CHAPTER 2

He slumped on the bed, immediately after the call with his brother, and then he heard the bathroom door shut slowly and he knew it was his youngest brother, Bruce. He rolled his eyes slowly as he was now alone in the room; he recalled he needed to get his hair cut in his favorite barber shop. He hurriedly picked up his shirt and wore it as he got close to the bathroom door. 'Hey Bruce, I'm going to get my haircut now. When Alan gets back give me a call and I'll be back" he shouted long enough for his youngest brother to hear eve over the noise of the running water, 'okay I'll be waiting" Bruce responded. On hearing the response of his brother, he made his way to the door heading down the street. As usual it was a noisy street; they had to live amongst so many people so they could hide from their predators. The street was a noisy one with tall buildings all over, more like an industrialized area where trades are being carried out, well I could easily just call it a market street with different people buying and selling goods and others fighting and abusing each other in anger. He ignored the calls from the market women who beckoned at him in an attempt to make him buy a few things from them. He kept his gaze forward and kept walking ignoring each and every trader who tried to get his attention, he walked for a while, till he found himself in the worst place; he hated this place so much and there wasn't an escape route for him, he had to go through this place before getting to his barber shop. He groaned In anger, he knew that if he was at his kingdom it would have been easier but living in disguise made things difficult for them, and it really frustrated him. Sooner or later they would have to leave this place; they have never stayed in a place for over a month since they left their kingdom. He was already tired of this place, and made up his mind to bring up the issue of leaving when he meets with his brothers. He tried to hide his face while he walked down what he would call the valley of death, but it was to no avail when one of the girls spotted him from afar off, 'he is here" the feminine voice shouted calling the attention of the others, and all the girls ran out of their various shops and offices to see him; this is what he had to face every time he wanted to get his haircut, they were so annoying and the way they eye raped him, rolling their tongues, biting their lips and even winking at him, the whole event sent chills down his spine. He tried to escape from the grasp of these ladies, who were ready to devour him if he was weak. He kept on walking, but couldn't find way to get through as they had cornered him from front and behind, he was trapped. 'Hey handsome" one of the salon girls said seductively cat walking towards him, he stepped back and felt himself bump into another lady, he hated himself at this point; all he could think of was how to get out of there. Suddenly they all came close to him touching him. He kept fighting and struggling to get free, finally he had to use the only means possible to do so, which was by compulsion. He had to compel the girls to leave him, and he ran for his dear self, leaving the deadly alley of seductive human ladies which he hated. The barber's shop was a few blocks down the road after the alley, so all he had to do was to walk down a little and he'll be there. Finally, he got to the barber shop where he wanted to get his hair cut, on walking in he saw three aged black men giving haircuts to customers, he scanned the room looking for his favorite barber; his favorite barber was a young early thirties man, African American, tall, and sure did know how to give a good haircut, he was actually the youngest barber on the whole block. He asked one of the other barbers who he wasn't really familiar with about his barber Stanley, 'where is Stanley sir?" he asked," Stanley isn't in, you'll have to wait for him a bit" the aged barber responded immediately.  He made his way to an empty seat at the corner of the room, sitting down, he pulled out his phone from his pocket; burying his head and whole attention into the content of his screen which was a video. After sitting for a while, his barber Stanley finally came through the door, saying hello to everyone, Stanley sighted Tony and immediately walked up to him leading him to his chair while exchanging greetings; aside being his barber Stanley and Tony were actually very close friends, possibly the only friend he had in this city and the only person to know his real nature. He sat In the chair and was ready to get his hair cut. During the haircut, Stanley just had to ask about his journey down to the barber shop, knowing exactly what to expect, 'how was the trip down here?" Stanley asked already giggling, 'Oh, you mock me Stanley? Well you know the same old story over and over, the annoying pest girls cornered me again, it was hell" Tony responded, Stanley couldn't control himself as  he burst into laughter, laughing so hard and forgetting the hair he was cutting, while Tony Just sat in the chair staring at him. 'Sorry man, this story just always has its way of getting to me, so how did you make it out?" Stanley asked, 'I had to run and make my way out of there after compulsion" he answered. 'Don't you think it's time I start coming over to your house to cut you hair to save you all these troubles?" Stanley suggested, on hearing this, Tony immediately declined knowing how his brother would react, he didn't want to put his only friend in danger. In a few seconds Stanley was done giving the haircut and Tony stared into the mirror admiring himself. He put his hand into his pocket pulling out a dollar bill and handing it over to Stanley as payment for his services. After paying, they both exchanged greetings and Tony walked out the shop, thinking of how he would escape the women in the deadly alley once again.