Green Lantern Rises

Part 5

I sit on my bed in a Batman t-shirt, black sweatpants and black socks while playing a game on my phone. "Alana, could you come downstairs sweetie, you have some visitors." Visitors? Who would come to visit me at eleven o'clock at night? I cautiously walk down the stairs to see two very muscular men in black suits standing by the door next to my mother. If that's not suspicious, I don't know what is. As I reach the last step, one of them says, "Mrs. Hart, could you make us a beverage while Alana and I talk?" She does her little cheesy smile and walks to the kitchen. "Do I know you?" I'm ignored as they step closer to me, "Hey! You can't-" The first man covers my mouth with one hand and picks me up by my waist with the other. The other grasps my legs as I struggle to get out of the hold. I look into the kitchen to see my mother staring at me holding a white mug to her lips.

The men carry me out the door and throw me into the back of a black van. I look on the floor of the van to see papers that have a mix of neat and messy handwriting. I grabbed the mess and stuffed it into my pockets. I bang on the back window, hoping to break it. With one final hit, it shatters. I remove the rest of the glass, avoiding being stabbed. Without hesitation, I jump out the small window, being skinny pays off. I roll out onto an empty street. I turn to see the van still moving, there was no way they didn't hear the glass break, or felt the extra weight of my body when I pushed off the floor to jump out. It was a setup, they weren't after me, they were only getting me away from the target. "Mom!"

I run in the opposite direction of the van towards my house. As I approach an alley, I notice a green light glowing from it. I ease across the building, peek around the corner and stare down the alleyway. A man lays in the shadows towards the end of the alley. I start to turn around, I had to get back to my mom. "Wait." You could hear the pain he's been through in his voice, I immediately felt sympathetic.

I slowly walk in his direction, "Sir?" I say curiously. The man spoke quickly after I did, "The ring. It chose you." I shake my head, confused. A green ring starts flying in my direction. I gasp as the ring slides onto the middle finger of my right hand. At his side is a green lantern, he slides it in my direction, but only a few inches, he wouldn't be here much longer, and neither would my mother. "Take this. After taking the oath, a green lantern will arrive and take you to Oa to train you."

I had to leave for my mother, but I had to ask him, "Why did it choose me?" The Green Lantern tries to speak, but is obviously gone, I don't want to see my mother like that. I take the lantern and run from the alley and back to my house. I see police sirens as I approach my neighborhood, cops are surrounding my house and I see my mother laying on the ground outside. "Mom!"

I run towards her body and a cop stops me. I look him dead in the eye, "Did you catch them? Do you at least know who did this? Where are they? What happened?" The cop shakes his head, "We don't know who killed your mother, but we will soon." Killed? "You mean she's dead?!" I scream, almost crying and try to get closer to her, but the cop picks me up in his arms, much like the man who took me from my house. I squirm free. "Do you have any family nearby? You will need to stay with a guardian." Oh fuck, I don't know where my father is, and all other family is nowhere near here, but if I say that out loud they'll put me in some kind of orphanage. "My dad should be on his way home from work, he works a lot."

"Okay, I'll just stay here and wait for him to come back." Uhhh....plan B, Alana, plan B, "You don't have to, he might be a while. I've been home alone before, I can handle myself." The officer buys it and leaves with the rest of the cops. After they've left, I race back behind our car where I hid the lantern and the ring. I'm a Green Lantern. Just thinking about it is unbelievable. Out of all things. I'm a Green Lantern. I might be able to meet the Justice League. I could meet Batman, but I'm getting off track.