Greater Marketia: Second Coming

Chapter 5: The Hill Riders Part 2

"Y'know, Brock always called me comrade 'r some shit, but unlike y'all I don't need friends. I'm only sticking with these outcasts 'til I get enough money to hitch a ride to Australia."

Distracted, Lae-Ser wondered for a brief moment why he was being told all this when a flame blew up and scorched his back, igniting his jacket. Throwing the jacket off, he realized the dire situation they're all in. The Hill Riders appear to be deadset on eliminating them, so they may have no choice but to kill the Hill Riders first.

Tearing down a pipe from the ceiling again, he doused the flames but winced again at the damage to his bar. The water splashed across the bar, giving him a chance to run as Shaquavion farted and said "I don't like my fights takin forever, it'll only make me madder and madder and trust me, you don't want that. I'm fueled by rage old man," he said, flinging a plume of flame at Lae-Ser, who just barely dodged the brunt of it.

"That farting, I've seen someone here before who farted when they were nervous, I believe her name was Titia."

Hearing that name made Shaquavion lose his temper.

In an instant, he was flooded with the fear, pain, regret, and rage of his past.

All the memories he drank to forget came flooding back as he began to break down.

He got fired from the railroad four years prior for failing to properly check the safety measures on the trains, and his wife was furious. They could barely pay rent in their apartment before, let alone now, and with a kid on the way in a few months.

The fight resulted in her leaving, catching a train to travel to the other side of the island to visit her parents. Little did she know that it was one of the trains Shaquavion had failed to check. The train had slipped through their recall and ended up derailing in a fiery crash, killing her and the unborn child.

He stood up, tears streaming down his face, staring down Lae-Ser. His rage hides his pain, Lae-Ser thought to himself, noticing he may have poked the bear accidentally. Something terrible must've happened to him. La-Ser thought, feeling bad for the guy.

The room began heating up to an unbearable 112 degrees as Shaquavion's rage grew more and more.

"I've always been a crutch for them, y'know. Without me they would be run off the island, I wonder how they'll handle when I'm gone," Shaquavion said, his hands starting to plume flames.

"No one has ever escaped my power, Burn Them Down," he says before launching flames at Lae-Ser. Barely dodging, Lae-Ser dove down to the ground, slamming down onto the wood floor.

"Once I get mad, no one can stop me!" Shaquavion yelled as he threw two blasts of flames at him. Lae-Ser immediately tore down the ceiling once again, taking down a display shelf and sending glass everywhere. The glass sliced Shaquavion's face as a flame blast slammed into Lae-Ser, igniting his Jacket and scorching his left arm. Throwing off his jacket, Lae-Ser grunted and jumped up for the exit as it burst into flames.

"Looks like you chose the wrong side, old man," Shaquavion said, preparing to throw more flames. He throws the flames as Lae-Ser noticed a flash of light in the ceiling, reflecting off of a pipe sticking out of the hole. With no hesitation, he used his power to tear down the pipe through the chest of Shaquavion, causing the flames to evaporate inches from Lae-Ser's face.

Blood pouring out, Shaquavion fell to his knees in disbelief. Tears streamed down his face as the memories and regret came back to him, his life flashing before his eyes.

"I didn't wanna have to do that," Lae-Ser said, walking over to him.

"I'm sorry Titia," he said looking at his bloodied hands, "I'm no better than the monsters I grew up with."