Big City Hero UNOFFICIAL BOOK TWO

Chapter Fifteen: Wind and Flames.

"Where exactly did the scream come from?" Glitch asked.

We were flying above a slightly run down, eerily quiet apartment complex. There were no signs of activity or that anything bad had happened. The tall grass swayed gently in the breeze and some leaves ruffled in the trees, it was peaceful not chaotic, like we were expecting.

"Who patrols this area?" Glitch asked, landing on the gritty rooftop with me. Some already broken shingles fell off and shattered on the driveway.

"Smokey does," I said, wincing at the loud noise.

"Where is she, then?"

"I'm right here."

We jumped a foot in the air, and whipped around to find the gray themed superhero with her hands on her hips. Wind blew through her blonde hair like she was the answer to our hopes.

"Looking for me, boys? Or more specifically, who screamed?" Her initial cocky attitude melted away to her usual subdued self. "I think it came from the apartment at the end." She vanished from our sight, leaving just a wisp of smoke behind.

Glitch sighed. "She's always confused me."

"Why?" I asked, frowning. I turned around and made my way over to where she was waiting for us. Not caring if I fell or not, I kept my eyes on Glitch's confused face behind me, walking backwards to complete this task. Don't try this at home, kids.

"She's like the most confident unconfident girl alive."

"And it's exhausting sometimes," she said, once we came upon her. "Come on, hurry up! I'm positive I heard it come from here. Watch my back, I'm going in."

I grabbed her arm before she could jump down. "Stay here, I'll go first."

"If that'll make you feel better about yourself," she said, then turned red with embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Just stay here until I can check it out, okay?" I said.

Without waiting for their answer, I turned invisible and dropped down to the balcony. I peered through the glass sliding door, but I wasn't able to see anything but the reflection of the city behind me.

As carefully as I could, I slid the door open and walked into the dark apartment. The air was heavy with dust and smoke, allowing only hazy light to cast eerie shadows. It was apparent that something terribly wrong had happened.

Everything was scattered on the dirty carpet, broken glass, shattered picture frames, even a laptop that was upside down, its keyboard twisted horribly. I stepped on some glass by accident, the resulting crack echoed in the apartment. It was followed by a whimper in the corner of the living room.

I turned visible and took a step towards the person. "Is someone there?" I asked. I could just make out the outline of a girl pressed against the wall staring at me with wide, terrified eyes.

No, she's not staring at me. She's looking behind my shoulder.

I whipped around in time to see an arm swinging towards my head. I dropped to my knees and swept their legs out from under them. I turned back invisible and pushed myself away so they wouldn't land on me.

He fell hard, but he used the momentum to keep going, rolling and jumping back to his feet. "Flaming Spark," he growled, the sneer in his voice was enough for me to roll my eyes.