This World

by Lee, TD

  “No need to radio one!” a familiar voice echoes. I can’t see who it is, but I know that it’s Kirika.

  Kirika sings a gentle song that makes me feel immediately soothed. I’m not even listening to what the words are that’s coming out of Kirika’ mouth, it’s just the gentleness of her voice that soothes me. With the singing, the sound of bullets hitting armor quickly comes to a stop. Lancelot’s hands stop barricading and stands tall. I look at the soldiers and they’re all standing dazed with their guns pointing to the ground. The civilians are humming along with Kirika as some people are still recording. Kirika is even dressed in her Spectral Singer outfit which is a skin-tight black suit with several armor pieces. In her hands are two pointy spears.

  Kirika finishes her quick song as she says, “Is everyone okay?”

  The civilians and soldiers all reply in unison, “Yes!”

  “Good, if you all can, please let us be so we can take this bystander to the HERO HQ,” Kirika suggests with a charismatic smile on her face.

  “Yes, thank you Kirika!” everyone replies as they scatter away.

  Kirika turns to me, extending her hand out to pull me up from the ground. She asks, “Are you okay?”

  I’m completely stunned right now. Not because it’s Kirika that’s here, but because of everything that just happened. It takes me a while, but I finally manage to mumble, “Er, uh, yeah.”

  She smiles. “Good. I have to go tend to the other incidents that are happening, so please be safe. I trust that Lancelot will take you to the HERO HQ.”

  “Yup, I got it, thank you Kirika!” Hiro speaks with such enthusiasm. Even if I can’t see him right now, I know the guy is smiling.

  “Good, take care.” She vaults away with her lance and disappears from view, blending into the darkness of the sky.

  Lancelot’s hand extends down to me. “Hop on, and hold on tight!” Hiro exclaims.

  I hop onto the mech’s hand and sit in its palm. Lancelot’s other hand covers the hand I’m in, cocooning me. Everything rumbles, but I know we’re in flight. I can hear several loud explosions sounding off. What’s happening down there? I’m sure Hiro will fill me in on everything once we’re all done at the HERO HQ.

  Lancelot’s hand starts lowering. Once Lancelot’s other hand rises, I’m revealed to be in front of the HERO HQ. Loud hissing sounds come from Lancelot as steam jets out of where the cockpit is. Lancelot’s hand rises to the cockpit for Hiro to jump onto. The hand lowers Hiro down to ground level.

  “Come with me,” Hiro instructs, running into the HQ.

  I quickly follow him and he guides me through the busy crowds of people. So many people are running around. There’s so much commotion too. It’s hectic in here, so many people are bumping into each other, is it all because of what’s happening with these explosions? That’d make sense considering it’s happening all around the city. I hope Jaron, Beth, and Pat are safe.

  After several hallways and some stairs, Hiro leads me to a small room with a couple of chairs and a solitary table. There’s a TV on one of the walls that’s currently displaying the news. The headline reads “Mass Suicidal Bombings.” So that’s what they’re calling it. They’re not wrong.

  “What am I doing in here Hiro?” I ask, taking a seat.

  Hiro explains, “This is one of our many rooms where victims of any sort of incident can talk to someone of high authority of HERO. This is mostly where you talk about what happened and they gather information. Since this is such a big thing, it’s best to have someone who survived tell someone what’s going on and how it happened.” He lingers around the door, waiting to shut it.

  “Oh, alright. Are you not gonna stay?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “I’m not allowed to. They only allow specific people to stay and talk to victims. But I’ll be waiting out here until you’re done though,” he answers.

  “Hello Ridley,” a commanding voice bellows as they enter the room. A stalwart, muscular man that’s dressed in a complimentary skintight costume appears. This guy looks really familiar, but I can’t quite pinpoint what it is about him. “Please, don’t mind the costume, I was just barely outside,” the man chuckles as he takes a seat. “Thank you Hiro, I’ll take it from here.”

  Hiro nods and closes the door.

  The man introduces himself, “So, Ridley, I’m Walter Hendrix, also known as Blind Justice, we have information that you were part of this mass suicidal bombing, is this true?”

