Crash

Due to my dislike for small talk, I made absolutely no effort to continue the conversation. As a result, we walked in silence once more. The girl kept stealing glances at me expectantly again and again, but I pretended not to notice. I just focused on my cigarette, completely unperturbed.

Since it was very late, the streets were relatively empty. Of course, as it's the city that never sleeps, there were some people walking around, and a car passing by every now and then, but it was still very different from the crowds flooding the sidewalks during the day. The sky was pitch black, but the streets were bright, enlightened by countless city lights. The air felt heavy, despite the slight chill of the night. The cigarette smoke was dancing in the air. It was a perfect scene. Those small hours were my favorite time.

Unfortunately, the silence was suddenly broken.

"Los Angeles." The girl eventually lost her patience and spoke up.

I let out a quiet sigh, trying to hide my disappointment. It was so nice for a moment, but she just had to open her mouth and ruin it. I still wanted to sleep with her though, so I couldn't ignore her. At least, not too much.

"Well, you were right. I have, in fact, heard of it." I glanced at her with a slightly forced smile.

I have been there before, a few times actually. But each time I visited, I ended up destroying the city almost straight away upon my arrival, so I can't say that I know it well.

Traveling is hard when the world is trying to hunt you down, after all.

The girl glared at me with narrowed eyes. It seems my answer wasn't enough and she was starting to get seriously annoyed at my lack of effort. I guess most people don't like to be carrying a conversation all by themselves.

But hey, it's not like she asked me out to have a chat. I honestly don't think I was in the wrong here. I even began questioning whether it was worth the trouble. Should I just ditch her and be on my way?

Still, I gave up in the end. I let out a sigh and ran my hand through my hair, looking at her sideways.

"That's quite a distance away, huh? So, which do you think is better…"

Before I managed to finish my question though, I noticed blinding lights, coming straight at us at full speed.

I immediately jumped out of the way, landing a safe distance away.

A split second later, a car crashed exactly where I was just walking. It hit the lowered metal shutters of a small store with a deafening noise, glass shattering everywhere. There was no one in the car except the driver, an elderly man. He was unconscious, or perhaps already dead, even before the accident happened. Heart attack, maybe? But that was not the point.

I stared at the wreck in disbelief. What the fuck was that supposed to be?

Obviously, I was used to various accidents happening to me. When it comes to something as common as a car crash, I lost count of how many I've been involved in a long time ago. However…

It hasn't even been a day since I arrived, and I barely disturbed any reality laws. I shouldn't have been noticed yet. It was way too soon for the world to start hunting me.

Was it a coincidence then? Must have been… It has never begun so early before. Still, I should probably watch out, just in case.

I glanced at the girl in my arms. Since she was right next to me, I grabbed her before jumping away, getting her out of harm's way. She didn't seem to be injured anywhere, but she still was frozen stiff, staring at the car wreck with wide, terrified eyes. Her lips were trembling.

"Hey, you okay?" I shook her lightly.

It took her a while to respond, and I was getting impatient. After what felt like ages, she finally turned her face to look at me. She opened and closed her mouth several times, wanting to say something…

And then her eyes rolled back and her body went limp. She passed out from the shock.

Damn, I expected more. Considering how bold she appeared, asking me out earlier, I wouldn't have suspected she would faint so easily. Normal people are so fragile and sensitive, I have no idea how they can get through their lives like that.

I tried slapping her in the face several times, but it didn't work. She was completely out cold.

I clicked my tongue, annoyed. What a rotten luck. There goes my hookup, I guess. And a place to spend the night.

Having no more use for the girl, I put her down on the side. I didn't even know where she lived, and I definitely wasn't about to drag her along as I was looking for a different place to stay.

What's the worst that could happen, anyway? A car has just crashed right next to us. The ambulance would be here any minute, I could already hear the sirens getting closer. She'd be in good hands soon, probably.

As I was busy with the girl, the car suddenly caught on fire. It seems there was a leakage, and it reached the still-lit cigarette butt I dropped… Ups.

It was not my problem. I had absolutely no desire in getting involved with the police or whatnot.

The best course of action was to get away. There were multiple onlookers, not only passersby, but also people woken up by the noise, observing the scene through their windows. Thankfully, most of them didn't pay attention to me. Only one guy tried to stop me for no reason, grabbing my arm. I shook him off, annoyed, and quickly walked away.

He followed after me. Seriously, why can't people just mind their own business? The accident was obviously not my fault. Well… At least not directly.

I took the nearest turn, and once I was sure that nobody could see me, I jumped up and made my way onto the rooftops, successfully getting him off my tail. As he reached the corner, he stopped and looked around, confused. It was a dead end… but somehow I managed to vanish into thin air.

I chuckled with satisfaction, watching him scratch his head as he stupidly kept staring at the empty alley. He would have never thought to look up.

There was no point for me to stick around and observe the investigation. It didn't really matter what was the cause of the crash. It couldn't clear up my concerns anyway. After all, when the worlds tried to kill me, anything was possible, from the common accidents to the most ridiculous ones, almost breaking the reality laws.

I leisurely walked on the edge of the roof, playing with a key chain I took out from my pocket, tossing it up in the air and then catching it as it was falling down.

On the key chain, there was a large collection of many keys for the apartments in different parts of the city that I managed to gather in the previous worlds. Most of them were supposed to be empty, available for renting… There was a chance that would be the case here as well.

Having the keys saved me a lot of trouble. Not only it allowed me to limit the scope of my house hunting, but also lowered the necessity for breaking the reality laws. Although playing by the rules was boring, this way I could enjoy peaceful life for a bit. Even world ender needs some time off to relax, after all.