Chapter 34 - Know your limits!

Several months later, Wilson could still not find a way out. So, he stopped trying and eventually, he realized, to his surprise, that he had gotten used to his situation. Every day followed the same simple routine.

Every morning, he would wake up late. Breakfast already cooked and Alice waiting for him at the table. She would greet him good morning with a slight blush on her face. That was enough to tell him something happened between them the previous night but he never once remembered precisely what happened, no matter how hard he tried to. Not even a blurry image came to mind. Then, they would take a stroll around the entire community, which was by no means small. They would visit the stores to see what was new and how business was going for them. Then, they would go to see old man Jenkins and his bald friend at the city's largest watch tower to hear about the latest news which was usually the same old boring stuff about the weather and the hunters' expectancy for high beast yield this year in the upcoming hunting season. Sometimes, they would meet the old cane lady, who was the mayor, and the other oldies who all held high positions. There, they would stay till noon. At noon, they would walk back home for lunch and a good time (Wilson never remembers that one either). They would watch movies together and then eat dinner with his old grandfather-in-law, who never forgets to remind them about the need to quickly procure his great grandchildren.

And day after day after day, it remained the same except for a couple changes in their schedule usually caused by some special events like anniversaries and public celebrations and holidays. Apparently, it was a big deal over there. Over time, he learnt a lot of things about Alice. A lot of things which still baffled him. He never would have pictured her as someone who liked going to fancy restaurants and the cinema to watch movies which, by the way, still awed Wilson. How in the world, are all this places and beasts and appliances and most especially people, able to enter the screen? What kind of sorcery is involved in this.? and why can't he touch them? After all, he can see and hear them!

Alice liked romantic comedies the most. Especially if the movie was produced by some company called 'The Doo-che Studios'. She would always meet up with her friends at the cinema for this doo-che company's movies. She would sit beside her husband (Wilson) and laugh when something funny happened. What surprised Wilson the most was when she cried because the protagonist died and his wife was all emotional and all. She would also occasionally kiss Wilson's cheeks and sometimes his lips. But if you asked Wilson, he would boldly claim he was still a virgin through and through. Not even his lips were disvirgined yet. Why? Simple, he literally could neither feel nor remember exactly what happened. He just knew it happened. That is all!

Anyway, today was different. It snowed for the first time and the snow came in hard, it snowed all day nonstop. It got so much that the fire ability users had to take turns melting the snow to avoid it getting too much and becoming a nuisance. Apart from that, they (Wilson, Alice and their friends. After all, these people were not all that bad), were having the time of their lives at a fancy restaurant. Good food, good jokes, friendly, happy faces with the occasional talks about work and the latest romantic comedy to be released next week while they mostly praised the food to the hearing of the chefs who were working several hundred meters away. Even though they spoke in not so loud tones, Alice told Wilson that one of them had super hearing and would let the others know about the reviews. Wilson, on the other hand, tried but was unable to enjoy his meal and the conversations. He especially had a connection with this dude called Cornelius. Cornelius was always happy to help and was the only other person apart from Alice who was patient enough to explain all the common sense things he did not understand. Wilson could not enjoy his meal, his hardly-ever-wrong instincts told him danger was on the way. He had been feeling like that since the day began but everyone told him he was being too paranoid.

"Nobody will ever find this place."

"Who would want to harm such a beautiful place like this any way?"

"Apart from the beasts, there are no other plausible threats. And currently, even the beasts are either somewhere in hibernation or simply unwilling to move in this cold snow."

"Come on honey, nothing bad is ever going to happen."

Even the oldies were unconcerned and thought he was being paranoid.

"Oy kid! Stop being so paranoid. We are fine, okay? Everything is under control."

Only old man Jenkins was willing to listen and paid extra attention to things. He checked all the security parameters without excluding a single one to ensure they were all working properly.

As they ate, an explosion resounded, followed by painful screams, followed by frightened screams which was immediately backed up and intensified by another explosion. Then, another and another. By the time Cornelius, who had super speed, got out of the restaurant, everywhere was already up in flames. Twenty or so explosions had already resounded.

"I told you we were in danger." Wilson could not resist saying when he finally stepped out of the fancy restaurant and saw the damage that was caused by an attack that started barely twenty seconds ago. He was the last person to exit the restaurant. Virtually everyone was faster than he was. After all, he was the only one without abilities or magic who had access to the fancy restaurant.

There was noise and dead bodies everywhere. Houses, shops, stores, were all up in flames. Rapidly burning till they were all ashes and were carried away by the cold winter wind. There were people fighting and dying everywhere. Some were caught up in flames, some were hiding, trying to preserve their lives. Kids and adults were running around screaming in fear. Old man Jenkins and the oldies and a couple soldiers along with Alice and friends were scattered around, on the roofs of unburned buildings, in the watch tower, on the streets , the farms and even inside the fancy restaurant, facing off against the invaders who were all dressed in black. Abilities of all sorts flew around, there were chants and spells resounding in the air, adding to the chaos. As for Wilson, he was trying to escape this place. What could his ability-less and magic-less self do? He learned that he was useless in a fight like this months ago. So ,he ran away, straight for the broken down gates which served as the only entrance and exit for this place.

Since he could not fight, he might as well try to see if he could use this chaos to escape this place that made him feel like something was not right. He ran, dodging all kinds of stray attacks and making sure to steer clear of places where the battles seemed to be heating up.

Wilson abruptly stopped. There were people blocking the gates. Three of them held swords, two of them held finely crafted sticks Wilson had come to recognize as magic wands and the remaining five or so were looking buffed and weaponless. He tried to hide away, but he was spotted by a certain shirtless individual - the biggest of them all. The shirtless individual immediately burst into laughter at Wilson's failed attempt at hiding in time.

"Oh come on! For a man as muscular and good looking as you, ain't you a little too pussy-ish? Why don't you come out and fight like a man. There is nowhere to hide anyway. If you give me a good enough fight, maybe I will let you die quickly! Or did your mama give birth to you without balls?"

Wilson stopped trying to find a place to hide. Did that bastard just mention his mother? He deserves a beating!

"Why don't you come find me alone? If you dare!" Wilson taunted him from behind a small hardware store and snuck in. If there is one thing he learned from fighting a super-fast, super strong, young, baby snake, it was to make your opponents play by your rules.

"Oh yeah? Okay!" The big guy said, making Wilson wonder if he was brave or just stupid.

*Half a minute later*

*AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH* *UHHH*

The big guy flew out of the hardware store through the window and banged his head on the road.

The big guy groaned as he stood up. He looked behind him a the men who were still standing a couple meters back, exactly where they were, half a minute ago.

"What are you doing? Get him!" The big guy shouted at his men. They all yelled and ran into the hardware store to find Wilson.

"Oh Mother!" Wilson grunted and ran away. He could handle at most two men at the same time. Not ten or so men. Who was that wise man that said 'Know your limits?' Oh, yes! That wise man was his mother.