It's time to get Chapter 3 underway. A fight be coming hard, so enjoy the show.
The town of Dover was under attack. Civilians were on the run as something monstrous was rampaging through the town. Cars were scatters across the road either on fire of flipped onto their roofs. Several department stores and other such buildings had their windows shatters. People were panicking and the reason soon became clear; a large bipedal creature was stomping down the street. It seemed to have the hulking body of a man, but it walked on hooves rather than human feet. Its head was anything but human, instead resembling a bull's head complete with massive horns. It huffed puffs of smoke out from its nostrils as it stomped along, knocking any objects out of its way and that included unfortunate civilians.
It wasn't long before the Dover Police arrived at the scene. John Mercer, who was the Police Captain and Corey's father, took in the scenario and couldn't believe his eyes. Many of his fellow officers had the same horrified expression at what they were witnessing. They didn't have time to process it all when the bestial creature hurled a truck into the air. The truck sailed over the gathered cops and crashed right into the path of an unlucky police cruiser that was just arriving. The cruiser swerved and crashed into a tree, but the occupants inside managed to survive if only by the skin of their teeth.
Amid the chaos, John Mercer, who was both Captain of the Dover Police and Corey's father, was moving through the blockade of police vehicles. A large number of his fellow officers had taken cover and were firing their guns at the hulking beast. They weren't even managing to get its attention let alone hurt it, but the beast was aware and responded by tossing objects at the blockade. At least a handful of officers was injured by the oncoming debris while others barely managed to evade harm. John pushed ahead until he reached the front of the blockade where another officer was waiting.
"Cullen, talk to me." John shouted.
Francine Cullen was only a few years into her career as a police officer, and she was feeling out of her depth. "We've managed to evacuate most of the civilians in the area, but we're still getting scattered reports of other people trapped in the buildings."
Another officer approached John and Cullen; he was noticeably older than Cullen but younger than John himself. "Captain, fire department's just arrived and making moves to help any civilians."
"Okay, Donaldson; You and Cullen help coordinate search and rescue with Dover FD," John ordered, and Cullen and Donaldson rushed off to carry their orders. "The rest of you; I need officers in those buildings escorting any civilians underground. Keep them off the streets. Someone get me a parameter at least two blocks out. We have to keep this thing contained."
"Captain, heads up!" one of the officers shouted.
John looked up and saw a car in midair and coming straight for the blockade. Instinctively, the police ducked down as the car flew overhead. It slammed on top of a police car and both were utterly destroyed. John didn't know how to react, but that was hardly his biggest concern when he looked back at the scene. There was a little girl in the midst of the carnage, crying and shaking while the monster continued its rampage.
John knew he had to act fast and hopped the blockade. He bolted straight toward the crying child and hoped to God that the monster wouldn't notice him. He just managed to reach the girl and picked her up, but that was when their luck ran out. The monster noticed them and snorted in pure animalistic fury. John wasted no time and made a break for the blockade, and then without warning, a pickup truck crashed right from of their path. John and the girl had to drop down as a result of the impact, and the vehicle itself caught fire and exploded. The blast wasn't life threatening, but John was still hurt from his fall while protecting the girl.
The monster began stalking toward the two humans. John caught sight of it and pulled his gun out. He fired a few shots, and the monster didn't even flinch. It continued forward even as John kept shooting until his rounds were spent. The officer just beyond the blockade opened fire on the monster but the bullets couldn't make a dent. The monster let out a frightening bellow as it picked up the flaming truck and lifted it over its head. It was going to crush both Jon and the girl, and there was nothing John could do but hold the girl closely.
"What's your name?" he asked.
Under the weeping, she replied, "Gabriela."
With a heavy heart, John said to Gabriela, "Close your eyes."
The monster roared almost triumphantly just as it brought the truck down on its victims. From the police blockade, there was next to nothing the police could do but watch in horror. They saw how the truck came down hard and halted with a thunderous crash. The officers and the civilians that were lucky enough to be rescued all knew they witnessed a brutal moment. But something seemed different. The destroyed truck seemed like it was stopped short of its intended impact. The monster itself appeared to be struggling against something, even growling in anger.
John had his eyes shut tightly all while he held onto little Gabriela. They were supposed to be dead, but they were still breathing. John could hear the apparent struggle of the monster against something else, something stronger. He opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he was seeing. A man clad in silver armor stood between John and the monster, and he was holding the truck back from crushing John and Gabriela. He seem to almost dig his heels into the asphalt as he held back against the monster, who snorted in anger. The man turned his head slightly but didn't completely show his face.
"Captain Mercer?" he shouted.
John was surprised to hear his name. "You know me?"
"Get out of here. Now!"
John had no time to waste in asking questions. He grabbed Gabriela and jumped into the police blockade, and he handed the girl to another officer. John looked back at the man who'd only just appeared to help him and the girl, watching him hold the monster back. There was something familiar about him. John had no idea that his savior was Corey, his own son. That couldn't be possible; this man is silver armor looked nothing like Corey. But there was still no time to wonder as John continued to push forward into the blockade and get the little girl to safety.
