The four were seated in the waiting room. Harrison tightly interlocked his fingers. He rested his brow on his hands, his gaze fixed on the passageways, quenching his craving for activity. Sam leaned his elbow against his thigh and rested his hand on his forehead. 

Diana then approached them from behind them, carrying a cardboard tray that held four coffee containers," I brought you guys coffee."

 Sam looked up as an expression of relief materialized on his face.

"Thank you," They each took a cup and gradually took a sip. A woman then approached them from the passages, with speed similar to that of a cheetah, Harrison jolted from his seat and stood in front of her, "Tell me, doctor. How they? Are they still alive?" 

The doctor sighed heavily, looking down with a troubled spirit. She bit her lip and said, "I have good news and bad news." 

The other three burst into the scene, inclining attentively as she spoke, "What's the bad news?" Harrison inquired. 

"We tried our best to keep your mother alive, but she lost more than 3,000 mls of blood...I'm sorry, but we were not able to save her."

He broke down as Sam grabbed him by the shoulder,  he then placed his head against his chest and stroked his back. 

Sam looked up and inquired from her, "What about the good news?" 

"Mr. Samson is well alive..." 

The three were relieved by the sound of her words. "Thank God," replied Diana. 

"However...due to unfortunate circumstances, he is confirmed to be paralyzed." 

They all gasped with horror while she continued speaking, "When the wood beams and the portions of the ceiling collided with him, the weight and the impact of the falling objects landing on his back fractured his spinal column. Moreover, his motor neurons were also damaged. As a result, his leg muscles will fail to respond to the intended stimulus from his central nervous system. I'm deeply sorry."

**********

The four were gathered in the Penthouse's dining room. Although Sam, Harrison, and Diana were all seated, Dan was the only one who stood motionless, leaning against the wall. He then pressed his forefinger to his brow.

"How can one person be so sadistic, doesn't he have a conscience? I thought that we meant at least something to him, but I was wrong," commented Diana.

Sam placed his hand on his head and faced the surface of the table, "He took everything dear to us, and he did it without a moment's notice."

Dan clenched his fist and punched the wall, the portion of the wall shattered to pieces. "We have to find him! Now Sam! I want his head on a silver platter!"

 "We will find him, Dan. Just not now...Harrison is in a vulnerable state. He still needs to mourn."

Harrison stared intensely at Sam, "Don't you dare pity me! I am not some weakling. On top of that, I don't want his head on a silver platter! I want to skin him alive and disembowel him! Ripping his flesh piece by piece while he's still alive!!!"

He punched the surface of the table with the side of his fist. He arose to his feet and marched to the elevator.

 "Harrison wait!" Yelled Sam. 

"Don't try to stop me! I'll take you down if necessary. As a matter of fact that includes all of you!!!" 

Sam arose to his feet and called out to him, "I understand your frustrations but neither of us is ready to face Seth. If we dare face him now, none of us will walk out of that battle alive. Don't do this or your mother's death will be in vain!" 

"I don't care, Sam! I don't care! He took everything from me! I have nothing left to fight for!"

Gordon then emerged from nowhere and stood behind him, "Even so, your life is all that matters."

Harrison stiffened his eyebrows, "What are you gonna do about it, preach me to death? You know nothing, you don't know how I feel. Have you ever lost someone that you held dearly?"

 "I did." 

He lashed out at him, "And you sold him out..." 

"A small price to pay," he replied firmly. The tone of his voice might've hinted at a lack of remorse, deep down his mistake still daunts him.

 "Then you don't have a right right to lecture me about what I should and should not do!" 

As the young lad marched toward the elevator, Gordon stood in his path. He hissed as a surging force of rage grew within. At that moment,  he was ready to unleash his terror upon him.

"Move!" He snarled.

"Make me!" Gordon replied.

Harrison smirked, he desired to unleash that pent-up aggression. He just didn't know how to, and to who he would unleash upon. Now that Gordon decided to become his first victim, it pleased him. His fist morphed into a fist made of rock matter. Meanwhile, Gordon slowly unsheathed his sword from his scabbard. As the duel was about to unfold,  Sam quickly stood before them and placed his hands on their chest, repelling the two apart in the process.

"That's enough outta you. This isn't the time to be bickering amongst each other. We are all hurt, Harrison, but that doesn't mean that you should start random fights to express your grief!" He exclaimed.

Harrison rolled his eyes and walked around them, "Whatever," he commented.

"Harrison! Harrison wait!" Diana shouted from afar as the latter marched toward the elevator. When he got inside, he pressed a button that initially commanded the doors to close.

"Let him go, he needs some space to breathe. Besides, I don't think he's stupid enough to take Seth on his own," Sam said, informing her about the matter. 

