Conundrum

Chapter 8: Tag, You're It

      After the whole fiasco of meeting one of the richest people in the world, Keith couldn't stop wondering why the ever-loving hell that man was in his part of town. It had even gotten to the point where he was zoning out in the middle of conversations. Antok, one time, even had to resort to shaking Keith to gain his attention and it was pissing Keith off to no end.

      That man had no right to just waltz into his neighborhood like he owned the place, just like he did to everywhere else. There was no point in him being there either, no charity operations and certainly no well-kept property—so why?

      The man obviously never had any experience with Keith's way of life, based on what he was wearing that night. Seriously. Dressed like that, the billionaire was just begging to be jumped. Keith had been tempted to try and nab something of the billionaire himself, but for some reason a gut feeling told him it wouldn't have been worth his effort.

      Keith peeled away from the bustling crowd and turned into a narrow alley; it was a shortcut he'd learned about a few years back. He had attempted to make himself more presentable to head over to the Business District, but he was nowhere near fitting in with all the business attire and new fuzzy sweaters. People stared at him, to which he stared right back at them until they looked away, extremely uncomfortable.

He just wanted to get where he needed to go, damnit!

       Keith was excited to finally get away from the crowd's prying eyes. He closed his eyes and inhaled as he walked down the alley, grateful that it was quieter than the streets and he allowed his mind to wander as he traveled.

      Most of his thoughts consisted of the billionaire and his motives, but eventually his thoughts drifted to superheroes and villains. Lately, Altea had gained its own masked hero, just like the neighboring cities. Most of the heroes had some sort of power; scientists and theorists were struggling to discover both where exactly they originated and the identities of the people under the masks.

      If Keith had access to social media, he was sure all people talked about was the superhero that appeared in Altea a few months prior. Eventually, the media dubbed the man Sharpshooter, for several videos had caught him making shots that seemed impossible.

      Of course, with the influx of super-'heroes', came the super-'villains'. Keith never really cared a flying shit about what those people did with their lives. They could've become a bank robber or con artist or black-market salesman. As long as they didn't hurt people, he felt no revulsion or bitterness towards them, because he knew what it was like to steal to survive. Granted, Keith knew many of them did it solely for the thrill, but he was still able to relate to the so called 'villains' on a certain level.

       However, if the villain killed people or harmed them in anyway, that's when Keith felt something needed to be done to stop them. People could replace a stolen item or earn their money back, but no-one could gain their life back. People only get one life, and Keith felt that everyone should get a chance to live it without it being cut short.

      Keith turned a corner and almost froze mid-step. There, it felt as if a claw had dragged itself down the groove of his back and a sense of foreboding washed over him, like he was a mouse walking into a trap set specifically for him.

      Keith was immediately put on guard, adrenaline spiking and hands clenching into fists. He looked around him, hoping to spot someone else or somewhere to hide, but he felt like he had already set the trap and was waiting to be devoured by the cat. So, as much as it pained him to do so, he continued farther down the alleyway.

At every turn he took, he felt as if hundreds of eyes were watching his every move.

Every step.