Superhero

Chapter 15

After yet another tiring day of college and work, Addison made her way towards the main road, praying that the bus drivers had learnt their lesson and no longer missed that stop.
She saw the bus stop in the distance and started speed-walking towards it. Addison gasped as she saw the free bus's backlights turn on as it started driving away. She ran towards it, but it was no use. The bus had taken off without her.
What made it worse was there weren't any buses later that night. It was the last bus. And it left her behind.
Addison sighed and took her phone out, sinking down on the cold metal bench. She searched if there were any cabs nearby that she could book, but sadly, there were none.
She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the bus stop, meaning to walk home. She didn't have to worry about dinner tonight since Mrs. Kennedy said she prepared something amazing for all of the tenants. Addison was pleased to have such a kind landlady. The previous one was stingy, charging a high price for such a small room that looked as if it hadn't been maintained for years, even having cracks on the wall, and leaks on the roof. Mrs. Kennedy was a huge improvement.
Thinking about the tasty food that Mrs. Kennedy would've prepared, Addison walked in determination. She believed that this long walk in the night would be rewarded.
Even if it meant passing a dingy alleyway where drunkards and gangsters loitered.
'I can handle it,' Addison thought. 'My umbrella is like a bat!'
Those words of comfort weren't enough to get rid of the fear she had for the mobs strewn across the alleyways, but she encouraged herself with only one thing.
Home and food.
Addison gingerly stepped into the backstreet and started walking at a brisker pace to get out of there as fast as she could. She zipped her coat up higher and pulled her hood on, hoping that it would help conceal her identity as she passed the alleyway where she encountered the drunkards the other day.
Addison heaved a sigh of relief when she safely crossed that alleyway and came to a street a little livelier than the last. There were a few restaurants there, and even a provision shop. Addison was glad that she didn't need to buy anything for dinner that night.
She looked at the time and saw that it was pretty late. 'No wonder the bus left me...'
It really wasn't. Addison had spent at least five minutes after her shift, ranting to Fiolina about college work and stuff. She didn't even realise she was running late. Not up until now, that is.
Addison frowned and picked up the pace. She decided to take out her phone and look up the shortest route home. After all, she wasn't all too familiar with the streets of this city. The only reason why she was here was because of college.
"Turn left," the computerised voice of her phone's GPS said in a clear British accent. "And then, turn right."
Addison obeyed. Only, the route her phone was leading her to seemed a lot dodgier than the alleyway she loathed.
But she figured it was for the best and continued the route, thinking about the delicious stuffed turkey that Felicia promised.
"Hey, beautiful!" Addison refused to turn around to face the catcaller. "Wanna grab a drink?"
"She won't go with you," there were more than one of them. "I'm asking her out first."
"But I already did!"
"Did she accept?" Addison grimaced and started walking faster. "No, because she wants me."
Addison immediately broke into a run.
"Get her!" A third voice uttered.
Addison ran as if a pack of wolves were chasing her. She didn't know why her stupid GPS thought it was a fun idea to lead her here, and why did she decide to trust the stupid thing in the first place.
Addison ran and ran, turning here and there whenever there was a junction. She wasn't sure where these roads were even leading her but knew she had to get away from these thugs as fast as she could. She turned her head to see if the men were still after her, and sure enough, they were. She turned back to the front and put on a burst of speed.
She suddenly felt her foot slip and found herself crashing face-first onto the ground. It took her a moment to register what happened and realised that her clumsy self had fallen down during a chase.
"She's over there!" One of the men uttered.
"Argh!" Addison screamed and quickly got up to run.
But to her dismay, she felt herself being yanked back by the hood of her coat, followed by someone grabbing her hair and shoving her towards the ground. Her head hit the ground pretty hard, making her too dazed to be fully aware of her surroundings.
She was too weak to twist out of their grasp and run, but sober enough to be aware of the men laughing at her vulnerability.
"Please..." Addison murmured.
The men suddenly stopped laughing at her and were now arguing, no longer looking down on her as if she was their dinner. She couldn't see very clearly, but she could tell that their attention was completely drawn away from her.
There was someone else there.
The men were throwing insults and profanities at them. Someone that Addison couldn't really see. The thugs were no longer trying to attack her, and all Addison could see were very bright flashes of light.
The last thing that Addison saw was the silhouette of a person, their face seeming to be an unusual white on the black shadow, standing over her.
And after that, everything went black.

Addison was jolted awake by a splash of water hitting her face. She opened her eyes and looked around, a painful sensation throbbing at the back of her head. She realised that she was on the porch steps of the house she's staying at, and got up. She shrieked when her eyes met with the person in front of her. Whoever it was, they were wearing a white porcelain mask with black crack-like designs that concealed their face together with a hood connected to their sweater. They were kneeling in front of Addison as if to see if she was okay.
Addison backed away with a yelp, trying to identify who the person in front of her was. Not even their eyes could be seen through the eyeholes of the mask.
They suddenly got up and came towards her, holding a hand out to her. Addison just stared up at them, her heart beating in her ears as if the throbbing pain behind her head wasn't enough.
"Who are you?" Addison asked, her voice quivering.
The person grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet. They then handed her a flask of water, which Addison noticed to be the one from her backpack.
It was then that she realised, her bag was no longer hanging by her shoulders.
"My bag!" Addison yelled, panicking. She turned to the person in front of her and they lifted their other hand, revealing to have been holding Addison's white backpack all along. They stuffed her bottle into it and handed it to her. "Thanks..." Addison finally said, taking the bag and zipping it up, not taking her eyes off the person in front of her even once. "Who are you? How did I get here?"
The person didn't say anything and proceeded to turn around and run off before disappearing into a bright white light.
"Wha...?" Addison uttered in shock. "How did he know where I live?!"
She stared blankly for a moment before taking out her keys and enter the house. Mrs. Kennedy's stuffed turkey was already waiting for her.
And so was a painful headache.