The Value of a Single Life: Chapter 2 – More than a Simple Rescue

Chapter 2 – More than a Simple Rescue

More obstacles get thrown in my way as I continue to chase after the villain who has the girl I’m trying to rescue. He puts other civilians in danger, forcing me to quickly get them out of burning cars, rooms, or buildings first before resuming the chase. I’m now in the lower layers of Solis, further away from the city center, where the majority of the battle is, and I think I’m going to have an easier time chasing the villain because of it. Still, an ambush of a group of robots stops me in my tracks and distracts me, forcing me to fight recklessly without a care for being slashed or hit, so I can try to keep up with the chase. Even after defeating the group of robots, the villain has deployed smoke screens to solidify his escape.

Now, I’ve completely lost track of them and start to frantically search for them, while calling out to the girl to scream for help so I can find them, but I don’t hear or see any trace of them. Please, God, please, God, help me find them! In my search, I hear the sounds of conflict, approach it, and see my fellow superhuman friend, Mark, fighting villains and criminals with his strength and fire breath. He wears a standard one-piece hero latex suit that’s colored orange and crimson red with a dragon on it and a dark yellow cape behind his back, which has been strengthened with fiber like mine has by Luke. He’s bald, has orange eyes, and has his usual smug look of confidence, and is treating this fight like a game. Knowing I could use his power of flight and general help, I quickly end the fight he's in by joining in, something that slightly annoys him.

With the villains and criminals put down, Mark says, “Hey, John! Trying to steal my glory, aren’t you? Well, jokes on you, you just helped me fulfill my request sooner, but I will mention that you helped so that you can get partial credit.”

“I don’t care about that right now. I’m trying to rescue a girl who’s being kidnapped by a villain with robots. Have you seen them?” I ask.

“I think I saw them recently pass by while I was fighting. Is she a part of a request you’re fulfilling?”

“Not formally. Her parents just asked me to save her. We’ll worry about them giving us credit later when she’s safe.”

“Ah, helping again without expectation of reward, are we? Luke’s going to be mad at you, and the higher-ups are going to look down on you compared to the other heroes.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I already turned off my hero buzzer, so Luke would stop giving me another lecture. Let’s get to rescuing her already!”

“Right! We’re heroes, and not mercenaries! Let’s save her and show Luke and our bosses our virtuousness.”

Mark flies up into the air and guides me to the area where he saw the girl being taken to. From there, we search the area, help other civilians, and ask them where the girl was taken. Some of them don’t know where she was taken, while others point us in the general direction they thought they saw her go. We go on with the advice we’re given and continue our search.

“So, are her parents rich or someone influential?” Mark asks me as he flies next to me.

“Dude. I don’t know. They looked like normal, middle-class people, as far as I know,” I say.

“That’s great, actually. The rich and famous get help more often than the lower classes since they have more to offer. The new group I’m a part of helps people in the lower areas of the city where they don’t have as much help.”

“What group would that be?”

“The Seventeen-Eighty Three group.”

“What? Another ultra-patriotic hero group? What’s different from them and the Seventeen-Seventy-Six group?”

“They don’t act as extreme and are made of ex-Seventeen-Seventy-Six members who now know the errors of their ways. Trust me, they’re a way better force for positive change.”

“If you say so.”

“I’m telling you, man. The Seventeen-Eighty Three group is where it’s at. We help the common people, who aren’t paid as much attention to in this city. Through them, we’ll make a real change in the city, country, and maybe the world.”

There he goes dreaming big again. I’ve told Mark before that he can’t let his goal overshadow the tasks in front of him. He’s said that he doesn’t, yet I can tell he cares more about what he can gain by helping the common man rather than just helping them because they need help. I pray that God grants me mastery over speech so I can one day convince Mark and others like him to focus on the present rather than the future, so they don’t end up like the people they oppose and merely see helping others as a means to an end or, God forbid, fall into the belief that the ends justify the means, just like the defunct Seventeen-Seventy-Six group. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire catches my attention, and before I can react, a figure in a black cloak appears out of nowhere, and a black snake on their back takes the hit. The cloaked figure then bolts in the direction of the gunfire.

