Eventually, I made it back to my home town. Anger filling my body for everything that had happened to me here.
Everyone had failed to protect me. And they would have to pay for it. We were only children and they let them get away with it all. This was the start of my new life.
I wouldn't be left unguarded again. I didn't want this to happen to others. And I knew. Being a hero meant following rules and restricting myself further.
Wandering around in the cold really helped me realize what I wanted. Justice.
My old home had probably evicted me by now, and I probably didn't have a job anymore. I could guarantee my school had forgotten who I was by now so there was no point in going back. I found an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town in the slums. Deciding that's where I would have to stay.
That soon became the base of my operations.
It didn't take long for me to be able to seal up one of the rooms and make it at least livable. Sleeping in that room that night was horrible. Nothing to keep me warm. When I woke up the next morning, I almost had hypothermia.
I managed to find a space heater for sale in a yard sale not long after I woke.
While I was taking it home I spotted a familiar face...one of those officers that laughed at yuka that day. The tragic accident that shifted my point of view and that man laughed. He was walking into a house.
Within seconds I wrote down the address, he would pay for that mistake. The scum of the earth is all he was and I had a feeling others knew it.
I basically ran back to the warehouse. fixing the heater I got and making sure the electricity was still running in the building, luckily it was.
I warmed myself up, thinking of a plan. Every idea I wrote down. Every plan. Until I finally came up with one that seemed do-able. I would just need to find the right time.
Every day it got worse. I would follow him to work. Checking things off, my plan becoming more and more possible each day. I even found a loose panel in his basement entrance.
I spent 4 days on this. Finally. My chance arrived.
His wife was out of town, their kids were spending the night at their grandparents house. And I? Ready.
Without thinking, I broke in. Wearing gloves as to not leave fingerprints and shoes a size Too big as to not incriminate myself. I snuck up his stairs, pushing open the basement door.
The house was quiet, too quiet. I snooped around, deciding to also take the gaming console on the living room for cash. I desperately needed food at this point.
The stairs didn't creak, leaving me the perfect way up. I looked in each room, studying any escape routes I could. I heard him, he was awake. He didn't know I was here.
Grabbing a lamp from the hall, I pushed open his bedroom door, his back was turned to me. I got lucky.
Right before he turned around, a wicked smile formed on my face. I took long strides towards him, he turned, locking eyes with me. I must've looked crazy but I didn't care. I smashed the lamp over his head in one swift movement.
The blood trickled down quickly. His eyes rolling back in his head so fast it almost startled even me. He dropped to the ground with a loud thud.
It made me genuinely happy for some reason. I dragged him outside. Taking the wagon in his backyard, throwing a tarp over his body.
I wheeled him all the way back to my warehouse. Using rope I found to tie him to an old chair I fixed up not too long ago. This was it. Finally. He wouldn't be let off that easily. Something in me wouldn't allow that now.
I waited till he woke, not touching him at all until that point. In the meantime, I started cleaning up the main part of the warehouse. Making sure it looked normal. I knew I couldn't leave though so I'd have to go get cleaning supplies later after he was gone.
It wasn't that hard to clean up surprisingly, whatever power I had gained was helping me. Like I was now finally completely in control. All my life I had been someone else's play thing, but now? I felt real. No longer a toy. In charge of my own fate. Not knowing it could spiral.
It didn't take long for me to finish up. I even situated the whole thing so I could easily get him out when I finally lost it on him. I was up on the second floor that had the lookout for the ground floor when a groan echoed out. I looked down over the railing to see him waking. His hands the first to start trying to move.
I watched the slow panic creep up into him as he realized the ropes wouldn't break any time soon.
I smiled to myself, he was struggling so hard and it would soon all be pointless, I knew that much. I climbed onto the railing, it creaked. He went to look up but I had already jumped down, my jacket flying up behind me cuz of the sudden wind as I fell.
I landed on my feet pretty easily, which was definitely new. I hadn't ever done that before. His eyes widened when he saw me, fear creeping up his neck and showing on his face.
It felt nice to have power over something. Maybe this was why people liked control. Power.
Without missing a beat, I spoke. My voice coming out rougher and darker than I had first imagined. It almost surprised me. I knew my face looked like a maniac to him.
"Hello.....mr Johnson.."