The African Prince and the Mayan Princess (Part Two)

Part 2

I love my husband, but sometimes he does some stupid shit... and he always has to have the last word.

"And... might I also add that..."

He continued on about why I shouldn't cut my mother out of the picture the way I do. She should be able see her grandson whenever she'd like, sounding as if he's some kind of apprentice to Dr. Phil. I turned my attention from him and thought about the creature I had uncovered back inside the abandoned building. There's no way that that sort of creature should still exist. We've exterminated most of them in this region. Without our abilities, we are powerless against them. I interrupted him just as he began babbling about my mother setting up my appointment to see a therapist.

"Wait, what the hell?! A therapist?!"

My husband shrugged his shoulders throwing up his hands. "I had no part in this."

"Anyways," I said, shaking my head. "Remember those creatures we took down right before we found out we were pregnant?" Oh God, what did I walk into asking him that.

"I... I wasn't pregnant. You were pregnant."

See what I have to deal with? "Damn Kenneth, why must you always be a smart ass? This is serious, babe!" My husband doesn't raise his voice with me when we engage in a disagreement or verbal altercation. Don't get me wrong, we argue, but he does it to where he isn't so threatening or domestic-violent mode, which does him no good because I end up winning anyway. He is for the most part usually pretty mellow and very considerate of others. Some people tend to take his kindness for a weakness and in return will wish they hadn't done that. I've been a witness to these incidents on more than one occasion. The words of his mother suddenly rang into my ears. "When he starts acting stupid, just slap him upside the head. You'll feel a hell of a lot better!" So I popped him upside the head.

"Hey...?" he scowled at me.

"Thank you, mother-in-law. I do feel much much better now."

"Are you listening?"

"Yes yes, I'm listening... god." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah so what, what's the big deal?"

"Well," I hesitated for a second, "I'm pretty sure one of them were in that building back there."

"So that's why you're acting like this. It's got you a little shook up."

I'm not going to lie, he was right. He knows me so well. Just when I think he isn't paying attention... he actually happens to be. I don't intimidate or falter very easily. Not to mention, I'm Mexican, so yeah, that isn't going to happen. But when creatures that you and your husband have taken down years ago suddenly reemerge, that frightens me. Never once in our battles together have we ever come across such a thing. They were eliminated, and those few that remained were sent through the void.

Part 3

"Let's discuss this after we get the baby. Plus, it's very, very late and I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to."

"Not even if your little sister is here?" He adds pointing towards the driveway.

"What??" I glanced up at my mother's driveway and noticed my sister's vehicle parked on the right side.

'She's back from Mexico already?' I asked myself.

"I thought Martha and her brood were in Brownsville?"

"Yeah, me too." I added... frowning.

My sister Martha, who is 27 and the youngest of us five kids, was supposedly visiting her husband's family down in Brownsville, Texas which is literally five minutes from the Mexican border.

"They were supposed to be there for about a week, right? It's only been what... two days?"

"Yeah," I added unbuckling the seat belt with a look of confusion. "Strange"

Closing the door to the vehicle, I glanced down at my watch as the hands positioned themselves in what little moonlight remained.

"Ay dios mio, Kenneth!! It's already 6:10 in the morning." I whispered loudly to my husband as he opened my mother's gate.

He responded like an annoying husband ought to with a sarcastic expression of shock, as if he couldn't believe the startling discovery I had stumbled upon. I swear, sometimes I just want to slap his sarcastic grin off of his face.

My mother is a fanatic when it comes to her yard. A six-foot black metal fence outlines the yard decorated with plants like aloe vera, roses, lilacs, and lavender she's got them everywhere. Don't even get me started on the backyard. She grows her own vegetables and fruits. She's not old-fashioned, she's just a very smart woman. Me and my sisters have encouraged her to start up her own nursery. It took a while, but we finally broke her. Now, she's even happier that she did.

"See mommy," my sister Martha boasted one afternoon when I first introduced Kenneth to my family. "This entire time you were saying it's a waste of a talent if you make it a chore."

Yeah, she got the chancla after that comment, in front of everybody. Even her kids stopped playing just so they could video her yelling, "Worldstar!!"

Kenneth leaned over towards me whispering, "Oh no they didn't."

"Baby, you don't know the half of it," and she planted a kiss on him.

