End Online: Volume 4 (13 page)

“You should go see the
colosseum, you may find the answer to your problem!”

I wave my thanks to him,
not particularly interested at the moment in the most crowded place in
Swordbreak. I leave the market with Fen in tow, visiting this city’s auction
house before logging off.

Tomorrow is the first day
of the weekend, so I expect to get a call from my sisters sometime in the
morning. I would also like to find a way to see them again, but I need to be
careful and not ruin what I have right now.

***************************************************
***************************************************

-Mason-

My face doesn’t betray my
emotions, but my heart beats three times as fast as normal as I stare at the
computer screen. I mechanically press the refresh button two to three times a
minute, watching the view counter of my latest video rise. With every press of
the button, between two and three hundred new views appear.

The video is that of ‘The
Liberation of Eltreant’, where the existence of the elves is revealed. The
video is two hours long and already has over a hundred thousand views; now
closer to two hundred thousand with the last refresh.

The ad blocks were set for
every twenty minutes when I begun uploading it. The first three sold relatively
quickly while the latter took longer due to the bidding war that began. The
final ad block still hasn’t sold, with the highest bid currently at $1,250. If
no one outbids that price in the next hour, they will secure the spot. The other
five ads cumulative are only slightly higher than that at a total of $1,530.

My father works all day,
every day, just so we can afford to pay the rent and eat. This money will help
ease the stress on our lives for quite some time. I can barely contain my excitement
and anticipation of compiling the footage of the ‘Lord’s Cathedral’ into
another video and creating more advertising spots to sell.

The number of people who
have subscribed to my channel and will receive a mail every time I post a video
has also multiplied tenfold. Like a swarm of fireflies, everyone is gathering
to share their thoughts on the video. Out of the nine thousand comments, there
are many claiming the video to be a fake, but they are by far the minority.

My brother starts talking
to me about something, but my mind is fixated to the views and comments
constantly increasing.

The comments continue with
no end in sight. I even see links to wiki pages on each of our characters in
the mix. Following them leads to tens of thoughts and speculations about each
of us and what our skills are. Lost has the most popular page, with nearly two
hundred guesses on his skills ranging from ninja arts to the stuff out of
science fiction.

Thankfully, most of the
ridiculous suggestions have been marked as false, crossed out and placed at the
bottom of the list. Not even I am aware of exactly what his skills are, and
find some of the suggestions to definitely be plausible solutions.

I start to feel bad for
Lost and all the troubles I have caused him. But I have things I must do,
supporting my brother and father as best as possible. Living in the slums is
already difficult enough, and I will do anything to protect my family. Even if
that involves betraying my friends in the end.

***************************************************
***************************************************

-Jude-

“Why do you girls have to
be so stubborn?!” I say sternly, ready to start pulling my hair out.

“I just want to see Hollis
again!” Shari screams back at me while stamping her foot on the ground.

“No! That child is dead
weight you are better off without.”

“How can you say that!?”

“I have allowed you to
call him once a week. That is more than generous.”

I slowly calm down, taking
deep breaths to loosen the angry tightness in my chest. I feel like I’ve lost
this battle, letting a child get to me enough that I raised my voice.

Raising my chin up, I
resume my elegant manner and speak much more calmly.

“I will make a deal with
you. Work hard at school, use whatever means necessary to rise above the
others, and I will consider it.”

I give the girl some
genuine advice, but perhaps she is not mature enough to understand it just yet.
This world is tough, where the ruthless always come out on top. I have high
expectations of these girls. With the right guidance, they may be able to rise
above the commoners and be able to take pride in their family.

I went to extreme lengths
to acquire custody of my two nieces. I had originally tried to take them after
I heard that my sister and her husband were involved in a plane crash somewhere
over the middle-east, but no court would hear my plea. I live in the lower
district, and this is all my influence can amount to.

But after an endless
stream of bribes and twisting fingers, I finally managed to arrange for the
girls to come under my wing.

The Silvester family was
once from the middle district, the beginnings of what can be called the upper
class. Falling down to the lower district is a shame that weighs upon my
shoulders. To make it worse, that sister of mine moved two districts lower to
happily
 live
with the man she loves. How could she possibly be happy living in such a
depreciate state?

Hollis, her eldest and
only son, also wasted his opportunities away. All I could do was watch from a
distance as he never contended to be better, never tried to achieve more for
himself or his family. By living in complacency like that, he doesn’t deserve
the Silvester name.

I am well past my prime
and have little options left to me, but if I can raise Shari and Joelle to
where they belong as Silvesters, I will have restored our family pride and be
able to find peace.

