Alvita texted me at 7:30 in the morning. Of course, I wasn’t awake at the time. When I finally saw her text at 10 a.m., she had texted me three times.

  7:30 am

  8:27 am

  8:33 am

  Hurriedly, I texted back,

  I glared at the screen.

  I frowned. I didn’t know what to feel. Frustrated? Confused? Overwhelmed maybe? Was she making fun of me? It was difficult to tell.

  Besides that, my morning was pleasant. Mom had work, so it was just me and Dad. Cory had left around midnight last night after I burned down his digital house. Despite the arson, he didn’t seem too upset, more frustratedly amused than anything. However, he did seem forlorn when he made his way to the window.

  I had asked.

  He only shook his head and said,

  It was odd to see him out of a 3-story-high building. In fact, I may have even worried for him for a brief moment. But when I moved to see what had become of him, he was nowhere in sight. I guess that was better than him splatting against the concrete below. If barely.

  After breakfast (five pieces of toast and three eggs), I thought about my itinerary. I guess practice my newfound demon strength, maybe try to see if I can jump from building to building. That’s probably the smartest thing, even if I do just want to go fight crime right now.

  I’m a tad antsy. Like something was going to go wrong any moment. It didn’t help that Cory asked about my gloves last night. My gloves that I now wear twenty-four seven outside of the bathroom. I panicked and told him I just like wearing gloves now. I then shot him with a flaming arrow so that conversation didn’t really go anywhere, thank god.

  But despite the fact that I haven't been found out doesn’t mean I won’t be found out tomorrow or next week. And that’s not a fun thought.

  But anyway…

  Dad’s cafe was very close to our home. Just down the street and around the block. I have the keys to it, so I can get onto its roof moderately easily. Dad asked where I was going, of course, he’s been keeping an eye on me ever since the Giant attack.

  “Just to the cafe,” I said, not finding a reason to lie.

  “Now? Should I come with you?”

  “I’m good, Dad. I’m just going to the roof to practice using my strength so I don’t break another door.”

  Dad leveled me with a stare I’m far too used to.

  “It’ll be fine! Do you really want to be around a bunch of fragile furniture with practice?”

  He huffed. “I see your point. I suppose I’ll let you use my restaurant. But text me if you’re going anywhere else. Alright?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Got it. Goodbye, Dad!”

  The actual practice went pretty well. Kinda. When I put power into my jumps, I got pretty high. Much higher than I would have two weeks ago, but there was still a problem. The number of ledges I smacked into was far too many. Bruises littered my sides, and my knee got scraped under my jeans. But after an hour and sixteen minutes, I was feeling pretty good. I could actually jump onto another roof without almost falling off! I think it’s finally time to destroy crime!

  It’s time to become… Okay, well, I don’t have a name yet for my secret identity, but that's for later.

  Back home, before my mirror, I put on my disguise. And only then did I realize how truly plain it was. I thought it was plain before, but it really was completely unoriginal. I looked like I could be delivering pizza or something. With a black hoodie, knee and elbow pads, a mask, a pair of sunglasses, black gloves, and a helmet, I could be just skateboarding through a neighborhood. There was nothing eye-catching about me. Which was a problem when I wanted to catch eyes.

  I nodded to myself and placed my hands on my hips. The most important thing was that it hid who I was.

  Looking for crime was a lot harder than I expected. Sneaking out of my room without my Dad noticing was hard enough but actually going around on foot with no direction was quite frustrating. Why didn’t people just commit crime in broad daylight? That would make this a lot easier.

  I left home at 3 pm, and now it was close to six. The sky was getting darker, and the rain was coming down harder. I tried to stay under cover, but still my clothing was getting soaked. It was looking like a poor first day.

  “What should I do now?” I asked myself, kicking some gravel. People around me held aloft umbrellas and were wrapped in dark coats. The masks covering their mouths and noses could be seen with a glint of light. I did not miss wearing those.

  A thought popped into my head. A truly stupid thought.

  I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and spun on my heel.

