Chapter 21.5 – Penny
My talk with Eric left me shaken.
I never expected him to reach a breaking point like that—especially over Joja.
It felt strange. Just a few days ago, I barely knew anything about him beyond polite greetings and the minerals he occasionally dropped off at the library. Now I knew… just enough to understand why something inside him had cracked.
Eric works harder than almost anyone in town.
He spends hours in the mines—places most people in Pelican Town won’t even step into. Even the Adventurer’s Guild warns people about going too deep, yet Eric disappears down there day after day like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
And somehow… it feels like no one really notices.
People thank him when he brings back ores or gemstones, sure. But the gratitude always feels fleeting—like they assume he’ll just keep doing it forever.
Like it’s expected.
And then there was Joja.
I used to not think much about Lewis’s deal with them. It always sounded like one of those town decisions that happened long before I was old enough to understand it. Mom mentioned it sometimes—usually while complaining that Lewis regretted signing the agreement, or that Morris had rushed the paperwork to grab more land before anyone could object.
But I never paid much attention.
At the very least… groceries got cheaper.
That mattered.
For a long time, that was the only part that felt real to me. When Mom could finally afford food without worrying about every coin, it was hard to think of Joja as something terrible.
It was just… a store.
A place people bought things.
Nothing more.
But now…
Now I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Eric’s voice changed when he talked about it.
Not just anger.
Something deeper.
Fear.
Disgust.
Like the very name of Joja reminded him of something he wished he could forget.
I always heard that his horrible job was the reason he came to Pelican Town in the first place.
Watching him push himself so hard in the mines… I’m starting to understand why he hated it so much.
Maybe Pelican Town wasn’t just a fresh start for him.
Maybe it was an escape.
I tried to read to clear my head, flipping through the same page again and again, but the words refused to settle in my mind.
Every time I looked down at the book, I saw Eric’s face instead.
The way his hands trembled when he talked about Joja.
The way he apologized afterward, like he thought he’d said too much.
I exhaled slowly, pressing my fingers against my temples.
I just… couldn’t stop thinking about him.
And there was something else that bothered me.
The way he talked about Mom.
I never expected anyone to say something like that so bluntly. Normally, whenever someone criticizes her, I feel this immediate urge to defend her. It’s almost automatic—like if I don’t stand up for her, no one will.
But when Eric said it…
I didn’t get angry.
I should have.
Instead I just felt… quiet.
Like part of me had already known what he meant.
That realization left a heavy knot sitting in my chest.
I stared down at the book in my lap.
The page hadn’t changed.
I hadn’t read a single word.
I closed it with a soft sigh.
“I need some air,” I murmured to myself.
Maybe going to the library would help clear my head.
At the very least… I might be able to think about something else for a while.
Because if I stayed here much longer—
I had a feeling I’d just keep thinking about Eric.
And I wasn’t sure if that would make things better…
or worse.
I was about to slip out the door when Mom’s voice stopped me.
“So… you’re taking his side now?”
I froze.
Slowly, I turned around.
Pam was sitting at the table with a Joja Cola can in her hand, staring at me over the rim. Her expression wasn’t confused.
It was sharp.
So she had been listening.
“What do you mean?” I asked carefully.
Mom scoffed.
“Oh, don’t play dumb with me,” she muttered. “You and that farmer were talking plenty loud enough.”
My stomach tightened.
“You were listening to us?”
“It’s my house,” she snapped. “I can listen to whatever I want.”
She leaned back in her chair, arms crossing over her chest.
“So what is it, Penny? I lose my job, things get rough, and suddenly you’re whispering with that boy about how terrible I am?”
“That’s not what happened,” I said quietly.
Mom’s eyes narrowed.
“Really? Because it sure sounded like it.”
Her voice rose, irritation bleeding into anger.
“I work my tail off my whole life, and the second things go wrong you start talking behind my back in my own home?”
“I wasn’t talking behind your back!” I protested.
“Oh please,” she said bitterly. “That farmer filled your head with all kinds of ideas, didn’t he?”
Something in my chest tightened.
“Eric didn’t—”
“Oh yeah, defend him,” she interrupted with a sharp laugh. “You barely know the guy and already he’s got you thinking you’re better than your own mother.”
My hands clenched at my sides.
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?” Mom barked. “You think life’s fair? I busted my back driving that bus for years to keep a roof over your head!”
Her chair scraped loudly against the floor as she stood.
“I gave you a place to live. Food. Everything you needed. And this is the thanks I get?”
