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Law of the Sword (Worm/Destiny Quest)

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Chapter 6
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    • When should I move in?
    [X] Wait until Ms. Wolfe's deadline is closer. Maybe a day or two beforehand? (3 Votes, won via coin toss)

    How should I move in?
    [X] All at once in the night. (4 Votes)

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​

    March 2nd, 2011
    7:00 PM

    I don't need to move right away, and maybe actually having the meetings with Ms. Wolfe will give me some information? A lot of the stuff she was talking about was inheritance stuff, so maybe I'll get a bit of money before I take off? I doubt it. We were struggling, but I know we weren't well off enough for me to suddenly solve my problems. We'll see where that goes in the next few days, I suppose.

    I am still not hungry or tired, but I still want to go to bed. Not sleeping can get dangerous really fast, and I need to be at the top of my game for the next few days. So I double-check everything is locked up and then take a shower and head to bed.

    -/¯\-
    -\*/-​

    I stand in a monochrome expanse with screaming wind ripping at my clothes. There is a ruined city floating upside-down above me, rock shaped like water flowing up to it and through the gutters of the building onto shattered streets. The wind is not cold nor is it warm, but it bites at something in me deeper than my bones. Surrounding me are dozens of blinking eyes, and still more watch for only a moment before leaving.

    All at once, the feeling becomes familiar, letting me place it. This has the same tones and feeling that the voice did before it dissipated. Was this where he came from? If so, why am I here? I look at the eyes, but they remain silent.

    I take a step forward, and everything ripples out from around me. The ground shifts from flat black stone to jagged platforms with inky holes of nothing between them, the city comes alive and is suddenly whole, though there are no moving shapes and can only hear the wind I can tell that it is… healthier for lack of a better term. More eyes appear before leaving, only a few joining the group still around me.

    I take a step back to my original position and the new eyes vanish, though the city above stays the same. Experimentally, I take another step backwards, and more eyes vanish from the cloud. Before I can try anything else, I notice a figure on the horizon.

    A headless quadrupedal thing with limbs ending in sharp points, the body seems to be made from inverted colors that manage to stand out despite still being black and white like everything else. Every sudden jittery step is followed by its body lazily following behind, seemingly swimming by turning itself inside out, over and over.

    I feel a deep sense of dread hit me right before I am stanched from my position and carried into the sky. Fangs biting into me as the landscape turns into a rapid kaleidoscope from my violent motion. I try to beat at the elongated jaws clenched around my midsection but that—

    I am ejected from the dream into a coughing fit with a rapidly growing pain across my chest and back. Lifting my shirt, I see a line of bruises starting to form on my pale skin, there are even small points of blood. Did…did the dream bite become real? What does that place have to do with swords or killing? This pain is certainly real though, and I resolve to not sleep again until I can use my power, whatever it is, because I didn't even see what attacked me before I was nearly eaten.

    -/¯\-
    -\*/-​

    I do my best to clean the spots where my skin got broken because I don't want to get infected by some sort of sleep disease. The bruising circles around my back as well, so I do my best to bandage what I can reach, but the mirror shows a few punctures are out of my reach and I don't have anyone I can ask for help. Returning the bandages to their spot and exiting the bathroom, I take a look at my clock and see that it is barely past midnight. Since I am not going to sleep anytime soon, I take the opportunity to sit down and think.

    Some part of my mind must have gotten some proper sleep because the thoughts of inheritance come back again and adjacently the idea of using some of their things to make my sword. The idea made me sick when I first considered it but, they're gone and taking it would help me survive. Also, since I will be moving out, I'd be leaving it all behind anyway. Would the banks take it? Better to be used by me then in some fat cat's wallet, right? Thinking about it now, I could probably cannibalize a lot of the house. The only thing I have to worry about it Ms. Wolfe seeing anything, but I can just keep them in my backpack and take it with everything else, or should I take stuff over throughout the next few days? That is, if I want to start tearing things apart now.

    I need gold, which I can probably get from around the house, but I also need acid to get most of the gold. Then I need metal, which will honestly be the easiest, so I can save that till last. Lastly, I also need my blood, which is the weirdest of all of them because I don't understand how that goes into making a sword, but I am also not going to argue with the only clear thing about my power so far.

    Mentally run through the items that spring to mind for disassembly, the TV, my phone, the microwave maybe, and the computer all spring to mind right away. Taking it all at once is the best option, I will definitely stand out, but there won't be a pattern for people to follow. Should I start taking things apart now, though? The stuff that won't be obvious anyway.

