Ch: 13 [Awakening]
[Peter's first person POV]
Slowly, I open my eyes. The snow is falling pretty heavily, and it looks like I'm lying on a cart. That guy even covered me with his blanket and is pushing this cart in this fucking snow. He is a homeless man, but he seems so kind and considerate. I doubt if it were any of the students or even some random stranger passing by, they might not have shown this kind of kindness. I am grateful.
But oh my God, my body hurts so badly. I can feel my ribs ache and my eye is throbbing.
"Hey, what's your name?" I ask the man softly.
"Joshua. Everyone calls me Josh," He smiles and lifts a corner of the blanket over me, covering my face from the snow.
"Thank you, Joshua. You didn't have to do this," I reply.
"Don't worry, son. I can understand what you are going through. You kept mumbling about some Flash or Jake... Did they beat you up?" He asked gently.
"Yeah," I sigh in defeat, "Yeah, they did. I almost died. I guess I was lucky you were there."
"So, they beat you up and no one did nothing?" He asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"They are school bullies, got money, pays donations and all, and my school isn't so strict about such things. And frankly, I can't really afford to go to another school or quit my side jobs," I replied, wincing at my aching bones. "Money is tight at home... I guess, I am just... I was just trying to get by quietly until something snapped and I decided to speak up, and... Haha!" I chuckle bitterly.
"And this is the result, huh?" He whispers, shaking his head, "Hey, have faith. There is a saying, no matter how deep a river of troubles you're stuck in, there are always a million bridges out there."
"Well, I haven't reached the millionth yet," I respond, grimacing. "But one thing I know for certain, I'm gonna have the last laugh someday."
He pulled the cart under a closed shop as the snow fell heavier. He then crouched beside me, "Revenge doesn't solve anything, son. It makes you do some dumbest shit, and then when the high wears off, you'll feel like shit."
"You sound like you're talking from experience," I ask, glancing at his eyes.
"Ha! You can say that." His smile is sad, and the scars on his face stand out in the glow of the lamplight, "It was a long time ago. I did some stupid shit and baam! I lost everything I had, including the love of my life and my family. Been homeless ever since."
"Oh..." I sat up with great difficulty, "Sorry for what happened."
"Eh," He shrugged, "It is what it is. Besides, it was my fault."
Humm... The cuts in my mouth were no more. The pain is subsiding slowly, and the feeling in my arms and legs is returning. Was the serum doing this? Was it healing me? Or, Spiderpower?
"Well, since we ain't going anywhere in this heavy snow. Mind telling me what happened to you?" I asked.
"It's not the greatest bedtime story," Joshua sighs, rubbing his neck.
"Trust me. I'm a good listener."
And for a moment, he just stood there, looking at me before taking a seat. "Before all of this happened, I was a software engineer at Oscorp. My wife, Alice, and I had just found out we were gonna be parents." He smiled bitterly, "We were very excited."
He paused as he took out his worn-out wallet and took out an old picture of a little girl, "This is her," he smiled sadly. "Sarah..."
I looked at the beautiful little girl who couldn't be older than 5 or 6. Her eyes twinkled with joy and a beautiful smile lit up her angelic face.
"She is beautiful," I whisper, handing him back the picture.
"Yes, she is..." His voice shakes a bit, "One day, there was an attack by this group of people, who later turned out to be eco-terrorists. They believed Oscorp was corrupting the environment and animals were dying. So, they started targeting low-level workers like us, not caring what the truth was. They began to harass us in public and at home... It became so severe that I had to request for a leave, and I even had to file a lawsuit, but it wasn't enough."
He stood up, throwing the cigarettes away, and paced in frustration, "One day, Alice went to the supermarket and never came back home. Later cops found her dead in the alley. And it turns out the eco-terrorists did it. They beat her up and tortured her... Killed her..."
I sat there, listening to him silently, "How horrible! I'm so sorry for your loss..."
"That day when I saw her lying in a pool of blood... Something broke within me. I wanted to kill that fucker myself. But, the cops arrested him, and for some fucing reason, they decided to let him go free without any charges. I hacked into the CCTV and saw that bastard kill her. I knew I couldn't trust the authorities, so, I followed him and found where he lived. That night, I went home, took my shotgun, went to that motherfucker, and blew his head off before his wife and son..."
He paused for a minute as he took out another cigarette, "..."
"What about his wife and son?" I ask curiously.
"They didn't do nothing to me or my family, so, after I shot that fucker, I surrendered and explained everything to the cops. I got lucky. The higher-ups launched another investigation and found out that fucker I shot was actually a real terrorist and that family of his was just a coverup. That bastard was holding them hostages and was using them as a front..." He frowned, "But, those cops..." He shooked his head, "I spent 20 years in prison, but hey, at least I took the fucker down."
"Your daughter?" I asked gently.
"She was 6 years old back when I was jailed, so, she got adopted by a nice family," He puffed on his cigarette.
"Then..."
"Well, when I got out, I tried to find her, but it was useless. I spent everything I had to find my daughter, but...," He turned away from me.
For a moment, no one spoke, as we both sat there silently.
"I don't know where she is. It's been over 20 years since I saw her...," His voice faltered and he dropped his head.
After a moment, he stood up and stared at me, "Revenge is a fuckin' mistake. Trust me. Had I not done that, maybe, just maybe, I could have moved on. But..." He looked away. "Anyway, that's enough. I'm here now."
I got down from the cart. My body has healed up. No more pain or grogginess.
"I will be direct with you. Have it ever occurred to you that the guy you killed... Maybe one of their mates might have used some kind of front and taken away your daughter?" I asked as I stretched my body, still a little stiff but feeling much better.
"What?" He muttered, shocked.
"Meet me in that same alley in a month. You want to find your daughter, right?" I patted his shoulder and began to walk into the snowstorm.
"Hey! What the...? What do you mean?" He stammered, chasing behind me. "If you are thinking what I think you are thinking, then you're mad. It's impossible!"
"The dirty cops, who let that fucker go. You remember their face, right? In a month... I won't promise anything, but I will try my best to help you. Think of it as thanks for saving my sorry ass," I walked away leaving the baffled homeless man, who mumbled to himself.
"Who the hell was that weird kid? First, he fights with the school bullies, then gets beaten up to a pulp... Wait! How the hell did he recover so fast?" He paused for a moment before yelling, "I will wait for you, kid. Don't forget. Don't you fucking forget it!"
.
.
I can feel it. My body feels light as a feather. I can see clearly in this dark snowstorm and I am not feeling any cold or anything. My head is clear. The pain is no more. I walked up to a nearby wall and touched a poster that someone had spray-painted on. As I pulled my hand away, the poster got stuck to my palm.
Holy shit!
It's just like that Spider-Man movie. It took a few tries to get that poster away from my hand. Then, I looked around. Well, there isn't anyone in the area. I gritted my teeth and punched the wall hard. A bit too hard.
Booom!
Crack!
A chunk of bricks flew off in the sky.
I clenched my fist with a grin, "Fuck yeah! I am coming for you Flash... Huh?" I felt a weird sensation around my wrists. It was as if something was moving, trying to come out. Web?! Organic Web, maybe? I did the sign of Spiderman to fire a web and hit a tree on the other side.
I gave a long whistle in awe.
That's it. That is the power of being Spider-Man!
But this weird sensation. I released the web and checked my wrists. Something hard is...
Sprut!
"FUCKING HELL!!!"
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