed over to Harry's office.

Before he got to the doors, he met Sergei again. He was cleaning up some tools and maintaining them. Sharpening the pickaxes. As Nave approached, he stood up.

"I didn't do my job last time, but I've realized you're a man now. Seeing your work over the last few days." he said while placing the tools down.

"Got anything in your pockets?" Sergei asked.

A part of Sergei's job was protecting Harry, stopping anyone he didn't think deserved to be in the office from getting in. And those he did let in, he checked beforehand.

Nave realized he had made a mistake. One of the only advantages he had against the people he was trying to defeat was that they underestimated him. They were older, had stronger and bigger people protecting them, and had a plethora of experience that he didn't have. If Sergei of all people put his guard up against him, then he needed to change something quick.

Nave stopped near Sergei and tilted his head down, checking his pockets. He patted them and said, "Forgot about this."

He reached his hand in and pulled out a pen.

"Why do you have a pen?"

"I always keep one on me. I'd rather be safe than sorry." Nave responded.

Sergei gave him a confused look since he worked in a mine, not at an office.

Sergei gestured for Nave to come closer, which he did and patted him down. Nave let it happen while putting his hands behind his head.

Sergei finished and said, "Go ahead."

Nave walked by, but before he got too far, a hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him.

"Don't think I forgot all the things you've been doing over the last couple of days." Sergei said.

Nave just smiled without turning toward him. One advantage of Sergei not underestimating him was that, if he accurately reported his work to Harry, then he couldn't lay a hand on him right before he walked into Harry's office.

"Don't be surprised if my fist is waiting for you when you get out of there." He finished.

Nave turned his head and put a look of fear on his face. Sergei smiled in satisfaction and let him go.

Nave laughed on the inside, 'I can't wait for this.'

He knocked on the door.

"Come in."

As Nave walked in, Harry said, "Just the person I wanted to see."

Nave walked in and sat down on the other side of the desk.

"Sergei tells me you've been doing well, especially for your first two days." Harry said.

"Thank you."

"How do you do it?" He asked.

"Do what?"

"Don't play stupid with me, boy."

Nave tilted his head in confusion.

"I do the same thing as everybody else."

"So that's how it is." He leaned back and put his hands on his fat stomach. "I get it; always keep your secrets close to you in life."

Nave stared at him.

...

"Anyway," Harry said in response to the awkward silence. "I have the contract for you to fill out. You can fill it out at my side desk." Nodding his head toward another, smaller desk to the side.

He passed it over to him.

Nave took it and looked at it.

Having to hold in a laugh as he read it.

'10 hours of work every day of the year for 2 cor a day.'

2 cor a day was nothing, nothing at all.

Nave didn't even read the rest, not that there was much more. He pulled out his pen and neared it to the paper.

Right before it touched it, he stood up.

"I've been meaning to say thank you for giving me a job, Harry. I haven't seen you since the first day, so thank you. I've had so much trouble since my mom died." He said it with tears forming in his eyes.

He walked around the desk and stuck his hand out. Harry stood up and stuck his hand out. Nave grabbed it and shook it hard.

Nave pulled him into a hug while sobbing.

Harry not expecting the boy to be so emotional, accepted the hug begrudgingly.

"It'll be... okay." Harry reluctantly said.

"No, it won't."

"Wha-"

A blade entered his upper left back as Nave's hand covered his mouth.

Nave felt Harry's body go partially limp.

"It'll be okay, Harry." He said as he slowly lowered him whilst inserting the knife a few more times to make sure the job was done.

Nave had never felt a blade enter another human being. 'Weird.'

He cleaned the knife off using Harry's shirt, put it into his pocket, and then got to work.

On Harry's wall he had a hanging gold pickaxe; Nave took it off the wall.

'Heavy.'

He flipped Harry's corpse over onto his stomach and raised the pickaxe above his head. It fell down harshly right into the spot where he stabbed him, then tossed it near the door.

He began moving the furniture into random and erratic positions quietly. Not sure if Sergei was still right outside the door.

Harry's desk and chair left alone; the guest chair sent astray. The side desk and chair were put right next to the door. Excess décor was put in random places, including a beautiful green and gold vase that was quite heavy.

'Think that'll do.' He thought.

He looked around the room at his work until he really considered what he just did.

He felt nothing when he killed the man.

'He deserved it.'

He walked behind Harry's desk, opening a drawer, and started searching for something. A small device in one of the drawers was found.

"Whoa."

His eyebrows raised, realizing he may have been too loud.