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​
    12-hour shift today and again tomorrow kicking my butt, so I might have to skip tomorrow's chapter, not sure yet.

    Should I start dissembling now or later?
    [X] Now. Keep the exteriors of the devices intact, though, to keep it secret.
    [X] Later. There is no need to risk tipping off Ms. Wolfe.

    What should I focus on next?
    [X] Get the acid from Winslow, the new base is actually closer to Winslow than my house.
    [X] Try to have a solid conversion with Ms. Wolfe.
    [X] Return to the library to research how to keep blood fresh.
    [X] Write-In:
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by ecoolasice on Apr 4, 2024 at 3:22 AM, finished with 4 posts and 2 votes.
    • [X] Now. Keep the exteriors of the devices intact, though, to keep it secret.
      [X] Get the acid from Winslow, the new base is actually closer to Winslow than my house.
    Click to expand...
     
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    • Chapter 7
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    • Should I start dissembling now or later?
    [X] Now. Keep the exteriors of the devices intact, though, to keep it secret. (4 Votes)

    What should I focus on next?
    [X] Get the acid from Winslow, the new base is actually closer to Winslow than my house. (4 Votes)
    =={==========-- | --==========}==​

    Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
    12:05 AM

    With nothing else to do and hours before anything is open, I decide to start gathering materials now. The first place I start to go is my parent's room because I know Mom has to have had some gold jewelry. I grab the doorknob and take a deep breath, my heart feeling like it's in a vice, before deciding to change targets to the computer downstairs.

    Opening up the computer tower is a simple process, after I unplug it because being electrocuted sounds like a very bad idea, and the aid of a screwdriver makes taking out the motherboard simple. I also take the wires because aren't they supposed to be made out of copper? And copper was used in bronze, so I could use it in my sword too.

    Wait, can I use more than one kind of metal? All my power calls for is metal, but can I use multiple kinds? What about alloys? Those are made with two different kinds of metal to make a new one, right? I try to feel for my power but nothing responds.

    Furthermore, weren't different metals supposed to have different… properties? Effects? I'm still not sure what my power meant with that, but I've been around metal plenty and haven't been given any sort of insight. I must have the most unhelpful power in the world. Whatever. I can work with what I was given, if nothing else a sword will help me kill the empire.

    I return to taking things apart, grabbing wires as well as the circuit board, the TV has a way smaller board than I thought it would be based on its size. I don't touch the microwave for bow because I still want to be able to use it, same for most of the things in the kitchen really. As I work I realize that Mom's car is in the garage too, maybe I won't even need to go to a junkyard. I leave it untouched for now though, that will probably be messy, and I don't want Ms Wolfe to ask why the car is in pieces, not that I think she's going poke around like that. How hard is driving? I obviously know the basics, but could I just drive my stuff to my base and not bother with the bus? Hmm, an idea to go over later.

    All too quickly, I run out of things I can take apart without leaving behind a mess and am once again standing in front of my parent's room. Thomas didn't make much with the dockworkers, but mom did some kind of billing with some company downtown and made good money there. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been in their room since we moved to this house. My stomach feels like it enters free-fall as I twist the handle, I know they're not there, but some part of me is still expecting to see them. A gentle push reveals an empty room. I stand in the doorway for more than a few moments, forcing tears back behind my eyes, and finally cross the threshold.

    A few steps into the room and I can't help but feel as though I am breaking the rules in some way, like I am sneaking in to steal something, which I guess is true in some sense. I push the feeling down and make a beeline right for the jewelry box to get this done and dusted. I originally planned on picking the gold ones out here, but I quickly change to simply picking up the whole thing and bringing it out into the hallway. While sorting, I decide to sell anything not gold to put some money in my pocket.

    I toss the now empty container onto the bed and close the door, it's out of place, but no one will be coming in here again. If Ms Wolfe goes in there… I dismiss the thought, she is a professional.

    I move to Diamond's room because I know she has some expensive jewelry. The door to her bedroom doesn't fill me with any sort of unease, I've been in there almost as much as my own room. I push the door wide and step into the dark pink and black themed room. It is abnormally quiet, none of the typical music or a warm greeting present. The breakdown isn't as sudden as portrayed in movies, but it is still way too fast for me to try to hold it back. I miss Mom and Thomas sure, but Diamond was the one I was really close with, her not being here… I feel myself curling up in her bed like all the times I've done in the past and fall apart.

