《Stopwatch》


 Chapter 1

    I had seen hundreds of fights before but nothing like this. I felt the adrenaline rush through my body as I did my best to hold on. The energy coming from the two protectors made me feel something I had felt many times before, inferior.


    I looked around me only see death and destruction, how had we let it come to this? It¡¯s always easy to talk afterward but I still think we could have seen this coming. Nobody knows the origin of the man we call, The God of Death, his existence is like cancer, that little by little takes over until there is nothing left that can be done to stop it.


    It pains me to think about how powerless I am, to think that the only man who can save us now is the man I hate the most, my father.


    I look around and see people watching the fight. But I can¡¯t get myself to look up, I can¡¯t give him the satisfaction.


    I could see the people around me fighting to stay alive, some stayed and tried to help, while others tried to get away as far as they could. To me there was no doubt, it was impossible, I knew that if my father lost it would be the end of life in the universe.


    Our greed had created a man who¡¯s only mission was to kill. There was no objective, no reason, only death. The counsel tried to fool themselves, but deep in my heart I know, that there was no middle.


    Thinking about the pain he felt right now made me smile. All my life I have seen him manipulate others for power only to lose it all to his own creation.


    My hearing had left me a long time ago, the explosions around me had damaged my hearing to the point I knew that I could properly never hear again. Too fast to be seen and too loud to be heard, is this true power, is this feeling of hopelessness the reason my father works so hard to gain power?


    I knew that the world would never be the same after today, if my father wins, he will use his power to start a war, and if the God of Death wins, we will all die.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    I always felt happy with my choice to never embrace my powers, until today. I know that thinking I could defeat these two monsters even if I tried was preposterous, but a part of me knew it was not impossible.


    The heavy wind around me slowed down and the red clouds overhead started to disappear. I knew the fight was over but didn¡¯t have the stomach to look. I won¡¯t deny my father¡¯s ambition and his hunger for power, but at least there would be a future for now.


    A body fell from the heavens and it felt like the longest minute of my life. I felt my little sister tighten her grip on my arm as the corpse of our father hit the ground. I looked at his body with deep surprise, my father had always been the embodiment of power to me, deep down I never thought he could lose.


    I looked up for the first time, only to see the God of Death hiding his face behind the white mask with only the red penetrating eyes visible. He couldn¡¯t use the same method he had used to kill the humans and was forced to kill use one at the time, which I think he enjoyed. Intelligence had told us that he was properly my age, I wonder how he has the resolve to do all of this, does he feel no fear?


    I looked down at my little sister who had tears in her eyes. ¡°I love you,¡± I said, I knew she couldn¡¯t hear me but it was more for me than for her I guess. I had thousands of brothers and sister but she was the only one I could get along with, she was the most important person in my life.


    She looked up and tried to say something I couldn¡¯t understand, but deep inside I felt she is telling me she loves me or at least I hope so. She tried to run away but I stopped her, I wasn¡¯t willing to give him the satisfaction, I knew he didn¡¯t care, I did it for myself I guess.


    I summoned my trusted stopwatch for the last time and looked at it with tears in my eyes. All the times I had used my abilities for pointless things like kissing a girl and then reverse back time, it was pointless, but back then I felt happy.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the God of Death was standing in front of me. I felt like a little man standing in front of a giant. I don¡¯t know if he did it on purpose or not but I felt happy to go before my little sister. Deep down I knew I was being a coward but I just couldn¡¯t stand it to see her get killed.


    The blow was fast and swift and just like that my life had come to an end. As I was lying there bleeding I could feel warmthin the palm of my hand. To think that the first time, the time mechanisms activates is the day I die.

 Chapter 2

    I opened my eyes and the black clouds had changed into white once. The screams had changed into children laughing and despair had changed into hope.


    I was sitting on my bike like every morning, going to school. For a moment I forgot about everything else and enjoyed the fresh wind brushing against my face and the sun shining.


    I didn¡¯t know what date it was but I was happy to be back, was this heaven, Was I given the chance to enjoy life again? Whatever it was I didn¡¯t want to think about it, I just wanted to enjoy the day. After months of death and fear, it felt good to have no worries. It felt like waking up from a bad dream and all my worries dissipating in an instant.


    I reached the campus and parked my bike in the same spot I did every day. My body moved on its own like It was on autopilot.


    As I reached the entrance I stopped and looked at my old school with nostalgia, all the happy memories of my childhood hit me and I felt joy for the first time in years, but I was never lucky, to begin with, suddenly the earth shook like an earthquake so strong I hit the ground head first. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was red, I had cracked my skull and my face was covered in blood.


