Chapter 27 Part 3

Sal sat dumbstruck. His thoughts did not want to collect and focus. One fragment that he could count on, though, was that time was of the essence. This was comforting to Sal as he was accustomed to dealing with situations that involved time being tight. he could mentally treat it like it was another job. The only difference on this job was that his objective was to get back to the Rogue's house as quickly as possible, which should prove to be relatively easy considering he hadn't wandered that far from it. As Sal steeled his mind to achieve this end, he could motivate his feet and body to move although the shock of being in a fundamentally different time period had not been adequately addressed.

So swiftly were Sal's feet moving, that he found himself running without even realizing it. He could just make out the outlines of the Rogue's house. He was beginning to feel hopeful and comforted by the prospect of everything going back to a recognizable, understandable format.

So uplifted was Sal by the prospect of returning to a life he understood that he failed to notice the small group of people heading directly toward him. It wasn't until he ran directly into the lead man that Sal registered their existence.

"Are you all right?" asked the man.

"I suppose I am," replied Sal as he got up off the ground and dusted himself off.

"Looks like you are trying to get somewhere awfully fast. Is there something I can help you with?"

Sal looked at the man carefully. For some reason he couldn't explain, he felt he recognized this man--like he knew this man as well as he knew his own reflection. Sal could tell the man was sizing him up and coming to similar conclusions. Physically, the man was nearly the same height as Sal. Whereas Sal had a spiked hairstyle, though, the man had straight blond hair that was buzzed short to the scalp. The jacket he wore was a typical issue around the time of the Runic War. It had several pockets for what was thought to be ammunition--although it did not appear that anyone here had any sort of weapon that would require ammo. The pants the man wore also had pockets to carry ammo. He wore boots that looked to be combat-ready. The man had a distinctly military bearing, although if he had traded clothes and hairstyles with Sal, one might have mistaken them for brothers.

The man extended his hand in greeting. "My name is Prilock Castian. Have we met somewhere before? You seem very familiar to me."

Sal took the man's hand. "I am quite sure we would have no occasion to meet, but you do seem familiar."

Prilock turned his eyes toward the horizon. "We have reports that an invading force is moving this way. It would be best for you to get off the streets and go somewhere safe."

Sal shook his head in an affirmative motion.

"Where are you going if you don't mind me asking?" inquired Prilock.

Sal pointed in the direction of the Rogue's house.