godslum: The Landlord System

The wrench slipped. Aaron’s hand hit the engine and started to bleed.

“Dammit.”

Blood dripped onto the old car. It mixed with the oil. To Aaron, his life was just like that car. Broken, dirty, and not going anywhere.

He wrapped his hand with a rag. The car still didn’t work. He had no parts, no money, and no job.

Aaron is twenty-four. He is a mechanic, but he is also homeless. If he didn’t fix this car by sunset, he would lose the only place he could sleep.

“Aaron!” a loud voice shouted. “You still living in my lot?”

Aaron didn’t look up. “I’ll pay you, Marco. Once the car runs.”

Marco Velli walked over. He was fat, bald, and mean. He owned the car lot. He owned half the street. He was the man who kicked Aaron out of his apartment last month.

Marco kicked the car. “You owe me three hundred dollars. You have until sunset. Or I send Dano.”

Dano was Marco’s nephew. He was big, and he hurt people for money.

Aaron held his hand tighter. “Sunset. I know.”

Marco spit on the ground. “You’re nothing, Aaron. Just like your dad.” Then he walked away.

Aaron’s dad died five years ago. He froze to death in a garage because Marco turned off the heat. The police said it was an accident. Aaron didn’t believe that.

Aaron looked at the broken car part in his hand. It was dead. Just like his hope.

Then he heard a crash.

A city bus hit the fence and drove into the car lot. It stopped after hitting a pile of old cars. There was no fire. No noise. Just silence.

Aaron ran to the bus.

The door was open. Inside, it smelled like blood. At the back of the bus, an old man lay on the floor. He was hurt. His clothes were rags. But his eyes were bright gold.

“Help,” the old man said. “They are coming.”

“Who?” Aaron asked. He moved closer. The air felt cold.

“Landlords,” the man said. Blood came out of his mouth. “They want to kill me. I can’t die here. Not in a place with no home.”

Aaron didn’t understand. He put his rag on the man’s chest to stop the bleeding. The blood burned through the rag.

“I’ll call for help,” Aaron said.

“No time,” the man said. He grabbed Aaron’s arm. His grip was strong. “You are a good man. I can feel it. Will you help me?”

“I can’t even help myself,” Aaron said.

“Then let me help you,” the man said. “Take my promise. Protect me. I will give you power. Power to take back what is yours.”

Aaron thought the man was crazy.

Then the bus door exploded.

Three men in black suits walked in. They had no faces. Just smooth skin where eyes and a nose should be. But they had mouths. And their mouths were full of sharp teeth.

“We found you,” one of them said. Its voice sounded like paper being torn. “Now you die.”

The old man held Aaron’s arm tighter. “Choose, Aaron. Die with them, or live with me.”

“How do you know my name?” Aaron asked.

“Choose!” the old man shouted.

One of the faceless men pulled out a knife. The knife was made of paper.

Aaron made his choice.

“I’ll help you,” he said.

The old man smiled. “Then take my power. Become the Landlord.”

The old man bit his finger. Gold blood came out. He touched Aaron’s forehead with it.

Pain hit Aaron like lightning. He saw things in his head. Big cities. People crying. A chair made of keys. A deep voice spoke to him.

*LANDLORD SYSTEM STARTING.*

*USER: AARON WOLFE*

*YOU ARE BROKE, BUT HONEST. GOOD.*

*FIRST JOB: READY. FIND YOUR TARGET.*

The pain stopped. Aaron was on his knees. The old man was gone. Only a gold stain was left on the floor.

The faceless men looked at Aaron.

“The old man is gone,” one said. “But his power is in you. Kill him. Take the power.”

They ran at Aaron.

Aaron picked up his wrench. It felt light. It felt strong.

The first man swung his paper knife. Aaron blocked it. The knife cut the wrench in half.

Aaron was sure he was dead.

Then words appeared in front of his eyes. Only he could see them.

*TARGET FOUND: MARCO VELLI.*

*JOB: SLUMLORD.*

*CRIMES: HURT TENANTS 1,439 TIMES. KILLED 12 PEOPLE BY BEING CARELESS. BURNED A BUILDING. PUNISHMENT: DEATH.*

*KILL HIM TO GET POWER: SLUMLORD’S GRIP.*

*DO YOU AGREE?*

The system wanted Marco. Not these monsters.

“Yes,” Aaron said. “I agree.”

Strength filled Aaron’s body. His hand healed. His hunger went away. He felt like he could break a wall.

The faceless man’s knife stopped right before Aaron’s eye.

Aaron grabbed the man’s arm. It was cold like stone. He squeezed.

