Epilogue- Wrong part of Central America

  Republic of Terra Verde- the vilge Peque?a –near the Republic post office- Nov 30, 2008 (1:37 PM)

  David Brightcall

  David rubbed his lower lip, as he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him. He knew had to be extra careful, considering what was in the small box that he pnned to mail off today. The drivers in the Republic of Terra Verde were as bad as the Mexicans that lived to the north of them, as they seemed to completely ignore pedestrians when they were trying to cross the street. So the tall brown-haired man looked both ways a second time before actually crossing the street.

  As he reached for the door to the post office, he stopped form actually opening it. This was because he saw the ‘out to lunch’ sign through the doors window, and a little clock showing when they would be back. At least he assumed that’s what the Spanish word more or else read.

  He pulled his sleeve back to look at his watch and saw that it was after when they were supposed to be open. So he reached for the door again and as he feared it was still locked.

  “Senor David?” He heard a familiar voice call out to him.

  So he turned towards it. He saw the lovely face of Maria the receptionist of the post office. She was one of only a small handful of employees that worked the post office, so most often it was her that took care of his needs, as he sent several letters back to the US.

  David waved and gave her a shy smile as he muttered a “Hi”. Then he shook his head and corrected himself saying. “Ho.”

  She smiled brightly at him, and said. “I have told you before, that Englesh is fine senor. I need the practice anyway.” She then pulled out the key to the door.

  He stepped out of her way and muttered. "Well, I should practice my Spanish too, if I pn to live here for too long."

  “Our town is too small for someone like you senor.” Maria said with her bright smile as she unlocked the door.

  He then opened it and held it for her. Dave followed her in, but slowed his pace, as she needed to put her bag away and he needed to respect the pce and its rules. So he went to the waiting area. His small box was inside the pocket of his coat, and he had already filled out everything it needed, he just needed to pay for the postage and he would be done here.

  “Are you here on your lunch break?” Maria asked him as she organized her things.

  “No, it’s my day off from the clinic.” He admitted.

  “Is Doctor Ablo keeping you busy?” The office worker asked him on her way to her work station.

  "Busy enough. He lets me do most of the clinic work so that it frees him up, for whatever it is he does in his b." David admitted while digging out his package. His hands shook a little when he handed it over. So nervous was he that its contents would be discovered.

  Maria handed him the international shipping form, before taking the box. “Sweets for a lover?”

  He ughed before expining the contents to her. “Blood samples actually. The equipment we have at the clinic is not complex enough to run the tests I need. So I am shipping them to a college associate back in the States to run the test for me.” He filled out the form honestly, since he knew that it was likely that someone in customs would be likely to open and peek into the box.

  “There isn’t a sickness in them is there?” She asked him.

  David waved before he lied. “No, nothing like that it’s a paternity thing.”

  She smirked at him before asking. “What one of your patients is worried their child isn’t theirs?”

  David smiled back, and continued the lie. “Something like that, and that’s all I can say about it. My patients have their right to privacy after all.”

  “Oh Dios, los chismes que debes escuchar.” Maria said as she slipped back into Spanish on him.

  He smiled unsure of what she said. He only understanding about a third of that as a result of exposure and the speed that she said it. So as she weighed his box, he asked. “I am not sure what that meant.”

  Maria didn’t get to transte her comment, as someone burst into the building.

  David recognized Tavo immediately from his blue cowboy hat. Yet he was worried about the look on his ndlord’s face, as not only could he see a bruise starting to form around Tavo’s left eye, but the man’s expression said that he was completely and utterly terrified.

  Before either David or Maria could ask the middle aged man anything, he ran up grabbed the front of his shirt and asked him. “Did you pu?etazo Cuhcha?”

  David frowned and became confused, so he asked. “Cuhcha… that little gun thug what about him?”

  The officer worker transted for him. “He asked if you struck him.”

  Realization dawned on the doctor so he nodded and admitted. "Oh yeah, he was punching and even kicking a little kid, so I shoved him and told him to y off of the boy."

  Both Maria and Tavo stared at him like he just admitted that he killed someone. Then the both of them started talking over each other.

  “Se?or, debe irse. (Mister…)” Tavo quickly said.

