Skip to main content

Unique Encounter (3-12-18)


[WP] "Are you lost?" I asked the wandering man. "No, not lost," he replied, staring past me as he spoke, "but where am I?" [Link to post.]
I noticed him when he first walked out of the bathroom. I took the day off, so I sat at the food court in the mall enjoying a pizza. Everyone was either in school or at work, leaving the majority of the mall empty. I'd been sitting there close to an hour, but did not see him go into the restroom. He came out with his eyebrows dripping, he must have washed his face. His neck turned this way and that as his eyes darted around the mall. He reached into the pocket of his blue jeans and pulled out an old style flip phone. I sighed, and knew he would need help. I closed the pizza box but left it on the table, then went to lend a hand. 

 "Are you lost?" I asked the wandering man. 

 "No, not lost," he replied, staring past me as he spoke. "But, where am I?" I chuckled and extended a hand in greeting. 

 "Hi, I'm Terra, what's your name?" He timidly took my hand and looked into my eyes. His were light blue, and I knew he noticed my eye color, bright neon green. 

 "Hi, I'm Quinn," He stared into my eyes. "So, where am I?" I chuckled and led him back to my table by the hand. This was about to get fun.

"Have a seat, and we'll get you sorted out. Help yourself to a slice, if you're hungry." I sat down and opened the pizza box. He sat down across from me, but gestured a 'no thanks'.

"Alright, I think I know what's going on with you, but I might be wrong. I'm going to ask you some questions. I promise there's a point to all this, okay?" I asked, using my best encouraging voice. I worried it might sound patronizing, because I was used to using that voice with my third graders, but he didn't seem offended. "Let's do some backtracking. Question 1: Where were you before you came out of the bathroom door?" I asked. He half smiled at the obvious question, but then his eyes took on a serious look.

"I was in the bathroom," he said flatly. Luckily he decided against being a smart ass. I nodded.

"Alright, good. Let's take another step back where were you before you were in the restroom?" I asked.

"The mall," he said. He looked around the food court. "Not this mall though. It looks almost the same, but there are some small differences I can't put my finger on." I nodded and grinned. Mystery solved.

"Is your favorite number 35 by any chance?" I asked. His eyes went wide and his neck twisted hard to his right to look at the bathroom. Next to the bathroom was a Chinese restaurant.

"THAT'S WHAT'S DIFFERENT!" He shouted, then clapped his hand over his mouth. He looked around and realized no one cared. He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I just got a tattoo with the number 35 on it. That Chinese restaurant was a tattoo shop in my mall. So, you know what's going on?" He reached for a slice of pizza, now that his mind wasn't racing.

"Yep. To sum it up you are a [Unique Soul](http://hserratafun.blogspot.com/2017/11/hugoverse-guidebook.html). #35 La Estrella to be specific. You can traverse dimensions as soon as you're Awakened. Your tattoo Awakened you, and you switched Earths while you were in the bathroom," I said. He stopped chewing. His mouth hung open with a wad of brown and red mess threatening to fall out. His teeth clacked when he caught himself and closed his jaw. He swallowed the chewed wad.

 "Can I get home?" 

 "As easy as you got here," I smiled. "You can go to any Earth you've been to before."

 "How do you know so much?"  He asked, then took another bite. 

 "I'm Unique Soul #37, El Mundo. You can cross dimensions super easily. When I was Awakened I knew everything about Unique Souls," I said. He smiled.

 "Wow, I'm lucky I ran into you. Thanks," He said. I shook my head.

 "Not at all. Uniques are drawn to each other, we're supposed to interact," I explained. 

 "How 'bout you come back to my place?" He asked suddenly, then his face flushed deep red. "SORRY! I meant how 'bout you come back to my Earth? Have you ever crossed dimensions?" I shook my head.

 "Sorry, I can't," I began to explain. He nodded his head in understanding.

 "Yeah, I guess we just met and all. I'm not even sure I can travel with someone." I grabbed his hand to stop him from talking.

 "No, I mean I literally can't. Mundos can't leave their Earth." I took a deep breath. He looked cute enough, and he seemed nice enough. "BUT, now that you've been to this Earth you can visit it any time. Even this Saturday, at 7." 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lunch Jitters (6-23-18)

[WP] You are the greatest villain in the world. When you come face to face with your only rival, he says, “Do you want to grab a coffee before we start? I’ve haven’t eaten all day.” [ Link to post .] "I'm so glad you said something, I started late today too," The Shade said. He patted the heavy, dark leather coat over his stomach, then leaned closer to whisper at SunKnight. "Kayla's teeth are coming in, and Lucille's out of town for that thing." He shrugged, then pulled off his black, featureless hood. "I needed an extra 40 winks. Let's do a lunch, meet me at the pizzeria in 20." Keith Slinny, the man under The Shade's mask checked his watch. The rest of his black costume dissipated from his body; black smoke wafted from him like steam escaping a body in winter. "At this point, we'll end up putting it off until tomorrow so I need to book the babysitter now." "The wedding's tomorrow, remember? Let's take t
Post a Comment
Read more

Truth and Fries (6-27-18)

[WP] Survivors of the apocalypse are still fighting for their lives; Whataburger seems to be doing alright though. [ Link to post .] "And, why do you want to work at Whataburger?" Albert Guajardo, General Manager, asked the prospective employee, Rigo Reyes, while trying to size him up. The young man sat in the booth across from Albert, wearing his best protective gear. A set of high-school football pads, and heavily wrapped arms. His cracked football helmet rested on the table.  "My girl's pregnant. I can't help rebuild humanity if I can't provide for them," Rigo said. It was not true, but it would be if he got the position. He did not have a girlfriend at the moment, but no Whataburger employee suffered loneliness for long. Even the perimeter guards that kept zombies out of the restaurant got paid enough food to support a family of four.  "Can you start now?" Albert asked. Rigo nodded eagerly, but Albert explained the situation anyway.
Post a Comment
Read more

OooooooooooooooH. (6-28-18)

[CW] A short story with a plot twist using the letter "o" exactly 15 times. [ Link to post .] "Fredericks!" the guard yelled at the cell's inhabitants. A tall, plump man walked near the bars, his steps echoed in the cell. "That's me," Lenny Fredericks said. The guard let him pass.  "Lawyer's here, this way." The guard grabbed  Lenny's arm and guided him through the maze of walls that made up the station. He sat Lenny at a table facing a brunette woman in a black suit.  "Mr. Fredericks, I'm the lawyer handling this case. My name is Erica Quintanilla." The lawyer presented her hand, and Lenny accepted it with an eager shake.   "Nice'ta meet'cha." Lenny said. After they disengaged their handshake, Erica placed Lenny's file between them, then started her interview while scanning the sheets.  "Mr. Fredericks,-" she began. "Call me Lenny," Lenny suggested. She return
Post a Comment
Read more