1.7 – Night Stroll

The streets looked different at night. Well, before, the whole area gave him the sense of there being something happening at every corner; now it felt awfully abandoned. There was barely anyone in the streets, and the explosion happened only moments earlier, so it wasn’t like everyone just suddenly disappeared.

Compared to New York, it was a completely unnatural sight, one that he would probably have to get used to, since he was supposed to be here for three more years.

He heard Alicia shouting behind him, telling him to slow down so she could catch up, but he didn’t. He really didn’t want to. She was stronger than him since she actually had a usable power, but that didn’t mean that there was no advantage he had over her, and actually feeling it here made him feel good. He turned a corner, watching the giant cloud rush into the air, and on a look around, he noticed several dozen windows cracked from the blast.

Perhaps… I should wait for her after all. No matter if she was a powerful, soon-to-be superhero, she was still a girl and not all that tall of one—taller than most of their classmates, sure, but his stepmom would definitely not have liked seeing Nathan do something like this. She would have definitely screamed his ears off.

I hope that she’s doing all right. He hadn’t spoken to her in years, and the sudden realization almost made him feel pain in his chest as he stood in one place for several seconds, waiting for Alicia to catch up.

“Damn, dude, how are you so fast?” She spoke between breaths, trying to regain her stamina.

“Tall legs, I guess,” he mumbled. Yet it felt different—not by much, but he felt a smidge faster, as if he didn’t get as out of breath as he should have. Surely, he began running out of breath earlier and faster when he had to run during PE today. But not now. Did the amount of money change him already? If yes, it was barely there, and yet he noticed.

“Why are we running towards the explosion anyway, dude?”

Truth be told, he had no idea. He acted on instinct, yet he knew that he should go and see what was happening.

“I want to see what’s going on! We’ll need to go to situations like these if we become superheroes for real, no?”

“But we are only trainees. How have you trained to rush into superhero action when you’re only a first year?”

“Do the powers magically grow stronger while you’re not training?”

“No,” she rolled her eyes. “But you don’t really go into combat situations before the teachers tell you to. Only after your training and several training camps absolved do you actually get enough experience to go into the field.” She stepped closer and poked him in the chest. “And you know how many heroes exactly die on their first mission?”

He never thought about it. Though there were no superheroes in his life to consider such a fact. “I don’t know, one fifth?”

“Over a half, Nathan. And now, while we are running towards there, the danger could be getting closer any second.”

That actually stopped him for a bit. Yet he felt his resolve—the strange pull towards the action—still remain in his mind.

“You can go back home, you know. I don’t need you here.” He almost clicked his tongue as the words left his mouth. So much for not being antisocial.

“Yeah, I probably should.” She huffed but then shook her head. Thankfully, she didn’t get offended. He really liked that about her. “But we’re already this far. I swear, if this gets us in trouble…”

“I’ll speak up and carry the responsibility. Now, let’s go!”

“Pfft. Okay.”

They began walking again, not sprinting as before, but at a hasty walk. They were at most a minute away, yet the mushroom cloud dissipated, and smoke was not so easy to see in the darkness.

“For someone without a strong power, which landed them in Class 1F, you sure lack any survival instinct,” Alicia said, rolling her shoulder.

“Hey, we are in the same class! And well, let’s say there are some things that are worth seeing, even if there’s a risk involved.”

She hummed at that, scanning him from top to bottom. “Just remember, overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.”

He almost stopped mid-step. That line felt so out of place that he almost chuckled. “Where the hell did that poetic line come from?”

“A video game.” She had her reply ready.

“Well, that checks out.” He didn’t take her for a gamer, but now they had one more thing similar. “I’m not overconfident, you know? The first hint of danger and we’re out.”

She hummed once again but tapped him on the top of his back. “Good, seems like you still have some survival instinct left. Let’s see, then.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Any idea who it could be?” Nathan asked, not wanting the conversation to die down. He didn’t like admitting it, yet he did feel a smidge of fear. Who wouldn’t have? He was in a completely different world with superpowers, and somebody just exploded something in the middle of the city he resided in. It wasn’t even that far from where he was about to lie down to sleep.

These contemplations reminded him that they were in the middle of something back in Alicia’s home, yet it felt out of place to bring it up now. He stored it in the back of his mind.

At another corner, they finally entered in front of a giant park, one he hadn’t seen today. It was beautiful, the trees swaying in a gentle breeze. The buildings around were stationed just far enough that it still remained with the feeling of an actual clearing, not just an artificial park.

Nathan also noted how most of the treetops were somewhat burned, and leaves made whirlwinds all around, moving with the wind on the road. A few cars passed, all of them heading in the opposite direction compared to them, and that made his suspicion that he was nearing his target even stronger.