(To be continued)

Part 4

(Eight hours earlier)

I continued slowly pacing through the pile of bones that came up to my waist buried miles below a bustling and humid Houston metropolis. It was as though I was treading through a highly dense marshland. Actually, it was more like a river, so to speak, entirely of blood and bones. There were a lot of bones, everywhere. I look down only to realize that these must have been the remains of fathers, mothers, but mostly... children that had been abducted throughout the centuries. I felt a sudden urge of nausea beginning to tickle my stomach and work its way up my throat. I removed the black balaclava, that had secured my identity, in time as the bile exited my mouth. It has been a long while since Carlina and I have done this line of work. Whatever this thing is, it obviously shared no clemency or compassion, to say the very least, for the human race. Even Mona had forewarned us before we dove into this. This was indeed a demon that we were about to entangle with, or should I say... "I." It was the second one encountered since we've been back in the game for about three months approximately. In all honesty, I never would have known about who I really am If it had not been for Carlina, or should I say, Xocaja a.k.a. the Mayan Princess. I know, it's so much to take in. Several years ago, we'd take down a vicious race of beings called the "Sra'Kathans" from the planet Xipanu in the Andromeda galaxy. I'm not going to exaggerate, but it has been a very, very long time. The darkness howled over me as I replaced the balaclava and continued my trek through a long history of immense genocidal terror. I drew MOSI from her sheath on my back as she radiated with fury, matching my own expression, that she seared through the darkness with her blueish light.

"Please... help me!!" came a voice in the distance. It had belonged to a woman... young and possibly mid-twenties. I could hear the exhaustion in her voice. It had been three days since Kendra Miller's parents had reported her missing. I gripped MOSI firmly at her hilt as I peered around the corner. A young woman, bound at her wrist, hung motionless from what looked to be a rope over an endless abyss... great. It was too dark to actually see where the rope swayed from. I continued moving forward in the cold stillness towards the young woman.

"Please... somebody... help... me."

Poor girl, she could barely lift her head and her curly black wooled hair draped over her face. She still wore her Starbucks uniform, or what had been left of it aside from the frazzle made from what looked like bloodletting talons. She was covered in blood, but not all had been hers. I got closer guiding MOSI towards a set of cobblestone-like steps as the weight of the blood and bones finally lifted falling from my black ninja garb.

Part 5

"Kendra... Kendra Miller?" I called, hoping it was her at least. With MOSIs light I could see much more clearly that her face had been covered in dried blood and sweat.

I immediately replaced the headset in my ear I had taken out earlier. I thought it best to remove it as I descended into this abyss. Carlina always seems to think that I'm tuning her and Mona out, which is obviously not the case. At any rate, if anything were to happen, I'd already devised a plan that would not hinder my escape. We were already familiar with the kind of demon we were dealing with. She goes by the name of Mosphselex, a very ancient demon that is one of the Children of the Fallen that were cast out from the heavens. She has lurked this city since its birth on June 5, 1847. Although, no one has actually seen her. Nor were there any reported sightings that would indicate her presence. It wasn't until recently a revenge-fueled opposing gang from the Southside of Houston were struck by an abnormally gruesome death. It was a late midsummer night and people had begun pouring out the bars into a light trickle of rain. A tall, slender black man and his girlfriend were walking towards their vehicle along with some other friends. The man was a well-known gang member and he and his associates were enjoying the spoils of a recent robbery of a dealer from an opposing gang. The group decided to rendezvous at the IHOP a couple of blocks down the road. The opposing gang got word of his location and retaliated without hesitation. As soon the man exited the restaurant, a black vehicle with its light off sped in front of him and his girlfriend. The dark tinted windows descended as the roar of automatic rifles littered the night mowing the man and his girlfriend down like a lawn of tall grass. Bullets rip into the restaurant as patrons and employees screamed and ducked beneath the tables. Some didn't make it... even two children, a sixth-month-old and a ten-year-old. All because of two people's selfish actions, two children died in the process. The windows ascended abruptly as the vehicle sped off into the intersection. The following morning, the gunmen from the vehicle were found mutilated on a rural road heading towards Pearland. When I say mutilated, I do mean just that. One man's entrails were found ripped out of his torso, through the windshield, onto the hood. Another man had his face gouged out of his skull, was hanging over the passenger side door with his left arm ripped completely off. The other two men were found several yards from the vehicle... in pieces. Some of their remains lingered on the trees... as if they had been bashed viciously against it. That was when my wife, Carlina and I, discovered Mosphselex's presence, and she had been here for more than several decades now.