    -/¯\-
    -\*/-​

    It takes hours for me to emerge from Diamond's bedroom with one key to in hand and a new level of certainty that the group responsible for taking my big sister from me is going to die, even if that means I have to take the whole organization apart.

    I stashed everything in the biggest suitcase in the house and then stuffed the suitcase under my bed. I do a walk around the house and can't see anything out of place, and I live here, so no alarms should be raised.

    That out of the way, I glance at the clock and see it is nearly time for school to start, if I were going. I could go and get the acid, actually. I can't remember when Mr. Moor's free period is, but I do know it isn't the first period. That doesn't rule out second period though, so I'll still need to get there soonish.

    I quickly get showered and dressed in simple clothes as well as a jacket before grabbing my empty backpack and phone before heading to school. I'll have to basically stake out down the hall, Winslow's lack of funding is an advantage here as there won't be anyone in the hall except other kids not going to class or cameras to see me lurking about.

    The city bus gets me close enough that I walk in the front doors a little after first period starts. There are plenty of people still out front slowly making their way inwards, thankfully no one pays me any attention as I make my way to the second floor. Unfortunately there are no easy corners to hide behind and there are two staircases nearby that Mr. Moor might take to go outside, I never bothered to find out where he smoked, so I can't make a guess either. Could I just play on my phone in the hallway? I've seen people do it all the time and never once have I seen a teacher care, so probably.

    I set my backpack near my feet and pull out my phone. I want to start looking things up, but I also don't want to have anything that could link me to being a cape on the search history for the phone, so I prevent myself. Instead, I start to watch some random videos, only to realize that I can do a bit of research and still be subtle about it by using PHO. I start trying to get a better picture of the bay's state, living here I know the basics but knowing more details can only help.

    First period ends and a second group of people file in, second period, third period and then finally fourth period lacks any people making their way into the room. I watch as Mr. Moor puts his stature to use and blends into the crowd of students. Quickly snagging my backpack, I make my way across the hall and try to not look like I am about to steal a vat of acid.

    I aim right for the back room and start looking. I don't know exactly how long I have, but I know it isn't long, I vaguely remember what the container looked like when it was used for a demonstration. The shape is rectangular with a lid and handle on the top which helps me find it helps me quickly find it. I double-check the cap is screwed on all the way and lift the quarter or so empty bottle into my backpack. Zipping it closed, I make my way to the door, only for it to open before I can touch the handle. Face to face with Mr. Moor, dozens of lies start running through my head before I settle on 'visiting friends'.

    "Roman? We didn't expect to see you back so soon," he says in his slightly scratchy voice, though his face helps convey his surprise.

    "I wanted to see some of my friends in person." I try to make myself sound not guilty, though I don't think I succeeded.

    "Oh, that makes sense. Will we be seeing you in class again soon?"

    "Probably not. Sorry." He reaches out and put a firm hand on my shoulder.

    "There is nothing to be sorry about. Don't rush your recovery." I am a bit surprised, but it is nice to know that no everyone here is completely apathetic, it almost makes me sorry for stealing from him. Almost, but not quite.

    I just nod, and he pats my shoulder a few times before I let him slip past me into the classroom, as soon as the path is clear I all but dart into the hall and make my way to the nearest exit; this one just happens to be an emergency exit whose alarm hasn't worked since before my sister went to school here. Then I am home free, or base free in this case.

    I have the acid, which is a plus, but there is no way that Mr. Moor doesn't know I was the one who took it. That means he will probably call the cops… Shit. The bus ride to my base is stressful, and I keep expecting the cops to stop it to escort me off. That doesn't happen, though, and I quickly make my way down alleyways and across streets to drop off the acid.

    Does he check the room every day or only once a week? Does he check it during his break period? If that's the case, then the cops are probably on their way to my house now. I slip inside and do a basic check to see if anyone has been here since I was last night but don't see any overt signs, so I quickly take the acid out of my bag, and he'd right back for the bus stop. If the cops are going to my house, I then need to get my things and go, but I don't know for sure if they're on the way. Maybe he only checks at the end of the day? The bus ride home is just as uneventful as the all the others have been, the only noteworthy thing to happen is some kind old lady brushing a spider off my sleeve.

    I arrive home to an empty driveway and no sirens within hearing range, but that doesn't ease my anxiety.

