Vagabonding.1 [COMPLETE]

21. This Changes Everything

Sand crunched unevenly beneath my shoes with each step I took, with the occasional pebble tussling beneath me, just barely enough to throw me off balance. Despite the distance between us, I could still clearly see Surge ahead of me with his head held high, his posture unusually straight considering his usual bad habit of constant slouching. Surge slowed his steps and waited for me to join his side before coming to a complete stop.

"You ready?" He asked. "It's just five more steps until we get in again. Do you think you can handle this?"

"I don't have a choice," I responded honestly.

"Don't flake out on me once we're in there," Surge said as he roughly nudged the side of my arm with a fist-bump, "You and I, we're partners in this mission... and partners never abandon each other, you hear? We're going to be okay and we'll make it out alive, I just need you to trust me on this. We go with the flow so get ready to make last second changes... So, are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I tried to hide the trembling in my voice from being heard by cracking my knuckles in a series of minor pops and cracks. It pained my fingers and joints from the pressure as I shook my hand in the air.

He nodded in approval, a small smile spreading on his chapped lips, "You're going to fit right in if you keep up that attitude."

We continued on with the rest of our remaining steps when Surge vanished into thin air. I immediately drew my breath, making sure to hold it in due to a ridiculous and sudden superstition that I've invented in my own mind. My breath wasn't held for too long and in a few seconds, I crossed over into the familiar town that melted into view just as before.

The pathway of dirt turned into neatly groomed cobblestone streets that perfectly aligned with the buildings, the crosswalks, the houses...everything was properly set like a fine work of art. Despite it looking like a town caught in lost time, there were the sprinkle and dash of the occasional restaurant, banks, gas stations, a movie theater, and few mall outlets to suit the town's tastes.

Although the town was beautiful and stunning, the crowds of children and adults, the luxury cars, and grand animals on leashes that once kept the place lively were all gone.

The town appeared to be empty in this whole section with the exception for the two of us. A part of me was still feeling apprehensive, as if I could pinpoint that something nasty was brewing ahead, but I could just be reflecting the mood of the heavy gray clouds above my head.

I was snapped into my senses when Surge walked along side of me, his body towering over my right shoulder. The sinking feeling dissipated quickly as I focused back onto the mission.

"If we want to get through here easily without much distraction, you'll have to shape shift your way through security points," Surge said lowly before pulling his phone out and checking the time on it. "The catch is that you'll need to change into a girl for this to work."

"Why a girl?" I asked, feeling a slight blush growing on my cheeks as I mumbled under my breath, "...I don't think I'm okay with that..."

"They get the most pity," Surge shrugged, "That's just the way the cookie crumbles, man. We'll both need to go to the local jail. Since the town hanging is today, most of the police groups have been relocated to that area for controlling the crowd, which means the station should be quite empty. The guard on duty should be male from what I've heard, I'm just hoping he's not one to be too picky. When you get in there, you'll distract him while I go round the back of the building to break Kid Jones out. If anything goes wrong, I'll find a way to ring the alarms to prevent the hanging for at least another day."