Chapter 15 part 1
Matias
Surely Samuel had to be near. He must've caught wind of the new villain being around and done something about it, right?
There were a hundred different possibilities as to where Samuel might be and what he was doing, but all Matias could do was hope he was at the right place at the right time.
Matias spent a few painfully long minutes making his way through the alleys. There wasn't a straight shot to get anywhere, leaving him to twist and turn every direction like he was in a maze. Though he knew where he was going, luckily enough.
Once he was sure he was getting closer to where the explosion had come from he slowed down. He started peeking around every corner and walking more on the front of his feet, trying his best to be quiet.
He hadn't really expected anyone to be there, but maybe he should've.
There were only a few more turns to make for him to be right at the center of Greenlake— once he came out of the alley of course— when some voices pulled his attention away.
The sounds were coming from down a different way and he could easily still get to where he needed to go, but nobody would stick around after an attack like that without good reason. Surely these people must have some kind of involvement.
He inched himself closer as to hear what they were saying, but he didn't need to get too close. They weren't exactly being secretive.
"I already told you a thousand times! We're only here just in case. Unless something happens then we stay put" a deep voice spoke loud enough to be considered a shout.
"How are we supposed to know if anything happens if we're not closer? We need to move up!" A higher and more feminine voice replied, not quite as loud.
The two bickered on about if they should stay put or move closer. Matias assumed they must've been talking about the explosion, but why? No normal person would stick around after that, and what did they mean by 'unless something happens'?
Matias shook his head. Whatever they had to say could likely be important, but him getting to the new villain was also incredibly important.
He spent a few seconds debating what he should do, still listening to what the two people had to say. A few small crashing sounds came from nearby, urging Matias to get closer.
The glanced towards the lane leading to Greenlake, and then to where the two were arguing.
"Fine! I'll go and you can stay here, bye" the woman ended the argument, not wasting another second talking to the man.
Her footsteps got closer and closer to Matias. Everything slowed down as he looked in a circle for somewhere to retreat, or at least hide. He had no more than half a second to get out of there, so he went the closest way.
He wasn't sure how good of a decision it may have been, but he had no time to think about that.
The way he turned led him right to a path that could only lead to the street. Surely the woman would go the other way since it provided more shelter and overall safety. That's what he was hoping at least.
He forced his breathing to stop shaking as he listened as close as he could to her steps. Surely enough, she went the other way.
He sighed in relief, though his problems were far from over. Now he was cornered between the two people in the paths in front of him and the public side walk behind him.
He spun around to check that there was nobody on the street, but stumbled back a few steps after seeing the condition of the area.
The long path from the sidewalk to the alley was cut in half as the building was blown in half. There was dust clouding the air, turning it an ugly kind of brown.
But he was more shocked by the blood that surrounded the area and the bodies that were scattered around.
His mind went blank at the sight. There were bricks and remains all around and on top of the mangled bits of peoples bodies. He wanted to leave right that second, but he kept moving forward. He didn't have a choice.
He peered into the remaining half of the shop on his left. It used to be a flee market, but now every last shelf was either tipped over or broken completely.
Beneath a desk that was now just some pieces of wood was two bodies. They were curled up against each other and one of their backs was almost unrecognizable, taking the worst of the damage.
Then in the farthest away corner was what looked to be a pile of organs and blood. A few things stuck out of it which Matias assumed was bones, but he would have to get closer to be sure which he was absolutely not going to do.
All around were scattered bodies, most of them not even appearing human anymore. There must've been at least ten that he could see just from where he stood.
Matias's knees grew weak, but he didn't fall. His breathing became rugged, but he kept it just steady enough for his lungs to survive.
He wanted to cry. He wanted to fall to his knees and sob. He wanted to grieve for all the deaths that were brought because of this ridiculous drama.
But he didn't. Even though he wanted to, he couldn't. His body wouldn't let him. All he could do was stare at the bodies of the victims.
His eyes became dry and itchy, but he didn't rub them.
He was only snapped out of his trance after seeing movement out of the corner of his eye. Just before he could turn and see what was going on, something crashed into the building on the other side of him, which was also already mostly destroyed.
He ducked back into the alley just enough where he couldn't be seen. His head peaked around the corner, but he saw nothing.
That was until someone stumbled out of the remaining building beside him. Something hadn't hit the building, someone had.
Samuel, or rather the hero, had pulled himself out of the building and was hobbling around in no particular direction. There was a gash in his thigh that dropped blood down his leg and onto the ground beneath him.
Matias wanted to go help. He wanted to run to him and hug him tight and assure that they'd figure out whatever the hell was going on, but he didn't. It was probably for the better that he stay put, but it still made him itch with anticipation.
As he watched Samuel finally catch his balance and stand still he realize how beaten up he really was.
There were tiny little cuts and tears though that ridiculous suit Samuel would wear as 'the hero' and through ever tear was a red area where something had snagged his skin.
