Chapter 4: The Meeting

Chris walked through the quiet, lonely streets of Pittsburgh that night, thinking out loud to himself.
“There has to be some reason why that dart did what it did,” Chris said. “I think it’s fate that I need to go to this Haven City. There has to be a great story there, just has to be!”
Chris wanted to jump on his laptop right away and start researching this far-away, exotic place, but he desperately needed a cup of coffee first. He was so tired from not only working hard, but drained from working the long hours. He was taking on the role of becoming the paper’s savior, after all.
Hardly anyone was on the streets at night. It was a lonely, empty feeling – a similar feeling that was in Chris’s heart. Could he really do this? Could he somehow rise above all the frustration and disappointment and be seen as a hero?
Chris walked into the Steeltown Café, the only café in Pittsburgh, and the only one open 24 hours. The owner, whom everyone called “Steely Steve”, was surprised to see him as he sat down.
“Chris? Chris Saunders, is that you?”
“Yeah, Steve, it’s me. Give me a tall decaf. I’m struggling here.”
Steve nodded his head and gave Chris a smile as he prepared his coffee. “You look like it. And I know you only come here when there’s something on your mind.”
Chris couldn’t shy from that information. Steve knew him way too well.
“It isn’t about the newspaper situation, is it?”
Yep, Steve knew him.
“Basically. You see, I didn’t want the paper to die, so I decided to step in and be the hero. Now I got to find a big story that’s amazing enough to save the paper.”
Steve sighed and said, “Of course you do. That’s how you are, Chris – you’re the one with all the problems in this town and you think you can fix them all, even the ones that aren’t your own.”
Chris glanced a stern look at Steve. “What do you mean?”
“Think about it. You fight your own personal demons, you deal with the paper’s issues…Whenever there’s something going on, you try to step in and say, ‘I can fix that!’ One person can’t fix everything, Chris.”
Steve set Chris’s coffee on the counter. It was steaming, yet Chris knew it would be tough to wait for it to cool. All he could do was stare into it as he gathered his thoughts.
“Oh, Steve, I know, but…my life has been tough enough. I lose the love of my life as I’m about to take the job of my life, and now the job of my life may be gone unless I do something about it. There was no one else there to help me.”
Steve was starting to get where Chris was coming from, but he wanted to give him one more piece of advice.
“Chris, I wish you nothing but all the luck in the world, but be warned: Sometimes, a savior gets into more opportunities for trouble than for heroism. Remember that. I’m here for you, though, if you need help.”
The coffee had cooled. Chris took a sip. It was pleasantly relaxing. Now remembering where he was and who he was talking to, Chris pulled out his laptop and asked Steve, “You ever hear of a place called Haven City?”
Steve turned to stone. He dropped the plastic cup he was holding and it clattered to the floor.
Steve was starting to shiver. No, not that place! Steve thought. I can’t tell him about what happened to me there…
Steve quickly shot through the back doors and out the exit.
“How weird,” Chris said.
Then, a young female who was cleaning tables was right up against Chris’s chair. Chris turned and looked, flabbergasted.
She smiled and said, “I can tell you about Haven City. You can put that computer away.”