The Ring of Power

After my father dropped me off at the store, I had one thought - buy something to eat and he’d return. When I walked in the store, that’s when I saw.

Her.

Her eyes caught me first, screening my emotions and my passion. She said nothing and yet, she said everything. I looked away and walked through the store, looking for what my father told me to get.

Motor oil? Something to drink for the trip? Something to eat? As I paused, she came around the corner and found me. Her eyes spoke with great power, no words expressed it sufficiently, so we said nothing. She grabbed my hand and I cupped her palm like a child crossing the street.

As she walked, I followed the linear contours of her legs, the way her feet never touched the ground, and how her body gave off so much heat. Was it that serious between us?

As if reading my mind, she looked around at me and in her eyes, I lost myself. She blew me a kiss with cherry red lips and I felt the kiss land on my right cheek. How could I not give in to love?

The store blurred away and before I realized what was going on, I was outside with her and her friend. Her friend smiled at me and said nothing, were they mute? I thought about my father and she leaned forward and kissed me with the fluids of heaven. My tongue swam in her heated waters and images of my father disappeared. The only thing that mattered now was passion and sex, an elder voice in the background brought me back to reality.

"What are you doing back here? Do you work here?" He said and when I looked up, it was some nosy worker from Publix. We stopped kissing and our eyes locked in truth. Her pupils were glowing red and it was nearly dark outside. I wanted to look away, but her glowing jewels kept me still.

"Didn’t you hear me, this isn’t Stewart Avenue. There are motels down the street." He said and as he approached, her friend hissed and her teeth grew extremely long. She flapped her arms and suddenly, she rose from the ground. They both hovered above the man and before he screamed, their forms changed from human to something inhuman and evil.

"It’s you, not here, not now." He said and covered his head as they flew down at him. I dared not look and ran away full speed. Behind me, a blinding light glowed, but I didn’t look. Were they after me?

Everything was a blur. The street. The people. The cars. I ran across the street and for some reason, I paused and noticed a small bar. Something told me to run inside and like an idiot, I did. Did they see me? I didn’t know, but when I got inside, I didn’t care.

"Banger, what’s the deal?" Wole said as he came from what looked like the bathroom. I tried to slow down and speak, but words gutted from my lips in irrational sentences. He turned to a group of friends, I didn’t know them all, but I recognized them from school, and motioned for them to listen.

A silence strangled the bar.

"He’s seen one." He said and faced me. "It’s a good thing you didn’t look in their eyes and give in to their powers of persuasion."

"Actually, I was with two of them." I said and he stepped back.

"No one’s ever gotten away from one, how did you get away from two?" He said and I told them about the old man and if he hadn’t showed up, it would’ve been over for me.