"I felt it the moment he put his arm around my shoulder. Something sharp and pointy pressed against my lower body, trying to pierce through my clothes," said the man.
"You don't seem like you're from around here, buddy," the individual said, his right hand holding a knife against the man's side while his other arm remained draped around his shoulder.
"You'd know better than to walk with a stranger down an obviously suspicious alley like this one. Are you a tourist, or are you just dumb?" He forced the man to walk forward.
"Look, brother, I don't have anything valuable on me. Please be careful with that thing," said the man nervously.
"You must think I'm a fool, huh, punk? I may not have gone to school, but even I know that this white jacket thing is a doctor's attire. Which means you're loaded with money," the individual sneered.
"Look, this is just a misunderstanding," the man tried to explain, but he was interrupted.
"Shhhh, you don't have to worry about anything, provided you do exactly what I tell you to do," the mugger said, pressing the knife harder until it began to puncture the man's clothes.
The man thought, "No, I am not going to die here, not after getting this far. I'm so close to finding where Aurora lives and getting my powers back. I can't die like this - I can't."
"I've survived almost getting shot by the cop and getting dissected by the coroner. I can survive this too. All I need to do is come up with a plan. My plans always work, so I don't need to panic. I just need to calm down and handle the situation like the professional escape artist that I am," he reassured himself.
"Listen, pal, here's what's gonna happen," said the mugger as he pushed the man against the wall, his right hand against the man's neck and the knife in his left hand.
"This goes one of two ways. You can try some funny business and end up with an extra hole in your body, or you can give me all that you have on you and maybe you get to live to tell your grandchildren how you survived getting mugged in the city. So, which is it?" he added.
"I've only been alive for a few hours, but it seems everything in this damn world wants to kill me. Maybe it's because of my previous job, who knows," thought the man.
He replied, quivering and shaking, "I'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt me, sir." He breathed heavily. "I have a family, sir. My wife is expecting a child as we speak. Please, don't kill me. I asked for directions because I wanted to find a way back to her."
"What are you talking about, you bastard?" shouted the mugger, pressing the knife harder. "Who the hell forgets where they live, you lying punk?"
"Look, I have a condition from my father's side. I'm directionally challenged. I struggle to make my way through the city. I usually have my GPS to help me, but you see, I've already been mugged today. They took my phone, my money, and everything I had. That's why I have nothing on me, please believe me," explained the man.
"No way, I don't believe it," said the individual.
"Look, you can check for yourself. Search me and see if you find anything," said the man.
"I'm gonna let go of your neck so I can search you with my right hand. If you try getting smart with me..." said the individual.
"I know, I know," the man interrupted. "I'll get an extra hole in my body and all that. But sir, believe me when I say I am perfectly fine with the number of holes I have. I definitely wouldn't do anything to increase them, so you don't have to stab or punch me."
"As long as you get it," the individual replied, releasing his right hand and beginning to search the man's pockets.
The man thought, "That's step one completed. I was able to get his hands off of me. Next, I need to put him in a disadvantageous position so I can get the upper hand."
"Seems like you're telling the truth," said the individual as he continued patting the man down, searching for anything valuable.
"See, I told you, sir. I've already been mugged. In fact, it wasn't even far from here. Honestly, I think you guys should implement a territory system to avoid confusion like this. Now that someone already mugged me, it means you don't get anything," explained the man.
"Look, sir, if you want, I could take you to the guy who mugged me. He's probably still around the corner. We could go there and get my stuff back so you can have it. Matter of fact, I'll help you mug him. That arrogant bastard took my GPS - now I'm gonna miss the birth of my third child because of him. Just imagine."
"You sure talk a lot for someone in a hostile and dangerous situation," said the mugger, continuing to search the man.
"Oh, sorry about that. I get it from my mother's side. They have a condition where if they're nervous, they talk a lot. It's actually... " the man began to say, but the individual suddenly lashed out in anger. He placed his right hand against the man's chest while pointing the knife at his face.
"Will you shut the hell up, you bastard? Why are you talking so damn much? And why the hell does your damn family have so many damn conditions? Why are you people so sick? What did you guys do, dammit?" shouted the man, agitated.
"Look, sir, I'm sorry I talked too much, but like I said, I don't have anything on me. So please, sir, let me go. I need to see my wife and child. I haven't even named the child. Please don't kill me," explained the man, glancing at his own feet.
"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell are you looking down for? You hiding something from me? What are you looking down for, you bastard?" the mugger shouted, stepping back and starting to look down to search as well.
"Aha! I knew it! I knew you were hiding something," shouted the mugger in excitement as he started to lean down to check the man's feet.
The man quickly thought, "Yes, keep leaning down, you bastard."
Just as the individual was almost bent over, he was met with a jumping knee to his face that broke his nose and sent him tumbling down, screaming in pain as he passed out.
With a huge sigh of relief, the man said, "Whew, that was a close one. Although I am a genius, I didn't actually think my awesome strategy would work. Nonetheless, I gave the bastard what he deserved," he added as he leaned down and started searching the mugger instead.
"As thanks for trying to kill me even though I didn't do anything to you, I'll be mugging you instead," thought the man.
"Ooh, looks like you have some cash. I'll be taking that, of course. Oh, and a working cellphone - my, you're too kind. I gladly accept your gift offering," he said as he took the money and the phone and started to walk away.
"Oops, before I forget, phones these days have biometrics, so I should probably get rid of that while I'm still here," he added, using the unconscious man's fingerprints to unlock the phone.
After doing that, he thought, "If I use the GPS from this phone, I should be able to find Aurora's apartment." He entered the address and started to follow it as it guided him through the city.
After some time walking around the city, he finally arrived downtown and stood opposite a slightly old, run-down building.
"103 Marlin Street. Seems this is the place," he said, looking at the phone to confirm.
"She lives here," he thought.
"This building seems to have seen worse days," he muttered as he started to walk towards the gate.
"There's not even any security," he noted as he pushed open the gate and closed it behind him.
"Seems like multiple people live here. I should probably ring the doorbell. Hopefully, she'll come down so I can finally get my damn powers back - I've had it with people trying to kill me," he thought as he pressed the button labeled 103 multiple times with a hint of excitement.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, alright!" a female voice said from a distance. "If you break my doorbell, you're paying," added the woman, getting closer.
"Yes, yes, yes! She's here - time to say goodbye to this mortal life," the man exclaimed in excitement.
As the door opened, an elderly woman exited the building.
"I know humans grow up quickly, but how could you grow so old in just a day?" the man uttered in surprise.
"Honey, that's disrespectful. Do you need something?" asked the old lady.
"Oh my, it's not you...I thought you were Aurora, I apologize, ma'am," said the man.
"So, you're looking for Aurora - she's not here right now. You could leave a message, and I'll let her know when she returns," the old lady suggested.
"No, it's an emergency, I can't afford to leave. Is there a way you could contact her and tell her someone extremely important needs to see her? Tell her it's a matter of life and death," the man insisted.
"You must be her boyfriend - I was wondering when she was gonna start bringing you here like other girls. I must say - your enthusiasm and passion reminds me of the old days," commented the old lady.
"No, I'm not... I mean, yes, tell her it's her boyfriend," the man said, thinking to himself, "that should make her curious enough to drop whatever she's doing so she can come here and give me what's mine."
"Alright, hold on a minute," said the old lady as she took out her phone and started dialing. "It's ringing," she informed the man.