“And so, they started building the walls. By going to—"

  The Prince stopped mid-sentence.

  He looked at his watch. “Oh no. Son."

  Arthur looked at the time. It was dark outside. "We have been here for six hours," Arthur said.

  “They will think that I killed you. Or something."

  The Prince snapped his fingers.

  The Mindscape shattered. The apartment returned to focus.

  Frank was walking around the apartment, his hand on his gun.

  "What the hell, Prince!" Frank shouted, his voice cracking.

  "You can't kidnap a teenager for six hours! He has parents! He has school!"

  Frank looked at Arthur. "Kid, are you okay? Did he brainwash you?"

  Arthur blinked, looking at his father. "No,"

  "We were just... playing a long game."

  "Plus," The Prince interrupted, standing up. "He isn't just a strange teen."

  The Prince looked at Sam and Sally. "He is my son. The one that was lost."

  The room went silent. Sam blinked. "Arthur? ...He is alive?"

  "Yes," the Prince said. "He was under our nose this whole ti—"

  He didn't finish.

  Sam launched himself across the room. "MY BROTHER!"

  He tackled Arthur into a hug, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

  Arthur froze, his arms pinned to his sides. "You don't know," Sam sobbed into Arthur's shoulder.

  "You don't know how much our father searched for you!"

  Sally ran over, her eyes full of tears.

  She joined the hug, squeezing Arthur from the other side.

  "I can't believe it," she cried. "We finally found you.”

  Arthur stood there, trapped in a crushing embrace of "Found Family." He looked at Frank.

  Frank was standing in the corner, looking at the Prince, then at Sam, then at Sally, then at Maryal, and finally at Arthur.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  "They increase," Frank whispered to the ceiling. "They increase."

  The hug ended.

  Sam punched Arthur right on the top of the head.

  "Ow," Arthur winced. "What was that for?"

  "Since you found us," Sam scolded, "why didn't you speak? Why didn't you tell us?"

  "I thought... you wouldn't believe me."

  Sam crossed his arms. "And yes. You called me filth, too. Back in the street.”

  “I am your bigger brother. You should respect me."

  Arthur rubbed his head, looking away. "Yeah. Whatever."

  "Sally," Arthur said, leaning back. "Can you get away? You are too close."

  "No," she smiled, leaning in closer. "I can't leave my cute little brother."

  She started playing with his face, squishing his cheeks.

  Then she ran her fingers through his silver hair.

  Arthur tensed up.

  But then... he relaxed just a little.

  "And also," Sally said. “You aren't leaving."

  "What?"

  "You live with us from now on," she declared. "In this room. Or in Frank's room.”

  Arthur blinked. He looked at the Prince, then at Sam, then at Frank.

  "And my family?" Arthur asked.

  The Prince gently pulled Arthur out of Sally's crushing hug.

  "He can't live with us just yet, Sally," the Prince said. "He has a... cover story to maintain."

  He looked at Arthur. "But sooner or later... he will live with us."

  The Prince blinked. ...Daniel gasped, coughing a small cough.

  "Damn," he muttered, rubbing his chest. "He took a lot of time."

  Daniel looked up and saw Arthur.

  "Hey, kid," Daniel smiled. "Nice powers you have, by the way."

  The room went silent. "He... has powers?" Sam asked.

  "Yeah," Daniel said. "He has something like a... a shadow."

  "Idiot. Arthur isn't going home today because of what you just said." The Prince said slamming his head on the wall.

  "Why?" Daniel said, blinking.

  Sam spun on Arthur. "So..." Sam hissed.

  "You saw what happened to your sister? And you didn't do anything?"

  "You did, big brother," Arthur shot back. "You handled it."

  "And you could make cute dolls for me!" Sally shouted, stomping her foot. "But you didn't!"

  "I—"

  They didn't let him finish. Sam and Sally grabbed him. They took a rope, the one the Prince had left on the table and tied Arthur to a chair.

