Of The Blue And Red Order

“You should’ve taken him to the hospital instead of just calling me Joel” Emanuel said. He was sitting on a chair next to a battered older man laying on the couch whose shirt and pants were ripped from the obvious beating he took. His face was starting to swell and turn black, and Emanuel was having a tough time keeping the cuts on his face closed with just stretch bandages. “I’m going to have to stitch some of these wounds up.”

Joel was sitting at the kitchen table in the small two bedroom apartment hunched over with his hands clasped. His hoodie was still partially over his head as his face changed from worry to shock as he remembered something urgent.

“Can you watch him for an hour?” Joel asked.

“What?” Emanuel responded with, momentarily pausing in the stitching he was doing on Joel’s father’s face and looked at Joel with confusion.

Joel stood up, his baggy jeans slightly falling down as he pulled the hood completely onto his head. “Just for an hour Manny. I really need to take care of this before dawn, cousin.”

Emanuel resumed with the stitching on his uncle’s face. “What exactly could be so urgent that you have to leave your father at the break of morning after he just got pummeled for you?”

“It wasn’t for me,” Joel said. “I had it taken care of before he came out and got them riled up again. And this thing I have to take care of is for him, because of his gambling and drinking, or he’s going to get another beating.”

Emanuel shook his head. “Those kids were there because of you Joely, not your father.”

“They were there to get what I promised, which was a few cases of beer,” Joel said. He paused then continued. “We’re struggling Manny. There are just too many bodegas near us with lower prices because they can get deals and know who to do business with. Pa refuses to listen to what I found out about making deals with warehouses.”

“I didn’t know,” Emanuel said. “How does this relate to the fact I’m here stitching up your father exactly?”

“Because” Joel said, continuing. “Pa usually goes to take care of his debt around that time on Fridays, but he got drunk, stuck around and refused them. So they got mad and started arguing with Pa, and I managed to get them to leave. But Pa followed them outside when Raul flipped him off, so he swung at Raul, and they beat him. I had to beg them to stop.”

“As I said, they were there to buy alcohol at a premium price that you promised them” Emanuel said. “Your father followed the law and took a beating because of you.”

Joel scoffed. “Is he following the law when he allows me to sell alcohol after he passes out from the vodka? Or when he goes to do what I have to do right now?”

Emanuel reached into his medical bag to get something and continued to work on his uncle’s face. “I have a shift in 4 hours Joely. I will watch him for an hour, and if you’re not back, I’m leaving.”

“Thanks cousin,” Joel said. “And thanks for not asking what I have to do” he mumbled under his breath.

Joel grabbed his keys from the table and rushed out the door and down the stairs and exited the building.

The crisp cold air struck Joel in the face as he started towards his destination. He knew his response to Emanuel seemed indifferent and uncaring, but he was walking towards what could be his doom because he cared, despite his loss of respect for his father. He knew why he lost respect for him, but not when. Was it when he hit him for the first time at 13 whole drunk? No, he had already started treating him like a joke by then. The many hungry nights he had to endure as a pre-teen led to him learning how to cook else he would’ve turned into a bag of bones, which led to him sometimes loathing his father. If his father hadn’t inherited the store from his uncle after the car accident, he knew he would either have starved to death or be in a foster home by now. As he approached the door he had seen at least a dozen times before with his father, he realized he had lost respect for his father after the disappearance of his mother. Long had the family speculated that his father had something to do with her disappearance, but not because they thought he had killed her. His alcoholism seemed to have driven her away, if you can use that as an excuse for abandoning your son and leaving him with what you realize is a budding alcoholic. Right there, that’s when he lost respect for his father, when his mother abandoned them and his alcoholism took full control of every aspect of his father’s life.

Joel stopped walking and stared at the door from across the street. It was quiet all around him in the Bronx, but he knew that no matter what time of day it was, there was always someone behind that door to answer a knock. Joel looked down, sighed, then raised his head and approached the door. As he raised his hand right before knocking on the door, he paused with hesitation for a brief moment, but proceeded to knock on the door. It was a light knock, the same knock he saw his father always make. Once his father had banged on the door and it seemed like the person who answered the door snatched him in. When he came out, he was nursing his hand and looked upset. Later he had a bandage on his hand, informing Joel that the people inside had roughed him up a bit for the loud knock.

