muscles to twitch involuntarily. His fangs pressed themselves against his lower lip.
Just as the first robber was about to step around the corner, Reginald stood and stepped forward. The robber was shocked to see Reginald make the first move, which gave him the split second he needed. Reginald focused with all of his might and shrugged off his anger. 'Just because you can do something, doesn't mean it's right,' echoed through his head once more. With extreme concentration, Reginald's hand darted out and grabbed the man's forearm. Displaying superhuman strength, he squeezed, hearing bones breaking and shattering, As the gun fell to the floor, Reginald pulled back his arm and aimed it at the man's midsection. Feeling his lip twitch, he breathed out calmly and punched the first robber, sending him flying up and into the wall several feet away. The man hit the floor awkwardly with a loud smack.
Reginald breathed out again as he turned. 'I can still hear his heart beating,' he thought. 'Good.' He watched as the other man seemed to slowly come around the other aisle. The man's face twisted in confusion and anger as he took in the sight of his partner lying on the floor. Then Reginald watched as his gun came up and pointed directly at his chest.
"You're going to die for this!" he shouted as his finger began to close on the trigger.
Reginald stepped forward and easily grabbed the man's hand as he began to fire. Shoving the arm down, he felt pieces of tile and concrete hitting his pants leg as the robber frantically fired off his gun. As the last bullets hit the ground, the robber kept pulling the trigger, causing a clicking sound to echo through Reginald's head each time.
"What are you?" the robber asked, his look of anger dissolving into panic.
Reginald leaned forward and opened his mouth, then shut it. "I don't know," he said, feeling at a loss of words. With that, he raised his free hand and brought it down onto the man's skull. He crumpled into a pile on the ground.
For a moment Reginald stood there, feeling the intense wave of strength ebbing away. His breaths became ragged and he could feel sweat pouring from all over. His heartbeat was echoing through his head as his body began to try to cooldown. He flinched as a car passed by outside, causing a small beam of sunlight to hit him.
'I can't stay here,' he thought frantically. As he saw everyone begin to get to their feet, he started looking for an exit. His eyes darted all around before seeing a door in the back corner just several feet away. As he took a step forward, he noticed the second robber's bag laying at his feet. Reaching down, he quickly rifled through it until he found his wallet. 'Got to get away. Can't let them know who I am.'
He dove for the door and pushed through it, causing it to slam behind him with a bang. There was a second door on the other side, which lead outside to an alley that ran behind the convenience store. As the sunlight hit him, he felt as if all his energy was draining. He pulled his cap down lower and pulled his coat collar up to give extra coverage for his neck as he stumbled along down the alleyway. He walked side to side as if he were drunk, trying to keep as much of his body out of the sun.
As he came to the street, Reginald groaned loudly. 'This is the opposite direction from the house,' he feebly thought. 'I don't know if I can make it like this.'
He stepped onto the sidewalk and immediately bumped into a man as he was quickly walking. "Watch it, dumbass!" he shouted as Reginald fell back against the wall. He leaned there and watched as people walked to and fro on their way to work. The morning traffic was just as cluttered as always. He felt his eyes begin to blur as he struggled to stay conscious.
He jumped as he realized his surroundings. He forced his eyes to focus. "The river," he hoarsely muttered out loud. "Near the river."
With new determination, he forced himself to quickly walk along the sidewalk. He smiled as he
Drew Karpyshyn, William C. Dietz