Etched In Their Minds

Duodeviginti: Wild Wild West

Recap; Isaac and Ina had not seen nor interacted with each other since they fought. Isaac was visited by Omega in a dream. Ina experienced a 'nightmare' and found out what really happened to the First Ancestor and how she got the Necronomicon. Then the last chapter ended with Ina being in New York City, New York.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Isaac's eyes moved to the direction of the noise. The doorbell ringed a few more times before stopping.

He just got out of the shower and was resting on his couch. With his wet hair, Isaac stood up and went to the door. His towel sprawled over his head, he opened the door and looked at the guy in front of him.

"Isaac! Why didn't you pick up your phone?" he said.

"Huh? The hell you talkin' about? My phone didn't even make a noise," Isaac replied.

The brown-skinned man in front of him was a friend all the way from when he first arrived at the orphanage.

"Anyway, remember Unc Junsu?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"He got into an accident and is in a coma."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I just learned about it an hour ago."

"...Damn," he said as his face turned grim.

Isaac felt sad and extreme worry. Junsu was a single father that helped around in the orphanage from time to time. Junsu was like that one cool uncle to every kid in the orphanage, so hearing the news was impactful.

"How is he? Is it serious?"

"I don't know the details."

"All right, wanna come in for a bit?"

"Yeah, aight."

-trust-

Isaac tried turning on his phone, but it didn't work.

[Oh, it has no battery.]

He went to charge it and headed to the kitchen for a drink.

"You want a drink?" he asked his friend who was on the phone.

"Gimme a pop," he replied, then immediately diverted his focus on his phone call.

Isaac grabbed two cans of coca-cola and handed one to his friend.

They chilled on the couch for a bit before Isaac's friend got done calling the person he was talking to.

"I'm planning to go back to Brooklyn and visit Unc Junsu. Wanna come?"

Isaac thought about it for a bit. If he left the town, he wouldn't be able to meet Ina. He would also be able to visit some friends, along with comatose Junsu. Strictly speaking, Isaac desired alone time to think about his predicament.

[Maybe going back to my roots would help...]

"Yeah, I'll come," he replied after some thought.

"Great. We'll go with my car in the evening. You got work?"

"Not much. I can finish by four."

"Aight, we got a date. Imma excuse myself now."

"All right, take care."

They stood up and hugged each other before Isaac's friend left.

-country-

Isaac's childhood friend, Jeffrey, drove his car towards New York. They were the only two going back, leaving both their girlfriends in the town.