02: HEROES EXISTENCE

COLE

I couldn't see anything but darkness. I couldn't stop crying, I was trying to catch my breath. Though it was dark and I was weakened, I tried to slam the door by my hand continuously, hoping that someone would hear me and open the door for me.

"Kuya, please, open the door!" I begged.

I felt something touching my arm. It tickles but it scares me. I stopped yelling, my heart pounded so loud and I breathed even harder. I couldn't look behind me, I knew I would see something terrifying there.

"Come with me," a husky rough voice whispered through my ear. "Come with me, kid."

Without thinking, I slowly turned around to see who's behind me. The biggest regret that I have. I saw a monster. A being with a large body but its hands were thin, its bone-like fingers were holding my arm as if it was bringing me with him.

The monster opened his mouth; it went bigger and bigger. I could feel something was being pulled from my body. I tried to scream but nothing is coming out from my mouth. I couldn't breathe anymore. My eyes get blurry but before I lose my consciousness, I heard a loud bang.

•••

Loud horns brought me back to the present. I was standing on a sidewalk of the road, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Cars were making so much noise, probably because of traffic. Well, I'm in Manila, what should I expect?

The traffic light went green. I walked towards the pedestrian lane along with the other pedestrians. We were on the other side of the road when we heard something rustling on the ground. Like in the movies, we looked back on the road. There was a speeding truck coming; its wheels were scraping on the ground, probably because the driver was trying to stop the truck.

There was a girl walking in the middle of the lane. She was busy looking at her phone; she's wearing a wired headphone and was almost dancing while obviously listening to music.

I couldn't think straight. I went to the girl and gripped her wrist. She was so heavy to pull that I slipped when we reach the side of the road.

"Get up!" I heard someone yelled.

I looked at the truck again. It seems that the driver has no control over the truck anymore; it was getting near me faster. I couldn't move in fear, my eyes just widened and my breath almost stopped. Is this it? Am I going to die here, now?

The truck suddenly stopped moving, it was like just floating in front of me. My lips parted. Tears started to build up from my eyes. I could hear a loud beat pounding on my chest. I really thought… that was my end.

Someone clasped me in my arms then pulled me away from the truck. I saw two big hands standing the truck up again. I followed the direction where the two large hands were coming from. Those were from a boy wearing a green skinny jumpsuit that justifies his abdominal and other big muscles. He was also wearing a full-faced green mask with two holes for his eyes.

"Big man!" someone gasped.

I looked at my arm where someone was gripping on it. The one that saved me was wearing a jumpsuit just like Big Man, it's just that the color that this man in front of me is orange. He was also wearing an eye mask that covers his nose up to his forehead. In the middle of his mask is a letter G in Times New Roman font. He was also wearing a black boots that could almost reach his knees.

"Are you alright, young lady?" he asked in a low, baritone voice.

I took my arm away from him then I stepped back. I immediately ran away, holding the straps of my backpack. No, no, this can't be happening. I did my best to stay away from them! Why can't I just be away from them?

"Oh gosh, she was saved by the Peace Warriors, how can she just ignore them like that?" someone commented.

I badly want to smirk at them. Peace Warriors, huh? They have the guts to call themselves warriors when they can't even do anything when it comes to the worst part of living. They weren't there when I was almost eaten up by a villain, they weren't there when I faced the worst nightmare that still hunting me up to now.

Eleven years had passed already. Eleven years ago, the Earth was so peaceful... and normal. There were a prediction that said the Earth will have its end by colliding with a mythical planet Nibiru yet, it did not end. It's just that, exta abnormal things started to happen. People with superpowers, monsters, animals who can talk suddenly appeared and no one knew where it came from.

In the middle of the chaos, a man named Glassified intervene. He fought with those monsters, he called himself a hero, a hero that no one could ever see. He started to build a group of heroes then called themselves Peace Warriors but as their number got bigger, the number of villains started to add more and more too.

Everyone thinks that Peace Warriors are cool for fighting for the Peace but... I think they just added more war. For what? For the money that the Government was giving them? For the fame? For all the good comments that boots their ego?

They can't even catch a villain that has been victimizing kids!

"Are you hurt?" a sweet voice murmured.

I faced the woman who spoke. My eyes widened, I stepped backward that I slipped once again and my buttocks hit on the floor. She has cat's ears that are moving from the front to the back like she was hearing something from there, she has whiskers and her back…it has a tail! The tail can't be hidden with the mini skirt that she's wearing. Her hair is mixed white and black, and I could see in her arm that those has white hairs too.

"Y-you're a cat?" I pointed her with my index finger while my other hand is placed on my lower lips.

The girl just giggled as she shook her head, "You almost perished and that's the most important question in your mind?" She extended her hand in front of me, "Do you slip all the time?"

I tittered; I bit my lower lip while I was holding her hand to help me stand up. I scratched the back of my head. Well, I can't help it, this my first time seeing a human in this kind of form. I was doing my best not to see them.

"Are you alright, kitty?" a man rushing towards us yelled. Both the girl and I waited for the man to reach us. As soon as he reached us, he gripped the lady cat's hand then examined her from head to toe. "I just heard there was an accident here, were you…"

"Stop overacting, Matteo, I am fine," the woman said then she looked at me with worry in her eyes, "She was the one who almost got hit."

The man gave his attention to me. He was stunned for a moment as if he saw something shockingly. His lips even parted.

"Anyways, we gotta go, we need to go somewhere but…" the woman took something in her skirt's pocket. She stepped towards me, she took my hand then she put a band aid with cat's faces all over on my palm, "You might need this for your arm."

My brows furrowed but I had no time to ask if what the band aid is for. The girl immediately pulled her friend away. I did nothing but to watch them walk away. I turned my sight on the floor; there I saw a piece of paper. I tried to remember where the paper came from, maybe it fell from the girl's pocket when she took the band aid out.

DIM RAGE UNIVERSITY

I can't stop myself from smirking foolishly. I crumpled the paper then I threw it in the trash can. A university where people studies violence? Those people are entering this kind of university huh? A place where people can do nothing… but create a mess.

I went straight to our home. I saw my father cooking in the kitchen when I entered the house, he was topless but he was wearing an apron. In the living room, Martin was sitting while watching a basketball game with his friends, cheering and loudly laughing.

The basketball game had a break and a news flash came in the tv. Behind the reporter is a photo where only a black shape of man with a question mark in the middle is shown. Below, the name 'Darkeyes' is imprinted.

"Darkeyes attacked after eight long years by exploiting 7 teenage girls in one night. The Peace Warriors and the police are still silent about this but Glassified himself assured that everything will be alright..."

They flashed photos of the 7teenage girls that has exploited by Darkeyes. They all got white hairs now, their skin is wrinkled and they all got super thin bodies as if all their nutrients and bloods are sucked up... well, their nutrients and bloods are actually sucked up, by Darkeyes.

"Oh hey, Miss School President, you're here," Andrew, one of Martin's friend, noticed me.

Everyone in the house suddenly looked at me, even Dad who was busy cooking. I blinked twice before I turned my back against them. I went directly to my room and locked myself there. This day... is not really a normal day. Many things happen as if this is the start of a story where the main character will be having a new life.

Darkeyes is really back now, huh? I thought he was dead, I thought he's gone but... he's here again, attacking teenagers and kids. Why does he have to comeback?