No Heroes Left Behind (Book 1)

Chapter Two: Hello World

I never usually visit the aftermaths but maybe it'll inspire me to try harder.

As I approach, I can already see the whole intersection is closed down. The stop lights are all black and not functioning, the flaming cars have been cleared out for the most part except for a few that have been towed off to the side. There's police tape around the entire intersection and a group of cops are all huddled around talking. I go stand at the edge of the tape and get a good look at the destruction Rancor caused.

As I stand there, I notice the police officers glancing over my way, and then after a while, one of the cops approaches me and I look at him with a plastered smile on my face.

"Hello, ma'am," he says politely, tipping his hat in a friendly gesture. "What can I do for ya?"

I look around at the destruction and then back to the cop.

"I'm just checking out the intersection," I reply nonchalantly.

He glances around as well, then turns back to face me."Lots of people have come by today to check out the place where everything went down, so I don't blame ya." He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"Isn't it crazy what Rancor's been doing lately?" I ask, trying to get his opinion on the matter.

He leans closer and brings his voice to a whisper. "I know I'm supposed to tell you that the police force is trying their best to apprehend the guy, but honestly, this is out of our hands. The heroes are even struggling to get him," he admits, and I nod in agreement.

But if I wasn't one of those heroes trying to catch Rancor, that statement would've scared the daylights out of me.

"I hope they catch him," I mumble.

I do hope we catch him.

He nods his head. "Me, too, kid. Me, too."

"Well I've got to get going now. Nice talking to you, officer."

He smiles and walks back to his fellow officers and I walk away, back towards the direction of my apartment complex.

After a short five minute walk, I enter my apartment and close the door quietly behind me. I kick off my shoes but stop in my tracks when I hear laughing coming from the kitchen.

Who could that be?

I throw my bag onto the couch and saunter into the kitchen to find my parents chatting with Erin, my best friend. They all turn to look at me and Erin's smile grows wider as she sees me.

"Hey Lottie!" she calls out as she skips over to wrap me in a hug. I hug her back with a wide smile on my face.

"I thought you weren't coming back from Europe until July!" I yell in disbelief that my friend is here and not in Paris or something.

She shrugs. "Yeah, well, I convinced my parents to fly me back home so I can live with my aunt here," she explains, pulling back from me and waving her hand like it's no big deal.

I stutter to find words. "Oh my gosh, this is insane. I can't believe you're here. I'm so excited!" I ramble wildly, and grab her by the hand, dragging her to my room.

She chuckles. "It was nice talking to you Mr. and Mrs. Moon!" she calls over her shoulder before I close the door, blocking out whatever response they could muster.

"Tell me everything," I bounce onto my bed, "what was Europe like?" My pillows go flying at my weight being propelled onto the bed suddenly.

Erin sits down on my bed cross-legged and thinks back to her time in Europe, recounting everything that happened.

We talked for hours and she ended up passed out in my bed, snoring away, so I text her aunt on her phone that she will be staying over for the night.

Now, I sit on the lounge bench underneath my window, reading a book, which is a leisure activity that I very rarely get to do nowadays.

That is, until my "business" phone starts buzzing in my sweater pocket. I groan and pick it up angrily.

"East Side of the city, we need you," Zeus grumbles into the phone from the other end of the line. I hear a crash and screaming in the background.

Rancor's laugh echoes through the speaker pressed to my ear and then there's another crash. It sounds like he's throwing cars or something.

Why am I not surprised?

I look at Erin, who is now drooling slightly and obviously jet lagged from being in Europe for just over a month.

She won't be waking up anytime soon.

I stand up from my seat and pace my room to grab everything I need for the incoming fight. Once I'm changed and ready to go, I open my window and let out a sigh.

"Here we go again."