Trapped Inside Humanity

by Bernice Burgos

  Angel tried to run toward the couple that was still standing motionless looking through the store window. However, they never turned in her direction even though she was a few feet away. Her legs felt heavy as if cement was slowing her down. The stranger grabbed Angel from behind and lifted her off her feet, leading her toward the waiting Bentley.

  “Didn’t I tell you not to run? Now you’re making my job a lot more difficult.”

  Angel kicked her legs vigorously and shrieked, to no avail. The man was much stronger and only held her tighter. He slammed Angel’s chest first against the trunk of the Bentley.

  “You need to play nice, woman,” he said angrily.

  At that moment, Angel’s fight instinct kicked in since flight didn’t work so well. She wiggled her hand behind her and grabbed the man by the bulge of his pants and squeezed as hard as she could. The man bellowed but held onto her tighter. She let go of his penis and concentrated on the throbbing of his manhood, turning it into an intensifying painful discomfort. The man screamed in agony and let her go. She turned quickly to face the man and watched him drop to his knees cupping himself. She focused harder and continued using her thoughts to inflict excruciating pain on him. She envisioned herself nearly ripping off his genitals, possibly killing him.

  “FUCKKKK, STOP!!! OH MY GOD, IT’S GOING TO TEAR OFF,” yelled the man furiously in his English accent.

  “WHO ARE YOU and who sent you? Was it Theo?” Angel demanded.

  The man then stretched on the concrete floor banging his feet. “SHIT! Oh God, please stop,” the man repeated.

  Angel walked over to the squirming man. “God isn’t here to help you, you English prick,” she angrily answered.

  It was at that moment a figure too quick for Angel to perceive approached her from behind and punched the back of her head with so much force it knocked her out cold. Angel hit the floor like dead weight.

  “Apparently, God isn’t here to help you either,” said the woman in a cool voice.

  “For Fuck’s sake Sammy, next time knock people out so I won’t have to keep coming to your rescue,” said Keiko.

  Keiko stood 5’7”, slim, long black hair that she wore in a high ponytail and was of Japanese descent. Her attire was all black. Black thigh-high boots, black tights, a black top with sheer sleeves, and black leather gloves. Her make-up was flawless. Her lips were as red as rubies and her eye shadow shimmered with a mesh of light tone colors that suited her complexion. Keiko’s English accent was perfect. She was beautiful and deadly. The pain from Sammy’s groin ceased abruptly. He stood up from the ground and brushed himself off.

  “I had it under control,” he said while lifting Angel off the ground and tossing her in the back seat of the Bentley. Keiko stared at Sammy then quickly mocked his gesture covering her private area.

  “Ahhh, please stop. OH GOD,” she said. “Oh, you really ‘had’ her where you wanted her,” she stated sarcastically while rolling her eyes in disappointment.

  Sammy felt embarrassed but took the teasing in strive; the truth is if it weren’t for Keiko, he would have had a detachable penis, along with the unbearable pain of his bones reconstructing themselves from the incident.

  “Let’s get out of here before we’re late,” Sammy said anxiously.

  Keiko plopped herself into the front passenger seat, annoyed at the actions that had taken place throughout the day. It was one bad decision after the next.

  “Sammy, I don’t know what’s worse, the six-year-old that put up a good fight or the mother who grabbed your ball sack. Either way, I’m starting to question your capabilities,” Keiko stated with much disdain.

  “Hey, the six-year-old caught me off guard. But I had it under control.”

  Having a situation under control was a thought Sammy tried convincing himself of all day. He knew that deep down if it were not for Keiko he would have ruined the mission by killing someone.

  “Sammy, if I didn’t show up, I think you would have been trying to grow a new body part by now. Like, I don’t know, a new dick maybe,” the thought made Keiko cringe.

  “Alright, alright, you made your point. I messed up, but everything is fixed now. So let’s just call the plane and let them know we are on our way, geesh. We got what we came for. By the way, make sure you turn time back to normal before that couple at the corner freezes to death. The master doesn’t like a messy mission.”

