Apollo fell to his knees once again, the world twirling before his eyes. He hadn’t the faintest idea of where the hell he was. The rows of concrete pillars and empty parking spaces suggested he was inside a parking garage. For what reason? Apollo wasn’t sure. The voice whispering in his mind was guiding him to something, but out of all places, why here?

Apollo stood back to his feet, the motion sending a sharp pain to his head. He groaned and hobbled forward, swerving left and right, stumbling across a pillar to maintain his balance. He took a few deep breaths to control the chaos brewing in his stomach, mouth quickly filling with saliva. Apollo leaned forward and expelled slimy yellow muck thick with chunks of carrots, chicken, and potato.

The pool of vomit staring back at him began to blur as his eyes watered. It was times like these Mama would’ve made him a nice hot cup of ginger and honey or fennel tea to sip on to settle his digestive system. How badly he wished that were the case right now, among many other things: a warm bed to sleep on, some fresh clothes, some water, and a lot of mouthwash to rinse out the rancid odor coming from his breath. Apollo blinked away the tears running from his eyes and brushed the residue from his mouth against the side of his hospital garment.

A black SUV came down from a ramp located at the garage’s far end, and Apollo quickly turned his head away, sticking out a hand to shield himself from the blinding pair of headlights. Whoever was inside the vehicle revved the engine a few times before shutting it off.

Apollo blinked wildly for his vision to return as five figures stepped out of the vehicle, all of them wearing black gloves, hoodies, and ski masks. The muscles in Apollo’s chest tightened at the sight of them, the voice in his mind buzzing like an emergency siren.

It was them. There wasn’t a single doubt the voice whispering in Apollo’s head was leading him toward these five individuals, but why? Who were these people? These guys looked like professional criminals waiting to dispose of another victim. Their negative aura caused Apollo’s head to cramp even more, once again bringing him to his knees.

“Is that who I think it is?” one of them said, laughing underneath his mask as he strutted forward. The rest of his goons stood firmly behind him, hands tucked inside the pockets of their hoodies. They too chuckled in the background.

Apollo didn’t find anything remotely funny about the current situation. It was actually quite distasteful how they could stand there and laugh in the face of his pain.

“Yeah, I thought it was you,” he said, pulling out a pistol from underneath his hoodie. Apollo’s heart aggressively thumped in his chest. “You’re a dead motherfucker now, lemme tell ya.” He pulled off his ski mask, revealing a face Apollo thought he’d recognized from somewhere before.

“Donovan, what are you doing?” one of the masked goons asked in the background.

Donovan cocked his weapon. “I promised this motherfucker a death sentence, and now I’m gonna fulfill that promise. I want my face to be the last thing this fucker sees before I send him to the grave.”

Apollo stared into his blood-lusted eyes as pieces of memory slowly floated back to him. “Death sentence,” he muttered to himself, studying Donovan’s face to remember where he’d seen this person before. Moving images of Donovan kicking him in his stomach, dragging him across the ground in the woods, and then stomping on his head rolled through his mind like a short film. You’ve just issued yourself a death sentence, motherfucker.

Now it was clear.

Those were the final words Apollo heard when he was attacked after finishing his computer studies exam. This was the boy who sent him to the hospital, and it was because of him that Apollo had to endure such excruciating pain during the times he was awake.

Apollo rose to his feet, teeth pressed together. His entire body grew exceedingly warm. It was happening again. The power within him, erupting like a volcano, eagerly awaiting to melt and destroy anything in its path.

Kill all of them! The voice growled in his mind as Apollo drew in heavy breaths.

“I think the pussy’s suffering from a panic attack,” Donovan said as his goons laughed in the background. “A pity I couldn’t find your brother at the dance tonight ’cause I would’ve filled his ass with hot lead the same I did to his friend.” Donovan aimed the pistol at Apollo. “Now it’s your turn.” He pulled the trigger.

The flash of the barrel ignited.

Apollo reached up with his mind and froze the bullet a few inches away from his face.