  Blind Justice! That’s why he’s familiar. The most famous superhero all around the world. I wonder why such a guy with such high prestige is talking to me, but now’s not the time for that. “Um, yeah,” I stammer. I’m kinda nervous to be interrogated by this guy.

  “Please, don’t be nervous. I know that I have a huge presence, but please don’t let that bother you. I’m here to listen and simply obtain information so I can send heroes out to do the correct thing,” Walter advises with a winning smile. Everything about this guy is absolutely charming that it’s hard to keep being nervous around him.

  “Alright,” I remark with a nod.

  “So please, tell me what happened in as much or as little detail you would like. But definitely be honest for this is for our use at HERO only. Confidentiality is a high requirement here so your name will not get out,” Walter inquires. He stares at me intensely.

  “Um, yeah,” I take a deep breath, “well, from what I can remember. I went to what was a SAVE group, but as soon as I got there it wasn’t what everyone there thought it was. I started hearing a voice in my head and couldn’t move when I wanted to. That’s when I realized I was being mind controlled. A few hours went by and we were all controlled to put on those bomb vests under our clothes. Then we all left and scattered throughout the city. I don’t know where everyone else went, but I was forced to go the shopping plaza. Then when my vest was supposed to blow up I was saved by Meteor, Hiro, and Kirika. Then Hiro brought me here.”

  “Were you with any other people?”

  I nod. “Yeah, I went to the SAVE thing with three other people, but it was room filled with people.”

  “What are the names of the people you were with?”

  “Jaron, Beth, and Pat. I don’t know their last names, sorry.”

  “That’s okay. Do you remember any interesting characteristics about other people you encountered?”

  “Um, well I know the receptionist at the SAVE place’s name is Winona.”

  “Winona huh?” Walter repeats quietly. He scratches his chin and asks, “Do you remember any other names?”

  I dive deep into my memory. Even though it was just yesterday, names and faces are slipping my mind. Then I remember the guy who talked to us all at the diner. “Oswell Jaeger. He’s the one that told us to go to the SAVE thing today.”

  Walter’s eyes widen as soon as I say Oswell’s name. “Oswell Jaeger. I see. That’s all of the information I need. Thank you Ridley for being so cooperative with all of this. Do you have any questions for me?”

  I shake my head. This is the first time I was ever questioned for something. “I think I’m good.”

  “Excellent, thank you again. Please have a pleasant rest of your night. I believe Lancelot will take care of you now,” Walter says, rising from his seat. He opens the door to let me out first.

  As soon as I’m released from the questioning room I see Hiro waiting in the hallway. He notices me. Smiling, he moves towards me quickly to pull me in for a hug. He’s wrapping me tightly with his muscles; seriously, this guy can break me in half if he really wanted to. I can’t help, but hug this guy back with all my strength. Never did I think I’d be so relieved to see him.

  He sighs deeply. “Glad you’re safe,” Hiro murmurs into the nook between my shoulder and neck. He hugs even tighter, popping my back a bit.

  “Er, yeah,” I say in between my struggling breaths.

  Hiro immediately releases me. “Oh, sorry!” he apologizes while rubbing the back of his neck.

  I c
huckle a bit. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “But jeez, I’m so glad you’re okay. Any sort of residual effects you’re having or anything? Mind control is a really scary thing so I just want to make sure that you’re okay,” he says. He holds me in place as his eyes scan my face as if he can see anything that’s happening in my mind.

  “I think I’m okay. Don’t really know if there’s side effects or anything, but I feel fine now that I’m in a much calmer place,” I answer.

  “Good,” Hiro smiles widely, “do you need to go to SAVE right now?”

  Ugh, SAVE. “No, no, I’m good,” I remark.

  “Alright, well, I’ll take you home then, I gotta go help out some more out there. But we’ll talk more later tonight okay?”

  “Yeah, sounds good to me,” I remark.

  “Cool, follow me,” Hiro says, guiding me through the HQ again.

  We make it back outside. Hiro and I stand on Lancelot’s hand. Hiro climbs up the mech’s arm just to get to the cockpit. When the cockpit closes, the mech starts animating. Lancelot’s hands cocoon me again as it takes flight. It doesn’t take long, maybe a minute or two, for Lancelot to descend again. Lancelot opens its hands and I’m in front of my house.