    Then I remembered, this was the day I became a protector. The day my whole life would change, and I knew I had to prepare myself.


    A sharp pain hit my body, it felt like I was being crushed by a big rock. I never experienced pain like this again, not even after I became a protector.


    I tried to focus and manipulate the energy to the best of my ability, but I knew it was not going to do much. I was notorious for having no talent when it came to control, something my father never let me forget for a second, always telling me how the sacred relic was a waste in my possession.


    I always regretted not witnessing the sacred relic materialize the first time, some philosophers called it the most beautiful thing in the world, so I was not going to miss this chance. I knew they exaggerated and that it was called that by the protectors so they could feel superior to humans. The truth is that they are just a part of us, to me my stopwatch was a part of my body like any other.


    Nothing happened, it felt different from the last time. ¡°It should have materialized by now,¡± I said starting to panic. The pain was growing stronger and there was no sign of the stopwatch.


    The bright yellow light appeared from beneath the skin of my right palm. The pain was clearly much stronger than the last time, I had to do my best not to pass out. Inch by inch the yellow light drew the sign of a stopwatch, it felt like the most painful tattoo ever made.


    When the pain subsided I started to look around, it wouldn¡¯t take long before the two protectors would arrive. I didn¡¯t remember their names anymore but I knew one of them was a member of the Overkill gang.


    In the meantime, I stood up and started to help the wounded around me. It would take a new protector months to learn how to use their powers, but I didn¡¯t have that problem. Most of us got the basics like super strength and super speed, and if you were lucky another ability or a sacred relic.


    I wiped the blood out of my face so I could assess the situation, the whole street had been torn apart by the force of the earthquake, the lucky once were trying to run away with broken arms and legs, the others were just waiting for their fate. The old me would have stayed down but I had to do something.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move them, it''s best to let them sit still until the ambulances arrive.¡± Said misses baits, she was our English teacher. I would agree with her but she didn¡¯t know what was going to happen next, I had to get everyone out of there before the two protectors arrived.


    I picked up a girl who looked to be in critical condition and moved her inside the building. I couldn¡¯t use my super speed in fear of injuring her, one bad move and I could paralyze her.


    She should be safe here, this was one of the most expensive prep schools in the country, they had made sure the building was able to withstand an earthquake.


    As I hastened back to the entrance I saw the two protectors arriving. The one that really scared me was Jacks, he was a self-proclaimed hero who could level the whole block. Not only was he stronger and faster than most new protectors, he also had the ability to make everything combust after he touched it, and if he got angry he could increase the temperature to almost melt everything to the ground. He was wearing a simple black mask to hide his face he had properly bought at a kids toy store.


    When I was young I looked up to them, but now I saw them for who they really were, children playing with fire. The fool had caused tens of thousands of dollars of properly damage to catch a thief who had properly not even stolen one-tenth of that and lets not even starts about the civilian casualties.


    The girl he was facing was called Alexandria, she was not a big time criminal but was making a name for herself. She was a little weaker than Jacks but she had enough tricks up her sleeves. She could make anything levitate and collide with the target of her choosing. Not much was known about her ability but I knew that it had its limits, she was only able to throw items that she could physically lift and the speed couldn¡¯t be faster than her own speed.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Bad guys like her didn¡¯t really try making costumes, she was wearing the clich¨¦ black hood with only her eyes and mouth showing. Even I wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize her it wasn¡¯t for her abilities.


    I didn¡¯t really care who won and just kept moving injured people inside, I never really cared about money anyways.


    I had moved a couple of injured people inside while getting the stink eye from misses Baits before the fight had reached the entrance of the school. Jacks was trying to stop Alexandria while she was throwing cars at everyone and everything trying to keep him busy.


    It wouldn¡¯t take long for the other protectors to arrive and take care of this. New York was famous for having one of the first counsel that was run by protectors, even though they called themselves heroes.


    ¡°Give it up Alexandria, you can¡¯t wound me. Surrender now and I¡¯ll try to make sure you see the light of day again.¡± Said Jacks with a smile on his face, he was trying to sound confident but I knew he had a weakness. His younger sister was Page, who would become a protector herself was here. If only they knew she would become one of the most powerful protectors in New York City in just a couple of years.


