by Roman Shepp
“I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time, but she's better off without you, Quentin. You're a fucking liability. Maybe this is the chance for you finally to disappear and let her live her life. All you do is bring her down.”
The other brothers pulled Harry away. Some of them thought he was too harsh and they told him so, but Quentin didn't listen to them. He watched as they lifted Carol to her feet and helped her back to the convention center where the throng of people had retreated. Quentin pulled his knees into his chest and rocked back and forth. He wasn't a liability. Carol loved him. Carol tried to help him...but what had he really given her in return? His worst fears were realized, and he looked into the darkness of the forest. It beckoned to him. Maybe it was for the best if he just disappeared forever.
Chapter Five
Tony was stunned by the sight of this frantic man with panicked eyes and blood on his hands. Blood trickled down the door as the man walked forward. Tony didn't know what to say or think. Groot stopped lapping the water from his bowl and growled softly, wary of the intruder. Tony began edging toward the counter, trying to get to the baseball bat. The man's clothes were disheveled and blood-stained. It looked as though he had killed someone, and Tony was all too aware that was a real possibility. The world outside was a dangerous place, but he didn't want to die. He wasn't ready yet.
“Just stay there,” Tony said, in his best impression of a threatening voice.
All the lessons he had learned from the pages of comic books told him to give this man a chance to explain himself, but the reality was far different. The man looked crazy. The man walked forward a couple of steps, but then stopped and held up his hands. Panting, skin glistening with sweat, he hung his head. Tony moved to the counter and curled his hands around the baseball bat, feeling the sweet relief that came with it surge through his body. The man saw this and moved back.
“Please, no, I need your help. I don't want to hurt you,” the man said, looking back over his shoulder. He seemed to be caught between the outside world and Tony, lost in the middle without any idea of which way to go. Groot was standing up now, staring at the man with his black beady eyes, baring his sharp teeth.
“I don't want any trouble here, mister. I think it's best if you just leave.”
“No. I can't. They're after me,” he said, and glanced over his shoulder again. Okay, Tony thought, he would play this game.
“Who are after you?” he said, not relaxing his grip on the bat for one moment. He tried playing the possibilities through his mind. If the man came toward him, he wouldn't have much chance to swing the bat before he was tackled. Tony only was going to have one chance and he would have to make it count.
“Oz...they're going to catch up with me. They think I... they think I'm responsible for all this. They want my blood.”
“Is that your blood on your hands?” Tony asked.
The man looked at his hands as though he hadn't even noticed there was blood on them. Then he looked down at his top and pulled it away from his body. He shook his head and tears streamed down his face. His entire body shook. Tony started to think that perhaps this man wasn't crazy at all, at least not in a violent way. Tony reached out a hand to pet Groot, trying to calm him down. His grip relaxed on the baseball bat and he lowered it slightly as he stepped forward.
“What's wrong? Whose blood is it? What happened to you?”
“My family. They killed them. They killed my wife and child,” the man said, staggering against a display of comic books.
As he fell to his knees Tony rushed over to help him and carried him over to a chair. While they were walking, however, the man suddenly leaped to life and clutched onto Tony's clothes, begging him for mercy. Tony felt the man's strong hands almost tear the shirt from his torso. Groot saw this as an attack and leaped down from the counter. The dog began barking viciously and then gnawed at the man's ankles. The man howled in pain. He let go of Tony and moved back, holding up his hands again. Tony commanded Groot to stop. He gestured for the man to take a seat, but Tony made sure to keep his distance this time. The man wiped his eyes and did not make eye contact. Tony thrust a bottle of water into his hand and the man held it, although he only had taken one sip. Groot stood by Tony, and Tony was grateful for his small ally.
The man barely looked at Tony. His gaze was locked on the door. Tony still held the baseball bat and wondered if he should strike the man. There was no way to know if the man actually was telling the truth. For all Tony knew this could be some ploy to get into the store. Maybe he was waiting for friends. Maybe he was just insane and there was no way back for him. Tony couldn't very well sit in this store with a crazy man. He could knock him out and then drag him outside. However, in his peripheral vision Tony caught a glimpse of Superman and he knew the right thing to do. It was difficult to let go of his fear, but he was going to be a better man than he had been. He wasn't going to let himself be ruled by fear any longer.
The baseball bat dropped to the floor. “I'm Tony,” he said, holding out his hand, “let me help you.”
Groot growled, but Tony told him to heel, and the dog obeyed. Tony had looked after Groot many times over the years. The man looked up at Tony, eyes filled with tears and looked for all the world as though a miracle just had taken place. He clasped Tony's hand. It was a weak grip. The man did not seem to have much strength at all, although if what he said was true, then it was a wonder he was standing at all.
“Saeed,” the man said, taking another sip of water. His eyes were hollow, and he looked as though he wasn't really there.
“What happened, Saeed? Who killed your family?”
“Oz and his brothers. They forced their way into my apartment. Thought I had something to do with the power going out. The police...we have to call the police!” he said and looked around for a phone.
