'I'm too tired for this' Mekk thought as he left his cramped apartment and made his way to the diner. He needed breakfast.

  As he made his way through the streets, grumbling all the while, he pushed through people in a hurry.

  'Too slow.' he thought as he squeezed his way between a couple at a pace closer to a jog than a walk for breakfast.

  He saw his destination, a small, slightly rundown diner and crossed the street. Careful not to step on some Fae talking on the sidewalk before finally reaching the diner, his phone rang in his pocket.

  He got in and made his way to the counter.

  Stamping his foot softly in irritation at the old man in front of him. In Mekks humble opinion, you didn't need eternity to order.

  Mercifully, the old man finished and made his way to his table. Mekk ordered a slice of pie and took out his still ringing phone. It was Kraun.

  "What's wrong?" He asked, not in a mood to talk.

  "Well good morning to you too. Where are you? I had to pull a few strings to get this gig for you, remember? I don't exactly appreciate being forced to wait. You know that I could just do the job without you, right?" replied Kraun. The old man was salty about the "delay".

  " I'm at Jerry's. Didn't you say we'd start at 8:00? It's fifteen past seven. I'm just taking some time to eat." Mekk said.

  "You wouldn't need that time if you actually slept. Just because you have superspeed doesn't mean you can always be late!" Kraun retorted.

  "For the last time, you old bastard, it's not superspeed! Nice if it was, but it isn't. Now stop nagging me. I'll be there on time!" Mekk said curtly before hanging up.

  A waitress brought the slice of he ordered and he immediately started eating. He wasn't dealing with this on an empty stomach.

  ******

  Mekk arrived at the docks at 7:30. The salty air irritating his nose. Why did they have to meet so close to the sea?

  He really should've brought ear protection, come to think of it. Especially with this old man screaming in his ear.

  "There you are! We're late cause of your slow ass!" Kraun yelled. The man had a real talent for getting on Mekk's nerves.

  "How are we late? We still have thirty minutes before we're supposed to start!" Mekk said, looking at the clock on his phone.

  "Time's important when you're scavenging in a Henje. Try spending an hour in one of those things! Then you can try telling me 'It can wait!'" Kraun retorted, voice nasally as he mocked Mekk.

  "Well I'll find out, won't I?" Mekk said, voice lowering as he reminded himself just who he was talking to.

  Kraun was an unreasonable old bastard, but he did get him this gig.

  "So, what are we doing?" Mekk asked. Kraun gave him a look.

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  "I mean what are we looking for? You can't tell me we're looking for random scrap in a Henje of all things. Not with this pay." Mekk said.

  "We don't have a name for it, but Stellar wants us to get some amulet for him out of the Henje. We've got the location, we've got the talisman. All we need is a two man team. Namely, us." Kraun said. Pride welling in his voice.

  "Stellar? The big, blonde guy? Shoots light at you like some overgrown flashlight? Can't he do it himself?" Mekk said as he flexes his fingers. The colors around his hand seeming to get duller.

  "Of course. But he's a 'hero'. More suited to beating up crooks than risking his life in Henje travel. Besides, does it matter? Just means more profit if we can keep it under wraps" Kraun said, eyeing Mekk's hand. "Ready with that superspeed?" he asked.

  "For the last time, that's not what it is!" Mekk said, almost shouting at him but biting his tongue.

  "I say it how I see it, kid." Kraun replied.

  ******

  "I'm just saying, it's more complicated than that. It's not 'superspeed'" Mekk said, still not letting go of the argument as they made their way to a nearby ship's hull covered in runes. He adjusted his gear, feeling uncomfortable with the added weight.

  "You move from here to there faster than people should move. That's superspeed." Kraun said matter-of-factly as he took out the talisman. The obsidian disk pulsing blue in tandem with the runes on the hull as he got closer.

  "If I had superspeed, I wouldn't be stuck doing jobs like this, would I? You don't see me crossing oceans on the daily, do you?" Mekk retorted, glaring at Kraun as he prepared the gate.

  "Speed is speed. Doesn't matter how it works, doesn't matter the limits, doesn't matter the source" Kraun said as he dragged the talisman's face in a pattern on the hull runes. The pulsing reaching a staccato rhythm as a sound reminiscent of cracking glass filled the docks.