    But the Overkill gang was an organization just as big as the New York hero alliance. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they showed up too. It¡¯s funny how much you forget over the years even on important days like this.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bet on it sweetie, don¡¯t think you the only one with friends. Besides, I know your weakness, or did you think I was moving around the city because I wanted to do my morning exercises?¡± Said Alexandria in a seductive tone, she was a little older than Jacks and was wearing a tight costume that showed her curves, and she was clearly using it to make him uncomfortable.


    I could clearly see Jacks blush and it made me laugh, boys will be boys I guess protector or not.


    I didn¡¯t have the speed to keep up with them, they were injuring them faster than I could move them. Alexandria was using everything she could get her hands one which was mostly cars, and Jacks didn¡¯t help either hitting them all over the place. It looked like a baseball match between two madmen.


    I tried to keep clear of Page and not get involved but a part of me knew I had to help her, she was just a fourteen-year-old girl. I had to wait for Alexandria to be distracted, I knew that she was keeping one eye on the girls, which told me she only knew Jacks had family here and didn¡¯t know it was Page. Going after the family of a New York counsel was suicide, but to people like Alexandria, it wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference. Getting to live in a dark hole somewhere in the dessert or dying my the hand of multiple protectors, I couldn¡¯t decide which was better.


    But I wasn¡¯t successful, she was not someone I could fool and just as I tried to reach Page she used her power to throw a car at me. I was already standing in front of Page and I had to shield her with my body. I knew I was going to survive the hit but I didn¡¯t know how long it would take before I could walk again.


    Jacks was starting to panic but didn¡¯t want to give away that Page was his sister. Besides, he wasn¡¯t fast enough to stop it anyways.


    I covered Page with my body and tried to block the hit. I knew I didn¡¯t have a chance to block it but I could slow it down. I felt the adrenaline rush hit me and being the coward I am I closed my eyes, but I had to give myself some credit the old me would have dodged and let the girl take the hit.


    But then something interesting happened, my body moved on its own and the palm om my hand started to shine with a yellow light. It moved forward and touched the car that was going to hit me and it stopped. The car was frozen in time right in front of my face, did I do that, but how?


    I didn¡¯t have much time to think about it, I was never good at controlling my powers but I knew that the car would start moving again. The energy it took to keep it frozen in time was just too much for me to handle.


    I looked at the palm of my hand and there was a counter going back from five in the same yellow light. Four, three, two, I snapped out of the thought and I was able to throw the girl away before it started moving again and crushed me against the wall behind me.


    It felt like every bone in my body was broken and it even hurt to breath. That¡¯s why I never wanted to be a hero, it just hurt too much.


    Jacks rushed towards me and moved the car that was lying on top of me. ¡°You did a wonderful thing right now, are you ok?¡± He had a wonderful smile on his face and stuck his hands out to help me get up.


    Alexandria was looking at me with anger in her eyes, she was clearly losing a lot of energy as the number of cars and rocks that was coming our way had lessened. I could also see some fear in her eyes, the power to freeze time was something that even scared me a little.


    I looked at the boy in front of me and was clearly annoyed. Here I was lying with broken bones and he wanted me to get his hand and get up like nothing had happened. To most protectors, broken bones were nothing as they would heal in an hour or two, but to me, it was the first time I had broken something and I was more sensitive to pain than other protectors.


    But I knew I had to take his hand, the girl was going to kill. I used all the power I had to grab his hand and expected him to do the rest.


    When he tried to pull me off to the ground something strange happened, the tattoo on my hand activated and the yellow light started to shine.


    What was happening?


    Why did I feel better all of the sudden?


    My broken neck healed and I was able to look up again, there was Jacks growing older with the second.


    I need to let go of his hand!


    Why can¡¯t I get go?!


    I was looking at Jacks with shock in my eyes, just in a matter of seconds, the sixteen-year-old boy had turned into an old man and then dust.


    I turned my head and saw the look of terror in Page¡¯s eyes.


    Why didn¡¯t I just stay down like I always did?


    This is what happens when I try to help, maybe my father was right about me.


    This was the first time I had killed someone, I was so busy feeling pity for myself that I had forgotten that the wounds on my body had healed.


    Alexandria walked towards me and her laughter filled the street. She looked like a twelve-year-old visiting the chocolate factory.


    ¡°I like your style kid, making him trust you like that. Now let¡¯s go, we need to get out of here while we can.¡± She said with excitement in her voice, I had just killed one of the most promising newcomers without doing anything than just holding his hand.


    I didn¡¯t want to kill him!


    I swear I didn¡¯t want to kill him!!!

