“The difference is that you’re asking me to take a whole house off your hands! This isn’t some apple pie that the neighbor baked or a free windshield replacement, this is entirely different!” Trunks replied, feeling exacerbated. He accepted kind gifts from the community, not entire houses off-handedly.

“I know you think it’s weird, but I want this place to be in good hands once I head back to the city. You and I both know that this place would meet an ‘unfortunate accident’ if it were left alone. If you live here, no one is going to burn it down or graffiti on it or anything like that. If you feel guilty about it, just think of it as taking care of the house for a while,” Kain explained. The conversation went back and forth for another hour or so, but Trunks eventually gave in, and accepted the house. Kain, feeling relieved, almost hung up the phone before he remembered something. “Hey, Uncle Trunks?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Have you ever heard my parents talking about some World War II stuff? I was looking through the house and found it in the attic, hidden away, so I was hoping you knew something about it.”

Trunks went silent for a while, seemingly thinking. “I can’t recall any mention of World War II stuff, honestly. I remember that they bragged about that knife, Dea, but I can’t recall them talking about anything else like that,” he replied. “Oh well, I’ll come take a look once I get there. Be sure to have all of the paperwork, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll have it all ready,” Kain answered. “And Uncle Trunks.”

“Hmm.”

“Thanks, for everything, I mean.”

“Ah, cut the sappy crap. You don’t owe me for helping you grow up a little, kid. If anyone deserves the praise, then it’s your parents. I still think that this house is too much of a gift, but your reasoning is sound, so who am I to complain?” Trunks hung up the phone after that, and left Kain laughing.

Once his laughter died down, he began to wonder about where the case of guns came from once more. He went over the facts once more in his head: no family that he knew of that was in World War II, no mention of it from his parents, and it being hidden in the attic behind a mountain of chairs. The only conclusion he could reach was that someone put it there, and his parents were none the wiser. That thought just begged the question of who put it there. He racked his brain trying to think of anyone who would have put the case there, but nothing came up. He eventually just decided to stop wondering about the case and decided to do something else.

He got all of the paperwork together and decided to go over the house once more, just to see if he had missed anything. He walked around the house, looking at all of the things in it. The walls and floors were clean, the pots and pans in the kitchen were put away and cleaned, the bathroom was as clean as it ever was, the bedrooms, the living room, and even the closet were all clean and polished.

‘I knew Uncle Trunks would keep this place clean. It’ll be in good hands,’ he thought to himself as he walked through his childhood home. He made another sweep through the house, which brought him to the mirror in the front hallway. The mirror reflected a 5’11” young man in his mid to late 20’s with brown, unkempt hair and a face that looked like it had not met a razor in a week. His body, while not beautiful nor muscular, was not frail nor fat, staying in an average body size. He wore old work jeans and an old white shirt, stained by paint and grease.

Kain looked at his reflection and sighed. He never spent too much consideration for his appearance, and it seemed as though such thoughts were reflected in said appearance. Looking at the mirror, he remembered all of the things that the mirror saw; from his mother’s measurements during birthdays to his father fixing his tie in front of the mirror, it was all there. He smiled melancholically. He would never be measured in front of the mirror again, nor would he watch his father completing his tie-fixing ritual again. It stung, but he took his father’s ‘keep pushing forward’ attitude quite seriously, so he moved on.

Grabbing the case, the helmet, and Dea, he went outside and stored them in his car, sitting on the front steps once he was finished. Soon enough, there was a dust cloud coming over a hill nearby and at its head was a familiar car. It was old, antique even, but it still ran in the dusty valley the town was in. Soon enough, the car pulled alongside his own and a familiar, mid-60’s man stepped out. He was about 5’6”, with a silver-gray comb-over and dull blue eyes. He stepped out of the car and walked up to Kain, wearing khakis and a Hawiian t-shirt.

Trunks looked him in the eyes and sighed. Taking out a bottle of water from his pocket, he sat next to Kain on the front steps and took a sip. He offered the bottle, but Kain shook his head. He looked at Kain again, sighed, and took another sip of water. “Are you sure about this, kid?” he asked.

Kain handed him the packet of documents, already signed by him. “I am. I trust you, Uncle Trunks, and I think that this house deserves someone like you taking care of it. Besides all that, no-one’ll trash it while you’re here, so it’s a win-win.”

“They shouldn’t trash it anyway,” Trunks said, “that just ain’t right. No matter how little they hear about you, they’re dead set on making you guys out to be demons!”

“It’s nothing new. Been that way for my whole life. Besides, it doesn’t really matter, I won’t ever be staying long.”

“Still pisses me off. I’ve been friends with you guys since before you were born, and I couldn’t tell you why people think you’re so bad.”

Kain just shrugged. “Who knows. I just let the idiots believe whatever they want to believe. At the very least, they won’t try to mess with my parents’ graves; that’s the one thing they won’t do.”

Trunks sighed again. “The fact that you took that into account makes me mad.” After their discussion, they made some small talk. They sat on the steps, talked, and enjoyed each other’s company. They reminisced about Kain’s childhood and Trunk’s various projects. Eventually, they got to the topic of the World War II weapons, of which Trunks knew about as much as Kain. As they wrapped up, and as Trunks filled out all of the paperwork, he said a few words to Kain. “Kid, if you ever need some time off from your big city, come down here. I’ll always have a place for you,” Trunks said.

Kain smiled. “I’ll come down when I have the time. Coming down here now took a fair chunk of my vacation time, and I won’t be able to make the trip until next year.”

“Alright then, once you have the time, I’ll be waiting for ya. Anyway, stay safe out there. The world’s dangerous, especially so with all of the drunks out there,” he complained.

Kain laughed. “I’ll be fine. See you around, Uncle Trunks.” They hugged, and Kain got into his car, driving out of his parking spot and heading to the city.

Unfortunately, he did not live anywhere close to his hometown, so it would have taken a few days to get there. The distance, however, gave him time to enjoy his vacation. Unfortunately, he was in such a rush to go to his hometown that he forgot to pack extra sets of clothes. He was able to take showers on his way home, however, so he did not give off an entirely bad appearance. He visited parks, lakes, and other landmarks on his way back, taking in the sights and having a great time.

One day, however, it began to rain. He was forced to spend the whole day driving, and only stopped once. When night fell, the rain did not let up, so he tried to find a rest-stop somewhere on the highway. After more hours of rain, he was getting tired when he noticed something odd. The rain was becoming louder and louder. It continued, slowly becoming louder and louder. Soon enough, he could not hear the subtle bumps the car made, then he couldn’t hear the engine, then he couldn’t hear the radio, then he couldn’t hear himself think. All he heard was the striking of rain on the roof of his car. Eventually, he reached a rest stop and he pulled into the parking lot. There was nobody around, and even the buildings were dark. He tried to sleep, but the rain kept crashing louder and louder. It rang in his ears and echoed through his head, making the only thought that could travel through his head the splashing of rain.

Then, it stopped. All the noise, all the crashing noise stopped. His eyes went wide as he looked out the window and saw the rain stop. It did not just stop, it floated in midair. The rain, which seemed so overpowering, so oppressing, stopped. He got out of the car and looked up. The clouds seemed to swirl slightly, and he saw flashes of blue shine through the canvas of clouds. Looking at his phone, he saw the time. 11:59.

Then, as the clock struck midnight, a snaking bolt of eerie blue lighting ripped across the sky. It seemed to cast a net over the entire world, striking down occasionally, and striking down on Kain. Kain, along with his car and all of his possessions, disappeared. And that night, June 22nd, 2019, was when the world forever changed.