The likes of which I could never imagine

It began in Las Vegas. I was staying in a hotel room with Jonny D and TK. My dad was also in town and we were trying to meet up with him. We got side tracked gambling at the penny slots. Lights were everywhere. I remember standing by the window in my room and looking out over the desert expanse. I thought to myself, "it's been too long since I've been here."


There was a large amount of confusion when it came time to leave. The dust settled and I was in Chicago.

I was wearing my trashy desert gear and wasn't ready for the big city. So I headed down to the shopping mall. It was a labyrinth of retail, each seeming the same. I went into a men's furnishing store called "MM" and looked around for a while. They had some good stuff but I thought it best to continue on my search before committing to anything.

As I was wandering the halls I noticed an old friend sitting on a bench with a young asian woman on his lap and a middle eastern teenager standing behind him, like a guard. I didn't want to be noticed so I turned and walked the other way immediately. I could hear him call my name, but I just kept walking. They all took chase. I had to get out.

I ran back to "MM" but it had been renamed "HOMM" and was all rearranged. I ducked in and out of the aisles, grabbing a few shirts and a couple pairs of pants. Occasionally I would glance around to see if I was being followed, I was. There were a pair of boots that I decided were essential but they were sold individually so I had to find two of the same size.

I had an employee ring me up quickly and asked what the fastest way out would be. He pointed to an old fire escape and I was gone.

The metal was rusted and every step felt like it would collapse the whole structure. I ran with a passion. After navigating down a few flights I saw an elevator in the distance. It wasn't a modern elevator, but more the type that is fully exposed and you have to latch the door manually. There was a man getting on as I approached and he questioned whether the cables were strong enough to support us both. I didn't care. I forced the door shut, just as my pursuers came into view.

In order to facilitate the descent. I had to move the cable by hand. The braided metal tore my hands to shreds. Blood started running down my forearms and my grip became shaky, but we didn't crash to our death.

When we reached the other end we were some distance away at the entrance to a subway station. I started to freak out. I didn't want to be so far off. I had to get back to the hotel so I could change and figure things out. Then I realized that I didn't have any of the clothes I had bought. I must have lost them in the escape. I still had the boots though.

I ran up to a woman and asked where I was. She told me, "at the park". "Well I need to get back to the mall. Do you know how to get that elevator to go backwards?" "That elevator only goes one way." I turn to find that it wasn't even there anymore.

I ran over to a city map to figure out my exact location. I was miles from where I wanted to be. My phone rang; it was the hotel. All of my luggage was lost in shipping. It crossed my mind to just give up. I didn't have anything anymore, except what was on my back and the boots in my hand. Wait. The boots. They were gone too.

Confused as to what to do next I set up "camp", next to a series of shrubs, outside a skyscraper. As I was doing a little re-con a UPS truck drove up. Tracy, an old delivery driver, came up and handed me the middle brace to a bed frame, "Sorry this is all we've been able to recover. I'll be back if we find more." "How did you find me? This isn't even mine." "It most certainly is." And she was gone.

I set the bar up against the building and was greeted by the 2x4ster. I was very happy to see him. It was getting dark and I was sure to fail if left on my own. We talked for a while about what to do and decided that the best course of action would be to wait for the cover of darkness and then try to make it to the hotel.

Some time had passed and we were preparing to disembark when suddenly I noticed men falling from the building across the street. They weren't free falling but more paradropping in. One man grabbed onto a power line, much like a monkey would a jungle branch. Others glided gently to the ground without the aid of a chute or anything to slow their decent.

The leader of these men gathered them all together and they began to march down the street away from us. We had decided that we'd be safe if we were able to infiltrate their ranks and travel with them in plain sight. It never made it that far. And now I'll never know if they were leading us to safety, salvation or a tragedy the likes of which I could never imagine...


(Thanks to the 2x4ster for the copy edit assistance. When I'm in a rush to get a post up grammar is the first to go out the window. This post was especially bad.)