I awoke suddenly in freefall; below me was a stretch of water that met land. Minutes passed as I slowly came to the realization of the distance I was from land. HOLEYSHIT!

Doubting greatly I could survive landfall I began to flap my arms up and down in a futile attempt to change direction. Realizing this I altered my tactics. Taking a swimmer’s posture and cupping my hands I did something reminiscent of a frog stroke. IT'S WORKING!!!! Slowly but surely I was able to alter my trajectory. Aiming towards the bay with rivers running between the city. The water felt like getting hit by a ton of bricks. I blacked out for a few moments before waking in a small crater several dozen feet below in the river. Shaking off the shock of the crash landing I took a deep breath and noticed I could breath in water just fine as on land. Well.. I guess that explains why I didn’t feel the need to breathe in space. Standing up in place I also noticed another quirk of this body. I can’t float. Several attempts at swimming to the surface were met with comical results. First I tried to swim, but I didn't seem to get far before being dragged to the bottom. Then I tried leaping only to fall right back down. My last attempt was when I tried to jump up out of the water and take a deep enough breath of air at the apex of my leap outside of the water. So as to gain some buoyancy from the air in my lungs but it seemed my body was too dense for anything like that. All I ended up doing was creating a lot of unnecessary bubbles that scared what little aquatic life was around me. With a deep sigh I began making my way. “I guess no matter what direction I take I will eventually run into land.” I said out loud to myself. Even though to my ears it sounded far more muffled than I was used to.

Several hours passed before I finally made it on land. The going was easy but the murky water was taxing to see through. Coming up and out of the water I noticed the movement of what I assumed were cars passing by. I saw a sign post indicating a Belt Parkway and Shore Parkway and made a mental note. Unfortunately the sun was just starting to set and the traffic seemed to have just started to build up in the streets. Those same streets were filled with foot traffic knowing full well the type of panic my face could create. Keeping my head down and making my way behind the first building I could find.Headed towards the shadowy side of the building I bumped into someone as I was turning the corner. Feeling a look of abject horror when I saw it was a small older woman. She must have had her groceries in hand since they were all over the place. “I’m sorry, please let me help you out.” Reaching out at that moment to help the lady out. She shouted.

“Get off me you ruffian! You will not be taking my purse, I would rather die!”

“Please, I am so sorry really I am not here to take your purse I swear. The woman seemed to be squinting up at me trying to discern my intent before relaxing her grip on her bag and taking my offered hand. “Well good” with her wig eschewing she reached hopelessly trying to grab hold of her fallen groceries.”Have you seen where my glasses have gone? Pardon my french but I can not see a damn thing without them.”

Spotting them quickly I reached out and grabbed them but silently berated myself. She hasn’t noticed my face… I don’t think giving her glasses back would be helpful to anyone at this point. Don’t want her thinking I'm a monster or something and her dying from a heart attack. “Geez well I can’t find them. How about I help you get those groceries inside and we can look for them together?” I asked as I placed the glasses in my sweater’s front pocket. “ That does sound quite reasonable. This cold is unbearable.” I could feel a bit of limbo’s numbness seem into my limbs but it quickly vanished soon after. She continued mumbling something about wishing she could live in Florida and before long we had all her belongings back on the small cart she used. When we arrived at her building’s elevator. A large sign was placed on the closed metallic doors. “Broken use stairs.” I said out loud. “Not again I can barely walk from the parking lot to here. How am I supposed to make it to the fourteenth floor with my groceries.” The old woman said with a defeated slump to her shoulders. “No worries my lady,” I said with a grin and picked her up unceremoniously in an underarm carry on my left side and did the same with her kart on the right side taking the stairs three or four at a time. “Ohh dear!” she shouted and struggled to break my now iron grip. Moments later we were at the fourteenth flour. Her wig once more eschewed and her swearing up and down had had a calming effect on her. “Promise me! You will never do that to me again! I would have rather taken the stairs than be treated like a sack of potatoes.” Properly chastised, I helped her inside and placed her groceries and kart where she indicated. Her apartment was small. The kitchen made up half of the room while a small living room had two doors on the right side. There was a small red plastic covered couch with a table in front of it and a modern looking television.

“Take a seat, you look famished. I will whip you up some of my famous biscuits and tea.” Taking a seat at the kitchen counter. I watched her, clearly from decades of practice. Grabbed all the tools for the job and started working on the biscuits as she had a tea kettle boiling water on the stove. “Where are you from laddy?” she asked with an unfamiliar accent. “I’m from around.” I said as casually as possible. She made a snorting sound and said, “ The mysterious type I see, If I was a younger woman I might have fallen hook line and sinker. I always did have a soft spot for the tall lads but alas my dear Jeremy still has my heart.” She made her way to the picture frame on the wall in the kitchen. Making an unfamiliar gesture to me. Akin to drawing a t symbol on her chest with her hand and she went back to watching the kettle boil. “But he has been with the good lord for five years now.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said regretfully.