“What?” said a gruff voice from behind the door.

The voice intimidated Joel a bit, causing him to delay his response. But he quickly shook it off, knowing he had to do this if he wanted his father to be safe.

“I’m here for Ferdidad,” Joel said.

“Who?” the gruff voice asked.

Joel expected this, which he suspected is a measure to protect themselves from anyone bearing nefarious intentions trying to gain entry. His father had to identify himself each time Joel went with him there, which he found odd.

“Ferdidad, owner of the bodega on 12th” Joel said. “I’m his son.”

Joel heard him yell something, then silence for a few seconds before the gruff voice spoke again.

“Take your hood down, look up and to your left” the gruff voice said.

Joel complied, and almost immediately the door opened. Standing there was an at least six foot eight towering bald man with a gray t-shirt and fitted black jeans. He had a disfiguring burn on his right cheek that resembled a star pattern, his beard was black with gray speckles, and his eyes were dark and cold. His muscles flexed as he folded his arms and looked down at the five eight Joel, the single earring in his left ear gleaming from the light inside. He had the traditional look of a bouncer for shady operations.

“What are you, fifteen?” the bouncer asked.

Joel looked past the bouncer and saw several women sitting on a couch looking at him. They were dressed in outfits resembling the goth subculture that is prevalent in pockets of western society.

“Seventeen” Joel responded.

The bouncer silently stared at Joel for a moment, then motioned his head for Joel to follow.

Joel walked in behind the bouncer and as soon as he was in, the door closed and several locks engaged simultaneously.

Joel looked back at the door and thought it must be an electronic lock and door, but it was strange to him, because the door looked like an ordinary door.

Joel followed the bouncer past several rooms lit up by a dim blue shadowy glow, some that appeared empty, but some with oddly dressed people within them that looked off. They were of different heights with irregular looking faces, some with what appeared to be yellow contact lenses in their eyes, and Joel even glimpsed one person wearing what appeared to be a kilt. But what really caught Joel’s eye was the final door they passed, which closed as he was passing it by, but he could’ve sworn he saw a man riding a horse with long blond hair. Was that a hoof that closed the door?

The bouncer was now leading Joel into an open warehouse, which appeared to be the rest of the building; the rooms they had just passed were obviously converted using the latter half of the warehouse. At a table sat four elderly men all eating and laughing and speaking what Joel believed to be Russian. They ceased when the bouncer approached the elderly man in the middle and whispered something to him, which caused him to nod and put down the bone, grab a handkerchief and wipe his mouth. Once he finished wiping, the other three men got up and walked into the dark area behind them and the bouncer stood planted behind the elderly man.

“So you’re Ferdidad’s little one” the elderly man said. He was a stout bald man with a full gray beard, wearing a black track suit and a solid gold chain with a weird symbol Joel couldn’t make out.

“Yes, I’m here on my father’s behalf” Joel said. “He-”

“Stop,” the elderly man said, raising his hand. “You’re here without his payment, which was due last night. We don’t like late payments here.”

Joel was slightly taken aback that he already knew why he was there, as if he read Joel’s mind. “Sir, I understand, but-” Joel began, but again he was cut off.

“STOP, I’M THE ONE WHO’S TALKING, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S LISTENING, got it?” the elder man said.

Joel nodded his head, now realizing he wasn’t in a good position. He could see several other men in the silhouette of the darkness behind the elder man and bouncer, as his eyes were now adjusting to the room. The elderly man lowered his hand and continued.

“As I was saying, you’re here without his payment, which was due last night. We don’t like late payments here, and we show our disapproval of late payments by tuning up those who don’t seem to understand this.”

Suddenly, two men appeared beside Joel and grabbed him.

“Wait, wait wait wait wait-” Joel said.

The elderly man got up and walked over to Joel, towering at over six feet above Joel just like the bouncer. He smelled of a weird aroma, which was whatever he was eating that had a smell unlike anything Joel had smelled before.

“I don’t know why your father sent you.” the elderly man said. “Maybe it was to appeal to our more empathetic side, hoping the sight of you would make us abandon our principle of no late payments. But, his mistake was sending someone as his agent that is nearly a man. Someone who can take the beating in his place.”

