It is not easy to reach your energy through the map. It is much easier to see through it. You manage it however. Pick at the paint peeling from the wall. The edges are sharp. They will cut the map if they hit the paper right. They do not. The paint simply crumbles. Eggshell coloured chips fall to the carpet. Too small for the young man to notice.

You change tactics. Peel rather than than pick. This has slightly more success. A larger piece leans away from the wall. Presses against the map. Stays attached to the wall. The fragment is still small. Yet it makes a dent in the paper. Doesn't tear. Does mark the city the knight pointed out.

That might be enough if you can get him to look.

The young man is half turned away from the map. The city would only barely be in his periphery. He will need to turn to notice anything.

The paint is peeling in multiple spots. There is a particularly pointed piece near the bottom left corner. The corner that will be most visible. You gather your energy. Wrap it around the paint. Tug hard. The shard tears right through the paper. Takes with it some of the plaster behind. Rips off the corner of the map. Paint and paper fall together. Land with a muffled thump.

It is enough.

The young man turns quickly to look. The fear is back. The air is heavy with it. He stares at the wall. The map. The bulge that is his destination. His hands form fists again.

"It's a trap."

It's not.

"It's him."

It's me.

He reaches towards the map. His fingers tremble. Press against the paper. Trace the name of the city. The path between it and him.

"But if it's not…"

A pause. An uncertainty. A decision. A certainty.

"Even if it is… if Derek is alive, I owe it to him to help. He died for me. Or, he meant to, at least. I can walk into a trap for him."

Please don't do that again, man. Once was already too much, seriously.

The young man pulls out his phone. Looks at the time. 22:17. He mutters a curse. Unlocks the phone. You watch as he purchases a bus ticket. The time on the ticket shows 22:24. He has seven minutes to make it to the bus. It will be close.

Last bus on New Year's Day, I'm surprised there's even one running at all. He's gonna have to hurry for it, though.

He seems to realise this too. He pauses just long enough to snatch a coat from beside the door. Then he rushes from the room. You follow him down the hall. Down three flights of stairs. Through a lobby. He does not leave immediately. He should leave immediately. Yet he does not. He runs into a dining room instead.

It is mostly abandoned. Anyone not still celebrating will be in bed by now. The exceptions are few. There is a long table down one side of the room. It is laden with food. The young man loads as much as he can into his bag. Some things are impossible to take. Too saucy. Too crumbly. Too sticky. These are disregarded. Much of the rest is packed.

Precious minutes have been wasted. He has only four left.

He runs back into the lobby. Through the big doors. Down the street. You do not know how far the bus stop is. He is running out of time.

The pavement is uneven. He is not looking. He stumbles on untied laces. Hooks a toe on a protruding brick. Falls. Yelps.

Two minutes left.

He is dazed. Breathing hard. Eyes wide. Unseeing. He is in another moment. Another world. One that does not exist.

Get up! Avery, the bus!

The knight is panicking.

One minute left.

Something snaps into place in the mind of the young man. He shakes his head. Pushes himself to his feet. There are tears on his cheeks. He does not address them. Just runs. Barrels around a corner. The bus stop is within view. He is close.

Not close enough.

A bus comes to a stop beside it. Lets one person off. The young man speeds up. Desperate. Afraid. Reaching out. Opening his mouth to shout.

Too slow. The doors close. The bus drives away. Without him.

The young man reaches the stop three seconds later. Three seconds late.

He collapses on the bench. Defeated. There is a long moment in which he simply stares forward. Disbelieving. Then he doubles over. Head in his hands. Shoulders shaking. He is silent. He is sobbing.

You do not want to watch. You want to turn away. Return to your haven. Leave this world behind. But the knight will not let you. You feel his power. Holding you still. Making you watch. So that he can watch. He does not want to leave his friend.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I tried. I tried. I can't… I tried, I did, I promise."

I know. I know you did. And you'll keep trying, cause that's your way. It's okay, Avery, you'll make it.

Somehow that works. You don't understand it. The young man cannot hear you. Cannot hear the knight. Yet he seems to calm down. His sobs subside. He shoulders still. His breathing eases.

"I'll keep trying. For you, I'll keep trying. You never gave up on me, after all, so what kind of friend would I be if I gave up on you? If there's even a chance that I can save you, I'm gonna take that. I promise."

I know.

The young man takes a few moments to calm. To breathe. To settle. Then he sits up again. Wipes his eyes. Reaches into his bag. You assume he is searching for a tissue. But he frowns. Rummages around. Pulls out something else. An envelope.

The knight gasps.

I thought he might have found that already. He's had that bag as long as the laptop, how did he not see this before?

The young man stares at the envelope. At his name written on the front. The handwriting is near illegible. Written too fast with a shaking hand. Yet there is no doubt that the name belongs to the young man.

The paper rustles as he opens it. Pulls out the page within. Unfolds it. Reveals a letter written in the same script. He is shaking too much to read it. So he lifts the bag onto his lap. Lays the paper atop it. Uses just a few fingers to hold it steady in the wind.

I forgot how sappy I was in that, damn. I still stand by what I said about his nails though, matte green would look great on him.

The young man sits perfectly still for a long while. Does not move. Does not make a sound. Does not react at all. He is in shock. Or grieving. Or… something. You do not understand. Not really. The knight was correct about that. This does not make sense to you.

It is several moments before he leans his head forward. Rests it on the paper in front of him. Releases a sound akin to a whine. He does not sob again. But whatever he is feeling is a lot. Too much for human capabilities. So he is become animal. It seems to help at least. He straightens a little after only a few whimpers.