My patience snapped.
“You spend half your time at the Saloon, Mom!”
The words came out sharper than I meant.
The room went silent.
Mom’s expression hardened instantly.
“Watch your tone with me, honey,” she growled.
But now that the words were out… I couldn’t stop.
“It feels like any money we get just disappears into booze,” I continued, my voice shaking. “Every night it’s the same thing.”
Mom’s jaw tightened.
“You ungrateful little—”
“We’re the only family living in a trailer park!” I burst out.
The words echoed through the small room.
For a moment, even Mom looked stunned.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.
“I’m tired of pretending this is fine,” I said, my voice cracking slightly. “I hate living like this. I hate pretending everything’s okay when it isn’t.”
Mom stared at me like she didn’t recognize me.
“Where is this coming from?” she demanded.
But I knew the answer.
Eric.
Talking to him had cracked something open in my mind.
All the things I had pushed down for years—every embarrassment, every excuse, every time I told myself things would get better someday.
Now they were all rushing to the surface.
“I want something better,” I said quietly.
Mom laughed harshly.
“Oh, I get it now,” she said. “You think that farmer’s gonna save you.”
My face flushed.
“That’s not what I—”
“Sure it isn’t,” she scoffed. “Guy shows up in town with a big fancy farm and suddenly you’re dreaming about running off to greener pastures.”
Her words stung more than I wanted to admit.
Because a small, guilty part of me had wondered the same thing.
Eric worked hard.
People respected him.
He had land.
A future.
Things I had never even dared imagine for myself.
Mom pointed toward the door.
“You wanna chase dreams, go ahead,” she said bitterly. “But don’t forget who kept you alive this long.”
I swallowed hard.
For a second I almost apologized.
Almost.
But then I remembered Eric’s trembling hands earlier.
The way he talked about trying to escape his old life.
And for the first time…
I realized something that scared me.
Maybe I wanted to escape too.
“I’m going to the library,” I said stiffly, grabbing my bag.
“Penny—”
But I was already out the door.
The cold air outside hit my face like a splash of water.
My chest was still tight from the argument.
Eric made me realize something I should have understood a long time ago.
I hated living there.
I hated pretending things were okay.
But I didn’t know how to leave.
I walked faster down the road toward the library.
And for a moment, a strange thought crept into my mind.
Maybe Eric hadn’t just opened my eyes.
Maybe…
just maybe…
he had shown me that escape was possible.
I rushed all the way there, chest burning, half-hoping I’d find him sitting at one of the tables.
Sorting minerals.
Giving that tired little smile he uses when he’s pretending everything’s okay.
But he wasn’t there.
Gunther looked up from his desk.
“Oh! Penny.”
I was still catching my breath.
“Is… is Eric here?”
“No, he left just a little while ago.”
My shoulders sagged.
“Oh.”
Gunther adjusted the papers on his desk.
“He did stop by earlier though.”
“Did he drop off any more artifacts?” I asked.
“Some minerals,” he said. “But no Dwarf materials today.”
I nodded slowly, trying not to look disappointed.
Honestly… I didn’t want him pushing himself for my sake anyway.
Gunther cleared his throat.
“Um… Penny. Did you hear what happened at Pierre’s?”
I exhaled.
“Yes. Eric already told me everything.” I murmured. “I think he’s more hurt than angry.”
Gunther tilted his head.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…” I hesitated. “Everyone here treats Joja like it’s just another store.”
I looked around the quiet museum.
“But for him it’s something else.”
Something bad enough that he ran all the way here to escape it.
And now he has to watch the town slowly welcome it back.
I rubbed my arms uneasily.
“That can’t be easy.”
Gunther nodded thoughtfully.
“No… I suppose it wouldn’t be.”
A quiet frustration bubbled up in my chest.
“And the worst part is… nobody’s really paying attention.”
Gunther blinked.
“What do you mean?”
I gestured around the museum.
“This place barely gets any funding. The school’s struggling. Lewis is constantly trying to keep the town together with duct tape and good intentions.”
I sighed.
“And the Governor shows up once a year to taste soup.”
Gunther looked nervous again.
“Penny…”
“I’m serious,” I said, my voice softer but heavier now. “He doesn’t even notice places like this.”
I gestured toward the empty artifact displays.
“If the museum mattered to him, maybe someone like Eric wouldn’t have to do half the work of filling it.”
Gunther glanced at the shelves, looking troubled.
“That’s… not entirely unfair,” he admitted quietly.
