Andy's Point of View

"Tell me." Alex said as he stepped over the dissipating remains of a Beowolf. "Did Andy ever become a pilot after he finished college?"

I blinked.

"Andy?"

Alex looked at me like I'd just asked him if the sky was blue.

"Your father."

"Oh."

"He usually went by Andy or Kweebs." Alex continued. "Said his grandfather's first name was Francis too, so going by Andy made it easier to figure out who the hell somebody was talking about."

That actually sounded exactly like Dad.

A small smile tugged at my lips.

"Yeah. He did."

Alex's head immediately turned toward me.

"He did?"

I nodded.

"Once a year he participates in an aircraft race."

For a moment Alex just stared.

Then he laughed.

Not loudly.

Just a short, amused laugh.

"That both sounds exactly like Andy and not like him at all."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Alex shook his head.

"The Andy I knew would've absolutely wanted to fly planes."

He paused.

"The racing part surprises me."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

Trust me, it surprised most people the first time they met him too.

Dad wasn't exactly what most people imagined when they heard the word pilot.

Alex seemed to get lost in thought for a moment.

Probably remembering old memories.

Then his attention shifted toward Joan.

"And what about you?"

Joan looked up.

"What about me?"

"Your father."

A grin appeared beneath Alex's bandana.

"Did Doc ever become a musician?"

Joan immediately laughed.

"Yeah."

Alex pointed.

"I knew it."

"He plays guitar."

"Figures."

Joan rolled her eyes.

"He even has this custom axe guitar."

Alex immediately pointed at her again.

"There it is."

"What?"

"The guitar."

"What about it?"

Alex laughed.

"That's exactly something Doc would own."

Joan shook her head.

"I swear, every time you talk about our parents it sounds like you're describing completely different people."

"Trust me." Alex said. "I'm having the same problem."

That got a laugh out of all three of us.

The image I had of Dad and the image Alex clearly had weren't quite lining up.

The similarities were there.

But forty years apparently changed people.

Who would've guessed?

Joan tilted her head.

"Why do you call my dad Doc anyway?"

Alex snorted.

"That's easy."

He slung his rifle over one shoulder and started walking.

We followed.

"Before me and Andy learned his real name, he went by Dr.Fate."

Joan immediately groaned.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes."

"He actually used that username?"

"For years."

I laughed.

That absolutely sounded like something Uncle John would do.

Alex continued.

"Later he changed it to Dr.Frostbite0."

Joan covered her face with both hands.

"Oh my God."

"So naturally..." Alex continued, completely ignoring her suffering. "...we started calling him Doc."

"And he was okay with that?"

"He never complained."

Alex shrugged.

"Actually, he kind of embraced it."

That sounded surprisingly believable.

Joan sighed.

"Of course he did."

"Oh it gets better."

Both of us looked at him.

Alex's grin widened.

"The one thing that actually annoyed him?"

"What?" Joan asked.

Alex pointed dramatically.

"Calling him Dr. Strange."

Joan immediately burst out laughing.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Absolutely."

I couldn't help but join in.

Alex nodded.

"Every single time."

"What did he do?" I asked.

"He'd start explaining the difference."

That only made us laugh harder.

"Every. Single. Time."

Joan was practically wheezing now.

"That's the most Dad thing I've ever heard."

Alex nodded.

"Yeah."

For a brief moment his smile softened.

The amusement remained.

But something else appeared behind it.

Nostalgia.

Maybe even a little sadness.

Because while Joan and I were talking about our parents.

Alex was talking about his friends.

Friends he hadn't seen in what, from our perspective, would be decades.

Friends whose children were now walking beside him through a forest in another world.

The realization hit me harder than I expected.

And judging by the look on Joan's face, she had just reached the same conclusion.

"So..." I began. "Did you ever have anyone special?"

Alex glanced back at me.

"What kind of special?"

Joan smirked.

"You know exactly what kind."

A sigh escaped him.

"If you mean a girlfriend, fiancée, or wife, then no."

The answer came so casually that it took me a moment to process it.

"No?" Joan asked.

Alex shook his head.

"No."

There wasn't any bitterness in his voice.

No anger.

No resentment.

Just acceptance.

