Robotic Night

Chapter Three: Meeting Roxanne Wolf

Just as it always has been since the day of its opening, the Lobby was crowded with people. It always both amazed and disgusted me on how the place could be thriving and be in business. To me, it was like an invitation for something far more terrible than having more than 150 kids go missing for the past 2 years. If it were up to me, I would've had this place shut down long ago. Unfortunately, I wasn't the one to make that kind of call.

To be honest, I always saw the place up and running, despite all that's been happening, something of a slap in the face to all of the grieving families that remained in or left Hurricane. It was like the company's way of giving the middle finger. Maybe even saying the likes of 'We don't give a shit about your missing kids. As long as you keep coming and giving us all your damn moola, we will stay open and rub salt on your wounds'. If that was truly the message they were giving, I couldn't wait for the day that karma would come to bite them in the ass... hard.

"This is going to be a great day!" Lisa exclaimed in excitement. I rolled my eyes amusingly at that.

'Always getting excited over everything, as usual,' I thought to myself.

"Okay, a quick note before you two head off," my father said. Lisa and I looked at him. "Since today is a school night, we won't be staying here for very long."

"For how long?" Lisa asked.

"An hour," my father replied simply. "Take that time to go have fun as much as possible."

To say I was surprised would be an understatement. Usually, on a school night, we would stay at the Pizzaplex for like 2 to 3 hours, enough time to have a good time. I didn't know why my father went for this decision. Maybe it was to test to see if we would be fine or something like that. Whatever the reason, we had to use this time very wisely.

He turned his attention to me. "Mihael, do you have your phone on you?"

I didn't say anything. Instead, I felt my pockets to see if I put my phone in any of my pockets. To make it clear from the get-go, it wasn't a fancy phone, by any means. Unlike most people who always go for the latest phone that came out, I went for something a bit different. Rather than an iPhone or an Android, I decided to get a flip phone and have that as my first phone. I've had it for 3 years now so my parents were planning on getting me a cell phone in a few months.

My eyes widened slightly, a feeling of dread washed over me as I felt no sign of my phone in any of my pockets. I felt my pockets again to confirm what I already knew. I looked at my father, my heart feeling like it was going to stop beating any second.

"Um, I... must've forgotten my phone back at the house," I said slowly. A strange expression formed on his face at that. Something told me that he was somewhat disappointed with me for forgetting about it.

To make it clear, I always made a habit of making sure I had my flip phone on me, something my father made very clear the moment he got me the thing. Me forgetting my flip phone wasn't something that happened a lot. For the last 3 years since I got it, I forgot to have it on me 3 times.

My father opened his mouth, getting ready to say something to me. I braced myself since I knew what it was going to be.

"Don't worry, Dad, I brought mine," my sister chimed in. We looked to see that Lisa did, indeed, have her phone with me.

Unlike me, she had the latest iPhone that just came out about a year ago. When she turned 11, my father decided that Lisa was trustworthy enough to have her own phone. He was right. Unlike most kids her age, she understood the dangers of the Internet and avoided anything suspicious.

"Alright, good," my father said. I turned my full attention to him. "Now, before you two go, I want to make sure that you know the rules of-"

"Dad, don't worry about it," I said. "I will make sure nothing happens to Lisa. I know the guidelines as well. After all, even if someone did try to take her, I will give them a well-deserved beating. You taught us how to defend ourselves, remember?"