The man looked at the key with a distant expression. He seemed sad to have the object right in front of him. "Because I know who had it before you," he said. "It's no ordinary key. If you'll trust me, I can show you." He gestured to the door again. "There are others out there with the same questions. I'd rather tell you all at once instead of repeat myself. Please, insert the key into your door lock - I know it's not for this door...and that this isn't the side with the keyhole. It'll fit anyway. Trust me."
If Lavender chose to listen to the stranger, her key would touch the lock to her apartment door and it would magically open up into a keyhole. Her key would then enter as if it was always meant to be there. "Now just think to yourself, 'Parthenon Sub,' turn the key, and open the door."
The dark-skinned stranger smiled at Mauro's agreement to trust him. That had been easier than most. One he'd actually had to show off to in order to get him to trust him. At his questions, the man raised his hand and made to slap Mauro, but his hand passed right through his head.
"That's why I can't help," he explained. He poked his hand through the kid's chest cavity since he'd braced himself for the slap. "Can't touch anything, so I'm kind of useless for this problem. Except to guide people who are useful. That I can do. What you'll have to do will depend on what Order wants. The others are people like you - people who have noticed the repeats.
"If that answers all your questions, we need to find a door," he said and proceeded to lead him along. "Any door, so long as it's closed. Your key is no ordinary key. It'll work on any door in the world, and will take you to more places than just what's on the other side."
"Please don't freak out," a voice said from behind him. Standing in his kitchen was a black man in a brown suit, his clothes slightly faded so there was little difference between the fabric and his skin. His shoes were covered in mud, yet tracked no prints anywhere around him. When he stepped there wasn't the slightest sound from his feet, as if he weren't actually touching the tiles. "You're just caught in a loop. You can fix it, but I'm afraid you'll have to come with me to do that."
In Marcus's arms, Inu whimpered and shrunk himself further into his owner's hold. The stranger looked down at the pup sympathetically. "I'm not going to hurt either of you. You need answers, and we need help. It's a fair trade, if you come with me."
The stranger rolled his eyes. Of course one of them would be a cynic. Not just a cynic, but an insulting one at that. If he could touch the living...but he took a deep breath and began to address his concerns one at a time.
"You've noticed it's the same day, haven't you? This couple was here yesterday. Everything they did yesterday they're doing today. Check your phone. The date hasn't changed. It won't change tomorrow. Or the day after that. You are caught in a loop. That is why you'll be their caddy forever. Because if you stay here, this cycle will never stop. You'd be amazed how even the most mundane of days can turn into someone's personal Hell." He stepped back, still glaring hard at Lorenzo. This was a tough nut to crack. He was going to have to be...dramatic. "The Gate is not a theory. It's the Pearly Gates, where I will lead you when you die. Where I will lead them," he nodded at the old couple. "I'm not some crazy person. I. Am. Death."
Suddenly his face darkened. His skin merged with his suit until it became a single entity - a brown robe that loomed over Lorenzo. A pair of massive brown wings shot out of the reaper's back. His hands had turned to bone, just barely visible under his long robes, and when he spoke there was a grinding and clacking, as if his jaw was now unimpeded by flesh. He stood over him, staring down with empty eye sockets that saw all.
"Willing to listen now?"
The stranger smirked. "No vans. We just need to find a door." He looked around the park. "The nearest house will be fine..." He craned his head until he spotted a stoop leading up to an apartment building. "That'll do." He led Silas out of the park and towards the building. "When we get to the door, all you have to do is insert the key and think 'Parthenon Sub.' And...I can't guarantee you'll like the truth. But you're a smart kid. I think even if you don't like it, you'll find a way to accept it."