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​
    Longer chapter as a way of apology. Also, you got your first unfortunate roll in this chapter, that's life.

    What do I do?
    [X] Get out now, grab what I can and book it.
    [X] Nothing, I am being paranoid. He'll probably think it was a Merchant wannabe who took it to make drugs or something.
    [X] Write-In:
     
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    • Chapter 8
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    • What do I do?
    [X] Nothing, I am being paranoid. He'll probably think it was a Merchant wannabe who took it to make drugs or something. (4 Votes)

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​

    Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
    11:50 AM

    I pace across the living room floor.

    The meeting with Ms. Wolfe had come and gone without any issue. My attention primarily focused on the door helped the meeting pass quicker, and she seemed to be a bit busy anyway, though I did tell her I would need to think about the choices for a bit longer. Throughout, there hadn't even been a siren in the distance, something actually rather uncommon for the Bay. So either Mr. Moor is going to check at the end of the day or at the end of the week, also known as tomorrow.

    Or the police are not going to show up here at all.

    While I was sitting at the table with Ms. Wolfe, I had thought about it a bit more, and now I'm not as sure that he will immediately connect it with me. If he had checked right away, sure, but that clearly didn't happen. I only have him in seventh period, and I've never made trouble before, unlike a number of my classmates. More than likely he'll think it is one of the troublemakers or kids wearing gang colors to school, if I weren't responsible I would guess a Merchant because I'm sure that acid can be used to make some kind of drug. I find myself relaxing a bit and lose the need to pace, I'm not out of the woods yet of course, but I'll be gone soon anyway so it doesn't really matter.

    Letting out a huff of air and grab my notebook and look at the instructions again. I will need to let it set for a week and stir it every day with a glass or metal rod while in a glass container. A mixing bowl should work, and a quick check shows that we have a few in the cupboard, I am unable to find any glass or metal rods though. I'll need to go to the store. Actually, I'll need to go to the store anyway to buy hydrogen peroxide and methanol.

    I open up the rainy day fund to find a whole forty dollars, which should be enough? I've never bought either of the items, but I can't imagine they're more than twenty apiece. Even if they are, I can just steal them. I already am a criminal, so what does more crime matter? I don't feel any different, though I've never given it much thought to what a criminal would feel like.

    No time like the present, right? I stuff the money in my pocket and put on my jacket, I also grab my backpack, so I don't have to carry the items, and it works as an easy place to hide something if I need to steal. Heading out to a hardware store first for some methanol, since that one will be harder to find on account of not knowing what it looks like. My brief bit of research did point me toward 'wood alcohol' which an employee should be able to help me find.

    Ultimately, the process is painless, up until I looked at the price tag. The smallest bottle, costing almost thirty-five dollars. I buy it, because I can, but I will have to steal the hydrogen peroxide, a fact that doesn't bother me as much as I think it should.

    I get off the bus near my house and head to a small family owned pharmacy that we use since it is so close to the house. There is no one inside other than a sleepy looking young man behind the counter on account of it being the middle of the day. I find what I am looking for without any issue. Unfortunately, before I can put it into my backpack, the Bay decides to remind me why it's the Bay as I head the door open and a scratchy reedy voice call out.

    "You know the drill, dude, open the register."

    I peek out from behind the shelf and see two men pointing guns at the cashier that only looks slightly more awake than he did when I came in. One is rail thin and shifting from side to side, and the other one is large and sweaty with a duffle bag clutched in his offhand. The thin one makes a gesturing motion with his head into the store, and the fat one looks at him confused.

    "Pills dumbass?" The same ugly voice says, and his companion's eyes light up.

    "Ah, uh. Yeah, right." His voice is almost worse on the ears, sounding… wet.

    The thin returns his attention to the cashier and makes a motion with his gun, which spurs the employee to start putting money on the counter. The one with a duffle bag shoves his gun in the waistband of his gym shorts and starts making his way in my direction.

    I feel my heart start to race and a coiling anticipation in my gut alongside my power, both wanting.

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​

    What do I do?
    [X] Hide, I'm not ready.
    [X] Use my jacket as a mask and attack.
    -[X] Try to kill them. My power has something to do with killing, right? What better chance to test it than now?
    -[X] Try to spare them. I don't need the attention that would bring.
    [X] Write-In
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by ecoolasice on Apr 7, 2024 at 1:54 AM, finished with 4 posts and 4 votes.
    • [X] Hide, I'm not ready.
      [X] Try to kill them. My power has something to do with killing, right? What better chance to test it than now?
    Click to expand...