“That's not going to be possible. All the power is out, all across the city, from what I can tell. Maybe even the world. If the police still are out there, there's no way to get a hold of them.”
“Oh...yes... I... I can't think straight. We must get out of here. We must do something. They're following me.”
“It's okay. You're safe here,” Tony said.
His heart went out to Saeed. The man was distraught. Tony couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him to see his family die. Tony's parents had died in a car crash when he was very young, but it wasn't as traumatic as what Saeed had been through. Whoever these men were, they were nasty pieces of work and it was up to Tony to stand up to them, although he hoped they had given up the chase. He picked up the baseball bat and called Groot to heel as he strode out of the door, pushing out his chest, mimicking the confidence of Superman as he looked up and down the sidewalk.
“They're not--” he began, wanting to reassure Saeed that nobody was chasing after him, when he saw three men marching down the street.
One look at them was enough to know they were the same men who had killed Saeed's family and Tony's stomach lurched. His first instinct was to flee, but there was nowhere to run. They had seen him now and the store window was not going to keep them safe. Tony steeled himself and tried pushing the fear into a tight ball and swallowing it deep down. If he showed one sign of weakness, it would be the end for him, Saeed, and Groot.
Tony heard Saeed come out to join him. As soon as the men caught sight of Saeed they increased their pace and pointed their guns at him. The leader seemed the most aggressive. As they drew closer, Tony saw that the other two were a little more reluctant and seemed to be mostly following their brother's lead. They were a surly bunch indeed, and the three of them looked as though they could have been identical twins, aside from their piercings. Tony clenched his jaw and tried not to look at the guns. One bullet would be enough to end them, and he didn't fancy his chances with a baseball bat, but it was all he had.
“Do you know who this man is? He admitted that he was responsible for all this!” the leader said. Tony glanced at Saeed, filled with fury. If
he had been lied to...
“I had to tell them anything to save my wife,” Saeed said in a low voice, “but it didn't work. They killed her, and my child.” Tony could see the man was filled with a violent cocktail of emotions. Saeed's body almost trembled with anger, yet he couldn't run forward because the men had guns, and those trumped just about anything.
Tony's choice was clear. He could leave Saeed to these men and go on with his life or stand up for him. From the way things stood Tony didn't think the men would threaten him, mostly because he shared the same skin color as they did, as sad as it was to think. Yet, Tony knew he never would be able to live with himself if he walked away from this. It was in moments like these that people's character was forged. The decisions he made would shape the man he was going to be, and the world around him.
From the way it looked, everything was falling apart but he was not going to let society crumble. These were the moments when people had to step up and stand up for what they truly believed in. Tony looked back and forth between Saeed and the men. Saeed was completely helpless. His entire family had been taken away from him, killed by these racist men who had convinced themselves of a lie and Saeed was powerless to do anything. There were no cops to help them. Saeed only had Tony, and Tony had a baseball bat.
But that would have to do.
With a heavy sigh Tony stepped to the side and stood in front of Saeed.
“If you want to kill him, you're going to have to go through me first,” he said.
The man in front of him scrunched up his nose. “Are you kidding me? You'd put your life on the line for that traitor? We welcomed him into our country and this is how he repays us?”
“I don't think he did what you think he did. You need to go home and rethink your life. I can't let you shoot an innocent man, not when you've done so much more already. You might blame him for this, but what about his wife, his child?”
When Tony said that the two men behind the leader blanched and lowered their guns. Groot was by Tony's side, and although his heart pounded in his chest, he walked forward.
“I'm not going to let you hurt this man. You don't want to commit cold-blooded murder,” he said. Somehow, he managed to keep his voice even. The leader, who Tony assumed was the Oz that Saeed had mentioned earlier, didn't look as though he was going to back down, but his brothers did. They tugged at Oz's shoulder.
“C'mon Oz, we've done enough already. We've taken his wife and child. It's pretty clear by now the police aren't going to do shit. We should just forget it and go home. There are plenty of other things for us to worry about.”
Oz snarled and grudgingly lowered his gun. He looked past Tony and stared with his cold, hard eyes at Saeed. “If I ever see you again, I will kill you,” Oz said.
The chill in his voice made a cold shiver run down Tony's spine. The three brothers walked away. It was a few moments until Tony released the breath he had been holding. He turned to Saeed, whose face was pale. The two of them went back into the store. Tony's hands were trembling.
“Thank you,” Saeed said.
“You're welcome,” Tony muttered.
Groot limped in by his side. Tony placed the baseball bat on the counter and leaned forward, wondering how he was supposed to live in this world. Everything had changed overnight, and he was supposed to be better and stronger and braver than he had been in his entire life. Behind him he heard Saeed talking to himself, saying how he should have hurt them, how he needed to get his revenge. Tony felt pity for the man. It was one thing to have your family taken from you and quite another to not be able to get justice for it. He wasn't quite sure how Saeed even was managing to hold it together, or how either of them was going to face the kind of world in which they were living.
