Akshay Malik sat behind the counter in the shop “One Comic to Rule Them All”. He had gotten a phone call from the owner, Mr. Kev Smithers and the tone of his voice was definitely not something that Akshay was excited to hear. It sounded foreboding, tired, and just a little life-altering. Plus it did not help that when he called, he told Akshay “This will change your life.” The whole day Akshay was not nervous and thinking as to what that could possibly mean. What did Kev mean by his new would change his life? Was Kev going to proclaim his undying love for him?!

…flattered by no.

So Akshay sat behind the counter, mulling as he sipped from his Romba Juice Smoothie and tried to stop thinking about exactly what Kev wanted to say. It was rather foolish of him to be so panicked. After all, Kev was the one that gave his comic book a shot by showcasing it here and even helped Akshay come up with some of the finer points of the story arcs. Kev was good news incarnate!

Then he heard the back door open and Akshay straightened up to see the owner stroll through. He wore a long coat, shorts that went down just a little past his knees and long t-shirt that looked stained with something of the cheesy variety. Akshay suddenly began to get a bad feeling. Kev only turned to eating cheese when he was really down about something.

And judging by the looks it the stain, it was a double cheese pizza. Oh…no….

“Hey Akshay,” Kev muttered as he strolled through the comic store and began to look around in an interested manner. It was almost as if he were a tourist taking in the view.

“Yo, boss man,” Akshay greeted. It was met with a sad, little smirk on Kev’s face. “What’s up?”

Kev sighed as he looked longingly one more time around him before he turned back around to face Akshay. He fixed his glasses before finally started to walk towards him.

“Akshay…we’ve had a good run, haven’t we? I mean, I was only open a week when you danced your way into the door…dressed up like Captain Goldfish…and said that just how to normally dressed.” Kev chuckled.

Akshay, on the other hand, was just a little terrified.

“Um…i-is there are reason that you are flashba--?”

“I have to sell the shop…”

Thu-Thump! Thu-Thump! Thu-Thump![/b]

Akshay could feel the tendrils of blackness reaching out like arching claws from the fields of his vision. The numbness that started from his toes began to extend, growing higher and higher as he tried to control his breathing. Quickly, though, that was beginning to prove impossible. It was like a vice had wrapped around his stomach and it was squeezing tighter and tighter with every millisecond that passed on. Akshay felt himself being deprived of air. There was no way, simply no way that he could handle this right now…

One Comic to Rule Them All…was closing?

Thu-Thump! Thu-Thump![/b]

His eyes blurred over as he watched Kev Smithers walked up to him. His old friend, the man that gave him this wonderful job, that gave him his shot with his comic book series, he was really telling him that his sanctuary, his home away from home, his Fortress of Aloneitude was closing down! And the look on his face was a serious one! He wasn’t kidding!

“Akshay?”

Thu-Thump![/b]

Eyes rolling up, mind finally shutting down like an old computer, and suddenly Akshay felt gravity win over his feet. The lanky wordsmith collapsed into a heap on the ground, feeling the pain that emitted from his fall wrap around him like a warm blanket. In the darkness he was safe, he was happy, and there were no silly talks about the closing of his absolutely favorite place in the world. All he could hear was a faint voice whispering…

”Akshay! Breathe, man! Breathe!”

It took a moment for Akshay to finally realize that he was being spoken to. Swimming through the hazy blackness that enveloped his mind, the young wordsmith did his best to try to return to the world of the conscious but this place was darkness was just far too sweet and relaxing for him to want to leave so soon. Here there was no madness about stores closing or about his life changing forever. It was a sweet realm that made him feel safe and comforted. Why should he go back?

But the worried voice of his friend and boss rang too loud in the emptiness. It only took a few more urgings before the comic nerd finally decided that he had to face reality. He swam and he swam until finally his face broke the surface.

Akshay’s eyes opened wide as he found himself in a sitting position against the wall, across from him, Kev Smithers say with his back to the counter. The two friends simply stared at one another, trying to make sense of everything going on in their world. Akshay slowly controlled his breathing, while Kev rest his head back against the counter once he was sure that Akshay was not going to pass out again.

Finally, Kev sighed as he looked at his friend.

“Are you done with that little panic attack?” he asked.

Akshay gulped and nodded.

“Good. Cause if you do that again, I’m going to kill you myself,” he smirked.

Akshay smirked in response but that did little to alleviate the sheer weight of what was going on. There was still the dark cloud of what Kev had said floating above their heads. With caution, and with poise, Akshay finally raised his gaze to Kev and asked him in the most polite manner what was going on.

“Kev…WHAT THE &$%#?!”

Well…maybe not that much poise.

Kev smirked and sighed heavily as he reached into the counter he had his back pressed against. He dug around for a second before he finally managed to pull out Akshay secret stash of gummi worms. Opening the pack he pluck one out and mindfully began to chew on it. A second later he just sighed again.

“Akshay, I…I can’t keep the store running anymore,” he said with a shrug. “Competition is tough, I really don’t have the funds, and…Newman Ledge. His comic store, it’s slaughtering us. And he keeps harassing me but…there’s nothing I can do about it. Really nothing much the police can do about someone leave broken action figures on your doorstep.”

“Newman…” Akshay mumbled disdainfully. He hated that large, round man with the exceptionally fake smile.

“Yeah,” Kev finally said. “I…just can’t do this anymore. I think…I think I’m going to go back to California. At least there the nerds are quite so…nerdy, especially with threats. So…I’m going to sell. I dunno if another comic owner would want to by this place. Newman might by the one who actually buys so you might not be completely out of a jo—“

“Noooooooooooooo!!” Akshay cried to the heavens. And cried…and cried…and cried…

One Hour Later

“Are you done throwing up?” Kev called into the restroom.