    Ah, a tie. I'm going to extend this by another hour to hopefully get a tiebreaker vote.
     
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    • Chapter 9
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    • What do I do?
    [X] Use my jacket as a mask and attack. (4 Votes, won via Conflict Drive)
    -[X] Try to kill them. My power has something to do with killing, right? What better chance to test it than now? (3 Votes)

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​

    Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
    1:20 PM

    Some part of me feels a sort of relief at finally having a chance to test out my power, but it is washed to the back of my mind as I start planning my approach. The fat one doesn't seem like the leader, so I should target the thin one first.

    I quickly duck back and move aisles so that Fatty doesn't see me, and quietly set my backpack down and slip out of my jacket. Capes need masks and costumes, which I haven't put any thought into and mentally make a note to address it later, I tie the jacket around my jaw so that I can still see.

    Hearing the sound of things being toppled off of shelves, presumably into the duffle bag, I sneak around more aisle so that I can watch Skinny better. He is directing the cashier to start putting some of the over the counter medicine next to the cash, but all I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears. There are no adequate weapons around so I simply make a fist, like Diamond showed me with the thumb on the outside, and break line of sight so if he does turn around he won't spot me. Moving spots again, I peek around the shelf closest to the door and a small part of me want to just run but a churning energy in my gut anchors me here. Skinny is reaching forward to grab the cash and the counter is only about four and a half feet away, so I make my move now with him distracted.

    I bust forward, my chest taking that moment to remind me I had been injured last night, but it is too late to back out now. The moment doesn't slow down like some descriptions of a fight, and I swiftly find myself within striking range just as Skinny starts to turn around. I twist myself to try and add my momentum into the punch and aim right for his kidney. I don't step away even as his rancid egg like smell assaults my nose, bringing my knee up between his legs. He goes limp, collapsing in a heap that nearly knocks me to the ground. I bring my foot up and slam my heel into his head and bring my leg up to—

    A white-hot line of pain through my right bicep accompanied by a bang cuts right through my adrenaline fueled haze, making me fall to my knee grabbing the rapidly bleeding wound. I bite down on a mouthful of jacket and let out a muffled scream of pain.

    "Get up Ricky!" Fatty yells while pointing his gun at me, the now named Ricky just lets out a groan.

    Shit, I need to get close and can't do that with the gun pointed my way. My adrenaline is recoating the pain with numbness so that I can ignore it again.

    Ricky starts to stumble to his feet, leaning on the counter heavily. Fatty lowers his gun a bit and turns his head towards his friend and I take the chance to dive towards the shelves again, I hear a muted 'fuck!' and there is a deafening bang as he shoots again, but thankfully I don't feel another bullet hit me. I am stunned for a moment as I land heavily on my injured arm and feel myself let out a short scream of pain.

    I hear Fatty's steps charging towards me, and I quickly scramble to my feet. He has a gun, and I have an arm I can't move without searing pain. Scouring the shelf next to me for something to throw at him and my eyes land on a package of cookies, I grab it with my left hand right as he is rounding the corner and chuck it at him. The throw goes wide, but it does make him flinch, which I capitalize on by trying to follow up with a tackle, but he barely has to step back. Fatty gabs a fistful of my shirt and pushes me back at the same time as he kicks my shin, making me fall to the floor.

    My head hits the ground and I immediately feel a stuffy headache start to form, but I can push through it. I aim my own kick at his knee and I feel his knee bend as he drops to the floor with a scream of pain, taking a shelf with him. His gun clatters to the floor next to me, letting me snatch it and stand up, my leg letting its disagreement known as I put pressure on it.

    Spinning around, I see Ricky stumbling to a standing position, hand holding his own fallen firearm. I don't think and just fire. The third gunshot sends my ears ringing and I let out a short shout of pain as the recoil travels up my arm and feels like it runs a jagged poker through my wound.

    The pain is immediately banished as I feel a sensation run through me. Like liquid sugar cookies and a cool summer night running through my veins, layered under it is this feeling of righteousness and growth. I greedily try to keep hold of all of it, but most of it slips through me like air and is swallowed up by something below my body. What I do manage to hold onto quickly seeps into my being and the pain of my body starts coming back. I turn the gun and shoot Fatty and am rewarded with more of the feeling, this time there is more, so I am able to sink my metaphorical teeth into a slightly larger amount, but not by much.

