𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 (𝙗𝙭𝙗)

Chapter Fourteen

Cody P.O.V

Deep, endless abyss. That was the only way I knew how to describe the river at night. The only thing disturbing its darkness was the city's lights reflecting against the glassy surface. It was peaceful at night, void of boats and people, hiding its secrets beneath the dark. I leaned against the railing, my phone dangling between my fingers. I stared down at the device, at the dark screen. I wondered if I turned it on if there would be any messages waiting for me, if my parents had tried calling, if Hannah was worried. I scoffed, running a hand through my disheveled hair. The answers didn't particularly matter, I thought as I chucked the device into the water. I stared as the device disappeared into the river's depth, swept away by the currents. I didn't particularly care where it ended up so long as it wasn't with me. The smartwatch was next, receiving the same fate the phone had. If I wanted to remain under the radar and out of my parent's grasp, I had to rid myself of my devices. The last thing I needed was for my father to track my location.

I just needed time to think, to be away from all my problems. Of course, I'd have to return eventually, but for now, I wanted to bask in the pale light of the moon. I didn't stay long, even though I wanted to. I wandered downtown for a while, scouring for a motel to hide out in for the night. I only had a little cash on me, and I wasn't stupid enough to try getting money from an ATM or directly using the card. I would have to make the cash in my pockets last long enough for my parents to calm down. It would have to be soon, though, especially with another problem lingering on the horizon, i.e., my spontaneous power display.

I didn't even want to imagine how my father would react when he found out.

I decided on the third motel I came across, as the first two had expensive rates that would leave me penniless by tomorrow. Hopefully, I'd have things figured out by then, but I didn't want to take the chance. The lobby of the third motel was about what one would suspect, unkempt and dirty. The person behind the counter had their boots propped up against the desk, jamming to loud, obnoxious music. I waited a couple of seconds to see if they would notice me standing there, they didn't, so I stepped closer, startling them out of their rock session. They slid one of the earbuds out of their ears, looking at me with an annoyed expression.

"Can I help you?" They grumbled out, clearly uninterested in assisting me.

"I need a room. One night," I pulled out the small wad of cash from my pocket. I slapped a crisp fifty-dollar bill onto the desk, watching as the desk clerk grabbed it, inspected it loosely before typing a couple of things into the computer and plopping a key with a tag that read '217' onto the desk.

"Second floor, on the left. Check-out is at noon," The desk clerk rattled off before sliding their earbud back into place, signaling an end to our conversation. I didn't linger, quickly grabbing the key off the desk and hurried out of the lobby to find the room, which was more challenging than one would have assumed. And it was on the right, not the left.

The room smelt of smoke, musk, and perhaps blood, but I ignored it, quickly closing and locking the door behind me. The room was filled with a tiny bed, a small television, and a weirdly stained rug. I inspected the bed with disgust, not even daring to sit on it. I couldn't even imagine all the things, all the fluids, that have touched this bed. It was an unpleasant thought. I hadn't expected to sleep tonight anyway, but now it was definitely out of the question. I slowly walked around the room, examining everything before deciding that the single chair in the corner of the room was clean enough to sit in.

I ran my hands through my hair, gripping at the strands. This day has been too much, and I could already tell that tomorrow wouldn't be any better. I wanted to scream, let out everything that had been bothering me, and make all my problems disappear. If only a scream could do all that.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the bundle of cash and counted its content. 105 . . . 140 . . . 155. One-hundred fifty-five dollars. I could manage with that, not for long, but I could stretch it out if I had to. I could pretend this was only a game, that my family was playing a superpower-incorporated game of hide-and-seek, and I was the hider, not wanting to get caught. But this wasn't a game, and as much as I wanted to assume that my father wouldn't harm me in his fit of anger, I didn't want to test it.

Was I wrong for wanting them to care about me, to be concerned, worried? Was it unrealistic for me to think that they would, or at least should? There's a reason people like my parents shouldn't have kids. After years of emotional neglect from them, I don't know why I ever assumed they'd be worried.

. . . Was it something to do with me? Was something wrong with me that made them not want to love me?

I shoved the cash back into my pocket, getting up from the chair. I walked around the bed to grab the slightly sticky remote from the tv stand, powering on the device. The screen flickered for a second before it stabilized, with Helene Hughsmann's face appearing on the screen. I listened as she rambled about the school getting destroyed, informing me of the deaths of three of my classmates. I was angry; I think I had a right to be. Angry tears flowed down my cheeks as I watched the three's school pictures flash onto the screen, recognizing two of them from classes. While my heart hurt for their families, I couldn't help but think about how that could have been Hannah or me. And for what? For my stupid father to play the supervillain.

". . . In other news, Dakota Monroe, son of famous engineer Nathaniel Monroe and CEO of KTX Charlotte Monroe, was reported missing this evening. The renowned couple hosted a brief press conference revealing the news." My head snapped in shock as I watched my face flash on the screen. The screen shifted to a clip from the press conference, with both my parents standing on the other side of a podium with hundreds of microphones shoved in their faces.

"We are in desperate search of our only son, Dakota, who disappeared from our family apartment a couple of hours ago. We have police and our private investigation unit scouring the city for his whereabouts," My father said, wrapping an arm around my mother's shoulders. "Please help us locate and bring our son home." Cameras rapidly flashed photos of my parents, and reporters shouted questions urgently in the background. Yet, even with all that chaos, my parents preserved placid exteriors. The press conference disappeared off the screen, with another photo of myself appearing with my details next to it.

I was frozen in place, my mind racing. I wouldn't be able to hide for as long as I had thought I would be able to, not with other people involved. For all I knew, the desk clerk could have seen the news and already alerted the authorities of my location. This wasn't good; this wasn't good at all.

I tossed the room key onto the bed and unlocked the door, abandoning the motel room. I felt my hand on things slipping out of my control like everything was crashing around me. I . . . don't know what to do. All I could even think to do was run, so that's what I did. I ran with no destination in mind, subconsciously aware that there was no realistic place I could hide that wouldn't be found. For a split second, I wished I was back at the bridge, basking in its peaceful lucidness. To drown in its calm. But I wasn't at the bridge; I was in the middle of the city with no place to go and an unknown amount of people hunting me down.

My feet stopped suddenly when I happened to glance up and locked eyes on a floating figure in the far distance. From affair, the figure was nothing more than a black blob in the sky, but I knew better than that; I recognized the patterns of the outfit and the person underneath the costume.

Scouring above the city, decked out in his over-the-top villain apparel, was none other than Nihilo.

A/N: A couple of days later than promised, but here you go! Also, not proofread!