Dragon Ball Next Generation
The Grey Saga
Part 1: The Atrocity
Chapter 1
Why am I doing this? Writing all this down? Do I need an account of my life so far? Is it for the future? So, when I grow old, I will know I'm not crazy? Certainly, my life would be considered crazy by most. Is it to try to sort out the events of my life? I don't know. But I do know I'm doing this for myself, no one else. I don't care if future generations read this account, but this is for me. Understand that. But, a warning is necessary. This story is not for the weak of heart, or those prone to upset stomachs. Nor is it for those seeking a happy story, because my life is not a happy one.
It's strange, how just one day could completely change a person. You wake up on that day, expecting it do be no different then any other day. I had a day like that. My life before that day just doesn't seem important anymore. I was just a kid, doing kid stuff. There was nothing exceptional about me then. I figured I would just lead a normal life, do normal things. Oh, how I have changed. I don't know if I envy myself back then, in my carefree days, I know not which I prefer, then or now. Maybe it's best that way.
As I said earlier, my life before that day wasn't important, but there are a few details that are. But, as to not get ahead of myself, I will explain them as I knew them back then. I was thirteen at the time; my birthday was only a few weeks earlier. I was an orphan. I was brought to the Satan City orphanage when I was only a day or two old. I didn't know who brought me, or what happened to my parents. But I was never adopted.
I wasn't an ugly baby, and I was most times peaceful, but there was something that distanced me from others, and I always had a feeling of not belonging. I was a kind person, but I isolated myself, and never really enjoyed the company of the other children. All adults who considered adopting me saw that, and always decided on someone else. Not that I cared, I was comfortable in the orphanage.
But don't start feeling sorry for me, and think I was a helpless, miserable loner. I had a friend. Her name was Ann. She had lost her parents in a car accident when she was ten. Her parents were not good people, but the social workers didn't find that out until they were dead. Having a life like that can really damper your social skills, so naturally, we became friends, because we had no others.
Satan City was the perfect name for where we lived. It had the highest poverty rate of any other city in the world. It was a haven for factories that couldn't build anywhere else because of safety issues. People didn't care that the air was so thick with smog that airplanes were restricted from the airspace above the city, or that our water carried so much bacteria that almost everyone had at least three cases of intestinal infection every five years or so. People would live with and do anything to find work and get money. Anything.
Luckily, the orphanage was on the "good" side of town, or really, just the better side. There was no good side of town in Satan City. The "bad" side of town was a catacomb of dark alleys of torn-down buildings, shacks, and cardboard lean-tos. I guess we were lucky. Or, as lucky as any orphan can be.
You see, Satan City had no strong foundations to keep it prosperous. It was balancing on one pillar, just the fame of one man, Mr. Hercule Satan, champion and savior of the world, over 300 years ago. Once he died, so did Satan City. As it lost it's trademark man, it lost popularity, and people flocked to more prosperous cities like Western Capital, home of Capsule Corp, the longest-lasting company in the history of the world.
But, back to me. Most thirteen-year-olds didn't have jobs, but I did. Not a real one, I just washed dishes at the orphanage's cafeteria every night. It was Ms. Well's idea. She was one of the orphanage "mothers". I ate about twice as much as any other kid, and the kitchen staff was lacking. I agreed, having nothing else to do, being the outsider I was. In fact, I actually enjoyed the job. Not the actual work, but the privacy. You don't get much of that in a two-story building with over a hundred kids. Sometimes, Ann would come in, and we would talk while I worked. I think I would have done it even if I didn't get paid. After a few weeks of washing, I got my first paycheck for eleven zeni and twenty-seven cents. Ms. Well suggested that I begin a checking account at the bank.
That's how this decisive day began. On the bus, to the bank, with Ann sitting next to me. We sat in silence for most of the ride, just watching the city go by. That's one of the things I liked best about her, we didn't have to always talk, and we could just enjoy each other's company. She was staring out the window, and I was staring at her. I watched the how her shoulder-length light-brown hair bounced as the bus bounced. I watched her soft eyes move as she watched what ever was outside.
I began to think of the dream I had the other night. In that dream, we had kissed. I didn't remember much else, but I remembered that part as if it had happened. I wondered if we would ever really kiss, or if we would just be friends our entire lives. I had never really thought about it before, but I was thirteen now, and in some cultures, that was the age of manhood. I had never realized just how beautiful she was.