    Breathing heavily as my mind properly returns to my body, I look around.

    The small pharmacy is wrecked and the cashier is nowhere to be seen, which is good, but the cops are probably on their way now. Limping over and dropping the gun in my backpack, I snatch the hydrogen peroxide that started this mess and add it to my bag as well. I glance over at the cash still on the counter. In for a penny… I sweep it into my backpack as I pass and quickly zip it closed. My adrenaline is going to wear off soon, so I quickly run for it while I am not overwhelmed by pain. Blood rushing in my ringing ears doesn't stop the sound of sirens from reaching me and I remember I still have the jacket wrapped around my face. I rip it off and quickly put it on to try and hide some of the blood coming from my arm.

    Taking a twisting route home means that the adrenaline is all but gone by the time I slam the front door shut behind me. I don't have a chance to relax as, now bereft of an objective, the only thing I have to occupy my mind is the pain radiating from my injured form.

    I drag myself to the kitchen, slipping out of my backpack as I do, and fish out the first aid kit from under the sink before just about dropping to the floor. Tears rapidly start to blur my eyes as I pull my jacket off, which feels like sandpaper rubbing over the bullet hole. Tentatively feeling it, so I can tell where to wrap the gauze, I am able to tell that the bullet only grazed me right below my shoulder. A part of me recognizes how lucky I am to have won with only a few injuries to show for it, but the rest of me isn't in a position to really think about anything too hard.

    Taking probably a bit too much pain relief medicine, I manage to make it to the couch, where I try to sleep. Only to remember that I don't actually want to sleep because of the weird dream, and instead I put on some mindless TV. Except I took the TV apart, so nothing happens as I click the remote. I pull out my phone and manage to navigate to a long video of nature noises or something as I wait for the medicine to start working.

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​
    Hehe, your first hint at some of the things going on behind the scenes. Also, this is only my second or third fight scene, so feedback on it would is welcome!

    I feel…
    [X] Stupid. Why would I do that?
    [X] Excitement. I felt something happen as I killed them.
    [X] Write-In: Emotion:

    Do I rest for a day?
    [X] No, keep working on my sword. In this case, researching blood storage methods.
    [X] Yes, I might not be able to sleep, but I still need to rest.
    [X] Write-In: Action:
     
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    • Scheduled vote count started by ecoolasice on Apr 8, 2024 at 3:54 PM, finished with 8 posts and 3 votes.
    • [X] Excitement. I felt something happen as I killed them.
      [X] Yes, I might not be able to sleep, but I still need to rest.
      [X] No, keep working on my sword. In this case, researching blood storage methods.
      [X] Stupid. Why would I do that?
    Click to expand...
     
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    • Chapter 10
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    • I feel…
    [X] Excitement. I felt something happen as I killed them. (7 Votes)

    Do I rest for a day?
    [X] Yes, I might not be able to sleep, but I still need to rest. (8 Votes)

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​

    Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
    6:10 PM

    I have been laying on the couch for a few hours now, the video on my phone ended a while ago, but I haven't had the strength to reach for it. In the quiet, I can almost feel the painkillers seeping into my blood. I am not doing anything until at least tomorrow, Ms Wolfe's deadline or no, I need a break.

    Despite the activity, I still don't feel hungry, but I am starting to get a bit tired, like I had just woken up. My guess is that means I still have to sleep, just not as often. Great.

    I know I had plans and things I needed to think about beyond making my sword, but for the life of me I can't think of anything but my current pain and the fight. A trill of excitement races through my nerves as I think about the fight again.

    What was that feeling? That had to have been my power, right? I can't think of anything else it could have been, meaning I gain something from killing people. I'm not quite sure what exactly I get, but I can remember clearly the feeling of the kill and how it spread through my body like crawling electricity. Shifting myself a bit to look at my hand to see if there is any noticeable difference, but all I see is my own bloody hand.

    Shit, the blood, I need to clean that up. I start to sit up, only to immediately fall back as a number of sharp spikes of buzzing pain assault me. Okay, let's take stock of what hurts.