“Tsk do not worry about me lad, me and my Jeremy had so many years together and we have many children to brag about.” She quickly made her way to the other room and returned with albums filled with photos of family. Telling me names and pointing out places. Each photo was a story that filled me with a bit of sadness. I will never have this. A sense of belonging to family, the familiar faces that make the tapestry of life and familiarity. Would Rizoel and Anapiel count as family? They are really the closest thing I have to a father and mother. Though I have a feeling Rizoel seems to be more fatherly. Not sure why I get that impression. I thought to myself somewhat. What's that word… sheepishly?

Shaking my head of the thoughts swirling around, I looked up to Mrs. Sullivan. Seeing only a woman at the end of her life. What a short but well lived life? If I play my cards just right. I might have a hundred lives like hers. Maybe if I'm lucky.

Taking a quick gulp of my tea when she placed it in front of me I grabbed a handful of the fresh and tasty smelling biscuits and chowed down as if it were my first meal in forever and in all likelihood was. Since coming back to earth I’ve been having a hard time getting this whole time measuring things down. Is it a side effect of not sleeping? Well I've been doing plenty of that so maybe it's from sleeping. Strange. I pondered that fact for a few moments in between mouthfuls of biscuits before I noticed Mrs. Sullivan. Mouth aghast with a pair of glasses on. She must have gotten an extra pair when I was lost in thought.

“Soo thanks for the tea and biscuits Mrs. Sullivan, it has been an absolute pleasure to meet you. I hope you have a lovely day” I said as quickly as my mouth could shoot out before I aimed for her open balcony sliding glass door. Making my way to the roof next door after climbing a couple of stories up the side of the building. My cheeks, burning hot the entire time. I really have to get a decent disguise or I will never be able to walk around or get a job. I definitely need cash if I want to be able to eat at the very least. My stomach grumbled its agreement with me.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Several hours of hopping from empty rooftop to rooftop. I found myself a secluded spot above a glass roof that opened into a very expensive looking penthouse apartment. Statues and paintings filled the walls with a grand piano on one of the sides and a large segmented couch filling the other end with a television hanging from the roof facing it and large enough for me to see from my perch. Straining my ears I could hear the television playing some horror movie I had never seen. Half way through my stomach reminded me of its emptiness. Remembering the

Donut shop girl, I decided to make my way towards the general area of the store. Getting lost a couple of times and unable to ask for directions. It took longer than I care to admit.

I did finally make it there and it seemed that the store was getting ready to close. It's the same girl as last time. She was sweeping the store and placing the chairs that made up the inside space upside down on the tables as she went along. Suddenly a figure with a hoodie on walked into the store and took out what looked like a gun from his back. I felt the numbness rise up in me but before I could think my body was already moving. Leaping from my spot on the roof of the building across from the store, I angled my jump just outside of the storefront. Landing softer than I was anticipating I rolled right into the glass door and smashed my way inside. The sudden noise caused the gunman to turn abruptly from the girl and send a series of shots towards me.

The bullets felt like odd thumps on my skin. Pulling myself up from the ground I stood at my full height. Several shots rang out from the gun. All of them ricocheted from my skin and caused all kinds of havoc in the donut shop. I quickly closed the gap with the now screaming man in the red hoodie. “He’s … He’s A DEVIL!” The man shouted. I grabbed his gun wielding hand and with my other hand I grabbed his wrist. Mimicking something I had seen in a movie I bent over while pulling his arms over my shoulder and launched him clear through the storefront windows and into the parking lot where he skidded on the pavement until finally his momentum was stopped by a minivan. “Well that… that was a lot harder than I intended” I said. “ I hope I'm not too late for day-old donuts…” Turning I saw the girl in the uniform that had been there looking at me. Staring really.

“You are… you’re… you…” she said. Her face lost all color when blood began to drip down the side of her face from the top of her scalp. “Fuck your bleeding.” I said and suddenly she just dropped. I was able to catch her just before she hit the ground and placed her gently on the nearest table after I had cleared it of all the chairs and napkin holders on top. Inspecting her wound I noticed pieces of glass around her hair and cursed myself. Why do people have to be so squishy? Taking a handful of napkins from a holder near on a different table I held them to the largest cut. It was just above her hair line but didn't look too deep. Does she need stitches or something? Dam it. Why didn’t I watch more medical dramas when I was alive the last time? Sighing internally I could see he was starting to wake up. “What… what just happened.” Her voice was still groggy but at least she was waking up. Remember once again that seeing me was probably the main reason she passed out. I turned away from her and shrugged into my hoodie. “You had a bit of an accident…” my voice came out much less confident than I had intended. “I think you might have been cut when I came in through the door. I don’t know if you remember me but I was the guy you offered the old donuts to the other day. I was coming back to see if I could still get them when I saw this guy with the gun. I could hear her moving about behind me and from the reflection of the sales counter could see she was looking around with a shocked look on her face. “ I’m sorry for the trouble,” I said and made my way to the door. “Wait.” She said “ thank you. I think you saved my life. I'm just not sure what happened.” She reached up and seemed to feel the napkins on her forehead and made a pain filled grimace. “ One second I'm staring at this ruger and next thing I know the door explodes and this asshat starts screaming and then the front of the store just blows up. Where did the guy with the mask go?” Taking a peek behind me to the parking lot I could see the mess of what was left of the masked man. “ I don’t think he will be a problem for anyone here anymore. Lian took a look through the storefront and saw him too. “How did you do that?” she asked in a small voice.

