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December 1, 2010
*Minor corrections made.*

Thanks for reading this! The corresponding chapter of the public domain Don Quixote translation that I'm using is at {www. online-literature. com/ cervantes/ don_quixote/ 8/} (cut and paste inside the {funky brackets}, and remove the spaces to get the correct web address).

What Happened Next
Chapter 4

The sky was the color of a robin's egg. Dan rubbed the corners of his eyes. A herd of puffy, white clouds grazed, frolicking above the skyscrapers. The idyllic scene was marred by sewer stench.

Dan opened his mouth to yawn but his throat was too dry to produce a sound. Instead, he heard a distant truck honking its horn and the quiet hum of car tires careening over highways.

He sat up, but not slowly enough to prevent his frontal lobe from being crushed by a vice grip. In that single moment he realized the virtues of sobriety. It took him more than a minute or two to stand up, upright Rok and get himself onto the seat. Pedals spinning lazily, he headed out of Shibuya. Salary men began bustling down the streets, and middle-aged women in high heels marked the tempo of the city's industrious work ethic march.

Dan passed apartment buildings where breakfast was being eaten in tiny rooms. His stomach grumbled but the thought of digesting food caused him to gag.

After some time he turned onto a quiet street that seemed to be winking out for a nap even though the day was just beginning. The paved road seemed to grow increasingly dusty as he rode down it. As he continued, Dan got the impression that the street wasn't paved anymore.

Alien senses permitted Dan what could best be described as HD experience. What mere humans failed to notice, he was helpless to ignore. So it was not particularly disturbing to him that he was following a trail marked by molecules that were invisible to even his extraordinary eyes. It was a seventh sense that led him. His bike roared to a stop as he reached a short flight of stairs leading into a dark tunnel.

Dan noticed the teenage boy down the flight of stairs first. The boy stood perfectly still in the shadows. Dan idled at the tops of the stairs. The longer he looked, the clearer the boy's figure became. The boy was shirtless, just wearing torn up jeans. Then Dan saw something, what seemed to be a fist, slam into the boy's shoulder. It was remarkable that the boy didn't lose his balance, let alone flinch.

"Hey!" Dan shouted, hopping off his bike. His stomach lurched, but he took a deep breath and descended into the shadows. Dan's eyes played tricks on him as he first thought it was an alien facing the boy. But by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, he understood this was a grown man, a human, facing off against the boy.

"So much for alien hunting," Dan muttered. The grown man's body shuddered at Dan's remark, which gave Dan a great deal of confidence that alien hunting was indeed a glorious endeavor that no mortal human would aspire to do.

"Everything alright here?" Dan asked. "It looked like this kid was getting beaten up."

"I can't find any damn worthy research assistants. This one's just as much of a screw-up as the last few." The grown man tossed his arms up in a show of frustration and then scratched his balding head in thought.

"More like a slave than an assistant," the boy protested.

"You ungrateful pest! If you would simply do as you're told you would have no reason to complain."

"Right, all work and no food a research assistant makes!"

Dan cleared his throat. "What kind of research?"

"Insect science," the boy said, folding his arms across his bare chest. The muscles in his arms were defined. Well defined. It disturbed Dan to notice this so keenly. As he also noticed tendrils of hair that had sprouted below the boys chest and formed a path leading down, around his belly button, under the brass button of the jeans …

"Myrmecology," the grown man grunted.

"Ants."

"You study ants," Dan repeated. "Well, you could eat the ants."

The boy looked at Dan and laughed. "That's … I would become ant food if I tried that."

"I didn't know ants had a taste for guys like you."

The man laughed cruelly. "I'm sure he would make a delicious meal."

Dan began to feel fear. "Just treat him nicely and then you won't have to worry about it."

"You have given me sage advice, young … what did you call it? Alien hunter?" The man began to groom the other boy's disheveled hair. Dan relaxed. He was a bona fide alien hunter. And these were just some university folks working out a petty human resources dispute.

"Don't leave me alone with him," the boy pleaded to Dan. "You don't know what he's capable of doing to me!"

"Everything will work out fine, kid. This guy is reasonable."

"Damn right," the man smiled.

Dan leaned over to the man and spoke softly. "How about having the kid over for lunch and letting bygones be bygones?"

"Splendid idea! It's the best thing anyone's suggested all week!" he boomed.

The boy looked at Dan in alarm. As Dan turned to the stairs he glanced back. "All will be fine. You'll see." He trotted up the steps.

"Come along, Ace. It's a new day!" the man said with glee.

Dan squinted in the bright sun. He meandered along the street, walking with his bike. Eventually he wandered into Yoyogi Park. He drifted toward a group of guys practicing with nun-chucks.

He was inspired by their agility and it bolstered his courage.

He parked Rok under a tree and stood watching the nun-chucks spin round and round. When the nun-chucks were finally still, Dan stepped toward the group. "I just want you to know that Dana-chan is off limits."

The guys turned to look at Dan. "Dana-chan? What the hell?"

Dan sniffed. "Don't use a tone of voice like that when talking about Dana-chan. A little respect!"

"Look kid. You want to play make believe about your girlfriend? Fine. Just don't butt into other people's business and expect us to play nice."

Dan stomped one foot on the ground and clenched his fists. He let out a whiny roar and insisted, "Dana-chan is real. You can't say she isn't real just because she's not here right now. But just in case she does show up, she's with me. Got it?"

One fellow with nun-chucks hanging out his back pocket crossed the lawn to Dan. "The little boy has a little girlfriend, huh? Little boy's afraid she'll like the big boys' sticks, is that it? Bring her on by and I'll do more than show her my stick."

Dan's nostrils flared. A rage overcame him. He rushed toward the offender, arms straight, pushing him back a few steps. What Dan hadn't thought through was that this man was obviously skilled in martial arts. Before he knew it, a heavy hand had cuffed his ears and a foot had kicked his gut.

Dan bent over but the man pulled Dan's shirt and was shouting into his face. "See these nun-chucks in my hand? These are real, unlike your Dana-chan. And these will hurt. I can prove it if you want."

A girl called over, "Leave him alone. He's just a kid."

Dan looked to see if it was Dana. It wasn't. Dana didn't use nun-chucks.

"I don't want even a peep out of you, kid. Get lost." Dan stumbled forward when the guy left go of his shirt. Then everything went into slow motion when he felt excruciating pain in his testicles and saw the man's foot retreat to the ground and he walked away. Dan fell, huddling into a ball, rolling back and forth in the grass, willing the pain to stop.

His willpower wasn't strong enough. But he gritted his teeth and bore it. What else would an alien hunter do?