Detoxed, a Sci-Fi Short Story
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Lacquered patches of oil rank as the morning moss festered with a tinge of aqua-marine. The reclining pavement of the LA river was freshly sauteed with pungent plastic and tire. tracks. I watched nearby frogs gallop like horses, escaping the grill of the sandstone surface. Couldn’t blame them, I’d dive into that warm blue water if it wasn’t full of dead birds and shit. The overhead cars boomed loudly like dinner conversations between Greek gods. Their shadows pranced into cracks of concrete that reeked of fresh graffiti. The sky was littered full of gusher-painted planes that shrieked aloud. I could almost inhale the aspirations of those aboard as their landing gear folded out. Maybe it was the car exhaust I was really inhaling.
LA was a city I had lived in for seven years now but it felt like this past week, I was a tourist. Tears began to stream down my face. The warm breeze carried an entourage of ambitious flies above. Like cowboys, they buzzed around me as if I were their bounty. My fingers twitched through bursts of numbness as I painted, and my lips cracked with the ever-increasing heat. My sweat-filled armpits were like insurance to keep me cool and covered. I’d lost count of the times I wanted to back all my gear up and call it for the day. I kept getting lost in the beauty of everything around me. BUZZ, BUZZ, my blackberry rattled in my pocket.
“Hey Jackass, this is Brian. Why the fuck did you walk out on us yesterday. Patty is in over her head making up for your bullshit. You knew today would be busy, especially since it’s taco Tuesda — ”
Blip. “I don’t have time for that…”
My painting of the LA River was just nearing the end, but honestly, it didn’t even look like the river. I wasn’t getting this whole painting thing. The discs in my spine chattered in agreement as I stood to walk around.
Cyclists with tactical spandex dyed in neon blurred by atop the walkway like light bike riders from Tron. Their colors smeared through the speckles of light, dodging abandoned tents and trash. The noise of the freeway roared, shaking everything so slightly. Off in the distance, two figures in black were inching forward in between the heat lines. They danced through the river as if it was the ocean. Were they drinking it too? Gross but hey, gotta do what you gotta do I guess. They splashed their way further until they were specs of color in the maze of concrete support beams. My head buzzed as I sat down back at my easel. I drove my hands through sandpaper hair, digging out the weeds of older hair. “Just what the hell am I doing?” I watched the remaining lost cloud dissipate behind the sun.
“What should I do Jen?”
The smell of sweet churros and pastries shot up my nostrils as I remembered the time I sat in on one of her demos. Her sneakers glided across the chestnut-paneled floor as she turned to the class with a grin. “It’s one thing to copy a scene, but another to paint your interpretation of it.” She swatted the different examples of landscapes that hung up on the whiteboard. “Even if the subject matter is the same, we all have the ability to paint like no other, so embrace those opportunities to add your own flair.” She said with a swoosh of the arm. Her pulsating hazel irises met mine as she smiled. I can still feel the excitement in those eyes.
“My interpretation.” I waddled my paintbrush through my mason jar. “I can try that.” I think she’d be happy seeing me trying this whole art thing. Who would’ve thought I’d be here right now? I can picture her jaw-dropping now. I would’ve loved to see her reaction.
It’s been two years since my sister passed away. I couldn’t believe it at first. I don’t think anyone could. I was minutes into my presentation at work when the receptionist pulled me aside. My chest tightened as I paced around, not responding to my name being called from the break room. I spent the evening in my work bathroom trying to get my head to stop spinning. I learned later on that it was suicide. She was the only family I had.
She was teaching Madrid when it happened, the doctor said she had overdosed on something I didn’t want to hear. It had been a year after she had gotten her master’s. Pete, her partner, got the call halfway into boarding a plane from Germany. I talked with him for a while trying to find myself in a bathroom stall. He had been tattooing in Munich and planned to surprise her with a visit. I could feel the life seeping in between his teeth with every minute we talked.
I quit the office job where I calculated statistics and numbers. Well not exactly quit, I was fired for breaking a co-worker’s nose and his pride in the bathroom stall. Ted was fond of taunting my job performance and hitting on all the women in the office. “Rough day huh pussy?” He sneered, entering the bathroom. I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke his nose with a flurry of punches. Throwing him to the ground I kicked until I couldn’t anymore, rupturing his testicles with liquidy pops. I was tired of squinting my eyes at the computer anyway, even if the money was good. With every day I sat in that barren cubicle, I could feel my soul slowly crawling out of the jugular, dying to dart out the front door.