Akshay, kneeling against the porcelain toilet seat, sighed as he lifted himself up, grabbed onto the sink and proceeded to wash his mouth out. He had cried and thrown up so much that he figured he was never going to eat again. But he just could not help it. The very idea that Newman Ledge could possibly own this place made the man want to cringe and empty his stomach yet again, even though there was absolutely nothing in there!

So, taking a shaky breath, Akshay sighed as he stared at himself in the mirror situated in the dimly lit bathroom. He splashed more water on his face to calm himself down as he tried to not think about the possible situation. Another spasm shot through his stomach but it was weak and he managed to gain control over his body after it.

He was ready. He straightened himself up, turned around, and opened the bathroom door to reveal a startled and concerned Kev waiting for him.

“Akshay, seriously?” he asked.

Akshay hung his head as he sighed. “I can’t help it! Newman is such a…a…a tool! How could you possibly want to sell to him?”

“It’s not like I want to, Akshay,” Kev said as the pair of them walked back out to the front of the store. “But in this economy, not many people want to get into the comic biz; not unless it’ll be a sure thing. Now, you know Newman is a jerk, but he knows how to turn around the business and make it thrive.”

“By being a jerk to the employees! You’ve seen how he treats them and scams the customers. That is the only way he makes money because he is too sly to really get caught,” Akshay shook his head. “You sell to him and ‘One Comic to Rule Them All’ will be a shadow of its former self.”

Kev sighed as he stopped and rest his back against one of the walls and watched as Akshay paced back and forth.

“I’m sorry, Akshay. But…I need to go home. I can’t stay in New York anymore.” Kev mumbled and shook his head. “I need to sell. And if not to Newman, then who?”

Akshay sighed as he lowered his head and wanted to punch something. He loved this comic shop way too much to let it go so easily. It was him that painted it, that ordered all the comics, that hired the new workers, trained them, that upheld the costume days and came up with the skits, and even came here on weekends when repair men needed to come and fix things. He put his heart and soul into this place so how could he just let it go? How could he watch it fall into the ruinous hands of Newman Ledge?

He turned his eyes back to the rows and rows of comics. He then spotted his own. The diamond in the rough, the thing that made his comic shop partly his. And suddenly he got a stupid, ridiculous, MAD[/b] idea. And it blossomed into a force of nature in his head that he would not be able to ignore.

He snapped his head back around to Kev.

“Me.” Akshay said with a conviction that he didn’t realize he had. “I’ll buy it.”

Kev tilted his head as he locked eyes with Akshay. It was obvious that he was trying to gauge whether or not Akshay was serious. But as he stood there, staring at the boy, it was obvious that Akshay was dead serious; at least that was the look in his eyes. Kev, unsure of how to respond to this, simply stood back and waited for a second or two, probably wanting to see whether or not Akshay was going to snap out of his statement and take it back. But, standing there, Kev understood on some level that the young wordsmith was completely and utterly serious.

A blink of his eyes and Kev adjust his glasses.

“What, Akshay, are you serious?” he asked.

Akshay, for a second, was not sure whether or not he was. Part of him was terrified and he thought for sure that he was going to say no, that it was all brought on by the heat of the moment. But something sparked inside Akshay, something that told that as scary a decision as this was, it was the absolute right one.

He nodded, in response to Kev’s question, and a slow grin came across his lips.

“Yeah…I’m serious…” he said.

“Akshay…”

“Kev, Kev,” he responded as he walked up to him, a look of intent in his eyes. “I can do this. I mean, I have money saved from my sales, and I’m sure I can make money off this place, hell, I’ve been running it for majority of the time anyways! No offense.”

Kev looked confused for a second, unsure really of what to do. The offer that Newman ledge could give him would have huge, he knew that, but he also knew that the majority of what Akshay said about him was true as well. While he didn’t want to see his comic shop go, he knew he also needed the money. But there was just something about Akshay that was…inspiring…

Kev grinned.

“Akshay…I mean…if you can manage the down payment…”

“Course I can!” Akshay beamed. “Give me this chance. I can afford the down payment and you’ll make the rest of the money back before you know it. I promise on my word, that you will!”

Kev, regarding him for a moment, chuckled and finally nodded.

“Okay, Akshay. One Comic to Rule Them all…it’s yours.”

Akshay sighed as he stood in the middle of the comic shop that, for some reason, just seemed to be that much larger. In his hands he held the keys to the shop. Now, Akshay had always had keys to the shop, but this was far more symbolic. He now actually OWNED the keys to the shop! He was an actually business man now! With a business of his own! A business…that could probably fail and completely wipe him clean of every single cent that he owned.

…

…

…But Akshay refused to let such thoughts steal away his thunder! He knew it was a risk, he was not stupid. This economy was not exactly the best thing for budding, new businesses so it was very possible that Akshay was walking into quicksand. But he was not going to let his beloved comic shop slip into ruin or disuse due to someone like Newman Ledge.

He sighed as he strolled, brushing his fingers across the comic stands, peering at the cases filled with past dated comics, and glanced up at all the merchandise, posters, signs, toys, figurines, everything in here was his. With his passion and energy for this place, he knew he would treat this place with all the respect and honor that it deserved. This place was going to be his baby and with it, it could not only share his enthusiasm for comics, but he’ll be able to continue launching his own comic series. For once, Akshay did not feel like he bit off more than her could chew.

He felt just right. This had to be the best decision, it simply had to be.

A sigh on his lips, Akshay beamed as he looked around the store once more before shoving the keys in his pocket and heading for the backdoor so that he could leave. He would be here bright and early on the morrow to open HIS[/b] comic shop.

Now he just had to break the news to Emerald…

THE END