'I've never seen one of these before.'

In his hands he held a communication device, powered by a pyr crystal sticking out of the top of it crudely. Capable of transmitting information over long distances. He knew that such an important and influential man would have one. He read about it in books, so he should know how it works.

'Yeah, I have no idea how this thing works." There were 4 buttons on it. Each with a tag with a word on it above them. One said, "Mayor," another said, "Sheriff," the next one was, "Enforcers," and the last one said, "Bruno."

'I've never held something this valuable before. Using it seems pretty simple, but what are the principles behind it?' He thought.

'Which button shall I press if I desire a mess?'

He made his mind up quickly.

He pushed the button that said enforcers; a ringing noise was made, one quite unpleasant to the ears. He tucked the thing into his shirt so that Sergei didn't hear it and get suspicious yet. The light from the pyr pulsating for a few seconds before stopping. 'Hope he didn't hear it.'

'That was how the book said it would go. I gotta be more careful.'

He put the device in his pocket and went back into the desk.

'A flashlight; it'll come in handy soon.' He saw some other things but decided not to take them. 'They'll be mine in not too long anyway.' He thought.

He turned to face a red box on the wall located behind the desk. Opening it, he found a bunch of wires and switches. 'Interesting.'

~~~

"What is taking them so long?" Harry said aloud to himself.

He finished sharpening the pickaxes and tidying up the area where the equipment was some time ago.

He was ready to go home.

"I can't leave until the boss goes home, UGHHH." He exclaimed while walking back and forth.

"I'm done with this. What could they be doing in there anyway?" He started toward the door, and as soon as his foot fell, the lights cut off.

"What the Hel?"

He kept walking toward the door, and as he got closer, he heard...

Absolute silence.

THUD

Something heavy hit the ground.

Quickly running toward the door and pulling it open, he saw nothing but darkness.

Turning his head left and right.

"Boss! Little Brat!" He said loudly.

...

He received no response.

He realized it was unnecessary to yell since the room wasn't that big, but something about this was making him uneasy.

Realizing he had nothing to be nervous about, he shook his head and started forward to where he remembered the boss's desk being.

"AHHH!"

He tripped and fell almost immediately. Hitting his head on another item he couldn't identify.

"Ow."

He took a second to gather himself before deciding to stay on the ground and feel around with his hands before proceeding forward.

He maneuvered around various items in a crawl.

Sergei slowly made it toward the boss's desk, which was, to his surprise, still in the same place.

He grabbed it and pulled himself up so he could finally stand again. He made his way around the desk, knocking items off until he reached Harry's chair. He felt the back of the chair and had to use some strength to spin it around.

His hands continued to travel until he felt.

"What is this?" He said to himself in a whisper.

Slowly maneuvering his hands around it, he said, "Is this a flower pot?"

Realizing he was stressing and getting nervous about nothing again, he knocked it aside. It hit the ground without shattering and rolled away.

He sat in Harry's chair and felt some comfort in the familiarity.

"At least something is still in place. But why are they hiding from me? No one left the room; I was outside of it the entire time."

He thought for a second. 'The boss wouldn't waste his time joking around like this. What happened?"

Realizing something useful might be inside the desk, he pulled himself closer to Harry's desk until he stopped suddenly.

His foot hit something.

"Damn flower pot."

He kicked it, but it didn't move, and it didn't feel like a flower pot.

He bent over in the chair and moved his hands toward it.

Making contact with it, he realized it wasn't a vase.

"AHHHHHHHHH"

He fell out of the chair and backed away from the desk until his back hit the wall.

"What in the world is happening? Boss, Boss, are you okay?"

Getting no response and feeling some warm and wet liquid on his hand, he knew he had to get out of the room.

He stood up, and his head hit the control box. He quickly turned, opening the box. Still not able to see anything in the pitch black, he felt around and flipped every switch he could.

Nothing changed.

He turned back around.

"I have to get out of here!" He said while shivering.

Sergei slowly backed away from the desk, using the wall to make it around the room. Eventually his nerves got to him, and he abandoned the wall and started running to where he thought the door was.

THUD

He tripped once again. Not letting that stop him, he crawled as fast as he could, moving everything out of his way as he went.

He finally reached another wall.

"Damn it, where is the door?" Moving toward his left, he found it after a few seconds.

"Yes!"

He searched for and found the handle and twisted it.

Desperate to leave the cursed room, he used all of the muscles in his huge frame and pushed with every bit of strength he could muster.

The door didn't budge.