She turned around in the middle of my thoughts, and looked right into my eyes, as if she read my mind. I felt my cheeks redden.
"There's another family out there." She said, with a dreamy look in her eyes. She said that almost every time she saw one. I guess, having had a family before, however bad, had made her miss having one, and she longed to have on again. Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a chance. Most families look for babies, not thirteen-year-old girls. For me, life was the orphanage, the only one I had ever known. I never longed for a family, not really.
"Yep." I sighed; more relived that she didn't seem to notice that I was blushing.
"Do you think we'll ever have a family?" she asked, still looking into my eyes. I wasn't sure what she meant by that. Did she mean us, together, or get adopted, or what? I just shrugged, and began to study the man's head in front of me.
"I had a nightmare last night." She stated.
"Oh, really?" I said, raising my eyebrows.
"Yeah, it was scary. I think that I died in it." She said, her voice starting to quiver.
"Hey, it was just a dream." I said, and put my arm around her, trying my best to comfort her.
"But, I've heard that dreams can tell you what's going to happen, like a premonition, or something." She said, as she moved next to me, and put her head on my shoulder.
"It was just a dream." I repeated. "That other stuff is just crap." I felt her nod on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you." I said, softening my voice as much as possible.
"Your right, I've just got a bad feeling, you know." She said.
"Yeah, I know." I said. We didn't speak again until we came to our stop. I was glad. My stomach felt like it was tied into about a trillion knots. If she spoke again, I probably would have just started jumbling my speech and looked like a total idiot.
So, we just sat there like that, with her next to me, with my arm over her, for about ten minutes. Then, we slowly lurched forward, as the bus came to a stop. 2nd avenue, our stop.
We climbed out of the bus, and began walking down the street. My stomach was still fluttering around a little bit, and I tried to distract myself by studying the sights of the street. The last thing I wanted to do was act weird in front of Ann. I slowed my pace as I watched a man and a woman having a huge argument across the street. Ann didn't seem to notice, and walked a head of me.
Not looking where I was going, I stumbled on a crack in the sidewalk, but managed to catch myself before my face was planted into the cement. I looked up, and there was Ann's. "backside" in front of me. My face was probably as red as any tomato at that point. She turned around, her hair flowing beautifully in front of her face.
"Are you O.K., Celic?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, trying to hide my embarrassment, "I just tripped, I'm fine." Then she turned around and began walking again. That was my second potentially embarrassing situation that day! I made sure I was watching where I was stepping from then on, and I stayed at Ann's side, just incase.
We made it to the bank without another incident. The wall facing the street was completely made up of windows, and it made it look kind of classy, and very out of place in Satan City. I opened the glass door for Ann, and then went inside.
There were two tellers, both with lines. I went to the shortest line. In front of me was some woman wearing skimpy clothes, and an old couple at the counter, who seemed to be having trouble with a check or something.
"So, are you going to buy me something?" Ann asked sweetly.
"I don't know. I've only got like twelve zeni. What can I buy with that?" I asked.
"You can buy me ice cream." She stated. I rolled my eyes.
"What makes you think that I'll spend my hard-earned money on you?" I asked, smirking. Ann let a "hmp" and playfully shoved me. I grinned and shoved her back.
"Jerk." She mumbled. I nodded.
"I'll buy you all the ice cream you want, as long as it's under eleven zeni." I said.
"Well, thank you." She said. Then she gave me a peck on the cheek. My heart stopped. I didn't know if it meant anything, but I grinned just the same. Then my stomach went into a flurry of that butterfly feeling. But it was different then before. It felt almost sick, like when you are going do something you really don't want to do, like your scared. I grabbed my stomach in pain. Ann looked at me out of the corner of her eye.
Then there was a loud slam behind me, and I turned around. There were three guys in ski masks, each waving a gun in the air! I stood there, stunned. The men moved forward, pushing us out of their way.
"Everyone back up to the wall." One of the guys shouted, waving his gun at us. I grabbed Ann and began to back away. We hit the wall and slid down in a crouching position. Next to me, I felt Ann trembling. I looked at her, and saw she was crying. Those beautiful eyes, they were sad! Hate ran through me, hating them for making those beautiful eyes red with tears.
"Don't worry," I whispered as I pulled her close, hugging her tightly, "I won't let them hurt you." I barely heard her whimper. I looked up at the three men, and saw one of them holding a paper sack in his out-stretched arms.
"Give me all the money." He demanded, the others pointing their guns at the teller.