  Using my very good internal compass, I made my way through the streets. I had to backtrack a couple times cause as it turned out my internal compass was shit. But eventually, I was in the area of the city named Gregton. When I passed a sign with the name, I noted to myself that Alvita may be close by. After all, she does live in Gregton. Hopefully, I won’t run into her.

  Was that what I was doing? I purposely chose the place where I was attacked. Did I want to, what, a Giant? I barely survived the last time, and I came out of the encounter as a freaking demon.

  … Nah, it was probably fine. What were the chances I would find Giant in the span of a week since the last one?

  I pulled out my phone, finding that Alvita had texted me, asking what my favorite foods were. I typed back a quick ‘

  Looking back up at the street, I realized I recognized where I was. I was near that street. The one I was on before it all happened. If I kept walking and rounded that corner…

  I glanced around, looking for something that could help me. A two-story, thin restaurant with a balcony caught my attention. I jogged closer, peering up at it, trying to ignore the drops of rain hitting my nose and sliding into the mask. I wiped my face and rolled my shoulders. I bent my knees and muttered, “You can do this.”

  I leaped up, using all my strength. For an everlasting moment, I flew. I was weightless, a feeling that I’ll never get used to. My sneakers landed on the balcony railing, slipping on the rainwater. With reflexes faster than ever, I gripped onto the wall and leaned against it until the adrenaline eased.

  I thought, annoyed at myself.

  “What are you doing?” a person who was inside the building asked, astonished. The man came out onto the balcony, staring at me with wide eyes.

  “Shit,” I muttered and jumped up to the roof above. I landed and fell on my knees, soaking my jeans. I cursed again.

  I got to my feet and scanned the street below. From my elevation, it should be no problem spotting a Giant, if there were one. I nodded, feeling proud of my own ingeniousness.

  “Okay, Cain-Man, you can do this,” I said. I immediately grimaced.

  I really needed to come up with a name– a good name.

  I jumped from short building to short building as I practiced. I only hit my ankle on one ledge. From the rooftops, I searched the shadows of the streets below, staying within the proximity of the other Giant attack.

  Just as all of my hope of finding anything washed away, and a yawn pulled at my jaw, I saw something. The thing passed under a streetlight for only a second before shifting into the darkness of the street corner again.

  I leaned forward, and the air from my lungs vanished. I knew, in my gut, it was one of them. I snuck closer, coming to the edge of the building. I could make out its shape. It’s big and bulky shape.

  My teeth gritted together, and a growl released from my throat— an all too animalistic growl.

  The thing was alone, and it was being sneaky. It looked every which way before creeping further down the street, staying in the night's shadows. The street was all but empty, making it easy for the thing to go unnoticed.

  Of course, I, being the amazing and best hero/vigilante ever, am not so easily fooled.

  I clenched my gloved fists and shifted my feet in preparation to spring down there, but something held me back. Gazing upon the Giant brought a weight to my stomach and a lump to my throat.

  “” I murmured.

  There’s only one Giant this time, for crying out loud. AND I have new demon strength. Taking this thing on would be a walk in the park. Yet, all I could see was Ellen Reid, dead; Alvita Reid thrown over a Giant’s shoulder; me, struggling to breathe and as frigid as the North Pole.

  How in hell am I supposed to fight this thing?! What in the world was I thinking, even coming to Gregton? Goddamnit, am I a complete imbecile.

  I should start slowly. Take on a petty crime, help an old lady across the road, save a cat stuck in a tree- not fight one of the soldiers of one of the biggest threats to humanity since global warming!

  “No, snap out of it!” I slapped myself, my cheek stinging slightly. “This is your chance.”

  I rolled my shoulders, took a deep breath, and tossed myself over the side of the building. I landed on the concrete below with a small

  The Giant froze in its tracks, its eyes narrowing when it saw me. It straightened, turning to meet me head-on, as if preparing itself for a fight.

  “Hey, Buddy! I think you're in the wrong part of town,” I yelled, throwing a finger, my legs trembling underneath me. “It’s your unlucky day, cause now… You have to face me!”