My name is Chris Radford, I am 40 years old, divorced, with one child currently in the fifth grade. My story up until now has been pretty normal. I grew up in a small town which I left as soon as I graduated. I then moved from job to job for the next fifteen years until finally becoming an air conditioning repair man. It pays the bills and makes sure that my family is taken care of, what more can you ask for?

The divorce happened soon after my son was born as I did not approve of how she wanted to raise him, and she did not care for my methods either. This has caused a lot of contention between us and leaves him stuck in the middle more often than I would care for him to be. The day that everything happened to me started out normally but went to hell pretty quickly, but looking back now I can’t say that I would change much.

I had just finished a long day of work installing a new system in a customer’s house. Of course, the damn thing was in the attic in Florida in August, so I was completely worn out and frustrated which is not a time that you want to hear from the ex.

“Hello?” I answered the phone.

“Chris, we need to talk,” my ex-wife Chelsea’s said.

“What is it about this time?” I responded.

“Justin,” my son, “told me about you taking him out with you on a date with some whore, I do not want him to exposed to the trash you could pick up. If you want to slut around don’t you dare involve my son with them!”, Chelsea yelled, “If you don’t I will take you back to court and take away all of your rights.”

Chelsea had been that way forever. She wanted complete control over everything I did which I put up with until she started doing it to Justin too. Since then it has been an ongoing fight over who should have the right to decide how Justin would live his life, his mother or Justin himself. While an eleven-year-old is not responsible enough to make every decision, they should be able to decide at least what color they like.

“Listen, Chelsea, we have been over this before. There are no women. This is a single woman. I have been dating her for over a year, and it is time she gets to know OUR son. I want to see how they do together before I go further with her”, I said.

“You have got to be kidding me!”, Chelsea screamed, “I am not allowing some two-bit whore to be around MY son. You either break it off or kiss your visitation rights goodbye”.

“So the men you date is none of my business, but a woman that I may want to marry is all your purview? Do you hear yourself, why can’t you understand that you can’t treat people like this?”, I yelled.

Things just went downhill from this point, and I don’t really want to bore you with further details of that conversation or the lawyers called as a result of it.

Now here I am nearly 8 PM, but it’s still pretty light out since the sun will not set until about 8:30. I am finally at home, relaxing and cooling off by the pool with a beer in my hand. Unfortunately, my girlfriend won’t be coming over since she is an RN and is working nights for the extra money right now to try to get out of her lease early to move in with me, so all I have to take out my frustrations is a twelve pack and a bug zapper.

I am just laying here by the pool in a lawn chair, waiting for it to get dark enough to see the stars. I honestly hate the summer, it’s too hot, too humid, and it never gets dark early enough to relieve some of the miasma that constantly surrounds you.

I have been flying over the surface of this planet for several days and have found no one. This planet is worthless, there is no one here, and these people are so intolerant, it’s a wonder how they survive at all. Luckily the only intelligent life in this world lives on the land masses, so as soon as I finish this one stretch of land, I can finally get out of here and back to civilization. I wish I could have used my ship, but they might have detected it with what scanners they have on this planet, thinks Denala while flying down the west coast of Florida on her griffin. The griffin being a magical creature is invisible to normal humans. The ship would be too because of the magical shield, but the normal engines put off heat which would be detectable so better safe than sorry. Of course, right about the time she thinks, that is when her scanner goes off that she has been spotted. “You have got to be kidding me, there is someone with potential here?”

3 beers down in 30 minutes. The sun is finally setting, and soon I will start to get my stars. I don’t know why, but laying out and looking at the stars has always been relaxing, well that and playing RPG's but I really do not want to deal with people after today that’s for sure. “That is one strange looking bird,” I mumble.

“Just my damn luck,” Denala mumbles, and then louder addresses her griffin, “Talon loop around and land near here so I can check out the local.”

The doorbell interrupts my lazing around and has me stumbling to the front door where I find some chick in a uniform. “May I help you?” I say.

“My name is Denala, and I wanted to ask you a few questions if I may,” she responded.

“Honestly it’s been a hell of a day, so if you are doing a survey, I think I will pass.” I slur out.

She rolls her eyes and mumbles something under her breath before shoving past me into my house. “I am not here for a survey, did you see something flying over a few minute ago?” Denala asks.

Instead of answering I get belligerent and yell, “Who do you think you are, you don’t have the right to just waltz in here and ask me questions about some strange bird.”

“So you did see something?” she confirms while ignoring my question.

Confused I respond “Yes, but what does that have to do with you and why are you barging in here?” I ask.

“I am a recruiter that was assigned to check this world for new members, but honestly I did not expect to find anyone. This world has no mana so there should be no way for someone to develop who could detect, much less see through a mana shield.”, she said.

Great I think, crazy ex-wife, and now bat crap crazy walks through my door. Today is just not my day. “Please get out before I call the cops. I have had enough crazy today and do not want to deal with more right now. I have a nice buzz going that you are currently ruining so please just leave.” I say.

“Sorry, no can do. You have to come with me.” She responds.

“Like hell, I do crazy woman,” I grab her arm, “get out of my house.” Unfortunately, I cannot seem to budge her which is odd considering she is a lot smaller than I am. “What the hell,” I say.

Calmly she replies “I am much stronger than you are currently, and no you don’t have a choice in the matter. My scanner logged your sighting, as such I have to recruit you. Basically, you have a join or die scenario. We cannot allow word of your existence to get out.”

Being fairly drunk I still think I have a chance at this point and pick up my phone to call the cops.

“Don’t do that, I do not want to have to incapacitate you,” she says.

Being that Denala looks like she is 5’5 to 110 lbs to my 6’2 220 lbs I think to myself like you could and continue to dial the phone. The next thing I know I am lying on the floor with my head ringing. I feel myself being moved and hear her say, “I warned you.”