"It.it's in the safe." She stuttered, her face white from fear.
"Fine." Said the one with the bag. He pointed to the man at his right. "Your gonna take him to the safe, and then your gonna stuff this bag." He said. The teller nodded slightly. She took him through a door on the other side of the counter.
I heard a moan coming from my right. I glanced over, and saw the old woman, huddling with her husband. *They're just like us!* I realized. I looked up at the two men left in the room. Anger and hate rushed through me, as I clenched my fists, trying to contain myself, for Ann's sake. *Those bastards! What right do they have to do this to us!*
My heart quickened, my breaths became shallow and methodic. I clenched my teeth so hard my gums hurt. The only thing that kept me calm was Ann's soft whimpering. She was terrified! They wouldn't touch her! I looked down at her. She was too beautiful, too good, and too nice to be in this situation. So much had happened to her already!
*I love her, and nothing will happen to her!* I thought. It was no revelation, no great surprise, just the fact, just the truth.
Then the man and the teller came back into the room, with the paper sack budging. The man's eyes were alive with excitement. I could hear him giggling. I was now almost shaking with rage. The trio, with their guns still pointed at us, moved toward the exit. The one with the money looked back, out the windows, and almost dropped the bag.
"Shit!" He yelled, and jumped around. The others jumped with him. There, parked outside of the bank, was a whole squadron of police cars, with the police climbing out of them.
"Damn it!" the one in the middle. He looked at the other one not carrying the money.
"Get a hostage, quick!" He yelled at the man.
He nodded and grabbed the old lady to my right. The lady screamed as the man forced her up. The other one grabbed blindly, taking the first person he came into contact with. Ann. She screamed in terror as she was hoisted up to her feet.
"NO!" I screamed, and lunged for the man. BAM! I was knocked back by the man's fist. I thudded to the floor, my head screaming in pain. The man pulled back the hammer of the gun with a click, and put it against Ann's neck.
"Try that again." The bastard cooed, "I'd love to see you try." I saw the same gleam in his eye as the man with the bag. I knew he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. So I sat there, in cold fury, completely and utterly hating him, and myself for being so helpless.
I looked into Ann's eyes. Tears were streaming down her face. She looked at me, her eyes begging me to help her. My heart was breaking in two.
The three advanced forward, toward the door, toward the police. The man with the old lady was in the lead, followed by the one with the money, then the man carrying Ann. It seemed to take them an eternity to take each step, as I watched them, with an unending fury. I hated them. I loved Ann. I knew no more, and no less.
BAM! There was muffled explosion outside, then the cracking of glass, then and the thud of a body hitting the floor. One of the police had fired, and shot the man holding the old lady. She wailed as she lost her balance and fell to the floor, next to the man now with a bullet hole in his chest.
"What the fuck do you think your doing!?" The man carrying Ann yelled. Then, before I realized what was happening, he raised the gun to Ann's head.
BANG!
The sound was explosive. It was a lot louder then the guns on T.V. Then the world went silent. I heard nothing, just saw them. Watched as the man released his grip on Ann, saw her eyes open wide, in surprise, horror, or just the realization that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I saw in slow motion as she fell, almost elegantly to the floor. She hit the floor, bounced once, and then stopped, not moving. Just lying there on the floor, motionless.
It took me a moment to realize what had happened. It slowly crept into my mind. Ann was dead? No, that was impossible. He killed her. NO! Ann's dead, he killed her, Ann's dead, he killed her. It kept rushing through my brain, a torrent of the same five words, trying to penetrate the barrier of disbelief. I was hit with a flashback from the bus. Her head was on my shoulder, and I told her I would take care of her.
Then I saw it. Ann had a hole in her head. Blood was leaking out of it. She was dead.
"NOOOOOOOO!" My anger exploded out of me, almost seeming to manifest it's self into another being that took control of my body. I saw the man, still holding the gun in the same position as when he shot. HE KILLED HER! I told her I would take care of her! I couldn't fulfill my promise to her! Because of him! I saw only him; he was my only target, my only reason on Earth. I was going to make him suffer! My god, how he would suffer.
I leaped up, screaming in hate, and rage. Tears of grief sprang from my eyes freely, running down my cheeks. I ran at the man, but the other one, the one with the money, was between us. Too bad for him.
