Chapter 3

Hello! My name is Noel Zinfon! I am a bartender at this small bar. On a normal day things are simple and easy to deal with because the people are all friendly or simply to the point in what they want which makes things run very smooth for me. There are of course some days when bar fights have to be broken up which is can get rather stressful. I can not count how many times over the years I have had to deal with people fighting and breaking things in the bar. Quite a few times I have seen people end up on their way to the hospital as well, but regardless of the hard times it's always been a favorable place for me over the years to work.

Even if I say I enjoy my work and it had always been a favorable place for me that has all began to change recently. That is of course since he started to appear at the bar every so many days to drink. I can honestly say I have never seen him fall drunk before but quite a few times I have seen him throw someone out of the bar himself for upsetting him. When I say he throws them out of the bar I mean the man literally picks them up and hurls them out the door! A few times people had to be hospitalized and there were a couple actual deaths due to people who refused to back down against him.

"Seriously, who's dumb enough to attempt to fight against the Jade devil?" Noel thought out loud during his self narration.

"You alright, Noel?" one of the customers asked him when they saw him acting strangely.

"Don't mind me! I'm just realizing how drastically things have changed these past few weeks."

"You mean your new regular?" The person asked as if they had realized what he was thinking about.

"Yea, I guess." Noel shrugged to his question as he pondered the thought.

"Well, I'd presume that would be very stressful.. He is a local killer after all." The customer shook his head.

"You say that, but your one of the first people who flee every time he comes in! I'm the actual bartender so I can't just up and leave my bar because he walks in for a drink!" Noel started to feel stressed over the fact that someone could sound like they care so much when they themselves flee every time the man arrives.

"Speak of the devil and the devil will come." The customer mumbled under his breath while shuffling to his feet in an attempt to be as nonchalant as possible before fleeing from the bar counter.

As Noel turned his head towards the sound of the door opening his eyes collided with a pair of jade colored ones. There in front of the door was standing tall a man dressed in all black gazing in his direction while waiting for people to stop fleeing from the bar by passing him. It was as if the man enjoyed standing there for the effect of seeming dominant as others fled from his presence. Those who stayed behind to drink in the bar when he arrived Noel could only consider them brave in their action considering how easily the man could flip out sometimes towards others.

It felt like the whole room had died to Noel as it was enveloped in silence while the man slowly approached the bar. His motions were slow and full of a feeling that could only describe him as the grim reaper had arrived himself. To Noel it felt like he was serving a demon but at the same time it had a certain thrill about it that almost made him enjoy it. Noel was not scared of the jade devil to the point that he thought he would kill him over just anything but he knew he had to be cautious in what he said because the man seemed to prefer most things to be kept to himself. Not once over the weeks he had been serving the man had he ever seen him talking to another with a regular casual conversation.

Noel casually sat a drink down in front of the man who was as quiet as usual. It seemed like he never had much to say which gave him a strong mysterious air about himself. Most people who sat at the counter near Noel were usually the type who enjoyed talking nonstop about things in their life going on but this man never seemed to desire to talk to him. Every one in a while he would let something slip which would cause Noel to respond nervously, however he usually became the one who instigated the conversation at that point.

The man's jade eyes seemed to always have a faraway look to them when Noel caught the man staring off into nothingness. It felt like he was watching someone who had a lot on their mind yet had reverted into themselves.

What has happened to make his eyes look so empty like death? Noel thought to himself as he wiped down his counter while watching the man drink his glass of cold beer. His eyes never connected with anything or anyone around him or in the bar at all. It was as though the man was completely lost in his own world and could not be brought back to the present while he was drinking.

"Did you have a rough night?" Noel asked him after a while of forcing up as much courage as he could. He could not help but hope that he was not intruding where he should not be when it came to him. Simply the only thing he wanted to do at the moment was try to see if he could understand the man a bit more if he was going to keep being a regular at his bar. He understood everyone who came regularly to his place except the one who sat at his bar right now.