Flip the Coin [BL]-Chapter 145. Fiery red

We went to my grandma’s room, only to find nobody inside again. That irritated me quite a bit; where the hell was she constantly going?

Thinking of her newly appearing drinks, I had a premonition.

"Let’s look in the kitchen." We went upstairs to the wrecked kitchen that had a crudely assembled little fireplace on the floor, no idea how long it had been there, and we didn’t find her either.

"Hmmm...." I held my chin, feeling even more irritated. Where would that old dragon disappear to? While looking around, I found a smaller door in the middle of one of the kitchen walls, resembling a hatch for groceries or something.

Wouldn’t a dragon hide inside a nest and sleep on its treasures?

I opened the door and saw my grandma sitting inside. The hatch was longer than I thought, tall enough to fit an upholstered chair and a small table inside. On the little table stood a bottle of wine, while my grandma drank something dark red from a glass.

Around her were wooden boxes with even more beverages, and I even spotted coffee powder. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"What the hell?" I asked her.

She took a big sip from her glass and looked at me, unmoved.

"It’s my house. I can be wherever I want to."

"So you hide in a hatch full of alcohol? How did these bottles even survive?" I stood on my tiptoes to reach a bottle while my grandma looked down at me from her seat.

"They were packaged really well." The dragon said with satisfaction.

"The wine glass as well?"

"Yes. I ordered a few new glasses before the earthquake."

"Then why did you drink out of a tiny wooden cup in front of the others?"

"So they don’t take my glasses away?" She gazed at me like I was an idiot, and Henry behind me chuckled.

"Fine. Stop getting drunk." I lowered my voice considerably.

"The shadows are probably the counterparts of a few people here. If we kill them, they could go hysterical or insane, so you need to watch the respective human while we fight the shadow."

"I am not getting drunk; I am savoring the taste."

"Yes, yes. Did you hear me? Can you watch over the next human with your gun? Just shoot them in the leg if they go overboard."

"Send them to my room." She nodded and put her glass down.

"Okay. Baggy Jeans is next." I looked at the upholstered chair.

"Did you carry that chair inside here yourself?"

"I did." She narrowed her eyes, and I waved at her tiredly.

Old ladies are going around moving furniture into hatches; instead of bringing the alcohol to their rooms.

She can do what she wants; why do I even care?

"I’ll send Baggy Jeans to you." I repeated, not sure if she had heard me.

"The one with the long hair?" My grandmother stood up and looked down belittlingly at Henry and his haircut before taking a bottle of whiskey with her.

"Yeah. And you should be sober for that task." I commented while reaching my hand out to her, only for the old dragon to ignore it and jump out of the hatch herself.

We brought her to her room, and when she turned around to get her gun, I exchanged her whiskey bottle with an identical conjured-up one before we left.

Can’t let the dragon drink. I think because she is now younger and surely has a better stomach, she feels like challenging it.

I told Henry to go find Athena or do whatever and went into my room to try to sleep on my bloody mattress after I hid the whiskey.

When I woke up after a bit of rest, I needed a toilet and walked to the little garden. It would be annoying if I pissed myself again while we fought—those times are behind me and hopefully Henry as well. I took the military knife and was on my way.

Looking around the garden, I found a smelly spot on the ground behind a tree, covered by a wooden door. Lifting it, I stood before an even smellier hole that the others had apparently made to use it as a toilet; there was even toilet paper beside the tree.

Well, it’s good that they built one, but why didn’t anyone mention a word about it?

I feel a bit left out.

Luckily, I just needed to pee, so I went to another tree and got it over with. Conjuring up disinfectant and using it on my hands, I went inside again and found Henry and a confused Baggy Jeans.

"You’ve already brought him?"

"Yes. I also showed him the door to your grandma’s room."

"What’s going on? Why do I have to be here? Isn’t the shadow attacking soon?" Sebastian asked.

I nodded and took a seat.

"Yes. You have to be here because..." Not finding a good reason, I sighed and raised my eyebrows at Henry before conjuring up a cigarette.

"Kenny’s radar shows the most likely person to be attacked next. Last time, it was Chelsea; this time, it’s you. We’ll wait together and take on the shadow in your stead," Henry said without missing a beat.

I pointed at him and nodded again.

"That’s it."

Baggy Jeans also took a seat across from me, more anxious than before.

"Why... why are you two helping us? Aren’t you both convicted prisoners?"

I just took a drag from my cigarette and made smoke rings, so Henry, who sat beside Sebastian, answered for me again.

"We’ll get a year reduced from our sentences for each life we save."

He was so smooth that I felt my efforts to lie had been in vain until now. I should have directly passed the responsibility to explain onto Henry.

Baggy Jeans nodded, and we all waited in silence.

At one point, I moved my arm over the table and asked my dog for his paw. Under Baggy Jeans’ perplexed glance, I touched Henry and flipped the coin.

Seeing that Henry would get possessed without incident, I got an idea and let go of him to slide back into my seat, nodding at him. Everything will go smoothly.

Hopefully, we will get this over with soon.

"Just to make sure, you know you should go to my grandma after Henry gets possessed, right? He showed you the door?"

"Yes." This time he didn’t ask any more questions, and I felt relieved.

"Ask her for a glass of whiskey. She has some downstairs." I smirked, and Henry laughed at me for behaving immaturely and provoking the dragon needlessly.

"Okay." Baggy Jeans responded.

After some more time, the woman on the coin turned eerie yet again.

"Soon." Just like last time, I warned.

Henry and I stood up as I came to their side.

"Henry, remember not to fight against the shadow when it enters you." We don’t need him coming down with a fever again.

"Roger. By the way, you’ll need this." He reached into his pocket and handed me the taser, which I took and pocketed.

The woman on the coin smiled menacingly, and I noticed a shadow materializing in the kitchen, positioned so that we had a clear view of it.

Baggy Jeans gripped my arm with fear, hiding behind me despite being taller, while Henry stepped in front of us. Again, the shadow took a step before sprinting, lunging at Henry. Once more, I could see a distorted, ghostly face expanding from Henry’s back, but this time it appeared to have its mouth ripped wide open, as if the shadow was screaming at me.

I had seen this scene in my vision, so it was time to put my idea to the test. I reached out for it before it could disappear back inside Henry again. Touching what felt like smoke or fog, I flipped the coin.

Back of my hand; golden; the correct past of the shadow. Eyes, ears, and heart uncovered.

In a barren, rocky landscape, the shadows wander around like vagabonds, like zombies, apparently devoid of sentience.

One shadow stops and seems to turn its head. It looks at a mountain made of rocks against which a colossal, titanic figure, far bigger than the mountain, leans. The figure, however, remains motionless.

With protruding bones, the ribcage especially prominent, a bald head, and no ears, it still resembles a deformed human.

The shadow turns back and continues to aimlessly wander until it stops again and faces the giant figure.

Yet now, something has changed from before. One of its eyes has opened—a tiny, fiery red pupil in that far too massive white eyeball looks closely back at the shadow.