 Chapter 3

    Anxiety hit my body as I watched Page look at me with vengeful eyes. Her brother had gone from a famous hero to dust in a matter of seconds, there was nothing she or anyone could do. There was not even enough left to bury him.


    At first, I just wanted to die, but I remember something if I just gave up now the world would end and the helplessness Page felt would be felt by billions.


    ¡°We need to go cutie,¡± said Alexandria, trying to sound confident, but I could sense haste from her tone.


    Did she really think I would go with her?


    She was part of one of the most dangerous and wanted gangs in the whole city. If I followed her now my name would be known around the country or even the world by tomorrow morning.


    ¡°leave me,¡± I said with sadness in my voice, I wasn¡¯t going to run away, whatever the consequences.


    But she didn¡¯t take no for an answer, she would take me with her even it if meant killing me first. She wanted to claim the death of a protector for her gang and was going to do everything to achieve that.


    Gangs were like terrorist groups who would always claim everything even if they didn¡¯t have anything to do with it.


    Angry, Alexandria threw two cards towards me with her highest speed. From the stands she took, I knew one thing, she was not going to get near me while I was conscious.


    The speed was too high for me to dodge, I tried to remember the feeling of freezing time like last time. The feeling came naturally to me which surprised me as I touched the car hoping it would work.


    The time I could hold appeared like last time and this time it was ten seconds. It didn¡¯t take long for the second car to hit the first one and a big explosion accrued.


    I didn¡¯t need that long to move out of the way and let the car continue. Now I had seven seconds left before I ran out of energy.


    When the first car unfroze I saw that the car was not damaged by the collision which surprised me. The car continued with high speed until it hit the walls of the academy and it exploded.


    I knew I could stop her only one or two more times before I ran out of energy. The only way I could win was to stall, it wouldn¡¯t take long before Jacks reinforce arrives right?


    Alexandria clearly angry kept throwing cars and rocks at me with high speed, her fight with Jacks had drained her energy but she was still a lot stronger than me.


    I kept dodging the once I could and it didn¡¯t take long before I had only one second left. I could dodge one car if I was lucky, after that she would crush me like a bug.


    When the next car arrived I was not able to stop. The car broke my right leg and I couldn¡¯t move.


    ¡°You should have listened, now die,¡± Said Alexandria, two cars were flying towards me with high speed.


    Was this the end of me?


    Here I was given the chance to change everything and I would die on the first day, how useless.


    The car hit me and I felt my bones break for the second time today, how unlucky. One of the cars was lying on me and I felt dizzy. I was losing too much blood and there was no way I could get the car off me.


    ¡°I hate you¡­. I despise you.¡± I heard Page say faintly as her eyes turned purple, she was transforming! I looked up and everything around me was turning into sand, she was using her ultimate ability without even knowing it.


    Alexandria was screaming as her body started to tear apart and turn into sand. Everything around me was being destroyed, the school had already been destroyed and all I could hope for was for her to kill me quickly and stop this.


    From the anger, she felt and her power I could easily see her killing hundreds of thousands without even knowing what she was doing.


    ¡°Kill me already and let this madness be over with,¡± I said with a smile on my face, how useless I am. All I wanted to do was help people and now I had caused the biggest incident in New York City¡¯s history.


    I stood there laughing as my body was torn apart, at least it was fast and painless.


    Maybe it was my fate to die, maybe I¡¯m not meant to be a hero. Maybe my father was right, I¡¯m not good enough.


    I opened my eyes and I looked around trying to find out where I was. There was nothing, only white light.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    It didn¡¯t take long before a white flame appeared that was bigger than a skyscraper, it didn¡¯t give off any heat but emotions, I felt love and happiness.


    I can¡¯t explain how that was possible but it was like the best drug ever putting me to a state of euphoria. The flame noticing my reaction to it pulled back his presence, and it didn¡¯t take long for me to return back to feeling pain and incompetent, and immediately I wanted that feeling back, how addictive.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I said knowing the answer, he was one of the protectors that had left us a long time ago, his existent was so ancient that even first generation protectors would not dare to cross them.


    He was the god of life!


    Why had he come, and why am I why did I feel like I was a part of him?


    Why did he stand by and let the god of death kill us all, were we not important enough?


    Is the story that the god of death is really one of us, true?


    So many questions and no answers, and I had a feeling he wasn¡¯t going to answer them.


    ¡°I created you. You are my answer!¡± He said, not really helping me to understand.


    ¡°Answer to what, why did you just stand by and let him kill everyone?¡± What was he talking about, how could I an insignificant fool, and the God of life who was created at the beginning of time be the same?