The elderly man then motioned for the bouncer to come and the bouncer walked over and flexed his muscles and cracked his knuckles.

“Gusto here enjoys teaching those who miss payments a lesson” the elderly man said as Gusto approached. “And the lesson he will teach your father is to not be late ever again, by sending you back with a message written on your face.”

The elderly man began to walk away and Gusto stepped in front of Joel. Joel's eyes widened and just as Gusto was about to begin, Joel knew it was now or never.

“HE DIDN’T SEND ME, I CAME WITH A PROPOSITION” Joel yelled. Gusto stopped right before his fist connected and the elderly man stopped in his tracks and turned around.

“Proposition?” the elderly man asked in a slightly amused tone. He walked back to Joel and folded his arms. “Continue, since I love propositions from desperate people.”

Joel relaxed and continued. “I came here knowing I can’t turn in the payment my father owes, which I believe is why he got drunk last night. So I came to offer my service for something you would require to be done that your workers can’t get done.”

The elderly man stared at Joel for a few seconds, then burst into laughter, along with all the other men around him, except Gusto, who folded his arms and closed his eyes. Once the elderly man ceased his laughter, the entire room ceased as if they were in sync with him, and the elderly man was now staring at Joel with a wide smile.

“What is your name young man?” the elderly man asked.

“Joel” Joel said, even more relaxed.

The elderly man looked up at the ceiling, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and looked Joel straight in the eyes.

“Well Joel, I believe you are a lucky young man, because there is something you can do that my workers cannot” the elderly man said. He then motioned to the two men holding Joel to let him go and leave. The elderly man then walked back to his seat and sat down.

“Come Joel” the elderly man said.

Joel walked over to the front of the table and looked around. He could make out the men in suits more clearly now that he was closer to the dark, all who seemed to be as motionless as mannequin in a department store. There were cars, furniture and other assorted goods scattered around, informing Joel that this elderly man ran an operation bigger than just loan sharking.

“My name is, well, you can call me Brick,” Brick said. He waved his hand and a different man in a suit brought over a small chest and put it on the table in front of Brick.

“Before you do this, there is one thing I must disclose to you since that is one of the terms the customer requires for anyone attempti- I mean, for the person who will deliver this item” Brick said.

Brick still had the smile on his face that now felt sinister to Joel after recognizing Brick corrected himself so as to not reveal everything.

“Do you believe in magic?” Brick asked.

Joel chuckled and looked around. His eyes met Gusto’s face, which was stone cold serious. “No, of course not” Joel responded.

Bricked sighed. “Well, as a requirement of you delivering this package, you must now be let in on the secret that very few other hu-, um, people know. Magic is most certainly real, and what you will be delivering is a magic item.”

Brick picked up the chest and held it out towards Gusto. Gusto took the chest and tucked it under his right arm.

“Gusto will escort you to the room that you will stay in until you open the chest and take out what is inside” Brick said. “I have no idea what is inside since I have never opened it. But the customer most certainly knows, and if he is disappointed with what you deliver, well, know that a beating is nothing compared to what we will then do to you and your father, Joely.”

Joel’s heart began to race. It wasn’t the threat that got to him, it was the fact Brick said his name in a way only his cousin Emanuel had ever said to him, as if, once again, he could read his mind.

“Gusto, tell him the rest as you see him off” Brick said. “Oh and remember Joel, magic is real.”

Gusto put his free hand onto Joel’s shoulder and began escorting him back towards the exit. Joel turned back right before Brick was out of sight and was forced to blink, because he saw green orbs around what should’ve been Brick’s eyes.

Gusto led Joel past the rooms once again, but this time all the doors were open and the place was empty. It was as if they were now in a different building; the tables, chairs and couches were now all gone and in its place was just empty space. Gusto stopped in front of a room near the exit and guided Joel inside.

“Once I close this door, listen to when I tell you it’s okay to open the chest and retrieve the item inside” Gusto said. Gusto then handed Joel the chest and walked outside of the room.

“Is…….it dangerous?” Joel asked.

Gusto continued as if he didn’t hear Joel’s question. “Once you remove the item from the chest, leave this room and exit the building and deliver the item. You will have a limited amount of time to deliver the item, so don’t delay. The item will have a timer informing you of your time limit as well as a guide to your destination.”

“But is it dangerous?” Joel asked, now sounding worried.

