The Value of a Single Life: Chapter 4 – More than a Life

Chapter 4 – More than a Life

 The tunnel Idelle and I go down has remnants of files, pictures, guns, and other machinery and tools used for experimentation scattered on the floor. It’s clear they were dropped in a hurry while being carried away, and we soon catch up to those carrying them, more superhuman villains, gun-wielding criminals, and robots that I barrel through and not caring whether or not I get hit by their attacks. The other villain from before is now in my sights, holding the girl in his hand, and just as I’m about to grab her, I’m tackled by three superhumans who fly at me and pin me to the ground.

“You’re one annoying kid, aren’t you? I’d be glad to kill you, but doing so would just bring more trouble to me, as if it hasn’t already, so just stay down or else I’ll kill the girl,” the villain says.

Hearing the man’s irritating voice and the girl’s cries for help is enough to make me overpower the three superhumans holding me down and break free from their grasp. Before the villain can kill the girl, I shatter his robotic arm and break his other arms and legs before putting the girl in a safe corner of the room and heading back into the fight. I grab the face of one of the superhumans who was holding me down and shove it so hard into the wall that it gets stuck there. The next one I hit so hard their face hits the floor and shakes it, and the final one gets sent flying to a group of his friends. After, I enter a frenzy as I throw punch after punch and throw and use the bodies of people and robots against one another, not really caring if I kill them or not, as long as they stay down.

Looking around, I see that everyone is down and in pain or barely alive. Ahead of me in the hallway I was just in, I see that Idelle has taken care of the rest, but she seems shocked at me. I suppose I let my impatience and irritation get the better of me. Turning to the villain who had the girl, I grab him by the neck and hold him up.

“What were you kidnapping her for?” I ask.

“Her genes are a match for the kind that superhumans usually have. She was going to be tested on and made into another protector of this country,” the villain says.

“Is that what the attack on Solis was for? It was just a ploy to kidnap people like her?”

“It was, and the country, no, the world would’ve been better off if we had made off without a hitch. Many of the heroes you fight alongside and will see in the country are ones we stole from families. It’s a way to ensure everyone’s safety, and you can’t say I’m wrong since the country is safer with more superhumans protecting it.”

“No, but I can say the ends don’t justify the means. You’ll pay for what you did!”

“What are you going to do? Bring me to jail? I know people who will bust me out legitimately through the courts. I know too many of their dirty secrets to let slip.”

The man starts to laugh at me. As my anger builds, I tighten my grip around his neck and then throw him into the sewage system, which drags him screaming down into its putrid depths. I turn to the girl, whom I’ve been trying to save this whole time, and put on the best smile I can.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

“Yeah. Why did you throw that bad guy into the sewers?” the girl says.

“Well, you flush waste down the toilet, and since he was a waste and this sewage system is a big toilet, I threw him into it. Make sense?”

“Yeah! He was awful and evil. Thank you so much for saving me!”

The girl hugs me, and I’m just now noticing that she has a figure of me. Legitimate heroes have merchandise made of them, especially if they become famous in the area they’re from or the country, and I’ve completely forgotten that Solis has toys and shirts with my image on them. I pick the girl up and begin to walk away from the area, but Idelle stops me by putting her hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay, John?” she asks.

“Yes, I am. I just let my anger get to me, is all,” I say.

“No, there was something different about you. Your blond hair was turning white, your skin was turning bright and pale, and your eyes were shining.”

“Huh? I didn’t notice.”

“It’s because John Elio is an angel!” the girl says with a figure of me held up in the air. “And he’s the best hero ever!”

Idelle and I can’t help but laugh a bit.

“Yes, he is,” Idelle admits. “We’ll talk about what happened later.”

“You’ll let the general know what happened, too?”

“I have to.”

“Alright, well. I'd better get this girl home.”

“Do that, and I’ll clean up around here. I’ll see you later, John.”

“See you later, sis.”

Finally, back on the surface, I see that the situation is under control and the city is safe thanks to the police and its superhuman heroes.

While walking the streets, the girl asks, “Why did you go after me, while everyone else in the city was in danger? Did my parents promise you a lot?”

“No. I did it because you were in danger,” I answer.

“Lots of people in the city were in danger. Why go after me? What made me special? Did you know my genes could make me into a superhuman like the bad guy said?”

“No, I didn’t, and someone doesn’t need to be special to be saved. You were someone who needed help, and so, I helped you. I don’t need a reason beyond that or the promise of a reward to do so.”

