"Huh?" Dig rubbed his eyes. It wasn't because his surroundings were blurry. They were crystal clear. Bleak. Grey. Boring. A simple room with two doors. One regular wooden door and one big metal vault door.
Next to him was Jameson, looking at him slightly worried since Dig's demeanor suddenly changed.
Dig frowned and tried to understand what had just happened.
Slowly, the pieces came back to him.
He had convinced Luisa to let him slip out. It was a new string of words, but it wasn't the first time he had done it. She was surprisingly easy to convince like that.
Usually, it meant he could get away and spend a couple of hours wandering the city before returning to the apartment. That was the plan this time as well.
He was going to go to the store and buy some candy and other things to try using his Skill on before wandering around.
But he didn't get very far before returning to the Vault.
Almost as soon as he had left his dad's building out of sight, his vision went dark, and the next thing he knew, he was back where he started.
'Did I die? Again? But what killed me?'
Dig was confused to the point where he didn't care about Jameson's presence.
'No, more importantly, why am I dying all the time?'
Three times now, he had died within a day of claiming his first Boon. The first time, he died to the least snake-like Snake he had ever seen. The next time, his father disappeared, and Mogdo Dal 'accidentally' killed him. This last time, his death was a mystery after Arker was kidnapped by the Shuttle.
His father's absence meant the office and the company weren't as safe as before since his subordinates had no reason to listen to someone who might not come back, while having many monetary and powerful reasons to do as they wished.
Arker's absence…
'Did dad tell him to guard me around the clock or something?'
Dig knew that Winter was worried about his safety. But he didn't think it was that extreme.
'I guess I'll have to ask.'
"I'm fine, by the way. Just needed to think a little," Dig said while undressing before heading into the Vault, grabbing the black rock again, and leaving. Arker drove him to the office, where they took the stairs to the top floor.
"Arker, are you or someone else always keeping watch over me?" Dig asked while they made the climb.
Arker stopped mid-step and looked at Dig with some hesitation.
"...Did you notice us? Please don't tell your father. He didn't want you to know."
Dig frowned.
"No, it's fine. But what are you protecting me from? It's not like I'm going around picking up Cobs or getting in fights with strangers."
"...We don't know," Arker admitted.
"So you aren't even sure if you're protecting me from something? Isn't that just a waste of time?"
"Ah, no. We do know there is something or someone out there waiting for an opportunity to kill you. We just don't know what or who it is or why they harbor such a grudge toward you."
"For how long?" Those were not news Dig liked, and he had more questions than answers so far. But he could tell that he wouldn't be getting much more information since it seemed Arker and the others barely knew anything.
"A few years by now." Arker scratched the back of his head, unsure of the exact timeline.
"So…For the past few years, I have never once been truly alone?" Dig asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Arker nodded before he could think twice.
"Oh, uh, I mean, well…Yeah. But we have done our best to make sure you didn't notice us and not to infringe on your privacy. Most of the time, we just had to flare our presence nearby, and whoever's targeting you would withdraw."
"Setting aside your stalking for a minute, you knew I was targeted, and you could sense their presence. How come they haven't been caught yet?"
"They are very good at running away."
"Don't we have people who are good at chasing?" Dig asked, his frown so deep one might worry whether he would start getting wrinkles.
"We do. Not once have any of us caught a glimpse of them. And since we don't want to leave you alone, in case there's more of them, we have been a little limited in our tactics."
Arker didn't mean anything by that, but Dig couldn't help but feel like a burden on both his father and his father's subordinates.
However, he got the answer he wanted. He had 'died' last time because of this mysterious threat. The Shuttle had kidnapped Arker, leaving a gap in his protection.
'So, why did Luisa let me leave if she knew all this?' Dig sighed deeply and sat down on the stairs for a moment, letting the cool, hard surface keep him grounded while he weighed his options.
'Let's see here now…I can stay here and try to find out more about this mysterious threat, but the next person to ride the elevator will be taken by the Shuttle. If it's any of the people working to protect me, I'm sure I will either have to live here for the rest of my life or risk death by sneaking out.
'If the Shuttle takes any of the strike team members or captains, the city will be at risk. Possibly. If it takes my dad, I will be at risk. And if it takes anyone else, something else will surely lead to a negative outcome.
'...If I don't convince Dad to get rid of the elevator without anyone stepping into it. Yeah. That won't happen. Looks like I only have one option right now.' Dig sighed, slapped his knees, and stood up again.
Then, he entered the nearest floor and stepped into the elevator. He stopped Arker from following him.
"Tell the old man that this is close to how I felt all those times," He said before the doors closed.
Then, he just pressed a random button and let the Shuttle take him to the Underbelly.
It was a scary place, but so far, it was the only death he could have survived if he had been a little better.
He had only seen a fraction of the Underbelly, but so far, it was better than the surface.