Before he could react, I clenched my right hand into a fist, and swung at him, hitting him with a backhand. He let the bag go as he literally flew into the glass wall, which shattered on impact. His upper body made it out of the building, but the shards of glass he landed on cut his legs to ribbons. Not that he mattered. All I wanted was to reach the one who killed Ann.
If I hadn't been in such a rage, I would have found what I had done strange, to say the least. I had always been pretty strong for my age, but never strong enough to actually send someone flying like I did.
But that didn't matter. I was closing in on my goal. I saw red, and he was in the center of my vision. A seething hate took over me, and I clenched my fist, raised it, and leapt at him. I hit him square in the face with everything I had. He flew back, and thudded against the wall, creating a dent in it.
That wasn't enough. I began to run at him again. He raised his hand, which still contained the gun. The same gun that killed Ann. He pulled back the hammer, and squeezed the trigger.
I felt a sudden, sharp pain in my left shoulder. The bullet had hit me, but hadn't killed me. Paying no mind to my injury, which had hardly even stopped my momentum, I landed on him, and began to pummel him. I paid no mind to the fact that I couldn't use my left arm, I just hit him. Raising my fist, I let it drop on his head, again, and again, and again. He raised his now bloody hands weakly, trying to fend off my attack.
*Does he want mercy?! What mercy does he deserve? What mercy did that bastard show Ann? None!* these thoughts infuriated me. I raised my hand, and screamed as I slammed my fist down on his head as hard as I could possibly manage.
CRACK!
I suddenly realized that my hand was actually in an indention in the top of the mask. I pulled my fist away, to find it covered in blood, and specks of flesh and bone. I was suddenly aware to the pain shooting up and down my left arm, which was now drenched in my blood.
My breathing slowed, as did my heart. But the tears still came. Tears of hate, of grief. I looked around. Everyone was starring at me in shock and disbelief. I looked outside. The police were just as stunned as everyone else. I realized that everything had only happened in a few seconds.
I looked down. There was Ann. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Her hair partially covered her face, but it all added to the beauty. She just didn't look dead.
*Run*
The thought just entered my head, and I realized it was right. I sprinted toward the door, and slammed into it with my good shoulder. It slammed into the side of the wall with a loud crash. I sprinted past the stunned police, into the alleys. I ran. I ran from what had happened, what I had done. I had no idea where to, but I ran.
Chapter 1
Why am I doing this? Writing all this down? Do I need an account of my life so far? Is it for the future? So, when I grow old, I will know I'm not crazy? Certainly, my life would be considered crazy by most. Is it to try to sort out the events of my life? I don't know. But I do know I'm doing this for myself, no one else. I don't care if future generations read this account, but this is for me. Understand that. But, a warning is necessary. This story is not for the weak of heart, or those prone to upset stomachs. Nor is it for those seeking a happy story, because my life is not a happy one.
It's strange, how just one day could completely change a person. You wake up on that day, expecting it do be no different then any other day. I had a day like that. My life before that day just doesn't seem important anymore. I was just a kid, doing kid stuff. There was nothing exceptional about me then. I figured I would just lead a normal life, do normal things. Oh, how I have changed. I don't know if I envy myself back then, in my carefree days, I know not which I prefer, then or now. Maybe it's best that way.
As I said earlier, my life before that day wasn't important, but there are a few details that are. But, as to not get ahead of myself, I will explain them as I knew them back then. I was thirteen at the time; my birthday was only a few weeks earlier. I was an orphan. I was brought to the Satan City orphanage when I was only a day or two old. I didn't know who brought me, or what happened to my parents. But I was never adopted.
I wasn't an ugly baby, and I was most times peaceful, but there was something that distanced me from others, and I always had a feeling of not belonging. I was a kind person, but I isolated myself, and never really enjoyed the company of the other children. All adults who considered adopting me saw that, and always decided on someone else. Not that I cared, I was comfortable in the orphanage.
But don't start feeling sorry for me, and think I was a helpless, miserable loner. I had a friend. Her name was Ann. She had lost her parents in a car accident when she was ten. Her parents were not good people, but the social workers didn't find that out until they were dead. Having a life like that can really damper your social skills, so naturally, we became friends, because we had no others.
Satan City was the perfect name for where we lived. It had the highest poverty rate of any other city in the world. It was a haven for factories that couldn't build anywhere else because of safety issues. People didn't care that the air was so thick with smog that airplanes were restricted from the airspace above the city, or that our water carried so much bacteria that almost everyone had at least three cases of intestinal infection every five years or so. People would live with and do anything to find work and get money. Anything.