I turned on the headset. As it connected I said, "Kenneth to base. Kenneth to base. Come in Carlina." The headset garbled and my wife's voice entered from the other end.

"Hey, it's about time. I was beginning to worry," she replied.

"I know babe, I'm sorry, but I'm standing in front of Kendra."

Carlina gasped as I conveyed to her my current status.

"Kenneth, we need to get her out of there immediately!" she yelled.

"I'm working on it, babe. As soon as I get her down, we'll be out of here as soon as possible."

"OK, just be careful. I don't see movements in your immediate vicinity, but keep a look out. She may be watching you as we speak," she added. Got to love the wife! Not only is she my wife, but a very skilled warrior of Mayan descent. The original of her people before the Spanish (Europeans) came and tainted them. With shoulder length hair the color of ravens, her beautiful dark indigenous complexion complimented her beauty as well as the ferocity that gleamed in her eyes. She was accompanied with remarkable strength and stellar intelligence in both math as well as science. I happen to be the direct descendant of the Moorish King descendant in Africa before the Europeans too ravaged my land. Carlina and I were taken long before the Europeans shored. Anyways, I'll save that for another story. I glanced at Kendra.

"I'm gonna get you out of here Kendra, OK? Just trust me."

She struggled a bit to raise her head as I spoke her name. Tears began trickling down her face as the very sound of her own name were music to her ears.

"Please... get... me... down from here." She muttered delicately and that was more than enough confirmation for me. I wasn't going to lounge around trying to play match the description when this young woman is in dire need of medical attention.

"OK sweetheart, I'm going to need you to do something for me, OK?"

She glanced back up nodding in agreement. She was far too fatigued to reply verbally and I wasn't going to force her to.

"I'm going to need you to swing a bit so that I may cut you down over this platform. You think you'll be able to do that?" I asked her. She nodded again.

"OK, you ready?" She nodded once more and I began to gently pull her towards me, no more than two steps. I released her as she swung away from me. As she swiveled back, I fleetly swung MOSI. The sword's illuminated radiance hissed swiftly through the rope as Kendra fell into my arms. Returning MOSI to her sheath, I removed a kunai from my garb and severed the remains of the rope that had bound her wrist. We sat there for a second as Carlina chimed in.

"Baby, I hope you're ready because I've got movement in your vicinity and it's huge. When I say huge, I'm not exaggerating."

She pauses. "I think it's her... Mosphselex."

"It can't be!" I replied. "The satellite feed we got from Mona caps her at nine feet!"

"Kenneth!" Another voice enters, much raspier than Carlina's, with a heavy French accent belonging to Mona. "I assure you mon frere, it is her! She is the only one who resides in the murky depth of this city."

I drew a breath and replaced the kunai into my garb. Then suddenly, a small light began to flicker in the cold void adjacent from the platform behind us.

"Oh shit!" I murmured to myself.

The light began swaying left to right in the gloom followed by a low, but loud chortling groan. Without reluctance, I hoisted the young woman over my shoulder with haste. At that moment, a pair of large yellowish cat-like eyes scowled at me into a near petrified state. Luckily, Carlina had given me a bracelet which was augmented with a rune that warded and dispelled any and almost all forms of magic that threatened its wearer. Not to mention that all afflictions will be removed, but at a cost of energy. In my case, chi. I know, pretty cool, right? Or I'd be pretty dead. I'll never understand why Carlina chose to give up the sword and take up the arcane arts. She says it was her way to reconnect with her people, the powerful and highly enlightened Maya. Don't get me wrong, she's a stellar swordswoman. We trained together as adolescents in The Astral Realm where the infamous Immortal Ninjas reside. She figures since she is the original of her people, her magic will be powerful and potent.

"My love, it would be a waste to allow a vast amount of power to remain dormant within. So, it is vitally imperative that I pursue this," she conveyed with me one day. I'm not going to lie, I agree, and I'm kind of jealous at the same time. Shaking off the hold of Mosphselex petrification spell, I barely managed to evade the horned menacing talons swooping down in a powerful gale followed closely behind it.

I withdrew MOSI once again and began to give instructions to Carlina.

"Xocaja, I may need you to pull Kendra out of here and fast!!"