“Is that who I think it is?” Mark asks.

“Yes, it is. The snake made it obvious,” I say.

That was my older sister, Idelle, protecting me, just like she usually tries to do. She’s the reason I was freed from the government’s experiments, met my wonderful adoptive parents, and was able to live in peace and happiness with them. She quickly comes back to check on me, her black cloak torn from a battle, revealing her short grey hair, grey and black eyes, and gold armor with a crimson bodysuit. The white snake and black snake on her back are barely hidden as well, and they seem to be looking for injuries on me.

“Are you okay, John? You seem like you’ve been through a lot today already,” Idelle says.

“I’m fine. They’re just scratches and nothing more,” I say.

“Hey, it’s good to see you again. You remember me, right? I’m one of your brother’s best friends, Mark,” Mark says with his hand out and a sly smile.

My sister looks at Mark with a hint of disgust and says, “Sure. I remember you. You were part of the group that ganged up on my brother and really hurt him.”

Mark casually lowers his hand.

“Hey, I helped out in the fight against them and told the authorities everything I knew, which ended the Seventeen-Seventy-Six group. I’m an innocent man who had good intentions and got caught up with the wrong people.”

“Yeah. I know many people like you who say that, but never stop associating themselves with the ‘wrong people’.”

“Come on, let’s leave the past in the past and start over.”

I interject by saying, “Yeah, let’s start over and work together. Idelle, I’m looking for-”

“I know who you’re looking for. It’s why I tracked you down.”

“You do?”

“Yes, the general wants you to help me track the girl down and help me bring down the villains who took her.”

My gladness turns to confusion.

“The general?” Mark asks. “The same one who tells you everything to do?”

“Yes, that general. He wants you to help me, and if you do it, then you’ll get closer to meeting him one day,” Idelle says.

“There must be more to this if that’s the case. It explains why I’ve been facing so much resistance in trying to save her. Is there a catch to his request?”

“Yes. He wants you to ignore the deeper story and connections these villains have. Let’s just say that there are factions in the government that are worse than others.”

“That goes without saying,” Mark comments.

“I’ll handle that end of it. As for you, all you have to do is beat the bad guys and save the innocent. Does that sound alright?”

Now that Idelle mentions it, I am tempted to go over my head and see what the bigger conflict is, but after thinking about how Mark lets his goal overshadow the tasks in front of him, I guess I can’t argue.

“Sounds good. Do you know where-”

Another gunshot rings out, this time from a nearby building, another shot that Idelle’s snake takes the hit for. We’re then ambushed by superhuman assassins who use their guns and powers to attack us, and we’re forced to defend ourselves while protecting the citizens who get caught up in the crossfire. Mark tries to show off his strength and fire-breathing abilities by fighting in front of my sister as she brutalizes the assassins. She’s used to killing and is tempted to do so by her black snake, but her white snake and my telling her to hold back have made her more merciful in that she doesn’t really kill anymore; however, the pain that she puts her enemies through may make them wish they were dead. While the two of them fight normally, I do so in a rush, taking hit after hit so I can end it quickly and get back on track to finding the girl.

By the end of the fight, the crowd cheers for us, and Idelle inspects me again for serious injuries as Mark tries to get her attention. Meanwhile, I call the police to pick up the mess that we’ve left in our wake.

“You have to stop fighting so recklessly. We’ll catch up to the girl and her kidnappers,” Idelle says.

“I hope so. I haven’t seen a sign of her in a while, and have only been going off hints for the past hour or so,” I say.

“I know the exact place they’re heading to, and it’s beneath the city, in its sewers.”

“Let’s get down there then. Maybe we’ll stop being attacked so often.”

“We’ll probably find more traps.”

“Your sister is right. It’ll probably be even more dangerous,” Mark unnecessarily adds.

“Whatever the case is, let’s head down now.”

Idelle leads me to the entrance of the sewers and takes the lead from here, probably going off a lead that the general gave her. No. I can’t think of him or the bigger picture now. All that matters now is saving the girl, stopping the villains, and getting her back to her parents. Everything else can wait later, especially since I’ll get closer to meeting the general through this.