  Keiko waved her hand and stared at Sammy’s direction. “Okay, we’re good. Let’s go.”

  The noise of the busy NYC streets snapped back into play. The window-shopping couple moved in closer toward each other to get warmer. The man pulled the door open and gestured for his woman to go inside to warm up. Sammy sped off, annoyed, toward the nearest highway.

  4

  Earlier—Back Home

  “Alright, Maggie, are you done eating all your food, we can’t be late for school now.”

  “Yes, all done. Wait, I have to get my backpack,” Maggie said to her brother Jesse who was clearing the dishes from the morning’s breakfast.

  “Okay, go get your stuff so we can get out of here,” he said to his sister playfully.

  Maggie giggled and rushed to her bedroom as fast as her little legs would take her. As Jesse was scrubbing the breakfast dishes, he glanced out his kitchen window and noticed a vehicle pull up to the front of his house. The vehicle was a large black and heavily-tinted Lincoln Navigator. It appeared similar to an unmarked police SUV. The license plate was unreadable.

  Wonder who’s in trouble? Jesse thought. He almost ignored it, but for some reason he couldn’t keep his eyes off it. He hadn’t seen a vehicle like that in the neighborhood before. His community was family-oriented filled with four-door sedans and soccer mom minivans. Having the presence of police officers in his neighborhood was extremely rare. Jesse’s mind began to wonder, he couldn’t put anything past anyone. It was possible that maybe one of those soccer moms was running a secret meth lab in her basement. I wonder which house they are raiding, he pondered.

  Jesse stared long enough out the window to watch a man with pale, milky skin wearing all black come out of the driver’s side. The man stood in front of Angel’s house and stared at it for a few minutes. He then looked down at his watch and glared again. For a split second Jesse swore the man was staring right at him. His hands began to slowly tremble. He turned the kitchen faucet off and placed the plate down. The man did not move from his spot and presented a sly smile. A pinch of nervousness shot up Jesse’s spine. The man’s image reminded him of an FBI agent he once saw in a movie. Oh, no, are they coming here? He felt the rush of panic rising in his chest. He scanned through the kitchen cupboard for his anxiety medication and quickly popped one in his mouth without water.

  “Magdalena, ven aquí,” Jesse called out frantically to his little sister.

  Maggie appeared from her bedroom door holding her school bag.

  He knelt down to his little sister. “I want you to go down to the basement and get inside that little hiding place you like to go into when you’re hiding from mom. When you get in there count to 200. After 200, come upstairs. It will be safe, I promise. Do you understand?”

  Maggie nodded her head in agreement and asked, frightened, “What’s happening?”

  At that moment, there was a loud knock at the front door. Both Maggie and Jesse stared at the door then at each other.

  “Go, now,” said Jesse quietly. Maggie quickly ran down a narrow hallway towards a white door that led down to the basement. She quietly hid inside a large white cubby filled with winter coats. She began to count slowly but was also listening to the movement above her. Jesse began to count in his head also, that way he can time himself with Maggie. The knock on the door grew louder. Jesse attempted to disguise his voice as deep and manly as possible, “Who is it?”

  “It’s Jehovah’s witness here to spread the joy of peace and love through the words of Jesus Christ,” said the voice behind the door in a pleasant English accent.


  Jesse slowly and quietly looked through the peephole. He found a very pale skin, 6’2 man, wearing a black fitted designer suit standing behind the door.

  Jehovah’s witness, my ass, he thought. “Not interested,” responded Jesse in his fake voice again.

  “Oh, that’s too bad, sir, remember Jesus still loves you,” replied the Englishman as he pretended to walk away.

  Jesse watched through the peephole, confused, as the man turned away from the door.

  This has to be a joke, he shrugged, as he began to walk back to the kitchen.

  Seconds later he was startled by a loud crack as the front door splintered and crashed against the wall. The stranger had kicked the door open and off its hinges. Jesse gaped at the man in shock, fear, then anger. He knew at that moment he had to fight to protect Maggie.

