No Heroes Left Behind (Book 1)

Chapter Five: Regret and Guilt Haunt the Mind

I exit the school as fast as possible and go to my truck that's parked in the parking lot. Just because I have the ability to fly, doesn't mean I get to use it all the time, which is quite a bummer considering it's awesome. I hop in the front seat and start the car. Just as I start to pull out of the spot, the passenger door is opened and Landon jumps in next to me.

I groan and put the car back in park and glare at him. "Get. Out." I hiss at him. He stares at me, then shakes his head.

"No." He says defiantly. He puts the seatbelt on and stares out the windshield, waiting for me to drive.

I scoff in disbelief. "No?" I narrow my eyes at him. He brushes his hand through his hair nervously, not saying anything.

"Landon. Get out." I say again. Slower this time, trying to warn him not to mess with me.

"No." He says again. I let out a long, angry breath.

I take my hands off the wheel and turn to look at him. "Please." I plead. He turns to look at me. His eyebrows are furrowed and his jaw clenched.

"No." He whispers. I put the car in reverse and pull out of the parking space. The ride is silent. Dead silent. He just stares at me as I drive and I refuse to look at him.

Finally he speaks. "Charlie." He mumbles. Charlie.

"What?" I ask when we come to a stop light. I watch as the cars pass through the intersection. "Are you here to apologize for ditching me when you decided I wasn't worth your time anymore? Cause if that's the case," I look at him seriously, "if that's the case, you're not forgiven." His face falls and he fiddles with a string on his backpack.

"I know you won't forgive me." He says softly. Is macho man Landon actually feeling regret and guilt? I thought he was incapable of those emotions. "I just... I wanted to give this to you." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bracelet that belonged to me as a kid. The last time I saw that thing was eight years ago. I lost it while I was at his house.

A honk from the car behind me catches my attention and I realize the light is green. I step on the gas and continue driving. "Where'd you find that?" I ask him curiously, glancing at it every once in a while as he fiddles with it.

"I found it a year ago." He says. "It was underneath my dresser for some reason." He glances up at the road.

"So were you keeping it hostage all this time?" I ask jokingly but keep my expression serious. He smirks.

"I've been wearing it actually." He admits, putting it on his wrist. "Whenever I passed by you, I planned on giving it to you, but I-I don't know."

I pull into his driveway and park the car again. He sighs and puts the bracelet in one of the cup holders and steps out of the car. I watch him as he does so. Before he closes the door he mumbles thanks and walks to his front door, stepping inside and disappearing behind the house's walls. I sigh and pick the bracelet up to examine it.

The memories of when I got this flood back. Landon and I were in this little corner store at the edge of town near my old house. I spotted this bracelet hanging on a rack and me, being a kid, wanted it as if it was the most precious piece of jewelry. I had a couple cents but that wasn't enough to buy it so Landon pitched in some of his change and bought it for me. I sigh and put it back in the cup holder and pull out of his driveway and speed all the way home.

After a ten minute drive in traffic, I exit my truck and take the bracelet with me, sliding it on my wrist. I walk into the apartment and run to my room before my parents can say anything to me, asking me how school was and all that other parent-child small talk.

At super speed, I put on my Scarlett costume and fly out of my bedroom window, into the sky as fast as inhumanly possible. Sometimes when I need to think, I'll fly around the city to clear my head.

I fly up above the clouds and float there motionless. "Does he actually feel bad about what he did to me?" I ask myself in an almost whisper. "It always seemed like he didn't care and like he easily had forgotten about me."

Suddenly, my ears perk up when I hear the sound of someone's heart beat coming closer in the clouds. I scan the sky around me, looking to see who it is, but I see no one.

"Come out." I say firmly, and not too far below, a black shape shoots across the sky, floating a good distance away from me, but still within hearing distance.

"Hello Scar." The person says. I narrow my eyes and clench my fists.

"Rancor." I say, assuming a fighting stance. He laughs and starts floating upside down.

"I didn't come here to fight." He assures me but I feel the need to apprehend him right here, right now and end all the chaos he's caused... but something is holding me back.

I let out an incredulous scoff. "Why should I believe you?" I ask him angrily. He sighs and floats upright. "You're a villain who can't be trusted." I continue.

"You're right, Scar." He snickers. "I guess you'll just have to take my word for it." He lays back and starts floating like how I just was. Relaxing and acting civilized. I narrow my eyes and sit cross-legged in the air and watch him carefully in case he tries anything with me.

Why am I not attacking him right now? I could easily fly over to him and bind him in a ring of fire and take him to the jail for supervillains. He looks over to me through his mask and laughs his menacing laugh through the monotonous robotic voice of his.

"You look nervous." He says and starts flying closer. I get into my fighting stance again. He snickers and continues to fly closer.

"Stay back Rancor." I yell at him. He stops and tilts his head to one side.

"Oh, Scarlett, since when do I take orders from you." Within a split second he's in front of me, laughing again. Is everything funny to this guy? I narrow my eyes at him.

"I'm not playing your little game, Rancor." I mutter angrily. He sighs and flies around me in circles, slowly and too close for comfort.

"Aww nuts!" he says with a disappointed whine. "But games are fun! Especially mine. You know why that is?" He leans forward so that his masked nose is touching mine. I back away awkwardly.

I furrow my eyebrows. "Why is that?" I ask. I'm playing along without even realizing it.

He lifts up a piece of my hair, tossing it over my shoulder and staring at me with about an inch of space between us. Then he chuckles. "Because I always win." He flies backwards laughing and doing somersaults. When he stabilizes, he nods his head at me and flies away, leaving me to think about what he just said.

He won't win this time.