My phone buzzed again, Brian was persistent, not that that mattered anymore. A cloud of cigarette smoke-dried my eyes as I packed up my painting and easel. I looked at my painting with an emerging smile. After thinking about Jen’s lecture again, I think I started to get it. Walking up the hill, I hummed to the beat of each step and splash of fleeting puddles. An older couple stood atop the bike pathway, dressed in new balances and matching Hawaiian shirts. Their smiles weren’t anything I could just ignore.
“Quite the nice painting you got there son. Looks great!,” he said through O’s of cigar smoke. “Only I think yours looks better than the real thing.”
“Thanks, it’s a gift for a friend.” I don’t know why I lied.
“Oh, how perfect, a good frame would fit it well”
I blushed. “I’ll look into that.”
The older lady handed me a mango-flavored fruit snack. “Here, take one, you look like you need something sweet”, she said smiling. My appetite rumbled in response. “I definitely do.”
“You need sunscreen too? It’s a hot one today.”
“No, I’ll be alright, already put on some before.” I lied again. They downed a gulp of water in response.
“Alright then, take care.”
“Thank you, and have a nice day,” I said. We waved each other off. They reminded me of my grandparents. Such sweet people. The sweating was getting to be too much so I decided to head back for the day. I opened my Blackberry to find the endless stream of voicemails from Patty. Wiping them with a few clicks, I studied my tomato-red face through the rounded reflection on my screen.
“Man, I gotta stop lying to people…”
Waiting for the light to turn green I felt the liquid in my ears sway in distress. Dizzied, spots of silver danced around like 4th of July sparklers. Maybe it was the blinding architecture or brutalist heat today. It definitely wasn’t the 97-degree weather. Definitely not. Puffing out the exhaust of air, I noticed blood crawling down my skin arm. Two red ants emerged from the cut, peering over my arm in a strange stillness. My armpits became soiled with sweat instantly. My limbs screamed at me. “Run, fucking run now.” My heels tensed and ached, begging me to get going. I didn’t mess around with bugs, ever.
“Get off me!!,” I screeched, shaking around.
My skin boiled underneath. A dry warmth and tingling sensation scraped up my arm. A mother and her kid studied me from behind the poster-filled light pole.
“It’s heat stroke,” I mustered, watching her break into a swift jog. The toddler pointed right at me as they sped down the block in a cartoon-like flurry. I shifted my attention to the frenzy of vintage hotrods that blew by. The smell of crisp rubber sent me back to the times spent trying to get candy at automotive dealerships while my parents were busy with indecision. Swaying side to side, my laces leaned in for a kiss as I fell forwards. I shut my eyes as the grill of an oncoming car closed in on me. I felt a hand pull me backward, away from the curbside just in time. My pens splashed into the murky curbside puddle, painting my face with dirty freckles. A strong hand excavated me up out of the way of traffic. A bright yellow blanket of fabric grabbed my peripheral as I found my heels. His shirt swayed like a sail in the current behind the waves of convenience stores.
“Hey Jordan, it’s been a while.” His slick jet black hair was cleanly shaved. He wore tangerine-colored glasses and a loose marine blue tank top. I studied his newly tattooed arms as he helped me stand up straight. Tigers darted through detailed treelines on his tan and scarred forearms.
“Bobby, it’s good to see you again”, I said while shaking his hand. He was wearing the same bracelet she got him. It was a bit worn out with faded cotton candy colors but the strap was new.
“It’s been quite some time man.”
“Yeah, it really has.”
“Still working in Bizcorp?”
“No, I quit that a little bit ago. I’m going back to school. Doing some painting.”
“Oh, nice…” He said, studying the canvas underneath my armpit. He was also an artist. They were always in the studio together making stuff. I’d always come in and see him tattooing on Jen. She was always smiling around him. They were really meant for each other.
“How have you been, man?”
“I’ve been good, been traveling a lot for work, just visiting home before flying out to London next week. Nice to walk around the river again, can’t say I missed the smell, though,” he said laughing.
I sniffed my shirt as he looked away. “London, that’s cool.”
“Yeah, it’ll be good to go back.”
“I saw your work online. Your recent stuff has been so good. I’m overdue for new ink, I need to book you some time.” He smiled as he dug his grocery bag open, bringing out some Gatorade.