    Firstly and the most loud is my gunshot wound, right below the shoulder of my dominate arm. Next is my left shin where Fatty kicked me, it feels like it is pretty deeply bruised. After that it is the back of my head, a deep throbbing assault that makes the edges of my thinking fuzzy. Then there are my knuckles, which hurt from the one punch I did manage to throw, I'm guessing? I never thought about punching as hurting, but I've also never punched anyone before today. The last main point of pain, discounting the patchwork of soreness, is the puncture wounds across my chest and back.

    As I survey myself, I can also feel the dried blood clinging to my body and clothes. I need a shower. The process of getting upstairs isn't Herculean, but it does take a little bit so as to not aggravate anything. I don't think you're supposed to get bandages wet, but the one on my arm is already soaked in my blood, so I don't care right now. Plus, my phone is still downstairs next to the couch and I couldn't be paid to leave the bathroom without taking a shower first.

    The shower is half nice and half painful, which I should have seen coming. Once I am finished washing myself, I just enjoy the hot water until it is a bit past the point of being called lukewarm. Stepping out and carefully drying off, I can use the mirror to take a better look at myself.

    Short brown hair, slightly tanned skin, and looking like I was chewed up and spit out by Lung covered in bruises and bandages. The only thing off that I can see is my eyes look… different. Still hazel brown, but something I can't put my finger on… It doesn't really matter, and I dismiss it for now.

    I do need to change my bandages, though, and I use the smaller first aid kit under the bathroom sink to do so. Taking the wraps off my chest is easy, and I don't even really need to put new ones on, but I do just to be safe. The arm wrapping is harder to take off and starts to bleed a bit, probably because it started to clot on the bandage itself. I take a chance to look at the wound, and it looks better than I thought it would be considering I got shot. An uneven half circle cutting right across my arm. I wrap it up again tight and pack the kit up.

    I get changed into light clothes, gym shorts and an armless tee shirt before taking another pain pill and getting to work cleaning up the blood on the kitchen floor. While I do the monotonous task, I let my mind wander a bit.

    I don't feel bad at all. I should be feeling something about killing them, but I can't seem to muster up more than a passing feeling of… something. It's not regret or guilt, but whatever it is, it is weak and dissipates easily. Same for the theft, even though a year ago I felt bad for stealing a candy bar from the gas station, I don't feel a thing about sealing literal acid from a school.

    Actually, thinking back to the gas station I still feel bad about stealing it even though it was about a year ago, but nothing from today or yesterday sets off my conscience. That has to be my power, right? Can your own power mess with your head? I've never looked into that before, but that sounds wrong. I'll look into it later.

    The combination of bleach and mindless scrubbing manages to erase my blood from the tile in the kitchen, so I should be fine. Only I go to sit down on the couch and see that there is blood stained into the cloth where my head was laying, well as down the front where I had my arm. My head was bleeding? I didn't even notice.

    Fuck. There is too much to clean without leaving a noticeable spot of different color in the light brown cushions. There is even some in the carpet! If I was bleeding this much, how did I not bleed out? Do my powers help with that? I feel a sudden spike of anger that make the fuzziness in my head throb.

    Why does it have to be so obtuse! What if I had never killed anyone? Would I have ever learned what my power was? Do I even need to find a way to store my blood, or do I just bleed forever? What the Hell, power? I don't even have a way of checking that because I don't know how much blood I lost to begin with! I snatch my phone off the ground, my anger letting me ignore the burst of pain from moving my arm, and look up symptoms of blood loss. None of them match anything I am feeling, so I guess not?

    I feel my anger start to lose its edge, and I just add it to the jumbled pile of things that don't make any sense. Capes break physics all the time, so I don't know why I am so surprised at this. I take a deep breath and let it out. Okay, I can check the need for blood storage off my list. That leaves just the metal. The metal that is going to be heavy.

    I certainly can't carry the pieces anymore, so how am I going to get it to my base? I mentally remind myself that I am not going anywhere tonight, at least because I need to let myself heal some.

    =={==========-- | --==========}==​
    When there is a write-in be sure to add the whole '[X] Write-In: (answer)' in your vote and when there are multiple write-ins I will add a subject to put as well like the '[X] Write In: Carpet: (answer)' below.

    How do I get the metal to my base?
    [X] Use Mom's car.
    [X] Steal a car?
    [X] Write-In: Metal:

    I won't be able to get the stains out of the couch and carpet, what should I do?
    [X] Try anyway, and lie about it if asked.
    [X] Hide the cushions and move the couch a bit to cover the stain.
    [X] Just take off and start staying at the ex-bakery now.
    [X] Write In: Carpet:
     
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