The kind that only came after thinking about something for a very long time.

"I've pretty much accepted that I'm probably going to die alone and never have children."

Joan winced.

"Damn."

Alex shrugged.

"And if I do end up having kids someday, they're probably going to be adopted."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The forest was strangely peaceful compared to the conversation.

Birds chirped overhead.

Leaves rustled in the wind.

It felt wrong discussing something so personal after spending the last hour shooting nightmare monsters.

"That's kind of sad." Joan said quietly.

Alex was silent for a few seconds.

When he finally spoke, his voice was thoughtful.

"I suppose you can see it that way."

His eyes drifted toward the treeline.

Far away.

Like he was looking at something neither of us could see.

"I've just never met anyone who'd accept me as me."

The joking tone he'd carried for most of the conversation was gone.

For the first time since we'd met him, he sounded tired.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

Like it was a conclusion he'd reached years ago.

Joan frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Alex laughed softly.

A humorless sound.

"It means people usually like pieces of you."

Neither of us interrupted.

"They like who they think you are."

He stepped over a fallen log.

"They like the version of you they've built in their head."

Another few steps.

"But eventually they find out who you actually are."

His hand tightened slightly around the sling of his rifle.

"The good. The bad. The ugly."

He shrugged.

"And that's usually where things fall apart."

Neither Joan nor I had a response to that.

Because despite how casually he said it, those weren't the words of someone guessing.

Those were the words of someone speaking from experience.

After a moment, Alex seemed to realize how serious he'd gotten.

He cleared his throat.

"Besides."

The grin returned.

Small, but genuine.

"I spend most of my free time reading books, playing games, collecting random military history facts, and apparently getting teleported to other dimensions."

Joan rolled her eyes.

"That's your sales pitch?"

"It's the honest one."

"Maybe that's your problem."

Alex pointed at her.

"See? This is why I don't ask for relationship advice from teenagers."

I couldn't help laughing.

Joan looked offended.

"Excuse you."

"You're excused."

She groaned.

Alex chuckled.

And just like that, the heavy mood passed.

"How old are you, Alex?" I asked.

Alex glanced back at us as he stepped over a fallen tree.

"Twenty."

Both Joan and I blinked.

"Twenty?"

"Yep."

"You look older."

"Thanks. That's exactly what every twenty year old wants to hear."

Joan snorted.

Alex shook his head.

"I turn twenty one on August twenty eighth."

For some reason, hearing an exact date made the whole thing feel more real.

This wasn't some historical figure.

This wasn't some distant ancestor.

This was a guy who, from our perspective, had disappeared decades ago.

A guy who was only two years older than us.

"What day is it for you?" I asked.

Alex didn't even hesitate.

"June twelfth, two thousand twenty six."

The number sounded ancient.

Not because it actually was.

But because it belonged in a history book.

I looked over at Joan.

She looked just as weirded out as I felt.

Finally, I answered.

"September eighth, two thousand sixty five."

Alex was quiet for a moment.

Doing the math.

"Hmmm."

Then he nodded.

"Thirty nine years."

"Looks that way."

Alex rubbed his chin.

Then looked between the two of us.

"And you're what? Seventeen?"

"Eighteen." Joan and I answered simultaneously.

Alex pointed.

"See? That's exactly the kind of thing your fathers would've done."

Neither of us knew what that meant.

Alex seemed to find it amusing though.

"Eighteen..." He muttered.

More math.

Then his eyebrows rose.

"Huh."

"What?" Joan asked.

"That means your parents had both of you when they were around twenty two."

He sounded oddly pleased by that.

Like he'd just solved a puzzle.

Then he suddenly pointed at me.

"I know Andy's name here because you said his name."

His finger shifted toward Joan.

"But what's yours?"

Joan rolled her eyes.

"Joan."

Alex waited.

She sighed.

"Joan Frostwire."

The reaction was immediate.

Alex stopped walking.

Not for long.

Just long enough for his brain to process what he'd heard.

Then he started laughing.

A genuine laugh.

The kind that catches you off guard.

"I'll be damned."

"What?" Joan asked.

Alex shook his head.

A grin spread across his face.

"It seems if we ever get back to our world, I owe Doc fifty bucks."

