Seeing the situation turning worse by the second, George struggled desperately to escape the killer's grip, but Sin Eater's strength was overwhelming. His fingers were locked around George's throat like iron, crushing tighter with every passing second and cutting off his air.
"Haha ha—" Seeing George struggle made him laugh. "I hate you, George. I hate you." The madness in his eyes was unmistakable, but in his frenzy to kill, he left a small opening.
With the last bit of strength he could gather, George drove his knee upward as hard as he could between Sin Eater's legs.
Sin Eater never saw it coming.
A sharp cry escaped him as pain exploded through his body. He released George and staggered back several steps, the agony making his eyes go red.
George stumbled free and nearly collapsed as he sucked in desperate breaths of air. His chest burned violently. Every inhale felt like swallowing broken glass. He pressed one trembling hand against his throat while trying to steady himself, his legs barely able to support his weight.
Across from him, Sin Eater slowly straightened.
"You bastard." Rage filled his voice as he grabbed a metal pipe from nearby and walked toward him.
Before George could fully recover his breath, a brutal kick slammed into his ribs and sent him crashing back onto the floor. Pain exploded through his body. He curled instinctively, coughing violently as air was driven from his lungs again.
Sin Eater didn't stop.
He descended on George like an animal, bringing the metal pipe down again and again without mercy. George tried to defend himself, raising shaking arms to block the attacks, but he was already exhausted. Every blow felt heavier than the last. His vision blurred violently as blood streamed from his nose and split lip onto the dirty floor beneath him.
Sin Eater grabbed him by the collar and drove his fist into George's stomach hard enough to make him choke.
"You think you can attack me? Arrest me?" He punctuated the words with a punch across George's face.
George could barely hear him anymore.
Seeing George broken and barely conscious, Sin Eater was ready to finish it — but he suddenly froze. Sounds were rising from downstairs. He moved cautiously to the window and looked out onto the street below.
Police vehicles. Everywhere.
In the chaos of the fight, he had completely lost track of time. Now he was surrounded.
For a brief moment, the only sounds in the room were George's weak, ragged breathing and the heavy boots pounding rapidly up the stairwell below.
Sin Eater's expression twisted instantly.
His eyes dropped toward George's barely conscious body — then toward the handgun lying nearby.
Without hesitation, he snatched it up.
George was barely aware of what was happening before Sin Eater yanked him violently upright and locked an arm around his chest. The cold barrel of the gun jammed hard against his temple.
The door burst open.
"Don't move! DROP THE WEAPON!"
Jean Dewoff and her team stormed inside with weapons raised, laser sights locking immediately onto Sin Eater's body.
For one dangerous second, nobody moved.
Then Sin Eater laughed. A horrible, unstable laugh.
"Hahahaha — police." His breathing was uneven, almost excited. "You're late again."
He pressed the gun harder against George's head, forcing a weak grimace from him even in his half-conscious state.
"I think you know what to do, officer."
His finger slowly tightened around the trigger.
The room became suffocatingly tense. Every officer stood frozen. One wrong move, and George was dead.
Jean kept her weapon raised, but her eyes stayed locked on Sin Eater's face. She could see it clearly now — the instability, the adrenaline, the complete unpredictability behind his eyes.
This wasn't a bluff.
"Leave," Sin Eater hissed.
Nobody moved.
"NOW. Or I blast his head like a melon."
Silence.
Then Jean slowly lowered her weapon first.
"We're leaving," she said evenly. "Nobody fire."
Several officers hesitated.
"That's an order."
One by one, the team slowly backed toward the exit. But as Jean moved, she subtly gave a hand signal behind her back. The officers understood immediately. Sin Eater was too focused on his hostage to notice.
Still pressing the gun against George's head, he dragged him backward step by step toward the stairwell.
Outside, rainwater shimmered beneath the flashing red and blue police lights. Spotting the officers and snipers positioned around the building, Sin Eater kept George between himself and every line of sight as he moved toward a car parked at the curb.
He shoved George into the passenger seat hard enough to slam his head against the window. George barely reacted. The gun stayed pressed against his ribs as Sin Eater climbed behind the wheel and started the engine.
Tires screeched.
