Wyld’s Fight

By: Chris Gilman

I walk down a dark alleyway. No lights intrude apon my nightly vigil down the back roads and alleyways of the city. A dark form in the darkness, my coat flapping in the light wind blowing down the alley. A slight glint of metal every now and then peaking out from beneath the coat. My six foot ten inch form gliding from one shadow to the next. I give my name as John Doe in my real life now, but outside of my normal life I am Wyld Mountain

And to think, just a few weeks ago I was a normal man. Just an electrician doing his job.

‘Damn these attics,’ I think to myself as I wipe another river of sweat off my face. ‘This attic must be 150 degrees.’ I make the last connection in the box I’m connecting the wires to and close it up.

There is a thump behind me and I turn flashing my light around the attic. Not a thing moves, but I do notice something I didn’t when I first came up here. ‘What the hell is that?’ Crawling along the rafters I inch closer to get a better look. When I get closer I find the attic is floored. And sitting in the middle of the floored space is a strange statue.

It looks like it belongs in museum. Maybe Mayan, but I don’t know enough about such things to know for sure. I am interested in such things, but definitely not an expert. Looks like sandstone with gems inlaid in several spots. The likeness of some type of big cat, but nothing I can identify for sure. I reach out and rest my hand on it. No real reason, just to touch it. But soon as I touch it I feel faint and black out.

Several minutes later I wake back up. My light is still on and the old woman that lives here hasn’t come looking for me. So I couldn’t have been out too long, damn heat. I climb down and put my tools away. Giving the homeowner an invoice I accept my pay and head for my truck. Looking at the clock I see it is quitting time, and putting the key in the ignition, head for home.

Later that same night I am sleeping in my bed only to be startled awake. I hear the faint click of a lock being unlocked. The exact sound the lock on my front door makes.

Reaching under my mattress I pull out the large pistol I keep there. Flipping off the safety I slowly climb off the bed and stalk towards my bedroom door. I hear two men open my front door and start walking around my house. I don’t even question how I am able to tell how many of them there are by just listening.

No time to think, one of them is coming towards my room. I back away from the door and level my gun towards the door. As it slowly opens I let loose with the pistol. The bang is louder then it ever has been before, and the blast leaves my ears ringing. But the poor bastard who entered my house is blasted clear down the hallway. Well, what is left of him anyway.

The .50 caliber slug hit him squarely and blew a huge chunk out of his chest. I hear his companion running down the hall calling to his dead friend. He comes down the hallway and sees his friend lying there. He startles and stares at his buddy for a second, and that is all I need.

I see the gun in his hand and pull my trigger. With another thunderclap he too falls to the ground, missing a chunk of his torso just like his friend.

I stick the gun in the back on my shorts and reach for the phone, ‘Better call them and let them know I just killed two burglars.’

A few minutes later I hang up the phone and go to step outside to wait for the police. First though I go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face. As I stand there I realize something is definitely wrong. Looking at me in the mirror is not me, but a strange creature. A creature that looks crossed between a human and a huge hunting cat.

I fell back against the wall giving my reflection a startled look. The reflection perks its ears up and opens its eyes wide. Then I feel something like a warmth pouring over my body. I watch as my reflection reforms into what I am used to seeing. Looking down at myself I wonder out loud, "What the hell has happened?"

It has been a few weeks since that happened and I have had to hide my new self from the public. After all, what would happen to me if they found out. I know there are super heros out there, some that even look at me. But I am not a super hero, just a lone figure hiding in the shadows.

Some have seen me, bystanders, the criminals, an occasional cop. The criminals I leave tied up for the cops give accounts of being attacked by a beast from their nightmares. I watch such things on the news, maybe they are right, maybe I am a beast.

I don’t know what happened in that attic, but I am sure it has something to do with it. I tried to follow up on that statue only to find the house had burned down that night. Arson is what the reporters said. But I wonder what really happened, and why I am cursed like this.

I have found that while in this new shape I am faster, stronger, and more agile. I have taken to wearing a black duster and black light body armor. While it seems that I heal extremely fast, it still hurts to get shot by some creep. I now carry two of the custom Desert Eagles I had on the night when those two culprits broke into my house. My hands now have retractable claws, which I have had to use on the criminals I catch. Yet another clue adding to the stories of a beast attacking them.

I look down at myself. I have learned to control some things, like my changing, but I can tell there is still much to do, much to learn. What other powers await my discovery?

The clink of a bottle being kicked and the muffled yells of a young woman draw my attention to another figure moving down the alleyway. I can see it struggling with someone.

I open up my coat and pull both pistols from their holsters. And let the slides slam forward. The clink of the weapons loading can clearly be heard and I see the figure turn to look straight at me. I see him release the person he is holding, but instead of the freed woman running away, she draws a gun and points it at me.

"We know about you. You will be coming with us," she says.

‘A trap, what is going on here?’

Two more people appear behind them and I can sense three more behind me. Red jumpsuits, why didn’t I pick them out faster?

I flash a grin and click off the safeties, "You can try to take me lady, but you will not succeed."

She gives a smirk, "We will see kitty."

With an unseen signal I sense the attack come. They all act as one and charge me, but I am not there anymore. I am looking down at them and they are looking straight up. I have jumped straight up and am reaching for a fire escape above me.

Suddenly an energy blast flies from one of my attacker’s guns. The blast catches me on my leg. Just a glancing blow, nothing major, until I try to land and feel my leg crumple underneath me. I look at my leg and see the wound, not major, but I feel no pain from it. Then I realize I don’t feel anything from the leg.

Giving a roar I lean over the railing and squeeze my triggers. Twin jets of flame shoot out the barrels as the slugs catch the guy who shot me. He goes down with a scream and his companions return fire with similar weapons.

The shots ring around me as they hit the framework. I fire off a few more wild shots and pull back. With a flip of the thumb switches I eject my clips and reach for the replacements. Slamming them in, I chamber the first rounds and glance over at my attackers. They have stopped firing for the moment.

The woman looks up and calls out, "Come on out kitty, Demon will never let you escape. You belong to us."

I slowly lean over to see if I can get a line of fire on the bitch and draw several shots from her friends.

"Come on freak, you can’t escape us. How’s that leg, feels dead don’t it. You see, we know about your weaknesses. I guarantee if you come down now we won’t hurt you any more."

I am getting really tired of her voice. My leg is starting to get some feeling back, wonder if I can land on it. Glancing over the railing I duck back as several shot hit the rail. Time to find out.

Letting out a roar I leap over the railing and jump right in the middle of the group. I twirl as I land, my guns speaking for me as I empty the clips. With a click the guns’ slides lock back, ready for the next clips. Breathing hard I look around at the dead bodies lying around me.

‘Demon, why would they want me?’ I look at the bodies for another minute before I hear the sound of the cops coming. ‘Time to move out of here.’

With a leap I stuff the guns back into their holsters and land on the roof of the building I’m next to. Looking down I watch as the officers arrive, guns drawn and skid to a stop, their mouths agape at the carnage in front of them. As they start to look around I calmly walk away. They only received what they deserved. I was only administering justice. But why, why were they after me?

This final question follows me as I return to my home and return to my human form. Putting away my guns I look at myself in the mirror. "What am I," I ask my reflection in the mirror before I turn and bed down for the night. ‘I don’t know what I am, but Demon must know something about this. Maybe, they are my link. Else, why would they be after me?’

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