Luckily, the orphanage was on the "good" side of town, or really, just the better side. There was no good side of town in Satan City. The "bad" side of town was a catacomb of dark alleys of torn-down buildings, shacks, and cardboard lean-tos. I guess we were lucky. Or, as lucky as any orphan can be.
You see, Satan City had no strong foundations to keep it prosperous. It was balancing on one pillar, just the fame of one man, Mr. Hercule Satan, champion and savior of the world, over 300 years ago. Once he died, so did Satan City. As it lost it's trademark man, it lost popularity, and people flocked to more prosperous cities like Western Capital, home of Capsule Corp, the longest-lasting company in the history of the world.
But, back to me. Most thirteen-year-olds didn't have jobs, but I did. Not a real one, I just washed dishes at the orphanage's cafeteria every night. It was Ms. Well's idea. She was one of the orphanage "mothers". I ate about twice as much as any other kid, and the kitchen staff was lacking. I agreed, having nothing else to do, being the outsider I was. In fact, I actually enjoyed the job. Not the actual work, but the privacy. You don't get much of that in a two-story building with over a hundred kids. Sometimes, Ann would come in, and we would talk while I worked. I think I would have done it even if I didn't get paid. After a few weeks of washing, I got my first paycheck for eleven zeni and twenty-seven cents. Ms. Well suggested that I begin a checking account at the bank.
That's how this decisive day began. On the bus, to the bank, with Ann sitting next to me. We sat in silence for most of the ride, just watching the city go by. That's one of the things I liked best about her, we didn't have to always talk, and we could just enjoy each other's company. She was staring out the window, and I was staring at her. I watched the how her shoulder-length light-brown hair bounced as the bus bounced. I watched her soft eyes move as she watched what ever was outside.
I began to think of the dream I had the other night. In that dream, we had kissed. I didn't remember much else, but I remembered that part as if it had happened. I wondered if we would ever really kiss, or if we would just be friends our entire lives. I had never really thought about it before, but I was thirteen now, and in some cultures, that was the age of manhood. I had never realized just how beautiful she was.
She turned around in the middle of my thoughts, and looked right into my eyes, as if she read my mind. I felt my cheeks redden.
"There's another family out there." She said, with a dreamy look in her eyes. She said that almost every time she saw one. I guess, having had a family before, however bad, had made her miss having one, and she longed to have on again. Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a chance. Most families look for babies, not thirteen-year-old girls. For me, life was the orphanage, the only one I had ever known. I never longed for a family, not really.
"Yep." I sighed; more relived that she didn't seem to notice that I was blushing.
"Do you think we'll ever have a family?" she asked, still looking into my eyes. I wasn't sure what she meant by that. Did she mean us, together, or get adopted, or what? I just shrugged, and began to study the man's head in front of me.
"I had a nightmare last night." She stated.
"Oh, really?" I said, raising my eyebrows.
"Yeah, it was scary. I think that I died in it." She said, her voice starting to quiver.
"Hey, it was just a dream." I said, and put my arm around her, trying my best to comfort her.
"But, I've heard that dreams can tell you what's going to happen, like a premonition, or something." She said, as she moved next to me, and put her head on my shoulder.
"It was just a dream." I repeated. "That other stuff is just crap." I felt her nod on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you." I said, softening my voice as much as possible.
"Your right, I've just got a bad feeling, you know." She said.
"Yeah, I know." I said. We didn't speak again until we came to our stop. I was glad. My stomach felt like it was tied into about a trillion knots. If she spoke again, I probably would have just started jumbling my speech and looked like a total idiot.
So, we just sat there like that, with her next to me, with my arm over her, for about ten minutes. Then, we slowly lurched forward, as the bus came to a stop. 2nd avenue, our stop.
We climbed out of the bus, and began walking down the street. My stomach was still fluttering around a little bit, and I tried to distract myself by studying the sights of the street. The last thing I wanted to do was act weird in front of Ann. I slowed my pace as I watched a man and a woman having a huge argument across the street. Ann didn't seem to notice, and walked a head of me.
Not looking where I was going, I stumbled on a crack in the sidewalk, but managed to catch myself before my face was planted into the cement. I looked up, and there was Ann's. "backside" in front of me. My face was probably as red as any tomato at that point. She turned around, her hair flowing beautifully in front of her face.