“Want one? You look like you’ve been in the sun a lot.”
“Yeah, I’d love one. Thanks.”
I couldn’t help but smile in between chugs as we set off down the street. We talked for a little longer. I guess there was a limit to the jokes he could tell.
“You know man, I think Jen would be proud of what you’re doing.”
Looking down at the canvas, I smiled as the Sunkist summer wind grazed across the fields of our faces.
“Thanks, Bobby, that means a lot…”
“Let’s frame that in my studio when I get back, I got a good place waiting for it.”
“Sounds like a plan…” We saw each other a few blocks from my neighborhood. Glancing at my arm, I noticed the cut was gone from before. Maybe the heat was getting to me after all. I followed the sunset-speckled power lines on my walk home. The chihuahuas were wailing their usual declarations of war. They catapulted themselves at the fences like linebackers hellbent on winning. Their eyes squeezed in between the rustic pattern lining of metal. They beamed an amber-yellow as their slobber sprayed through. Those eyes, there wasn’t something quite right with those eyes. I felt contractions of fear slither up my spine as I made my way up my stairs.
As I steamed and spiced my chicken, I played elevator music through my mangled computer. Moonwalking from tile to tile, I danced through the kitchen steam. My apartment became a sauna of mouthwatering fragrances. I never enjoyed cooking until recently, but with this detoxing thing, It was like I was able to breathe and see again. That and I couldn’t bear to hear my friend’s forced compliments after each meal, we couldn’t just keep getting take-out. Gordon Ramsy has been teaching me well on Youtube. He’s stern but he’s keeping me humble with every lesson.
It wasn’t until I had finished cooking that I began to feel dizzy again, drops of blood fell onto the ground like before. The nightly wind blew around my shades, piloting dust into the air.
“What a full moon tonight”, I yawned. Gazing out into the skyline, the pain started to recede. The bleeding and cut like before were gone. I could feel them in my room. They didn’t try to be slick. I turned around with purple moonlight casting behind me, shining onto the two figures making themselves at home in my living room.
Their dark and neon equipment buzzed and beeped as one of them snacked on a bag of Skittles and reclined in my chair. The other one was waltzing around in my kitchen grabbing a bowl from my cupboard.
“What do you guys want? The carnival was yesterday.” I tried to stop the shaking at the sight of their features and equipment. They were unmistakably human looking, but what were they wearing? There was a long pause in between chewing.
“Are you guys aliens or something?”
“Yup, we came from Mars to suck out your brains,” she smirked.
“Knock it off, Kei.” He was busy helping himself to my dinner. They both wore lobster onesies minus the annoying sign to spin. They were dressed from head to toe in red. From BMX helmets to high-top Converse, it was all red. They were color-coordinated, I wonder if all aliens had bad clothing taste. The other one spoke as she adjusted her gadgety wristwatch. Her orange strands of short hair shook in the waves of the salty wind. The other one had long, flowing, black hair. He didn’t hesitate with manners as he helped himself to my dinner. This had to be a joke.
“What do you guys want? Money?”
“Let’s tell him, Phillip, It’ll be much easier,” she said.
“Tell me what?”
“We’re aliens remember, we can’t understand you,” she said through a mouthful of candy. My hands began to shake as the veins in my neck radiated.
“Ignore her Jordan. We’ve come to tell you something.” He said, waltzing up to me. I stared into his eyes, but his lobster costume couldn’t help but make me think this was all an elaborate hidden camera prank. His hair was messily swept over to highlight his thick eyebrows. They were definitely playing the human part pretty well.
“You could call us aliens at this point, but it’s easier to think of us as time travelers.”
“Aren’t aliens time travelers?”
“Yeah we are both, but we can’t tell you everything right now,” Kei said, opening another bag of Skittles.
“You saw us earlier. Once we get inside your bloodstream, time slows down, and that’s how it works.” Phillip tried to make better sense of it with hand motioning but it wasn’t helping.
“You mean to tell me you were the ants that cut me earlier?” And that you time traveled through my bloodstream?”
“Bingo”
My chest started flooring like an engine. “Okay, and I’m just supposed to believe all of this? How do you even know my name?
Kei smiled. “It’s written on the wall.”
“It’s too complicated to explain right now, but we’ve come to you with a proposal.”
“Of course, you did.” The subtle green light lit up the room while we sat in silence. I reached for my blackberry, and their eyes locked onto me.