Gusto closed his eyes and sighed, opened them back up and pursed his lips before grabbing the doorknob. “All I can say is that you should’ve taken the beating Joel. Good luck.”

Gusto closed the door and immediately the room went dark. The room felt as if it was spinning and just as Joel was starting to get dizzy, the light came back on.

“You can open the chest now” Joel heard Gusto say, but it sounded far away, almost as if he whispered it.

Joel opened the chest and stared at the inside. There laying flat was a little black book that was severely weathered, as if it was decades or even centuries old. Joel picked up the book and a bright light shot up into the air and hovered right above his head. Shocked, but not as surprised as if Brick had not informed him magic is real, Joel stared at the light as it split and both halves began to change shape and form into something. The first half changed form and was now numbers that read 14:59, and the second half formed into a 3D directional arrow. The first half was counting down, informing Joel that he was now on a timer, causing Joel to spring into action.

Joel opened the door and once again, was surprised. He was sure this time that he was no longer in the building he arrived in. It was a large dark store with empty shelves that Joel recognized, the Picker’s Mart. He knew because he had been peeking into the abandoned Picker’s Mart for years. Remembering his time limit, Joel shook off the shock and went through the exit and out into the bustling street. He looked around for some of the landmarks to confirm his location and sure enough, the church with the bell on top was right where he expected it to be.

Joel noticed that the arrow above his head was pointing north, and he wondered if anyone else could see it. As he followed the arrow and no one else took notice of him, he was relieved and disappointed at the same time that only he could see it. Magic is real, that little thought nagging in the back of his mind was now causing him excitement, something he didn't think he ever really experienced before like this, but then a sudden crash sent Joel stumbling.

Behind him, a large window pane had just crashed in the spot he had just passed by. Joel looked up and terror filled his eyes. Several panes of glass were rocketing towards where he was standing, forcing him to run and jump out of the way as the panes of glass crashed behind him. Joel was just about to stand up when his hand missed the sidewalk and ended up inside an uncovered manhole that he almost fell into.

BARK! BARK!

Right behind Joel was a large pit bull barking at him, pulling the owner effortlessly with it as it charged towards Joel. Joel quickly got up and ran just as the leash snapped, allowing the pit bull to gallop after Joel. Joel looked back and saw the pit bull was gaining on him, signaling that he needed to find a way to safety.

Panic quickly took over as Joel looked forward and saw the arrow flashing, pointing behind him as he ran the wrong way. That’s when he noticed a fire escape ladder hanging at least six feet above the ground, just half a block ahead of him as he pumped his legs and arms with the book still in hand.

Just as he was about to reach the ladder and preparing for the jump he knew he had to make or be mauled by the savage beast chasing him, the book began to vibrate.

Right then, Joel realized that the ladder was farther up in the air than he had thought, and that he wasn’t going to be able to reach the ladder and make it to safety. For a split second he considered continuing to run and figure out what to do as he ran, but in the back of his mind he knew it wasn’t an option since the pit bull was now on his heels.

“Just jump” a voice in Joel’s mind said.

Without another thought, Joel jumped at the ladder and before he knew it, his hand was grasping the last rung of the rusty ladder.

The pit bull was jumping and snapping at his feet, and each time the dog jumped, Joel had to pull his entire body weight up as if he was doing pull ups with one hand. His hand and arm was screaming with each pull up he was forced to do to avoid getting his feet chomped off by the pit bull, and just as he had reached his limit, the owner arrived and pulled the pit bull away from under Joel and finally, Joel was able to let go.

The drop was longer than Joel had anticipated, causing him to look up in wonder as to how he had made the nearly 20 feet jump into the air.

“How did you-” the woman with the pit bull started to say, while looking up at the ladder.

“Your dog almost killed me,” Joel said, rushing to change the subject.

The woman was still looking up when Joel’s attempt to distract her worked.

“I’m so so sorry,” she said, still struggling with the pit bull as it feverishly tried to get loose to make a meal of Joel.

“Go home, quickly” the voice said, once again speaking in Joel’s head.

Joel stood up and looked around. He quickly gathered his bearings and recognized where he was, just 3 blocks from his apartment. He immediately took off towards his apartment, not questioning the voice that had just saved his life as he bolted as fast as he could home. He could hear the woman yelling at him to wait, but Joel had only one thing in mind, and that was to get to his apartment as fast as you could.