*SLUMLORD’S GRIP: ON.*

The man’s arm broke. He screamed. It sounded like a house falling down. Aaron squeezed again and the arm came off. Black liquid came out, not blood.

The other two men stopped. They looked scared.

Aaron didn’t stop. He hit one man with the broken arm until it stopped moving. The last one ran away. Aaron threw his broken wrench. It hit the man in the head. The man fell and didn’t move.

It was quiet.

Aaron stood there holding a broken arm. His hands were steady. That scared him.

*JOB READY. KILL MARCO VELLI TO TAKE HIS BUILDING. WARNING: YOU WILL GET HIS PROBLEMS TOO.*

Aaron dropped the arm. It turned to smoke.

He had two hours until sunset.

He left the bus. Marco was in his office. He was counting money he took from poor people.

Aaron was done being afraid.

He found Dano first. Dano was by the fence, smoking.

“Sunset, Wolfe,” Dano said with a grin. “Time’s up.....”

Aaron punched him once. In the chest.

Dano’s chest caved in. He flew back and hit the car Aaron was fixing. The car bent around him. Dano didn’t get up.

*STRENGTH: 10 TIMES NORMAL. SLUMLORD’S GRIP IS ON.*

Aaron couldn’t believe it.

He walked across the street to Marco’s building. This was the building Marco kicked him out of.

The front door was locked. Aaron pulled it open. The lock broke.

The lobby smelled bad. Like trash and old water. Aaron knew the smell. He lived with it for two years.

People looked out of their doors. When they saw Aaron, they hid.

Marco’s office was on the first floor. The door looked nice, but it was fake. Just like Marco.

Aaron kicked the door. It flew open.

Marco sat at his desk. He was counting money. He looked up. He saw Aaron’s face and his smile went away.

“Aaron? What are you doing......”

“You’re being evicted,” Aaron said. His voice was calm.

Marco reached for a drawer. Aaron knew he kept a gun in there.

Marco was too slow.

Aaron was across the room in one step. He grabbed Marco by the neck and lifted him up. Marco was light.

“Wait!” Marco said. He couldn’t breathe. “We can talk! I’ll give you money! The lot! Anything!”

“You killed my dad,” Aaron said.

“It was an accident!” Marco said. “The heat—”

“You killed twelve people,” Aaron said. The system showed him faces in his head. Old women. Kids. “The system told me. The system is never wrong.”

“What system? Please!”

Aaron squeezed his hand.

*SLUMLORD’S GRIP: FULL POWER.*

Marco’s neck broke. It was easy.

Marco’s body went limp.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the building shook. The lights went out, then came back on. They were brighter now.

Fire started in Aaron’s right hand.

He opened his hand. A piece of paper was burning into his skin. It wasn’t real paper. It was a deed. A contract. The words were gold.

*DEED TAKEN: VELLI STREET BUILDING*

*NEW OWNER: AARON WOLFE*

*POWER GAINED: +10 STRENGTH. +10 TOUGHNESS. YOU CAN CONTROL THE BUILDING.*

*WARNING: YOU NOW HAVE 1,439 GHOSTS. THE BUILDING IS HAUNTED.*

Aaron looked at Marco’s dead body. Then at his hand. The burning deed was gone. A small key tattoo was left on his palm.

He owned the building.

The same building that threw him out.

Aaron started to laugh. He sounded crazy.

The door creaked. A small girl stood there. She was maybe eight years old. Aaron knew her. She lived here with her mom. She was always hungry.

She pointed at Marco. Then at Aaron.

“Did you kill the Roach?” she asked.

Aaron nodded.

The girl walked past him. She went to Marco’s desk. She opened a drawer and took out money. She counted twenty dollars and put it on the desk.

“Rent,” she said. “For me and Mom. We live in 4C. The roof has a hole. Will you fix it?”

She looked up at Aaron. She wasn’t scared. She looked hopeful.

Aaron felt the weight of the building. Not on his body. In his heart.

*SYSTEM: FIRST RENT PAID. TENANTS ARE HAPPY: +1. BUILDING HEALTH: 12%. YOU ARE STRONGER.*

He's a landlord now.

Outside, he heard cars. Many cars. Doors closing.

The Landlord Cabal.

They knew what he did.

Aaron looked at the little girl. “Go to your mom,” he said. “Lock the door. Don’t come out.”

She nodded and ran.

Aaron went to the window. The street was full of men in suits. None of them had faces.

One stepped forward. He held a rolled-up paper. An eviction notice. Aaron’s name was on it.

“You cannot own buildings, Wolfe,” the man said. His voice sounded like a hundred doors locking. “Not until you are dead.”

Aaron rolled his shoulders. He could feel the whole building. Every brick. Every ghost.

“Then come and take it,” he said.