i get to keep my kneecaps :DDDDD https://novelai.net/stories?id=1eff749d-94eb-4e21-ab34-81787f222587 story: Mike is having a nice time existing, but unfortunately the Stare Cat doesn't want Mike to exist! What will Mike do against Stare Cat's Unexisting Machine? Will he be able to avoid being turned into something so boring? Find out in this exciting episode of Mike The Zombie: The Series. *** The problem with not knowing what it was I wanted to see again was that when I did get around to looking for it, there were all these other things that looked like it and weren't. It made me feel like I was on the wrong side of a magic mirror, where if you didn't know exactly which one you'd been looking for, everything would look identical. I wandered through the crowd, my feet making small sounds on the hard floor. There wasn't much going on here—a band playing some kind of dance music, kids running around waving glow sticks and shouting at each other. They were mostly teenagers; they must have been friends from school or maybe just from the neighborhood. Everyone knew everyone else were doing random stuff. It was a big city after all. Not too many people left their houses without knowing who lived next door. A group of young women walked past me, laughing as they danced to the beat. Their clothes clung to them, showing off their bodies in a way that had nothing to do with clothing. I kept watching them until someone bumped into me and I stumbled forward. "Sorry," said the boy beside me. He was tall and skinny and didn't seem old enough to be out by himself at night. "What were you looking for?" "Nothing." He laughed. "It's a little late for that, isn't it? Are you lost?" "I'm fine," I told him. "Just...looking around." He grinned. "You should come dance with us. We're having fun." "No thanks. I don't really dance much anymore. I've got an important question to ask someone." "Oh yeah?" He seemed amused by me, almost condescending. "Well, I'll leave you alone then, if that's your choice." And then he walked away. My question was a simple one. "What is Stare Cat doing with that large thingy?" But there weren't any answers to my question. No one saw the large thingy, or even noticed it was there. I found myself standing in front of a wall of fake trees. A man wearing a suit and a tie was chatting up a pretty woman. She wore a short dress that showed her legs and a necklace that glittered like the sun. Her smile was coy and inviting. I watched them for a while, but eventually I gave up and moved on. The best part about New York was that you could always find somewhere new to go. But the worst part was that the place where you thought you might go to find something interesting, was probably full of people who already knew where they were going to go to find interesting things. But I needed to know what Stare Cat was doing with the massive machine. It seemed suspicious. And I was right. Because a few hours later, I got the call I'd been waiting for.
story part 2: *** "Is this you?" asked the voice on the phone. It was the same voice that called earlier, when Stare Cat had sent out those cameras. The voice sounded like it belonged to a grown-up. It was also the first time I'd heard it say anything other than "Yes." "Who are you?" I asked. "We can talk about that later," said the voice. "Right now, I need you to come over here." I hung up the phone and raced for the subway station. When I arrived, the streets were empty. Not just because it was nighttime, though. People were gone. Not just missing. Gone. As far as I could see, no one was anywhere near me. Just me and the shadows. I felt like I should be scared, but I wasn't. But then that was the moment I realized: The machine make people and objects stop existing. So why wouldn't it work on me? I wondered whether I should be worried about that. *** Stare Cat is having a very bad day. First there was the whole disappearing business. Then there was the fact that his eyes were starting to hurt. He knew what was happening to him. It was just a matter of time before he started to become someone else. Someone new. Someone more interesting. That was okay. This was an improvement from being a zombie. And he'd never liked zombies anyway. Now he was running through the city, trying to escape from someone who had very different ideas about how to use him. He ran down a street lined with old brick buildings, and then slipped inside one of them. He could hear his pursuer behind him. If only he'd brought along some kind of weapon. Or a friend. He then found and confronted me and the moment we get the most comfortable with each other, he pulled out the Unexisting Machine. "Do you recognize this?" he asked me. "Yeah. It's that dangerous device that makes anything stop existing." "Exactly!" he said, beaming. "I knew you'd know what it was." "Why are you bringing it with you?" "Because I need to know how it works. Once I do, I think I can fix it." "How?" "Don't worry about it. You'll see in due course. Now, let's get to work." He held the Unexisting Machine in both hands, then began pressing buttons. Suddenly, a person that Stare Cat remembered which whom was a victim of the Unexisting Machine appeared in front of his eyes. "I... I'm back... That thing... Eh, don't need to mention it. At least I'm back in reality again. How long have I been gone?" "About three years," said Stare Cat. "Three years? My God, I've aged a lot. But...but where am I?" "You're in my apartment." "Your apartment?" "I live here." "Hey! I used to live in this building. Right up there—" I shushed him. "Shh," I said. "Let me show you around. And tell me all about yourself, while I'm at it. Can you do that?" "Sure. I guess. What's with the camera?" "Uhh... it's for something..." END