One block passed, two to go.

Squeal, boom!

A car had just jumped the curb and narrowly missed Joel, crashing into the building he had just passed.

Two blocks, just one to go.

A fire hydrant blew off the side walk like a missile, coming so close to nailing Joel that it grazed his arm.

BOOM!

The middle of the street exploded, sending chunks of asphalt flying into the air just as Joel made it to his apartment and put the keys into the door. He had just barely enough time to close his door to avoid the flames that were rushing towards him when it suddenly stopped, suspended in mid-air after he closed the door. The people and cars were frozen in place as well, forcing Joel to shake his head and blink his eyelids rapidly as if he was about to wake up from this freaky nightmare.

The realization that magic is real was anything but subtle for Joel as he ran up the stairs to his apartment. He opened the door to see Emanuel frozen in place just as everything else below was. His father was still passed out, but he too was motionless as if the world had just stopped.

“Emanuel?” Joel said as he approached Emanuel about to touch him.

“I wouldn’t touch him lest you disrupt the spell, which is the only reason you’re not dead yet” a sultry voice said behind Joel.

Joel spun around and was so stunned he fell down. Standing behind him was a mocha skinned woman in a stylish red pants suit outfit. Her hair was so long that it reached all the way to her buttocks, her makeup so perfect it looked as if it was done by a professional. Her lipstick matched the tone of her outfit, and her earring were loops with red gems lining the rims of the hoops.

“Oh please boy, I couldn’t have surprised you as badly as you’ve already been so far” the sultry woman said. She walked over to Joel and extended her hand, which Joel took, allowing her to help him up.

She smelled of peaches, or what you would think peaches would smell like coming from a perfume bottle, and her figure stood out more around her hips Joel noticed.

“Ow, looks like someone got into an argument they didn’t win” she said walking over to Ferdidad. “Uh, and it seems his ultimate weapon of funk let him down.”

She clenched her nose and turned to look at Emanuel. “Ah, a sexy young one he is,” she said. “I bet he has a six pack under that shirt. He would make a fine concubine.”

“He’s gay” Joel said with a confused look on his face. “Who are you?”

“Oh, how rude of me, I got off topic” the woman said. She walked past Joel, flicked her hair and put her hands on her hips in a pose sort of fashion.

“I’m the one who will make sure you live to deliver that little black book” she said beaming and pointing at the book Joel was still holding.

“Uh, yeah” Joel said. “I think the reason why all the weird stuff that just happened to me is because of this book.”

“It most certainly is why, Joel” she said. “And it is the reason why I am here.”

“How do you know my name?” Joel asked. “Did you read my mind like Brick?”

The woman chuckled. “No, not in the sense you mean. I can’t read minds, that’s telepathy. Only psychics and magicians can do silly things like that. I read your story.”

“My story?” Joel said, confused.

“Yes, your story,” the woman said. She walked around the room and began lightly touching things, running her hand along the wall until it reached a glass, then onto the sink. She ran her hands along everything near her as if she was being affectionate and rubbing a beloved pet, or lover.

“Everything has a story that emanates from it” she said, continuing to run her fingers along the wall. “This apartment has a story that emanates from it, that refrigerator, the table, the cups, you.”

She walked back over towards Joel and stopped in front of him. “If you can sense the essence of things, you can eventually learn to read the stories of everything around you. Doing so can reveal information to you without asking a single question about someone or something. It will just reveal the information you seek. But sometimes that story is intentionally hidden from you, making questions necessary. Such as, how did you know to come to a place of safety to pause your luck from draining Joel?”

Joel was now even more confused. “My luck from draining?” he asked. “Is that why so many unlucky things were happening, because my luck was literally being drained because of this thing?”

“Yes,” she said. “Your luck continues to run out until you deliver the book. But you can pause the luck drain and rest, which is a safety mechanism built into this particular insurance spell.”

Joel frowned and put the book down onto the table. “Well, I no longer want to deliver this book,” Joel said. “There, you can have it.”

The woman shook her head and smiled. “Sorry, no take backs. You accepted the delivery, which binds you to your duty. The spell surrounding the book is designed to ensure you deliver that package or your luck will drain until you have none left. Once that happens, you become the unluckiest being in existence and, well, you die from something tragic.”

