Those bandits… The boring man thinks as he walks through the street. Breakouts are happening more often because of them, and they preach about wanting to save us? As he walks, the painter stumbles past him, steam still rising off his body.
He doesn't hesitate for a moment as he grabs the painter's arm. "Are you alright?"
The painter didn't even seem to notice him. "Y-You have to help me. Those things I said about the bandits, I didn't mean it."
"I don't blame you. Their offer would be tempting to most people. But we don't have the luxury they want to provide us, not as long as breakouts still exist." He sits the painter down. "I'll get help."
He pulls out his phone, calling one of the first numbers in his contacts. "Hey, Ronny! What can I do for you?" Another man says on the other end.
"I've got a breakout victim with me. I need you to contact Suck to send over their people." Ronny says.
"That's our Ronny for ya. It shouldn't take long for them to arrive. Oh, one more thing. The boss wants to see you, so get back here." The other man says before hanging up.
"Who was that?" The painter asks.
"A colleague. Members of Suck will be here soon. Do you need me to stay with you?"
"Would it bother you?" The painter asks, Ronny shakes his head. "I'm confused. I wanted those bandits to save me, to follow my dream, but now all of that is gone."
"There's a lot we don't know about breakout victims. Suck keeps that information to itself." He looks in the distance towards the skyscraper towering over them. "It's annoying, but they know what they're doing. Your feelings were most-likely caused by those bandits' ideals. Their message pushed you to following your dream to an extreme extent. That pressure kept building, changing you until it became too much to hold in."
"I-I see." The painter says, clearly still confused.
"All you need to know is that Suck will help you get better. It's their job." Solders from before arrive as Ronny says this. "You'll be safe with them."
"Thank you." The painter says as the soldiers help him walk away.
One soldier stays behind to speak to Ronny. "Good work as usual."
"Make sure he gets the help he needs. I've got more work to do." He replies, walking away.
What could the boss want from me? Ronny thinks as he walks. Maybe it's about the amount of breakouts occurring, and the fact that fewer are being prevented. This could be bad. He stops in front of a building with a sign that reads Penny's Café.
Ronny steps inside, greeted with a soft smile by a man behind the counter as he sits, the name Reese written on his name tag. "Welcome. What can I get you today?"
"Is Penny not in?" Ronny asks.
"She had to run some errands, so I'm filling in for her today. It's Ronny, correct?" The man asks. Ronny nods. "I know exactly what to get you, then."
As the man fixes Ronny a coffee, he takes moments to look around the café, scribbling things down in a notepad. He puts it away as he hands Ronny the coffee.
"It should be exactly how Penny told me to make it." The man says, returning to watching the customers with his notepad.
"People might find it strange if you do that." Ronny says with a sharp look as he sips the drink.
"It's just a habit I've picked up. There are too many interesting things in our world not to jot down."
"Sounds annoying."
"I know someone who tells me the same thing, but a boring guy like me can't help but admire the more interesting things."
"Nothing wrong with being boring."
"Of course, but I like seeing people follow what makes them interesting. Their dreams, if you would."
The word dream clicks in Ronny's head. Not another one. It doesn't seem like he's far gone, but it's still worrying.
"I'd rather people be safe than follow those dreams. There's nothing wrong with the life we have." Ronny says.
"Some people would prefer to risk that safety, instead of giving up." Reese puts his notepad down. "Just another thing about that makes people interesting."
"Agree to disagree."
"I'm guessing you don't have a dream of your own?" Reese asks.
"Nope."
"That makes two of us. I've always been content with our lives, never felt the need to follow some grand aspiration."
Ronny sits his cup down as he finishes the coffee. "If only more people could see it like that." He takes another look at Reese's name tag before leaving the café without even a goodbye.
Risking the lives we have is idiotic. That passion is the reason why breakouts exist in the first place. Ronny thinks to himself as he walks, eventually entering the building of Snooze News. I don't see what I could've done for this to be bad news.
A man greets Ronny as he walks into a smaller room in the building. "Best consultant of the year. How's it hanging?" It's the same voice from over the phone.
"I failed to prevent the victim from breaking out." Ronny says.
"Exactly, Fin. Save your compliments for when he does better," a woman furiously writing in a notebook says.
"Yiska, Yiska." Fin shakes his head, "he still saved him in the end, so who cares if he turned into a breakout." He swings back around to Ronny. "Don't forget to see the boss. Tell me if it's good news, won't you, pal?"
"If I'm allowed to." Ronny replies before walking into a small office connected to the room.
