"Yeah, do I look different or something?" Nick asked in embarrassment as he scratched his head.

I shook my head firmly as I started to flail my hands around like a wild chicken trying to reassure him. "N-N-No! You look exactly the same as you did in the other two worlds."

"Same can be said for you," Nick responded. As I gave Nick a sheepish smile, his gaze turned to my accomplice. "So, who's your... naked friend?"

"Oh, this is Cyrus. He's kind of part of my new mission."

Cyrus furrowed an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side in confusion. Ah, he's quick to catch on. I better be careful about what I say around him or else I'll have another repeat just like with Stefan.

"Right..." Nick's voice trailed off. As Nick scrutinised the rest of Cyrus' appearance, he proceeded to clear his throat. "How about you leave him with me for tonight and I'll give him a fresh change of clothes. We can regroup tomorrow."

"Regroup? But how would I even find you?" I asked watching Nick walk off with Cyrus.

"I'm only one door away, just knock when you have time," Nick said cheekily as he stuck his tongue out at me.

Wait. Does Nick live next door to me??? I suppose that makes him the figure who was watching me earlier then. It makes sense, how else would he just randomly show up here anyway?

As I watched the two make their way towards Nick's house, I called out to them one last time. "You really don't have to help me!"

Nick gave a small chuckle as he kept walking without turning around. "But I want to!" He shouted with a heartfelt smile.

He's too nice for his own good...

When it was time to get up for the working day, my body felt completely exhausted. Ugh, this is what happens when you never get your eight hours of sleep.

As I threw on a black flannel and jeans, I made my way downstairs.

"So, you finally decided to get up." Ms McCollin said in a snarky voice as she drank her cup of coffee at the kitchen table.

It's not like I was late getting up, so I don't see where this attitude is coming from...

"Well, whatever. What's your name anyway, kid?"

She really has a lax way of doing things around here. You would think she'd have asked for my name before letting me into her house. "It's Vana."

"Just Vana? Huh. Someone sure is friendly..." she took another sip from her cup. "My full name is Georgina McCollin. But you will be calling me Ms McCollin. Understood?"

Yes, oh righteous supreme leader! Tch. If only she put that same energy and attitude into keeping the farm in working condition.

"First things first, I want you to start shovelling that snow off of my driveway. I'm sick of my feet getting stuck in it." An understandable request I suppose. But it sure is going to take a while.

"When you're done with that, start cleaning out the stables. I'm going to be buying cattle soon, so it has to be spick and span, got it?" Great. Another long task.

Uuuu... looks like I've got a long day of work cut out for me...

After hours of gruelling shovelling, I was finally finished with the front of the house. If it weren't for these gloves, I'm sure my fingers would've turned to icicles.

Now it's time for the last task. The stables... I was dreading this chore the most. If the barn was anything to go by, then the stables would be an equally huge mess.

As I made my way around back, I sunk my shoulders as soon as I found the stables. Where do I even begin here? There were planks of rotting wood just lying around and heaps of hay that probably hasn't been touched in years.

After today it's safe to say that I've set myself up for a future of back problems. As I rolled my sleeves up, preparing to get on with the cleaning, I heard the crunching of snow creep up behind me.

"Hi. Are you Ms McCollin's new worker?"

Who the hell is this guy? He seems to be somewhere in his mid-twenties. I suppose he's pretty attractive with his blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. But you never know, you've always got to keep your guard up around guys like this.

As I pointed the pitchfork towards the man in an act of self-defence, I narrowed my eyes. "Yes. And what's it to you?"

"Woah!" He said as he raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I was just looking for Ms McCollin. We're meant to settle on our agreement today."

I raised an eyebrow. "Agreement?" I asked dubiously.

The man slowly took hold of the pitchfork as he pushed it away from himself. "You're new so you probably don't know who I am." The man gave me a graceful smile. "I'm Rohan Morales. I'm basically your local butcher."

Oh, I get it. Ms McCollin is stocking up on cattle so she can sell it to him. Geez, she should've told me to expect this guy to turn up today! "Well, if she isn't answering the front door then she's probably gone out."

The man kept smiling but you could tell there was disappointment hidden behind his eyes. "Alright, well just tell her I stopped by when you see her next, okay...?" He looked at me expectingly as his voice trailed off.

"Vana," I responded curtly. "And sure, I'll tell her. Bye." I said as I waved goodbye. Now it's time to get back to work...

Once I was finally finished with cleaning out the entire stables, I collapsed onto the neatly organised pile of hay. Please tell me that future work isn't going to take this long!

"Sleeping on the job, are we?"

I quickly sat upright in alarm to see Ms McCollin eyeing me in annoyance.

"Ha..." was all I could say. I was caught red-handed.

Ms McCollin rolled her eyes in response as she led several horses inside the stables. "After I'm done with unloading all of the horses and pigs it's lights out. Got it?"

"R-Right!" Just as I went to leave, I turned around once more when I remembered something else. "By the way, some guy called Rohan dropped by earlier. He said he was asking for you..."

"Is that so?" She responded absentmindedly. Well, it looks like she's not in the mood to converse, so I guess that's my cue to take my leave!

As I made my way back towards the house, I saw a figure come running towards me in the distance. Is that Nick?

As he finally caught up to me, he bent over and started to pant heavily. "Vana this is bad..."

"W-W-What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"It's Cyrus..." Nick panted. "I think he's a cannibal."