"Are you O.K., Celic?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, trying to hide my embarrassment, "I just tripped, I'm fine." Then she turned around and began walking again. That was my second potentially embarrassing situation that day! I made sure I was watching where I was stepping from then on, and I stayed at Ann's side, just incase.
We made it to the bank without another incident. The wall facing the street was completely made up of windows, and it made it look kind of classy, and very out of place in Satan City. I opened the glass door for Ann, and then went inside.
There were two tellers, both with lines. I went to the shortest line. In front of me was some woman wearing skimpy clothes, and an old couple at the counter, who seemed to be having trouble with a check or something.
"So, are you going to buy me something?" Ann asked sweetly.
"I don't know. I've only got like twelve zeni. What can I buy with that?" I asked.
"You can buy me ice cream." She stated. I rolled my eyes.
"What makes you think that I'll spend my hard-earned money on you?" I asked, smirking. Ann let a "hmp" and playfully shoved me. I grinned and shoved her back.
"Jerk." She mumbled. I nodded.
"I'll buy you all the ice cream you want, as long as it's under eleven zeni." I said.
"Well, thank you." She said. Then she gave me a peck on the cheek. My heart stopped. I didn't know if it meant anything, but I grinned just the same. Then my stomach went into a flurry of that butterfly feeling. But it was different then before. It felt almost sick, like when you are going do something you really don't want to do, like your scared. I grabbed my stomach in pain. Ann looked at me out of the corner of her eye.
Then there was a loud slam behind me, and I turned around. There were three guys in ski masks, each waving a gun in the air! I stood there, stunned. The men moved forward, pushing us out of their way.
"Everyone back up to the wall." One of the guys shouted, waving his gun at us. I grabbed Ann and began to back away. We hit the wall and slid down in a crouching position. Next to me, I felt Ann trembling. I looked at her, and saw she was crying. Those beautiful eyes, they were sad! Hate ran through me, hating them for making those beautiful eyes red with tears.
"Don't worry," I whispered as I pulled her close, hugging her tightly, "I won't let them hurt you." I barely heard her whimper. I looked up at the three men, and saw one of them holding a paper sack in his out-stretched arms.
"Give me all the money." He demanded, the others pointing their guns at the teller.
"It.it's in the safe." She stuttered, her face white from fear.
"Fine." Said the one with the bag. He pointed to the man at his right. "Your gonna take him to the safe, and then your gonna stuff this bag." He said. The teller nodded slightly. She took him through a door on the other side of the counter.
I heard a moan coming from my right. I glanced over, and saw the old woman, huddling with her husband. *They're just like us!* I realized. I looked up at the two men left in the room. Anger and hate rushed through me, as I clenched my fists, trying to contain myself, for Ann's sake. *Those bastards! What right do they have to do this to us!*
My heart quickened, my breaths became shallow and methodic. I clenched my teeth so hard my gums hurt. The only thing that kept me calm was Ann's soft whimpering. She was terrified! They wouldn't touch her! I looked down at her. She was too beautiful, too good, and too nice to be in this situation. So much had happened to her already!
*I love her, and nothing will happen to her!* I thought. It was no revelation, no great surprise, just the fact, just the truth.
Then the man and the teller came back into the room, with the paper sack budging. The man's eyes were alive with excitement. I could hear him giggling. I was now almost shaking with rage. The trio, with their guns still pointed at us, moved toward the exit. The one with the money looked back, out the windows, and almost dropped the bag.
"Shit!" He yelled, and jumped around. The others jumped with him. There, parked outside of the bank, was a whole squadron of police cars, with the police climbing out of them.
"Damn it!" the one in the middle. He looked at the other one not carrying the money.
"Get a hostage, quick!" He yelled at the man.
He nodded and grabbed the old lady to my right. The lady screamed as the man forced her up. The other one grabbed blindly, taking the first person he came into contact with. Ann. She screamed in terror as she was hoisted up to her feet.
"NO!" I screamed, and lunged for the man. BAM! I was knocked back by the man's fist. I thudded to the floor, my head screaming in pain. The man pulled back the hammer of the gun with a click, and put it against Ann's neck.
"Try that again." The bastard cooed, "I'd love to see you try." I saw the same gleam in his eye as the man with the bag. I knew he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. So I sat there, in cold fury, completely and utterly hating him, and myself for being so helpless.
I looked into Ann's eyes. Tears were streaming down her face. She looked at me, her eyes begging me to help her. My heart was breaking in two.
