"Amante's Deli please, near Grand Boulevard," Jack said to the cabbie as he climbed into the back seat. The small Pulluli man grunted in affirmation and pulled back out into the street without signaling. The man was short and thin, as were all the Pulluli, and his skin was a lighter shade of red than Jack had seen on others before. The man had the startings of a beard growing in, and his large eyes darted around, watching for danger amidst the traffic. He sat atop several phone books, and Jack assumed he had custom pedals that allowed him to reach the gas and break.
"Mind if I smoke?" the man grumbled, but it wasn't so much a question as it was a statement of intent. Using his spaded, black tail, he opened the glove box and took out a green pack of menthols while his left hand lowered the driver's side window halfway. His hand returning to the wheel, he pushed in the cigarette lighter for a few moments, then used it to light one end. Jack realized he'd never actually seen someone use one of those. Deep in his mind he knew what the device was for, but he'd always thought of it as a funny-looking phone charger.
"Yeah...uh, no problem." Jack leaned against the door and looked out the window; in this traffic, it would take twenty minutes minimum to get to the deli. He began to zone out until the din of the radio caught his ear. "Can you turn that up?" Maintaining his stoicism, the driver upped the volume.
"...details coming in about the destruction in Logan Square. The previously unknown combatants have been confirmed to be the angel Eldarion and Carmiel. There are certain to be unreported casualties, but we will have to wait for things to calm down to provide an estimate..."
There was a loud explosion in the background that could be heard both from the radio and off in the distance from the open window of the taxi.
"Uh...the fight shows no signs of slowing. We'd advise anyone still in the area to seek shelter south, past the Loop or even further. We can only pray for the Angel of Love's swift victory over the demon that plagues our city. Eldarion, our hearts are with you." The anchor went on to detail the destruction of various old and historic buildings.
"Crazy, crazy shit, huh," the cabbie said, as if it were the most mundane shit it could possibly be.
"Yeah...had to leave work early today." He loosened his tie. "I can't complain about paid leave." Certainly, he could complain about the loss of life and history that was to come from this battle of egos. At the end of the day, however, it was easier to worry about his own problems than about all the problems of others. People loved to take the easier path. Jack didn't think that made him a bad person: just a normal one.
"Hey, buddy. Let's go. Got other fares." He'd zoned out during the worst of the traffic, and they were now parked just half a block from Amante's.
"Oh, uh, thank you." He tapped his phone on the Square and paid for his ride, leaving a modest tip. He wished he had the guts to leave a smaller tip; he hated cigarettes. How were they still legal?
He stepped from the cab onto the curb, then walked the rest of the way to the small deli through noisy throngs of people, who were gossiping about the destruction in Logan Square.
"I'm telling you; she was huge! Big as the door." The bell on the door jingled as the man behind the counter spotted him. Enzo looked confused, his mustache bristling. "Jack! Aren't you supposed to be at work? They fire you? They fired you. And now you want to up your hours here! Jesu Christi, Jack what's wrong with you?"
"Dad, I didn't even say anything. And I'm good, how are you?"
The friend his dad had been speaking with cleared his throat. "Next time, Enzo. See ya, kid." As he left, the man ruffled Jack's hair like he was a child.
"Hey, easy, Danny! Know how long it takes for him to get it to look that messy?" His dad turned back to the counter and finished wrapping up some roast beef for an order. "I'm glad you're safe kid. Your mother tried calling a few times. You trying to give her a heart attack?"
"No, of course not. Dropped my phone this morning, hasn't worked since." Jack started to put an apron on, but his father held up a meaty hand to stop him.
"What are you doin'?"
"I...I thought I'd come help, since I got off early."
"Bah," Enzo waved a hand dismissively. "Come back tomorrow, enjoy the rest of your day. I'll let your mom know you're okay. Now, get out of here quick before she..."
"JACKSON ELIJAH AMANTE ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" His mother burst from the back of the store, snatching the apron out of his hands and tossing it towards the others. It fell to the floor, having missed the hook by several feet. "You don't answer my calls? When this shit is happening?" She gestured towards the old twenty-two inch television in the corner which displayed footage of a ruined building. Her black curls fell over her face as she berated him. Jackson stepped in to give her a hug, and her anger melted away.
"Broke my phone, ma. I'm sorry." She hugged him back.
"I was worried, Jackson. You worried your mother. Shaved five years off my life." After a minute of rib-crushing hugging, she shoved him away. "You're coming in tomorrow, yeah?"
"Of course, ma." When he wanted to disarm his time bomb of a mother, he called her Ma. It always seemed to bring her back to reality a little bit. "I'll head home early then."
Usually, his walk home from the deli would only take about a half hour. He lived in Kenwood, which was the next neighborhood over from where his parents ran the business. However, it was construction season in Chicago, so several blocks were closed off while they built a new high rise or the next Dunkin Donuts or whatever it was they built all the time. He was forced to walk further south, towards the University Medical Center. It was only around three in the afternoon, so the construction crews were hard at work, making lots of noise and little progress. He rolled his eyes. In the evening, the noise got old quickly, and he could hear it even through the brick walls of his apartment. His mind began to wander as he made his way home to his plants. He hadn't checked on them this morning, running as late as he was. He'd make up for the lost time when he got home.
*Vigilance, Jackson. Look out.*
Jackson yelped and looked around for the source of the resonant, feminine voice. He was confused when he came up empty, but there was a loud snap as the construction workers around him let out panicked shouts. The sound of metal scraping on metal came from above him, and he looked up to see the end of a fifteen-foot I-beam falling straight for his head. Out of the corner of his eye came a gigantic hand that caught the steel beam, halting its progress towards his skull. A heavy arm wrapped around his waist pulled him to safety as the other beams fell through the pedestrian scaffolding and tore up the sidewalk.
"Hey, are you alright?" a woman said, a different voice than before. Jack looked up at the arm's owner, at her angelic face covered in flyaway curls. Her face was set aglow with a yellow light that pulsed in time with his headache. Her look of concern and shock was the last thing he saw before his world spun beneath him and dimmed.
He woke to the muffled sound of chewing. With his eyes still closed, the world around him began to piece itself together in his mind. The air smelled nice, like cherry blossoms and pine trees. He took a deep breath and smelled something else...mustard, maybe? His head lie on something soft, but firm. He was about to open his eyes, when something wet and cold landed on his cheek.
"Oh, oh no."
Large fingers plucked the item from his face, then a thumb wiped his cheek. He opened his eyes and the woman above him shrieked. He realized his head was lying on her muscular thigh, with the rest of his body supine on a park bench. He looked back up into her face and she was covering her mouth in horror. Her face was well obscured by her prodigious chest, and both of their faces were framed by her mane of wavy chocolate hair. Like they were each on the end of a very short tunnel.
"I am so, so sorry...this is so embarrassing. Please forgive me." With care for his head, Jack sat up straight, rubbing the back of his neck. It was warm.
