Evan was two streets over, standing in line at a café he stopped at every Thursday morning. "Daddy!, hurry I don't wanna be late" His daughter called out as she stuck her head out the window of the rear passenger seat, her mother urging her to get back in. "I won't take long, cupcake" he waved back in their direction.Everything felt perfect for Evan….at least it did. He was halfway through checking his phone when the first shockwave rolled through the street.
The windows rattled, it got everyone's attention off their phone.
Someone laughed nervously. "Construction must be going crazy?" Then the sound hit, it didn't feel like an explosion. It was something heavier. Like the air itself being slammed flat. Evan instinctively turned toward the direction of his car with his family inside just to see it get flattened and go up in flames. The truck came out of nowhere, The impact erased his car and other vehicles in the vicinity triggering a chain explosion.
The world went white.
When Evan came back to himself, he was on the pavement. His ears rang so badly he thought he'd gone deaf. Dust coated his mouth, his eyes, his lungs. Something warm ran down the side of his face, to his lips, it tasted metallic. He sat up, a sharp pain ripping through his side like something had torn loose inside him. He gasped and tasted blood again, thicker this time. Around him, people were shouting, coughing, crying. Someone was calling a name over and over, voice breaking more each time. Evan didn't hear them, He was staring at the street. At where his car had been, There was nothing left that looked like a car anymore. Just flattened metal, fire licking at what used to be the frame.
"No," he whispered, "my wife…m-m-my daughter" his voice cracked. He mustered every ounce of strength he had to stand up, his legs gave out instantly. The street lurched sideways and then vanished as his knees hit the pavement. Pain surged up his spine, he felt hot and suffocated. He couldn't breathe properly, the world narrowed to sound sirens, shouting, the crackle of fire which began to fade.
Hands grabbed him. "Stay with me sir, look at me—" Evan barely registered it. His vision waned, smoke and sky blurring together. He caught one last glimpse of the flashing lights as he was lifted, onto something hard and narrow, doors slammed, Red light washed over the ceiling.
Then nothing.
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Evan finally finally came to, he could hear a steady beeping somewhere near his head. His body felt heavy, distant, like it didn't fully belong to him anymore. He was at the hospital, he tried swallowing, his throat was dry. The room was small, white, sterile. Machines hummed softly beside the bed. His chest tightened as memory rushed back too fast....fire, his car...MY FAMILY...his chest tightened with a dreadful feeling. He sucked in a sharp breath, The tv mounted in the corner was on, volume low. Evan fumbled for the remote with a trembling hand and turned it up. The screen showed aerial footage of a destroyed block. Smoke still curled from blackened streets. The bank was barely recognizable. "officials have confirmed an Awakener-related incident earlier today..."
Evan stared.
"…..a confrontation between two Awakeners, identified by AHQ as Robin Darson and B class hero, Jace fern." The footage replayed the fight from afar, shockwaves rippling through the streets, buildings shuddering, debris flying out of frame. "Casualty numbers are still being finalized," the reporter continued, "Emergency responders report multiple civilian injuries. At least several medivac units and ambulances were able to extract victims positioned farther from the engagement zone before AHQ containment teams arrived." Evan's grip tightened on the remote. The camera cut to responders loading stretchers, paramedics moving fast, efficiently. The reporter kept talking about response time, about escalation protocols, about how much worse it could have been "Authorities are praising the rapid intervention that prevented further loss of life—" Evan turned the TV off. The room fell quiet again, except for the monitor beside him. "Praising? All because of a rogue awakener, I just lost everything and all they're getting is praises?" Evan bit down on his lip so hard it was bleeding now. "Awakeners….."
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"Take it slow," she said. "You're lucky." Lucky, Evan nodded anyway. He was getting discharged today, he left the hospital alone. Outside, the city moved on like it always did. Traffic flowed. People laughed. A billboard nearby replayed a slowed-down clip from the fight Jace streaking through the air, it looked like it was enhanced, you could tell from the quality.
Evan looked away, "he could have caught the truck, punched through it but instead he choose to hit it away without caring where it'd land or what it'd do, is that actually what being a hero is?" He was still deep in thought while drifting towards a bar. He walked in, sat down at the counter. He looked up at the TV in the corner, the news was on. Jt was covering the battle between robin and Jace. Fed up of seeing and hearing the praise, he asked if the bartender could mute it while simultaneously asking for a drink. "Scotch, vodka, whatever can get me to stop thinking and give me the heaviest…. You know They won't face any consequences. Awakeners or heroes or whatever they wanna call themselves" Evan said while downing a shot and signaling the bartender for another refill. "they think they're superior, superior to humans" The bartender slid another glass toward him, Slowly nodding. wiped the counter and let Evan talk. "They fight in the sky, tear up streets, throw trucks like toys," Evan went on, staring into the amber liquid. "And when it's over, they leave. No courtrooms. No apologies. Just medals and headlines. Tell us we're being protected, from what? Their own kind?"
A man two stools down snorted softly into his drink. "You're not wrong," he said, not looking over. "My store got wrecked months ago. Insurance called it an Awakener-adjacent incident. Paid me half." Another glass clinked as someone farther back set it down a little too hard. "My sister still walks with a limp," a woman said. "Wrong place, wrong fight. Hero didn't even know she was there."
Evan looked up, No one was laughing now.
"They never know," Evan said quietly. "And they never have to or worry about the other things" The TV stayed muted, but the images kept flashing. Jace in the air, slowed down, sharpened, polished. A savior frozen in time. Someone scoffed. Evan swallowed hard "They're stronger," he said. "Faster. Harder to hurt." He clenched his jaw. "And because of that, they think the rules don't apply to them. That consequences are for people like us." Evan stood up, leaving money on the counter. As he turned toward the door, he felt it….not agreement exactly, but understanding. Heads nodding. Eyes following him. People who thought the same thing realized they weren't alone. At the door, Evan paused "maybe all that's been true" He looked back once, Then he stepped outside, the city lights washing over him as the door closed behind his back "And maybe," he thought "it's time for humans to be superior too."