  "Is this even legal?" Mekk wondered aloud as he gave his dagger a once-over. Speaking more to himself than the old man.

  "What? The ship? Once we're done, we'll clean off the runes. Or do you know another way to get to the Henje?" The old man replied as the cracking stopped and a portal opened on the hull of the ship.

  They stepped through, Mekk wincing at the sound of crunching glass beneath their feet.

  ******

  "Huh. Most Henjes don't look this.....normal." Kraun commented as he looked around at what was apparently supposed to be the Henje.

  "Normal? It's an empty city with a red sky! How is this normal to you?" Mekk said, eyes darting around.

  "You've been to the others, haven't you?" asked Kraun as he began walking Eastward.

  Mekk froze. He had a point there. This was much more mundane than most.

  *******

  As they made their way to where the amulet was supposed to be, Mekk couldn't resist filling the silence. Anything but silence.

  "So what does this thing look like anyway? The amulet." He said after rushing to keep up with Kraun.

  "Small, gold. Apparently 'overwhelming in it's radiance' whatever that means. Should stand out in a place like this." Kraun said as he led the way.

  "Yeah, speaking of which, this is a city."

  "Go on, Mekk."

  "Amulets are tiny. I'm gonna need something more than 'small and gold' if I'm going to find it in this place." Mekk said, flexing his fingers.

  "Okay. Just look for the worst looking building you can find. That's where it should be. Don't ask me why it would be in a ruined building, that's just what Stellar told me." Kraun said as they rounded a corner.

  "Because Stellar's such an informed, intelligent and trustworthy guy, right?" Mekk said, opening and closing his fist as he walked. Something wasn't right with this place.

  "Hey, Mekk? How long have we been walking?" asked Kraun.

  "I don't know. Thirty minutes, maybe. Do you feel stiff?" asked Mekk, rolling his shoulders.

  "We were supposed to reach it in 10 minutes" said Kraun.

  Mekk froze. Slowly, he turned to look at Kraun.

  "What do you mean by that?" He asked, shifting in the light armor that composed much of the gear. Why did he feel so stiff?

  "I mean what I said. We were meant to get there in ten minutes. It's been thirty, and I can still see the portal. Why are you fidgeting so damn much?" Kraun asked.

  "Cause I'm feeling stiff. Sure you don't feel that? Why are you so calm?" Mekk was some inches short of stretching every few seconds. The colors around him were getting duller, his movements faster. Unnaturally fast.

  *Click* *Click* *Click*

  Mekk spun blindingly fast to face something from his right, a smoke-like substance wafting off of him. "Do you hear that?"

  "What? Hear what? It's quiet." Kraun backed away a few steps.

  *Click* It was closer.

  "That! Did you hear that!?" Mekk was a blur as he kept shifting and turning to face the sound. Where was it? There was an oppressive grey around him as he got more agitated.

  "Calm down, Mekk" Kraun was pulling out a pistol, watching his friend closely.

  "How can I be calm with that Thing here!?" Mekk's eyes darted rapidly as he rushed from place to place. He couldn't stop. Not with It here.

  "What thing? Listen, just relax. This clearly isn't a normal Henje. It's probably something that only affects Dievs like you." Kraun tried to reason with Mekk, keeping his pistol ready.

  *Click*

  "Or it's something that only Dievs can fight." Mekk retaliated. He had taken out his combat knife, eyes feral.

  "Look. I won't pretend I understand what's going on right now, kid. But damn it! We need to leave this place soon." Kraun said. His grip on the pistol faltering.

  "What we need is to find this Thing and kill it" Mekk adjusted his grip on the blade between movements. He had to end It.

  "Do you even know what it is? Can it even be killed? We just spent the last half hour covering 20 metres of space, we can't just blindly fight something that might not even be there!" Kraun shouted, trying to get his friend back to his senses.

  *Click*.......*Click*

  Mekk stayed quiet for a moment before relenting. "Fine. We get the amulet for that glorified flashlight. We get it and we leave. But the moment I see that Thing, Kraun, I'm killing it. I don't care if you're with me or not."

  "Hopefully it won't come to that, kid." Kraun said, his voice low. He wasn't going to ask what the 'Thing' was.

  They started moving after that.

  Mekk never lowered his guard. Never put his knife down. Kept twitching and lashing out at the disgusting clicking.

  Kraun kept his hand level with his holster. Just in case.