“Lets just say I ate a lot of veggies when I was younger,” I said with as much false nonchalance as I could muster. “ You should really call the cops. I gotta go.”

I made my way towards the remains of the door when I felt a slight tug on the back of my hoodie. “Wait, you can’t leave. the cops! They are gonna need your statement and fuck… My boss is gonna kill me when he sees this. I don’t know what I am gonna do!! “ Lian began to collapse on the floor and began blabbering about how she can’t work in a busted up store. I just stood there with her holding on to my hoodie. I was frozen. Panic at what could happen if I stayed and the cops got here. Images of swat teams coming to take me and scientists dissecting me in the name of science filled my mind with horror. Then I remembered how Anaphiel and Rizoel could change at will. Knowing full well that I couldn’t just leave her here. Injured and having an emotional breakdown without guilt taking over me. I closed my eyes and tuned her sobbs out and concentrated on myself. Forcing an image of someone close to the girl's age. Taking a deep breath I forced that image into myself. Overlaying it over the image of what I looked like now. I wasn’t sure this was working and took another deep breath. Redoubling my effort I started feeling a tingling sensation over my skin. Opening my eyes I could see my hands had changed to a similar skin tone as that of the girl and felt my forehead. My horns. They… they are gone. In their place was smooth skin. With more confidence that I should have had I turned towards her and said. “Don’t worry, I won't leave.” With one look at her bloody and tear-stained face. I instantly regretted it.

The next hour was filled with cops and questions. SO MANY QUESTIONS! I think I might have been asked the same four or five questions 10 times each. They kept asking me why I was in and around this neighborhood at this hour and why I didn’t have any shoes. I just told them that I was homeless. Many times they stopped to stare at where I had come in and how the windows and doors had become so damaged. I had hastily realized a normal person shouldn’t have been able to launch a man of the robber's size as far as I did and definitely not after being thrown through a reinforced window. So I told them a near truth. The armed man had started shooting and luckily I was able to take the gun away. “And when I saw him running I just threw the gun at him from the broken window and that's where he landed.” I smiled internally at my quick thinking but the dubious gazes I received told me that it was shaky at best but thanks to Lian, the girl from the coffee shop, she was able to collaborate my story. By the time the cops had left me alone and started tending to the girl's injuries a round older man had appeared and seemed quite happy to see Lian alright but after he seemed to deflate at the state of his store. I think I even saw him tear up a bit and mutter something about hoping the store’s insurance covered robberies.

All the while the girl seemed to take quick glances at me. Her eyes once a bit glazed became somewhat cold and analyzing once her worries seemed to have settled. At about the hour and a half mark I started to feel nauseous and a weird pressure under my skin. Knowing full well the dangers of reverting back to my original form in this room filled with cops I asked if it was ok to use the bathroom. Both the store owner and Lian pointed at an employee only sign and said I could use the restroom there. Moving quickly since I didn’t know how much longer I could hold this form I ran in and closed the door behind me. I sighed as the pressure building under my skin finally gave way and I changed back. Taking a look at my face I was amazed at the seamless transition from one form to the other. I tried to revert back to my human form but seemed to have a hard time. Every time I tried to focus, only parts of my face and body would turn human. One horn would disappear but then the other side would still be the same. I would keep trying but the harder I tried the more mismatched my face would become. Human pink skin would appear but I would still have my horns and sharp teeth. My sharp teeth would disappear and my face would become more human but my skin would still be bright red.

Suddenly a knock came from the door and I could hear Lian on the other side. “ Hey you're not doing anything weird in there? Are you?” her voice came a bit more aggressive than I imagined she could be. “NO!” I replied hastily “ just.. Umm. having a little technical difficulties.Do you know where I could get some more.. Toilet paper?” “John forgot to restock the bathroom again.” She said somewhat shouting to someone else. “Don't worry hero, I'll get you a roll.” The hero comment had me floored. I… I’m… I’m a hero…

I looked into the mirror and my tension over the last few days seemed to leave me. My face changed back into what I imagined my human self would look like. “Why did I go with Asian?”