Still Single

Posted on Fri May 21st, 2021 @ 8:35pm by Unawakened William Cooper

Mission: The Factions
Location: Starbucks
Timeline: The Day before Moving IN

It had been a late night for Will Cooper. spent mostly in the library doing some research for a paper he was writing on the toxicology of mushrooms. Cooking was Zach's forte, Will's was eating and he loved mushrooms, along with a lot of different foods. The good ones could be so tasty, the bad ones could be deadly, and some of the most deadly, like the Amanita phalloides, or death cap, looked almost exactly like the innocent ones.

Had he been born in a different century, or perhaps if he had been born in one of the worlds he read about in a fantasy novel, he would have been an assassin, and would have plied his trade in a more subtle way. He would have used poisons, natural ones. Fortunately for the Seattle community, he was only interested in studying from an academic standpoint. Curiosity.

He could of course had just gone on his computer, or phone and looked, but what fun would that have been?

While he was looking at a variety of different deadly fungi, he was focused that day on the Conocybe filaris, which was native to the Pacific Northwest and the most deadly of all mushrooms Lepiota brunneoincarnata He'd been there until they closed the doors.

Sam, his roommate had been sound asleep when Will come home and snoring like he usually did. Will didn't especially like snoring, but it was the price he paid for cheap rent. He could live with that. Usually, it didn't bother him all that much, his bed was far enough away from Sam's so it didn't really keep him awake. But that night it was different he was exhausted and didn't really know why. But he eventually managed to fall asleep and woke up feeling refreshed and like things were back to normal.

Sam, as predictably still asleep when Will rolled out of bed. and padded down the hall and into the bathroom. After he was done with his morning absolutions which included a shower, he changed into a pair of tan chinos and a green button-up short-sleeve shirt.

He could have been productive and studied but wasn't in the mood. So, he watched a couple of episodes of Teen Wolf on Hulu and then headed out to his morning coffee run. In all honesty, he was more interested more in the breakfast sandwiches than the coffee, though his morning shot of caffeine was an added bonus.

Finn, the usual barista that greeted him and took his order, wasn't there.

Instead, a young, blond, All American type, whose nametag read Chance smiled at him as he reached the head of the line.

"Hi, welcome to Starbuck what can I get started for you?" he asked, "and what's your name?"


"My name is Will, and I'd like s Starbucks Reserved Dark Chocolate Mocha and a double-smoked bacon cheddar and egg sandwich, please. Where's Finn?'


"Don't know," Chase replied as he wrote Will's name down on a cup. He just didn't show up for his shift, so I got called in.

Will nodded as he paid for his items. Will had not known Finn that well, but they attended the same college and he'd seen him around campus he seemed a decent enough guy and they'd talked sports and girls, Finn having a greater interest in them than Will, but they'd never gotten close. Still, it seemed unlike him to just not show up or call in. That worried Sam just a little since in the past six months six students had disappeared. At school one day and gone the next.

Will was no detective, he didn't even play one on TV, but it struck him as odd. It could have been a coincidence. It probably was coincidence but he wondered what the implications were if it wasn't just a coincidence. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he glanced around the cafe. For just an instant it seemed like someone was watching him. Then the feeling was gone.

Just his imagination, he was sure.

He shook off the thought as he headed out the door. He had a date later that night with Zach, they were going to see a movie. He was looking forward to it. He pulled out his phone as he exited the building and sent the other teen a quick text message reminding him what time he would pick him up.

Then he was walking down the street.