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Somewhere in the distance, a siren wailed and the occasional barking of faraway dogs drifted to me. Everything was loud, which was new to me. It was as if all the sounds of the city attacked my ears at once and the glowing neon lights that shone from the buildings dazzled my eyes.

It was late now. It was that time of day when most people were already at home or on their way home. The evening sun cast elongated shadows on the pavement as I walked along, trying to blend in and at least look like I was used to being so close to the human population.

I probably wasn't doing such a good job looking like I belonged. The rain had started a few minutes ago. At first it wasn't more than a few trickles, but it was gradually getting heavier as it fell in frigid slanted sheets. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of the cold water splashing my face.

I didn't have an umbrella. Of course, I didn't take one with me when I left. I didn't want to spend a second longer in that place than I had to. Even now, closing my eyes almost made me feel like I was back there. Underground in the dark silence.

I sighed and continued walking down the street. My stomach grumbled a reminder that I had to eat something and soon. Maybe one of the restaurants on this street would be good. Anything would be better than whatever I'd eaten before.

A wave of fiery red shot past me and I turned around to see a girl, running down the sidewalk, crying. She stopped and stood at the edge of the road as if waiting to cross, but her eyes were distant and unfocused.

Whatever. She wasn't my problem. Someone else would help her. For all I know she could just be crying over a boy or something. I peeled my eyes away from her and continued walking. I didn't have time for other people's problems when I had my own demons chasing after me.

At least, that's what I wanted to say. I heard a loud honk and saw a car barrelling towards her as she stepped out into the road.

Was this girl trying to get herself killed? Maybe she wanted to die. In that case, I shouldn't stop her. She'd probably just get mad at me and try to kill herself some other way. I knew how it felt to want to di- screw it.

My body moved before I even decided to help her and I grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the pavement. The driver didn't even spare a glance. Honestly, some people were just straight trash. I glanced around, hoping that no-one had witnessed how unnaturally fast I'd moved to save her.

Good, no-one had seen it. Everyone was inside sheltering from the rain. The common people were so useless, it was a wonder how they managed to survive without any enhanced abilities in their arsenal.

I turned my attention back to the girl. She was shivering, still stuck in a daze and still crying. They were all so fragile.

"Daniel," she whispered.

"What did you say, Miss Hit and Run?"

"Daniel!" she repeated, more frantic this time.

She tried to run off but I held my grip on her arm.

"I need to find him!" she yelled, trying to pull away. "He broke up with me... and I...."

Her sobs choked out whatever she was about to say. I rolled my eyes. Well, what do you know, it was boy trouble after all.

"Is he worth getting yourself killed for?" I growled. "News flash, you can't find him if you're dead."

"I h-have to find him. I won't be able to f-forget h-him." She shivered.

She turned to face me. Her green eyes shimmered with tears and if I didn't exist, she would probably be the saddest person on Earth right now. But more than the sadness and the pain in her eyes, I saw another emotion.

I looked away, unable to stomach it. Love disgusted me. Love caused nothing but pain. That's why my mother...

I shook my head, clenching and unclenching my fists. My freedom had come at a steep price. I didn't care about any of that anymore. She was gone and now so was I.

"I want to forget," she sobbed, clutching her heart. "It hurts."

She sank down to the pavement in a puddle of tears. For a second, just for a split second, the thought crossed my mind. I could help her. She wanted to forget so badly and what was the harm in tampering with a few memories?

No. What was I, crazy? It was way too risky to even consider trying. I couldn't do this on the side of the road with some random common girl.

But would it really be so bad to try? I wasn't even sure if it could work on the common people... I itched to test out my abilities. I mulled it over for a moment. It might be a good time to try out my power on someone else, and a human at that. It didn't work on my brother, but then again he was a special case.

Even if it failed, she would just assume I was playing a prank and the most I'd have to do was dodge a punch.

"I can make you forget," I murmured.

She looked up at me heartbroken, and without a hint of disbelief or anger, nodded. It was weird how easily she'd agreed to this without thinking I was lying. Maybe she was too desperate to even care.

It wasn't my problem, but I'd help her out.

She pulled a white ring off her finger and threw it in a puddle beside her, then as if realizing what she'd done, she hastily snatched it up again.

"I want to keep this," she mumbled. "It's from him."

I glanced at it. Her name and the guy's were etched into it and today's date was printed at the bottom. It was probably some weird human tradition. Either way, it would be a problem. If I was going to do this, I would be thorough. I slipped my ring off, extended a nail and scratched the words off it.

"Look at me."

She stared into my eyes. It was now or never. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Forget. Forget everything that happened today. Your boyfriend left you without saying goodbye and he's gone. He's not coming back. You were crying. Remember almost getting hit by a car?"

She nodded dazedly.

"Good. Now remember me saving you."

I pulled her to stand up and then let her go. Out of all the things life threw at me, thanks to my Beta bloodline, I got at least one good thing. A unique ability. My hypnosis was quick and painless.

After a few seconds, the light began to come back into her eyes. I put my ring on. She let out a shaky breath and collapsed onto the ground, going pale at the near death experience she just remembered. It had worked.

She stared at me wide-eyed and shivered as a cold breeze blew. The rain came down heavier. I cleared my throat as she continued to bore a hole through me with her eyes. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her. Common people were very fragile.

I'd gone and gotten involved. Just great. Now I'd have to act like we hadn't just had a conversation a few seconds ago. What a pain. At least now I knew my powers could work on them. It could be useful.

"Don't you know how to cross a road?" I asked.

She sniffed, still shaken up. Maybe getting her out of the rain would be a good idea. I was starving and felt like I would probably pass out soon. I didn't get why I was still here helping her.

"Can you walk?"

She nodded and I helped her to stand.

"Is it okay if I touch you?" I asked slowly.

I didn't want her to think I was taking advantage of her while she was vulnerable. I hated people who did that. And pepper spray would be a pain to deal with. Could you eat pepper spray?

Besides, I didn't want to be labelled a pervert the same day I moved to Crysauralia. Jail is a thing and although getting out would be a cinch, I didn't come here to trade one prison for another.

She didn't say anything, so I hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her under the awning of a shop where we could shelter from the rain.

"Th-thank you," she whispered.

"It's fine."

She went back to staring at me while I tried to figure out if pepper spray was edible. I contemplated it, and then decided that it probably wouldn't taste very good. She squirmed out of my hand.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"No, you're not."

Demetri, let it go already! She's not your problem!

"Should I call you a cab or something?"

She nodded. "If it's not too much trouble."

It is, but I was going to do it anyways.

After a quick Google search, I dialed the number for a cab service and in a few minutes, a yellow cab came cruising around the corner.

"Get home safely and try not to get hit by a car this time," I instructed her.

I gave her my number and told her my name. I told her to call me as soon as she got home so I'd at least know she made it home alive.

She nodded, and got into the cab looking absolutely exhausted. I watched as it drove off, still surprised that I'd chosen to play the Good Samaritan.

I frowned. This wasn't like me at all. Maybe it was something about her, like the way she'd looked so scared and hurt that made me remember my mother. I ran a hand through my hair. Well, that was over with. I'd probably never see her again. There was no way she could be useful to me. She couldn't help me with my vendetta.

I walked off, down the street and felt as if I was blending in with the shadows. I wasn't a nice guy. I didn't care about anyone. But who can blame me? This twisted, screwed up society made me this way.

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