  “WHAT THE…” Jesse shouted. The man rushed to Jesse and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him inches off the ground. Jesse reacted by forcefully thrusting his thumbs against the man’s eyes. He applied pressure as hard as he could until he could hear the eyes crackling and felt them stirring to the back of the sockets. The Englishman roared in pain and released Jesse to cover his eyes. When Jesse hit the ground, he kicked the man’s legs out from under him causing him to fall hard on his side, a move that came naturally to him. Maggie heard the loud crash and the commotion upstairs and was frightened beyond words. Sobbing uncontrollably, she took a coat, threw it over her head, and continued to count, “32…33…34...35…36…37…38...”

  Above, Jesse came to his feet while the stranger tried to quickly clear his blurry vision and ignore the sharp pain in the arm that broke his fall. However, Jesse was too fast and strong. He kicked the man so hard in his stomach that he slid across the floor to the wall of the house. The impact caused all of the family photos to come crashing down. The Englishman shook his head trying to shake the dizzy spell coming over him. He struggled to swiftly stand, using the wall to keep his balance.

  “How in the bloody hell is this kid so strong,” said the man to no one.

  The Englishman was no fighter and he knew it. “Oh, screw it; I’m tired of this,” he stated as he pulled out his pistol from its holster.

  At the same moment, Jesse counted 97 in his head; however, he froze in place when he saw the 9mm pointed in his direction―something he was not anticipating.

  The stranger cocked the gun back. “That’s enough,” he demanded before he squeezed the trigger.

  The blast of the gunshot caused Jesse to close his eyes and wrap his arms around his waist in an attempt to shield his body. He was bracing himself for the piercing agony of the bullet. At the same moment, Jesse could hear the words “STOPPPPPPPPPPP” being screamed from a child-like voice. The voice sounded far away to Jesse as he prepared for his fate of possible death. However, death never came, and it felt as if the bullet was taking an eternity to reach him. The world around him felt as if it was moving in slow motion. Jesse slowly opened his eyes and removed his arms from his stomach area; he searched frantically for a wound but there was nothing. As Jesse looked in front of him the bullet was frozen in place inches from his forehead. Jesse sighed in relief but quickly became confused.

  “Oh, shit...” he said silently, staring at the motionless bullet and tapping it.

  The strange man looked behind Jesse. “Oh my, I see someone has discovered her talent,” he stated casually.

  Jesse turned around to see Maggie holding her arm out in a stopping gesture. She had magically prevented the bullet from reaching her brother.

  “Maggie…di, did you do that?” Jesse stuttered in bewilderment.

  “I don’t know,” Maggie replied behind tears.

  He ran over to comfort and protect his little sister. “Shhh, don’t worry, Maggie. Okay?” Maggie nodded and buried her face in her brother’s shoulder.

  “The family reunion is over, brats,” said the Englishman impatiently, now directing his pistol at the two of them.

  Maggie became distraught; her heartbeat began to increase, and her nerves were filled with terror and fury all at once. The bullet that almost pierced Jesse fell to the ground, and the gun the strange man held was snatched out of his hand and thrown across the room by an imaginary strong force.

  “NOOOOOOOOOOOO,” shrieked Maggie.

  She pointed at the man and he crashed against the wall, damaging the area he hit. He tried to break the force, but it was too strong for him. He felt pinned strongly against the concrete wall. He could hear his bones crushing and felt his skeleton and the wall becoming one. Maggie was slowly forcing the wall to devour him as if a person were drowning in deadly quicksand. The man stared at Maggie and was trying to scream, but the wall had already covered his mouth. His deep green eyes turned red with anger as he tried vigorously to pull away from the suction of the wall; he was failing miserably.

  Jesse stared in shock as his little sister continued to torture their intruder. It was too unreal for him. His brain was not fully processing what was happening.

  Was this magic, witchcraft, the devil, is she the devil? he thought, feeling faint as his adrenaline wore off. Maggie’s eyes turned dark black, darker than any black Jesse had ever seen. Tears streamed down her innocent yet angry face. Focusing all of her energy on hurting the unknown man, she never heard the women enter from the back door.

