A Moment to Capture

A blue slurpee sounded good at the moment so I make my way toward the back of the convenience store where the machine quietly hums. I grab an empty cup, fill it with blue slurpee, and walk to the front of the store and wait in line for the cashier. The place is quiet, with only the store's music playing in the background and the occasional sound of the cash register.

The sound of a small bell sounds as two men walk in through the door to my right. They are both dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants with their hands in their pockets. Without even browsing through the shelves, they stand behind me in line, neither of them saying a word. I shift my body to face the store's entrance, so that I can observe them through my peripheral vision. No one else in the store suspects them, but I do. Unless they are buying a pack of cigarettes from the front counter, I know they mean trouble. I can sense it because I've seen this happen before. Too many fucking times.

In front of me in line are a man and a girl. The man has just finished making his purchase so he gets ready to leave. The girl is next. She is going to be the two men's hostage.

Acting quickly but casually, I leave my place in line, slurpee still in my hand as I find the door to a storage room in the back. I pull my backpack off my shoulders, unzip it, and pull out my suit. To myself, I say a silent thank you to a god I know exists. I thank the dude for always allowing me to be prepared in a time like this.

In less than a minute, I am changed out of my orange hoodie and into my suit. I feel a little weird, not having worn the suit in a while. The thick spandex hugs my body.

I charge out the door, back to the cashier's counter. Just as I had suspected, one of the hooded men has the girl in a chokehold, a gun held threateningly to her head. She is helpless and can't move while in his grip. The other man faces the cashier, pointing a knife at him.

"Any day now, old man!" yells the thug with the knife. The old man behind the counter fumbles as he nervously clears the cash register of all its bills.

"Drop your weapons," I command in a low, disguised voice. The two thugs turn to face me. The look in their eyes tells me they are bemused. "What, never seen a guy in a onesie before?"

I charge forward, pushing the knife holding thug against the counter. My hand grips his neck into a choke and he is so tense that he drops his knife onto the counter. The thug's accomplice yells, "I'll shoot! Hands off him or else I'll shoot."

I turn toward the other guy as I keep hold of the first. The hostage girl's eyes are wide with fear. No, amusement. But at what? This situation doesn't really call for amusement. I smirk. Thug number two won't shoot. He's too scared. In fact, these two men are rookies at convenience store robbery. I can tell because the guy's voice quavers as the threat comes out of his mouth a second time.

"I'll shoot the girl!"

Without letting go of the first guy, I grab the knife off the counter and hold it at his neck, letting the tip of the blade touch his skin but not quite in position to pierce him.

"Drop the gun and let the girl go or your friend gets it first," I warn the guy with the gun. I can see sweat beading on the thug's forehead. Slowly, he then points the gun at me with his finger on the trigger. He looks uncertain. "Go ahead. Shoot."

"No!" yells the girl. It is then I realize.. I know this girl. She is a familiar face from school. One of the smarter kids, so we never really hang out. But the faster I get this over with, the faster I can get away from her before she realizes who I really am.

The thug and I stare each other down. Think think think. It's two against one. I've done this before, I can do it again. The fact that a gun is pointed at me shouldn't bother me, but it somehow does. I can't afford to die yet.

In one swift motion, I take the knife and throw it at the thug's leg to demobilize him. He lets out an earsplitting roar in pain. At the same time, just seconds before he drops his gun, his fingers pull the trigger. Luckily I move my head and the bullet whizzes pass me by an inch. It hits and shatters some glass encasements by the old man behind the counter.

The thug is gutsier than I thought. Then again, shooting a masked vigilante is different from shooting an innocent girl.

I dive for the gun and throw it at the old man so he can protect himself. While one thug wails in pain, the other guy—who is now free from my grip—throws himself at me.

"Get outta here!" I yell at the girl as she stumbles away from the injured thug.

The other guy catches me off balance and we both fall to the ground. I try to kick the guy's weight off of me but he has me pinned and lands a couple of punches to my face. I block his next punch with my forearm. It stings, but I don't think about it. With my other arm free, I swing my fist into the side of the guy's face. He stumbles sideways, allowing me room to get up and trap him between my legs.

As I straddle the thug, I throw more jabs and hooks to his face. When my fist sinks into his jaw for the last couple times, he is about to spit at me but his head drops backward to the floor, blood trickling down where my punches created gashes. I take this moment to get up and leave. Enough sense has been beaten out of him and his accomplice already so my job here is done. The old man is on the phone—probably with the police—so it is my time to go.

Without any further ado, I dart out of the convenience store and into the streets to head home. My face and arms feel a little sore but the pain could be worse. And I realize I never got my blue slurpee but whatever.

Just as I am about to turn around a block, I hear a pair of running footsteps behind me. The thugs? No, one's got a knife in his leg and the other's unconscious. I risk a quick glance behind me. The girl from the convenience store? She is running toward me in her red Converse high tops. Her short brown hair bobs up and down and her hands possess a camera. What the..

"Wait! Mysterion, wait!" she calls out. I break into a sprint. I thought she had already left the store when I told her to.

I make a sharp turn into an alleyway and leap onto a ladder at the side of a building. I still hear her behind me. What is this girl doing, chasing after me with a camera? If all she wants is a picture, she's crazy. I climb up as fast as I can but by the time I'm halfway to the top, I hear her jump onto the ladder below me. She's fast and persistent but I don't let her catch me.

"Wait up!" she yells.

I reach the top of the building and scan my surroundings. Well, there's not much to expect at building tops. There is only one way out in a time of desperation.

My feet make their way to the building's ledge. I look down and come to the conclusion that I'm about eight stories up. The fall shouldn't be too bad. I've had worse. Without any further thinking, I take a few steps back, run forward until right before I meet the edge, and take a giant leap into the open space before me. My cloak makes fluttering noises and the cold evening air wraps around me as gravity pulls me down selfishly and fast.

By the time the girl reaches the top, I'd be gone.