  “I’ll talk to you later alright, so don’t go to bed!” Hiro speaks through the mech’s speakers.

  “Alright!” I yell, “You be safe!”

  “I’ll do my best!” Hiro announces before he takes off flying again. Within an instant, Lancelot disappears into the night sky.

  I’m really glad that Hiro and I are on good terms again. The guy really is a great. Seriously, look at him going off to save the day somehow. And I have tons more respect for Meteor too. The guy may seem like an extreme guy, but it’s probably all just an act. He’s intense, but maybe that’s not a bad thing. But he’s still being seen like a horrible hero in the public eye I think. Kirika is great too, but that’s something I already knew.

  I enter my house and it’s quiet. Dad has to be out an about doing disaster relief. I don’t know where the rest of my family is, but I’m not too worried. With a city wide group of heroes helping out, they’ll be in safe hands.

  With nothing to do down here, I slowly walk up the stairs to get to my room. As soon as I see my bed, I plop onto it. It’s been a long day. Too much action. A deep sigh of relief comes out of my mouth. I’m seriously glad that all of that is over with. Now I can just sit back and relax. I have to do something to just unwind and I need to stay awake so I can talk to Hiro later. What to do in the meantime? Maybe I’ll play some games?

  One hour goes by.

  Then another.

  And another.

  It’s really late now. My mom is home, since she loudly likes to announce it. My phone hasn’t rung at all. Is Hiro really going to talk to me tonight? What are we going to talk about anyway? Maybe I should just go to bed. Hiro has to be exhausted since he’s been out saving people all over the city. Gotta give him a break.

  As I'm preparing to go to bed, a bright light shines through my window. Peeking out, I find Lancelot’s eyes shooting out a blinding light.

  "Oh, hello Hiro! It’s been a long time!" I hear my mom shout and wave from the front door.

  "Uh, hi Mrs. Law!" Hiro greets.

  My mom continues to shout, "How's piloting one of the Mobile Knights going for you?"

  "Good! How are you?” he replies.

  “Fantastic! I was so ecstatic to hear that you made it as a pilot! I’m so proud of you!” she’s speaking in such a happy tone that you could easily mistake Hiro as one of her children. “Are you here for Ridley?”

  “Yup!” he answers.

  “I’ll go get Ridley for you!” my mom yells. Guess we’re going somewhere. She enters the door and screams for me to come downstairs. “Ridley!”

  Before going downstairs, I pocket everything I need. Tired footsteps tread down the stairs as I put on my shoe. I move pass my mom and say, “I’ll be back.”

  “Be safe out there, there have been horrible things happening lately,” she says with a mother’s worry. “Let me know if something happens.”

  “Will do,” I say before I go outside.

  It’s still raining pretty badly. Immediately, I put my hood up. Each step I take is accompanied by a splash of rainwater. I wave up at Hiro. He lowers Lancelot’s hand so I can climb onto it. He cocoons me before takeoff. Lancelot’s hand slightly opens up, just enough for me to peek outside. Accompanying this opening is the brisk air. Why did Hiro give this small opening? I move over to the opening and peek outside to realize why he’s letting all of this cold air in. Far below us is the city lights and landscape. It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen the city like this before. The lights are so bright, highlighting where the busy parts of the city are. Even the large bridge has bright lights that make it stand out. Is this the view that Hiro gets?

  Lancelot starts to descend. I’m cocooned again so I don’t know exactly where we’re descending. Lancelot comes to a stop and its hands separate. What I see is a vast expanse of the ocean rippling with the rain. The cloudy skies are distorted by the water as the moon tries to shine through the rain. In the far distance is the city in its glory of bright lights. I step off of Lancelot’s hand onto wet grass that leads to a cliff. Down below are tons of sand. Are we on an island?

  Hiro drops down from Lancelot behind me. Lancelot moves forward a bit, its hands cover us from the rain. Immediately, Hiro moves over to cliff and sits down, having his legs dangle off. He leans back onto his hands, breathing deeply.

