Red Vapor by Speculative Fiction Authors (great reads txt) 📕

the FBI or some other governmental acronym that nobody has ever heard of, which goes back to my original point.  Nobody pauses long enough to notice there is something deeply wrong with this man, which leaves it to me to find out what.

And so, I followed him. God help me.

Gray suit followed a woman with yellow shoes all the way upstairs to the bar. The woman sat at the end of the bar, and the man abruptly sat down at a table. The man in the gray suit looked nervous as he watched yellow shoes. A trail of red, nervous vapor followed his every move.

Suddenly Gray Suit rose, glanced around furtively, and then approached the woman at her table.

 "Are you Deloris," he asked, being careful not to make eye contact.

I slid into a seat at an adjacent table and tried not to look like I'm eavesdropping.

 Yellow shoes glanced up from the menu she had previously been looking at and said, "Uh, why do you want to know?"

Still looking away, he said, "Yellow shoes, I was told to look for a girl named Deloris wearing yellow shoes."

 "Yes I'm Deloris and you are?" Yellow shoes replied with suspicion in her voice.

  "I'm the shoe man," said Gray suit.

"The password is right. Have you acquired the target?" Deloris asked.

Gray suit turned his head and cleared his throat, and I swear that his eyes flicked in my direction. "Yeah, I've got him," he whispered, radiating a strong puff of that red vapor.

I swallowed nervously and got up, slowly walking to the door.

But on an impulse I stopped, and returned to their table where a cloud of vapors hung, to ask the couple a question.

"Can I help you two with anything?" I asked, smiling nervously.

At first, I thought they were confused, wondering if I work there, and what was my business asking this question? In truth, I didn’t know myself. It must be the vapors in the air that only I can see, smell, and touch.

Then I did the unspeakable. I turned around and started running. I suppose I should have stopped and thought about it before I darted forward - people don't run unless they have something to hide - but my instincts got the best of me.

I had nothing to hide but I didn't trust the man or the woman who apparently were after me for some strange and mysterious reason. They got the message I knew something.

It looked like it was finally time for me to open my wings and fly. I opened the door and stepped outside.

I threw myself at the sky and pumped my wings furiously, but the leathery membranes could gain no traction in the air and I plummeted. A faint red mist swirled around my shoulders where I was used to seeing the tips of my wings.

What was happening? Was it because I hadn't used my wings long enough to be use to them?

I struggled with everything I had against whatever was holding me down but to no avail, I was in some kind of trap.   When I turned to see what held me, I saw Gray suit holding a sliver stick the size of a pencil. He had it pointed in my direction while a thick plumb spray of red mist shot from its tip encircling me.

  “You got him,” Yellow shoes asked, stepping over to where I laid face down on the ground. “I don’t want him to get away before I tag him.”

Who were these people?

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Publication Date: 10-01-2013

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