The Black Hood

Chapter 6: The Black Hood

I keep running as I enter the city, I can't be seen like this I look like a psychopath. I climb up the side of an apartment building and jump from rooftop to rooftop, I feel so agile I've never been able to do this before I feel like a different person. I can't be John anymore they have killed him, I have to be someone else, something else. I find an abandoned warehouse and decide to set up shelter there, it's old and falling apart but it will do I suppose, way better than the cell that I had. I lay down on the cold hardwood floor and close my eyes as the images keep filling my head and I jerk my eyes open with sweat pouring down my face as I breathe heavily. I shake my head and take off my weapons and hood, I stare at my weapons all of them being able to take away a life, being able to take away my life. I can end it all right now, this pain and suffering all of it gone. There's nothing here for me in this world I have no one I'm alone with nothing but the clothes and weapons on my back, I could be with them my family and especially Talia, I wouldn't be alone anymore in this hell we call earth. I go and pick one of the MAC 10's and stare at it, but then I hear my father's words in my head from when I was losing in a boxing match, "John I know it looks bad you're tired and beaten up, but you can't quit I know it seems like the easiest thing to do and I know you really want to, but you can't give up not without going down with a fight, you can do this I know you can believe in yourself when no one else does you can do it John. Now get out there and fight! Win!" his words echo in my head as I look back at the gun and toss it aside. I have to keep fighting for them I can't let them down I will survive for them. I'm still unable to sleep so I go to grab my stuff and put my hood back on, I might as well go for a run around the city.

I climb up to the roof of the warehouse and sprint along the rooftops of building and climbing taller buildings looking over alleys and the scenery of this city. I keep running until I hear the screaming of a woman coming from an alleyway I quickly change direction and go towards the screaming until I'm perched on the roof of where the screaming is coming from. I look down to see three men walking towards the woman as she keeps walking backwards until she's pinned to the wall behind her, the men take out pocket knives and laugh, "Oh don't worry baby, I'll make you scream even louder" he says with a smirk on his face as the others laugh and the woman screams "Please don't hurt me, just let me go" she says tears streaming down her face. "Don't worry baby I won't hurt you, I'll only pleasure you" he says with a smirk as the woman screams the man advances toward her until I jump down and shoot an arrow at his hand knocking away his pocket knife as they all turn to look at me. "Step away from the woman or I'm gonna have to put you down" I say pointing an arrow at them as they all look at each other and laugh. "You're just a fucking kid, what the hell are you gonna do? You're outnumbered" he says laughing those laughs quickly turn into screams of pain as he falls to the ground with an arrow in his knee that I shot. One of the guys advances towards me swinging at me as I dodge all of his punches and knee him in his stomach as stumbles back as I kick him the face which sends him flying back until he hits the wall hard. The last guy standing turns to look at both of his friends on the ground and quickly takes out his pocket knife pointing at me, "Don't come any closer" he says with fear in his eyes I look at the pocket knife and smirk, "That's cute" I say as I unsheathe my katana and point it at him as his eyes go wide and drops the pocket knife and starts running until I pick up his pocket knife at throw it into his leg causing him to fall. I grab all the men and put them against the wall as I pin them to it with arrows, I turn to the woman who's sitting on the ground shaking as I approach her, "Don't hurt me!" she screams as I get closer to her "It's okay I'm not going to hurt you, you're safe now" I say as she cries and hugs me, I'm taken back by this it's been so long since I've been hugged and then I hug back tight. "You're safe now, now wait here until the police arrive and tell them what happened" I say as I release the hug and start walking away, "Wait, who are you?" she yells out to me "I'm The Black Hood" I say as I climb up the side of the building and sprint away. This feels good protecting the people of this city feels really good, I used the name they gave to let the LB know that I'm still here and that they have not broken me. I run back to the warehouse and lay down again on the floor and for the first time I close my eyes and sleep without all those images filling my head.

I wake up the next day feeling well rested until I feel my stomach rumble and I realize that I haven't eaten in two days. I have no food in this warehouse and no money or clothes I have to think of something, I get an idea and take off my hood and weapons setting them down on the ground as I walk out and start walking around the city trying hard to hide my face. A man in a business suit walks by me distracted on his phone as I eye his wallet in his back pocket and quickly take it as I walk into a clothes store and quickly grab a black v-neck, ripped jeans, and a black hoodie as I go and put them on in the dressing room and pay for them at the cashier. I walk out of the store with my hood on hiding my face I can't risk anyone knowing who I am, John has to stay dead. I walk into a restaurant and sit as I order some scrambled eggs and pancakes to eat the waiter leaves as I just sit back and stare at the television on the wall until something comes on that catches my attention, "And in other news police have just stated that there is a vigilante in the city seeing as they found arrows stuck on three men, a witness says she was saved by a mysterious hooded man police say that if you see someone that fits that description you must stay away and call the police immediately he is to be armed and very dangerous, police have taken the arrows to run some DNA analysis to find the culprit" my eyes go wide as I hear this if the find some of my DNA on anything they'll know that John is alive and they'll take me in I have to find a way to stop this. I look around and see a laptop at the table next to me that a woman was using but went to the bathroom I quickly walk over to it and start using it. I hack in to all databases FBI, CIA, NSA, anything that has any information on John I start deleting all that information on every database. I have never been able to do this before but it just came so natural to me like I've done it everyday maybe this serum was an improvement. I quickly go back to my table as my food arrives I start to eat somewhat at ease, I am now a ghost no one will be able to know who I am or find me John is dead and it has to stay that way they killed him and turned me into this, I am now The Black Hood and will be that for a very long time.