Both of us stared at him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Alex pointed at Joan.

"Your father."

Joan frowned.

"What about him?"

Alex chuckled.

"Back when we were younger, me and Andy used to joke that if Doc ever had a daughter, he'd name her something fancy."

Joan blinked.

"What?"

"Something poetic."

He started counting on his fingers.

"Joan."

"Rose."

"Luna."

"Something like that."

Joan's eyes widened.

"You're kidding."

Alex laughed.

"I told him he'd probably name his daughter after some sci-fi character, a fantasy novel, or a guitar."

"And Dad?"

Alex's grin somehow widened.

"He insisted he'd pick a normal name."

Joan groaned.

"Oh my God."

"I told him there was no way."

Alex pointed at her again.

"And now here you are."

For a moment Joan looked genuinely offended.

Then she sighed.

"...Okay, that's actually kind of funny."

"Damn right it is."

Alex was still smiling.

But beneath the amusement, I noticed something else.

Relief.

For the first time since we'd met him, he looked like he'd been given proof that the future actually existed.

That somewhere, somehow, his friends had survived.

And judging by the look on his face, that realization meant more to him than he was willing to admit.

"If you ever had a kid, what would you name them?" Joan asked.

The question seemed to catch Alex off guard.

For a moment, he simply blinked.

Then he shrugged.

"For a daughter? Zyra."

"And a son?" I asked.

"James."

The answer came immediately.

Like he'd thought about it before.

Joan noticed too.

"You answered that awfully fast."

Alex chuckled.

"That's because I've had those names picked out for years."

"Years?" Joan repeated.

"Yep."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Even though you just said you didn't think you'd have kids?"

Alex shrugged.

"Never said I couldn't have names."

Fair point.

"Zyra?" I asked. "That's a unique one."

Alex smiled.

A genuine smile this time.

"Came up with it while writing."

"For a book?"

He nodded.

"One of my characters."

"What kind of character?" Joan asked.

Alex looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Strong."

"That narrows it down."

He laughed.

"Independent. Stubborn. The type who'd probably ignore good advice and do what she wanted anyway."

Joan pointed at him.

"That sounds suspiciously specific."

Alex pointed right back.

"That's because every good character steals traits from real people."

"That's not reassuring."

"It shouldn't be."

I couldn't help but laugh.

Alex shook his head.

"Honestly, the name just stuck."

"It does sound nice." Joan admitted.

"It does." I agreed.

Alex nodded.

"Besides, if you're naming a character you're stuck writing for months, you better like the name."

"Fair."

For a few moments we continued walking through the forest.

Then Joan glanced at him.

"What about James?"

Alex was quiet for a second.

Longer than he'd been when talking about Zyra.

When he finally answered, his voice was softer.

"Family name."

Neither of us pressed further.

The way he said it made it clear there was a story there.

Maybe a happy one.

Maybe not.

Either way, it wasn't something he seemed interested in discussing.

After a moment, Alex cleared his throat.

"Besides."

Here we go.

"If I ever had kids, they'd probably take one look at me and decide I wasn't qualified to be a parent."

Joan laughed.

"Why?"

Alex gestured broadly at himself.

"I'm currently walking through another dimension with two teenagers from the future while being hunted by nightmare wolves."

He paused.

"I don't exactly radiate responsible adult energy."

That got a laugh out of both of us.

Even if, deep down, I wasn't entirely sure he was wrong.

We emerged from the forest a few minutes later.

And immediately stopped.

A massive wall stretched across the landscape.

Gray stone rose high into the sky, easily dwarfing the surrounding trees. Watchtowers stood at intervals along its length, their silhouettes visible against the afternoon sun.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then I looked up.

And up.

And up.

"What is this?" I asked. "Attack on Titan?"

Alex glanced over.

"You know that stupid anime, but not RWBY?"

I looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Attack on Titan is awesome."

"It's stupid."

"It is not."

"It absolutely is."

Joan sighed.

"Please don't start."

Alex pointed at the wall.

"Anyways, that's the Valean Wall."

I looked back up at the massive structure.

"The what?"

"The wall surrounding Vale."

"The city?"

"The city."

I frowned.

"Why does a city need a wall this big?"

Alex gave me a look.