Gordon chuckled, he stood in an akimbo position and Diana inquired, "What's so funny?" 

"It's impossible for him...actually for all of you to ignore your reckless nature. It's one of the traits you've inherited from your father," Gordon replied rubbing his chin with fascination.

***********

After watching over the citizens of Queens, the sun patiently descended. From a distance, it seemed as though it was digging its way through the hard crust; in reality, it was migrating to the other section of the earth. As clawed it's way down it left behind a range of blood-red, punch-pink, and vermillion hues. And thus, dusk approached.

Joseph played video games on his iPad. As he sat lethargically on the couch and placed his legs across the table; there was a half-eaten slice of pizza on a plate, a cold drink beverage next to his plate on top of the couch's arm.

He heard a knock on the door and stood up. As he approached the door, he moaned, "Okay, okay, I'm coming jeez.!"  He exclaimed vexed by the persistent knocking. He opened the door and he saw Harrison. Quickly, he scanned his friend's garments and he saw blood stains on them. 

"What the fuck happened to you?" Joseph enquired.

"It's my mom...," he replied with a soft and low voice. 

Joseph's eyes protruded with astonishment, "Come inside and tell me what happened," he replied. 

Harrison walked in and Joseph shut the door behind him. The two pottered to the living room. Once they got there, Joseph removed his plate and beverage from the arm of the couch and gestured at it, hinting at his friend to sit. Harrison sat on the couch and cupped his palms around his face.

"What happened?" Joseph inquired. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Harrison removed his hands from his face and looked at his friend. His weary glance informed Joseph that something dreadful had occurred to his mother. 

"She's dead isn't she?" He inquired hesitantly and swallowed a hard lump.

Harrison couldn't even find the strength to respond and just simply nodded. Joseph stared into the void, he was in a state of trance for a brief moment. He placed his hand on Harrison's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry."

 "It's my fault. Why did I listen to Seth?" He asked himself as regret throbbed painfully in his voice.

"What about your dad?" Joseph inquired. 

"My dad survived the attack but I don't think that he'll ever walk again," He replied as grief grabbed his throat and choked it once more; making it all the more difficult to swallow nor talk.

"I'm sorry. What do you mean you were attacked?"

"I guess I'll have to tell you the truth," He said, looking back at him with moist eyes. 

Joseph looked at him, his facial expression testified of confusion and intrigue patterning the subject he vaguely talked about.

***********

Later on, Harrison and Joseph had a meal. The two indulged in Coca-Cola beverages and pizza slices. 

"Thanks, man, I needed that," Harrison said with gratitude. In this turbulent crisis, Harrison needed an ear and someone to talk to. Thankfully, Jospeph was the right person he was looking for, as his presence aided him in this distressing moment. 

"That's what friends are for, right?" he said. 

The two shared a fist bump. Joseph then inquired, "So where did you disappear off to?"

"You don't wanna know," Harrison replied. 

"Cause Mya was worried when you didn't show up the next day for school." 

A smile was carved upon his face once he heard about Mya. It was something that he also needed, and not only did a mention of her bring about a glimmer of hope but it was also her concern about him.

"Really? She was?"

 "Yeah, she was. I think she kinda likes you," Joseph said. 

He laughed hysterically and tapped his right thigh, "Nah man, don't think too deeply about it. She's just a concerned friend." 

"Ha, ha, ha, ha I know that you don't see her that way."

Harrison covered the smile forming on his face with his hands, he then removed his hands and curiously asked, "Then how do I see her?"

 "It's simple man, you wanna take her to Bang Town," Joseph chuckled and placed a can of coke in his mouth. He took a sip and placed the container aside.

Harrison's eyes widened with flabbergastion, he didn't anticipate that his best friend would confirm one of his undisclosed desires.

"Dude! How can you say that?" He asked. 

"I'm just kiddin'. Relax I know you're a gentleman. Speaking of which, I believe there's something you wanted to tell me." Joseph said. 

"Oh, that?" Harrison said as he fell back on the couch and sighed.

"Yeah, that," he said as he raised his right brow.

 "Okay, what I'm about to show you is strange," Harrison said as he took off his jacket.

Sometime later, the two arrived at his backyard.

"Okay, I'm waiting," Joseph said. 

Harrison clenched his fist, and a pile of rocks formed around it, essentially creating a gauntlet.

Joseph fell on his bottom and reached his hand out to his friend, "Wait, what in Harry Porter's name did you just do!!!" 

Harrison turned around and showed him his rock fist. "Well, what do you think?" 

"What do I think, dude what happened to you, or what are you!"  Joseph inquired as he got back to his feet and slowly stepped back.