“How am I supposed to believe you? You know I’m not really in the mood for jokes.” My skin began to sizzle.
Kei sighed as she finished tinkering with her wristwatch. The mechanical slits glowed and moved into place as she loaded something into place. She reached out her hand as her eyes dazzled in the moonlight. Her gadget clicked as a green holograph of my sister materialized as a holograph.
“We can go back and save your sister.” Her words echoed in the living room. I wanted to be angry, but her eyes weren’t joking.
“How?? How do you even know about her? ”She’s gone!”
“We were there Jordan, we saw it. She died in her apartment building. Suicide right? But in reality, it was framed to make it look that way.” Phillip said, putting down my bowl of food on the countertop.
“Okay that’s enough, it’s about time you leave.” I’ve had enough of these sick jokes… before I could finish Kei was holding onto my clenched fist.
“Listen. We can save your sister, but we also need your help too. It’s not that complicated, actually Jordan.” Her gaze was stern but I saw something else in those eyes.
“It’s easier if we just show you.” He joined her in grabbing my forearm. Heat began to bead down my forehead now.
“Don’t worry, I won’t suck your brains, not this time at least.” She sighed.
“So I’m just supposed to go along with this?
Their brief silence and clicking were anything but comforting.
Phillip grinned. “Ok Jordan, don’t blink.” I did blink and before I knew it a forest of carpet strands loomed like a rainforest. My scalp pulsed up and down with pinches of electricity. We stood together on the floor as it began to shake. Above us, a skyscraper of dust mites heaved through the silence. It was like watching a meteor grapple through the vastness of space. My senses felt jammed. The awe of it all was strangling me.
“Where are we? Did we time travel?”
“No, you aren’t able to do that quite yet. We just shrunk down to be able to move quicker.”
“Yeah? And how the hell is making me smaller than dust going to save my sister?” I felt my eyes begin to weaken with tears. Tears began to trail down my sunburnt face, it stung more than it normally did.
“She’s gone man. That darkness and grieving. Are you saying that’s all for nothing? Will I just forget all that happened? Am I just supposed to believe that everything just goes back to normal, as if she never died? How am I supposed to tell Bobby she could be sav — .” The two still held my hands, Kei squeezed my hand before raising her head to study the dirt on my carpet.
Her orange hair moved in slow motion.“You aren’t the only one who’s lost someone, Jordan. We both have.” Phillip returned her stare.
He placed his other hand on my shoulder. “Jordan, I know this sounds crazy and everything, but it’s just as you said. We can’t erase your pain, but Jordan, her death can be prevented because it wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“How am I just supposed to believe that man?
The two stood in silence, hands still holding mine.
“Look around Jordan, if you don’t believe us that’s fine and all. You can go back to your life and forget this ever happened but this happening and we can do this.” Jordan’s eyes almost were glowing. We watched more debris of dust crash into the weeds of the carpet. I wanted to scream and strangle these two, but I couldn’t. I blinked hoping to wake up from my dream but the two of them only looked at me more intently.
“Okay, I’ll go.”
Phillip patted my back.“You can trust us Jordan.”
I exhaled. The thought of giant spiders sealed the deal for me. “Guess I have no other choice.”
“That’s the spirit.”
Strutting forward, the two held their heads high. The confidence of these two was blaring. Through a tunnel of air, my apartment stretched through long panels of color. We stood on the railing as the moon receded into the backdrop of buildings. Stumbling forward in a concert of dust, I looked up to see the two looking out into the night, both of their faces were full of blankness, but their eyes said something else. It was only then I began to realize how sad they both looked. My world was still shaking, my phone slipped through my grasp. Shattering below, it set off the chihuahuas like an alarm. The two conversed, waiting for me to acclimate to the pressure. Waves of sounds gushed through the tunnels of my ears. The liquid of noise just kept pounding. Phillip grabbed my arm to stop me from shaking over.
“How are you doing?”
“Not the worst, not best,” I said, gulping down my lunch.
“It’s alright, it happens to everyone the first time they jump.”
“Everyone? Like other people like me or you?
Kei laughed. “Secret.”
“Alright, well, we’re just getting started Jordan, so hold on won’t you?”
She smiled, “You don’t want to miss this.” Before I knew it, we were soaring like jets through the night L.A. skyline with the hair in our faces and the city below us. The city below blinked patterns of saffron yellow. The never-ending traffic was nothing more than systems of caterpillars inching toward their destination.