  "Senor David you shouldn't have done that," Maria warned him.

  Before either local people could expin, a trio of jeeps drove up and parked themselves outside of the post office. Then a small group of men in green pants and bck shirts with guns stormed into the building.

  Cuhcha with his shaved head, and his blood-stained wife-beater shirt had his left arm in a cast for some reason. As he walked into the building, Cuhcha had a shit-eating grin on his face. “él es el indicado. Ese es su hermano mayor.” The street thug said while pointing at David.

  An older smoother, gentlemen walked in behind the young punk. He wore a grey suit jacket over his white button up shirt and bck suit pants. This man sighed, as he pulled his sungsses off of his face. The man lightly spped the face of Cuhcha twice before telling the man softly. “Go back to the car, little brother. I will handle this.” The street thug gred at David, but nodded to the leader of these men, before he left the building.

  As soon as the thug left the post office, Tavo dropped to his knees and started pleading with the stranger. “Capitán, por favor no entendió. Sólo dale una advertencia.”

  The stranger in the suit ignored David’s ndlord and gesture to two of his minions to leave and look after Cuhcha. Then he shushed Tavo multiple times till the kneeling man stopped talking. Then the man looked back at David and asked. “Doctor Brightcall right? You’re the new doctor that Doctor Ablo vouched for yes?’

  “I am Captain Bal’lum Jharasa, these are my men, Cuhcha is my little brother. And I rule this town in General Robles’ stead. And you have disgraced me.” This Bal’lum was staring David in the eye when he made his accusation.

  The doctor held up his hands passively before saying. “Look, I understand that this country isn’t like the one of my birth, but your brother was beating up a kid, and I didn’t even…”

  He stopped talking when the man captain drew a pistol from behind his back. Then Bal'lum pulled back the slide, David knew enough about guns to know that it now had a loaded round in its chamber, and from the look in the man's eyes, he pnned to shoot it.

  “Look, I didn’t break your brother’s arm if that’s what you think.” The doctor calmly said, again trying to de-escate the situation.

  Yet the groomed man ignored David this time and started speaking in Spanish. “Tavo, pensé que teníamos un entendimiento. Cobras el alquiler y les ense?as s regs a los recién llegados… Ahora mira esta situación.’

  "I think it is time to teach you a lesson American." The man told David before snapping his unoccupied hand. Two of the remaining soldier, holstered their weapons before they rushed him and restrained his arms, and pushed him into the mail counter behind him.

  Then Captain Bal’lum shot Tavo in the gut. Causing him to cry out in pain, and hold his hands to his stomach. Although try as he might, Tavo’s blood slipped through the injured man’s fingers.

  Maria wordlessly screamed as David cried out. "No!" The two men reinforced their grip on him as he tried to move and aid the wounded man. He looked up at the captain in the eye and pleaded. "Tell them to let me go. I can help him, I can save him."

  Bal'lum tisked and waved his finger at him before he said. "This is your lesson, as much as it is also his. You must understand, here in Terra Verde." He tapped his own chest before cpping one of the other soldiers on their back before he added. "We rule. We own the houses, we own the businesses. I own the people. If my brother wants to beat up a kid, he gets to beat up a kid. If I want to fuck Maria there in broad daylight I will."

  David didn’t really hear the man, as he watched the nice man that gave him a home continue to bleed out on the floor.

  Still, the tyrant ranted. "You see it is because of us, because of the fighting men like us, that we are safe, that we are protected, that we are prosperous." The doctor tried again to break free of the soldiers' grip on him. "Tavo's job was to teach you the rules. Clearly, he wasn't very good at his job. And now you learn. Your skills have been more than satisfactory, so you get a pass. But if I have to talk to you again, I won't be so gentle."

  Tavo was gasping and whining now, as he continued to bleed out. Not just in his front, David could see that the bullet had punched clear through and he was bleeding out of his back too.

  “I can still save him.” David pleaded again.

  "You clearly are not listening… I decided who lives and dies in this town." Bal'lum said clearly, before aiming again and shooting Tavo in the head, knocking him over onto his side. One of his soldiers walked over and took off the blue cowboy hat the man was known for and put it on his own head before he chuckled.