    This was one of the ancient protectors, to them we were just children playing hero, even my father would cower in front of them.


    ¡°I do not understand that question.¡± He said, confused, it was a little stupid of me, I had come back in time and to them, it had not happened yet. Maybe even he, my creator didn¡¯t know that I had an ability like that.


    ¡°There is a man that is going to kill everything on earth, and I need your help to stop him. He is like nothing I have ever seen before, he kills without any goal or reason.¡± I said, trying to convince him to help me, it was typical of me. I never liked responsibility and always liked to pass it to the next guy, and who better than the god of life. To him the man we called the god of death was just a plaything, I can even imagine him being offended by sharing the same title.


    ¡°Do not falter and do what you were made to do, do you not remember your mission?¡± He said with the same tone as before, it made me a little angry seeing him ignore my words and brush them aside like that, it reminded me of my father. It almost made me forget about the part where he told me he had created me for a reason, all my life I was looking for a reason to live and it looks like I always had one that was not known to me.


    ¡°What mission?¡± I asked impatiently, I wanted to know why I was here and a part of me felt relieved. It was always easier to follow than to lead, and leading was alien to me.


    The voice hesitated for the first time and it took a couple of seconds before he reacted, ¡°to kill all the protectors on earth.¡±


    What..


    Me killing all the protectors, how was that possible?


    This was the first time I doubted that he was the god of life, he wanted me to end their lives?


    ¡°Even if I wanted to I couldn¡¯t, you say you made me so you know that I¡¯m weak. Besides, even if I could I wouldn¡¯t kill all those people without a reason.¡± I said trying to sound confident, thousands of scenarios went through my head thinking of what it meant to deny an ancient, this was the last thing I expected.


    ¡°Do not try to teach me, boy! You have created this habit of feeling inferior and self-pity that is stopping you from reaching your real potential, to be free from your mind, only then can you really live. Always, being able to contact me means that you have activated your powers, so the only way to stay alive is by absorbing the flame of life and extending your existence. Don¡¯t, and your life will end after your fire dims until it is extinguished, do what I told you and you will build a flame so strong that it can rival any being in the universe.¡± He said with a calm tone like he didn¡¯t care which one I chose to do, it felt to me that he had created more of us to reach his goals, was the man we called the god of death one of them?


    The next thing I remember was me standing in the middle of the street that looked like a desert. My body had been brought back into existence like rewinding time, every inch of my body was being fused back together just like it had been destroyed.


    It was because I had absorbed Jacks energy, by stealing his existence I could prolong mine, was this the flame that the god of death was talking about?


    I used my highest speed to get out of there without being seen. Everyone thought I was dead and that was fine with me.


    Lucky for me my clothes had also returned with in my back pocket my Bitcoin wallet, it was a simple way for me to pay without leaving a trace.


    As I moved to the bad side of town I saw a video playing with Page going on a rampage, it was the video of us fighting. It annoyed me how the media was faster at the scene than the protectors.


    ¡°We have news that the girl formally known as Page has been taken into custody by the New York hero Association (NYHA), Captain Shepherd told us that they were doing their best to investigate.¡± Said Cristina Kim from the Daily Constant, she was one of the new upcoming journalists, but her eagerness would kill her in the long run.


    ¡°Breaking news ladies and gentleman, the NYHA has reported that the death count is estimated around five hundred people because there are no bodies left to identify the captain has asked everyone to call the NYHA if you have any information. The only two causalities that have been confirmed are the hero Jacks and the villain Alexandria. In other news, the state prosecutor Melisa Grey told us that the state was going to prosecute Page as an adult for what she has done.¡± Cristina said ending the segment.


    I hesitated what to do next, was there a chance I could go home and lie? I was a bad student anyways, I could lie that I had skipped class and went to the arcade. Or I could try to find a place to stay for the time being and keep a low profile.


    Knowing my mother she would have called the NWHA a long time ago and they would know I was missing, so I had to make a decision quickly.


    A part of me knew that this was not my biggest problem, going back home or not didn¡¯t really matter to me. I hated my mother and didn¡¯t mind if I never saw her again. It was what I was going to do next that irritated me, was this the end of my journey or was I going to do what he had asked of me so I can stop the god of death and if I did what was there a chance that I could really do it?


    I kept thinking about the situation until I was outside of the danger zone. Making decisions is not really one of my strong suits, so I got tired of changing my mind and made my way back home. I knew my mother and she would cover for me, she was a bitch, but at least she was a loyal one.