Donovan had the look of someone who’d just seen their life flash before their eyes. He pulled the trigger several more times until his pistol clicked on empty. Fury rolled through Apollo’s body as he studied the bullets hovering in the air. What was this thing trying to accomplish?

“The fuck’s … going on?” Donovan’s voice quivered, its eyes frigid with disbelief. The four critters standing behind Donovan marched forward, pulling out their pistols, firing rounds at Apollo with the same result.

“That shouldn’t be fuckin’ possible!” the critter on the far right said.

“Yo, we gotta get the fuck outta here!” the critter on the far left said, dashing back to the SUV.

I don’t think so! Apollo pushed out and fired the bullets back in the critters’ direction, two of them hitting Donovan: one in the back and the other in the leg.

“Shit, I’m coming!” One of the critters rushed back to help Donovan.

Apollo pushed out a bolt of force and sent the critter flying against the wall, holding it there under his concentrated effort.

Headlights flashed in Apollo’s direction as the SUV sped toward him like a bull looking to decapitate its bullfighter.

Apollo reached deeper into his mind and halted the SUV inches away from where he stood. The critters inside tried to escape, but Apollo traced the locks with his mind, sealing their fate. The screech of steel bending and glass shattering rippled throughout the garage as the SUV rose from the ground.

Agonizing screams leaked from inside the SUV and Apollo smiled. Watching their bodies twist and bend into unrecognizable shapes while compressing the SUV into a black ball of steel was delightful. Arousing almost.

Apollo glanced over toward the critter posted on the wall and launched the scrapped vehicle in its direction, crushing it with a wet splash. Whatever was left of it had painted the wall a dark shade of red.

Apollo tilted his head to the side and followed Donovan’s shrill as it crawled away toward the exit, one arm pushing forward over the other. You really believe I’m going to allow you to escape and recover like nothing happened? The audacity of such a thing.

Apollo scrunched his face and concentrated his energy to pin the critter against the ground so it couldn’t move. There would be no escaping its punishment. Justice was going to be served.

The pistol Donovan used floated toward Apollo’s hand. He examined it and scoffed at such a useless piece of machinery, tossing it to the side. No weapon in the world could match the unfathomable power growing within him. In a battle between man versus God, God won Every. Single. Time.

“No, please don’t!” Donovan cried. “Please! I-I’m sorry!”

Apollo could feel Donovan’s terror twisting in his stomach. You could actually see it clawing out of its eyes. A few minutes ago, the critter thought it was untouchable behind its primitive weaponry. Now it knew what it felt like to be helpless and afraid. Parasites like Donovan will always show you their true colors when they’re about to die. An excruciating death at that!

“D-d-don’t hurt me … I said I was so—”

Apollo envisioned each of its limbs breaking at the joints, and they did. The critter’s squeal echoing across the garage rivaled an orchestral hum of birds singing in the morning. Apollo could get used to those sounds if it meant cleansing the planet of such rodents. No longer would these vile pieces of vermin harm the innocent or instill fear in them.

Apollo reached out with his mind and lifted its mangled body off of the ground, sharp pieces of bone sticking through its skin as white as chalk. “Your death sentence has now been issued,” Apollo said, sending one final bolt of force toward the critter, tearing it apart. Blood and fragments of entrails splashed around the garage, slapping against the pillars, ground, and wall.

All the wrongs created by those five termites were now made … right. Apollo didn’t allow himself to be too involved in the moment as there were still a few more things he needed to take care of before even considering calling it a night. He looked to the exit in front of him and made his slow walk forward, greeted by the whistles of crickets singing in the night.

#

The streets were filled with songs of police sirens howling through the air as Apollo sauntered his way toward what looked to be a community center parking lot. The library attached to the community center looked like it’d been closed for years, and the football field behind it was about as alive as a cemetery. The entire atmosphere was derelict if Apollo was honest, but the lack of lighting over the area set the tone perfectly for what he was about to do.

