The Time Stone, Third Edition (Extended Version)

The morning after being arrested, having gone through the booking process the night before of being fingerprinted, photographed, and strip searched prior to being detained, is especially difficult for James. Not because this was James’s first time being arrested, but because for the first time ever he began to feel worried about his immediate future, not just his distant future. James is being escorted to the court to be held in detention. James is worried about his immediate future, his well-being, and how he would fare in court since he is completely clueless as to what charges he is facing.James stands in line at the side entrance to the court in chains awaiting his turn to enter and face the swift hammer of justice.As James stands there feeling sorry for himself he saw the last person he expected to see in court. A few meters away, the police were escorting another prisoner to the court and it takes three officers to parade her up the stairs, wearing full restraints, but putting up a strong spirited and incredible fight of great resistance.The female prisoner struggled against the will of her captors endlessly even as she is overcome, the perspiration dripping down her face and dark brown hair, made James feel sympathy, but also a reluctant attraction.A dozen loose emotions surged within him with a sudden shock as he saw her full face from the front. “Tina?” James questioned with a frown, feeling sorry for his old friend.The three officers shoving Tina up the stairs were soon joined by two other officers and pushed her up the steps into the Chronix Bay hall of justice without a problem and the line continued, men and women who were caught in deceit and crime one way or another now heading into the proverbial lion’s den of the criminal justice system. The day turns quickly to night as the line seems to take forever to move.

That night, Sylvia walks along a dark alley taking a shortcut home down the mean streets of downtown Chronix Bay. As she runs up beside a residential apartment building holding her large handbag and a set of file folders in her full hands, she hears a noise and turns suddenly with fear in her heart. She sees nothing amidst the hot white street lamps and empty sidewalk. She turns around to the door of the building shaking her head and reaching and rummaging in her bag for her set of house keys. She removes a pad and pen and begins to scribble some notes when suddenly she feels pain in her neck as a dart strikes the side of it. She falls over dropping the items in her hands as blood spatters from the side of her neck. Her note pad with her writings falls a few feet beside her, blood drops spatter onto the front page. A man in a black suit that shimmers in the darkness, a black hood and mask with beady eyes protruding from underneath, and a bright red sash tied clumsily around his waist stands with his hands clenched into fists as he looms over Sylvia, a domineering shadow in the desolate streets. He picks her up and leaps high into the night sky up the side of the building running like an acrobat. He disappears with Sylvia’s unconscious form into the night.