The car shot forward into the night.
Jean emerged from the building seconds later just in time to see the vehicle speeding away.
"Follow them," she ordered immediately.
Within moments, police vehicles pulled into pursuit, hanging back far enough not to provoke him, but close enough not to lose him.
Inside the speeding car, George's eyes slowly fluttered open.
Pain hit him immediately. His ribs burned with every breath, his head throbbed violently, and the taste of blood still lingered in his mouth. For several seconds, everything around him felt distorted and unfocused. Then his vision slowly cleared. Even through the fog, the sight of Sin Eater behind the wheel and the feel of the cold seat beneath him told him everything he needed to know — he was still in danger.
He shifted slightly, trying not to draw attention while forcing his fogged mind to work. His fingers tightened weakly against the edge of the seat.
Beside him, Sin Eater kept one hand on the wheel while the other rested near the gun lying across his lap.
"Thinking about escape, George?" Sin Eater asked suddenly, his tone almost casual — like they were old friends on a drive.
George slowly turned his head toward him but said nothing.
Sin Eater smiled faintly without taking his eyes off the road.
"I envy you, George," he said softly. "A good job. A beautiful wife and daughter." His grip on the wheel tightened slightly. "What do you think will happen to them if you die here?"
The moment George heard him mention his family, something inside him snapped.
Pain, exhaustion, fear — none of it mattered anymore.
With every bit of strength he had left, he lunged across the seat and grabbed for the steering wheel.
The car jerked violently sideways.
Tires screamed against the wet asphalt as nearby vehicles swerved out of the way.
"What the—"
Sin Eater hadn't expected it.
But he reacted instantly. With brutal force, he drove his elbow straight into George's face, stunning him, then snatched up the gun and swung it toward him.
George had no way to counter. Acting on pure instinct, he threw himself from the car just as Sin Eater pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck — but the bulletproof jacket absorbed it, the impact a dull, punishing thud rather than something fatal.
What came next was anything but painless.
Pain exploded through his entire body as momentum sent him rolling violently across the asphalt. Sparks flew nearby. Skin tore against the pavement. The world became a blur of flashing lights, screeching tires, and unbearable pain.
The black sedan sped away without slowing.
"HOSTAGE DOWN!" an officer shouted through comms.
The trailing police vehicles immediately broke formation. Two cruisers screeched to a stop beside George while the others accelerated after Sin Eater. Officers rushed toward him as he lay motionless on the wet road.
"Easy — easy, don't move him yet."
"He's breathing!"
Blood mixed with rainwater beneath him as one officer carefully checked for injuries. George's eyes barely opened.
"Ambulance now!" another officer yelled into the radio.
In the distance, police sirens roared louder as the remaining units continued their pursuit of Sin Eater through the rain-soaked city night.
Bellevue Hospital
The doors burst open as Helen and Gwen came rushing in, breathless. Edward was already there — sitting in a chair just outside, his face drawn and heavy.
"Edward — how is he? Is he okay?" Helen asked, her voice cracking.
"The doctors have checked him. He's badly injured, but nothing life-threatening." The relief that washed over both Helen and Gwen was visible, though fragile.
"What happened? Who did this?" Gwen asked, her voice tight with anger.
Edward explained everything. As he spoke, Gwen listened with her hands clenched in her lap. She looked through the small window at George lying in the bed, still and pale.
From a young age, she had only ever seen her father as a powerful, unshakeable police officer. Seeing him now — surrounded by tubes and monitors, his face drained of color — made her eyes water.
"Was the killer caught?" she asked quietly.
Edward slowly shook his head, thinking they had lost face by letting the killer escape.
Gwen tightened her hands. She was still angry at what happened to her dad. When something made her glance upward, she saw a spider in the corner of the ceiling, perfectly still, caught a pey.
She stared at it for a moment. Then she looked back at George through the window, at the rise and fall of his chest, at how small he looked in that bed.
Her hands clenched slowly at her sides.
"I think I've decided what to do with my powers," she murmured.
A/N:🚨 Power Stone Goals! 🚨
🔥 200 PS = 1 Bonus Chapter
🔥 500 PS = 2 Bonus Chapters(Max 2/week)
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