  David let out a heavy breath as he felt his anger rise at the wasted life that he witnessed. He didn’t even fight it this time. He only took the moment to warn the only other person in this town that he had bonded with. “Maria, you need to run. Now!”

  "You not listening American. She isn't going anywhere… Maybe your arrogance isn't worth your skills? Maybe you need another lesson?" The captain said before he aimed his gun at David's chest. “Any st words… for us to carve on your tombstone?”

  David growled softly in response, as he started to let the big guy awaken.

  The soldier on his left was ughing as he held him, while the one on his right said something in Spanish. “Capitán, sus ojos, han cambiado de color.”

  Bal'lum frowned at that, giving David enough time to growl out. "No words… but get, the name right. IT'S BANNER." By the end of it, David, or rather Bruce Banner was gone. Instead, it was the big guy who was speaking. The st thing that Bruce saw was the captain shooting at him.

  CENTRAL AMERICA- SOME VILLAGE – MAIL PLACE- Nov 2008 (NOT HUNGRY)

  HULK-

  Hulk could feel his body swelling, as well as the burning that the bullet was causing, as his mighty muscles pushed, slowed, and stopped it, before pushing it into his throat. He also felt the cooling sensation that came with his muscles as they healed. Besides this, his body changed as his skin turned green and he grew several feet in height, so that his head brushed and then pushed up the ceiling. Then he could gre down at all of the puny brown men around him.

  As he grew and healed he growled at the men. Then when the bullet reached his mouth, he spit it out. While not intended, Hulk lodged the spent round into the foot of the man holding his left arm. Causing the man to cry like the puny man he was, as well as releasing Hulk's arm.

  “HULK HATE GETTING SHOT.” Hulk said as the other men stared at him in surprise.

  Then he kicked out at them. The military man sailed into the two behind him and all three went through the thin wooden and gss door and as well as taking part of the wall with them, as they left the building.

  Then Hulk used his now free arm to grab the puny fool still holding his other arm. His mighty hand was wide and big enough to fit around the puny man's chest easily. Hulk then blindly threw the man at the wall beside the open hole. The green giant could hear bones break and flesh tear as the body went through brick and mortar, and into a parked puny car outside.

  The puny man who had been holding Hulk's left arm stepped away slowly and drew a puny gun that he fired twice at Hulk. So he backhanded the man in the knees, breaking both of them and causing the puny man to face pnt into the floor.

  More puny bullets bounced off of Hulk then, as men outside were starting to react to Hulk. Then he heard the military man shouting in strange words that confused Hulk.

  Hulk ripped off the damaged and torn remains of his shirt and jacket, before he shouted at them. “SPEAK ENGNLISH!” Hulk’s mighty shout caused all of the windows and other gss in the area to shatter.

  Pleased with himself at the sight, Hulk looked around and tried to figure out what puny Banner had gotten Hulk into. Then his eyes nded on the face of nice house man. Hulk poked nice house man, but he didn’t respond, nice house man just stared away from Hulk. Then Hulk realized that nice house man was no longer breathing.

  Hulk seethed two breaths before he leaped out into the street. His mighty head tearing through the puny mail building’s ceiling as he moved.

  He towered over the still-crawling military man. Hulk then saw Puny Banner's memories of military man shooting nice house man. Hulk wanted to tell military man that he would teach him a lesson, but all that came out of his mouth was a wordless roar, before Hulk punched military man in the back, twice.

  Military man’s chest was now just a meaty paste.

  Then more puny bullets started to hit and bounce off of Hulk. He ignored it at first, but then not-puny bullets started to rain on Hulk, and while they were not mighty like him, they did sting a little.

  So Hulk picked up the open puny car in front of him, and shouted. “HULK SMASH!” before he bashed the not puny gun twice with the open puny car.

  Then not puny bullets started to hit him in the back. So Hulk took the two mighty steps that he need to get beside the st open puny car, before he picked up the car, while they still fired the not-puny gun at him. Then he Frisbee threw the open puny car over the nearby buildings. The not-puny gun continued to fire as it flew and spun in the air away from Hulk.

  Hulk watched the open puny car fly away from him for a moment.