Joel sat down and stared at the floor as if it had the answer to how he was going to get out of this.

“Silly boy, that is why I’m here” the woman said. “The floor isn’t going to get you through this, I will.”

The woman pulled out the other chair and sat down next to Joel. “I can safely guide you to delivering that book without a single hair on your pretty little head being harmed” she said.

“But there is something you want,” Joel said.

“How intuitive” she said. “Yes, but what I want is simple; I just want to know how you knew to come to a place of safety to pause the spell.”

“A voice told me,” Joel said. “I can’t explain it, but it was like a small whisper in the back of my head.”

“Ah, interesting,” she said. She stared at Joel’s head for a few moments, then began looking him up and down until she met his eyes. She then smiled and laughed.

“So Brick, the loan shark with golems sent you on this fool’s quest” she said. “Your father owes him money, so you decided to help your father by offering to do something for Brick that his men can’t do. Brick recognized your immense luck right away and sent you to deliver that which he has been unable to deliver for months because of the insurance spell on it.”

The woman stood up and sighed. “Okay, I know how to get you there to deliver the book,” she said. “But there is something else I must ask of you.”

The woman shook her hand and a piece of paper appeared between her fingers. “I need you to place this page into the book once you are about to deliver the book.”

Joel took the page and looked it over, then grabbed the book and tried to open it, but to no avail; the pages wouldn’t budge, as if they were stuck together by cement.

“Are these pages glued” Joel asked, “or-”

“Precisely what you’re thinking, a spell” the woman said. “Another level of protection of course.”

“So how am I going to put this into the book?” Joel asked.

The woman rolled her eyes. “All insurance spells must include stipulations of course. This particular stipulation is that once the person you are to deliver this to touches the book, the contract is satisfied and all spells dissipate. Once the spells dissipate, you must use a bit of cunning to get that page into the book without him noticing.”

Joel placed the page and the book on the table, and shook his head. “There has to be another way,” Joel said. “I can probably run back to Brick’s place and tell him I can do something else for him rather than this.”

The woman’s face was now painted with a look of displeasure. “Are you that naïve, or just allowing your cowardice to run amok?” she said angrily. “Let me lay it out for you a bit more plainly since you don’t seem to understand; Brick didn’t expect you to survive, he’s just using you to get the package closer to the destination like he used the fools before you. Once the deliverer’s luck runs out and the tragedy claims them, the spell marks the point and teleports back to the original chest. Brick then creates a teleport near that spot so that the next fool can attempt it from that spot until it's close enough for him to deliver without the risk of him running out of time. Do you understand now Joel?”

Joel’s heart was now racing after she finished. Maybe it was because the situation he was in was now more clear to him, or the fact that he thought he was helping his father out, or both, but Joel was feeling both anger and fear at the same time.

“Yes,” Joel said, sighing. “What’s the plan to get me there safely?”

The woman smiled and sat in the chair once more. “How much time did you have left before entering here?” she asked.

“I didn’t notice as everything around me was trying to kill me” Joel said.

The woman looked him up and down again, then pursed her lips.

“Ah, no wonder you were being pursued by catastrophes,” she said. “You barely had any luck left.”

The woman stared at Joel for a few seconds, then nodded her head. She shot up from the chair and walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of orange juice, grabbed a box of cereal from the top of the cabinet and walked back to Joel and placed it in front of him.

“Drink as much of the juice and eat as much of the cereal as you can,” she said.

“What for?” Joel asked.

“Your favorite two things to eat and drink are orange juice and cereal,” she said. “You must consume your second favorite and favorite meal in that order to receive a luck boost. This should give you enough time to deliver that package and lower the amount of unlucky things happening to you as you go. The lower your time, the more dangerous it gets.”

“Wait, so I don’t have a lot of luck then?” Joel asked.

“Oh no, you do have a lot of luck, but you just didn’t replenish it” she said. “Brick knew this and sent you anyway. Drink and eat up now, so we can get this over with.”

Joel grabbed the bottle of orange juice and chugged as much as he could. After chugging the juice, he grabbed a fistful of cereal and munched it, and washed it down with orange juice.

“Another one” the woman said.”