Two males and a female were hanging around a silver sedan, laughing so loud Apollo glanced at the townhouses across the street to see if the neighbors were disturbed. Two of the three people he recognized. And they’re about to be silenced forever very shortly. Apollo took his time approaching the group, step by step as smooth grass transitioned into jagged cement. A gust of wind blew across his body, causing the hospital garment to flap across his skin.

“Aye, yo, yo, yo,” the boy wearing the blue baseball cap said, gesturing to the donkey beside him.

“Oh my God,” Cassandra blurted out, rushing a hand over her mouth.

“The fuck,” Tyron said, squinting his eyes at Apollo. With all the blood over his hospital garment, it was as if Tyron never recognized him. “You lost nigga?”

Apollo turned his attention to the sedan and felt the weight of its steel bend and crunch under the force of his power. They, too, would not be escaping their fate.

The boy wearing the blue baseball cap stared at the crushed sedan like he’d just witnessed a child getting murdered. He sprinted down the street, leaving Tyron and Cassandra by themselves. Now that’s a true friend. Apollo appreciated the boy’s cooperation because now, with the three of them alone and no one else around, it made their encounter a lot more intimate.

“Wha … what the fuck?” Tyron said, his breathing coming in short snaps. “H-how … m-my camera … was in there.”

Anger screwed up Apollo’s face as he extended his hand. Tyron’s body flew toward his palm. “Remember when I said I’d kill you if you disrespected my Ma?” Apollo watched Tyron seal his eyes shut and gurgle for air. “I’m here to fulfill that promise.” Apollo lifted him off the ground and watched his feet kick hopelessly underneath him. “Nobody speaks ill of my Ma and lives to tell the tale.”

“OH MY GOD, NOOO!” Cassandra screamed.

“ARGH!”

Apollo effortlessly removed Tyron’s head from his body and admired the way his spine swayed back and forth in the air. He looked to Cassandra and made his way over toward her, Tyron’s head still in hand. She stumbled backward and tripped over herself, begging and pleading he hadn’t done anything to her. They all love to beg when they’re about to die.

Apollo tossed the head into her hands, and her entire body shook with terror as Tyron’s lifeless eyes stared back at her. All the color she had in her face was gone, turning pale as flour. “Never mistreat those who’ve done nothing wrong to you,” Apollo said, looking down upon her, “because you just never know when it’ll cost you your life.”

Like a watermelon dropped from a great height, Cassandra exploded.

#

When Apollo finally reached home, he stood at the bottom of the staircase for a brief moment, a collage of memories floating through his mind, reminding him of all the horrible experiences he endured living with Marcella. The blatant favoritism toward Odion, the hateful names she’d called him, the abuse, the constant wish of death …

“Apollo, is that you?” A familiar voice called from a distance breaking his thoughts. Apollo reluctantly looked around to see who was calling him. “Everyone’s been looking …” Koji paused, standing underneath one of the light poles that lit the complex. His deep brown face was dowsed in a mixture of shock and confusion. “Y-you must’ve had a helluva n-night,” Koji said, fidgeting for something in his pocket like he was nervous. “Is e-everything o-okay?” He pointed to his hospital garment.

Apollo looked down and realized there had been more bloodstains than he anticipated. “They will be very soon.” He turned his head toward the dining area window and noticed the kitchen light turn on, the silhouette of Marcella moving through the curtains.

“O-okay well … ugh … t-take care, Apollo.” Koji walked off, mumbling to himself.

Apollo contemplated knocking him unconscious so he didn’t squeal, but that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do. Koji hadn’t done anything wrong, and in fairness to him, was one of the few individuals who didn’t treat Apollo like shit growing up. There were far more pressing matters to deal with right now.

Reaching out with his mind, Apollo turned the knob, and the door opened on its own, squeaking back as he stepped inside. The soft mat hugging his feet was a welcoming change from the jagged pavement outside. It must’ve been the only welcoming thing in this household. The place was dark, and the radio in the living room was on low volume, playing the same old religious choir hymns Marcella loved listening to before going to bed. Ironic, wasn’t it? A woman whose soul was darker than coal listening to a radio station preaching about God, love, and compassion.