The wounds varied in size and severity. Some were the same size a child would get from falling in their back yard while others seemed like an injury you'd get while out at war.
Matias had been too caught up in Samuel to realize sooner, but the new villain had quickly approached. She stood only a few feet in front of Samuel and her powers were throwing themselves out in all directions from her back.
It took everything Matias had to keep from jumping in and doing whatever he could to help Samuel. If things got any worse he would help, but now was definitely not the time for that.
There were cameras everywhere recording everything. If Matias were to step in or even do anything from the side, people would see. It could show people that he wasn't so bad after all, but the chances of people finding some way to make him seem awful were high. Higher than he'd like to think about.
The new villain threw her strings of power out in every direction. It was hard to keep up with what all they were doing due to all the different things going on, the strings of power blurring in the air.
On the opposite side of the street she was breaking large pieces of the already demolished shop and on the same side that Matias was on he couldn't even see what was happening without stepping out of the alley. Behind her a rope of bright red powers grabbed one of the news drones and smashed it with ease.
After a few seconds of her destroying everything around her Samuel finally jumped forward. He threw some yellow beams of his own power at her, but she easily deflected every last one of them.
The continued to jump around her and do his best to make her stop, all to no avail. After an embarrassing minute of the hero failing to stop her he finally landed a solid hit to her side.
He was clearly getting tired and his powers wouldn't hold out much longer, but he finally did something.
However, the joy of his tiny victory didn't last long. The new villains powers stopped everything else that they were doing.
The area grew uncomfortably quiet as the sound of entire buildings breaking stopped. If it weren't for the noisy helicopters above it would've been complete radio silence.
However, only a heartbeat had passed before everything erupted into chaos again. The new villain grabbed Samuel with her powers on his upper chest.
Unlike in comic books and movies they make for kids, she wasted no time with Samuel. There was no hesitation before a sharp red line sliced through Samuel's stomach and another swiftly knocked his mask off his face.
She dropped him from where he was being held in the air, watching as he struggled. His hands were brought up to his face covering it and his stomach was bleeding out.
In a fraction of a moment Matias finally realized what was happening. The new villain had a large heap of her powers raised above Samuels head, ready to throw it all down on him.
Matias's feet started moving on their own and he thought he might've yelled, but he wasn't really sure. As if in slow motion her powers began moving down on Samuel. Another second and he would be dead.
Matias didn't have time to make it over to Samuel, him still being four large steps away. However, he still had his powers. He brought up a shield of blue that circled around Samuel.
Never in his life had Matias been grateful for his powers, until now. The attack deflected right off of Samuel, leaving Matias enough time to fully make it over to Samuel.
Samuels hands were still covering his face and he didn't look like he had fully processed what was going on. But Matias didn't exactly have time to pause and wait for him to process everything.
He swiftly moved his powers over the both of them before the new villain recovered from her initial shock. A bubble of Matias's blue powers surrounded them, clouding them from the eyes watching through all the cameras.
Matias paused for a brief second. He didn't have a plan, he didn't even have the slightest idea of what to do. Maybe if Samuel wasn't already so beaten up they could fight her together, but that was no longer an option.
Matias shook his head, pushing away the thoughts of what he could do. He could think about it for hours and still not get a good plan.
His hands moved to the deep gash in Samuels stomach and put as much pressure as he could. Blood was oozing out and for a good second Matias was sure Samuel was going to die.
It was like the whole world was crumbling around him, but all he could see was Samuel. The only person who believed he was good, bleeding out right in from of him.
And he couldn't do anything about it.
"Mat.." Samuel sputtered, not managing to say his full name.
When Matias finally pried his eyes off of Samuels wound he didn't even have time to meet his eyes before a strong force slammed onto the bubble he had made around them. It held up, but it wouldn't for much longer.
Without thinking about anyone or anything else Matias unclipped his mask from around his neck and laid it onto Samuel's face. Samuel tried to protest, but he was in no position to do anything.
Matias clipped the mask around Samuels neck, ignoring the 'are you crazy?' look that Samuel was giving him.
"I can distract her, but I can't beat her, okay?"
Samuel shook his head like he knew what Matias was about to say.
The new villains powers slammed into Matias's shield once more. Matias was surprised he was still holding it up, but he wouldn't be able to after another attack.
"You need to get out of here. Don't worry about the cameras, just get somewhere safe. I'll figure a way out of this and then I'll find you" he spoke quickly and quietly, not sparing any time
"no" Samuel begged, his voice breaking, but it was too late.
The new villain had attacked their safe haven once again, getting through just enough to break it without hurting either of the two inside.
Matias grabbed Samuel by the arm and pulled him up no so gracefully.
"Get out of here" Matias whisper shouted, not wasting another second.
He ran forward, already fighting the new villain.
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Wouldn't it be so silly if that angst tag I added meant anything?
Wouldn't that just be so silly guys?? 😃