The lady drove inland and merged onto a larger stretch of highway. Where a few cars drove past. Though Robin held fast to the moving van, he was only human. His arms were getting tired fast. So upon realizing the journey would be longer than he thought, Robin threw himself from the van and floated across the highway towards the side of the road. He had a few close calls as he went, a couple of near misses by a few passing cars. But no one saw his invisible form as he slowly floated past the concrete barriers and came to a stop over the grass.

“Ok, that was a bit too must for the first test run of a new spell...whoa!” Robin yelped as the spell suddenly failed and dropped him. His feet met the ground first and his upper body kept going. He tried to stand, but his legs had no strength. They had become jelly. Robin collapses onto his right side in the grass. His right arm had shot out to protect his head. Slowly Robin pushes himself up into a sitting position where a flash of pain runs up his legs. "Ouch! Damn, I think I just bruised my hip."

I should have thought through all the physical demands of that little trick before I tried it. That's what I get for trying to copy Marty Mcfly. Robin thought as he felt a crumbling lump in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out his golden pair of glasses. The lens was fine, but the frame had snapped.

No! Why didn't I didn't put them away? Oh hell. I hope the other stuff isn't broken. Robin gave his shoulder bag a good tap and feel. Nothing else felt broken. The bag was full and the lids buckle was still in place.

Oh good, I haven't lost anything else. But now how I'm I going to fix these? The creator is a world away. He closed his eyes and held the glasses in his hands. He was feeling out the runes in the glasses.

Well, I should be able to put the runes on a new pair of glasses later. Hang on, where's the unbreakable rune? It's not here? Patricia said it had the unbreakable rune on it, that I didn't have to worry about sitting on it? Why would she lie to a colleague? Oh right, she was only a mage graduate at the time? She didn't know the unbreakable rune yet? I wonder what happened to her? Robin moved his legs under himself to stand up but felt a sharp pain shoot up from his feet.

Ow, ok all of that's still numb. Robin thought as he rubbed his legs. Which burned in short waves as he rubbed. Seems like I'm stuck here for a minute or so. I hope there aren't any ant about.

As he was waiting for fo the pain to stop, Robin notices a long stick on the ground.

Hey, that might be a good stick to turn into a walking stick. Robin thought as he reached for it. His smile turned to a frown as he grabbed it. The whole stick was frail and boggy. Like a piece of driftwood. Well, I could fix both of those problems, and I could straighten it out too? He tossed the stick away.

But on second thought that would take too much of my time and I have to get into town before dark.

Robin sits there for three more minutes until his legs finally felt better. He stands and discovers that his legs were a little wobbly. He ignored his new set of pains and wobbled up to the highway. He reached the top of the hill. Where the concrete barriers were. Past them, cars drove by.

Wow, and I thought that the car was moving fast? Maybe hitchhiking was a bad idea? It probably went out of style too. It was rarely done back in my day, they must have finally killed it? Robin thought as he placed a hand on the barrier. He noticed a sign on the side of the road. Saying Portland city one mile. Portland City? I guess that means I'm in Oregon. Well, if it's only a mile. I should start walking.

Just then the cars started to slow and a line of vehicles started piling up. The highway was backing up with vehicles of every color. Two barriers were separated. So Robin moved through them to get a better look.

“What's this?” Robin muttered as he moved along the stopped cars. He saw people stare out at him as he passed. He glanced over to the other side of the highway. That side was still moving. Strange this is a lot of Traffic for a four-lane highway? Or could it be a traffic accident? I guess I'll know which, when I walk past it.

As Robin walked, a bit of hunger awakened his belly, so he pulled out some Salamander jerky from his bag. He folded the dry jerky in half, before taking a big bite. The meat was dry as a bone but spiced heavily with chicken pepper. A local spice of the northern areas of the other world. The spice reminded Robin of chili pepper. He finished the jerky as he begin hearing a siren over the honking cars and vans. He passed the red Van he rode in on. The lady inside was hitting her head again on her driving wheel in frustration. She was still wearing a mask even in her car? Robin paused.

Wait a lot of these people are wearing masks in their cars? Something is wrong here. Robin thought as he glanced around. He knew only one reason people would wear masks. He had seen it four years ago with the demon plague. They called it the demon plague, but Robin knew it as the black plague. Thankfully the Mage circle at found a set of runes to stop the black plague cold. I need more information before I approach anyone.

“Hey, Ass hat!” A man yelled from this car window. The man was not wearing a mask. Robin pointed to himself because there was a car in between them. “Yes, you! You wizard want to be! Get back in your car!”

“Sorry sir, But I'm not a wizard! Wizards are fictional, I'm a mage.” Robin shouted back grinning. But that just made the man angrier. The man swore back at Robin. “Who are you, sir! To tell a mage where to put his mother? Be happy I'm not taking that as a personal insult.”

Robin walked away, as the man yelled after him. Soon Robin was out of earshot and the man still steaming, leaned back inside his car. Robin walked past several more cars and spotted the end of the traffic. The white ambulance was parked there, next to an overturned green car. People were standing out of the cars and a few people were rushing around the two vehicles. As Robin walked up. He spotted a man in a white uniform on his knees, checking an unconscious woman on the ground.

He must be an EMT? Robin thought as he stopped to watch. I remember EMT standing for an Emergency Medical Trackers or something?

“ Move her over here!.” shouted a woman in another white uniform. She was checking a man on a gurney by the ambulance. “ Bert get back! It's starting to ignite! ”

"Where are the firefighters!" a nearby woman muttered as she stood outside her car.

Robin noticed the green car was starting to leak flames. Bert the EMT and the unconscious lady were still near the car. Bert seeing the flames, dropped what he was doing starting picking the lady up.