"Hey! Stop right there!"

Shit. Shit. SHIT!

I did NOT have the time for this.

Moments ago, I was in a supermarket trying to "Buy" some food for sis and I. You know, the ol' stuff shit in your pockets as you act like your browsing shit. I know, not the most original, but can you blame me? I'm desperate and starving over here...

I almost got away with it too. If not for that fucking kid...

"Umm Mister? what's that guy doing over there?" Some rando kid with big googly glasses asked the officer across the Aile.

And well, you can guess how it went from there. I got lucky though and was able to grab a few cans.

As soon as he yelled for me to stop, I bolted out of there, slamming the supermarket doors open. I looked behind me, and the cop had his hand raised while staring at it with a bewildered expression. He quickly shook his head before sprinting after me.

"Gah! Damnit!"

God damn it! Why now?! When we're starving half to death over here?! I am NOT letting go of these cans.

I continued sprinting through the street and started taking as many sharp turns and random directions as possible, all while thinking of a way to lose him.

I looked behind me.

Oh, great. Another cop.

And they had their taser drawn too.

"Halt, villain!" The other cop yelled.

What the fuck?!

Villain?

Are you kidding me?!

Just because I stole food, doesn't make me a VILLIAN!

...Well, I guess it is considered illegal, but COME ON!

I kept running.

There was a fork in the road. One left and the other right.

And one hidden path that only sis and I knew of...

I turned left, making them believe that I chose the normal path.

They followed, just as I planned.

Once they were far enough, I took the hidden path, which was a bunch of trash bags.

Once I was out, I turned to look at the cops.

"Huh? Where did he go?" The first cop said.

"How did he disappear so fast?"

I quietly snickered to myself.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

'Not fast enough.'

Once I was satisfied, I began to run back to the rundown apartment sis and I live in.

It was a dump. No doubt. It had holes all over the walls and ceiling, the paint was peeling, the floors were broken, the plumbing was rusty, the roof leaks, and it's always cold.

But, it's a home. It's safe, and that's all that matters.

I was about to round the corner of the block when I suddenly heard a familiar voice.

It was a voice I'd recognize anywhere. It was a voice of a girl. A voice of a girl that sounded tired and exasperated.

The girl who helped me through thick and thin, the only family I had.

My sister.

Hyla.

She was wearing a brown ragged hoodie with a matching pair of jeans. She was laying on a rundown sofa bed watching TV while reading a book.

"Sis! Look what I got us!"

As I ran up to her, she looked at me, then the cans of food.

Her expression was one of shock.

"S-Sorax! That's a lot of food! Where did you get it?"

"Doesn't matter, sis. Now let's eat!"

As I walked up to the table and set down the cans, she suddenly looked at me.

"Sorax... How did you get this?"

I looked away from her, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Sorax." She spoke in a commanding tone.

"...I-I might've... stolen them..."

"...Sorax..."

"I-It was the only way, okay?! I'm not losing you to hunger again, Hyla! And we sure as hell ain't getting a job at our age."

"How many times do I have to tell you that stealing is wrong?"

"Yeah, yeah, steal from the rich and give to the poor and all that jazz..."

"This isn't a joke, Sorax! Do you want to get arrested?!"

"No, I don't, but we're not exactly in the position to care about morals right now, Hyla. Besides, it was easy."

"You could have gotten hurt!"

"I could have gotten hurt every day, but I haven't yet! Come on, let's just eat. We're both starving."

"Sorax-"

"Look, you can't blame me for not wanting to starve to death, sis. You're lucky that I was the one who was out today. If you were in my shoes, you'd have done the same."

She sighed.

"Yeah... You're right. Thank you, Sorax."

I smiled at her.

"Let's eat."

"Let's."

----------------------------------------

I stared at the pile of remaining cans on the table.

It would probably last us two days if we didn't eat anything else.

'How did he steal this much food without getting caught?'

'I'm gonna have to talk to him later...'

My attention was suddenly brought to the television.

'Huh?'

It was a news report about an attack on a bank.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Today, at 4:45 PM, the "Villain" group attacked the national bank in Manhattan. This is the third one this month."

'Villains...'

'I wonder how Sorax feels about them.'

"The Villains are a group of individuals who have powers or abilities and use them to commit crimes."

'Yeah. I'm pretty sure everybody knows that by now, lady. Get to the point.'

"They are a growing threat and are becoming more common. Many of their members are either unregistered, or simply refuse to register with the government."

'They're criminals, what did you expect?'

"The public is advised to stay away from Villains and contact the police or authorities immediately. Back to you, Tom."

"Thank you, Linda."

Well. That was a waste of time. I wonder how Sorax was doing?

I went to his "Room", really just a rundown kitchen, before hearing the sound of snoring.

I looked over to the source.

'Speak of the devil.'

'He's asleep.'

I sighed.

'Can't say I'm surprised. He's been out every day. I'm worried he's gonna collapse if he keeps it up.'

'And then there's the issue with his powers. Being a shapeshifter is already bad. Being one that can just change eye colors? Thats a death sentence.'

My train of thought was suddenly cut short.

"No... Please..."

'Oh god. Not again.'

He was having a nightmare.

I slowly walked over to him.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! It wasn't me! HYLA!"

I held him.

"It's ok, Sorax. You didn't do anything."

His breathing calmed down.

"It's not your fault. It never was."

As I held him, his breathing finally returned to normal.

It was never your fault Sorax... It was theirs. Theirs and the fucked-up world we live in.

"but don't worry, Sorax,"

As I started talking, unbeknownst to me, my eyes started emitting a soft pinkish glow.

"I'll ALWAYS be there for you,"

The glow became brighter and brighter as they glowed pinker and pinker.

"After all,"

The glow then faded to nothingness.

"You're all I have left."