***************************************************

I wake up at 6:15 A.M.
Saturday morning, as per normal. I power walk along a set route for twenty
minutes and return to settle down with a cup of black coffee and the latest
news on a tablet. With no abnormalities to my morning routine, I feel
everything is under control.

Routine is strength, and
it nourishes the mind and determination.

I am a lot gentler on
Joelle and Shari than I am myself. Being a weekend, their alarm is scheduled to
go off at 8:00am, ten minutes from now.  Once they are awake, I will
prepare their breakfast and listen to them recite what they have learned
throughout the week.

Once I am happy with their
report, they will be permitted to call their elder brother and talk about
whatever they would like. Just to ensure that man doesn’t try to influence them
or sabotage my hard efforts, I will be silently listening to the conversation
through the spare phone.

As I hear the alarm
ringing the girls awake, someone knocks on the front door. The knocking is
casual, not urgent or in a rush, but the knock of someone who has all the time
in the world. I frown slightly; I am not expecting any visitors today. I don’t
dislike people coming over, as a matter of fact, I quite relish the opportunity
to bring out some of my finer beverages: imported teas or aged wines, depending
on the occasion.

What I dislike, however,
is when people show up unannounced.

My house is two story,
wallpaper covering the walls which in turn is framed by dark mahogany
architraves and corner posts. The ceiling is pure white, with decorative
cornices and polished brass chandeliers dangling down in each room. Placing my
cup down, I briskly walk toward the front door.

Ignoring the nineteenth
century decor lining my path, I reach the front door and peer through the eye
hole to see who has the gall to appear unannounced. Confirming the man on the
other side, I suppress my dissatisfaction and open the door with a smile.

“Mr. Johnston, such a
pleasure to see your bright face so early in the morning.”

The man is dressed in a
grey suit of the finest quality, only one button of the jacket done up to
appear casual yet smart. He lifts his arm to glimpse at the time on his watch,
causing his jacket to tighten on his body and show off his firm build.

“Please Jude, how many
times have I asked you to just call me Liam?” He says with a slight chuckle.

“I like to stick to
formalities. It is much more suitable. Shall you join me for a coffee? I have
recently acquired a batch of robusta coffee beans of high quality. They were
grown in the far east and strongly infused with fruity essences. It has a
slight sweetness while not compromising the thick, fervent taste of the
coffee.”

I invite him in with a
curt nod of my head, which he responds to with a short flawless bow before
entering through the front door.

“It sounds like such a
treasure. How could I turn you down?”

“It is more than a
pleasure. Think nothing of it.”

Leading him towards the
pergola out back, I flick a glance at his reflection in one of the mirrors
along the hallway. He has a strong jawline, which stands out against his short
trimmed hair. Liam Johnstone is a single divorcee, and an attractive one at
that. I’m not the only person in my close group of contacts who have given him
some affectionate considerations.

“Jude. I say, your house
is as stunning as ever.”

“It is nothing you have
not seen before. But you on the other hand, I have heard a few rumors of your
moving up in the world.”

“Oh? Would you care to
enlighten me? I don’t believe I have heard these rumors.”

“A little friend of the
neighbour’s happened to be over for tea the other week. She mentioned the fact
that you have recently acquired quite the contract for work. I believe it was
some restoration works on cultural heritages.”

“You really do need to
share your contact’s information with me one of these days. They truly are too
insightful. The projects haven’t even been approved yet.”

Allowing our conversation
to stall temporarily, I bring out another cup from the kitchen. Lifting up the
still simmering pot of coffee, I feel the heat singe my fingertips slightly as
I pour it evenly into two cups. Looking up at the man who was giving me a
gentle smile, I started up the conversation again.

“Merely paperwork of
course. You really are impressive, you know. To be able to get the government
to spend it’s taxpayer’s money.”

“It gets much harder by
the day. I just happened to be in contact with the right people this time.”

This is the type of man
Liam Johnstone is. As cunning as a fox, yet striking with the ferocity of a
lion as soon as his target’s guard is down. This has allowed him to maintain a
high position in the lower district. But that is soon about to end.

“And those people surely
must have had a hand in helping you rise to whole new levels?”

“Your contacts truly are formidable.
It hasn’t been very long, yet you already know about that.”

“It’s not that surprising.
Half the town knows you are moving up to the middle district. What I don’t
know, is how soon.”

“July; two months away.”

“So soon!” My façade
cracks momentarily and I show my surprise. “You had best come visit afterwards.
Your company brightens my day every time.”

“Of course, how could I
not come visit?” He chuckles lightly in response, but I know that as soon as he
leaves, I will most likely never see him again.