Axel quickly snapped his fingers, and landing in a trash can, he changed back to his normal self. He knew the policeman—or police 'men'—who had fired the bullet would look out the window now, so he tried as hard as possible to conceal himself inside the trash can.
The place was dark and reeked badly, but he ignored the unpleasant smell and held his breath.
"I think the villain flew away," he heard a policeman say.
"Damn, my bullet didn't go into—"
"It's okay. Why kill him or her, by the way? The government needs information. I heard the portals gave some people powers. The government wants all of them, even heroes or villains. I don't know, but I think they will be killed."
Axel heard footsteps now and the stretching of a neck through the window.
"We better get going," he heard a policeman say. "I think we have a boy who was beaten by the villain. We could ask him questions."
"Alright."
And so, he heard them leave.
He waited for a few seconds before getting out of the trash can. Fresh air felt piquant to his nostrils, and he was happy to finally leave the stuffy, bad-smelling trash can.
He quickly started forward, the movement of his legs brisk. If one didn't look well, they'd think he was scurrying. He turned a corner, a smile on his face.
The smile soon disappeared when he saw—after quite a bit of squinting—a monster heading his way.
"Shit!" he exclaimed.
He had actually forgotten. He had completely forgotten, actually, that the apocalypse stuff was still occurring. It seemed lesser now than a few hours ago, before he ran into the portal and reawakened his powers.
Axel was about to trace his steps backward and break into a run when he saw about three men in armed clothing after the monster.
Axel was temporarily stunned, but at the same time, elated. At least the government was taking full measures to end this apocalypse. Axel wished he could tell them it was beyond that—that this was beyond natural and that he had been chosen to stop it.
He couldn't tell them, though, because, as he had learned from the policeman, if he did, he would be killed. That was where he really hated the government. Why become so cruel?
He was getting off his street now and heading into the heart of the city. He was going to his uncle's place—at least temporarily—until he discovered his other duties as the Inferno Hero, which he knew wouldn't be long. He had a gut feeling that soon, he would be on an interdimensional journey to stop the force Patrick (Corusca) had said had beaten him.
The street was almost deserted, just a few motorcycles on the road and a few taxis. If not for that, it almost looked like Khaos Realm.
Axel crossed to the other side, not even bothering to run like he had always done since he came to this city. He just walked normally, even carrying some steeze with him.
A bus was stopping now, and from what he guessed, it was heading upcity—that was where his uncle lived. He waved to the bus driver, a grumpy-looking old man with a mustache. The driver stopped the bus, and Axel entered, bowing slightly in greeting, even though he got no response.
He sat by the window in the third row of seats. No one was beside him, which made him happy because he reeked badly, and he didn't want to bother anyone with his smell.
Axel looked out the window, seeing monsters run around the city with soldiers after them. He sighed. This felt like the end of the world.
He sighed again and held his jaw in his hands, looking bored. Soon, he felt sleepy, and as he was about to fall into a little slumber, he heard a loud noise.
It sounded like the crashing of a car.
Inside the bus, there were actually seven people, including him and the driver.
Well, with that sound, they all veered their heads in the direction and saw that it was a car being attacked by a large, big-looking monster.
Axel felt alarmed.
Just then, an emergency news broadcast rang out from the bus driver's radio.
It was:
"This is a message from the governor. Everyone should stay inside—cars, buses. You have been warned. We don't want any vehicles on the roads, even motorcycles. So we advise everyone to clear the road. We want not a single human on the road!
In short, the governor is officially issuing a lockdown!"
The voice went off, and Axel and the bus driver exchanged glances. The bus driver's glance was quite terrified, while Axel's was indifferent.
"NOOOO!"
The voice tore through the air, and now Axel had to scream at the bus driver:
"I'll stop here!"
The driver, surprised because they hadn't arrived at upcity yet, stopped, and Axel hurried out of the bus, which quickly sped away. The passengers looked at Axel in astonishment.
Axel felt nostalgic. The scream of "NO!" was actually familiar in a pungent way. He turned his head sideways and looked at the scene of the large monster. To him, it seemed like a monster villain.
It was enormous, with shadow eyes, a white cloudish figure, and gigantic hands that could smash through anything.
Axel stared at it and shook his head sideways. This was certainly a hell of a monster.
He heard a shout for help again. Actually, many people were shouting for help, but this one seemed directed mainly at him.
He walked nearer to the scene and saw the monster tearing the car apart. It was a taxi. And then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a man, his face covered in blood, stretching his hands forward at him, calling for help.
Axel gasped. The man had slumped out of the car window, his body wounded, his face familiar.
Axel's eyes almost exploded when reality sank in. That was his uncle—the one he had entered the bus to go meet.