“And now Eric’s the one running himself into the ground collecting minerals and artifacts and helping the town and farming and who knows what else.”
I exhaled slowly.
“He looks exhausted every time I see him.”
Gunther gave me a sympathetic look.
“Penny… Eric can only do so much. He’s just one man.”
“I know,” I whispered.
That was the part that worried me.
Because Eric didn’t seem like the kind of person who knew how to stop.
I rubbed my eyes, suddenly tired.
“…I just wish someone was looking out for him.”
Gunther was quiet for a moment.
Then he shifted awkwardly.
“Actually… there’s something else I wanted to ask you about.”
I looked up.
“What is it?”
He lowered his voice.
“I think someone’s been sneaking into the library at night.”
My eyebrows lifted.
“What?”
“Things have been moved,” he said nervously. “A few scrolls have gone missing. Not stolen exactly… just taken and returned later.”
He leaned closer like the walls might hear him.
“I was hoping you might try to catch whoever it is.”
I blinked.
A quiet visitor.
Someone who moved through town unnoticed.
Someone who preferred the night.
There was really only one person that fit that description.
Sebastian.
I sighed.
“…Alright.”
I grabbed my bag again.
“I’ll see what I can find.”
That night, I hid between the shelves of old encyclopedias, listening to the hum of the lights. Every creak made my pulse jump.
Then—footsteps. Light. Careful.
Sebastian slipped through the door.
He moved like someone who’d done this before.
He knelt at the scroll shelf.
“Sebastian?” I said sharply.
He jolted upright, nearly dropping the scroll.
“Wait,” I ordered.
He froze.
“…Look, I can explain.”
“You’d better. You never come here. What are you after?”
He sighed—deep, exhausted.
“Ever since Eric moved here, things have been… different. Wrong.”
He glanced toward the door like something might be listening.
“I’ve been seeing something around my house. A creature. Metal. Too smooth. Too quiet. Its eyes glow through the fog.”
A chill slid down my spine.
“What… kind of creature?”
“I call it the Metal Demon,” he whispered.
“It moves like armor walking without anyone inside it. Short, heavy… the metal looks ancient. Not like anything Joja would make.”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“It watches the house at night. Just stands there. And when I get close—”
He swallowed.
“It flickers. Like it’s half here… and half somewhere else.”
The image lodged deep in my mind.
“And then,” he continued, “the Wizard’s tower glowed one night. Which shouldn’t happen unless something big is happening. And the Community Center glowed too. Same night.”
He shook his head.
“That’s impossible.”
I stared at him.
Impossible… unless—
“I checked inside,” Sebastian said. “I found these weird scrolls. Unreadable. No human language I’ve ever seen.”
“You mean Junimo script,” I breathed.
His eyes widened.
“You… you know that?”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “We have books on it here. Old ones. I always thought it was just folklore.”
Sebastian stared at me.
“Well,” he muttered, “everything got weirder after that.”
“I kept seeing Eric running around town at odd hours. Looking shaken. Like he’d seen something he couldn’t explain.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“Because he did,” Sebastian said.
“He met the Wizard.”
My breath caught.
“…No. That’s—that’s not possible.”
“It is,” he said. “I saw them together. I confronted him. Abigail was there too.”
“You what?!” I squeaked.
“She forced her way in!” he protested. “I tried to stop her!”
I paced between the shelves, my hands trembling.
“Sebastian, do you understand what you’ve done? Rasmodius isn’t just some hermit living in the woods—”
I lowered my voice.
“One of the old Dwarf Scrolls mentions him.”
Sebastian blinked.
“It calls him
Magnus Rasmodius… Crown Prince of the Ferngill Mages. A survivor of the Elemental Wars.”
Sebastian’s face drained of color.
“How… how do you know that?”
“We translated part of the scroll Eric gave us,” I said. “Gunther thought it was just a myth.”
Sebastian ran a hand through his hair.
“So that means—”
A faint tremor passed through the air.
Like a breath.
Not from either of us.
The dust on the floor shifted.
I froze.
Sebastian’s eyes darted toward the shadows.
“…Did you feel that?” he whispered.
“Yes,” I whispered back.
He bolted for the door.
“Rasmodius—he’s here. He’s listening.”
“Sebastian, wait!”
But he was already outside, scanning the street, searching the darkness.
The night was empty.
Too empty.
Sebastian raked his fingers through his hair.
“He was here. I know he was here.”
“Sebastian—what do you mean he’s been watching?”
He looked at me, his expression raw and frightened in a way I’d never seen before.