  “This a popular spot for you?” I ask, sitting next him. I’m not as brave as Hiro, I’m kinda scared to have my legs just hang down.

  Hiro nods. Speaking calmly, “Yeah. This is kinda my spot after I became a pilot. Found it while I was on patrol one night. It’s got a good view huh?”

  “Totally.”

  We sit in silence for a bit, just admiring the view.

  “So did you see? I got to work with Meteor. It was awesome,” Hiro breaks the silence. There’s a satisfied smile on his face.

  “Yeah, I totally saw,” I remark.

  Another moment of silence hits us.

  “So how was your superhero-ing?” I ask.

  “With the explosions?” he sighs deeply. His eyes wander downward in disappointment.

  “What’s up?”

  He sighs again. “Sadie said to be honest with this kinda stuff so here it goes. It wasn’t too great, I wasn’t able to save that many people. There were more people that died than those who got saved.”

  “It’s not your fault, you can’t save everyone,” I state. How ridiculous is it that he thinks that he needs to save everybody. That’s too tall an order for anyone.

  Complete disappointment takes over his face. Sadness is in his tone, “Isn’t it though? I’m supposed to be a hero. Someone who’s supposed to save people, yet I can’t even do that. Sometimes, I would think why am I doing this? What’s the point anymore? I should just give up. I’m just not a good hero.”

  “Are you being extremely serious right now?” I question. So this is Hiro?

  He nods slowly, taking a brief pause. “Yeah.”

  I immediately exclaim, “C’mon Hiro! You can’t keep thinking like that, if you do you’ll end up killing yourself over the things you wish you could’ve done! You’re asking for the impossible from yourself, you wouldn’t do that with other people would you?”

  “No,” he simply answers.

  “Then why would you do it to yourself?” I ask.

  He speaks ominously, “’cause I’m…I’m not good enough for anyone.”

  “What? What do you mean by that!?”

  His lips quiver, he bites his lips for a brief moment before he starts explaining, “No matter what I do, I feel like I’m just not doing anything for anyone. People could thank me all they want, yet I feel like I didn’t do enough for them. I always feel like I just don’t do enough, so I push myself to go harder, be better, but even if I do, it’s
not enough. There’s just this constant feeling of not being good enough. So with not feeling like I’m not good enough comes with all of the pain. The sadness. The regret. The loneliness. It never stops. Just this endless cycle of me thinking that I’m worthless with no one who actually cares.”

  “That’s ridiculous. You have Sadie who cares about you.”

  “I feel like she’s only with me because she feels bad for me, not because she actually cares,” he responds quietly.

  “Do you feel the same way with me?”

  The slow nod of his head hurts. A harsh reality that I’m realizing from a simple gesture. He’s being genuine, truthful, real. Everything he’s saying is his reality. It may not be the reality that others see, but it’s the reality that he knows and lives in. It’s painful to hear, I can’t imagine what it’s like to live in it.

  “Hiro,” I murmur as I scoot closer to him. My arm wraps around his shoulders. “Believe me, please, when I say that I care about you. Hell, I love you. You’ve done amazing things and have worked so hard to be where you are now. You’ve saved so many lives, risking your own just to make sure others are safe. You’re supportive of others and are always willing to help them out, even if it hurts you in the end. You’re great and you’re an actual hero. And I’m sure Sadie feels the same way, if not more, about you.”

  “But even I pushed you away because of who I am, I--”

  “I was in the wrong,” I interrupt, “the only reason why I pushed you away is because I’m a dumbass.”

  “Don’t say that about yourself,” he responds quickly.

  “Then you don’t say that stuff about yourself,” I retort. “Just don’t think of it or ignore it. The past is the past.”

  “This has been something I’ve struggled with my whole life Ridley. It’s not easy to simply not think about this stuff or just move on past it. Constantly, I just think I’m the worst. I can’t do anything right. Someone always suffers when I’m around. Sometimes I wish everyone would leave me alone just so I don’t hurt them. These thoughts come in waves constantly and it hurts. It hurts so much.” Tears start to fall from the edges of his eyes. He’s not sobbing, rather he’s doing his best to control his emotions.