That dumbass pushed me! He pushed right in the hole sending me to my certain doom. I stretched my limbs in hopes that it would drag my body and slow my descent. It’s not a parachute but it’s the best thing I could do right now. My body glided through the air but it did nothing to slow my free fall. Around me is an expansive land as far as the eye could see. A sea of yellow and brown is beneath me and directly below me is a bird’s eye view of a city that’s quickly growing in size. Wait. It’s not growing in size. It’s getting nearer!
Boom! The ground thudded. I crashed and it is some miracle that I’m still lucid. Well, it’s even luckier than I’m alive with no broken bones. I looked around and I seem to be in a street inside the city. People are looking at me. Their eyes are following my every movement.
“Grikta Kusu da!?” A boy exclaimed behind me with guttural undertones. He spoke another word but I couldn’t understand what he’s saying.
“Whe-” I stopped. My voice. It’s different, deeper and it’s coming out from the bottom of my throat. “Where am I?”
The boy tilted his head and gave me a confused look.
“Aleka sudu mean?” Wait. His voice is changing too. I seem to be starting to understand what the people around me are saying.
“I said where am? What is this place?”
“Why are you asking that, Rashid? Did you see what fell above you?” The girl beside the boy said.
“Fell above me? I- I don’t understand what both of you are saying.” And did they just call me Rashid? It’s isn’t important. What’s important is to know where the hell I am. “Tell me what’s happening and-”
“Run!” Both of them shouted.
Behind us is a guard in partial armor with glowing spears in their back. Their gaze is locked onto us and within a second, they set chase. I followed them into the crowd and crashed into a group of veiled women. I clutched their clothes for support and resumed my escape. And just as I am running, I realized that there’s something different about my body. I’m lighter and faster but there’s this lingering discomfort into my joints. Not to mention, when did my skin turn brown? And how the hell am I not tired yet from this running? I could barely jog without sweating buckets but I seem to be moving swiftly between stalls and people.
In the distance is a wooden crate. With my new quick running, I built up speed and used it as leverage to thrust me into the sky and land on the tarp stall roofs above. I moved so fast that before the tarp roofs could collapse, I’ve already jumped into the next roof.
“Where are you going?” The running boy said below me. “Our spot is to the left.”