  The moment the rope touched him, he stopped feeling his powers.

  "Untie me, guys," Arthur said, struggling.

  "No," Sam said. "Not until you apologize."

  "And I won't."

  "Then we won't."

  Arthur looked over at the kitchen. "Frank!" Arthur shouted. "Help me!"

  "Don't even think of untying him," Sam whispered, glaring at Frank.

  Frank looked at the tied-up teenager.

  He looked at the angry siblings.

  He looked at Daniel who was arguing with the wall.

  "I don't care," Frank said, opening the fridge. "Since you are from their family.”

  “Daniel, a beer."

  "That's the third one today, Frank," Sophie scolded.

  Frank cracked the tab.

  "With those people in my house?" Frank muttered. "I need ten."

  Jean was watching the situation from the sofa.

  Her face changed but not from fear maybe it was a laugh.

  Sam looked at her. “Well, I still don’t know how you chose that brat.”

  “I am right here,” Arthur snapped. “I am not a brat. ,Mr. 'I-Chop-Hands-For-Fun’."

  Sam smiled, “It's for protection, not fun.”

  “Yeah, yeah I know.”

  Arthur sighed, “Can you let me leave?”

  “No go to sleep.”

  Then Sam looked at Jean, “And you miss you will sleep with Sophie”

  “So, stop looking at him like he’s a prize to be won.”

  Jean raised both of her hands, “no I can’t I have to get back to my parents.”

  “Well that is even better.” Sam said, opening the door go ahead.

  Jean took her things and left, looking at Arthur who was glaring at her.

  After three hours, most of them slept except Arthur.

  “Stupid family, I can’t even sleep with this rope tearing my arm.” Arthur muttered.

  Then the balcony opened.

  Arthur looked back and it was jean.

  “How did you get here?”

  “I still have some of my powers master.” Jean said grabbing a knife.

  She untied him.

  “Okay let’s get out of here before they wak—" But then he heard a sound.

  He looked at the living room and he saw Daniel standing there, leaning against the wall, watching them.

  Then Daniel blinked.

  “You are too loud my son.” The Prince said smiling.

  “Well I wasn’t the one who broke here.”

  “fair enough.” The Prince said raising both of his hands.

  “But you.” The Prince smiled.

  Then he looked at Jean. “I have never thought that you would keep the promise.”

  “To be fair if I was you, I wouldn’t come back to him.”

  “But you seem a little different, maybe your brain stopped thinking outside of being someone’s Servant?”

  “Or was it something else?”

  “I—” The Prince raised his hand.

  “I don’t need your explanation.”

  “After all these weren’t questions.” The Prince said looking at Arthur.

  Arthur eye’s became wide.

  The Prince sighed, “Anyway go away before I change my mind.

  “And fix your situation son, I won’t be able to hold them for eternity.”

  Arthur nodded.

  He opened the door and he left.

  “You talk like a philosopher, for a man who needs a woman just to close his eyes. “Daniel said.

  “Of course. Unlike you, Daniel, I don't need a bottle to keep me warm at night.”

  At the streets the silence stretched between the two teenagers.

  Arthur stared at her.

  She didn’t speak.

  They just kept walking.

  A dog barked in an alley.

  Others were having a romantic night that ended in the heat of flesh.

  Some punched each other until one of them couldn’t breathe, while a daughter cried her throat raw.

  Others were watching the window, wishing for a death that would finally let them rest.

  A lighter flickered, igniting white death and turning it into brown smoke.

  A needle found a vein, and a man drifted... until his lungs simply forgot how to breathe.

  The crack of gunfire echoed—a gang war settled in the dark.

  And a vase shattered, a sound that woke a sleeping house.

  Maybe it was all sounds that didn’t have much in common, except that most of them came from humans.

  But together... it made something that a single sound couldn’t make alone.

  Life.

  End of Act IV

  Ghosts and Ghouls,

  Friday.

  Act V.