He reached out a hand and smoothed Groot's fur, trying to take comfort in the normal things in life, but they quickly were dwindling. When he looked at Saeed he was reminded of how violent the world could be when the shackles of civility were taken away. When he looked at Groot he worried about Ben and the fact that he hadn't heard anything from the store owner yet. He almost had expected some of the regulars to come by as well by now, but nobody had. Tony tried not to think of the worst, but when faced with what had happened with Saeed it was difficult not to wonder what horrors the people he knew had faced, and what horrors were waiting for him when he finally left the store. He brought the bottle of water to his lips to take a long gulp, but then changed it to a sip as he didn't know how long this water was going to last.
Chapter Six
The night was dark as Jane ran from the building, a building where she had spent more of her time than her own home. All her life had been spent in that office making calls on Frank's behalf, arranging meetings, telling the people that Frank deserved to get their votes, and in the end, it was all a lie. Her life was in tatters, but so was the world, and it was all her fault.
In the middle of the city she watched as everything fell apart around her. There were people screaming in anguish and others running around in a panic. She saw many people try starting their cars but even she knew they weren't going to work. The country had been brought to its knees, but she had hoped they would have reacted in a better way than this. She wanted to shout to everyone that they shouldn't panic, that everything would be alright if they just worked together, but she knew that none of them would listen and she had to get away, as far away from Frank as possible.
All her life she had wanted to do the right thing and make the world a better place. Yet, in her eyes she had done the worst thing possible. Tears streamed down her face. Somewhere there were two kids without a father because of her. All across the city there were people whose lives had been destroyed because she hadn't done all she could to stop it. She didn't deserve to live. Overhead, there was a loud groan as planes slammed into the city. Bright flames burst into the sky and licked at the buildings all around. Jane tried not to think about how many people were dying all around her, but it was impossible not to face the truth.
The city was being plunged into chaos and Jane had no idea where to go. Her life had revolved around Frank. When she wasn't working for him the two of them were together, what she thought was planning a life together, and she still was reeling from seeing his true, grotesque face. All this time he had lived a false life, not only with his own family, but with her as well. She had fallen in love with him because once he had been a great man. Now not only had he broken her heart, but he had broken the world.
Grief-stricken, she ran straight ahead. Filled with guilt, she wanted to get as many people as possible to the bunker. In that way she thought she might somehow make up for her sins. As far as she knew this only was the beginning of the end of the world. For all she knew it wasn't enough for the terrorists to sow chaos by robbing America of its power. They may want to strike again and kill large numbers of the population. The thought made her stomach churn. Putting her hand to her gut, she stopped and leaned forward. Coughing, she doubled over and tried heaving out the contents of her stomach but nothing would come.
All she wanted was some guidance. It didn't seem fair for the world to end in this way. There had been so much hope that had turned to ashes. She looked up and saw the outline of a large building. She knew it to be the hospital and was once again overwhelmed by sadness as she thought about all the people who needed help from that building, all the people who were depending on power to live. How many people had died? It was impossible to say. All of them weighed on Jane's conscience, though. They should have told the people. They should have warned them and given them time to prepare so this could have been avoided, but now the lights were out and there was no way to get them turned on again.
Her legs were weak. All she wanted to do was sink to the ground and let it swallow her up. It was so hard to move...
“You bitch. You whore. You think you can do that and just get away with it? You're nothing but a stupid slut who got ideas above her station.” The color drained from Jane's face as she turned
and saw Frank striding out of the building toward her, flinging abuse at her, holding the back of his head.
“You think you're something? You're nothing. The only reason I kept you around this long is because you were so good at getting on your knees when I asked.”
Jane pushed herself forward and ran as fast as she could, the heels of her shoes clacking against the ground. Fear seized her heart. She had no idea where she was going but she only knew that she needed to keep moving, to get away from Frank...away from the man she thought she was going to marry one day. How foolish she had been to think that was a possibility. Everything was a lie. Frank's promises, the safety of the world, it was all just a façade and none of it mattered anymore. The love she felt for Frank was a twisted, ugly thing that never had been what she thought it was. Twisting her neck over her shoulder she looked at the snarling face of the man who once had been so tender with her, who once had promised her the world.
It was almost impossible to imagine that this Frank was the same one who had charmed her into bed, who had worked down her initial resistance and convinced her that even though he was married there was no affection in his marital bed. The two of them had embarked on a long love affair and never did she think it would have ended up like this, with him chasing her like a predator.
Fear surged through her body and propelled her along. Her muscles burned but she knew she could not stop for one instant because if Frank caught her, he would kill her. There was no doubt about that, but it was so difficult for her to hear the abuse he was flinging in her direction. His voice dripped with hatred, yet it was the same voice that had professed his love for her and promised her a bright future, both in a professional and a personal sense. Trying to ignore the tears that flowed down her face she ran across the street and into an alley. Her faith in the man she loved and her faith in her country had been shaken to the core. Everything she had believed in was a lie.