"I'm working on it, babe. I'm trying to get a lock on your locations for immediate extraction."

"No!" I yelled. "I'll remain here to fend her off!

She hesitated, let out a frustrated sigh, then finally said, "Fine." I could tell she was pissed, but she'll get over it. "I got a lock on her position... Executing full extraction... now!'

At that moment, something massive came crashing down onto the platform. Luckily, Kendra has already been extracted, but myself and the platform had fallen into the abyss below.

I landed on what seemed to be the ground, which was made primarily of earth, and clutched MOSI firmly in both hands. The remains of the platform continued to fall from above as the radiance from the sword grew more intense. The creature landed with an incredible force before me that I had to time slip to avoid the impact. As I glanced up, I was shocked to discover what she truly was. Mosphselex was a fucking dragon.

She let out a loud menacing roar that began to shake the earth around us and the remains of what was once the platform fell as I evaded the larger rubble accordingly as it came crashing down. How in the hell am I supposed to take this creature down?

"Kenneth!!" Carlina yells into the headset. "Are you OK?!!! What the hell is happening??? The entire city of Houston is in a state of panic Kenneth!! Everyone is freaking out over the massive tremor!" She says as she turns the radio up.

"Several buildings in the South Houston area are reported to have collapsed entirely. Houston fire and police department have shut down the area within a ten mile radius. Casualties are rising and many more injured as both fire and police work bravely to save the men, women, and sadly..." The reporter cuts off as sobs began to softly caress through the radio. "...and... and the children." Carlina shuts off the radio. "Kenneth!! We need to neutralize this bitch now!!"

"Carlina... baby... I need you or Mona to tell me the quickest way possible to dispose of this dragon or Carlina... you're going to have to come here and banish this thing?"

"Kill a what??" she replied. I could hear the confusion in her voice as Mona chimed in with her heavy French accent. "Did he say dragon?" I didn't waste time allowing her to finish as a massive scaled claw came shuttling down from above me. I dodged again as it came crashing down into the earth. Luckily, I had more than enough room to maneuver, which allowed me to be agiler. So evading her attacks wasn't too much of a problem. The radio garbled and I could barely decipher what Carlina was saying.

"Will... there... few moments... grab... staff." Or at least, I think that was what she was saying.

Mosphselex lets out another roar only with a bit more frustration. I guess she hadn't anticipated a human moving so swiftly to avoid her deathly attacks. Hell, I don't blame her. I'd be heavily annoyed as well. Suddenly, a large bright luminescent sparkle zipped into view. The sparkle exploded sending the massive entity back a step... her step, that is the explosion illuminated the darkness as Carlina emerged with staff in hand. Without hesitation, she spun her staff viciously clockwise above her and chanted in her ancient Mayan tongue. "The darkness you lie, the darkness you drift, to the void you've employed, and do so very swift!!! With that, she slammed the staff down as a portal open before her and the Mosphselex.

The massive beast acted without reluctance and spun around swinging her tail towards us. I acted swiftly and time-leaped in Carlina's direction. Don't get me wrong, Carlina is a very tough woman. She can take a blow. I would know due to the intense training we've had by Darruk back in the Astral plains under Lord Haax's leadership. How we've managed to survive is still a mystery. No human being should ever have or desire to endure what we had. After all, we were trained by The Fallen or at least a small portion of them anyway. They had deceived us both. What can I say, we were still practically children when they snatched us up. I mean, they did Carlina, or should say, "Xocaja," very dirty. Therefore, I feel her pain and frustration towards the Immortals for allowing the Spanish to murder, ransack, and rape her people, claiming it as her own. Apparently, she's still holding a five-hundred-year-old grudge she can't seem to let go yet and I'm not going to tell her she should give it up. Especially considering how much stronger she's become over the centuries.

I extend my arms out to grab her and then suddenly realized I couldn't. My hands went right through her as though she were a hologram. Well, I'll be damned. She created a decoy long enough to throw the ancient creature off to perform her banishment spell. Nice one, Carlina! Mosphselex's tail swung vigorously through the hologram, nearly missing me as I time-slipped once again. I have to be cautious of my time slip usage. My recovery may be stellar, due to experience, but the more I use at once may mean instant death. I could tell this was going to be a quick fight for the beast. I've heard of ancient dragons having superior power and intelligence that is beyond any human comprehension, but this creature, in particular, isn't the brightest of them, or I'm just overlooking something here. The decoy vanished as the actual Carlina appeared above the ancient being hovering in the exact same spot where the platform once stood and her staff illuminated brilliantly. She continued chanting the exact same words in her ancient Mayan tongue. The portal she had previously conjured was immense. Her eyes glowed with white fury with hands and staff raised. At that moment, she threw her hands downward gesturing the portal towards the dragon yelling, "Consume you!!!"