  Then a not-bullet hit him and exploded washing Hulk in fire and warm metal. Some of the warm metal stuck in Hulk, but slowly his mighty body pushed this metal out as Hulk looked for the big not-gun. While many of the puny brown men had learned to leave Hulk alone and were running away. Three were at the end of the street trying to reload the not-gun.

  Hulk roared and leaped at them. As his mighty arms connected with the three brown men, they broke and fttened, like meat pancakes they stretched out, before he broke parts of the street under them. Their blood covered his arms and face.

  Hulk felt itchy, and he rubbed his nose till he sneezed. Then he muttered. “GOT UP HULK’S NOSE.”

  Hulk then looked around and saw no more of the puny brown men, but he did spot pretty mail dy. She was shivering and staring at Hulk, her face pale and no longer brown. As she looked like so many other people who saw Hulk.

  Seeing this made Hulk think of the only person who hadn't ever shown him that face, so he muttered. "HULK MISS BETTY."

  Then Hulk felt more puny bullets hit him. However, unlike other times, there were only a few, and Hulk saw that some were headed toward the pretty mail dy. So Hulk moved and grabbed the puny metal things that were about to hit her.

  Hulk seethed and took a couple deep breaths as he looked over pretty mail dy. She was no longer shivering, as he opened his hands and dropped the puny tiny metal things on the ground in front of her.

  Then Hulk turned around and saw shaved mean boy. Hulk seethed at him a couple times, while shaved mean boy tried to unjam his puny gun, but couldn’t with his one arm in a case. Hulk hated shaved mean boy, so he told him. “YOU ALMOST HURT PRETTY MAIL LADY… HULK LIKE PRETTY MAIL LADY… DON’T DO THAT.”

  Shaved mean boy gave up on his puny gun, and reached for an even punier gun, and started firing at Hulk. Hulk just stood there shielding pretty mail dy. Hulk could feel his body getting bigger and mightier as he seethed at the puny mean boy.

  Then a puny bullet fired. Not at Hulk, but a shaved mean boy. The puny attack did not drop the shaved mean boy, but it did cause his arm to hang uselessly at his side before he dropped his puniest gun.

  Hulk then looked back towards pretty mail dy. When she saw him looking at her, she tossed the puny gun in her arms away and held up her hands towards him. The puny weapon discharged another puny bullet when it hit the ground, the round bounced off of some stuff before Hulk grabbed it from the air in front of her, before it could hurt her.

  “YOU PROTECT HULK? HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS, NO NEED PROTECTION.” Hulk told pretty mail dy.

  Then Hulk heard shaved mean boy shouted and ranting in strange words. Pretty mail dy seemed to pale at them however. So Hulk took the three mighty steps it needed to stand above shaved mean boy and Hulk shouted at the puny man. “HULK SAID, SPEAK ENGLISH!”

  Shaved mean boy swayed a bit, before Hulk saw blood start to drip out of his nose and he fell over. Hulk blinked as he wondered why the shaved mean boy kept staring at Hulk.

  Then Hulk was surprised when he felt someone touch his hand. Pretty mail dy looked up at him, with a sad face. Then she told Hulk. “You have to go. They will send others, and we can’t fight them all.”

  "HULK FIGHT THEM, HULK IS THE STRONGEST THERE IS." Hulk reminded her.

  "You are strongest, but even you can't fight everyone." Pretty mail dy said. Then she kissed the back of his hand before she added. "Thank you for saving my life… but you can't stay."

  “Nobody Like Hulk," Hulk muttered.

  Pretty mail dy smiled up at him before telling him. "That's not true. I like Hulk. But that doesn't change the way the world works." Then she started to rub the blood off of his arm and chest. A moment ter a pair of puny fast fliers roared as they went over their heads. Both the mail dy and Hulk shared a look before she reminded him. "I think that's your cue."

  Hulk nodded, before he took a puny step away from her, just enough so he wouldn't hurt her when he took his mighty jumped away. And then he did. He leapt and leaped again, each one mightier than the previous. Unsure of where to go, but after the fifth, Hulk could see only water in front of him. Hulk muttered. "HULK MISS BETTY." He then squinted at the horizon, before he began leaping again. This time with a destination in mind, up along the coast and northward, to America.

  DLRhanna