Chapter 6: Guidance

Mike grip on his sanity continues to slip as he seeks outside help, but his desperation leads to him consulting a questionable source.

Quite a lot happened within the next two weeks, and despite it being, y'know, two weeks, it still didn't feel like enough time to let everything stew. Most significantly, there was my parents' funeral, for which the entirety of Hitsville's population showed up. While most people were mature enough to pay their respects, a small but vocal minority showed up to insult them solely due to their LGBT status, making comments so vile that I won't dare to quote them. On top of all that, I had next to no friends, and no other known family members, so that left Katherine as the only person there to comfort me that day.

Not too long after that, I took it upon myself to get my parents out of the financial hole that they'd dug themselves into and started to live off of their fortune as I continued my college life. People wouldn't stop bugging me about the recent tragedy, and I was down to only one person to procure assistance from, but on the bright side, it at least meant that I wouldn't need to worry about finding a career path for the future. Instead, I would just continue to uphold the family name as I ran the countless businesses that were under it.

By the end of those two weeks, I found myself in Big Sky, a city in Montana that was somewhere between Hitsville and Kicksburg. I only barely knew how I even ended up there, but that didn't matter. All I did was stroll aimlessly along the sidewalk with my hands in the pockets of my sports blazer, and it wasn't until something peculiar caught my attention that I stopped in my tracks. A black kid who looked to be in his single-digits was standing on the sidewalk, sporting thick square glasses and a flat-top as he waved a large sign around.

"Step right up, folks! For only five bucks, you can get the chance to meet the amazing Dr. Lewis! He's a man with connections beyond your wildest imagination, and the ability to fix whatever problem is plaguing you!" the kid announced. "And he's also my dad, too!"

I willfully ignored him as I walked past, making sure not to make eye-contact. But even so, the kid was relentless. He started to follow me, waving his sign in my face and repeating his speech.

"Alright, kid! Will you just-?!" I began.

"Well now, son. What do we have here?"

I looked back as a third voice was added to the mix. The source turned out to be a short, stocky black man sporting a magician getup. He had long, curly black hair that covered half of his face, peeking out from under navy-blue top hat with a vermilion band. Black slacks and loafers covered his legs, and his look was complete with a mustard yellow tailed coat, worn over a gray fishnet top that revealed the copious amounts of ink branded into his torso. I was slightly unnerved in his presence, and the slightly eerie grin he adopted as soon as he spotted me didn't help matters.

"I found a customer, Daddy!" the beaming boy chirped, speaking in an inside voice for once.

"Hmm, I see. Well next time, don't be so overzealous. We're trying to attract customers, not scare them off," the magician replied, putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "Regardless, what can I do for ya'? You seem to be a little out of it."

"Oh no, I was just passing through," I replied, briefly waving as I started to leave.

"Oh, now don't go keepin' your feelings all bottled up! Just tell ol' Dr. Lewis what happened." the magician quickly snuck up and casually slipped an arm around me. "Surely you're in need of something to make you feel better. Release... closure... a little pick-me-up? ...Revenge?"

At that I just froze. No way was I about to speak to some shady stranger about my feelings and what I needed to overcome them. However, Dr. Lewis showed absolutely no signs of relenting.

"Ha, I knew it," he chuckled sinisterly. "So why don't you just follow me and I can give you whatever you need to satisfy your urges."

Fine, if it'll make you f**k off, I thought but didn't say.

With a quiet sigh, I turned around and let him lead me into a nearby alleyway.

"See, I knew you had it in you." Dr. Lewis finally let go of me. "Oh, and Second? You just stay there and draw in more customers. Your old man's got some business to attend to."

"Okay," Second replied, before turning around and raising his sign again.

Before I knew it, I was sitting at a small round table in an alley, covered in a plain white tablecloth with a crystal ball on top. And directly across from me was some obviously untrustworthy guy that I'd met less than five minutes ago. I guess being in an emotional funk does that to you.

"Now first things first, allow me to read your palm." Dr. Lewis maintained his suspicious smirk.

I said nothing and offered him my left hand, which he examined a bit, before tracing his fingers along the lines of my palm. I couldn't help but feel slightly ticklish there, but it wasn't enough to make me tremble or laugh.

"Hmm, so you're a college student with a troubled past, few if any friends, and a slightly unstable temperament," he finished, before he looked up and saw me narrow my eyes. "Hey, your palm never lies. Anyway, it seems that you've been wronged recently, and you feel that a certain someone is to blame. Someone who... rivals you?"

"Yeah," I admitted as my hand was released. "But honestly I'm clueless as to what I should do next. I just... I-I can't help but feel the need to get back at them somehow... some way!"

"Well what you need, young man, is some good old fashioned revenge." Dr. Lewis' lips curled up into a cat-like grin. "They say that revenge is a dish best served... room temperature."

As he spoke, he pulled a tiny plastic bag out of his coat and slid it across the table to me. Inside it was what appeared to be sixteen small beans, each one sporting a reddish tint with a smattering of brown.

"Beans?" I raised a skeptic eyebrow.

"Castor beans to be precise," Dr. Lewis clarified. "Ingesting at least four of them raw can topple over an adult human before they can say 'hey, my soup tastes funny'."

As soon as I received that explanation, I immediately felt a smirk forming on my face as the perfect idea entered my brain.

"Aha, now that's the face I like to see on my customers!" Dr. Lewis chuckled. "You know what you gotta do to get even and find peace in your life?"

"Yes. Yes I do," I replied confidently. "Now, uh, how much will this cost me?"

"Normally I'd demand five bucks, but given the weird aura I'm detecting from you, I'll waive the fee." Dr. Lewis smiled. "Appreciate the business!"

"Thanks!" I replied as I left the alley, before immediately grabbing my phone and calling Katherine. I didn't have to wait very long until she picked up. "Hey, Katherine. I... know what to do now. You mind meeting me in Big Sky as soon as possible?"

"Sure thing, Mike. I'll have a friend give me a lift, and I'll be there soon."

"Good." I nodded as I hung up.