They made their way to the center of the plaza, with Zain keeping noticeably quiet.

  “Umm…you okay buddy? You tired?” Brayden asked, his face marked with worry. He took a sucker from his pocket and prodded Zain’s cheek lightly with it. Perhaps he thought that sugar would do the trick?

  The rentable cart that he hauled whirred as it gently floated above the ground, slowly following behind them, carrying all of the groceries they had bought from the store. Usually, Zain would’ve been amazed by the technology, but he had more things on his mind at the moment.

  But...what was the point of worrying? There was still so much to do, so Zain decided that it was best to stop thinking about it.

  Yes, instead of thinking of fucked up shit like dismembered children, he would rather think of things less messed up.

  “No, the old man just told me a ghost story. But it had me thinking…does this place have different folktales and creepypastas? What kind of books and media are here? There’s so much I need to watch and do….” Zain gasped. It was at once he was struck by the realization.

  In this world, in this new fantastical place, all of the digital media he had loved before were now gone. Damn….he had been distracted by whimsy and wanderlust that he overlooked that there was no way to get those things back.

  My albums! My anime! It's all gone!!!! Nooooooo!!!

  “Dr.Dre! Kendrick! Eminem! Come back to me! Noooooo!” Zain collapsed to his knees, grasping at the sky.

  Where was the back button? How could go on never experiencing his favorite songs again?

  What the hell was he supposed to listen to now? His playlist was carefully curated; hours of listening, years of gathering, all wasted…

  All the old content he watched and rewatched…What was he supposed to watch when he ate his meals?!

  “Ah…so you finally came to the realization…It happens to us all…” Brayden looked up, his eyes watered slightly in lament. “I miss System of a Down…”

  Heartbreak. How else could Zain describe this? He hung his head, hoping that he didn’t cry or anything.

  They continued walking through the plaza, in lower spirits as they remembered all the things they could no longer watch or listen to.

  “D-Do they have good music here?” Zain finally asked, reaching the acceptance stage of his grief.

  “Yeah…but you may find that your music tastes are outdated by this world's standards.” Brayden explained.

  Of course this world had its own musical artists. There were also social media influencers and ‘Musers’ (the equivalents of youtubers apparently). Brayden himself was not really one to use social media, so he could not really tell Zain who was popular here, but there were some people who were from their world who were able to make it as Musers.

  “Also, you’ll be happy to know that there are some fan projects that recreate things we had in our world.” Brayden gave a light hearted smile and a tiny thumbs up for reassurance.

  “Are they as good as the original though?”

  “........They are usually crowd funded but there are very passionate people behind them.” Brayden continued to smile as he avoided answering directly.

  Yeah, yeah…I get it. Nothing could be as good as the original…

  Zain internally sighed. He could settle for fan covers for the moment, just until he found some artists from this world that he liked…

  Braden cleared his throat, elbowing Zain as he looked at their destination.

  There was a moat of water, with only a bridge connecting to the area ahead. While most moats only served an aesthetic purpose and were consequently shallow, this moat looked rather deep; peering in, Zain could see fluorescent lighting deep down, and dark shadows lurking in the murkiness beneath. If he was observing correctly, then the moat extended about three floors downward.

  “Wha-” Before he could ask why, they had crossed the bridge and were at their intended destination.

  There was a giant pavilion, with a unique structure that was extremely hard to ignore. Zain was speechless. Its roof was wavy, looking like some sort of underwater creature with its delicate wispiness, somewhat resembling a cross between a jellyfish and coral; Zain was not sure which one it was supposed to be. The pillars within the pavilion looked more like coral, especially with their texture, however they looked to be more artificial as they looked too symmetrical to be anything natural.

  There were separate pools of water in the pavilion, with some coral and sea anemones encircling them and with a staircase inside leading downward. Arches and hand railings nearby looked to be made from carved marble and the floor surrounding it looked rather old. Another strange art piece perhaps? Or maybe a flooded area which no longer was accessible? Zain didn’t quite understand the vision so he decided not to dwell on it.

  Within the center of the pavilion was a big screen displaying different advertisements from different companies. Smaller, interactable screens were scattered about, some had people queuing behind them.

  As Zain and Brayden walked, they could see some small kiosks and stalls, which were selling small knit knacks and handmade goods. There were a few booths closer to the center with spokespeople looking for recruits.

  They continued walking, heading towards a particular terminal which had a shorter line. It was labeled ‘beginners’, which Zain thought was a little too on the nose, but if it got the point across then who was he to criticize?

  It took a bit of time for them to make it to the front, but when they finally did Brayden got his ID out and switched into instructor mode. He tapped it against the screen, making the circuitry light up. Within no time, a profile popped up listing job information for Brayden on one half of the screen. On the other half, was some job recommendation that he could file through.

  “You already have most of your information in a preset profile tied to your ID. Even though there are jobs that you can apply for with a resume, they will hesitate to hire you once they hear that you are an ‘ethereal’. Starting out, it’s almost impossible to get a job in the conventional way so you will need to use your ID to register for any job. You have to be careful though because this information is very hard to change…”

  Huh, so that’s where that information went…

  Zain didn’t have any job experience so he had put that on his papers when he had first entered. Perhaps he should have lied, but he had no idea that it would be used in such a way.

