Slipstream

Chapter 1

Monday was Krista's favourite day. Even though people seemed to look down on her for partaking in her forbidden love, she always woke up on Monday mornings with a sense of renewal -- like every Monday was a chance to be a whole new person for another week. Of course, she was always the same boring barista every week, nothing ever really changed but that didn't stop her from feeling reinvented every seven days.

At least, nothing ever changed until this particular Monday.

Her alarm went off at six o'clock and Krista pulled on her skinny jeans and a gray hoodie, then went to eat her breakfast. She nibbled her toast and pushed her eggs around the plate with her fork but... something didn't feel right.

Oh God... am I pregnant?

Krista put her hand on her stomach and did some quick mental math. When everything seemed to add up she still pushed the plate aside. Being content with the fact that she wasn't with child did not bring back her appetite.

Before heading out, Krista lifted her purse over her shoulder and grabbed hold of a full black bag of smelly garbage. She had procrastinated too long in bringing the thing to the dumpster, like she did with most domestic tasks. Unlike any other form of housework, however, her reluctance to bring the garbage out was not driven by laziness.

The building Krista lived in had five other apartments, and everyone shared the same dumpster. The problem was, the landlord was currently arguing with the owner of the private company which collected their waste. This led to a giant pile of rotting food and solid garbage which made the alley beside her building entirely disgusting.

With her breath held and her nose plugged, Krista tossed her garbage onto the small mountain and quickly sprinted away before the inevitable scurrying of rats which feasted in the dark space. She hated the alley more than anything else, and the diseased vermin didn't help its case.

As Krista darted around the corner, still staring over her shoulder at trash mountain, she barely registered the flash of light in her path. An angry driver honked his horn and Krista's head spun around just in time to see the silver sedan skid to a stop. Standing in the middle of the road was a tall man, clothed only in a loosely wrapped garment which looked to be made of linen and animal pelts.

"What the hell are you thinking?" The driver screamed as he got out of the car. "You coulda got yourself killed!"

The man in the street lifted what looked like an old shepherd's crook and held it firmly between himself and the driver. He rambled off some unintelligible syllables from a language Krista didn't recognize and the driver's face flushed with anger.

"I don't know what kinda gibberish you're speaking, but there ain't no room in my neighbourhood for a freak like you."

"Hey!" Krista leapt forward as she saw the driver rolling up his sleeves. His fists were balled into tight knots and the oddly dressed man had his big stick held high over his head. "What's going on here?"

"Stay outta this, lady," the driver said.

The other man turned to Krista and bowed his head. He then gestured to the driver and continued to babble on, apparently unaware of the fact that he was not being understood.

"Look, bud, this guy is clearly not from around here." Krista gestured to the man's odd clothing. Close up she could see that he was covered in delicate tattoos that wrapped around his body. "Just, cut him some slack okay?"

"If I gotta go through you to get to this freak I will."

"Um..." Krista chewed the inside of her cheek and hesitated. She didn't know either of these men, perhaps it was better to not get involved.