Storyteller's Universe // Seeking Asylum
Roadside Picnic



I chew on the long strip of smoked bacon that was put beside my deluxe scrambled eggs. Saved the best for last.

“So where’s the catch?”

I ask the short lemming in a jean suit. Mentally I’m a minor inconvenience away from ripping it off of him and setting it on fire.

“Well…”

He shifts uncomfortably in the diner seat. Despite being in the middle of Europe it looks like it was taken straight out of American movies. Good vibe actually; if only it wasn’t tainted by this guy’s infuriating jart-jasual style. He nervously looks away from me and turns towards Shae.

“Aside from nurturing your special abilities and giving you the tools to defend yourself beyond the Veil, we will train you to be an agent capable of performing work for the Contractors. Whether or not you decide to become such an agent, we expect to be able to utilize those skills when we find it necessary.”

“Shae, to translate dork speak to you, you will be forever indebted to them with no chance to repay it.”

They both wince.

“Ms. Carla, actually--”

My gaze is about to burn a hole in this daredevil’s denim disaster. I slam my fists on the table, catching some looks from other diner patrons.

“How the FUCK do you know my name?”

“We do research on potential candidates, please calm down, we are not here to do you any harm. I only ask you to consider the offer and hear us out.”

“I’m about to dig the dirt you have on me out of you, I’ll leave you looking like a 6 feet grave.”

“Please stop. You’ll put us in danger.”

I look at Shae, she’s terrified; then at the guy who I now notice looks ready to pull out something, probably the vaguely gun-shaped thing under all that denim. He tried really hard to hide it from me when I first burst into this diner. And just like so, I must strangle every instinct within me and not beat the shit out of this guy.

“I don’t want to escalate this any further, we should stop here. I want to offer something as a token of goodwill though. I’ve got my business partner waiting in the car for me, she can get you anywhere you need to go. She has the ability to get you there quickly and your trail will run cold. You seem to be on the run for-- On the run, yes.”

“You know too much, it will be the end of you one day. But yes, there is somewhere we have to be. Again, what’s the catch?”

He puts some folded up piece of paper and a business card on the table, slides it to Shae.

“The catch is up to Sybil.”

“Let’s see her then.”