Apollo looked over to the side and saw two suitcases standing side by side, presumably packed with all of his belongings. She wasn’t joking about kicking him out of the house, not that it mattered. As far as he was concerned, she was doing him a favor. All the years of torment and torture were about to come to an end.

Footsteps paced around upstairs in the hallway as he made his way toward the kitchen for some paper towels. Apollo ran them under some warm water and used his mind to switch the tap off afterward.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” Marcella repeated, dashing down the stairs at a speed that would’ve sent her reeling had she miscalculated her step.

Apollo turned his head at the click of the front door closing and saw Marcella standing there with her face red and wet with tears.

“It was you, wasn’t it,” she said, covering her mouth. Her eyes lingered at his bloodied hospital garment. Of all the years they’d lived together, this was by far the most emotional Apollo had ever seen her. “YOU DID THIS!” she screamed. “How could you have murdered those innocent kids at school?”

She sprinted toward him as Apollo brought his hands to his head, shielding himself from the barrage of slaps she threw against his arms and shoulders.

“You’re a monster! You’re an evil, jealous, hateful monster!” The crazy bitch brought her hand up in the air and swung it across Apollo’s face, spinning his jaw. The left side of his cheek heated in flames. “GET out! I don’t ever want to see you AGAIN!” She tried taking another swing, but Apollo reached up with his mind and froze her hand a couple of inches away from his face. He felt her trying to push through with her assault, face distorted with effort, but her attempt was futile.

The fact she even tried to challenge his power infuriated him even more. “Never. Again!” Apollo pushed out a thumping bolt of force, and Marcella went crashing through the dining area window as if hit by an invisible wrecking ball.

Apollo walked up to the window sill and stared at her body lying on the pavement, sharp pieces of glass scattered around her. She looked a lot better now that she wasn’t moving. With the amount of abuse she’d done to him throughout the years, she’s lucky he didn’t tear her apart like the rest of those other critters. No, let her body be my gift to Odion upon his return, provided he gets here before someone else notices. Apollo turned his head to the sound of murmurs coming from somewhere nearby. It was time to get out of here.

The cupboard that stored all of the large garbage bags flew open, Apollo tearing off his hospital garment and throwing them into a bag he grabbed. The zippers to both of his suitcases tore themselves away as Apollo quickly slapped on some fresh clothes. It would’ve been nice to have a long, hot shower first, but it wasn’t often one could have their cake and eat it too.

Apollo threw whatever clothes he managed to gather into another large garbage bag he grabbed from the cupboard. Had both suitcases not been so old and worn down, he would’ve just taken both of them and said to hell with it. But to stand there and sort out the clothes he wanted to travel with was asking to get caught by the authorities, especially since it was only a matter of time until someone noticed Marcella’s body outside. That’s if someone hasn’t already.

Apollo looked to the living room and decided to exit through the back door. I need some cash. Apollo dropped both of his garbage bags, ran upstairs to Marcella’s room, and noticed the television reporting breaking news of an event that took place at school. There’s no time to stand here and watch. Have to get moving.

Knowing the authorities would be here dusting for fingerprints, Apollo pulled out every drawer inside the room with his mind, fortunate enough to have seen one of Marcella’s special handbags popping out from one of them. There’s got to be cash in there. Apollo took a peek inside and found a thick brown envelope filled with only one-hundred-dollar bills. Jackpot! Apollo thanked the Universe before sliding the envelope into his back pocket, placing every drawer back into its position, so it looked like nothing had ever occurred.

Racing into his old bedroom, Apollo snapped up his wallet and his old Bionic Man and Black Shadow comic books before dashing into the bathroom to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste. He raced downstairs and exited through the back with both garbage bags over his shoulders. To where his next journey lied was to be determined, but there was a new life out there waiting for him.

One very, very far away from this forsaken dump.

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