Progress

"..a danger zone, and that all civilians stay away from it. It's suspected that earthquakes, snowstorms, and avalanches will be frequent and unending for a few years at least, experts in the environmental field saying that it's the side effects of climate change."

"Hey, bro! listen to this bullshit they keep spouting on the news, how can those once-in-a-year disasters just last year, all manifest in one mountain range?" said a skinny teenage kid, wearing a beige baggy tank top, sports headband, and short boxers.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!!

"Damn! Do you have to go so hard on the poor punching bag?" said the skinny teenage kid. He was amazed and yet scared of the force those loud sounds were making on the punching bag.

"Sorry, I got worked up a little." Said another teenager, this one the opposite of the other kid. He was shirtless, with only short boxers, his body gleaming with sweat, he could be described as the epitome of body perfection.

Sitting on a bench, he began to unwrap the hand wraps covering his hands, staring at the skinny teenager,

"Have you managed to find more info on what I asked for?" The boxing teenager asked while sipping from his bottle, where one could see the liquid was white.

"Yeah check this out!", the skinny teenager closed the news app, and coming closer to the boxing teenager, opened a secret file on his phone.

"See that dark figure, the CCTV captured it last week, and the owner of the camera posted it on a secure website that couldn't be hacked by the dark oppressors, anyway there is a second where the dark figure is clearly seen, here! watch!" As they watched the screen, where it was nighttime with a few lights, a leaping figure was seen on the dark alleys of the surrounding debilitated buildings.

This figure wasn't anything like a human or even an animal, it was a mix of both, one could clearly see it had four long arms and legs, which it used to leap great distances, from on top of buildings to the floor without taking any damage.

"The experts of the website say it has been sighted there for a week now, it's trails emerging from the forest outside our city. The special forces who are always seen when one of these strange figures appear haven't been able to track it down, always slipping by their nose. They even suspect that this strange figure already infiltrated the center of the city, with the recent gruesome murders proof that it hasn't been dealt with." The skinny teenager trailed off, excited to talk about such an anxiety-inducing topic.

"Do you think it's true, that this creature is the one committing the murderers?" the boxing teenager asked, eyeing the other teenager carefully.

"I wish it wasn't true, but evidence suggests otherwise, evidence that those in power and their dark oppressors want to hide from the rest of the world." He indignantly replied, having always hated the lies and fake news those in power fed to the masses.

"You of all people should know if word of these kinds of things spreads, panic the likes never before seen will happen. Just stay careful, and warn your family of the dangers of roaming the streets at night." the boxing teenager said, looking at the setting sun.

"Pack your bags, it's time to go." Standing up, he put on sweat pants and a t-shirt, while watching the other teenager fumbling with storing all the snacks he had been eating all evening into his bag, alongside his laptop.

"Nol, can you walk me to my house, I don't feel that safe even if it's sunset." The skinny teenager said with intense puppy eyes, begging Nolan.

"Sigh, why do you have to be so extra? common let's ago already." They exited the gym, taking their locked bicycles to the streets.

This part of the city was populated with low-rise buildings, it was its little own downtown area for their district in the huge mega city.

'It seems it's truly happening, the world might turn to shit any second. I hope whatever comes next would be something we can handle.'

Lost in thought, they eventually reached Jimmie's house, which was located in the neighborhood of middle-class-level houses. Before he got stopped by Jimmie's mom, he quickly bid farewell and began cycling home.

The sun had already set and it would take at least 15 minutes to reach his house. More than that there were barely a few pedestrians in the streets, everyone was scared they might be the next victim of the gruesome murderers.

As he enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of the empty streets, he heard the faint screams of a woman. As he pedaled forward the screaming was getting louder, indicating it was happening on one of the alleys in front of him.

He stopped his bicycle and got off to the alley where the screams were coming from, from his position, he could see a man holding a woman's arms forcefully, the rest of their figures hidden behind a wall.

He contemplated to himself if he should involve, but a second later he decided to pulverize the bastard attacking the woman. More than to save her, he wanted a real punching bag he could test his real strength on and see what kind of progress he made.

The man saw him as he entered the alley, quieting before smiling maliciously, "Hey kid, you better go to your mamma before I beat you up." Then ignoring the kid, he went back to ripping the woman's blouse and fondling her breasts.

One second his hand was feeling heavenly, the next his extremely twisted hand fired off the signal of extreme pain.

"AHHHHH! FUCK FUCK!!" he squealed like a pig, instantly tumbling to the ground, with snot and tears overflowing his twisted face.

"Keep your disgusting hands to yourself." saying that, Nolan sighed internally. The bastard hasn't even known he was being attacked, only registering his twisted hand that was assaulting the woman.

Looking at the woman, she was sobbing while holding her ripped blouse to cover her exposed breasts. She looked warily at him, not saying a word.

"Can you go to your house alone? you shouldn't be in the streets after sunsets if you cherish your life." He didn't care about the woman's looks, she was nothing compared to his mom, who would be worried by his lateness, so he didn't want to waste any more time.

"YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU?! YOU WILL PAY FOR TH-" A kick to his head sent the man unconscious, making his annoying screams stop.

"Yes! I was waiting for a friend when this creep dragged me into this alley, he will be here soon, and thanks for the help." The woman quietly said. Her sobbing had stopped, yet her face was covered by her long hair, not allowing him to see her expression.

Not wanting to delay any longer, and having completed his test, he bid farewell and hurriedly cycled back to his house, the night creeping him more than usual.

As he went out of sight, the woman stared at the unconscious man, having a ravenous grin plastered across her lips, her eyes shining red under her thick long hair that began to float around with no wind.

He stopped his bicycle, finding himself in front of a 2-story house with 2.5 meters of brick fence wall surrounding it. He opened the metal gates of the fence with a key and walked to the door through a tiny walkway in the otherwise thick greenery of the front yard of their house.

As soon as he stepped into the house, his mother rushed at him, hugging him tightly.

"Why were you so late? do you know how worried I was?" She said as she checked his body touching his arms, chest, and shoulders, though she stopped herself from going lower.

"I'm okay mom, just escorted Jimmy home, and I came as soon as I can." He tried to distract himself from his barely clothed mom, seeing today's clothes more revealing than ever before.

"You should be more careful, what would I do if something happened to you?" she hugged him tighter as he tried to slip away, her barely clothed and hard nipples smothering his chest.

She felt his increased heart rate and bulging pants a few seconds later.

"Sorry, I will be careful from now on, anyway what's tonight's dinner, I'm starving." He tried changing the subject, holding her waist with his two hands and forcefully peeling his mother from his body.

"Come in dinner has gotten cold, I was just about to heat it, go get changed." Reluctantly she released him, watching him go to the second floor.

'Sigh, he is still refusing to- forget it, some other day.' Shaking her head, Jane walked back to the kitchen, intending to get the food ready, her tiny crop top and shorts causing her assets to bounce around freely.