We followed Laura to the front door of Shelby Oaks Retirement Home, and she slowly opened the door. She had an anxious smile on her face as she peered inside. In the hallway in the back were two elderly people dusting off each other. Laura gently called out to them.
"Helloooo, we are friends! We just-" she was cut off by the old woman yelping and grabbing her presumed husband's arm. He patted her arm as he quickly led her inside one of the bedrooms, shutting the door behind him. Laura looked back at me with an angry expression.
"What? I didn't do anything, Laura!" I said. She shook her head and let out a sigh before heading inside. Church and Jay walked by me, also giving me a look. "Seriously, what did I do?" Jay answered by shaking her head as well, tentacles waggling.
We entered the retirement home and were walking towards the bedrooms when Laura stopped. She turned to address us. "Okay, they are old cuties and scared. They probably need friendly faces they're familiar with, soo…" she trailed off as she looked at me. I sighed and walked over to sit on the couch. Jay let out a little giggle, but Laura looked at her too, giving her a much softer look than she did to me. "Sorry, Jay, they're probably not accustomed to octopus people either." Jay's head tilted down in defeat, and I let out a little laugh as she walked to join me on the couch. She kicked my foot, and I let out a little "ow" as she did.
Laura, Church, and Patti continued down to the bedroom area while Jay and I sat together. I looked at her to talk when I noticed she did appear to be genuinely sad, which made me feel like an ass for laughing at them. I heard Laura knock at the bedroom door as I talked to Jay.
"Hey, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you while we had a moment," I said. Jay kept looking down as I continued. "There's a lot I'm grateful for with you around, part of which is you having kept me alive." She shook her head at that, but I went on. "But what I appreciate the most is your company. Church is cool, Laura too, and you know Patti is awesome, but I'm really grateful to have you." Jay was smiling but still looking down. I saw Laura crack open the bedroom door, and Patti went in, tag wagging. After a moment, Laura and Church went inside.
"Thank you, Max," Jay said. We sat quietly for a moment before I broke the silence.
"Hey Jay, what do you do when not a game manual?" I asked. She sat up and looked excited to talk.
"Well, I live in a digital room and do some hobbies or watch shows from the planets I've been to and collected."
"Ooh, what kind of hobbies?"
Before she could reply, the bedroom door opened, and Church came out. He walked up to us with a forced smile on his face and his hands behind his back. I gave him a worried look, but he spoke first through gritted teeth. "You are to come in and introduce yourselves to the Kellys and be nice."
"Yeah, okay, but what are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm really, really sorry, but Laura wants you to, um, cover up your face."
I eyed him and then his hidden hands. "What's behind your back, Church?" He just looked at me and forced a bigger smile as he brought his hands around. I just looked at what he revealed and said, "No fucking way, dude." In his hands was a pillowcase.
"Laura thinks both of your forms are too scary for Shelley and, uh, yeah. Sorry, dude," said Church. I grunted and slumped forward. Fucking hell, I need a new form. What was the new zone going to be again? Mythical beefcakes? Maybe I can be a buff Zeus or some shit, I thought. I snatched the pillowcase from his hands and looked at it. I prepared to put it on when Jay's hand reached out to mine. I looked at her, and she had a little twinkle in her big, octopus eyes.
"I've got a better idea," she said.
So Church and I entered the bedroom of the Kellys to see Laura sitting in a chair opposite Richard and Shelley, who were sitting as well. Patti was standing between Shelley's knees and wagging her tail as the elderly woman gave her pats. Shelley looked up at me with a happily surprised look while Richard gave me his best, sour old man look.
"Oh dear, what a beautiful scarf that is! Did you make it?" asked Shelley. Wrapped around my head was a scarf that Jay had been knitting this entire time. The damn thing was nearly twice my height in length, and there was a small slit for my eye sockets to peek through. It was really nice, but it did make me wonder where she was hiding this. Did Jay have pockets, I wondered? I shook my scarf-wrapped head no to Shelley's question.
"No ma'am, it was my friend Jay who made it. I don't know how to knit, only crochet," I said. Shelley let out a sweet, grandmotherly laugh.
"Crocheting was always easier on my hands as well. Laura here was telling me you're not really a skeleton?" Laura looked at me, and she looked genuinely happy. She patted a chair next to her for me to sit. I did before replying.
"No ma'am, this is just what I got turned into. I live down in Noble."
"Ooh, our grandson is in Noble! His name is Grayson. Do you know him?" she asked.
"No ma'am, I'm fairly new to the area." At that, the old man had finally had enough and barked out at us.
"What the hell do you people want? I recognized that little shit, what's his name?" Richard was looking around with a pointing finger and sees Church near the door. "Him! I remember you the last time we went to that jail room for safety! So what is it, huh? I know you all waited around for us to come out. You want money? Well, we don't have any!" The old man was shaking as he leaned back in his chair. I examined the details above his head.
Richard Kelly - Human - Jailor - Age: 84 - Current Race: Human
Below the word jailor was a timer counting down from twelve minutes. That must be his cooldown, which was way faster than my card. The perks of it being his class, I suppose. Laura was leaning forward and spoke in a soft, sweet tone.
"We just want to make sure you are both safe before we move on. That's all."
Richard was starting to seethe again, but Shelley put a hand on his arm, and he visibly calmed down. "Thank you, dear. We're okay. We're waiting here for any family that might come looking for us."
"It might be dangerous, though. Are you sure?" Laura was genuinely worried. A knock came from the door, and Jay's voice could be heard on the other side.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the world is almost done updating, and Jessica will reveal the world event. You may all wish to be out here for that." Shelley looked at the door and back at Laura.
"That's our friend Jay. She's an octopus lady," Laura said.
"Oh, that's nice! Octopuses are cute creatures, unlike skeletons. Sorry, dear," Shelley said while looking at me with the last bit. I stood up and started heading toward the door. God damn, I need a new form already!