Hope in the City of Chaos
Hope in the City of Chaos
The City of Zaun. A twisting maze of grungy alleyways, overcast in the shadows of ramshackle skyscrapers set against the smoggy orange sky.
It takes a lot of street smarts or some hefty muscle to survive in the streets of Zaun, and Rydel had neither. Really a shy, thoughtful sort, the youth nonetheless fancied himself a street thug, and ran with a group of similar punks who terrorized 'The Hive'.
The Hive--as they called it--was a relatively small pocket of the bustling city that the youths claimed ownership over. Yes, Rydel was most proud to be a Killer B, even if the other youths regularly mocked him or even went so far as to beat him up for his timidness. He was a part of something. The Hive was his true home; the Killer Bs his only family. Besides--there's not much else to live for in the slums of Zaun.
Gang warfare was constant. Every so often, a rival gang--The Krugz, The Vandals, The Rude Dudes--would try their hand at taking over The Hive, but each time the Killer Bs would violently throw their weight around and assert their dominance.
Even though he wasn't much for fighting, Rydel made a lot of enemies this way--whether he realized it or not, just being associated with the rough and tough Killer Bs made you a target.
So it was just around dusk, as Rydel maneuvered through the chaos of downtown Zaun, when he found himself being followed. A nervous sort, but not exactly clever, he figured he could lose his pursuers in the narrow, intertwining passageways that made up the alleys of the city. He regularly took them as shortcuts home, and had only gotten lost two or three times before. He quickly turned down one of the many backstreets.
Dimly-lit by only the small sliver of sky allowed and uncomfortably claustrophobic, Rydel knew that bad things happened regularly in the city's alleyways. He picked up the pace and dared not look back. He got to the end of the passage and turned the corner when BAM!, he was knocked to the ground by a punch to the stomach.
Lying on his back with the wind knocked right out of him, Rydel frantically looked for his attacker. He blinked over and over in an attempt to adjust his eyes to the darkness. Surrounding him were five grungy youths, all donning similar black jackets. They were The Vandals, the Killer Bs greatest rivals.
"Well, look it here, boys, I think we've caught ourselves a little larva," the widest one boasted as he kicked Rydel in his side. A second, smaller boy, laughed nervously. Two of the members, one with a large nose ring and the other with garishly pink hair, picked Rydel up by his arms and slammed him against the wall.
A fifth one suavely crept forward. He was the tallest, with bright red hair and in his hand an aluminum bat. He pressed it up against Rydel's neck and smirked.
"I know you! You're one of the Killer Bs, right?" Rydel, panicked with fear, tried his best to voice a confirmation, but could barely manage a sound. "Yeah, yeah, I've seen you before. You know, you guys have caused us quite a bit of damage. Vic, go through his pockets." "Yessir, Farrell!" The smaller one began rummaging through Rydel's pockets, taking his valuables, his shimmer, and his pocketknife--snickering while he did so. Rydel closed his eyes in terror.
"You know, I think it'd be fair if we caused you some damage too. Maybe start with your legs?" Farrell gleefully pulled back his bat as Rydel began to squirm.
CRACK! Suddenly a large shadow whipped through the air and clasped the bat. It wrested it from Farrell's hands, the shadow just as quickly shooting back to the end of the alley.
"What in the--who's there?!" The whole group looked towards the source of the shadow. The boys holding back Rydel loosened their grip, letting him slink to the ground. They all stared towards the end of the passage. A large, hulking figure stood about 40 feet away. It dropped the bat at its feet, a loud clang sounding as it hit the gravel.
"I just thought I'd--" began the figure, its deep voice hanging heavily in the air. It shot its arms out, extending them to an overhanging ledge, and forcefully slung itself forward. The flying figure bowled into the widest thug, sending him into the air. "--swing by," the figure finished.
As it landed, its whole body seemed to squish to the ground, flattening itself. It quickly stretched out its limbs, twisting them around the four remaining Vandals and pulling them down. "Have a nice trip," it said, stifling laughter, "see you next fall!"
Rydel took this chance to get up and run. He sprang up off the ground and sprinted down the alleyway, but the flattened creature slipped right under him, rising from the floor and melding into its original form in front of him. Rydel crashed right into the creature, bouncing back a bit. He looked up.
Two deep-set glowing yellow dots, underlined by a cheesy green smile looked down at him. This cartoonish face sat atop a hulking, massive body of green viscous...goop. Rydel couldn't believe his eyes.
"Hey there. Name's Zac," boomed the green giant. Rydel stared with a deep amusement at the goofy looking monster in front of him. Just what was this thing?
The four tripped thugs had gotten up again, and began encroaching on the pair. Zac stood in front of Rydel, and faced the group. They slowly crept around him, surrounding him on each side. Zac swung his head around slowly, smirking at each as he did. Farrell spit on the ground, a dark look on his face.
They collapsed on him, all jumping at him, punching and beating him at once. Zac's amorphous body at first began to collapse in on itself, but with a sudden shock inflated to a great size, like a balloon. The four boys were send flying in any direction into walls or piles of garbage, as Zac continued to guffaw.
He stood there triumphantly as the four boys tried to collect themselves. That's when he and Rydel both heard a sound like a steam train. The widest boy had gotten back up and was charging at them, full speed down the narrow passage way.
With determination, Zac spread his limbs out once more, hooking himself onto ledges, behind trash, anywhere. His body expanded, forming something like a wall between the gangbanger and Rydel.
The large thug crashed right into Zac, but instead of falling, Zac stood his ground. His springy body had a lot of leeway, and the thug kept charging, pushing Zac's body far back. He made it to a few feet in front of Rydel when the slack stopped.
"Back you go," Zac chuckled. His body slung itself back at an impressive speed, sending the large thug flying down the end of the alleyway, crashing into the wall. The gangbangers defeated, Zac turned to Rydel.
"Hey there, kid. It's alright to get beaten up once in a while--everyone bounces back. Just remember to always stand up for yourself--even if you don't have a spine." Zac chuckled a bit more. His hearty laugh comforted Rydel. "Well, I have to--" he smiled a bit, hardly containing his laughter, "--bounce!" He again stretched his arms out, slinging himself to the rooftops above.
Just like that, Zac was gone. Rydel didn't know if he completely believed what he had seen that night. Rumors abounded about a bouncing green hero, defending the citizens of Zaun with strange powers. Others said that Zac was a menace, terrorizing the city at night.
Rydel wasn't sure about that, but he was sure about one thing--he wasn't a Killer B anymore. He had something bigger to live for. He had hope.
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