The Roar of the Night

21

The next day started off calmly, or so it seemed. He was still processing what had happened the night before. Little Eyes was sleeping nearby, and I, with my head still covered by the hood, walked with Alex through the center of the city. People came and went without paying much attention to us, which, to be honest, relieved me a little. I didn't want anyone to see me too closely, not today.

As we walked, Alex told me:

—Rex, to be a real hero, you have to pay attention to everything that happens around you. You never know when something may happen.

I nodded, but I wasn't entirely sure how to do it. I felt like there was so much to learn, so much that I didn't understand yet.

—And what should I do? —I asked him honestly.

"Well, there are two important things you need to remember," Alex replied. The first is that not everyone deserves to be treated with brute force. The second is that you have to be prepared to act, but not always in the way you think. You must observe, analyze the situation and then act. You can't just jump into the first thing you see without thinking.

While we were talking, we heard a sudden scream. A woman was calling for help in the distance, and my senses were immediately heightened. I looked in the direction of the scream, and saw a man struggling with a woman who was desperately trying to hold on to her purse. The man pulled hard, and in an instant, he took it out of her hands and ran away.

—Alex! —I said, already feeling the adrenaline rush through my body.

"Wait, Rex," Alex stopped me before I launched myself after the thief. Don't rush. Use elasticity, catch it when it passes near us.

I looked at him a little confused. Elasticity? Where?

"On the foot," Alex told me with a knowing smile.

I followed his instructions. Just as the thief passed us, I stretched out my arm, feeling the symbiote expand until it reached the man's ankle. I grabbed him firmly and threw him to the ground. She fell flat on her face, dropping her bag in the process. The man groaned in pain, but no longer tried to get up.

Without wasting any time, I grabbed the bag and brought it back to the woman. I didn't take off the hood, but I felt the look of gratitude in his eyes when I handed it back to him.

"Here's your bag," I said, avoiding looking directly at her.

The woman, still shaking a little, suddenly hugged me.

"Thank you, thank you very much," he said between sobs of relief.

I stood still, surprised by the gesture. I looked at Alex, searching for some sign of what to do, but 

he just gestured for me to keep going.

"Don't take off your hood," he whispered to me.

"You're welcome," I responded to the woman, trying to sound calm as she walked away.

When I returned to Alex, I felt a strange mix of emotions. On the one hand, it had been simple, too simple. But on the other hand, the woman's gratitude had made me feel something new.

"It was easier than I thought," I told him, unable to help but smile a little.

Alex patted me on the shoulder.

—You did good, Rex. But now comes the important thing: you must learn to choose your battles. 

"That guy," he said, pointing to the thief, who was already stumbling to get up, "most likely won't go to jail for stealing a purse."

I frowned.

"So we let him go?"

"Maybe we'll see him again," Alex replied calmly. The important thing is that today you learned how to act with a cool head. It's not always about using all your strength, sometimes it's better to be more strategic.

We continued walking through the city, but I didn't feel so insecure anymore. I had taken a small step, and although there was still a long way to go, that hug of gratitude had shown me that I was on the right path.