Stephen pushed the door open and they entered inside. Knagslot looked around, examining the place. Soon he made eye contact with tess who ran towards him and extended an hug.
"I knew you'll make it", she said, removing herself from him. "I've actually been waiting for you".
Knagslot smiled as the other people in the room stared at him indifferently.
"It wasn't easy", knagslot said. "But I managed to go through".
Tess held him by his right hand and led him to where she was seating.
"So what's next", knagslot asked looking at the other people in the cafe. He could remember some, he identified roll simmons, yulo phen and even kall sunn. The other faces were completely strange to him.
"I think we get to know each of us are here or something, don't really know. I guess we'll be addressed now".
Stephen winked at knagslot and walked into a door leading inside the cafe. A waiter came over to him and handed him a mug of coffee.
"Thank you", knagslot managed say, surprised by the act.
As he was just sipping it, a man silhouetted In a shady long suit, something that made his presence commanding and all eyes had to swirl to his, walked to the middle of the cafe.
"I'm matt", he finally said. "Matt stoneberg, and I'm your district commander".
"What's a district commander", tess asked.
"I'm your head, the head of you guys on grim raven's street", said matt in a proud voice, his eyebrows perched up, his face a questioning expression.
"Any more questions?", he asked, drawing his face nearer.
"No", tess said abruptly.
"Well", he continued, pacing around. "You guys wouldn't have been summoned but well, let's just say I took the trouble on myself. You 'clowns' were teleported into different houses and you were brought here by the men assigned to do so".
Their was silence, apart from the fall of a black pen from yulo phen,their wasn't any REAL noise. Matt scratched his chin and suddenly spat out:
"You guys are new people now, since you all entered the game you have been changed. Recarnated if that's the right word. You are now completely different people and I'll advise you adapt to your new lives".
He paused and stared intently into the eyes of them one after the other - briskly.
"Now", he continued. "You all will be teleported to your houses. Anytime you are to enter the games, you'll be notified and teleported there. And-!", he raised a finger. "Never think of escaping because you can't. You are now a minion's clowns and freedom is only by winning the games".
With that, matt walked out and before knagslot could look at tess, he heard a spark and…
____________
THUD!
He was on his bed and his head ached a lot. Knagslot quickly stood up and noticed the room was dark, he walked over to the light switch and turned on the lights. Life this days had become tumultuous, his eyes felt heavy and he walked in plods. Life now to him was almost the same as it was before.
He opened the door and went down the spiral stairs, trudging to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of soda.
"So what's life now", he said out loud as he opened the bottle of soda and gulped it down.
To knagslot, it was like: 'Live in a strange house, occasionally you'll be called to fight monsters and life goes on'.
Just as he was about concluding that was how life was, he saw a figure clothed in black scurry past his window. It suddenly caught his attention. He walked over to the window in slow steps and looked out of it, it was darkness apart from the lights of street bulbs that shone almost bright.
Knagslot blinked twice, completely confused and bewildered.
'Ok', he thought. ' I guess there's more to punching monsters and living in this house'.
He quickly went to the door and peered at the opening that was used for seeing incoming people. The figure passed again. He was scared this time. Back at the cafe, they weren't briefed about passing figures in black.
He longed for a weapon, at least anything to smash this creature's head into pieces. If their was a creature. Finally, he decided to go investigate. He gently pushed open the door, taking an umbrella by the wall with him. He couldn't say what was making him to take this risk but he continued nonetheless.
The breeze that flapped around outside was far from mellow. Opposite him, beside a building was an enormous monster, clothed in a jump suit, walking up ahead. The sight instantly froze him. Really, this was a place for monsters indeed. A quick look at the sky indicated it was rumbling. Perhaps it would rain,he thought.
Street lamps stood to his left and to his right, and the reflection of his shadow made it sprawl and twisted in an unusual manner. He took to his left, in slow cautious steps, his head occasionally darting backwards to any slight sound - even the rush of the wind.
The breeze suddenly grew timid with time and outside felt stuffy to him. He walked on though, his eyes looking around, trying to catch something.
Swoosh!
The figure took a corner. Spooked and his inner mind forbidding him from taking a step. Knagslot dashed at the figure, scampering forward he took the corner only to be met with trash cans. The place was reeking of garbage and he quickly took it as a corner where people threw their garbage.
A trash can shook and soon fell on the floor. Knagslot, out of impulse, ran towards the trash can. He opened it only to be stared at with large eyes by an old beast with big eyes, a twisted horn like a cow and small lips.
"They're coming for me", the old beast told him.
"Who?", knagslot asked confused.
The old beast looked sideways and quickly handed a small stylish box to knagslot.
"Run", said the old beast. "Go to your house, they're coming".
Knagslot suddenly plunged into a run, looking backwards at times to see nothing. As soon as he had shut the front door of his house, he heard footfalls trampling on the ground hardly. He bolted it and quickly ran up the spiral stairs to his room and shut the door, bolting it also. Laying on the bed with the small box well held in his hands, he breathed in and out.
This whole thing was just too fiddly for his brain to comprehend.