Then pointed back toward the forest.

"Because the murder wolves aren't exactly an isolated incident."

Fair.

"That wall keeps Grimm out."

I studied the structure again.

Considering what we'd seen so far, I couldn't really argue with the logic.

Joan tilted her head.

"So how do we get in?"

Alex looked between the two of us.

Then at the wall.

Then back at us.

"Does that fancy-schmancy armor of yours come with a grappling hook?"

Joan blinked.

"...Yes."

Alex immediately pointed at her.

"Problem solved."

Joan stared.

"That's your plan?"

"Yep."

"That's not a plan."

"It literally solves the problem."

I looked at the wall.

Then at Joan.

Then at Alex.

"...He's got a point."

Joan looked genuinely offended.

Before she could argue further, Alex raised his right arm.

There was a mechanical click.

Both future soldiers immediately recognized the sound.

A grappling launcher.

"Wait, your armor has one too?" I asked.

Alex grinned.

"It was supposed to be added to the Mk III."

Then he pointed toward the top of the wall.

"And I stole the prototype."

A grappling hook launched skyward.

The cable hissed as it unspooled.

A second later, the hook caught the stone battlements above.

The line went taut.

Alex gave it an experimental tug.

Satisfied, he nodded.

"See?"

He looked back at us.

"Problem."

He pointed at the wall.

Then at the cable.

"Solved."

Joan pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You know, most people use gates."

Alex stared at her for a moment.

Then looked toward the distant wall entrance.

A line of travelers, cars, and armed guards stretched from the gatehouse.

He pointed at it.

"That line looks like it'll take an hour."

Then he pointed at the grappling cable.

"This takes thirty seconds."

I hated how much sense that made.

Joan apparently did too.

Because she let out a long sigh.

"Why do I feel like we're going to get arrested?"

Alex immediately started climbing.

"Because you're finally thinking like a professional."

"That's not reassuring!"

"It wasn't supposed to be."

Alex continued climbing.

The cable barely swayed as he ascended.

For someone carrying two rifle's, ammunition, body armor, and enough equipment to outfit a small squad, he moved surprisingly fast.

I watched him for a second.

Then looked at Joan.

Then back at Alex.

"...He's serious."

Joan sighed.

"I know."

"Are we actually doing this?"

She glanced toward the gate again.

The line had somehow gotten longer.

A horse drawn wagon had apparently broken down near the entrance.

Several guards were attempting to direct traffic.

One man was shouting.

Another was shouting louder.

The situation looked hopeless.

Joan looked back at the wall.

"...Unfortunately, he's making a compelling argument."

I nodded.

"Yeah."

A grappling line shot upward from her armor.

The hook caught near the top.

A second later mine followed.

Above us, Alex glanced over the edge.

"Y'all done discussing it?"

"No."

"Good."

Then he disappeared over the top.

Joan groaned.

"I already understand why our fathers liked him."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"It isn't."

We started climbing.

The wall was even larger up close.

Stone blocks the size of cars formed its foundation.

Defensive towers rose every few hundred meters.

Gun ports lined sections of the structure.

The entire thing looked less like a wall and more like a fortress stretched across the horizon.

Halfway up, I looked down.

Immediately regretted it.

The forest seemed much farther away than it should have.

"Don't look down." Joan called.

"I already did."

"That sounds like a personal problem."

I muttered something unflattering in response.

A few moments later we reached the top.

Alex was waiting for us.

Leaning casually against a battlement.

Like illegally scaling city walls was a completely normal thing to do.

The view stole my attention.

Vale stretched out before us.

My brain immediately struggled to process it.

Towering skyscrapers rose above the city.

Airships drifted between them.

Roads wound through districts filled with buildings unlike anything I'd ever seen.

The architecture felt familiar.

Yet completely alien.

Like someone had mixed a modern city with a fantasy novel.

"Wow."

The word slipped out before I could stop it.

Joan wasn't doing much better.

"This place is real."

Alex snorted.

"Told you."

"You told us we were in an anime."

"Anime world."

"That's not better."

Alex considered that.

"Fair."

For several moments, none of us spoke.

The city was simply too much to take in.

Then a voice shouted from behind us.

"Hey!"