  “There are odd jobs that you can do, like food deliveries or cleaning jobs. Employers need an ID to publish these jobs, so that means that these jobs are safer for us to accept as well. “ Brayden explained.

  Under his name, it listed current jobs he was employed by. There were two short term job contracts and one passive job.

  “What is a passive job?” Was it like one of those passive income things people like to talk about? Were those even real?

  “Oh that?” Brayden clicked on the job listing in question and it showed a missing cat poster. “It’s not a real job, it’s more of a ‘hey -sure- I’ll look for your cat’ kind of thing. See? You can see that there are other people who accepted this job.”

  Underneath the listing, there was a note that said that there were 34 other people looking actively for the cat. There was a sector number that the poster said the cat was lost in, so Zain assumed that this was something like a postal code.

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  “I only really accepted the job because the other two jobs I’m working at are close by. I don’t think I’ll find the cat to be honest… but if I do, well that’s 700 credits for me!”

  “700 credits?!” Zain gawked, flabbergasted that anyone would be willing to pay that much for a cat.

  Brayden flashed a greedy smile, “Yeah, I know. One of the only reasons I took it. I might set aside a day to look for it, but…That won’t be for a while.”

  “OOOH, can I accept the job as well?! That’s like free money!” Zain was already imagining what he could do with all those credits.

  “Yeah… I don’t think you’ll be able to find it either, but okay. You should sign up for the other job listings I have too. They readily accept those who can be vouched for. That’s how I was able to get them.”

  The other two jobs in question were fairly easy jobs: one was cleaning the living area for biologists every few days and the other was doing grunt work for a construction site. In order to apply for them, Zain pulled up his profile on the terminal and manually entered the job listings into the search bar. There was a referral function, which Brayden had to place his ID over in order to verify that he had indeed referred Zain.

  “It’s gonna take a few days for them to get back to you, but I think you’ll be accepted.” Brayden put his ID away, then made sure Zain was logged out of the terminal. “Do you want to look around? They have some cool stuff here.”

  “Hell yeah! Let’s go!” Zain threw a triumphant fist in the air and without wasting a moment, walked towards one of the stalls in the pavilion.

  The first stall he stopped at sold small fishes and fish bowls; Many were the type Zain had seen in Walmart or any pet shop (fluorescent, basic fish), but there were a few that looked more special. One looked transparent, with only a few of its organs being slightly visible and the rippling of the water being the only indication that it was there. Another looked like a betta fish, elegant fins flowing behind it as it swam around and forming crystalline ice structures as it moved.

  “I think those glowy fish are an invasive species…or so I’ve been told.” Brayden commented once he caught up, not really looking impressed by the cool looking fish.

  Zain looked at the prices…and agreed that the fish were probably overrated.

  He moved on to a few other stalls closer to the center, just passing them by waiting for something to interest him. Well, he did see some interesting things being sold but prices for these things made him lose interest real quick.

  Man…why am I so poor?

  Things were just so expensive, it wasn’t even worth looking at any of the fun stalls, he would just get depressed because he couldn’t afford anything.

  Not being able to afford most of the things there, Zain just walked towards the giant screen in the center of the pavilion. It just functioned as a billboard of sorts as it cycled through different advertisements. Beneath the screen was a bulletin, where there were some papers haphazardly plastered on.

  Zain got up close and realized that these were unofficial advertisements and job offers. Ranging from advertising about moss clearing services to requesting babysitters for low wages, it was a wonder if this kind of advertisement worked.

  “Sketchy…” One particular flyer looked old and tarnished. It requested the extermination of a giant crocodile that could be found in the sewers, but the compensation was only 50 credits. Zain couldn’t imagine trying to kill a regular crocodile for 50 bucks, let alone a giant one. “No way anyone is gonna take that one…”

  “Yeah, you’re just begging to be kidnapped or robbed if you take that job…” Brayden pulled a face, looking like he couldn’t really believe that someone had thought this flyer would work. “Only really desperate people put things on this board, and only super desperate people accept jobs from this bulletin…”

  So basically…don’t take any jobs from here unless absolutely necessary…

  Zain wasn’t in a bad place now, but who knew what could happen in the future? Hopefully he would never need to…

  His attention was taken away by a woman walking up to the bulletin. She was a disheveled woman, quite short with matted blond hair. Her face was gaunt and her eyes were lifeless as she used the tape from another flyer to help put up her own.

  She placed a crude missing person flyer, one that looked to be drawn by hand. It was quite detailed in its description and illustration. It wouldn’t be surprising if this woman had been an illustrator.

  The boy she drew looked to be 4 or 5, with blond hair and a cheeky smile. Even though the woman herself was unkempt and haggard, the paper was well taken care of. Within the folds of her long overcoat, more papers were tucked away neatly.

  She abruptly looked around, then met her eyes with Zain.

  Uh-oh

  Within the span of a second, she trotted up to him, her eyes wide with urgency. “Have you seen my son? He has blond hair, blue eyes, he’s about this tall. His name is Tyler Bennett. He loves chocolate, puppies, and legos.” She questioned in a weak, dispirited tone.

