Two months had passed. Drogo stood in yet another hotel room. He opened the wardrobe, pulled out a duffel bag and placed it on the bed. From it he took out the familiar pieces one by one – military boots, black trousers with side pockets, and a hoodie. Over it he threw a black military-style jacket. Last came the panama. As soon as he put it on, his body changed almost automatically. His shoulders dropped forward, his back bent, and the familiar hunched silhouette returned. Drogo was ready to act again.

  Meanwhile German was walking home after another meeting with the professor, rereading the notes in his notebook as he walked. During the past two months they had made enormous progress. At last they believed they had understood what had happened inside Gobby’s mind on that fatal day. Gobby’s cognitive system had received information about a threat, but his consciousness could not process the intensity of that information or the pressure that followed. The mind initiated a system reboot. Within that collapsing system another consciousness was present – Deda. The reboot unfolded like a catastrophic compression. Darkness inside the mind began to collapse inward like a forming black hole. Every element of consciousness compressed toward a single point, and then the sudden expansion tore those elements apart into fragments. The rupture affected not only the mind but also the body. Every sensory receptor transmitted signals of pain, and that pain was unbearable. At that moment Deda made a decision. He shielded the fragile consciousness of the child, covering it with himself so that the boy’s mind would not fragment into pieces. The consciousness of Deda itself suffered immense damage.

  Because Gobby was still very young, Deda had essentially become both his friend and the guardian Essence bound to him. In that moment two decisions were made. First, the Essence limited its influence over Gobby by locking itself in mental restraints so that another collapse could never occur. Because of this Gobby stopped seeing other Essences. Second, the Essence chose to absorb all incoming damage – both psychological and physical. Every impulse of pain was redirected into the consciousness of the Essence itself. That was why Gobby sometimes heard a low hum in his head. It was the silent cry of the Essence enduring the pain. Because of this protection Gobby appeared physically strong and unusually resistant to pain, since the impulses were experienced not by him but by the Essence protecting him.

  But this protection had a cost. By shielding Gobby and absorbing the pain, the Essence rapidly lost its life energy and its regeneration slowed. To survive it required a resource capable of sustaining the body and restoring energy. That resource was delicious food. That was why Gobby felt such a powerful attraction to food. Every meal gave the Essence the energy it needed to continue existing.

  German felt satisfied with the conclusions they had reached. He opened the front door of the house, dropped his bag near the entrance and stepped into the living room. Grandma, I’m home. Why does it smell so good in here? The living room connected directly to a small kitchen. German glanced to the left and saw a table set for one person. Grandma, what’s the occasion? Then he looked toward the kitchen and froze. Drogo was standing by the stove, calmly frying something in a pan. Without turning around he spoke. Hello, German. Sit down on the couch. I just need to finish the chimichurri sauce, and then we’ll talk.

  German instinctively stepped backward. He wanted to run. Don’t even think about it, Drogo said calmly. Remember your grandmother. German’s voice trembled. What did you do to her? Drogo replied without emotion. Nothing. Yet. And if you behave, nothing will happen. German swallowed. What do you want from me?

  Drogo lowered the heat under the pan. At first I wanted to kill you. You ruined my meeting with my food. But now I want to thank you. Because of you I changed. I used to be a predator – the Heart Reaver. Then the newspapers called me the Panama Hat Maniac. But now I have become something else. A conscious hunter. And all thanks to you. He turned slightly toward German. I need one more favor. Help me, and you and your grandmother will walk away alive. By the way, she seems like a very pleasant woman. German asked quietly, What favor? Drogo answered simply. Invite Gobby to dinner.

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  German shook his head. No. I won’t do that. Drogo’s voice remained calm. Then your grandmother dies slowly. You die as well. And I will still meet Gobby eventually. You and your grandmother will simply die for nothing. Think about it. German burst into tears. Slowly he pulled his phone from his pocket, his hands trembling. Drogo watched him calmly. You can tell him I’m here, he said quietly. Friends shouldn’t lie to each other.

  German dialed the number. Gobby… Gobby, he’s here. In my house. A moment later Gobby’s voice answered through the phone. Hey German. What happened? Who is there? German closed his eyes. The Panama Hat Maniac.

  The call cut off, and a flat signal filled the room. German slowly lowered the phone onto his knees and whispered, He hung up.

  The moment Gobby heard the fear in his friend’s voice, the defensive mechanism inside him activated. He entered the state of effect. What normally took twenty-five minutes on foot took him only minutes. He ran with unnatural speed, and with every step with every step his body seemed to grow denser. Within five or seven minutes he was already at German’s door. He burst inside without hesitation.

  In a single glance he saw German to the left, crying and helpless, and the enemy to the right. Gobby launched forward immediately, but the strike met him halfway. A waffle iron smashed into his face and threw him backward. Blood flooded one eye as he hit the ground.

  For a second he dropped onto all fours, breathing hard, then drove himself forward again without slowing.

  Drogo hurled the waffle iron toward him once more while his other hand reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a scalpel. Gobby deflected the iron aside and closed the distance. His arms wrapped around Drogo’s legs and he drove him violently into the floor. Drogo crashed down and Gobby immediately climbed into mount, pinning him with his weight. He climbed into mount and began striking Drogo’s body with heavy hammer-like blows.

  Drogo tried to drive the scalpel into Gobby’s leg, but the moment the blade descended Gobby caught his wrist. With a sudden shift of weight he twisted the arm and locked it into an armbar. The bone snapped sharply. Drogo rolled onto his side, clutching his broken arm, but Gobby was already moving again. He slipped behind him, took the back and locked his arms around Drogo’s neck while his legs wrapped around the torso. The hold tightened until Drogo’s body went limp.

  Gobby pushed the body away and rose to his feet. He turned toward German and took a step. German opened his mouth as if trying to shout something, but before the warning could come, Gobby suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed. Drogo had already pressed a cloth soaked with chloroform over his face.

  German gathered the last of his strength and rushed forward to help, but Drogo moved faster. He seized him by the throat and drove the scalpel into his stomach. Once, twice, three times. Then he threw him aside. German fell to the floor clutching his wound.

  Drogo rolled Gobby onto his back and sat beside him. Slowly he raised the scalpel above his head. German, holding his stomach, screamed, No! The blade plunged down just above the heart and Drogo began cutting. With surgical forceps he removed the heart and lifted it free. When German saw it, he lost hope.

  Drogo placed the heart onto a plate, poured chimichurri sauce over it and began eating it piece by piece. For several moments he was absorbed only in the taste. Then the sharp screech of tires broke the silence outside.

  Two black buses stopped in front of the house. A unit of soldiers in black uniforms poured out of them. At their head stood Cerberus – Commander of the Lord’s forces. He gave a single order. Open fire.

  A storm of bullets tore toward the house. Drogo grabbed the unfinished piece of the heart, shoved it into his mouth and ran toward the back door.

  Under the hail of bullets German crawled across the floor toward Gobby’s body. He lifted Gobby’s head onto his knees and cried with terrible force, while tears streamed down his face and fell onto the motionless face of his friend.

  Titles. German lay unconscious in a pool of blood beside Gobby. Two hands – the hands of an old man – grabbed German by his clothes and dragged him across the floor. Then the same hands took Gobby’s body and dragged it across the floor as well.