The Hipster Who Leapt Through Time (The Hipster Trilogy Book 2) by Luke Kondor Page A

rooted itself in the human’s skull. His head dropped instantly. His body stopped shaking. His breathing no more. He was gone. The miracle of his life evaporated into nothing. The large doors next to him opened and a flood of soldiers entered, surrounding Moomamu within seconds.  

JoEl The Engineer

    JoEl didn’t sleep. It wasn’t in his genes to do so. Instead, Nebulans recovered by lying face down on the floor, zoning out, and disappearing into a dreamless meditative state.  
    By the time he awoke the Earth had rotated, revealing the morning grey sky. The air around him was thick with a mist so dense he couldn’t see the edges of the field. The grass he’d been lying on was soaked with dew and moisture from the air. His skin was below optimum temperature.  
    “Marvellous,” he said. “Amazing that Earth weather can go from such extremes in such a short space of time.”  
    On Gamma Nebulous, there were seventy-two hours in a day, and summers and winters lasted for years, not months. To see the weather go from hot to cold in a single twenty-four hour period was astounding to JoEl. What would his son have thought?
    JoEl climbed to his feet and looked around at the place he’d decided to settle down in the night before. He’d walked through the wooded area behind the target’s house. He’d walked through the trees and out into a group of squared-off patches of land. Some of the squares were littered with farming animals; the types with curly white fur, and some larger bovines with brown and white patches. They were simple creatures.  
    Now in the morning he saw silhouettes of the animals in the fog. Shadow-puppets in the atmosphere.  
    Fully rested, it was time to walk onwards. He needed to find himself new transport. He needed to find himself food and sustenance. Passing a herd of the patchy browns, he came upon a young one. Full of energy and youth. Its eyes were pinky-white with big brown pupils. A majestic specimen. It stood proudly a few feet from JoEl. He walked towards it and removed his glove. With a single swipe of his hand, he could end its life. He could close its breathing holes. It reminded him of the carven animals back on Gamma Nebulous.
    The creature took a step backwards and made a sweet gargling sound with the air.  
    “It’s okay, little one,” JoEl said as he slowed his walk. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
    The proud little creature gargled again and took a step towards JoEl. It was smaller than the others on the field. JoEl reached his hand forward towards its white face. He reached over the wet nose and ran his hand over its snout. The short hairs were pleasant to his touch. He moved upwards and over the eyes of the creature to its head. He ran its ears between his finger and thumb.
    “Such a beauty,” he said. “Oh, if only my TeAl could meet you. He would love you.”  
    The creature turned and scuttled away, back towards its family in the mist.  
    JoEl continued on. Just over the next fence past the woods. That’s where the humans lived. That’s where he’d find his new transport.

    ***

    An empty square of gravel with white-painted lines along the floor. A large building of groceries and food. The sign that read ‘Supermarket’. Still, in this early hour the humans had yet to start their days. There were only two human vehicles parked up in the square. The first one JoEl tried was empty, but on closer inspection he found a chunk of yellow metal fixed to one of the wheels. A contraption to stop the machine from working.
    His choice had been made for him. The second vehicle it was. Definitely in an operational state. The human driver was still inside. Tribal music roared out of the open window. The smell of drug smoke not far behind. In the dim fog, the lights inside the car were a homing beacon. A signal designed to lure wayward travellers, such as JoEl.
    The driver inside didn’t notice JoEl until he tapped on the window. He jumped in his seat as JoEl tapped again,