Henry Johnson was driving to work, as he normally did every morning. He was also taking the same route and passing the same places at the same time. Today, however, there was something different as Henry Johnson approached the 119th Street bridge over the Dearborn Canal. A small animal, he wasn’t sure if it was a cat, a small dog, or some other animal like a squirrel, raccoon, rabbit, or whatever was in his lane. He swerved to avoid it. He thought he jerked the wheel just a little bit but the car turned quickly and veered off of the road and headed into the canal. His car plunged toward the concrete and water. I’m going to die, he quickly thought and closed his eyes.
His car jerked and the falling stopped, replaced with what felt like an upward motion. Henry Johnson slowly opened his eyes and saw himself being carried, in his car, into the sky and then gently lowered onto a side street. “Time Man?” he said, almost in shock.
“I just happened to be flying by and saw what happened. You okay?”
“Yeah,” Henry Johnson exhaled. “Thanks.”
“Any time. Drive safely,” and Time Man was back in the air.
“Oh my...Time Man?” Gail Porter looked up from walking to her job as photographer at the Golden City Herald. “Time Man. He’s back. He’s my ticket into becoming a reporter.” She quickly held out her hand and flagged down a taxi. “Follow Time Man.”
“You crazy?” the driver asked.
“Just do the best you can,” Gail said.
The driver took off in the general direction of where Time Man was flying. For the most part, Time Man flew in a straight line so the driver just had to follow the basic grid setup of the city with numerous turns. But then, Time Man stopped and headed southwest. The driver tried to head that direction but lost sight of Time Man through the buildings.
“Thanks for trying,” Gail tossed some money at the driver and got out. She ran to a nearby policeman in a car. “Officer, have you heard of any crimes or problems to the southwest of here?” she asked.
“What?”
“Time Man just flew that way,” she pointed in the direction Time Man disappeared. “I need to speak with him. Any chance you can figure out where he’s going?”
“What?”
“Get on your radio and ask dispatch if Time Man is helping any police or fire units right now.”
“What?”
“Stop saying that,” she yelled. “Never mind.”
She looked in the direction that Time Man disappeared and began running toward it.
“Thanks for stopping those robbers, Time Man,” the bank security guard said. “They weren’t too smart with this heist but it still would’ve taken days to find them.”
“No problem. Hopefully they’ll learn their lesson and this will be the only time we see them unless they are making a withdrawal or deposit--legally,” Time Man said. “You can take it from here.” Time Man leapt off into the air and over the buildings.
Gail ran up to the security guard and robbers, panting. “Time Man. Where did he go?” she inhaled deeply.
“He flew off that way,” the guard pointed to the northwest.
Gail threw her head back and made a gurgling screaming noise before running off in that direction. She ran, half watching where she was going and half looking into the air. She finally caught a glimpse of Time Man over the buildings. A horn blared and tires screeched. Gail looked and saw a delivery truck racing toward her, trying to swerve out of the way. Gail stopped, held her arms out, and closed her eyes.
Suddenly, Gail didn’t feel the ground underneath her feet. She felt her hair blowing around in the wind. She opened her eyes and saw herself in the air, in Time Man’s arms. “Don’t worry, I got you,” he said. He carried her down the street and placed her back on the sidewalk. “Good thing I looked behind you. Remember to look both ways when you cross streets,” Time Man smiled and turned to fly away.
“Wait,” Gail said softly, stunned by what just happened. Time Man didn’t hear and began flying away. “Wait!” Gail screamed at the top of her lungs. Time Man hovered in midair and looked back at Gail.
“Yes?”
“I’m Gail Porter, a photographer for the Golden City Herald. I was on that airplane you saved back in Iowa. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”