Joel repeated this twice more, then the woman held up her hand and pulled the juice and cereal away from Joel.

“Alright, that’s about as far as we’re going to get it” the woman said. “Now, time to drink this.”

She twirled her hand again and this time she was holding a small bottle that was shaped like a luxury perfume bottle with a cork in the opening. It was filled with a lime green liquid that appeared thick and gooey. The woman uncorked the bottle and handed it to Joel, then the aroma hit him, causing him to cough.

“What is this?” Joel asked, his face contorted.

“That which will ensure you make the delivery” she said. “Drink it all if you want to live past the next few minutes.”

Joel stared at the bottle, then without hesitation chugged the green liquid. It went down just as he was anticipating, like a milkshake made from cheese with a taste of the worst possible sour dish you can consume. Right before he swallowed the last bit, the room began to spin and Joel immediately realized the woman had just drugged him.

“It works fast, so before you pass out, remember to walk into the building that the arrow is pointing to as quickly as you can. You may not have much time left when you wake up Joel.”

Joel’s eyes closed, then he opened them again.

He was standing on the sidewalk in front of a theater feeling woozy, as everything slowly came into focus. When he could finally see and hear clearly, the screams of police car sirens in the distance made it clear to him that they were headed his way and it was likely for him. Without a second thought, Joel bolted into the theater and looked up at the remaining time he had.

Two minutes and three seconds left.

The police cars outside screamed by the theater, informing Joel he was now in the clear.

Joel grabbed his head in pain as images of what had just happened came rushing back to him. Him running out of the door and narrowly missing the explosion, the man with the sword challenging him to a duel, the homeless man swinging at him, the shootout between the cops and some bank robbers, and then……...a strange beast unlike anything he had ever seen chasing. Just as suddenly as it began, the pain and images stopped.

Joel looked up from the floor and spun around as his time ticked down and saw a set of double doors. As he got closer, he could see through the windows that it was the main theater, and on stage sat a man with his legs crossed.

One minute and fifty two seconds left.

Joel was about to burst through the doors and run to the stage, but then-

“Wait” said a voice behind Joel. Joel froze and turned around thinking it was the woman again, but no one was there.

One minute and twenty nine seconds left.

Joel looked around, confused as to who had just spoken, when he heard the voice again.

“Please listen, I know you don’t have much time, but if you give the book to that man, you will be enslaving me to do the bidding of terrible beings once again” the mysterious voice said.

“Who are you?” Joel asked. “I mean, where are you?”

“I’m in the book,” the voice said. “I can’t explain right now, but I’m imprisoned within this book until someone opens it that I have spoken to. I may have spoken to that man before and he will bind me to his will, and I would rather die before that happens to me again.”

Joel shook his head. “I’m sorry, but if I don’t deliver this book to him, I’m done, and I’m almost out of time before my luck is gone.”

“I know, and I’ve come up with a plan,” the voice said.

Fifty nine seconds left.

“That woman is using you just like Brick tried to,” the voice said. “She is the one who hired Brick to deliver me to that man.”

Fifty seconds left.

Joel closed his eyes as despair washed over him as he now realized he was doomed no matter what.

“There’s no stopping my luck running out and dying is there?” Joel asked.

“Delivering me to him won’t help,” the voice said. “But I can stop it.”

Forty seconds left.

“I’m out of time,” Joel said. “Tell me what to do.”

“Get up there and let him touch the book,” the voice said. “Once he does, snatch it, open it, and say Abrisina come forth!”

Thirty seconds left.

Without another word, Joel ran straight through the doors and down the aisle to the stage. Another ten seconds elapsed.

The stage was too high for him to climb, so Joel ran to the stairs and straight up the man and held it out to him.

Nine seconds left.

The man took it, and Joel attempted to take it back, but the man had a firm grip on the book.

“What in the heavens?” the man said, pulling back on the book.

Five seconds left.

Joel and the man were now in a tug war for the book, and at three seconds left, Joel won the tug of war and opened the book.

“I don’t think so,” the man said, holding up his hand and forming it into a claw. “Bastion-”

“ABRISINA COME FORTH” Joel shouted.

A burst of blue light shot from the book and in an instant, a dark skinned teenage girl of around the same height as him was standing in front of Joel. Above Joel’s head, he noticed the timer was at one second and the man was frozen in place just like when he entered his apartment.