“Because every time I get close to the truth,” he whispered, “something shifts.”
“A shadow moves.”
“The air goes cold.”
“A whisper—right behind me.”
He stepped toward his bike.
“This isn’t normal Pelican Town stuff anymore, Penny. Something is unfolding. Something old. Something dangerous.”
“Sebastian—”
He cut me off, voice grim.
“You said Rasmodius fought in an ancient war.”
He swung onto the bike.
“Then maybe… that war never really ended.”
And he rode off into the night.
When I left the Museum, I noticed the Saloon was louder than usual.
Voices spilled out through the open door—angry, confused, overlapping.
Something had happened.
And then I saw Mom stumbling out of the doorway, clutching a Joja Cola can like it was the only thing keeping her upright.
“Penny?” she slurred, squinting at me. “Where… where were you?”
I sighed.
“I was at the Museum. I already told you that.”
Mom waved a lazy hand like she was swatting a fly.
“Eric and Shane fought…” she muttered. “Then Eric ran off. Don’t know where he went.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?” I asked, my voice rising. “What happened? Where is he?”
Mom leaned against the wall, barely holding herself steady.
“Ran toward the forest,” she mumbled.
That was all I needed to hear.
I ran.
The night air was cold against my face as I hurried down the path, my heart pounding harder with every step. Eric already looked so exhausted earlier—what if something had pushed him too far?
Pelican Town could be kind.
But sometimes it could also be cruel in ways people didn’t even realize.
As I reached the road near the houses, I saw someone stepping off a porch.
“Jodi?” I called.
She turned, surprised.
“Penny?”
“Where’s Eric?” I asked breathlessly.
Jodi blinked, then her shoulders relaxed slightly.
“Oh—he’s with Emily,” she said. “He’s resting at her place. She and Haley brought him inside after the fight.”
Relief washed through me so suddenly that my knees nearly buckled.
“Oh… good,” I breathed.
For a moment, though, a strange little feeling tugged at my chest.
Emily.
Of course she would be the one helping him.
She always seemed to understand people so easily… sometimes in ways I wished I could.
I pushed the thought aside.
At least he was safe.
“I heard about Eric’s fight with Morris,” I said quietly.
Jodi’s expression darkened.
“I think… I might have started that,” she admitted.
My head tilted.
“What do you mean?”
She rubbed her hands together nervously.
“I wanted to do something nice for him this morning. Make breakfast… maybe go into town together for some shopping.”
She gave a weak smile.
“I thought it would be a nice change from all the stress he’s been under.”
Her eyes drifted toward the distant glow of the Saloon.
“But then Morris showed up. And things just… spiraled.”
She swallowed.
“I didn’t think Eric hated Joja that much.”
I exhaled slowly.
“…Yeah,” I murmured. “Me neither.”
For a moment we both stood there in silence.
The town was quiet now. The distant murmur from the Saloon had faded, leaving only the soft rustle of wind through the trees.
Jodi wrapped her arms around herself.
“I really thought Eric might make things better,” she said softly.
Her voice sounded tired.
“But now I’m starting to worry he might just make it harder to live here.”
I frowned slightly.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” I said gently.
Jodi looked at me.
“This town has been struggling for years,” I continued. “Before Eric ever showed up. Joja didn’t cause all of it… but it didn’t help either.”
I kicked a small stone on the path.
“Maybe everything that’s happening now was always going to happen eventually.”
Jodi’s shoulders trembled.
I saw her quickly wipe at her eyes.
“I just… wanted to believe in him,” she whispered.
Her voice cracked.
“Someone who works that hard… someone who actually cares about the town…”
She shook her head.
“I thought maybe things would start getting better.”
Her hand pressed against her chest.
“But everything just feels harder lately.”
Without thinking, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her.
Jodi stiffened for a second—then slowly hugged me back.
“I know,” I said quietly. “It’s been hard for me too.”
We stood there for a moment in the cold night air.
“But Vincent helps,” I added softly. “I’m really glad I get to tutor him.”
Jodi laughed weakly.
“He talks about you constantly, you know.”
“Does he?”
“All the time,” she said. “Sometimes I think he listens to you more than he listens to me.”
I giggled.
“Well… maybe a little.”
Jodi smiled at that.
A real smile this time.
When we finally stepped apart, the tension between us felt lighter.
“Thank you, Penny,” she said quietly.
“For what?”
“For listening.”
I nodded.
“Goodnight, Jodi.”
“Goodnight, Penny.”