Like the rest of the building, the room is empty and devoid of color, with a middle-aged man working at his desk. "Heard about the victim. Don't beat yourself up." A name plate sits on his desk. It reads Ernest Hunter: Breakout Consultant Manager.
"I should've worked harder with the victim." Ronny says.
"That's what you said the last two times. It's just getting harder to keep people under control. It's not your fault." He doesn't even look up at Ronny.
"Agree to disagree. There's always a way. What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Got a call directly from Suck today. They're looking for more recruits now that breakouts are becoming more frequent. They can only produce so many of those robots."
"I'll look into it."
"Don't need to. I already recommended you. You should be getting a visit sometime within the week."
"You must've of had better options, but thank you, sir. I'll do the best I can."
"I know you will," Ernest says.
Fin is right at the door as Ronny opens it. "Well, well?! Good or bad?"
"The Boss recommended me for a position in Suck's military. Neither."
"Neither?! But that's incredible. Look at our Ronny, going up in the world." Fin says behind fake tears.
"You'll be able to better deal with breakouts." Yiska says.
"Only after they've already turned. I won't be able to prevent the change before it happens." Ronny says.
"Not like it makes much of a difference. If some sucker ends up breaking out, you just fix them right up," Fin says.
"I'd rather prevent it before that's required." Ronny says, Fin waves his hand and sighs.
"We'll find a replacement for you." Yiska says.
"But we can't just find a replacement for him, Ronny's a once-in-a-lifetime employee." Fin says.
Yiska glares at him. "Which side are you on?"
"I'll decide when they contact me. I still don't have all the details," Ronny says before walking out.
"Just tell us the decision you make. We need to know so we can search for that replacement." Yiska says as Ronny leaves the room.
Do I remove my connection to everyday people just for the ability to fight against breakouts? Ronny thinks as he walks. If I lose that chance to prevent it from happening, does fighting even matter? They still face the aftereffects, even if they can fix it. Isn't preventing it better than waiting to fix it? Ronny hears a ball bouncing as he walks, looking around the corner into an alleyway.
A school girl throws a basketball into a makeshift hoop that she strapped to the wall. "Maybe like this?" She tosses the ball, it hits the side of the rim before falling to the ground, making the same bounce Ronny heard before. The girl notices Ronny and panics. "I-I'm just-"
"You realize they would confiscate this if a camera picked it up, correct?" Ronny says, taking a close look at the girl.
There's no steam coming off her, good sign. Although he wasn't particularly fond of people having their hobbies, if he could make sure they stay minimized, that's enough for him.
"Yeah…but I haven't gotten caught yet!" the girl says.
"I just caught you." He looks at the hoop, it looks too high up for her to get it there herself. "Did anyone help you?"
"No?" She looks at the hoop. "O-Oh. I can just jump really high, that's all."
Ronny looks around the alleyway from where he's standing, seeing a ladder pushed deep into the alleyway. "Did you steal that?"
"Maybe, why?" The girl says, slowly giving up on her attempts to hide it.
Going to excessive lengths to achieve, or at least pursue their dream, bad sign. It may be too early to say this is a part of her dream, but it would follow a pattern between breakout victims.
"Do you like sports?" Ronny asks.
"Mhm. I know people look down on them here, but I just can't help myself. They're fun." The girl picks her basketball back up. "Is that bad?"
"Not necessarily. It's all about control. Would you consider sports your dream?"
"Well, it's not like I have a chance of doing anything here. But if they ever let us move out of this town, I want to go all the way with it somewhere else." Her eyes light up while talking.
She's not too far gone then. It might be good to keep an eye on her in the future, though. If we can get breakout frequency to lower, maybe people like her can actually leave. But as long as breakouts exist, I doubt Suck will let anyone out. It's been like this since even I was little, so the chances of that happening are slim.
"I'll make you a deal. Tell me where you stole the ladder from. I'll take it back and act like I didn't see anything. But…" He pulls out a card with the number to Snooze News's breakout consultant department. "If that passion for sports ever feels like it's overwhelming you, give them a call and ask for Ronny."
"Really? Thank you." She takes the card. "It's Ivy, by the way. I stole the ladder from some construction workers while they went to lunch. But they had a bunch, so I doubt they needed it."
Ronny grabs the ladder and sets it up. "I'll remember that. You seem like a good kid, so don't go causing trouble like this again." He takes off the hoop and hands it to her. "Alright?"
"I won't. Thank you again, mister." The girl runs off with the ball and hoop.
Ronny stares at the ladder. Sorry, boss.