Chapter 2

I awoke to the sound of voices. I was still in the Business car. There was a crowd surrounding the car. Firefighters were trying to rescue me. I managed to unfasten my seatbelt and crawl out.

"Sir are you alright?", asked a paramedic.

"I'm fine! I need to get to work!", I said.

"We have notified them. They have found someone to replace you. You need to go to the hospital to get a check up."

"I'm fine!"

"Its part of protocol. You need to get checked out!"

"Fine."

I was put in a blue flashing ambulance and escorted to the hospital. Upon arrival, I was rushed to the ER. They had me do a few tests, then I was free to go. I called a taxi. He drove me home. I lived in a small apartment. I had a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Tonight was just a total mess. I opened the door and went inside. I fell down on my bed. Right as I began falling asleep, my phone rung.

"Hello?", I said lackadaisically.

"Will are you okay?", Margaret asked.

"I'm fine. Just something strange happened."

"I know. Its on the news. A witness said there was a man. He had shot a red beam at you. You dodged it. But then he lifted the car up. What was up with that?"

"I don't know. I am just tired. How are you?"

"Okay. Its pretty slow here. I can come over later if you want", she said.

"I'm okay. I think rest is what I need. Especially after tonight."

"Rest well. Talk to you later."

I put the phone down. I got up and looked underneath my bed. There was a brown trunk. Inside it was a spare Superhero suit. Along with it was my sword. I put it on and left.

I sat on top of a Pet Store. Marco's was about seventy yards away from it. I could see Margret closing up the store. As she locked the door, five guys approached her. I jumped from the roof and snuck towards them.

"Hey cutie, you alone?", asked one guy.

Margret tried running towards her car. The guys managed to grab ahold of her.

"Let me go!", she demanded.

"We just want to talk cutie."

One of the guys pulled out a knife. He had a black ski mask on.

"I don't have anything", Margret cried.

"HEY!", I yelled.

The men looked up. They say me.

"Its him!", said one of them. They pulled out guns.

I drew my sword. They opened fired. The bullets ricocheted off the blade. I kicked one to the ground. The others charged at me. I round house kicked one guy. He let out a grunt. One guy snuck up behind me and stabbed me with a knife. I recoiled. I quickly turned around and slashed him. He fell down crying out. The last two guys fled. Margret was standing in shock. I fell to my knees.

"Are you okay?", I asked.

"I'm fine. You saved me", Margret exclaimed.

"Get home. Its late to be out now", I said as I staggered away. I made my way back to my apartment. I went in the bathroom and grabbed my first aid kit. It wasn't fun dabbing the cut with alcohol. But it was cleaned and covered. I sat on my bed. My phone rang.

"Hello?", I asked, trying my best to sound tired.

"Will do you have time tomorrow morning?", she asked.

"Yes", I replied.

"Meet me at Starbucks on Fifth!"

She hung up. I laid down and fell asleep. I had a dream about the red beam guy. Who was he? What did he want?

I met Margret at Starbucks the next morning. She was sitting quietly.

"Hey", I said as I sat facing her.

"Hi. I need to tell you something. It was about last night. I was almost assaulted by five guys in black", she said.

"Are you okay?"

"I am. Thanks to The Vigilante."

"He was there? How cool is that?", I said excitedly.

"I know. He just took care of them. He was really cool. I think its awesome that someone is taking care of these creeps. But he isn't a bad guy."

"Of course he isn't. I bet those guys deserved it."

Margret took a sip of her coffee. She seemed on edge.

"Are you okay? You were in an accident", she asked.

"I am fine. That guy. He wasn't human. He tried to kill me!", I said in anger.

I winced in pain. The cut was starting to bleed again.

"You okay?", Margret asked.

"Yeah. Uh, I need to go to the bathroom."

I got up. I entered the bathroom. The cut was bleeding rapidly. I ran some cold water and removed the bandage. With a wet paper towel, I applied pressure on the cut. The bleeding stopped. I put my shirt on and left. Margret was staring out the window.

"Everything will be fine Margret", I insisted.

"He saved my life. I wish I could tell him how thankful I am", she replied.

"I'm sure he already knows how thankful you are."

"I guess you're right. Are you available to come over tonight? I don't feel safe alone."

"Sure."

"You are a great friend Will. Don't change", she said as she got up and hugged me.

"What about your boyfriend? Can't he help?", I asked.

She was silent. She was hiding something.

"He drinks a lot. He..isn't that great when he is drunk. He sometimes loses his temper and.."

"And what?", I asked.

"Just come over tonight. Around five", she said as she left.

I was in shock. Her boyfriend hits her!! I left Starbucks. There were three firetrucks speeding down the road. I ran after them. There was a house on fire. The worse part about it was that people were screaming inside it.

"How many people are in there?", I asked.

"Not sure. We were given orders to not go in. The fire is too much. We could die in there", said a firefighter.

I made my way to the back of the building. I had my suit under my clothes. I put my mask on and entered the back of the building.

" Anyone in here?", I asked.

"HELP!", screamed two children.

I saw them. They were crying in a corner. I grabbed both of them and left the building. I then ran back in. The first floor was cleared. I ran to the second. There was one person. They were trapped under some rubble.

"HELP SEÑOR!", said the guy.