“Are we time traveling?”
Kei yelled. “No, this is just how we get around.”
I don’t know if that made any difference, the awe grabbed my stomach and squeezed until I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Dark spots began to form on the edges of my eye. I felt my limbs click like keys until I couldn’t hold on anymore.
“What was that!? Did you say something!?”
“He passed out!!” Phillip screamed in response.
“Ah shit, I knew we should have waited until he ate something.”
Kei laughed. “I know a place.”
“Where?”
“San Francisco.”
…
The smell of salty wet sand jolted me awake. The wailing of fabric bulging its seams howled loud. Accompanied by the roaring of the wind, the fragrance of delicacy submerged the panic plummeting from the sky. The warmth of the morning sun splashed through the grid of fences as we hovered downwards unto our feet. The smell of cardboard and bananas wafted over me as I gathered my bearings.
“No lobster onesies today?”
She scoffed. “Sadly no, we can’t dress up every day can we Phillip.”
“No, we can’t.”
We darted out from a side street, the warmth of the morning sun burnt through the remaining salty fog. I followed behind as we trekked up past the Painted Ladies. Kei and Phillip were dressed like band members, wearing different shades of black. They also smelt like it too. The sound of raspy r&b pandora played through raspy speakers, crackling more playing. The two bopped their heads back and forth like chickens, springs in each step. Cafe conversation grew louder, drowning out the sound of suede shoes scraping the sidewalk. At least they didn’t act too alien.
“You hungry?”
“I’m starving…”
“Great! Hope you don’t mind waiting though, you know how brunch is.”
“I don’t…”
I Think We’re Alone Now played overhead while we strategized what to order. The cafe was popping which was funny because we weren’t alone at all now. The smell of skill was so sweet as the baristas hypothesized the best way to pump out coffee orders and glaze donuts. Kei and Phillip’s black arm gauntlets were now handfuls of jewelry, yet the occasional glow of green made me think otherwise.
The two sat across from me. Kei was invested in the morning paper while Phillip sipped on freshly poured black coffee.
I shook the remaining feathers and twigs out of my hair.
“Sorry, last night was a bit of a bumpy ride.”
Kei stared at me. “As you can tell.”
Taking off my light jacket, I felt my muscles churning up against newly formed knots. “I can tell alright.”
“I know you have some questions, I guess now would be a good time more than ever.”
“Just a few.” Kei finished reading the paper, inhaling her black coffee in a few gulps. “Let’s get some food first, I don’t think I could help explain everything on an empty stomach.
…
“Ok one more time, but less complicated,” I said, diving into the pile of donuts and eggs.
“Think of your bloodstream like a race track, we travel through with the blood, accelerating with each succession, but this isn’t inherently easy since not all racetracks, in this case, are easy to find and ride. So once we generate enough speed and energy at our size we burst out of the stream, through your skin and that’s where our gear comes in handy.” Phillip said cheerfully as he finished his napkin illustration of their gear. His drawing was like a blueprint, full of accuracy and cleanliness.
“Once we are out, and we punch in the time we want to go, we zip through space and time, and boom chicka boom, we’re there.”
I broke into laughter while submerging my lips into my coffee. “Perfect. Makes perfect sense. And where did you say you were from?”
“Can’t tell you quite yet.”
Kei replied. “Sorry Jordan, it’s pretty confusing, all of this.”
“But like, can’t you go back and time and stop like World War One or Two from happening?”
“Why does everyone think time travel is that easy, you know it’s not that easy.”
“It’s not that easy, we were born after that event, we can’t time travel past the dates we were born,” Kai remarked.
“Why not?”
“Because we would die. Our bodies can’t handle it,” she said, waving the waiter down.
“Okay.” The sunlight beamed through the Venetian blinds as the cafe bubbled with conversation. There was a long pause of silence in between the dancing of plates and coffee simmering. The weight of silence was too unbearable and my mind was racing.
“How do you know about my sister, like really?”
“It’s like we said earlier, we were there, not exactly by choice. There’s this person we’re after, she’s the bad guy we’re after.”
“And we’re here to clean up her mess and restore balance to our people” Kei scoffed. “That’s what we were trained for and went to school for, just like you. It’s our job, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.”
“So why do you need me?”
“Because Jordan, unlike others, you — .” Before she could finish, the air became thin like before on the carpet. My brain banged its hands on my forehead, begging to lead it out.
