Single post in The Little One -- [COMPLETED]

The truck driver sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat. “Prob’ly a pair of them freaks you been hearing about lately. Y’know, the ones with superpowers and stuff, like the films.” The young man didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but he could tell that whatever was going on in the battle threatened the people in the area. Those loud, bright sparks looked like enough of a problem to send people running. In fact, some had already abandoned idling vehicles closest to the battle, but they hadn’t cleared the area. Most of them kept just enough distance so they could be spectators in the rain… which was doubly stupid. “Shouldn’t they run?” The man laughed. “And miss the show? Feh… Now either git in here and shut my door or move on, kid.” Sticking around wasn’t exactly a sound idea. But where to go? Back to Willie? Ask him if he knew anything about NeWave? One thing was for sure. He didn’t want to get sucked into the weird battle going on, and something within him really wished the bystanders would put more distance between it and them as well. He didn’t want any of them to be harmed, especially if— A loud beep echoed in his ears again, soon followed by that throb near his temple. He looked down at the weapon and sure enough, a third bar was lit. He pretty much guessed nothing would happen until all five bars glowed blue. But what was it doing? Charging? No, that didn’t make any sense. It’s not like the thing was plugged into an outlet. Maybe it was some kind of strange timer counting down to… something. A sudden snap of rattling thunder erupted, demanding his attention. Tandem large sparks lit up the street between swarming, black shadows that carved through the light like razor-sharp scythes. The constantly shifting of light and dark made it impossible to see the combatants through the rain anymore, and the sparks—growing in intensity as well as size—impacted several vehicles nearby. “We need to—!” His insistent desire to leave the area was cut short upon a spot in his vision clearing through the downpour. It was as if the semi’s water-streaked windshield faded from view and every plummeting raindrop outside fled the direct line of sight to a child standing across the street on the sidewalk… way too close to the action. “Move, kid,” he muttered a moment before another large spark exploded with enough force to knock the child back, sending her sprawling across the wet concrete. Without a second thought, he jumped out of the semi, wondering where the child’s parents were during this mess. As soon as he rounded the front of the truck, a sudden bright light consumed his vision and burned his eyes before he could squeeze his lids shut. The deafening thunderclap that immediately followed sent a ringing through his ears and hurled him back through the air. He even managed to catch a glimpse of the semi’s front end lifting off the ground before his back crashed into the windshield of a compact. He rolled off the hood and slammed into the asphalt shoulder first. He cried out, as if his voice could be heard over the tandem crashes of thunder and frantic screams of frightened pedestrians finally fleeing the area. Though the ringing dominated all sound, another sound managed to make itself known. Another—louder—beep echoed so hard that it rattled his skull and challenged the pain in his left shoulder. By reflex, his fingers curled tightly. Somehow, the weapon remained within his grasp, and for the moment, he couldn’t focus on much beyond that. Head-racking vibrations nearly blacked out his entire vision… with the exception of one sole object. When his head rolled aside uncontrollably, he opened his eyes and could perfectly see the crying child even though the thunderous crashes went mute, the cool drops of rain pelting his flesh ceased, and the heavy stench of exhaust and ozone dissipated. There was just the child—a terrified little girl who could do nothing but weep her eyes out while curled up in a ball. Where were her parents?! Someone had to remove her from danger! No doubt those exploding sparks would incinerate the girl if they exploded within a couple feet of her! Someone needed to help her!