  “I’m sorry ma’am, I hav-”

  She grabbed Zain’s sleeve, preventing him from fleeing. “Please! I came here, but I haven’t seen him! We both died at the same time b-but h-he’s not here! I can’t find him! I can’t find him!” Her voice trembled as she conveyed her desperation.

  She clutched Zain with both hands now, slightly sinking as she looked down. “I don’t have enough credits to hire people to look for him. But what if he’s here and he’s lost?” She dropped to her knees as she began to sob. “Or maybe I’m in hell? Maybe he’s not here because this is hell? Am I being punished for not running away from that man? But where was I supposed to go? I was scared….” She trailed off as she talked to herself, her voice ragged as she began to panic.

  Zain looked around: people were just ignoring the scene, or actively avoiding it. Brayden looked slightly perturbed, as he was also looking around for someone who could help them. After spotting some personnel, he began to move towards them, but Zain grabbed him and shook his head.

  This woman did not seem to be doing well mentally and based on the way she spoke, she was an ‘ethereal’. Treating her like she was a burden would only cause her more anguish, and Zain didn’t really trust that security would treat her with care.

  He dropped down to look her in the eye and lightly patted her on the back. “Can you tell me more about your son so I know when I see him?”

  She stopped, turning her tear stained face up to Zain reluctantly. Her hands clasped slowly together, as she steadied her breath. “H-he loves to eat pancakes in the morning, especially blueberry pancakes. He loved to draw because he loved the way I used to draw. He has a habit of sucking his thumb when he is thinking and he never complains about anything bad that happens to him…” She gave a melancholic smile as she reminisced about her son.

  “He sounds amazing. I hope I can help you find him. Do you have another picture that I can have so I can remember him?” Zain gently broached.

  She looked slightly surprised at his question, hesitantly reaching into her coat and giving Zain one of the posters she had stashed away. Upon closer inspection, her illustration was drawn on the back of a different advertisement, likely because she did not have much material at her disposal. Zain grabbed the poster with care, then analyzed it.

  “This illustration is very detailed. It’s so good that I should pay you for this masterpiece.” He said... but he actually didn’t know how he could do that. He turned to Brayden, hoping that he had the answer.

  Brayden rummaged through his pockets until he pulled out a white coin. He dropped down to their level, then handed the coin to Zain. “Pull out your banking app then go to the transfer tab…”

  Zain did as instructed then saw a button that said ‘transfer to physical currency’. He tapped the button, which prompted him to place his ID card on his phone and the coin under his phone. As he did as prompted, holding the coin a few inches beneath his phone. His ID pulsated as it confirmed his intention for transfer, then his phone vibrated with its screen glowing as it began to process the request. A small drop of digital flame fell from his phone, dropping onto the coin causing it to light up, displaying the number 10 on it as it activated.

  For now, he decided to quell his excited squeal in order to give the coin to the woman. “Here you go. Thank you for the poster.”

  The woman looked at the coin, not quite sure if she should accept it.

  Before she could say anything, three men showed up behind her. One of them wore a uniform, while the other two were wearing more casual clothes and hung further back. The uniformed man looked as if he was part of hospital staff, as he wore clothes that looked like scrubs.

  “Mrs. Bennett, you need to come back…” The uniformed man gently spoke.

  Mrs. Bennet shook her head, looking down as she spoke back to him. “I don’t want to. They treat me like I’m crazy there. I’d rather stay here…this kid believes me.”

  The uniformed man looked up with a glare, staring daggers at Zain.

  Uh…oops, did I make things worse…

  He felt bad, but it wasn’t his fault that she felt that way. But…he couldn’t stay here all day with her and she probably did need the help these people were giving her…

  Zain strained his mind, trying to think of a way to convince her to go along quietly.

  It was Brayden who spoke next, “I think you should go with them, Mrs. Bennett. Otherwise, if we do find your son, where are we going to find you? This guy doesn’t look like he thinks that you’re crazy, I think he wants what’s best for you. Look, he even asked his friends to help him find you.”

  She glanced back at the trio, then looked at the ground again in silence. No one moved for a good minute as she thought to herself.

  “Okay…I’ll go. But you boys promise that you’ll help me look?” She relented in a hushed tone, her eyes beseeching the two boys.

  “Of course ma’am, I’ll make sure to look whenever I go to different places.” Zain confirmed.

  Finally, the woman let go, then walked to the uniformed man and his friends. The uniformed man looked back with an inscrutable expression on his face, but mouthed a thank you as they walked away.

  “Well…That was something…” Brayden finally said as they stood in place. “But you handled it well, I’m surprised.”

  “What can I say? I felt bad for her. Sometimes, some people want someone to look at them and listen…” It was something his mother had taught him… but she also taught him to be careful when talking to mentally unstable people. This woman did not seem like a threat, though, so if she needed someone to hear her, then Zain was happy to listen.

  “We've been out for a while and I don’t want our groceries to spoil, so it’s probably best that we head back now.” Brayden patted Zain on the back then made his way to the exit.

  Zain tucked the poster away carefully in his pocket, then quickly followed.