3 tall women in dark suits entered through the door, all wearing plaid undershirts and oversized radiator glasses. It soon became hard to breathe, I looked around, everyone else was locked in conversation and cafe commotion. Kei and Phillip sighed looking over their shoulders.
“Bad guys,” I asked.
“Bad guys…” they both responded.
The person in the middle had precise clean shorter dark maroon hair, their gaze statued in our direction immediately. A burst of pressure came from beneath their feet, their thick-heeled Converse pulsating with a grill-like heat. Knocking the vibes over and scaring the locals, people began to scream, diving through the door. The windows of the cafe shattered under the waves of pressure and shocks of electricity. The other two scanned around. The music overhead stuttered and played back but never forward, like an indecisive DJ. The girl in the middle walked over to us while the other ones helped themselves to seats by the entrance. It was only after every person left screaming that I could register what had happened. Strutting over, she wore her blank smile, looking around us. She was easily 7 feet tall with wrist gadgets like theirs only hers wouldn’t stop pulsating yellow between the layers of chrome.
“You two.” Just how long has it been?
Kei stared blankly before smiling. “Not long enough Louise, not long enough…”
She smiled a hard crescent as her gear puffed out steam.“Do you mind if I join you?” Philip looked at me with a long, patient face.
“Of course, we don’t mind… we just ordered some donuts, you want some?” His tone was anything but energetic.
Squeezing right next to our booth, she had no problem making herself at home as laid out all her equipment on the table.
Winking at Kei and Jordan. “You know me too well.”
My chest ached. Switching off her pulsing Converse with the flick of her fingers, she sat down next me making herself right at home. A slow baking fire ran across my arms, as she loomed over me with her long neck, observing the order of plates and varieties of syrups. She wore a grey and white jumpsuit, something out of a vintage fashion magazine revamp. Kei and Phillip exchanged blank looks while Louise laid out an array of beeping arm gear. A blanket of powdered sugar and syrup vibrated in response as if it was a speaker. Diving into the plate of waffles before her, Kei knuckled white a napkin, creasing her face in a burning stare.
“You have some nerve showing up here,” Kei scoffed.
“You know me Kei, I like to keep in touch.”
“This is keeping in touch?” Phillip sighed looking around the damaged and leaking cafe.
“Still working for the old general?” The two didn’t respond.
“I guess that’s a yes then.” She joked, staring at me. Her guard’s jumpsuits blew softly in the cafe entrance, their eyes bloodshot open. The remaining cafe hoppers darted past the two, with no regard for their height or otherworldly appearance. The sound of loose shoes tripping down the steep driveways echoed in the distance. The three of us sat in stiff silence while Louise gulped down waffle after waffle.
“Is he a new addition?” Louise jabbed at me.
Phillip held an icy glance at her. “He is, he could totally kick your ass too.”
“I could?” I glanced at Kei who nodded nervously. “I could… Yeah totally me.”
“Well, that makes one of you guys that could,” She said smiling at Kei, winking.
“He’s cute too,” she said, pulling me inches apart from her face. “Why don’t you join us? I’ve heard great things about you and you’re family.” She breathed into my ear. My eyes bulged wide. “My family? You don’t know the first thing about me.” In the background the two guards waltzed around, waving to the frightened runners and passerbiers.
Straining my neck to pull away, she gripped the back of my head tighter. “Aw come on, don’t leave me to now, after I just got here,” she said pulling me closer. In a burst of motion, my neck recoiled like a bobblehead against the table. Before I knew it my ears were full of syrup and shards of glass. Kei and Phillip grimaced but seized to move from the table. Bringing herself face to face with me on the table, she smiled and puckered her tangy orange lipstick at me.
“Hmmm, you’re not that fast though… Are you sure he’s really one of them?” Louise snickered at us. In an instant Phillip sat on the corner of my bench, enclosing Louise with his hands around her like a good friend. A gentle gust of morning bread-filled wind pranced through the air, I felt the weight of one person on my bench now. The two guards that stood in the doorway were lying on the ground numb as their nerves shot off randomly. Louise grinned, “When did you?..” Gripping her neck tight Phillip let out a blank smile. “ I just can’t let you hurt my friend can I?” Kei had no reaction. Just who the hell were these people really I thought.
Kei smirked. “You wanted to catch up right? Well, let’s catch up then.”