Mosphselex let out an ear-piercing roar as the portal came crashing down upon her. There was no escaping the spell as it consumed the beast and then suddenly, she had vanished into the abyss and darkness abruptly followed closely behind her. I glanced up as Carlina descended with her staff illuminating the dark cavern. As she landed, she immediately collapsed into my arms. The spell must have exhausted her.

She glanced up at me and said, "We did it baby."

"No babe, you did it. I'm very proud of you," I replied.

She stood up and kissed me on the lips.

"Thank you amor! Now let's get out of here."

"You think you have enough energy to instantly teleport us back?" I asked

"Yeah, It should be enough," she replied. "But more importantly, I want to get home to our son."

"OK... let's be on our way."

As we began to depart, I noticed something glistening in the exact same location where Mosphselex once stood.

"Hold on a second. What is that?" I said pointing.

She too looked in the direction of where I was pointing and began to slowly walk towards it. I pulled her back and she yelped.

"Babe...?"

"Let me go first," I responded. "If anything happens to you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Her dark brown eyes look seductively into mine and says, "You know it turns me on when you say things like that?"

I chuckled, "Yes, I know." With that she pulled me back towards her guiding my left hand into her robes. She lets out a soft moan as my fingers caressed the moistened fabric of her arousal. I caressed her more as she grabbed the back of my head kissing me passionately. I continued to caress her more intensely as her soft moan grew louder. She pushed me down onto the earth removing the bottom half of my garb and mounted me. She guided my rock hard member into her warmth as she engulfed all of me. She leaned forward for more passionate kisses and continued as moans exit her lips. I lifted her robes revealing her dark beautiful skin and plump succulent breast. She placed my hands on each of her dark round breasts as she thrusted more intensely. Her dark ravenous hair completely covered her face in the midst of her sexual excitement. She leaned forward again biting my lower lip. We looked passionately into each other's eyes as it became more intense.

"Te amo mucho papi. Quiero tener otro bebé," she replied in Spanish.

With that, we both climaxed together and she finally collapsed onto my chest.

Ten minutes passed as we finally gather ourselves and walk towards the glistening object.

"Oh my!" Carlina says as I pick up the object. "It looks like an oversized diamond."

"Yeah, let's get it back to Mona and have her examine it."

(Eight hours later. Back at Carlina mother's house)

I make my way through the gate and close it behind me. My husband heads towards the door and rings the damn doorbell.

"Kenneth, what the are you doing?"

"You're going to wake up the baby you buffoon."

I'm not going to lie, I love this man with every part of me and sometimes I just want to slap him. Sigh... But he's mine and I wouldn't trade him for the universe. I recall a time when he and I first met again. He was in California when I had rediscovered my powers. I hadn't fully grasped my magical ability completely but was able to regain my skills as an Immortal ninja thanks to Mona. It's been 71 years since myself and Kenneth dueled to the death. My mission at the time was to prevent him from intervening with the war between the Axis and Allied powers during WW2, the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. He was fed up with the Immortals and wanted to sabotage the plan laid for the humans in Japan while the Immortals continued deceiving the young color wielding European American thieves. Well, he and I are both humans too. I had defeated him in the duel before he had been reincarnated 49 years later. Believe me, it was not easy to cut down the man you love for a ruthless organization from the spirit realm. The Americans were young and vile, but they loved to promote themselves as the next level of white European perfection. Which of course was false, but some happily played along much like Hitler's devoted fans. Yes, I have much dislike for the Europeans. My husband thinks I'm crazy and that I'm living in the past. He knows better just like I do. I had a chance to eradicate them the minute their filth tainted my people's Tierra. If it had not been for Kenjib Mbatu (Kenneth, my African Prince, a descendant of true Kings not like the sellout types of modern society), there would be no New Spain... no Mexico (la Yucatan), no Guatemala, no Honduras, no Belize or Nicaragua—the powerful and highly enlightened Maya, my indigenous people. My husband says the only reason why the Spanish hate Africans were because they had been ruled by the Moors (my husband's people) for over eight hundred years. If that's not having a grudge against Black people, I don't know what is... especially these tainted ones. They're much like the rest of these Europeans, full of pride and engulfed in hatred. They shun their indigenous side to grasp their European foolishness. Yes, I'm pissed and yes, I'm still living in the past. Sigh, I know, I know... It's pathetic to think this way, but how can you not when this modern day society is divided much like farm animals? The old Spanish dichotomy adopted by the Americans. Me and Kenjib (Kenneth) know too much, but we keep it to ourselves. We'll eventually pass this truth on to our children, which we are having more children, I don't care what Kenneth says. He keeps saying some crap about, "I don't want us to turn into a family of Super Saiyans!" Whatever the hell that means. Although, I will never forget the day I found him after my own reincarnation in 1983, which makes me 35 today (in human years). Since our bodies transition from immortal state to human, we still will outlive most humans by five hundred years. Which means my mother, brothers, my sisters, mis sobrinos y sobrinas, will all be long gone.

