Chapter 14 — The Day Derek Stayed Home
Morning came to Metropolis.
Derek Davidson walked through the slums on his way to work, carrying his bag and drinking his coffee.
He looked completely ordinary.
Just another young man heading to his job.
Then he heard explosions.
BOOM!
Derek stopped for a moment.
Several criminals were attacking stores throughout the neighborhood. Some were stealing from businesses while others were destroying property.
People were running away.
Derek simply looked at the chaos.
"Not my problem."
He continued walking.
Derek had made his decision long ago.
He wasn't a hero anymore.
If other people wanted to solve their problems, they could do it themselves.
Unfortunately, one of the criminals noticed him.
"Hey! You!"
Derek stopped.
The criminal pointed a gun at him.
"Give me your money!"
Derek looked at the weapon.
Then he immediately changed his expression.
"Please! Please don't shoot me!"
The criminal laughed.
"Oh, look at this guy."
Derek raised his hands and started trembling.
"I'm sorry! I don't want any trouble!"
The criminal aimed directly at him.
"Too late."
BANG!
The bullet was fired.
Derek fell backward.
He immediately began acting as though he'd been hit.
"AH!"
He collapsed onto the ground.
The criminals looked at him.
A small amount of fake blood appeared on his clothing.
But it wasn't his blood.
Derek had transitioned the bullet away before it could touch him.
At the same time, he'd transitioned a ketchup bottle from nearby and used it to create the appearance of blood.
He had even placed a small stone against his clothing and transitioned it at the exact moment of impact, making the scene look convincing.
Derek lay completely still.
The criminals stared at him.
"Is he dead?"
"Yeah. Let's go!"
The criminals ran away.
Derek waited.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Then he opened one eye.
Nobody was there.
He slowly stood up.
He looked down at his clothes.
"Ketchup."
He sighed.
"Good thing I don't wear expensive clothes."
Derek returned to his apartment instead of continuing toward work.
He sat down and looked at the time.
"I'm not going to work today."
He picked up his phone and called his boss.
"Hello, sir."
His boss answered.
"Derek? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I'm feeling sick today. I don't think I'll be able to come in."
There was a short pause.
His boss sighed.
"Alright. Get some rest."
Derek sounded surprised.
"You're not angry?"
"Why would I be? You're one of our best workers. Just make sure you're feeling better before you come back."
"Thank you, sir."
His boss added:
"Oh, and Derek?"
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow we've got a new project."
"What kind?"
"A skyscraper. We need someone to help draw the architectural blueprints."
Derek smiled.
"A skyscraper?"
"Yep. And I want you involved."
"Alright. I'll be there tomorrow."
"Good. Get some rest today."
The call ended.
Derek placed the phone on the table.
He looked toward the window.
The criminals were long gone.
The stores were damaged.
People were cleaning up the streets.
Derek simply sat down and drank his coffee.
"I'm definitely staying home today."
For once, Transition had no interest in fighting anyone.
He just wanted to rest.
Tomorrow, however, he had a skyscraper to design.