All three of us froze.

Slowly, we turned.

A guard was sprinting toward us.

Another wasn't far behind.

Both looked very unhappy.

The first guard pointed directly at us.

"How did you get up here!?"

Alex looked at me.

Then at Joan.

Then back at the approaching guards.

"Good news."

"There is no good news." Joan said immediately.

Alex ignored her.

"We have officially made first contact."

The guards continued running toward us.

Weapons in hand.

Very angry.

Alex looked over the side of the wall.

Then back at the guards.

Then at us.

"...Y'all know how to rappel?"

Joan stared at him.

"No."

"Well."

Alex adjusted his rifle.

"Today's a great day to learn."

The guards somehow looked even angrier.

I wasn't entirely sure that was possible.

The first guard closed the distance quickly.

Too quickly.

One hand was already reaching toward the weapon at his hip.

"Stop right there!" He shouted.

Alex didn't.

Instead, his hand disappeared into one of the pouches on his vest.

The guard took another step.

Alex raised what looked like a compact pistol.

The guard froze.

"So that's how this is going to..."

Two probes shot forward trailing thin wires.

The guard's entire body locked up.

His eyes widened.

Every muscle seized simultaneously.

Then he toppled over like a felled tree.

Face first into the stone.

Silence.

Joan blinked.

I blinked.

The second guard blinked.

Alex casually lowered the taser.

"Non-lethal."

The explanation somehow made the situation even stranger.

The second guard looked from his unconscious partner.

To Alex.

Then back to his unconscious partner.

His expression slowly transformed from confusion to outrage.

"Oh."

Alex glanced at him.

"Yeah."

The guard's face turned red.

"You tased Gerald!"

Alex pointed toward the unconscious man.

"In my defense, Gerald was being very aggressive."

The guard looked moments away from having an aneurysm.

Joan buried her face in her hands.

"Oh my God."

"What?" Alex asked.

"You tased a city guard."

"He'll be fine."

"You don't know that."

"I use this thing all the time."

That was somehow not reassuring.

The second guard finally recovered enough to draw his weapon.

Alex looked at it.

Then looked back at the guard.

Then at us.

"Better be quick."

The guard started charging.

"The other one doesn't look too happy."

"Alex!" Joan hissed.

"What?"

"You caused this!"

Alex looked genuinely confused.

"They were already upset."

The guard yelled something unintelligible and broke into a sprint.

Alex sighed.

"See?"

He pointed.

"Still upset."

I was beginning to understand why our fathers kept calling him an idiot.

And, somehow, why they had remained friends with him for years.

"Well."

Alex adjusted the sling of his rifle.

"YOLO."

Both Joan and I immediately froze.

"What?"

"What does that mean?"

Alex didn't answer.

Instead, he turned toward the edge of the wall.

My eyes widened.

"Alex."

The Marine looked back over his shoulder.

A grin spread across his face.

Then he stepped off the wall.

For a brief moment, my brain completely stopped functioning.

"What the hell!?"

Joan lunged forward.

I wasn't far behind.

Both of us practically threw ourselves over the battlements.

Expecting to see a corpse.

Or at the very least a very broken Marine.

Instead, we found Alex swinging through the air.

A grappling cable stretched from his arm to the rooftop of a nearby building.

The line went taut.

His descent transformed into a smooth arc over the streets below.

Pedestrians scattered.

Several pointed.

One woman screamed.

Alex waved.

"Of course he did." Joan muttered.

The cable detached.

The grappling hook fired almost immediately.

The hook caught another rooftop.

Alex swung again.

Like he'd done this hundreds of times before.

Which, knowing him, he probably had.

I watched him sail between two buildings.

Completely unconcerned by the fact he'd just jumped off a city wall.

"Is he treating this like Assassin's Creed?" Joan asked.

I honestly considered the question.

A second later Alex landed on a rooftop, rolled, stood up, and immediately launched another grappling line.

"...I think Assassin's Creed would tell him to calm down."

Joan snorted.

Despite myself, I laughed.

Then a voice behind us ruined the moment.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!"

Both of us turned.

The remaining guard was almost on top of us now.

His face was red.

His breathing was heavy.

And judging by the expression on his face, he was absolutely done with today.

