Power's Cry of Hope

I thought I was invincible. I thought I could escape loss. But once Henry had died, I wasn’t confident in my invincibility anymore. I wished that I could have saved him, done anything that could have saved everyone. When I was a child, I always enjoyed playing roleplay games. I didn’t want to be the rich and powerful guy. I didn’t want to be the crazy criminal. I was happy being a bodyguard. Not the hero, just the guy that is willing to give his life to support something larger than himself. That was part of my drive to join the military. All I wanted, and still want is to avoid death. But, that will not come without taking out each threat, one by one. And we were a long way off.

I walked up my driveway for the first time in a few months. My custom, full metal, truck with bulletproof glass was sitting there, gleaming in the sun. I smiled. My wife and children must have came out a few hours ago, cleaning and polishing it for the family drive we took each time I came back. As I had a moment's hesitation at the door, I looked in the window. I saw nothing inside. No movement, no people. Just empty. I moved to my car, popped open the glove compartment and grabbed my holster and gun. I pocketed my knife, and moved through the trees around my home. Still nothing. I spotted a window open in the back. I slowly slid through it, careful not to make any noise. Upstairs, I could hear light creaking, as if someone was moving lightly to not be detected.

I eased my way up the stairs, and crouched. In my room, I spotted a man dressed in black, quickly sliding money and goods into a small backpack. I looked down the barrel of my pistol and said, “Hey buddy, got a moment?” He looked toward me, a look of shock on his face. A loud boom, then a hole in his leg. He crumpled to the floor. I walked up to him, and put my foot on his chest, and asked, “Where are they at?” He looked up at me, with a small grin on his face, and quietly said, “You think I am here alone. I know whose house this is. We’ve been waiting for you Chase.” I slammed by boot down on his head, hearing a dull crunch as his nose snapped, and possibly fracturing his skull. Either way, I didn’t care, he was out cold and I now knew I was not alone. I jerked up a floorboard near the head of my bed, and grabbed my rifle. This would hopefully turn out well, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

I slid down the carpeted stairs, not making a noise. There was some shuffling downstairs. I looked and saw a few men waiting for me. Or more precisely, waiting for the man bring down my dead body. If so many were here, that means that my family was down in the basement. The problem was, they were standing right next to the door. I felt power pulsing through me. Raw power, not from anger, as that would require a degree of hopelessness. The power came from my hope, I could almost sense them being alive. I quietly worked my way behind the counter, and fired repeatedly, hitting in the upper legs or lower abdomen. I held my knife in my left hand, of which my arm was supporting the gun. Like the police do with their flashlights.

I should have called the police, or gotten help in any way. But I felt invincible again. Once again, I was whole, and I was powerful. I ran down the stairs to the basement, and blasted several rounds into a man with a suppressed pistol, waiting for me to show my face. His waiting was over. As I searched the basement, there was no sign of my family. I finally called the police, telling them who I was, and what was going on. As a parting thought, I asked them not to use lights, as it would attract more of the enemies to work faster. A few minutes later, they arrived. They had rifles trained on the men, and only one had died, and that was because he had stabbed himself to rid himself of the pain. The rest were on the ground, moaning in obvious pain. While still scanning the house, the door opened on the ground level. I watched my wife’s face go pale as she saw me, my rifle trained in her direction. I lowered my rifle and then she saw the men on the ground and the police on my flanks and searching for something. I called out, “Hey guys, I found her.” They came to the front with me and looked relieved. My wife still had no idea what had happened. Slowly, she pieced it together with a little help. The children were behind her, and peeking around her.

In a few days, everything had been resolved, and what's better than everything being resolved? I had a week before my next deployment. I finally had time with my family.

Author Notes: Part two of hopefully a long series of a man named Chase, who must live in a world of loss, and new hope. And of course, adventure and crime.

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