29 Tired and I wanna go home...

The sun was slowly sinking in the sky as Kano walked towards his wagon. It was now full of various vegetables, breads and dried meats. He figured it would last the next week easily now that it was just him. His plan was to finish any chores and then go to bed as early as possible, a day back on Earth would be good for him. Things were going to be boring again here. He let his thoughts wander about his life and he tried to make some sense of it all. His best possible outcome was also the most unlikely one as well. Tiffany seemed to like the idea of staying casual. It let her focus more on just being. He wasn't sure if she would like being a housewife... then again, he wasn't sure he wanted one either. His thoughts turned to his mother, she was a lovely woman whom took care of the house while her husband was away. She was in no way inferior to other women whom were more career inclined. Her strengths were simply focused elsewhere. Sarah was a free spirit, a devoted one obviously, she would definitely fit the career wife position. Vicky... he imagined her as the classic housewife. Or, maybe something in between. She liked kids, but wasn't exactly motherly. She had a strong side and could be very decisive when she wanted to be. It made her feel more like a professional stay at home office worker. Or a real estate agent. Someone whom worked upon appointments but preferred to stay relaxed in her day. Ruolan... why was he thinking about her? He barely knew her, even if he spent roughly ten hours a day with her. Eating most of his meals with her. Kano realized that he barely knew anything about Ruolan's past and wondered just what was going on with her.

He gave the reins a quick flick and let his mind wander as he drove on out of the village. He figured it would be well past dark when he made it home. Oddly enough, he noticed a flicker of movement on a small rise just up ahead near the bridge over a decent sized stream. It was not quite a river, but it was reasonably deep. Pulling up his mask he was able to see a bit better, also, he really did not need it outside of the village. Now that he could see clearly, it was a woman in a light blue dress. 'I recognize her, I wonder if she is visiting where her sister died.'

It was the Blacksmith's wife. He was not sure of her name, though. Not wanting to interupt what was surely a morose and solemn occasion, he simply snapped the reigns again and pushed onto the bridge. It was then that he was startled by a splash. Immediately he glanced in the direction he saw her before and only found a ripple in the stream. "The fuck what?"

Nothing moved on the surface and Kano jumped from the bench of his wagon. He had a feeling something terrible was going on and his conscience would never let him leave it be. Kano's body arced through the air as he plummeted to the water below, lined up in a perfect dive. The cool stream sent a shock through his system, but thanks to his spell masteries, he had a decent level of resistance to cold. Below in the darkness, he spotted a rapidly sinking figure of the striking woman. Plunging deeper into the inky depths, he struggled to wrap an arm around her, thankfully, she did not resist. His lungs burned, his body ached, but he was certain he had not been in the water long. It was then that he saw it, a movement in the depths. As it came closer, the water turned colder and a deathly chill latched onto his foot. Kano's eyes bulged as he looked below himself and saw a bloated man dragging him back down. He kicked at the disfigured face, but it did not relent nor relax its grasp. Pain lanced up his ankle as it was wrenched downward by the drowned one, forcing Kano's face to distort in agony. He used his free foot to press down against the shoulder of the creature and pushed upwards against it with all of his might. His ankle was aflame with the torturous grip and his lungs were starting to burn from being under water for so long without a proper breath of air, but he continued to push against the monster of the deep. If Kano could see his eyes, he would note a tiny flicker of green flame ignite before erupting outward and his body surged with energy. Kano and Alice were propelled forward as a great weight had been released from them and they quickly broke to the surface.

Kano pulled Alice out of the water and trudged further away toward safety. Finally he felt safe enough and turned to look back. Two baleful eyes stared back at him from the middle of the stream, filled with hatred and loathing. They simply stared at each other for a few seconds more before the drowned one sunk back beneath the serene water. He suppressed a shudder knowing that people walked over this bridge daily, never knowing what lay beneath. His attention returned to the unconscious woman and he lay her down in the grass to check if she still held some life. Her pulse was weak but she was not breathing so he began performing CPR on her.

