Chapter 2

They groan gently before opening their eyes.

"Can you hear me?!" I ask while looking into their squinting eyes.

"Get. . . Get me out." They say while grunting in pain. I look back at the people who have gathered around us.

"Anyone have a power that can help us flip this car over gently?!" I yell out. A man races over nodding his head.

"I have super strength." I nod my head and crouch back down by the person.

"Were gonna flip the car over so it is easier to get you out, alright?" He nods his head while slowly loosing conciousness. I nod my head to the man and be grabs the car slowly lifting it.

"When flipping it, we gotta drop it gently to prevent any further injuries." I say while he gets the car up on its side. Reggie races to the other side and raises his arms while holding his hands out. Ice begins to come from the ground.

"Alright, press it against the ice." Reggie says while concentrating. The strange man leans the car on the ice. I walk over to Reggies side and breathe in gently while pressing my hands against the ice. I feel heat radiate throughout my body as the ice slowly begins to melt. I speed up the process until the car id upright and the ambulance is a little ways down the street. I open drivers door and the person reaches out for me. I unbuckle him and bend over so he can place his hand over my shoulder. I gently pull him out and walk him over to the sidewalk placing him down. He shivers while trying to stay warm. I grab his hand gently and send heat to his body making the shivering slowly dissapear. He sighs gently while his eyes flutter closed.

"No sir, you cant fall asleep. You might be suffering from a concussion." I say making him open his eyes a little. He nods his head gently and Reggie helps him lay onto his back making sure his eyes are open. I look over to see the ambulance almost here. I wave my arms in the air to grab there attention. They quickly come to a stop and race out of the car towards the man laying down next to Reggie.

"His car was flipping down the street and stopped by hitting this light pole." I say while leading them to him. They begin checking him out and once I get the chance, I dip taking a secret passage to my house. I climb my back wall and walk theough my back door. My mom greets me with a confused expression. I shake my head.

"Just some stuff." I say while heading up the stairs into my bedroom. I place my backpack down and as I walk past my mirror, i realize all the blood on myself.

"What really happened?" My mom asks while examining me. I shakr my head while grabbing clean clothes from my closet.

"Its someone elses blood. They were in a car crash and I pulled them out." I say while pushing past her.

"Oh dear, are they alright?" My mother asks.

"They will be." I say before realizing.

"Oh, almost forgot." I quickly walk back to my backpack handing her the letter from my principal before heading back towards the bathroom hopping in the shower. When the heat touches my body, it sends a vibration of pleasure throughout my skin. I let out a gentle sigh while brushing my long black hair back. I scrub the soap into my hair gently and throroughly before washing it out.

When I finish washing my body, i begin to dry myself while looking at myself in the mirror. I wipe the fog away and look at the details on my face. My eyes are a light brown and freckles are spread across my nose and cheeks. My hair reaches to my lower back. I get dressed and make my way downstairs where I hear my mother talking to multiple people. I peak down the stair to see Reggie and his parents talking with my mother while eating some food. Reggie looks over at me and I quickly yank my head back. What is he doing here?! He needs to get out of my house!

I stand straight up and walk the rest of the way down the stairs heading into the kitchen where my mom begins to bring out plates and silverware.

"What are they doing here?" I ask my mom while pointing at the people in the other room.

"Oh, they are the sponsors of the agency. We were going to talk about enrolling Reggie in our hero program." I scoff at the thought og goody two shoes being a hero. My mom gently pinches my elbow.

"Be respectful please." She says before putting a smile on her face and heading out with the dishes. I follow her keeping a blank expression and take a seat sitting directly across from Reggie who just smiles at me before taking a sip of his water. He turns his face to the food as we all begin putting some food onto our seperate plates. I slowly eat my food feeling uncomfortable with Reggie in my house. This kid really has some issues.

"What about your daughter?" One of the parents of Reggie asks making me choke on my food.

"Oh, she has no interest in being a hero." My mother replies smiling. Reggie cocks his head towards me.

"Why?" He asks.

"Earlier she-" He starts. I aggressively kick him under the table making him grunt. Shut up! I yell to him in my head. He smirks and I notice my mom glaring at me already knowing what I did.

"She saved someone from a car crash earlier." He says while finishing his food. Oh! You are so getting it. . . I glare at him.

"So, why dont you wanna work for your own agency Hazel?" Reggies mother asks me.

I shrug my shoulders and my mom kicks me under the table clearing her throat.

"I dont see myself being good in the hero course." I lie while faking a smile.

"But Reggie just said you did a good job saving someone from a car earlier, you can be just like your brother. A top tier hero." Her words make anger radiate from my body.

"My brother was, a top tier hero. Doesnt mean I need to be." I say making my mother choke on her water. She covers her mouth with a napkin while she coughs and scowls me. Im definitely gonna get a lecture tonight.

"Well, I hope everything works out for you sweetie." His mother says while smiling and eating more food.

"What are you gonna do as a career then Hazel?" His father asks me while making direct eye contact. He sends chills down my body. He looks intimidating and gives off creepy vibes. Now I see where Reggie gets the creepy personality from. Its sprouting through there family like a wildfire.

"I actually have no plans yet." I say while finishing up my food.

"So why dont you give the hero course a try? It could be good for your growth." I sigh gently.

"I have no interest in being a hero." I say while gripping my empty glass tightly.

"Itd be good for Reggie to have someone his age practicing at the same level in the hero course with him. Id be glad to see you there." I squeeze the glass tighter feeling pressured to join the hero course. I think Reggie notices me suffocating the glass as he quickly changes the topic or so I thought.