And with that, we parted ways beneath the dim streetlights of Pelican Town.
By the time I reached the trailer, the lights in the park had mostly gone dark.
Only one flickered near the far end of the gravel lot, buzzing faintly in the cold night air. The rest of Pelican Town had already settled into sleep.
I stood outside our door for a moment before going in.
The trailer was quiet.
Mom had already collapsed onto the couch, an empty Joja Cola can tipped sideways on the table beside her. She snored softly, one arm hanging off the cushion.
I watched her for a moment.
A familiar heaviness settled in my chest.
Earlier tonight, I had shouted things I had been holding in for years. Things I wasn’t sure could ever be taken back.
And yet… the strangest part of the night wasn’t that argument.
It was how easy it had been to talk to Jodi afterward.
I slipped quietly into my room and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Jodi had listened.
Not just nodded politely the way people sometimes do when they’re waiting for their turn to speak. She had really listened.
She had cried.
She had admitted she was scared.
And for a little while, standing under those dim streetlights, it had almost felt like talking to a mother.
I stared down at my hands.
Why was it so easy to talk to someone else’s mom… but so hard to talk to my own?
The thought lingered longer than I liked.
I lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Tonight had been… a lot.
Sebastian sneaking through the museum. Strange scrolls. The Wizard. That terrible story about the ancient wars.
And that creature he had described.
The Metal Demon.
The way he talked about it still sent a faint chill down my spine.
Sebastian had always been quiet, distant… but tonight he looked different.
Focused.
Like someone who had decided he was going to uncover the truth no matter what it cost.
Part of me was worried.
Sebastian had a habit of throwing himself into things without thinking about where they might lead.
But another part of me understood exactly why he was doing it.
Because lately, Pelican Town felt like it was sitting on top of something hidden.
Something old.
Something restless.
And somehow…
Eric seemed to be standing right in the middle of it.
I turned onto my side, pulling the blanket closer.
Eric.
Just thinking his name made my thoughts start circling again.
I remembered the way his hands had trembled earlier that day when he talked about Joja.
The exhaustion in his voice.
The way he kept pushing himself harder and harder… like stopping wasn’t an option.
I had never met anyone like him before.
Most people in town accepted things the way they were. They complained, sure… but eventually they went back to their routines.
Eric didn’t.
He fought.
Even when it hurt him.
Even when nobody else seemed to notice.
I closed my eyes.
Maybe that was why I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Because when he talked about escaping his old life… it made me wonder if I could escape mine too.
A quiet thought slipped into my mind.
And this time, I didn’t push it away.
I liked him.
The realization made my face grow warm against the pillow.
Not just as a friend.
Not just as someone I admired.
Something more.
Something I hadn’t allowed myself to think about until now.
But the moment the thought settled in… another one followed right behind it.
Emily.
The waitress from the Stardrop Saloon.
Eric talked to her all the time.
Every time he stopped by the Saloon to relax after working in the mines… she was there. Smiling. Laughing with him. Listening to whatever strange story he had brought back from the caverns that day.
She was easy to talk to.
Confident.
Bright.
Everything I sometimes felt like I wasn’t.
And tonight… when Eric needed help…
He had ended up at her house.
A small knot twisted in my chest.
Of course he did.
Emily always seemed to understand people in ways I struggled to.
She had that warmth about her. That energy that made people feel comfortable almost instantly.
I stared into the darkness of the room.
Maybe Eric liked that.
Maybe he liked her.
The thought sat there for a long moment.
Uncomfortable.
Unwelcome.
And yet… impossible to ignore.
I turned over again, pulling the blanket tighter.
This was ridiculous.
Eric had enough problems already without me adding more to the list.
The town was falling apart.
Joja was tightening its grip.
Sebastian was chasing ghosts in the night.
And somewhere out there, Eric was probably still trying to carry half of Pelican Town on his shoulders by himself.
My feelings shouldn’t matter right now.
But even as I told myself that…
I couldn’t quite stop the quiet voice in the back of my mind.
The one that whispered:
What if he notices Emily first?
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Tomorrow would come soon enough.
And knowing Eric…
He’d probably wake up early and head straight back into the mines like nothing had happened.
The thought made me sigh softly.
“…Please be okay,” I whispered into the darkness.
Outside, the wind rustled gently through the trees beyond the trailer park.
And somewhere deep in Pelican Town, something unseen continued to move quietly through the night.
While I lay awake…
Thinking about Eric.
You're opening interesting backstories btw. Please, go on.