MarkiSPYer

Chapter Seven: Darkness Rises

Eight thousand eight hundred miles away from Los Angeles, California lies the town of Brighton, Sussex, a city located on the southern coast of England. It was known for its beautiful view of the sunset at the famous Brighton pier.

It was just the start of the day, the sun had just risen, illuminating the horizon in a stunning orange hue. The city was covered in a thin layer of snow, and it was not unusual in January. From houses to streets, to cars parked on the driveways, almost everything was white from a person's view.

Despite all of this, business in Brighton did not slow down one bit, it was still a bustling place filled with people going on their daily jobs and cars driving in and out of parkways and garages.

Among the crowd was a tall thin man with vibrant blue hair, wearing a thick grey hoodie with side pockets where he had his hands stuffed inside, trying to shake off the cold winter morning.

He was shivering, breathing out air from his mouth that instantly turned into smoke. It was his first time to visit Brighton, he never knew it was that damn freezing. In fact, it was so cold that it fogged up his thick-rimmed prescription glasses.

The man hurriedly walked down the street, entering a local cafe that had warmer, more tolerable temperature. He ordered a cup of warm coffee then sat down at one of the vacant spots near the large window pane before glueing his eyes on the screen of his phone and chatting away.

"One hot Caramel Macchiato for Ethan?" The barista called out.

His head cocked up once he heard his name. Ethan rushed over to retrieve his drink.

"It's cold out there, isn't it?" The female barista said.

"Yeah, it's freezing," He agreed, "Thanks," He picked up his order and proceed to walk back to his place.

"Oh, and sir?" She called out, making him stop in his tracks.

The man turned to face her, "Yes?"

"You forgot to collect your stickers, for the promo,"

"Oh yeah!" He fished out a small card that had stickers he had collected over the months. "I almost forgot about that."

She took his card and flipped it open, "Wow, sir, you've already collected them all. which means you can claim your freebie." The woman said.

"Really?"

"Yeah," She said with a smile on her face, "Just let me validate this, and I'll come back with your planner." She walked away.

"Sure thing."

Just after a few minutes the barista returned with a still-sealed booklet that had leather as its cover, complete with a big engraved 2017 number in front.

"Here you go," She handed the item to him along with the used sticker card.

"Thanks."

"Don't lose it, though. I bet it'll come in handy," She said.

"Yeah, to fix my messy schedule," He laughed, "See ya!" He bid.

"Thank you, sir!" She waved goodbye.

The man zoomed back to his spot before anyone could take it from him and before he knew it, he was yet again immersed into his phone.

"Excuse me?" Someone tapped his shoulder, it was a voice of a girl.

"Yeah?" Ethan detached from his phone and looked up, greeting her with a smirk.

The girl appeared to be at least thirteen to fifteen years old, average build and height, fair complexion, and having curly hair that was fixed behind her head into a puffy bun. The look on her face was beyond joy, it was excitement. In her hands were her phone with its camera app already launched, a spiral notebook, and pen.