“Yeah, I guess it was a stupid question.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Yes, it was! You’re my favorite hero because you help all kinds of people without really caring about who they are or what they’ll give you, unlike other heroes in this city.”

“I just follow God’s example is all. He sacrificed His life for us, so why shouldn’t I give my life to everyone, like He did?”

“Yeah…”

I look down at the girl and see that she’s asleep with a smile on her face. When I get her to her parents, they thank me profusely and ask what I want in return, and I tell them that I don’t want anything. I don’t even tell them to fill out a testimony to give me credit for her rescue, and just head back home. I tell my parents everything that happened, and they tell me how proud they are of me and how I did the right thing by saving the girl and not caring about rewards and fame. Even though I agree, I can’t help but feel empty and wanting, as if I wanted something more out of the whole ordeal. During the night, I pray to God in my little adoration chapel for strength, wisdom, and to want what He wants me to desire.

During the next day in Solis, one of the higher-ups in the hero group I’m a part of tells me to report to base for a special visitor. I do so and head to a private room in the hero association’s office building. I expected it to be the parents of the girl I rescued, but I am surprised to see it’s just an older man with graying blond hair and blue eyes. He’s dressed in a black and green flannel shirt, black jeans, and black boots, and sits in the empty meeting room with a smile on his face. There’s something about him that makes me think I should know him or have the same connection to him that I have with Idelle.

Regardless of my feelings, I smile with my hand out and say, “Hello, how are you doing?”

The man shakes my hand as I take a seat with him at the meeting table. He says, “Better than you think, actually. It’s an honor to meet one of the humblest heroes in Solis.”

“Thank you, the pleasure is mine. What’s your name?”

“I’d like to keep that anonymous, for now. What you did yesterday really helped us out. It’s a shame that you won’t be publicly recognized for it, but I assure you that you will be paid under the table.”

“How so?”

“Take a look at your hero account.”

I do so and see that I’ve shot up the ranks in terms of heroes in this city, and I’ve gotten a hundred-thousand-dollar paycheck.

“Did you do this for me? What for?”

“You deserve it, and there are ways for you to get more.”

“I appreciate it, but I work to honor and love God, not for fame and riches.”

The man seems to want to say something, but the words are stuck in his throat.

Eventually, he says, “You’re too good for this city and world, John. A real living saint. That’s why you’ll find yourself in bigger and better places in the future, leading this country to be the best in the world.”

“Thank you, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. I think it’d be better for me to be here, in Solis, for now.”

The man nods, gets up, and heads in the direction of the door as he says, “You are ready, and you will be where you rightfully deserve to be. I promise you that, son. Enjoy what you have now because you’ll be getting more soon enough.”

Son? As I think about the man’s words and start to come to conclusions, one of the higher-ups enters the room.

She asks, “Did the meeting go well?”

“I assume so,” I say.

“It’s not every day you attract the attention of someone high up in power.”

“Who was he exactly?”

“His privileges allowed him to come here anonymously.”

“You don’t know what job he had in our government or anything?”

“No. All he said was to tell you that he was an army general, after the meeting.”

“General…I figured…” I say out loud.

“What was that?”

I rush out of the room and try to find the man in the building, but he’s somehow escaped. Going up to Luke’s office, I tell him what happened and have him search through the camera’s history to find him.

Through his quick searching, Luke finds that “The cameras blurred his face thanks to his privileges, which means I can’t run it through a database to find his identity. As for where he went, the cameras picked him up going into an equally blurry room that has no cameras.”

“Why wouldn’t it?” I ask.

“This building, like all hero buildings, has secret entrances and escape rooms that high-privileged members of the government can hide in or make quick escapes. From the information I’ve gathered, he’s probably long gone by now. I’m sorry, John.”

“It’s…it’s fine.”

“We were so close to the general you keep talking about, too. Argh! If only I knew he was coming.”

“Again, it’s fine. Judging by what he said, I’ll probably see him again soon.”

Luke tries to tell me about the bright side of things, like how I’ve moved up in the hero ranks and got a nice paycheck for everything I’ve done, which I agree with. Still, I’m starting to feel the need to get involved in bigger issues. I prayed for this, and now I find myself caught up in larger plots involving powerful people, some of whom I may be related to. Please, God, help me to be humble, not get in over my head, and ascend to greater heights if it be your will.

 

The End