  Keiko looked at the situation Sammy was in and moved rapidly behind Jesse. She grabbed him from behind and pretzeled him into a chokehold. Keiko stared angrily at Maggie. She gasped and became instantly frightened. The wall suddenly released the Englishman. He had a split lip, bruises on his forehead, and was bleeding from his eyes and head.

  “Maggie, I suggest you stop and leave my friend alone before I seriously hurt your brother. And don’t think of trying any more of your tricks or I will end the air to his lungs faster than you can blink. Now, nod if you understand?”

  She nodded yes without hesitation. The man moved swiftly next to Keiko. Maggie stared at the bleeding man as his wounds began to heal instantly before everyone’s eyes.

  “How did you do that?” asked Maggie, surprised.

  “Black Magic,” he retorted.

  “Okay, enough with the games,” stated Keiko while shoving Jesse to the ground. Jesse hit the floor with his bottom but quickly rose and charged at Keiko. She waved her hand and froze him in place. Maggie stared at her, frightened, and wrapped her little arms around her brother who stood statue-like.

  “No, Jesse…Jesse, please.” Maggie fell to the ground sobbing at Jesse’s feet.

  Keiko’s emotions got the better of her. One thing she hated to see was kids suffering. The Englishman was growing extremely intolerant.

  “Okay, now, little girl, suck up those tears and hush all the fuss,” he demanded.

  “You’re going to be great with kids one day,” replied Keiko sarcastically.

  “Okay, now, little Magdalena, let’s chat,” stated Keiko in her calmest voice.

  The tears from Maggie’s face were never-ending; she managed to drench her school uniform in frantic sniffles.

  “Jesse, please, wake up,” cried Maggie, pulling on Jesse’s pant legs.

  “What did you do to my brother?” cried Maggie.

  Keiko looked over at her partner who was already staring at her. “Sammy, get the truck ready. I’ll meet you outside with the kids in five.”

  “Make it three,” he replied.

  Keiko focused her attention back to Maggie, kneeled to her eye level, and placed her milky hands on her shoulder.

  “Maggie I will release your brother only if you both promise to behave.”

  “I don’t understand what we did; you broke into our home. You two are bad people,” she replied.

  “No, we are not bad, we are good. We are here to help.”

  “Help?” she questioned. Maggie knew that they were not in danger, so how were two people who broke into her home helping.

  “Yes, help. See, your mommy is in trouble and if we don’t hurry to hel
p her, bad things will happen.” Maggie clung on to Jesse even harder, then stared up at him. Keiko looked up as well and realized that in order to get Maggie’s full attention she had to bring her brother to life.

  Keiko rose and waved her right hand in front of Jesse releasing him from his figurine state.

  “If you charge at me again, I will turn you into pure stone.” Jesse shook his hands and moved around trying to regain circulation into his body. Maggie rose and clung on to him. He squeezed Maggie tightly, hoping that this exotic Asian woman would just disappear. His breath began to intensify and his body was drenched in fear. He was trying his hardest to be brave around Maggie, but he was having a hard time processing what he had just seen.

  “Nothing in this world is as you see it, young man,” said Keiko. “Little Maggie is a prime example of that.”

  Jesse didn’t know what to say. His mind was racing and his thoughts were in shambles. He took a few steps back while clutching onto Maggie.

  “I wouldn’t run if I were you, Sammy will catch you before you make it out the front door. This isn’t football; you won’t make it to the end zone.”

  Jesse stopped walking. His plan was to lift Maggie and run for his life to find help; however, the woman was right. He would probably get caught before he made it out the door. He finally realized he was not dealing with ordinary people. These people have been watching his family. They knew their names, their mom, about his passion for football, and about Maggie. He didn’t even know about Maggie and he wondered if Maggie even knew about her abilities. Or did she keep it a secret due to fear of not understanding; she is only six. He knew he couldn’t fight any longer for the sake of protecting him and Maggie.

  Jesse inhaled deeply, mustering the courage to face his captor and cut his losses. DAMN!, he thought.

  “What do you want from us?” he finally asked.

  “You two need to come with us right away,” said Keiko.

  “NO! Your “friend” over there almost killed me. He nearly shot me in the head.”