<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 150%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="color: #00BFFF"><div style="text-align: center;">David</div></span></span><br/><br/>The smell was almost chokingly bad. He could tell that Tessa had noticed it too. <br/><br/>David agreed with Tessa, “We definitely don’t want to be branded as criminals, for all we know there’s no justice system here. We could get shot on sight.” At Tessa’s suggestion, David added, “that seems like the most plausaible, but what if they start asking for details. We don’t even have one clue what is going on with the war.- ugh - I think the smell is gonna be the worst thing about interstellar - slash - inter-dimensional travel.” <br/><br/>He looked up at the rising city and the unsafe looking stairs. This place had a weird mix of technology and magic. Most of their “tech” was simply magic that did what technology did on Earth. <br/><br/>“That road was very advanced,” David nodded back at the track, “and yet this looks like something from ancient times.” <br/><br/>“Oy,” a loud voice that reminded David of a London cockney accent came from a man at a stall they had passed. “This place is really working hard to improve our image. We’re respectable folk here, don’t know what you’ve been told.” <br/><br/>“I’m sorry, I didn’t,” David started, when a woman strolled up with large 80’s looking hair that was very red, “Don’t yell at them kids Harko, they could be costumers.” She smiled at them, showing sharp teeth. She dipped into a pocket, brought out some sort of lizard looking creature. It made a sound that was both horrible, and funny, as she put it in her mouth and ate it. David swallowed and clutched Tessa’s wrist, trying not to throw up. <br/><br/>He quickly whispered to Tessa, “OMG, I’m going to throw up and they’re going to get insulted and kill us!” <br/><br/>“These kids is talking about how we’re ancient,” the man said. The woman stared at him for a moment, and then glowered at the pair. <br/><br/>“That aint nice at all!” She yelled. “Oy, Crona,” she yelled. Another, older woman came over, along with some big looking men and more vendors. <br/><br/>“This… is not good,” David said, walking back a little. <br/><br/>A jingle sounded inside David and Tessa’s heads, “correction, upon farther research I have discovered that ‘ancient’ has a more subtle translation. I have corrected the error. <br/><br/>These guys just insulted us,” They were saying. One of the big guys came closer, looking very scary. “They called us brogerfoots.” David didn’t know what those were, but he guessed it was not a good idea to call people that. One of the large men opened his mouth and a loud deep growl came out. Suddenly, the big men, which now looked more like some kind of werewolves, leaped with their claws stretched out at them. <br/><br/>David screamed, not his finest moment, and raised his arms to block his face. Then there was a soft sound, like a deep base coming from all around them, subtle, but clear. His ears popped. Then nothing happened. He kept his eyes closed, but everything was silent. Absolutely silent. The hustle and bustle and sounds of conversation that were so loud moments earlier were no longer there. It was like everything had suddenly ceased to exist. He finally got the courage to open his eyes. <br/><br/>He emitted another scream as he saw the claws inches from his face, stepping back and nearly tripping. The scream sounded odd. Muffled. <br/><br/>“Tessa,” he yelled, but Tessa wasn’t moving and the claws were also inches from her face. “Tessa,” David said, a little more calmly. She was motionless. David looked around. The guard was coming over, running, but he was motionless, one leg extended in a running pose. Everything around them was motionless. He licked his lips and felt lightheaded. <br/><br/>“What is going on?” he said to himself. <br/><br/>He went to Tessa, walking behind her and to the other side. “Tessa,” he tried to rouse her out of whatever was happening to her. He reached out and placed his hand on her arm. She suddenly moved backward and he could hear her now.  Whatever had kept her from moving had dispelled itself. <br/><br/>After Tessa was able to take her own time to take everything in, David said, “what do you think is going on?” He looked up, even the birds in the sky were motionless. <br/><br/>He looked at the scary wolf men and said, “I think we should-“ suddenly incredibly pain started erupting everywhere throughout his body. He screamed and fell to the ground. <br/><br/>“I feel like my bones are breaking,” he said, through difficult short breaths. He caught a glimpse of his hands, they looked different. More wrinkled. Though David couldn’t see it, his face was getting older as well. He yelled when he tried to stand and his leg gave out as he got a little taller. <br/><br/>“What’s happening to me!”</div>