Reincarnated as a Demi-Human

Chapter 5: Dragon Out of Water

Camille and Scorpion Queen rushed out onto the sidewalk expecting to find their friend road kill on the street, but to their surprise and horror-she was perfectly fine while lifting a green truck by the sides up in the air. Traffic had stopped; bystanders stood on the sidewalk with their phones out, recording a superhuman girl lifting a car mid-air like a child hoisting a stuffed animal.

"Fear not, civilian! I'll free you from the jowls of this metallic beast!" cried Aizhen as she released the side of the truck, curling her palm into a fist, "I shall knock out its transparent eye to pull you right out!"

Yin and Jin were among those on-goers who were recording the scene in progress.

"I was half right on this one. Here, she's abrupting traffic."

"Thinks it's some kind of beasty who ate that fella," snickered Jin.

"Woah, woah, woah! Ai-Ai! Stop!" yelled Camille as she rushed toward her side.

"Stay back, Camille. I won't let this beast devour you like it did this man. Tied to its strange belt-like tongue strapped to its tooth!

"That's a seatbelt attached to the chair he's in, and that isn't a beast. It's an Auto-Mobile. AU-TO-MO-BI-LE."

"AU-TO-MO-BI-LE?", Aizhen repeated.

"Yes. It's what folks use to drive around, keep em' safe from the elements, and has cup holders to hold your drinks in while you drive." explained Camille.

"So this AUTOMOBILE in my grasp is not a beast, but some strange transport?"

"Exactly. So that man isn't in any real danger, so could you please put him and his truck down, Ai-Ai?" pleaded Camille in a calm, sweet tone.

Aizhen complied with Camille's request and lowered the truck back onto the ground.

"My apologies, good sir. I'm unfamiliar with the kind of transport that you drive. I thought it was a beast."

"Yeah, well, next time, Missy, you're going to see what sort of beast my truck can unleash when it's chasing you and your friends around town!" said the driver angrily before driving down the block.

Camille led Aizhen back onto the pavement, watching traffic resume and the crowd dispersing while they talked.

"He seemed rather rude."

"Can ya blame the poor guy when he thought that his truck 'ate' him and some crazy girl was gonna smash his windshield in to pull him out?" Jin said.

"Though, it would've been funny if ya did smash his windshield in.", Yin said.

"No, it wouldn't. Then who will be the one to buy a new windshield?" asked the Scorpion Queen.

"Not it!', the brothers responded.

"Oh, it's so "IT"! We'd all have to pitch in to pay for the windshield," Camille angrily said.

As Camille and the brothers argued, Aizhen took in her surroundings: Buildings covered both sides of the street, stretching from one end to the other. Cars passed while folks went about their business, chatting with their friends and occasionally looking at their phones.

She stepped back and bumped into a pillar housing a holographic koi fish swimming around a dish filled with digital water on top, leaping up high in the air. Mesmerized, she continued watching the fish swim around the pillar and, a second later, jumped right back up, but this time, she tried to grab it only for her fingers to pass through it.

"What the!?" she exclaimed. She waited for the koi fish to jump back up, but each time she tried to grab it, her hand ran right through it like air. "What kind of sorcery is this!? I can't grab the fish!"