Legend of the North

Chapter 10: The Sellers Family (1)

“We’re here,” Katie said as they stood in front of the driveway to her home.

Cristian took a moment to study the place. It was an impressive house with three stories and two fancy cars parked in the driveway. He was certain that the backyard was just as impressive, but it didn’t matter much in the end. What he was after was the money, not the property. Even if he somehow got his hands on the deed, there was no way he could sell it before the apocalypse started.

“Before we go in, I want to make something clear,” he said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She shuddered before tentatively asking, “What?”

“You are not to let them know about what happened between us. If I see any hint that you might sell me out…” he trailed off, letting her fill in the blank.

Katie gritted her teeth and said, “I understand.”

“Good. Now ladies first,” he said, indicating for her to go first.

She glared at him before walking down the driveway to the front door. Katie rang the doorbell, and the door swung open. A woman, presumably Mrs. Sellers, stood at the doorway with a smile on her face that froze at the sight of the duo. For several moments, she said nothing, staring at them. Then she burst into a scream.

“My baby!” the woman wailed, throwing herself at Katie.

He watched with disinterest as the woman fretted over Katie’s condition. Admittedly, she wasn’t in the best condition. She had been deprived of food and water for a day. Not to mention, the group had no place to go to the restroom or clean themselves, so they had been stuck in a space filled with their filth. The sight had been nauseating. Fortunately, the dimensional space had a cleaning feature it had forgotten to mention. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to ever use it again. There was no way he would touch their filth.

Mrs. Sellers finally noticed his presence and demanded, “Who are you? What are you doing with my daughter?”

“I found your daughter in this condition and helped bring her home,” he said, lying blatantly.

The woman was gobsmacked and turned her attention to Katie, asking, “Is this true?”

Katie glanced in Cristian’s direction before forcing herself to say, “Yes, it’s true.”

“What happened to your friends? How could they leave you alone like that?” her mother asked.

Cristian stepped in and answered for her. “Apparently, they left her behind to save themselves.”

“Outrageous. This is completely unacceptable,” Mrs. Sellers snapped.

“Dear, what’s all the commotion?” asked a man, Mr. Sellers, as he came to investigate.

Mr. Sellers froze before charging towards them. Mrs. Sellers moved out of the way to allow Mr. Sellers to embrace his daughter.

“My baby girl, what happened to you? Who did this to you? Tell me, and I’ll have them dealt with,” Mr. Sellers said.

Before Katie could speak, Cristian spoke up first. “Sir, I think it’s best to bring her inside. She’s been through a lot, and standing out here isn’t good for her.”

Realizing there was someone else there, Mr. Sellers asked, “Who are you?”

“The one who brought your daughter back. How about we have a chat in the house?” Cristian suggested.

The couple eyed him warily. He tensed, preparing himself in case they decided to refuse. While he could just use the dimensional space right away, he wanted to avoid doing so out in the open. He didn’t want to get caught on camera by chance. Last time, he had been lucky that the only electronic device in the alleyway had been everyone’s phones.

Finally, Mrs. Sellers conceded and made space to let them through as she said, “Come on in.”

He and Katie stepped inside before the door was closed behind him. Cristian scanned the room, noting how everything from the chandelier to the rugs screamed wealth. It made him want to take everything.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Mrs. Sellers said, guiding Katie away.

Katie looked back at Cristian, who smiled brightly at her. This only served to make her more anxious, but she really couldn’t stand being in her filth. She wanted to get properly cleaned, so despite her hesitation, she let her mother lead her away.

Once they were gone, Mr. Sellers asked, “What do you want?”

“Whatever could you mean?” Cristian asked back.

“I’m not a fool. You obviously want something by bringing my daughter back. What is it you want?” Mr. Sellers asked, staring into Cristian’s eyes.

“I’ll admit that I’m interested in a reward,” Cristian conceded.

Mr. Sellers huffed. “Looks like you have the guts to say it to my face. I’ll give you a couple thousand.”

“A couple thousand? Isn’t Katie your only daughter? Is she really only worth that much?” Cristian countered.

In an instant, Mr. Sellers’ face turned grim. “Are you trying to extort money from me?”

“I’m just saying that a suitable reward should fit the act,” Cristian said without batting an eye.

The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to break eye contact. After several moments, Mr. Sellers pulled out a checkbook from his pocket and slammed it on a nearby surface. With aggressive flourish, he wrote an amount on the check before tearing it out and presenting it to Cristian.

“Is that enough for you?” the man asked.

Looking at the amount on the check, Cristian had to admit that it was a decent figure. It was just unfortunate that he couldn’t cash out the check or else he would have gladly taken it. To keep up appearances, he took the check anyway.

“Thank you, sir. I’m glad for your understanding. There’s just one more thing,” Cristian said as he set Fenrir down.

“And what would that be?” Mr. Sellers asked.

That was the last thing he got to say before he was dumped into the dimensional space. With one parent down, he just had to deal with Mrs. Sellers. However, he knew that it wouldn’t be as easy to deal with the woman. Katie would have undoubtedly spilled everything to her. He needed to keep his guard up. As if summoned, a peacock stepped into view and attacked.