Who: Jakob Thorn Where: Streets When: September 29, early evening What: Arriving in the past Rating: R (language) Status: Complete; narrative
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Running. He was running for his life.. literally. He had lost count how long he'd been running for. All he knew was that there was this big scary thing in his neighborhood. It was a demon, he believed the word was. Something bad that stalked around the city. He'd heard a few things. He wasn't stupid. He knew that this place wasn't all puppies and rainbows. There was danger. But to actually see the thing?? And outside his own home, no less. It was another thing altogether. He'd never been scared in all his life. Well.. there was that last time his mother ever looked at him. He couldn't explain that look. But the demon? It was tall, bulky, with green eyes. It was fast, nimble. Had ivory-colored, yet dirty spikes on it's knuckles. Bone ridges on the head, spikes on the shoulders, arms, and legs. The word fugly came to mind. Someone at his school had told him that word. He thought it was funny then. Not so much now.
He had looked in horror, not sure if he could even scream. He saw as the thing had extended one spike from the fist.. of which there were three other ones ready to come forth. There was a sort of glow on the tip. Rather than just stand there in shock as he might have normally done... and thus end up having a very painful and agonizing death, he turned and ran, yelling out as he heard it close behind him leaping over cans and benches. He could swear he heard lamp posts falling over behind him, followed by an angry snarl. He.. couldn't have done that. Had to have been the creature.
Jake could have sworn it had been right on him, but he had misstepped over a manhole cover. It turned, and he cried out as he fell down, hearing the cover spin again and was upside down on the hole. He landed in water that was about a foot deep, his freshly ironed slacks and sneakers drenched. His ankles hurt. But he had kept going. He ran and ran and ran. He kept going down the tunnel, then turning right, through another tunnel, left, then straight, right again.... well, shit. He was definitely lost. He had eventually found a pathway leading up to another sewer cover above. He slowly and tentatively climbed up the rungs. His white shirt wrinkled, the dark jacket torn in a few places, as he finally came up and pushed the cover aside.
The boy pulled himself out of the hole. He pried the cover back, grunting and sighing, as it was slowly put back in place. Then he stood up on his feet. He looked around, confused now. "Okay.. well, fine, whatever. I am now officially lost! Thank you, really.." He had no idea where he was. He recognized a few buildings. But one... no. It was just a yard. No, it couldn't be. This was supposed to be a playground! And a building! He knew it. He knew, because his father was the one who had it built sometime before he was born. But no, this wasn't possible. It wasn't! Yet here he was. Maybe he really was in the past. This area proved it. He didn't understand this.
He looked upward and saw that the sun was going to set.. maybe in a half hour. He had to find somewhere to go. He knew of several places that were around now. What year he was in, he had no idea. Just that it had to be at least before 2010. There should be his home, his father's work.. the private school.. Hyperion Hotel, and the Welcome Center. He just wasn't sure which he ought to go to. Mostly because, he didn't have a map on him, so he didn't even know what direction to go. He started walking anyway, someone had to have a map.