The Daily Dime: Alex: Serialized.

and i'm back in on the daily dime. a warning on this one: it's pretty, um, questionable in just about every direction. it's got "mature" content. so, you've been warned.

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Alex opened up a light tunnel and began searching for a destination. Someplace far away and decidedly different. His outstretched hand casting and directing the tunnel. He turned towards the east extending the tunnel with his thought and will.

Alex watched his window expand, then watched as land seemed to rush at him through his large rounded window entrance. He couldn't help but thinking of stretching some kind of quantum mechanic slinky across the landscape every time he opened up a light tunnel.

Alex stopped. He could feel that he was staring at an alley way somewhere in roughly Chicago. What he was seeing terrified him. He saw a woman pinned to the ground, a cord around her neck and face broken. Her blackened eyes were stained with both tears and blood. Pinning her there and securing the cord around her neck was a man attempting to mount her. The man had a mask and although Alex knew what he was seeing, he had to put it out of his mind.

Alex mentally marked this spot, and went to his room to grab a few items. First he bragged a blanket off of his bed, and the camera off of his headboard. He was preparing to open the tunnel again when he saw his baseball bat leaning against his wall. He grabbed it thinking to himself, “I might need this.”

Alex faced the same eastern direction and let his feelings reconnect him to what he had witnessed. Not much had changed in the thirty seconds since he'd first seen it, except now he saw a second form. Alex was unsure if that form had been there the whole time and it was just out of view, or if it was a new figure. Alex watched this figure taking a sick self pleasure while waiting for his turn. Again, Alex had to put the reality of what was happening out of his mind.

Alex steeled his resolve and jumped through.

He landed between the assailant and trapped girl combination, and the one man pleasure cruise. Alex snapped a picture of the guy and kicked him secure between the legs before he had time to react. This one had not been as smart as to wear a mask.

Having dealt with the first one, Alex turned his focus to the assailant. Having evaluated his options, he picked what he thought to be the best. He wanted to avoid any striking movements that might cause the attacker to increase his grip on the cord around the girl's neck, so Alex decided to give the attacker a taste of his own medicine.

Alex threaded the bat through the crook of his elbows and then pulled th bat against the attacker's neck and pushed his head down into it.

Immediately, the attacker let go of the cord and the girl, sputtering and choking. Alex put his weight down onto the attacker preventing him from standing up.

The girl looked behind her at Alex, and then rolled over to a sitting position.

“What the fuck are you doing?” she spat. Alex's gripped lessened as he stared at her, confused. Just then a loud whistle blew and the alley became flooded with light, and a voice shouted,

“CUT!” and, “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?”

Alex released his grip and stood up. He looked around the alley and saw that it was actually a staged alley. He could see cameras and at least 20 milling around the set, clipboards in hand.

“I thought... I thought she was being raped,” stammered Alex.

“Well, I'm not! It's an art film, dipshit!” said the girl peeling off her black eye makeup. “Who is this dickweed?” she asked pointing at him.

“I HAVE NO FUCKIN' CLUE. WHO LET HIM ON HERE? WHERE'D HE COME FROM?” asked the voice that Alex assumed was the director. Alex looked around the set and saw on-hand medical staff attending to the two men.

Alex felt confused and a little scared. Alex tried to mumble out an apology, but instead just decided to go back through the tunnel he came through.

Alex emerged in his bedroom, feeling drained. He laid down on the bed and realized that he had dropped his belongings on the set. Alex rolled over onto his side and pointed at the wall, opening the tunnel back up. When he looked in, he saw that the set was full of people. Too full for him to be able to go back and get his stuff.

Alex felt broken and stupid. What should have been a lifesaving act of bravery on his part turned into an act of pure foolishness. More specifically, it turned into an act of beating up two male “adult film stars,” or as the girl put it, “art film” stars. Alex didn't so much feel like going out anymore, much less going anywhere far. He kicked off his shoes and fell asleep, trying to forget about his camera, his blanket, and his bat.