Brady Tyson & The Two Little Liars

Chapter 5 - The World Between Buildings

I rub my eyes as I walk out the front doors of the library. Ugh, Fukuya had lied to me, that wasn't a quick visit at all. The sun has long since set, and the city's nightlife has lit up in its place. Partygoers dodge through cars, and drunken office workers stumble down the sidewalk. Meanwhile I feel...

The same.

No bulging muscles or enhanced senses, just plain old me. Oh well, maybe something will happen later-

Wait a minute. I feel like I'm forgetting something. My head feels as though it turns on its own to look back into the library, but there is no longer any light illuminating it from within. The concrete pyramid looms over me, and I start to perspire. I try to remember, remember something I only think that I forgot, but the harder I rack my brain the more my stomach churns. My breath starts to race and I start to back away from the building, and right before I break into a sprint-

"Damn babe you can get it!"

A hand runs along my butt, and before I even have time to retch I'm already whirling on my heel. My fist slams into the frat boy's diaphragm and I can hear a faint crack as he lifts off the pavement before falling straight onto his face, struggling for breath. One of his friends steps forward with a loud curse, the other steps back with a hushed one.

"Little girl thinks she can fight huh?" The other jock type beckons the geeky one to join him, and they start circling around me while frat boy #1 struggles to recuperate.

"Back off before you lose the ability to reproduce, buddy."

I have just enough time to spit on the ground before he throws a punch at my face, but it was an easy read so I simply duck under it and use the returning force to hurtle my foot into his groin. Then he stopped standing.

"Hey, um, I'm just gonna head home if that's okay."

I turn to the nerd, who is now awkwardly trying to stand with his hand over his crotch without looking like he has his hand over his crotch.

"Yeah, you go do that." I fake a smile at him and he turns and half-jogs off. The first frat boy tries to subtly crawl after him, but I flip him onto his back with my foot and proceed to stamp on his junk a couple of times before taking a deep breath and walking in the other direction.

Well then.

If there is something that I'm forgetting then I'm certainly not going to remember it now, so I suppose it's best to put it out of my mind.

Man. I'm thirsty. I think I'll go get a coffee.

Ugh, my head. I've absorbed too much information over these past 24 hours. But from here it should be relatively uncomplicated. I just have to get all of the other representatives to surrender and claim my wish. And I already have one alliance under my belt, though whether or not I can trust her is another question entirely.

But at this point I'm just cycling back to the normal worries, right now I should be focusing on my plan of action. Starting with this coffee. It seems like my legs have already carried me to the shop near my house.

"Hi, can I have an Americano with an extra shot of espresso, please." Realizing that I had stormed out rather abruptly on Mold this morning, I awkwardly crouch down below the counter and fish my emergency 20 dollars out of my shoe; "sorry about this, I've had a hectic day."

The barista looks shocked, which only heightens my embarrassment, so I quickly smack the bill down onto the counter.

...

The barista's expression doesn't change, her gaze fixed onto my face with a slightly agape jaw.

"Listen, lady, can I just get my coffee, I don't want to be holding up your other patrons here." I look back as I gesture behind me, only to realize that every other guest in the café is giving me a horrified look in one way or another.