The Heritage of Sephtis: The Returning

6: Antique Collector

Jack looked up and down the street. It was no New York, yet every inch of the road seemed to be alive with movement. The streets were running, the buildings were talking, the sidewalks were wandering. This was what a bigger town was like. Jack hadn't ever actually lived in a town this big, not that it was exactly a record setting size. Still, it was bigger than he had experienced in person. A man walked by, and bumped Jack. Jack snapped out of his daze and looked towards the man, but he was gone. No other choice but to look around town.

Jack walked into the shop beside him, and looked around. It seemed to be some sort of oddity or antique shop, with a hodgepodge of different random figurines, chairs, games, masks, anything you could think of. It was all there. Jack turned to leave, but there was something there that caught his interest. To the left in a corner there was a rack with pamphlets, and brochures, and books about the city and the state. It was a jackpot. He'd stumbled across something useful in a place like this, there really was everything in here.

He walked to the rack, and started rifling through the brochures and pamphlets, scanning and reading as he went. Occasionally a hand would appear beside him, and grab a little brochure or book or pamphlet, then leave. After going through all the pamphlets, he looked up at the clock beside the rack. It was getting later in the day. It was getting closer and closer to noon. He'd spent too much time in this one store. He turned back towards the door, and stopped. There was a little pamphlet sitting on a rickety little wooden desk. Jack picked it up, and noticed a slip of paper sticking out the top. He opened it, and the paper fell out onto the ground. Looking around, Jack set the pamphlet down, and grabbed the paper off the floor. He recognized this writing, and quickly read it. "Almost there, then no more chasing, only hunting. I promise." Jack looked up and around the store. Nothing. Then, there was a blur of silvery hair rushing out the door. Jack folded up the paper in his hand, and followed after her.

He was barely tall enough to follow her through the maze on people rushing down the streets. He weaved through the small crowds, until she turned off on a side road. She stopped briefly, looking back to make sure Jack was following, then continued moving. Jack jogged towards her, hoping to close some distance, but stopped when he saw a building up ahead. He walked towards her, but another building appeared in view. Then another, and another. It was once again an apartment complex, this time a pretty large one right off of the main road.

Jack watched her get nearly to the parking lot before running up to her and trying to grab her arm. His hand phased right through, and he jumped back a bit. " Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep leading me to these fires? What do they have to do with anything?" She backed away from him, shaking her head as she pointed to her ears. That's right, she couldn't understand. Then she turned and walked into the building.

As expected, it burst into flames, and a flood of people ran out. He watched the flames, dazed and utterly lost. Once he lost sight of her in the flames, he turned away slowly, watching a red convertible pull up to the building as he turned off onto a seperate street, totally unsure of how to continue. What did all of this have to do with anything? Maybe, he should just go back home. It's not like he was gaining anything from staying here. That was it. He stopped walking, and pulled out his phone. "Find the nearest bus station."

"Ok. Locating the nearest bus station..."

Jack walked up to the station. Maybe he shouldn't do this after all. He looked around him. No, he had to do this. There was no reason for him to stay. He hadn't accomplished anything, and his parents must be so worried. He had to go back. He walked towards a man behind a glass window sitting in a sad booth. He seemed to be distracted by his phone.

"Excuse me." Jack knocked a bit on the counter, and looked in at the man. He looked up at Jack, and sat up.

"Good morning! What can I help you with?"

" Are there any buses heading out anytime soon to another town?" Jack looked at him hopefully.

"There's not many leaving anytime soon." The man turned away from the window, and started clicking a mouse. "You heard about the fire? The mayor has addressed it as a terroristic act, and the police have shut down most roads and buses out of town. So, you know, there's not a lot left that will leave within the next two hours or so..."

"Two hours?" Jack blurted concerned.

"Yeah, that's about how long they were delayed for. Oh, it looks like there are two buses still going out of town. The next one is going in..." The man hit his mouse on the table and scrolled fiercely, "two minutes."

"Is it anywhere near the border?"

"The what?" The man looked at Jack, clearly confused.

"The state border. I took a wrong bus, and don't want to call my parents to get them to fix it," Jack lied.

"Oh, I get ya. Yeah, it's not too far from the border, though it's a pretty small town so there may not be many out of-"

"How much money?" Jack replied hastily.

"Ten dollars, exactly." The man looked up at Jack.

"Ok, give me a second." Jack put down his bag and pulled out the twenty dollar bill from that guy, and then handed it to the man.

"Thank you." He turned away, then turned back with a ten dollar bill and a ticket. "Here."

Jack grabbed the ticket and change, thanking the man at the same time. Then he grabbed his backpack, and rushed to the only bus nearby that seemed to be running. Jack jumped on to it's stairs, and handed the ticket to the driver. The driver eyed him, looked down at the ticket, then with a sigh gestured to Jack to go sit.

Jack walked down the row, and sat in front of an elderly woman. Jack looked around a bit, and realized everyone else on the bus seemed to be elderly. He smiled awkwardly when one of them looked at him, and then he looked out the window avoiding the few others on the bus with him. He prayed desperately that this was not a retirement village he was going to. Then the bus started moving.

After a very short trip, the bus stopped, and Jack jumped up to get off as quickly as possible. He paused in front of the bus briefly, caught off guard by how small the town was compared to where he had just come from. He couldn't even see anyone, except for the elderly people who had just shuffled off the bus. But, the size was comfortable, like a loose fitting sweater. Jack heard his stomach rumble. He looked around him for something, but didn't see anything clearly labeled as a restaurant. The final person got off the bus, and the bus pulled away.

"Oh, thank you God!" Jack whispered, his stomach still growling. Directly across from him he could now see a restaurant that had been behind the bus. It was time to eat. Jack looked left then right, and ran across the street. He was ready for some food.

Author note: Hey guys! Sorry I've been on hiatus for so long... I'm back now, though, and ready to finish out this story. I hope you're ready for some crazy plot twists and lots of question...