After giving the cab-driver the address, they drove to an area with fewer houses in a somewhat cheap fashion. Since Richard didn't know if this would be a quick affair or not, he and Isaac exited the cab and told him to drive on, since they could use the portal to get away afterwards anyway. They walked up to the mail-box in front of the house, and Richard made sure it was the right one. It had a lock on, which meant the only ones why could remove the mail from there was the owners, which was good. He put the envelope inside, before telling Isaac to wait there and walk up the small, stony road to the house. The bricks of the house had a light red color. It was a medium sized, but old and cheap house, which told him that they still weren't out of the economical difficulties from seven years ago.
Richard stopped in front of the door, it was the kind that was opened inwards, and knocked. At first, no one came out, but suddenly it opened, and his sister, Allison, stood there. She didn't look that different, apart from the amounts of age seven years and hard working had added to her face. Richard didn't smile, he just looked at her, confused, cold, sad, and perhaps even a little guilty. He raised his hand into a greeting. "Hi."
Her emotions went from not realizing it, to surprise, and then to pure hate in less than a second. "You!" she yelled, her face reddening from rage. "Get away!" Richard still didn't move, he just kept staring at her, unable to move. She slapped him across the face, two times, and while he did flinch slightly, he didn't move. "LEAVE!" His sister closed her fist, and hit him, somehow managing to gather a greater amount of strength than the guy in the gas-mask had -of course, not literary- and Richard fell to the rocky road. She then closed the door and locked it. Richard felt the pain from her fist, and the area around his left eye swell up. Hadn't it been for his fast-healing, it would have become a black eye the next day.
He stood up and walked away from the house. From the corner of his swollen eye he could see a small, red haired girl look at him with big eyes, but he didn't turn to look at her. Richard walked up to Isaac, who clearly had a pitying expression. Richard smiled, and started laughing, an honest laughter, soft, and the pitch slightly higher than his usual voice. The ticking had lessened, and he felt as if every fiber of his body had become lighter. He didn't feel that bad anymore, actually, he felt great. He felt wonderful. "I deserved that," he said, just to reassure Isaac that he didn't turn crazy. "And I'm fairly sure I needed it."
