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It didn\'t even take more than four minutes to get from here to there. A drive beneath moonlit skies was rarely ever a smooth one, especially through the twists and turns we were taking. 

Nightlife activities were always bustling around these parts, between the glaring neon flashes of nightclub life and the open doors of a rowdy bar around every street corner, the city streets would be even more crowded than they were in the day.

Took a few casual midnight strolls when I first moved over from country life, and from my experience, there was never a night where the air wouldn\'t be reeking with the smell of booze and the sidewalks littered with the ashes of burnt cigarettes.

Every night except tonight, however… tonight, the city that never sleeps finally slumbered.

Bar doors firmly shut closed, the dazzle of bright lights stayed off. From the inside of the passenger-side seat looking out… it really was quite the harrowing sight.

Felt like humanity just up and left one night and never looked back.

"One more left turn here," I muttered, once we started nearing an intersection. 

The fact that she didn\'t have put on any blinkers just further solidified that unsettling fact.

"Stick close to me, remember," Irene urged again for the umpteenth time tonight. 

For some reason, I brought along a tennis ball with me even though I told to lay off the bouncing for another sixteen minutes, and for an even stranger reason, I was tossing haphazardly around my lap - that was probably me trying to distract myself from it all.

Once the car eventually slowed to a halt, and our seatbelts clicked unbuckled, Ash leaned forward from the black/white stained backseat where a bunch of paint buckets once sat, tapping my shoulder lightly for another round of gentle reminders.

"If even for the slightest you ever feel tense, please remember - "

"Don\'t worry, Ash," I said, as my feet landed and crunched against the asphalt. "I\'ll stick tighter than glue."

Don\'t remember who it was, probably was Amanda, but the topic of Blightfall\'s influence on me was brought up somewhere between making our way to the abandoned building and buying paint from the hardware store.

I definitely remember Irene being the one to wave away the concern, claiming with confidence that so long as she was there… the voices of the dead were not going to be a factor for me to worry about.

Since demons aren\'t affected by the Blight whatsoever… all I had to do was stick close to one to attain some of that immunity. So long as I don\'t wander off too far from her, and the amount of the Blight I was exposed to was kept at a minimum, I can stroll about safe and sound.

Making good on my affirmations, the moment I slammed my car door shut, I was already trailing behind Irene\'s footsteps forward by only mere inches. Certainly was close enough that I nearly collided into her when she stopped to survey the scene that fronted us.

"Your place of peace," Her tone was verging on amusement. "Central Park, should have guessed. Sticking close to your roots, huh?"

"No place like home," I responded, taking the first crispy scrunchy steps through the dewy grass, "And this is the closest I\'ll ever get from here."

We strolled along the trail leading deeper inwards in silence, wind in our hair and cold air breezing down our faces. This little oasis of green hidden among the slabs and stones of the concrete jungle really was an underappreciated part of the city given how very few people even bothered to pay it a visit.

Even Irene wasn\'t an exception. I asked when was the last she\'s ever taken a stroll to unwind. 

She crossed her arms and blew a nippy breath. "You\'re seeing my first."

Guess she was an all work and no play type of succubus. Reminder that this was the same woman that not even a few nights ago was smirking devilishly from ear to ear, gazing at me with eyes so carefree and loose. 

She\'s like two polar opposites in one, and I haven\'t the faintest clue which of the opposites was the complete truth.

Can\'t think about that now, though. Now, I\'m just bouncing myself a mini basketball in my hands… taking in the sights of the flora and fauna I didn\'t even realize I was sorely missing.

Maybe I was a little bit homesick.

"How are you feeling, Master?" Ash asked five minutes into our little sightsee. 

"Almost peaceful," I replied, catching my tennis ball mid-toss by the tips of my fingers. "There\'s just one thing left missing."

It wasn\'t before long we\'d eventually stumbled upon that one thing left missing. It was like the mainstay for every listless walk in the park. I found my bench again, my slightly rotted, slightly vandalized, little place in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

What a sight for sore eyes.

Took a seat in the middle, laying the ball down just right beside me. Even made as much for my companions to sit on either side, but they seemed content enough with simply standing over me like rugged bodyguards for a king out on a dainty stroll.

It\'s whatever though… this king has more important matters at hand, like every king, I seek for peace… and a piece of that peace was only one click of the tongue away.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" Smacking my lips, clapping my hands, my eyes whirled from left to right. "You guys still open for business? Or are ya close for the night like everyone else?"

Kept clicking my tongue for a bit longer and I was starting to feel like that was actually the case. The only times I ever paid them a visit had always been sometime in the afternoon. A late-night call was something I\'ve never done before.

Then from afar, an inconspicuous shrub wiggled. I clicked my tongue again, gave another clap… it rustled back in response.

"Black or white?" I called out to it, feeling a hundred times better already. "Didn\'t expect me did you?"

A soft meow squeaked past the twigs and leaves.

Ash formed a faint smile at the sound, but distanced herself further away. "Neplims… but of course…"

"Come a bit closer, Ash," I said.

Yet still, she remained every distant, shaking her head at me. "They call for you, not for me. Enjoy yourself, I shall simply remain here for the time being."

I wanted to persuade her further, but then a swishing sound came to interrupt me. The patter of paws shooting through the grass, clad in a coat of black shimmering in the night. 

The rustling in the shrubs from afar became a purr near and dear to the heart. Mr. Black kneaded his paws against my thighs, brushing his short whiskers against my shirt. Before I could even lower my hand fully, he had already begun rubbing his tiny little around the skin of my palms.

Guess someone missed me just as much.

"Precious…" Irene said dully, briefly glancing up to the skies. "You got ten minutes, then we\'ll be heading back. Just keep thinking happy thoughts like that, alright?"

"No problem there," I responded.

Mr. Black was always the most jovial of the two, the most curious too, it didn\'t take long for him to swipe his paw at the tennis ball, and from there it just snowballed to him rolling it around with each paw. I even played along, he got a little shocked seeing it go up and down instead of the usual left and right.

It took two minutes for him to get bored with it, then it was just the two of us again going back to the usual routine of me stroking his chin, and him purring in absolute euphoria. 

But something else was missing, something else apart from this scene of two… 

Speaking of two… where was number two? It\'s always never one without the other when it comes to the two of them.

I nudged my chin at him, smiling. "Where\'s the missus?"

He just meowed, cause obviously, cats are not the most linguistic among us. Worth a try, though.

My eyes went scouring again, every visible bush, shrubbery, I let my tongue go wild. 

I clicked, I clapped. Everywhere and anywhere.

But I didn\'t hear any more rustles, didn\'t see any more sways in tall meadows all around.

Felt my smile slowly fade away.

"Where is she?" I asked again.

Mr. Black just tilted his head and meowed. Never one without the other, these two… why was tonight suddenly an exception? What caused it to be an exception?

I already knew the answer, didn\'t I? But do I want to entertain it, do I want to even think about it? I\'m supposed to be at peace, I wasn\'t supposed to worry…

There\'s a reason she wasn\'t coming… the reason, I saw the reason with my own eyes already from the inside looking out.

"Blight…"

I looked to the darkness up ahead, the other end of the park I never ventured past, the other end that led to the other side of the city streets… streets coated in a gooey blackness darker than the night.

Mr. Black meowed again, staring at the same pitch-darkness as I was. Only this time, I understood.

Follow.