I managed to clear the rubble and rescue him. Once he was outside, I made my way inside again. The third floor was burning rapidly. There was a baby in its crib. It was crying. Along with it was its mom. She was crying and praying. Pieces of the roof was falling down.

"Please. Get me out of here!!", the lady cried.

The flames grew around us. The only other way out was to jump from the third floor.

The lady had the baby in her hand.

"Ma'am, I need you to grab ahold of me and hold on tight!", I said.

I began coughing. The smoke was surrounding us. The lady held on to me, along with the baby.

"On three, I'm going to jump out the building. Are you ready?", I asked.

"Just do it!!", she yelled.

"THREE!!", I yelled as I jumped.

We fell from the building as the third floor exploded. Luckily the firefighters had been prepared to catch us. The lady and the baby were okay. I had cleared the entire building.

"God bless you Vigilante!", she said as she kissed her baby.

I left the scene. I headed home to shower. The smell of smoke had surrounded my body. I got in my apartment and took off my suit. I hopped in the shower and scrubbed myself with Axe body wash. After about fifteen minutes of scrubbing, I got out and dried myself off and got dressed. I went in the kitchen and made myself a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. As I ate it, I brought my clothes to the laundromat. While washing them, I decided to nap. I dreamt of The Red Beam Guy. He was the guy I had delivered the pizza to. I opened my eyes. The dryer had stopped. My suit smelled fresh. Along with my suit was some other clothes.

I checked the time. It was a quarter after five.

"Shit!", I swore as I left.

I got in my car and drove to Margaret's house. I called her. There was no answer. I called again. Same response. I pulled up to her house and got out of the car. I ran to the front door. The door was locked. I heard glass break and yelling. With a swift kick to the door, it burst open. Margret was lying on the ground. Her boyfriend was standing over her.

"Who the fuck are you?", he asked.

Margret was half conscious. I tackled her boyfriend to the ground.

"Get off of me!!", he yelled.

"YOU DON'T GET DRUNK!! YOU DON'T HIT A WOMAN!! ESPECIALLY YOUR GIRLFRIEND!!", I yelled as I threw punches at him.

He managed to knock me off him. He was a weight lifter. He punched me in the face. I dodged his next hit.

"You stay out of our business!", he yelled.

I left the house. I put Margret in the passenger seat of my car. I then grabbed my suit. Margret awoke.

"What's going on?", she asked.

"I will explain everything. You stay here!", I said as I left.

I changed behind the house. Her boyfriend had a gun in his hand.

"You want to fight me?", he asked as he pointed the gun at me.

"You treat no girl like that!", I said.

He put his finger on the trigger. I quickly grabbed the gun from his hand. He threw a punch at me. I ducked. I grabbed him and slammed him on the ground. He laid still. I felt his pulse. He was alive but unconscious.

I heard a gun click behind me. I turned around. Margret was standing there with the gun pointed at me.

"Take another step and I will end you!", she said.

"What did I do?", I asked.

"How did you know this would happen?", she asked.

I didn't know what to say. I knew if I told her, she would look at me differently.

"I am just doing my job!", I said as I ran away.

I returned a few seconds later.

"Margaret!!", I said.

She dropped the gun. Her hands were trembling .

"Are you okay?"

"The Vigilante. He saved me. He knew I would be in danger. How did he know it?", she cried.

"You have a guardian I suppose", I said.

"We can stay at my place. You'll be safe", I suggested.

She got back in the car. I got in and turned it on. I pulled out the driveway and headed home.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?", I asked.

"My arm is bruised but I'll live. Where were you?", she asked.

"My car was making funny noises. So I had to pull over and fix it."

I parked in front of my apartment and opened the passenger door. I unlocked the apartment door and went inside. Margret was surprised that it was so small inside.

"Make yourself at home", I said.

"Is this seriously where you live?", she asked.

"Yes. Yes it is. With what I get paid, this is enough to keep a roof over my head."

"Well it is better than nothing."

"I'll be back. I need to go get my laundry out of the car", I said.

I went out and opened my car door. I made sure the coast was clear before I put my suit in the basket. I decided to leave my sword in the car. I walked back in the apartment. Margret was waiting for me. She had my chest on my bed.

"You are him", she said.

My heart raced. She knew who I was. She is going to get the authorities after me.

"I can explain", I said.

"You saved me twice", she said as she hugged me.

"Aren't you going to call the authorities?", I asked.

"Why would I? You are a hero. This is so fucking cool", she said ecstatically.

"Yeah. But no one must know who I am. I have to protect the ones I love. Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I promise", she said.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Can I be your sidekick?", she asked.

"I work alone."

"But you know, you'll need one. We are pretty much sidekicks at work. You can train me. Please!", she urged.

"Fine. We start tomorrow", I said as I went to the bathroom to change.

I laid down. Margaret was next to me.

"Being a hero is no walk in the park. It puts your normal life in a mess."

"So those excuses on why you were late. You were really fighting crime?"

"Yes. I am sorry I lied to you."

Margaret turned around to face me.

"You were protecting people. You were putting your life at stake so they could live theirs."

"That's what the media needs to learn", I said.

Margaret put her face closer to mine.

"Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We need rest", I said as I turned around and closed my eyes.

She kissed my cheek and went to sleep. I knew that I had just put her at risk of getting killed. She was snoring softly. My heart was racing. That Red Beam Guy kept entering my dreams. I need to find out who he is. And what is the meaning behind this.