I looked over the wall again.

Alex was already halfway across the city.

Still swinging.

Still somehow not dead.

I sighed.

"We better go."

Joan followed my gaze.

"Yeah."

"The angry guard is getting closer."

"Very observant."

"Thank you."

Joan rolled her eyes.

Then fired her grappling hook.

The cable shot outward and attached itself to a distant rooftop.

I launched mine a second later.

Behind us, the guard finally reached the battlements.

"Get back here!"

Neither of us listened.

With no better options available, we jumped.

The city rushed up to meet us.

My stomach immediately regretted every decision that had led to this moment.

Wind howled past my helmet.

The ground seemed to rise at an alarming speed.

For one horrifying second, I was convinced Alex had finally succeeded in getting all three of us killed.

Then my grappling line tightened.

The sudden change in momentum nearly ripped the breath from my lungs.

Instead of plummeting into the street, I swung forward.

Fast.

Really fast.

Buildings blurred past on either side.

The city spread out beneath us.

Crowded streets.

Market stalls.

Cars.

People.

Lots of people.

Most of whom were staring upward.

Several pointed.

One man dropped his groceries.

Another simply stood there with his mouth hanging open.

Honestly, I couldn't blame him.

Three armored figures were currently swinging through the city like escaped lunatics.

Ahead of us, Alex landed on another rooftop.

The moment his boots touched the surface he broke into a run.

"Why is he running!?" Joan shouted.

"I don't know!"

"He already escaped!"

"I know!"

A second grappling hook launched from Alex's arm.

The cable attached itself to a distant building.

Without slowing down, he jumped again.

Joan groaned.

"I hate him."

"No you don't."

"You're right."

She sighed.

"I really don't."

A laugh escaped me.

Then my HUD suddenly flashed.

UNKNOWN CONTACT DETECTED.

"What now?"

Joan immediately checked her own display.

"I got it too."

Several markers appeared nearby.

Human.

Multiple.

Armed.

Their positions were moving rapidly.

Toward us.

"Please tell me those are police." Joan said.

"They're moving way too fast to be police."

Ahead of us, Alex's voice came through the local channel, surprising me and Joan.

"Those are Huntsmen."

"What's a Huntsman?" I asked.

"The people whose job is killing monsters."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

Alex was quiet for a second.

"They also tend to dislike idiots grappling through the city." He then answered.

"..."

"..."

"Fair."

A figure suddenly landed on a rooftop several buildings away.

The impact cracked the tiles beneath their feet.

Joan and I both stared.

The person hadn't used a grappling hook.

Or a jetpack.

Or anything.

They had simply jumped.

A distance no human should have been capable of crossing.

"What the hell?"

The figure stood.

A weapon rested on their shoulder.

Even from this distance I could tell it wasn't a normal weapon.

Nothing in this world seemed normal.

Another figure landed nearby.

Then another.

Then another.

Alex slowed slightly.

"Well."

"Well?" Joan asked.

"We might have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"The highly trained monster hunters kind."

I stared at the newcomers.

Then at Alex.

Then back at the newcomers.

"You know..."

"What?"

"For a guy who keeps talking about how dangerous this world is..."

"Yeah?"

"You sure do spend a lot of time making enemies."

Alex considered that.

For exactly one second.

"That's a fair criticism."

Then he vaulted off another rooftop.

Alex vaulted over the edge of another rooftop.

Joan and I followed a second later.

The three of us landed on a sloped roof and immediately slid downward.

Tiles shattered beneath our boots.

Somewhere behind us, another Huntsman landed.

The impact echoed through the city.

"They're gaining!" Joan shouted.

"No kidding!" I yelled back.

I risked a glance over my shoulder.

Three figures were pursuing us.

Maybe four.

It was hard to tell.

They moved through the city with frightening speed.

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

Crossing distances no normal human should have been capable of.

One of them launched himself nearly thirty feet through the air.

I stared.

"How are they doing that?!"

"Welcome to Remnant!" Alex yelled back.

"That doesn't answer the question!"

"It answers most questions!"

A grappling line shot from his arm.

The cable caught a distant building.

Alex swung around the corner of a clocktower.

Joan and I followed.

The city became a blur.