The three advanced forward, toward the door, toward the police. The man with the old lady was in the lead, followed by the one with the money, then the man carrying Ann. It seemed to take them an eternity to take each step, as I watched them, with an unending fury. I hated them. I loved Ann. I knew no more, and no less.
BAM! There was muffled explosion outside, then the cracking of glass, then and the thud of a body hitting the floor. One of the police had fired, and shot the man holding the old lady. She wailed as she lost her balance and fell to the floor, next to the man now with a bullet hole in his chest.
"What the fuck do you think your doing!?" The man carrying Ann yelled. Then, before I realized what was happening, he raised the gun to Ann's head.
BANG!
The sound was explosive. It was a lot louder then the guns on T.V. Then the world went silent. I heard nothing, just saw them. Watched as the man released his grip on Ann, saw her eyes open wide, in surprise, horror, or just the realization that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I saw in slow motion as she fell, almost elegantly to the floor. She hit the floor, bounced once, and then stopped, not moving. Just lying there on the floor, motionless.
It took me a moment to realize what had happened. It slowly crept into my mind. Ann was dead? No, that was impossible. He killed her. NO! Ann's dead, he killed her, Ann's dead, he killed her. It kept rushing through my brain, a torrent of the same five words, trying to penetrate the barrier of disbelief. I was hit with a flashback from the bus. Her head was on my shoulder, and I told her I would take care of her.
Then I saw it. Ann had a hole in her head. Blood was leaking out of it. She was dead.
"NOOOOOOOO!" My anger exploded out of me, almost seeming to manifest it's self into another being that took control of my body. I saw the man, still holding the gun in the same position as when he shot. HE KILLED HER! I told her I would take care of her! I couldn't fulfill my promise to her! Because of him! I saw only him; he was my only target, my only reason on Earth. I was going to make him suffer! My god, how he would suffer.
I leaped up, screaming in hate, and rage. Tears of grief sprang from my eyes freely, running down my cheeks. I ran at the man, but the other one, the one with the money, was between us. Too bad for him.
Before he could react, I clenched my right hand into a fist, and swung at him, hitting him with a backhand. He let the bag go as he literally flew into the glass wall, which shattered on impact. His upper body made it out of the building, but the shards of glass he landed on cut his legs to ribbons. Not that he mattered. All I wanted was to reach the one who killed Ann.
If I hadn't been in such a rage, I would have found what I had done strange, to say the least. I had always been pretty strong for my age, but never strong enough to actually send someone flying like I did.
But that didn't matter. I was closing in on my goal. I saw red, and he was in the center of my vision. A seething hate took over me, and I clenched my fist, raised it, and leapt at him. I hit him square in the face with everything I had. He flew back, and thudded against the wall, creating a dent in it.
That wasn't enough. I began to run at him again. He raised his hand, which still contained the gun. The same gun that killed Ann. He pulled back the hammer, and squeezed the trigger.
I felt a sudden, sharp pain in my left shoulder. The bullet had hit me, but hadn't killed me. Paying no mind to my injury, which had hardly even stopped my momentum, I landed on him, and began to pummel him. I paid no mind to the fact that I couldn't use my left arm, I just hit him. Raising my fist, I let it drop on his head, again, and again, and again. He raised his now bloody hands weakly, trying to fend off my attack.
*Does he want mercy?! What mercy does he deserve? What mercy did that bastard show Ann? None!* these thoughts infuriated me. I raised my hand, and screamed as I slammed my fist down on his head as hard as I could possibly manage.
CRACK!
I suddenly realized that my hand was actually in an indention in the top of the mask. I pulled my fist away, to find it covered in blood, and specks of flesh and bone. I was suddenly aware to the pain shooting up and down my left arm, which was now drenched in my blood.
My breathing slowed, as did my heart. But the tears still came. Tears of hate, of grief. I looked around. Everyone was starring at me in shock and disbelief. I looked outside. The police were just as stunned as everyone else. I realized that everything had only happened in a few seconds.
I looked down. There was Ann. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Her hair partially covered her face, but it all added to the beauty. She just didn't look dead.
*Run*
The thought just entered my head, and I realized it was right. I sprinted toward the door, and slammed into it with my good shoulder. It slammed into the side of the wall with a loud crash. I sprinted past the stunned police, into the alleys. I ran. I ran from what had happened, what I had done. I had no idea where to, but I ran.