'Hah, Hah, Hah, stay-ing Aliiiiii-iiiii-iiiiiive... Really works. Never thought the Bee Gees trick was actually that useful,' Kano thought as he continually pressed upon her upper stomach before water came coughing up from her throat. Her body heaved and wracked uncontrollably as she forced out more water and tried to breathe in. Finally, she lay still and seemed to breathe normally and her eyes looked around her bewildered. Before her was a young man with handsome features dressed completely in black, it was the gravekeeper's apprentice. The same young man that had tried to help her earlier, yet his face held a strange angry gaze as his fingers lifted her chin and he stared hard at her face.

"Who did this to you? Was it that prick?" a cold realization dawned on him and he glared at the village. "Is this why your sister jumped here as well? Him?"

She felt a sudden warmth at his desire to help, no one had ever tried to help before. Each and every villager was out for themselves, it was the way of the outlands. The Academy protected them and in turn everything they did was sent to the Academy first before they themselves could reap any reward for their own toil. Alice hid her face from view and tried to look anywhere else but at this kind young man, her shame was too much for her to bear. Then, she felt weightless, only to find he was carrying her up the small hill to the road. The wagon he rode into town was still there on the bridge and he gently placed her down next to his supplies.

Kano did not say a word as he slowly clambered up onto his seat and flicked the reigns to continue onward toward his home. He sighed in helplessness as he knew he had some kind of problem, why could he not just ignore the plight of women? Why did he have to get his nose involved each time he saw one in trouble? His thoughts occupied his mind as he drove to the small cottage that he and his mentor lived in, neither of the two speaking but at least one of them had fallen asleep in the back of the wagon. 'Good, sleep should help her.' As he stopped the wagon, he noticed that the arm of the creature was still gripping his ankle. With a quick wrench at it he was able to pull it free and then was confused as to what he should do with it...

***

The warm sun and the smell of meat being cooked made him smile as he slowly drifted back to reality. Kano opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. He was in an unfamiliar room and on an unfamiliar bed... Groggily he massaged his eyes and tried to recall the previous days events. 'Ah, yes, Margo... Great.' He marveled at how she had tracked down his personal cell and then called him to her new place because she did not feel safe and there were weird sounds that needed to be investigated. Then he marveled at how his investigation of her place turned into a very different kind of investigation of Margo's secret places. Glancing at the time he realized he needed to head to the airport in another couple of hours to pick up the Greene sisters. They were visiting for the weekend and he had gotten them a hotel room to stay in while visiting.

As he walked downstairs towards the kitchen, he stopped short and found a very sexy pair of underwear that Margo was wearing the previous evening had managed to land on the banister. He smiled in spite of himself. "And this, this is what will kill me." he stated under his breath as he snuck into the kitchen and found a gorgeous blonde woman cooking away while humming to herself. Kano's arms quickly folded around her waist and chest as he pressed himself against her backside, the monster below awakening at the sensation and it too joined in to press against her hidden place. Margo gasped then giggled as she almost dropped the pan that contained some pancake batter. Nearby some eggs and sausage were already done and Kano was taken aback at her thoughtfulness.

"I didn't think I was that good, that I deserved breakfast as well." he teased as he nibbled at the side of her neck. Margo groaned as he found a sweet spot that seemed to only heighten the desire in her. "How the hell do you do that? Only one time together and you know more about how to please me than my husband of 14 years."

Kano only grinned and chuckled evilly as he squeezed the ripe melons on her chest and let his manhood press against her a little harder. "How about, we take this upstairs and eat in bed?"

"Mmm, whats wrong with right here?" and how could any man argue with that logic as he quickly slid her robe over and pushed her upper body down onto a nearby counter. Soon the food was forgotten as the rhythmic pak of their bodies smacking together filled the air to join with the moans and grunts of their exertions.

***

The distinct smell of cigarette lingered about as Margo sat on her balcony and watched a blue car pull out of her driveway. She gave a flirtatious wave at the drive and was rewarded with a satisfied grin and return wave. Her thoughts stayed on the young man that had entered her life. He was a bit of an enigma to her and that is what made her want him in the first place. Sure, he was well built and his face had that exotic handsomeness to it, but it was his strange almost innocent aura he had. It was not naivete, no it was almost like an overt honesty on face but his mischievous eyes that completely contrasted it. It was like he knew a great secret about you but would not say.

She exhaled another drag of smoke and watched as it curled away in the light southern California breeze. Her Farah Fawcett hair swayed with the smoke as she continued to stare off into the distance, wondering what it was she wanted now...