“Thank you Joel,” the girl said, a wide smile on her face.

Joel stared in amazement at her, surprised to see someone so young and vibrant standing in front of him. Another thought arose into his mind; gorgeous. It was hard not to notice her long medium braided hair that was twisted into an elevated hook running down her side. Her face was symmetrically shaped, her skin as smooth as a statue. She blinked and forced Joel to notice her deep blue eyes matched the long blue dress she wore.

“I’m Abrisina, and in your debt,” Abrisina said. She walked over to Joel and hugged him.

“Um, you saved me,” Joel said.

“But you saved me more,” Abrisina said. “If not for you, I would be imprisoned by this magician simply for information that could’ve been obtained through other means. He’s not the person I thought I would see.”

Abrisina walked over to the man with a menacing look. She licked her pinky finger and wiped the saliva on his forehead.

“Now, let's see how you like being enslaved to someone” she said.

Abrisina snapped her finger and the man unfroze and immediately looked over at Abrisina.

“Puppatar bowdrilick” the man said, pointing his hand at Abrisina. Abrisina laughed.

“I bound you to me as you would’ve bound me to you, had it not been for Joel” Abrisina said.

“No, no no no no no no NOOOOOOOOOO” the magician yelled. He fell to his knees and stared at the floor.

“Master will have my soul for this” the magician lamented.

“Who is your master?” Abrisina asked.

The magician looked up at Abrisina with tears in his eyes. “I cannot speak his name for I do not know it.”

Abrisina lifted up her head and shook her head. “Then it is a Djinn that is your master” she said. “And here I thought you were attempting to bind a genie to do you bidding like the other fools.”

“Genie?” Joel asked.

Abrisina turned her head to look at Joel without moving any other part of her body. “Yes, I am a genie,” she said. “A genie of the blue order.”

Abrisina turned her head back to the magician. “What is your name magic man?” she asked.

“Kyle” the magician answered.

“Well Kyle, it seems your master not binding you to his will was a mistake, because you will now be my spy to learn his name” Abrisina said. “Go and spy for me, and never reveal the truth of what happened here today, lest you turn into a cockroach for all of eternity.

Kyle’s eyes glazed over blue as he stood up. “Yes my master,” he said. In a poof of smoke, Kyle disappeared leaving Joel and Abrisina alone.

“Once again, thank you Joel for helping me,” Abrisina said.

“Well, what’s next?” Joel asked.

“Next, we figure out who was trying to purchase me since it wasn’t who I suspected, why that woman whom I trusted wanted you to put this page in my cage and what we are going to do about Brick” Abrisina said.

“We?” Joel said.

“Yes, we, because now I owe you two more favors” Abrisina said. “I am a blue genie after all.”

Joel was about to say something, but then he looked over at the table and noticed the suitcase Kyle left behind.

“What is this?” Joel said walking over to the suitcase.

“Probably a magical item” Abrisina said.

“Let’s see,” Joel said, opening the suitcase.

“Wait it could be-” Abrisina started saying, but Joel had already opened it.

Joel picked up a piece of paper that was spread out over the entire suitcase that read: ‘The fee for a job well done once more Brick. Twenty thousand dollars as agreed upon.’

Joel smiled as the realization dawned on him that he had just beaten odds that others did not. That’s when he thought about the other couriers who met their doom trying to deliver Abrisina before him.

“Why didn’t you save the other’s before me?” Joel asked.

Abrisina looked surprised at the question, then quickly shook her head. “I did, for the last 5 years I did” she said.

“Five years?” Joel asked with shock. “How many were there before me?”

“You don’t want to know,” Abrisina said. “Only one other than you managed to hear me, but she ignored me. Funny thing about her though is that she didn’t perish like the others. She was just taken by what you call the police and I warped back to Brick as usual. Its strange and I wonder what happened to her.”

Abrisina walked over to Joel and closed the suitcase. “I will answer all of the questions you have, but for now we must flee this place and get back to your apartment. I will return to my cage, and you can summon me again when it’s safe. I have 2 more obligations to you and will fulfill them one day. But for now, go home Joel and keep that book safe.”

With that, Abrisina vanished, leaving Joel with a little black book and a suitcase with twenty thousand dollars.