John never realized that he was actually right. It was Corey who had saved him and the girl, but he been changed into someone else. It was Corey in this new form, almost akin to a superhero, who was fighting against the monster that threatened his father. Corey held his ground against the monster and the weight of the destroyed truck, practically digging his heels into the ground. He was not only holding his own but he was pushing back with strength he never knew he had in him. In the end, Corey won the initial struggle and pushed the truck straight into the monster's face and staggered the thing. He followed up with and land a wild haymaker... which only served to anger the monster.
The monster grabbed hold of Corey, lifted him off the ground and roared in his face. Then, the monster hurled Corey to one side, and Corey crashed through the window of a furniture store. Debris flew everywhere, chairs and tables were shattered. Corey landed in the rubble that was once a countertop. He laid there what felt like an eternity, yet his eyes were wide open enough to be compared to saucers. His breathing was light and quick, like he couldn't believe what just happened to him.
Finally, Corey was just barely able to sit up in the rubble and he let out an audible, "Ow!"
Athena appeared in her owl form and perched herself on the remains of the countertop. "Corey, are you alright?"
Corey looked up incredulously at the bird and snarled, "I'm just fucking dandy."
Athena retained her composure and told Corey, "That is the Minotaur, a creature with the body of a man but the head of a bull, that once dwelt in the center of a great Labyrinth until its defeat at the hands of the Athenian hero Theseus."
"Yeah, kind of figured that out," Corey said with a wince when he looked back outside, seeing the Minotaur, as Athena called it, still carrying on with its rampage. "How do I stop that thing?"
Athena flew to another perch so she had better view of the Minotaur, before she looked to Corey and said to him, "You are the Incarnate of Zeus now. You hold command over the skies, thunder and lightning. Use those gifts, harness them. You can do this."
"Easy for you to say," Corey mused just before he got up and rushed back outside where the Minotaur was still on a warpath. "Hey, Ferdinand! I'm still standing."
The Minotaur's attention was drawn to Corey, snorting in annoyance and rage. Corey suddenly started having second thoughts about his actions, but he looked to where his father was standing without the police blockade. He wondered if John knew it was his own son standing up to this thing that was about to kill him. There was no turning back now. The Minotaur roared and charged straight for Corey, and Corey attempted to run away but the Minotaur was quicker and swiftly backhanded Corey away. Corey slammed back first into a tree with enough force to uproot it.
Corey dropped to the ground and tried to regain his breath, but he hadn't a chance to do so when he was forcefully pulled up into the air. A moment later, Corey was slammed right back into the ground with a crushing thud and picked back up again. The Minotaur had Corey by his left leg and was repeatedly slamming him into the ground. After several brutal minutes, the Minotaur hoisted Corey upside down and snarled in his face before tossing him across the street and into a park van. The force was enough to send the van tumbling to one side, and Corey himself fell all the way to other side of the wrecked vehicle.
John was behind the blockade with the rest of the police watching the entire scene unfold, all as the Minotaur stalked its prey. It picked up the mysterious stranger that saved John and the girl and tossed further away from the blockade. John winced at every move made against his savior, and all the while, he was wondering why. He had no idea who this guy was that saved him, but he couldn't shake off the idea of that there was something familiar about him. Meanwhile, the Minotaur stood over the man and started pummeling him into submission. John could almost feel every blow that the mysterious man was given and, for a half second, the man looked right at John and seemed to mouth a single word. It seemed to be a familiar, single-syllable word.
Something suddenly snapped in John, and he hopped the blockade with his gun drawn. The officers under his command tried and failed to stop him. He took several shots at the Minotaur, but the shots seemed to fail at drawing its attention. John looked back at his officers, seeing one holding a semiautomatic rifle. He quickly grabbed the rifle and fired at the beast again. This time, the Minotaur had it attention drawn to John. In response to the sudden danger, the remaining police officers drew their guns and fired at the Minotaur, which then stalked toward them.
Corey meanwhile tried to recover, seeing his father facing off against the Minotaur. "Dad!"
John kept firing his rifle as the Minotaur drew closer, right up until it was looming over him. The rifle was exhausted of rounds, and John looked up at the monster. He wasn't afraid, standing his ground. In those last moments, he thought about his family. If they his was his end, he hoped they would survive without him. The Minotaur reared its giants fist back, ready to deliver the fatal blow. Then, the unexpected sound of thunder sounded. A streak of lightning struck down behind the Minotaur, right where it had left its first prey. More lightning strikes came down from storm clouds that weren't even there only moments ago.
Turning to where the lightning was striking down, the Minotaur saw Corey standing amid the scene. Corey's eyes were closed shut, but his fists were tightly clenched. A faint, swirling wind tunnel seemed to form around him. He soon opened his eyes, but the pupils appeared to be gone and replaced with white light. Tiny bolts of lightning stretched outward. He had an angry but determined expression, as though the threat upon his father's life awakened something within him. The Minotaur roared in protest, all while Corey beckoned the beast to him.