 "I am an alien," Harrison replied. 

Joseph's eyes protruded, "ALIEN!!!!! "What do you mean you're an alien!!!"

"I also found out about that a few days ago. That I'm not from this planet. I come from a planet called Codex, he said as he playfully moved his fingers and looked at his hand with fascination. 

"So you're from another planet?" Joseph asked. 

"Oh and on top of that, I also have siblings who've been on this planet for years." He replied.

"Oh my God! You're a fucken alien!" Joseph exclaimed excitedly as he approached him

"Wait what?" Harrison asked confused.

 "I mean you're an alien," Joseph said.

 Harrison was still confused because a moment ago Joseph was shocked and fearful of his identity, and now his emotions abruptly switched gears as he expressed excitement.

 "We have to tell Mikey!"

"No! Don't!" Harrison said with urgency in his tone. 

"Why?" he inquired, baffled by his reason to keep this discovery from their friend.

 "Because it was hard to tell you and it's gonna be even harder to tell our dear friend."

 "Noted," Joseph said and nodded.

***********

Diana unlocked her room's door and walked inside, dragging her steps and pouting bitterly to herself. When she got there, she sat on the bedside as the zypher entered her room through the window, wandering around and softly caressing her skin. Her mind was swiftly submerged in a sea of doubts. She remembered a day when she was a teenager, seated at a table with her two parents, enjoying a well-deserved supper. 

They dipped their forks into a plate of Puttanesca pasta, coiling their forks with Spaghetti.

"So Diana, have you decided on what career you will pursue?" She gulped ghastly while her parents were gawking at her. 

She then took a cloth and wiped off the last dew of sauce. Afterward, she cleared her throat and said, "I wanna be a pop star." 

Richard cupped his forehead and sighed heavily, "This again! Diana how many times must I tell you that, that is not a career!" 

"But Dad, you know how much I love music. I don't get it, what's wrong with me tryna pursue that path?"  She inquired.

"Diana, that's enough! My decision is final! I don't want to see you one day struggling to fend for yourself because of your poor choice" 

"But Dad, I don't see myself pursuing a career that I will dread for the rest of my life. Instead, I want to follow a career that I love. What's the point of living if I can't pursue something that I love?!" Honestly, I'd  rather die than live without passion!"

Stephanie, her mother intervened, "Diana dear, I know that you want to be a pop star or whatever, but do you realize that you are not the only wants to follow that career right? There are tons of people who wanna do what you want. In essence, what I'm trying to say is that it is a competitive field, and the chances of you making it are slim!"

Those sharp dagger-like words drove through the flesh of her conviction, thus causing it to bleed, and causing a leakage in her determination. However, she found the strength to pull the daggered like-words out and bandage her wound.

 "Even so Mom, I don't care. I will do whatever it takes to be among the few who made it!" 

"What if you fail? What then?"

She glanced at the surface of the table for a brief moment, clouded with more doubts. She then looked up and answered, "Then I'll never know unless I try."

Her father imploded with laughter and sneered at her, "Stephanie, your daughter has got balls. And the irony is that she is a woman."

 His facial expression then firmed up after laughing, "Since your mind is made up, there is nothing that we can do to change it, however, that doesn't mean that you have our support. Rather we will sit back and watch as you squirm your way up the fantasy ladder. Then once you fall, you will realize that Daddy was right all along!."

She teleported back to the real world as a tear droplet stained her left cheek. To add fuel to the blaze, she received a notification from her cellphone. She checked it and clicked on it, it was an email from Mr. Maynard. She opened it and read through it.

The fate of your future

Good evening Diana

We regret to inform you that your future with us has come to an abrupt end.

As you know, the studio was engulfed with flames, therefore rendering our equipment and instruments obsolete as all of them were destroyed.

Although a few successful stars came from our organization, we are still struggling to make our way to the top. And because of that, we do not have enough money or resources to rebuild the studio and replace all of our destroyed equipment with new ones. Therefore the studio and its board members have agreed to release struggling stars from their contracts to gain the financial necessities to rebuild itself.

Therefore we would like to thank you for being a part of the company and wish you the best in your endeavours.

Yours sincerely
Mr. David Maynard
《<>
Keystrokes Groove

She tossed her phone away and broke down, flooding the floor with her tears as her father's words played like a tap in her head, "Since your mind is made up, there is nothing that we can do to change it, however, that doesn't mean that you have our support. Rather we will sit back and watch as you squirm your way up the fantasy ladder. Then once you fall, you will realize that Daddy was right all along!."   

She grabbed a pillow and pressed it against her facial features. She exerted force on it to relieve herself from her frustrations through her muffled screams.