Ghosted Memory 《Matt Murdock》

Chapter 2 - A Bad Day Amongst Many

A moment passed.

Then all silence erupted into chaos as a wine bottle flew out of the darkness hitting the man- holding Mina hostage- right into the side of his head.

"ARGH, WHAT THE FUCK," he screamed as his hand dropped from her neck, allowing Mina to breathe properly. Falling forward and knocking her forehead against the till, she quickly flung her arms out to grab it and drag herself onto her legs properly. She greedily intook gulps of air as she tried to stabilise herself. Realising that something had prevented the robber from killing her, she turned her head at the scene before before her eyes.

A masked man, dressed in all black, darted out from the shadowed doorway of the store room. The robber, given no moment to think, was thrown to the floor, his body thudding on impact, gun slipping from his hand to the floor. Quick to regain energy, kicked his right leg out at the masked hero's feet, stepping up and grabbing his shoulders, throwing him into the shelf aisle next to them. A few candy bars and packets of chips tumbled down alongside the masked hero as hit the floor. He grunted as he rolled over from his back onto his forearms, quickly getting back up to fight on his two feet again; a slight limp more noticeable in his stance.

The robber who had the gun in hand once again, went to lift his arm up to aim. But a gloved, bloodied hand stopped that. Grabbing his wrist with one hand and giving him a punch to the nose with his other, causing the criminals head to snap back at the sudden force of power. Bringing the robbers arm towards him, the gunman compliant in his stunned state, as the masked man spun to face away from his attacker, bending his arm over his shoulder quickly with a resounding SNAP! Moving aside as he threw the man away from him, crumbling to the floor and writhing in pain as he clutched his broken arm. A final punch knocking him out unconscious before he was able to cause further harm.

The gun, mere moments ago, had skidded across the floor, coming to a stop next to Mina.

Picking it up with shakey hands, she slowly pointed the gun towards the man laying on the ground. The same man who moments before, had held a gun to her head. Karma's a bitch. Gripping the gun in her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white, her forefinger hovering over the trigger. Her skin was hot and cold all over, her skin as pale as a sheet but her piercing blue eyes stayed trained on him. Void of all comprehension to the outside world, the man in the black mask who stood over the criminal breathing heavily, finally noticed the scared woman behind him. Turning his head in her direction, he observed the shakiness in her whole body. His mouth slightly agape, as he drew in a sharp breath. A salty taste struck him as the tears and sweat of this woman invaded his senses, followed by a soft scent of lavender. A concerning tinge of blood wafted in the air as he picked up on her wounds: a deep gash on her forehead and bruising on her neck. He tilted his head to listen. Her heartbeat thundered, a surprisingly steady one for how the rest of her body was reacting to the situation.

"Put the gun down"

Mina was snapped from thoughts by the soft husky voice of the man in the black mask. Darting her eyes quickly to his, as she stared at him with pure terror. If this guy could beat him, what's to stop him from hurting her. Maybe, maybe this time she would use her curse to her advantage. If there was ever a time to be forgotten, it was now. She snapped her arms up at him pointing the gun directly at him. Slowly raising his wrapped hands up, as if to show he meant her no harm. She didnt relent however and stood her ground.

"Please just, please...please leave me alone..." she spoke so softly that anyone without enhanced hearing would struggle to hear from her. Her scratchy voice cracked as she spoke, her throat seizing up on her in panic and from being borderline strangled.

The masked man didn't move. He considered his options and chose to negotiate with the scared victim. He had to be as gentle with this, or he could very well get shot.