The Minotaur roared even louder than it had done before, and it charged straight for Corey who didn't attempt to move. Thunder sounded and lightning flashed across the sky as the Minotaur closed the distance until it was almost right on top of Corey, who still hadn't moved. Its giant horns pointed straight ahead, the Minotaur was poised to impale Corey. But it was instead halted in place, the horns in the hands of their would-be victim. Corey literally had the bull by the horns, all while the Minotaur struggled against him. It snorted loudly, but Corey was seemingly unfazed, his eyes pure white with streaks of lightning shooting out from them.
"You shouldn't have threatened my father." Corey said, his voice deeper and more authoritative, as though he were someone else entirely.
With a swift and brutal motion, Corey snapped the horns off the Minotaur's head. The Minotaur backed away and roared in loud outrage and protest, holding the stumps where the horns used to be. Corey stood stoically holding those very same protrusions in his hands. The Minotaur bellowed and charged forward, moving to tear Corey apart with its bare hands. Corey was ready and, just as the Minotaur was on him, he drove the horns directly into its abdomen. The Minotaur's rage turned to shock and confusion, perhaps even fear.
Corey back away, seemingly unmoved by his actions. A loud crash of thunder sounded from above, and lightning streaked across the skies once more. With his eyes shut, Corey outstretched his arms to either side and the darkened skies seemed to grow angrier with more lightning streaking everywhere. By that point, the Minotaur prepared to attack. It dug its hooves into the asphalt and then, it charged headlong straight for Corey, who seemed to be completely obvious to the danger.
Except, he wasn't. At the very moment that the Minotaur was on top of him, Corey opened his eyes that glowed an even more brilliant white light. He threw his previously outstretched arms straight up overhead and an extremely loud clash of thunder rang out across the town. Then he brought his arms straight back down and a massive bolt of lightning came straight down from the skies. The giant lightning bolt struck down atop the Minotaur that was in the direct path of it. A monstrous roar came from the beast as it was being electrocuted, all while Corey pressed his attack. He gritted his teeth as the Minotaur struggled against the lightning. The lightning proved too much, and the Minotaur seemed to vanish in the lightning. It let out one final shiver inducing bellow until, finally, the lightning subsided and there was nothing left of the beast. Only a crater remained where the Minotaur stood.
The was silence for a moment before another rumble of thunder sounded. It unexpectedly started raining heavily, soaking the area in a downpour of water. Amid the chaotic scene, John stepped forward toward where the Minotaur used to be. The mysterious man who saved him stood just beyond the crater. Instinctively or maybe out of his own sense of duty, John drew his gun and pointed it at the mysterious man. The heavy rain made it difficult to see his face, but John was fully intent on getting answers.
"Down on the ground! Hands behind your head!" John shouted, moving closer as he kept his gun on the mysterious man.
On the other side of the confrontation, a weary and still confused Corey whispered, "Sorry, Dad."
John moved closer toward the man with his gun pointed directly at him, stopping momentarily to catch a breath. The man didn't move, and John continued his approach. He kept his gun on the man, his years of training telling him to arrest his supposed savior. But his instincts told him something else entirely. John didn't know why, but he was convinced that the mysterious man was not an enemy. As John was moving closer and closer toward his target, he was gradually and subconsciously lowering his gun.
Another thunderous boom sounded and the heavy rain seemed to get heavier. It was so heavy that it made it difficult to see straight for John. The man stood amidst the downpour right up until another flash of lightning streaked across the dark, cloudy skies. A moment later and to John's shock, the man was gone. The heavy rain instantly began to subside until it lightened significantly, in a way eventually downgrading to a light shower. John's pace quickened as he approached the area where the mysterious man once stood, being careful not to trip and fall into the crater left behind.
John reached the exact spot where the mysterious man was standing moments ago, and he was left in a state of perplexed astonishment. He took to scanning the immediate vicinity for any sign of the man, but found nothing. He peered over into the crater where the Minotaur stood before it was killed and still found nothing. It was by that point that John had finally given up on the search and, looking toward the blockade, he was left to wonder who was this man that saved his life and, more importantly, why did he seem so familiar.
Atop a nearby rooftop, Corey watched his father. It was in that moment that startled realization washed over him. He looked at his hands, feeling them shaking ever so slightly. Corey remembered how he had the horns of the Minotaur in his grip before he killed the monster. He could feel a mild case of hyperventilation all while his eyes darted back and forth. As he glanced back at the scene, Corey was left with more questions than answers and he knew that Athena had those answers. In that moment, Corey had no idea that he was being watched, not be Athena this time, but by someone else. A hooded figure was surveying the scene from afar, and they vanished into the night before Corey realized it.
Confused and worried, all Corey could do was look down at his still trembling and wonder aloud, "What's happening to me?"
Author's Note: This brings Chapter 3 to a close, with our young protagonist coming to terms with his newfound identity and abilities. I hope it's to your liking, so leave some feedback and I'll catch you later. Peace.