Bane

October 25, 1993

The woman's face paled, her jaw slack as a weak guttural moan escaped her throat.

She pointed.

Simon turned, but the woods were quiet, dark, and the light patter of rain began to fall as thunder rumbled through the cloudy night sky.

"Miss, calm down. Just calm down. I can't help you unless you relax."

"No!"

He put his hand on his chest. "My name is Simon. I'm... well I guess I'm just sort of lost out here. I'm glad, actually, you found me."

"What? What are you talking - ? I need to run - we - need to run!"

"No, you need to calm down." Simon reached for her, and she flinched.

The woman, dressed in a green shirt, and a long green skirt struggled to her feet, and held open hands to the sky. She sucked in a deep breath, and screamed loud into the cloudy night sky. Simon felt something like a brief shock wave, and the clouds split in the sky with violent force spilling dull moonlight. Lightening flashed in the sky, striking nearby the two. The smell of ozone burned Simon's nose.

Between the propane fueled lantern light, and the waning gibbous moon, Simon saw bruising, and cuts over the woman's pretty, pretty face. She shook, and trembled, a faint red aura surrounding her. "Look!"

Simon Bellar looked back to see the impossible silhouette of an over large man in the dark of the woods where neither moonlight, nor lanterns lit. He saw the eyes, green, and wide open beneath something yellow-white covering the man's face.

Simon recovered his shovel, and held his ground. "Fine. Run. When this is done, I'll find you."

The woman hesitated. "You're a kid. Run, you moron!"

Bane narrowed his eyes at the boy with the strange weapon (it's called a shovel). The boy's hands were covered in dried blood, and he was standing between he, and his prey.

Bane charged forward.

Simon swung his shovel upward, and cracked Bane in the side of his head. The metal shovel made a loud metal echo as it connected. Bane stumbled backward.

"See? He's just a man, some freak giant in a mask." Simon rushed in and swung his shovel again.

Bane caught it in his oversize gloved hand, and pulled it from Simon Bellar. Simon fell forward with the force of Bane's pull, taking a mouthful of dirt as he landed. Bane gripped the shovel, and spun it around, the metal point of the tool pointed at Simon.

Bane threw the shovel like a spear, and Simon rolled to the side, the shovel lodging itself to the handle in the ground where Simon was only a moment before.

Simon spit out dirt, pushing the fresh earth from his mouth with his tongue. "Men like you are why men like me are forced to act. My father was like you. Now he's fertilizer."

Simon rose up to his feet, standing between Bane and the woman. "Lady, run."

"You're an idiot, kid." The woman ran.

Bane lunged at Simon, capturing him by the sides of his arms, and threw him at the woman. Simon flew through the air, flailing in the empty space, and collided with the woman as she ran.

She fell with Simon's weight pinning her to the ground.

"Get off me!"

Simon fought to keep his consciousness. He was able to take his father, and granted this freak was, well, a freak, bullies were weak. They had weakness. Simon shook off the dizziness, and rose up off the woman, shaking with a welcome rush off adrenaline.