Rooftops.

Streets.

Alleys.

Market districts.

More rooftops.

My HUD had long since given up trying to map our route.

The system clearly hadn't been designed for whatever insanity Alex was currently attempting.

Ahead of us, the Marine suddenly changed direction.

Hard.

Really hard.

Instead of continuing down a major avenue, he dropped into a narrow alleyway between two buildings.

"What is he doing?" Joan asked.

"No idea!"

Alex hit the ground running.

Without hesitation he ducked through a crowded marketplace.

Vendors shouted.

Citizens jumped aside.

One unfortunate man carrying a basket of fruit found himself directly in Alex's path.

The Marine grabbed an apple.

Kept running.

And somehow tossed a coin onto the man's stall without breaking stride.

"What?"

"What?"

"Did he just pay for that?"

"Focus!"

We plunged into the market.

People were everywhere.

Hundreds of them.

The perfect obstacle.

The Huntsmen couldn't simply bulldoze through civilians.

They were forced to slow down.

Forced to maneuver.

Forced to be careful.

Alex was not.

He slipped through gaps.

Vaulted stalls.

Duck-walked beneath hanging banners.

The distance began growing.

Slowly.

But noticeably.

A rooftop collapsed behind us.

I glanced back.

One of the Huntsmen had overshot a jump.

The crowd immediately scattered.

Alex pointed.

"See?"

"What?"

"Momentum."

"What about it?"

"They have too much of it."

Joan groaned.

"You're enjoying this."

"A little."

"Why?"

Alex flashed a grin.

"Because they're doing exactly what I'd do."

That was somehow the least comforting thing he'd said all day.

We burst from the marketplace and entered a maze of side streets.

The buildings grew closer together.

The roads narrower.

The crowds thinner.

Alex immediately turned left.

Then right.

Then left again.

Then through a building.

"Wait, what?"

I barely managed to follow him.

We sprinted through the first floor of what appeared to be a restaurant.

Several customers stared.

One woman dropped her drink.

Nobody had time to explain.

We exited through the back door.

Crossed another street.

Entered another building.

Then another.

Then another.

By this point I had completely lost track of where we were.

Which appeared to be the goal.

Finally Alex slowed.

Then stopped.

Joan and I nearly crashed into him.

"What?"

"Why are we stopping?"

Alex raised a finger.

The three of us listened.

Nothing.

No footsteps.

No impacts.

No shouting.

No pursuit.

Only the distant sounds of the city.

For several seconds nobody moved.

Then Joan checked her sensors.

"No contacts."

I checked mine.

Nothing.

The Huntsmen were gone.

Alex nodded.

"Told you."

"Told us what?" I asked.

"Lost them."

Joan stared at him.

"You lost a team of superhuman monster hunters."

"Yep."

"How?"

Alex looked genuinely confused.

"By running away."

"That's not an answer."

"It literally is."

Joan pinched the bridge of her nose.

I was beginning to think that gesture was becoming a survival mechanism.

Alex leaned against the wall and took a drink from a canteen.

"Rule number one."

"There's rules?" I asked.

"Always."

He capped the canteen.

"If somebody is better than you at fighting..."

He pointed toward the street.

"Don't fight them."

Joan blinked.

"...That's your rule?"

"It's kept me alive so far."

Honestly?

I couldn't argue with the results.

The three of us stood there catching our breath.

Then Alex looked around.

"Alright."

"What now?" Joan asked.

Alex pointed toward the city.

"We find food."

I stared at him.

"We just got teleported to another world."

"Correct."

"We were chased across a city by superhuman monster hunters."

"Also correct."

"We have no idea how we're getting home."

"Still correct."

I folded my arms.

"And your biggest concern is food?"

Alex looked at me as though I'd asked the stupidest question imaginable.

"Andy."

"What?"

"We've got enough ammunition for a small war."

"Okay..."

"We've got water."

"Okay..."

"We're currently not being hunted."

"I guess."

Alex nodded.

"Which means the next problem is food."

Joan stared at him.

Then at me.

Then back at him.

"...I hate how much sense that makes."

Alex grinned.

"Welcome to survival."
————————————————————
A/N: And done. kuwebby2, DrFrostwire0 your thoughts?