"It's not true."

It is clear he does not believe his words. He has not yet fully accepted that the knight is alive. Yet neither does he want to believe that he is dead. He wants the knight to be alive. He wants to find him. He does not believe that he will. But he wants to.

"I need to help him. I need to try. It's not true, it's not."

A pause. Dread. He knows he is lying to himself. He does not know which is the lie.

"He died, he knew he would, but he did it anyway. He died. He's told me now that he died. I can't keep chasing a ghost story, even if he would for me."

Yet he does not stand. He stays where he is. Stubborn. Uncertain. He finds one line in the letter with a finger. Reads aloud.

"You'll come looking for me. You always do, even if I'm not there."

You chase me in every world. I just need you to chase me again in this one, too.

The young man folds the letter with great care. Tucks it back in the envelope. Returns the envelope to the bag. Withdraws the tissue he was looking for.

He does not speak again. His decision has been made. There is no mistaking what he has chosen to do.

He cleans his face. He is shaking due to the cold now. Shivering rather than trembling. The coat is removed from his lap and instead applied to his arms. A pair of gloves is produced from his pocket and pulled on. There is nothing more he can do to keep warm. This is the best it will get.

The bench is hard and cold. Yet the young man lies down. Curls up. Keeps a tight grip on his bag. Seeks a distraction. Pulls out his phone. The time shows 22:36. The battery shows 28%. He pulls a charging bank from the bag. He needs to plug a cable in before he can plug the phone in. It will make it through the night now. So will he. He is determined to.

The young man wakes with a jolt. As if from a nightmare. He is on his feet. Looking around. Eyes wide. On edge. Shoulders curled defensively. The sun is just rising. He fell asleep watching a video. You recognised the knight in it. It seems to have spooked the young man.

I'm not entirely sure why he was watching that again. He knows how it goes. Maybe he was looking for a clue or a weakness or something? Not that he'll need to know any weaknesses. That monster is gone, and he won't be coming back for a good long while.

It is the first time the knight has addressed the mysterious villain as anything other than he or him. It has cleared up nothing.

The young man establishes that he is in no immediate danger. Sits back down. Unplugs his phone. The phone shows the time as 08:49. The date as 01-02. The next bus is at 09:02. He does not want to buy a ticket. He already purchased one. He will try to use that.

I don't think that'll work, but he's welcome to try, I guess.

He passes time on his phone while he waits. Replies to messages. Many are days old. People are worried about him. He eases their fears expertly. He is a natural at this. The few that respond are immediately appeased.

The bus arrives. No one steps off. He is the only one waiting to get on. He has all the time in the world. He smiles at the driver.

"Morning!"

"D'you have a ticket, or do you need to buy one?"

"Here's the thing. I did have one for the last bus last night, but I tripped and missed it by like, two seconds, and the driver wouldn't stop for me!"

"So you need to buy one."

"I was hoping you could help me out, actually. Because I paid for the bus yesterday, but I was basically denied service, so I was wondering if you could do me a solid and let me on here so I don't need to try and fight to get my money back."

He really is good. You can tell there is a threat hidden in his words. You do not know what it is. The driver has no such uncertainties however. He sighs. It is too early for this.

"Fine, whatever. Just get on. I don't care."

The young man smiles again. The world lights up around him.

"Thanks!"

He sits towards the back of the bus. There is one other person on board. They pay each other no mind.

The bus travels a few stops. People get on. Less people get off. The vehicle fills up. The young man watches out the window. Fiddles with his fingers. Makes quiet noises to himself. He is putting effort into staying present. Fighting to stay in this world. It is a fight he is winning.

The bus grumbles. Sputters. Growls. Rumbles to a stop.

Passengers cry out in confusion. The driver curses. Cars swerve around the vehicle. It does not move.

"Sorry, folks! I'll go see what the problem is, just be patient for a little bit."

The driver gets out. Moves around the front of the bus.

The young man starts looking worried. His eyes close. His head leans back.

"It's fine."

His voice is quiet. He is reassuring only himself.

He's worried it's that idiot trying to stop him. I don't blame him. It'll probably be a while before he feels safe again, I'd guess.

The bus driver returns quickly. Addresses his passengers.

"I'm afraid we're not going anywhere before a mechanic gets here, which will be a while with this traffic. You're all going to have to get off. Refunds will be given to everyone with a valid ticket if you apply on the website."

The young man is the last one off the bus. He is busy staying calm. Only once the others are off does he stand. He is afraid. He does not know why. Not really. He looks over his shoulder every few steps.

He makes it most of the way down the street on unsteady legs. Then falls against a wall. Stops to catch his breath. Takes in the entire street. The buildings. The people. The cars. You are the only one watching him. You and the knight. No one else notices him. Yet he searches for eyes on him.

He has bigger problems. He cannot walk to the next city. It is too far. There is no telling when the next bus is. The traffic is slowing everything down. He will go insane if he holds still for too long. He needs to keep moving. His options are very limited.

The way I see it, he can take a taxi or hitchhike. He's gonna struggle with that decision though, neither are ideal. I don't know how much money he has so a taxi probably won't take him very far and he'll be broke afterwards, and hitchhiking isn't safe at the best of times, let alone when he's as stressed and out of it as he is now. He'll either jump at the tiniest movement and make himself seem suspicious, or he'll miss a real danger and get himself in trouble. You need to decide for him, and quick, or he'll fall apart right here.