The hair on the back of Jack’s neck stood on end; goosebumps appeared on his arms. He had no idea why he was feeling this way, but the natural instincts of “fight or flight” riveted throughout his body. He slowly placed his half-eaten sandwich back on his plate and looked up. He could see two men in suits standing behind him in the reflection of the window.
Fight or flight.
Jack had never fought anyone in his life and with the two men already standing behind him, his only exit of jumping over the counter before they snatched him, seemed impossible. In that split moment, the space between the calm and the storm, a voice boomed loudly in his mind breaking the silent confusion of what to do – BOTH!
With imperceptible speed, Jack swung around in his stool, caught the man standing to his left with a jab to the groin with his right hand. As the man started to bend over in pain, Jack swiftly stood up, grabbed the man by the back of the head with his left hand and rammed it into his left knee. He could feel the man’s nose shatter on his kneecap, as blood started to gush out and run down the man’s face.
The man to his right started to reach inside his suit jacket, but Jack already had him by the back of his head with his right hand and slammed it down into his lunch plate with so much force the plate shattered in several pieces. Food, broken glass and three of the man’s front teeth went flying everywhere.
By the time any of the patrons could comprehend what was going on, all they noticed was the front door slowly closing shut and the two men in suits falling to the floor with bloody faces. It was as if the man previously sitting at the counter and enjoying his lunch had ‘vanished’ into thin air, leaving two men in suits laying in agony on the café’s floor.
One of the waitresses moved from behind the counter to assist the men laying on the floor, but by the time she reached them, they were both standing, no signs of a broken nose or missing teeth from either of them. The two men sprinted for the front door, leaving the waitress standing there with a confused look on her face.
Jack finally slowed down several blocks away from the café and ducked into a shopping center. He looked behind him as he entered the store but didn’t notice anyone in pursuit.
What the hell just happened? How was I able to…just then, Jack walked right into a woman who seemed to appear out of nowhere, “…do that,” she finished his thought.
Jack was temporarily hypnotized by her azure, green eyes. There was something very different about them as if she could see straight through to his soul.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry…wait, what did you say?” Jack stammered.
A big smile spread across the lady’s face and there was a twinkle in her right eye. “Not now,” she said. “They’ve almost caught up. Keep moving forward and don’t look back. It’s easier for them to find you when they can look into your eyes. The eyes are the passageway to your soul.”
Jack did the complete opposite of what she asked and looked back. “Wait…what?” he began to ask, but when he turned back around, there was no one there.