Daniel was jerked out of his dreamless sleep by his alarm. Blearily he reached over his nightstand to stop the noise. He sighed and got up, heading over to the bathroom to get dressed. It was only halfway through dressing into his suit, when he remembered it was the weekend. He blinked, looking down at his crumpled, half-buttoned dress shirt, and frowned.

  Well, it was probably about time he went shopping, anyway.

  The automatic doors opened in front of the young man, and the cool rush of air-conditioning washed over him. Banal music played over the speakers as Daniel looked around. Ignoring the bright advertisements, he walked like a man on a mission. He would only be buying what was necessary today.

  Toilet paper, instant noodles, and a lot of energy gel. Only the essentials. Dimly, in the back of his mind, he had the feeling he was forgetting something. Something small, related to electricity. But he quickly forced his mind back on track. He wasn’t looking to spend money on any extras today.

  As he passed by the fresh produce section however, he found himself stopping to think. Energy gel was all well and good, but it was nice to have a fresh meal every once in a while. Daniel nodded to himself. Having made his mind up, he promptly turned and walked back to the frozen food section, picking up a frozen lasagna.

  Daniel smiled with satisfaction. This would be a good change of pace.

  As he left the grocery store, the young man was filled with a sense of freedom he hadn’t felt in a while. If things went the way he wanted them to, he’d be having a lot of alone time. People were all well and good, but everyone needed time alone, and Daniel more than others. Unfortunately for the would-be loner, when he got back to his apartment, he found an unexpected guest waiting for him.

  She was about the same height as himself, wearing a casual and simple outfit, decked out in jeans and a plain white shirt. Her gloved hands carried heavy-laden cloth bags, and a brown ponytail snaked out from behind her red cap. And finally, underneath the cap’s visor were angry hazel eyes.

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  “Daniel.”

  He flinched instinctually when she called his name. Her tone of voice was one she normally used when she was upset. But why? He was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything to her recently. Or to anyone, really.

  “Hi Sam,” he said tentatively, trying to test the waters.

  If anything, that only made her angrier. The young woman exhaled forcefully, trying to control her temper.

  “Would it kill you to check your phone every once in a while?” She said through gritted teeth.

  Daniel took his phone from his pocket and turned it on, revealing several missed calls and irate messages.

  “Sorry,” he said, “left it on silent.”

  Now that really made her mad.

  “Daniel, what exactly is the point of your phone if you never pick it up?” She said in an even tone of voice.

  She sounded calm, but her voice was beginning to pitch upwards. He knew she was about to lay into him, so his mind raced to think of a method to diffuse the situation.

  “I was... distracted.”

  “By what?” She snapped.

  Daniel spotted his savior out of the corner of his eye.

  “By that.” He said, pointing behind her.

  She turned angrily before suddenly stopping. Both of them could see the creature watching them from the end of the hall, beady eyes focused on the new intruder.

  “Daniel, what the hell is that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She looked at him in disbelief.

  “It just started hanging around the apartment a few days ago.”

  “...And you didn’t call pest control?” She asked, side-eyeing the creature.

  “It doesn’t bother me much, so I leave it alone.” Daniel said, though he’d certainly thought about it more than a few times.

  He rummaged through one of his shopping bags, retrieving a pouch of energy gel, before twisting the cap off and laying it on the ground.

  “Let’s go inside. It’s pretty smart, so it probably won’t do anything to us.” He said, opening his apartment door.

  Samantha followed him slowly, eyes fixed on the creature as she entered. As soon as they went inside, the creature came out of its hiding place and approached the pouch.