The year was 2017, and Kenneth was just packing the remainder of his things before departing from Houston. Yes, I had been tailing him since he left Hobby Airport in Houston to LAX in Los Angeles. He called himself trying to date this Filipino female... poor baby, LOL. He didn't stand a chance as she dusted him a week later. I'm not even going to go there with the Spanish and what they did to the Philippines. So, my husband, as distraught as he was, decided to enjoy himself while he was in LA.

I continued waiting diligently for him to emerge from the bar. The night blanketed the laboring metropolis as the lamppost began to swell with light. It caught me incognizant briefly, as I receded back into the shadows.

"Morky's Bar & Grill: Live, Love, Beer..."

...or at least, that was where I was told he'd be. A hole in the wall located on Cornwall Ave. and S St., a place for the sad, impoverished, and dejected of the patrons, those who have striven for excellence and fell to the depth. Some wallow in woes on their ten tired toes, embracing the darkest detours... traversing in this shade of a world... gallantly. I waited as many more minutes marched… surpassing, but I waited in the shadows which I was hoisted since the genesis of my adolescence. She and the man she waited for.

"It's been several decades," I thought to myself. "Will he even remember me, I wonder?"

The bar door flew open. He emerges alongside a young woman, with short black hair, strapped to his calendered leather jacket. The young woman appeared slightly intoxicated and somewhere between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. She was an attractive slender and exquisite woman. Caressed with an almond mocha complexion, she was outfitted with an exotic satin dress clutching what looked to be a pocketbook under her arm. She eased into the jacket held out for her.

“Why would a woman of her caliber be in an area such as this?”

She stumbled a bit as he caught her after hailing the Lyft driver in a white cloud-colored Prius. She mouthed something to him,

"You're such a gentleman. You sure you don't want to ride with me?" With his back towards me, Kenneth threw his hands up indicating that he was going to pass. I chuckled. I knew damn well there was no way he'd ever take advantage of her.

He's always trying to be a gentleman. I know him too well. Sadly, I always thought he failed at trying so hard to be something he isn't. Even more so, having an even more difficult time trying to satisfy self, but always bowing to the aid of others. Later, I’ve learned that it isn't such a bad thing after all. All due to this man in particular, I've learned to put aside my pride. I shake my head reminiscing a time we were in the Astral Planes of Ancients in 1597.

I look on as he closed the door behind the young woman. I guess you can’t help a man who at least does his best. He stepped away from the vehicle as it accelerated back into the bustling traffic. He placed his hands into his pockets pulling out his phone. The illuminance from the device captured his dimpled cheeks and a smile painted itself across his lips. His hair was cut short and I was more baffled that he had even considered cutting his hair in the first place. “I can’t believe he even did that. I suppose necessary to fit into a farm full of domesticated animals or should I say, tardily evolved humans," I said to myself. He looked up from his phone and began to traverse into the paused traffic. Reaching the sidewalk, he continued north on Cornwall Ave. I turn towards the alley behind me leaping towards the roof. Good to know that I've retained all of my skills or I'd be a grazing sheep like him. Using my time-slipping skill, I head north in his direction. I reach him just as he begins to turn right on Division St. He gasped as I appeared before him.

(To be continued)