Chapter 30 - Hitchhiking to Earth

I ducked as a person ran past me, holding a plate filled with different cuisines. Turning my head to look at him, I saw him serve a group of 8 before scurrying off to the next table. This town was a lot more lively than I remember! Hearing laughter, I turned to see Aruna attempting to hide her snicker, clearly amused by my recent almost-decapitated experience. It was her fault we ran out here anyway. After hearing that I'd dreamt of Kile, she practically dragged me out of my own house, saying something about portals. Apparently, people from Earth come to celebrate the festival. The rich ones, like Marc Emerson. Her entire idea was that if people could come from Earth to here, then we could do the opposite. If she was wrong, we would be stuck on Earth. Or somewhere worse. Like Cleveland. This didn't seem to bother her at all. Neither did all the looming instant-death civilians, carrying plates of death. Just moments after I was almost decapitated I already found myself running through the crowd, saying "Excuse me! Excuse me!" every 2 seconds. Sometimes they moved out of the way in time, mostly though Aruna treated me like a bowling ball and the civilians pins. "Come on slow poke! The Festival is tomorrow and we still have to get your boyfriend up to speed!" "He's not my boyfriend!" "Whatever!" Ignoring the confused, suspicious, and/ or glaring side eyes of the crowd, I focused on dodging them despite Aruna's rampage. She was a pro herself, ducking and weaving through the crowd as if she were water. Her movements showed nothing but a fluid grace. I stumbled, struggling to regain my footing as the stranger I just plowed into said, "Watch where you're going!" Sorry. After a few more near-death experiences we finally reached our destination. Amongst all of the valedictorian-inspired sci-fi scenes I've come to expect from this place was an old, decrepit church. Absolutely no part of it inspired a sense of 'so technologically advanced it creates a portal to another reality'. But who am I to judge? I'm a weak kid who is tasked with fighting the Demon Lord. Admiring the church for its ability to overcome such ridiculous odds, Aruna suddenly pulled me to the side. With a finally serious expression, she whispered, "We need to go slow." You think? Aruna ignored my accusatory stare to focus on the church. "I doubt they'd let us access the portal, even with you here. We'll have to find a way to sneak inside. I would use my illusion magic but they probably have countermeasures for that." "You sure we can't just walk in there?" Aruna shrugged. "You can try." As I walked closer, there was a sudden feeling like a curtain being pulled down. Then I saw 2 guards, reaching for something at their side. "State your business, sir." Smiling, I waved at them and said, "I'm just here to go through the portal s-" ZZZZZTTTTTT After a few seconds of taser-induced paralysis, I was able to move enough to crawl my way to Aruna. She's gonna use this against me forever, huh. Smiling, she asked, "So, that didn't go well, did it?" "N I Dt" My mouth too numb to speak, she laughed at my inaudible mumble. "Let's do my plan then. After you're done laying on the ground." Then she whispered "Sleepy Dolt." It took a few minutes before the numbness wore off, but once I got my opportunity I tackled her. "Hey!" You knew this was gonna happen! Unwilling to give up my leverage, I fought her flailing arms until I found my target. Pressing my finger into her side, she gave out an audible chortle. "Sto- stop!" Smiling, I wasn't done yet. "What do you say?" Struggling to break free of my attack, she squealed, "St-oppp, you ass!" I kept up my attack, finally forcing her to force out "Please." Pausing the tickling, but still holding my leverage in case of a counterattack, I studied her eyes to make sure she was done. "Come onnn Miko. You're upsetting your boyfriend right now." Threatening another tickle onslaught, she braced herself squealing "Sorry! I just blurt out mean things sometimes, I'm trying to work on it! Don't tickle me again. Please." Smiling, I finally got off of her and reached to help her up. I could tell she was formulating a counterattack in her mind but thought better of it. Good idea, I still had a trick up my sleeve. There's an even deadlier spot to tickle that Roan told me about. For how few emotions he shows, it's weird how much he knows about Aruna. I guess she's one of the few people he likes. I internally shook my head, wondering what he saw in her. She's nothing but trouble. "I think one of us has to distract them." I clutched my side, already knowing where she was going with this. However, there was one huge problem with her going to Earth alone. And it's pretty obvious. "You've never been to Earth though, so it's your turn to get shocked." She shook her head in fear. "Nooo... I have an amazing memory. Just tell me where to go, and while you're being a good Sleepy Dolt I'll go get Kile." "That is his name right?" She added quickly. Some 'amazing' memory. "The truth is, now that they caught you once their sensors will naturally pick you up. I don't know what to say if you weren't so clumsy you would be on your way to Earth this instant." She raises a good point there. The guards would be more on the lookout for me, and as always awareness boosts your magic. But I don't want to get tasered again! ZZZTTTT!!! As I fell to the ground completely paralyzed, I saw Aruna slip into the building. Hopefully, she remembered the directions I gave to her. ArunaLuckily for me, the security inside was nonexistent, and everyone was too preoccupied with themselves to notice me. It was easier to get to the portal than it was to put Sleepy Dolt into a headlock. I smiled as I punched in the coordinates of his hometown. Baltimore. I stepped out of the portal to find a bunch of high-rise buildings that soared to the sky, horseless vehicles that zoomed past me (cars?), and hundreds of civilians who rushed past me. I instantly realized that I was lost.