"Its okay father. She wouldnt be able to challenge me anyway to become top hero." At that, I clench my glass so tightly it entirely breaks. I look up at Reggie smiling while brushing the glass into my hand to throw it away.

"Fine, you wanna play that game. Lets fight, if i win, you do all my classwork for a month." I spit out.

"Alrighty! Who is ready for dessert?!" My mom says pushing her chair back trying to change the topic.

"Matter of fact, why dont we see who can win a fight right now, when I win, you have to join the hero agency with me." He says. His parents nod there heads agreeing while looking at Reggie who smirks.

"You underestimate me." I says while standing up from the table.

"Outside, now." I say while heading towards the door. My mom grabs my arm tightly while they make thete way outside.

"What are you doing Hazel?!" She whispers angrily.

"Shoving an L in his smug face." I say before pulling my arm back to my side and walking outside. I roll up the sleeves to my long black shirt. Once the colf air touches my skin, it sends chills throughout my body. I begin to heat up my body and small flames come from my finger tips. Reggie laughs before pulling his arms.

"Ladies first." He says while smiling. I scoff.

"Then why arent you going?" He suddenly laughs at my comment and I catch him off guard by kicking my foot forward, twisting my body to keep steady. From my foot, a large gust of fire is sent to him which he blocks with an ice shield.

"We gotra tell everyone this is the day ice beats fire." He smiles while ice begins radiate through the ground. Once the ice grows below me, I loose balance and slip. My palms make a loud smack against the ice as i catch myself.

"Do you conceid?" He asks while smirking. I swipe my leg against the ice easily being able to spin and send a large blaze of fire towards him. He easily skates across the ice dodging it.

"I guess not." He says while charging straight for me. His facial expression entirely changes. He is determined. I let out blasts of fire from my feet melting ice wherever I step. He grabs my arm and wraps his leg around the back of mine trying to make me fall but I use the momentum to flip entirely over and make him fall. He drags me down with him and rolls on top of my making an ice spike form from his hand and presses it against my neck gently.

"I win." He says. I push him off angrily. He stands up and reaches out his hand to help me up. I ignore it and get up on my own and head back into my house annoyed. What have I gotten myself into. . . I cant do the hero course.

"The hero trainees start next Monday." He says while him and his family grab there stuff preparing to leave. My mother hugs both of his parents before they leave our house. My mom locks the door then turns back to me scowling me.

"What was that Hazel Ruth?! What were you thinking talking to them like that?!" I roll my eyes while picking up the dishes and bringing them into the kitchen to be washed.

"The words slipped, not my fault." I say while beginning to wash the dishes while she starts putting the food away.

"This act of yours needs to stop Hazel. Your brother and father have been gone for 2 years already, you need to get over it." She says. I drop the plate I was washing into the sink and turn to look at her.

"I cant just forgive and forget things so easily like you mom!" I yell.

"I didnt get over it easily!!! But at least I accepted it how it is unlike you!!! I cant carry us both for fucking forever Hazel. You changed so fucking much since they died and if you dont stop with this bad ass act, your getting sent to a behavioral school!" She says while her face grows red with anger.

"THEY DIDNT DIE!!! NO BODIES WERE FOUND MOM. HOW CAN YOU IGNORE THAT?!" I scream at her feeling my chest tighten and my heart beat quickly as it pounds against my ribs.

"BECAUSE THATS LIFE HAZEL, DWELL ON THE PAST TOO LONG AND YOULL MISS THE FUTURE!!!" She screams back.

"Im done with this conversation." She says after clearing her throat. I dry off my hands and race up my stairs crawling in my bed and pulling my blanket up over my body. I feel my eyes begin to water as I remeber the last few moments I had with my father and brother. . . We were in the car on our way to the agency. They were gonna put me in the pre-hero enrollment. It was going well until the grip of the tires stopped working on the ice. It happened so fast all I remember was waking up in the car alone. My father and brother gone. The police searched for a mere 4 months before giving up and announcing them as dead.

All across the country people were broken. The top two heroes being taken in one way day was a lot for them. But for me it was more. . . Having my brother and father taken at the same exact time. If they werent heroes, people wouldnt have it out for them and we wouldnt have even been coming back from that stupid agency. If they had taken regular career paths then theyd still be here. I sigh gently while blinking and letting the tears roll down my cheeks onto my pillow soiling it. I wipe my face before letting my body relax into the bed.

Even though I feel comfortable I cant fall asleep. The last thought of my brother and father keeps racing through my head and the time when they were announced dead. It hurt. . . It still hurts. Heroes have been going missing a lot lately and nothing is done about it. Not a single one has been found and they see it as natural but its anything BUT natural. The mafia is growing in size and has been in the dark ever since the heroes started dissapearing. But no, its just some coincidence.

I breathe in heavily closing my eyes tightly trying to clear my head and go to sleep. Even though I am able to clear my head, my heart still hurts. This must be why they call it a ribcage. It keeps our heart, a vicious monster, in. Or others out. . .

Slowly, my body becomes unable to bear the tiredness. My heartbeat slows as my eyelids are weighed down shut. I slowly feel my body grow entirely numb as I voluntarily let the darkness take over me. It only takes a few more minutes before I am fast asleep curled up into a ball with my pillow soaked in my tears. Flashes of my brother smile goes through my mind while I sleep making me smile slightly. I entirely forget he is gone as clips of our past appear. I reach out for him in my dream waking up in real life an realizing. I sigh before pulling my arm back under the blanket and falling back asleep instantly but this time, with no dreams.