The lights above flickered as a lone figure darted through the dingy allies of Milenicadia. The megacity was bustling into the late hours of the day. A person ducked under low-hanging wires and jumped over dented trash cans as he ran.

Each road he passed held its own stories and complex histories that shaped the people and commerce of the sprawling population hotspot. It would almost be beautiful if it weren’t for the rotten smell and unsafe reputation the less-than-affluent roads carried.

His body skidded to a stop just before running into a moldy brick wall. The old tennis shoes that adorned his feet were worn flat and threw in an extra element of terror to each bounding leap he took on the slick ground.

He never knew which movement would betray him. The small hairs on his neck stood to attention as he heard the heavy thuds of a figure quickly approaching him. The constant flow of traffic right outside the cut he found himself in looked more appealing by the second.

Taxis, compact cars, scooters, and buses flowed through the city's veins like water even as the moon shone high above their heads. He might be familiar with the dingiest allies of the city, but the constant turns were slowing him down.

The pursuer hot on his trail was not any faster than him on foot, yet he knew it would all be over the second she grabbed him. He only had a few options left.

His mind probed around the buildings and streets, searching for a vulnerable mind. Every time he came into contact with a person, he was rudely rebutted by their healthy mind-body connection.

It was something he had long since become accustomed to. Very few people in the world were easily ousted from their own bodies without days of effort to vacate them from their familiar premises.

His hopes were quickly dashed as he slipped on the moist steel of a storm drain cover. The lanky body tumbled to a stop with his pale back pushed against a few black trash bags. Unfamiliar groans left him as he looked back up to the sky.

He couldn’t see a single twinkle of astral brilliance through the intense light pollution.

An errant thought blasted through his mind

‘Am I gonna die without ever seeing another real star?’

He almost refused to believe it.

The heavy footfalls of his pursuer knocked the disbelief away with ease. His mind sharpened once more under the pressure. Everywhere he looked was devoid of safety. Not a single brain was feeble enough to be quickly beaten into submission. His search widened further as the slamming boots drew closer.

He scoffed at the minuscule minds of the insects that would shatter the second his consciousness entered. He could do better than that. He would have to.

His mind stumbled onto a nesting pigeon. The dumb little creature would have seizures before he could even reel his thoughts into himself once he transferred bodies. He faltered for a second as he ran into an infant’s mind. The strange images of its parents and nebulous concepts of happy and sad and everything in between swirled around.

He would be able to dash it's personality to pieces in seconds. He was sure of it.

The heavy approaching steps forced his eyes open. They had slowed down and the person's full figure entered his vision.

A yellow-tinged light overhead reflected off of shiny latex.

‘Ah, I guess today is the day.’

He recognized the outfit immediately. A hot pink leotard lined with silver stripes hugged the well-proportioned woman. Her boots were a polished black leather that shed the water droplets she kicked up with each step.

Her platinum hair was tied in a high ponytail that bobbed up and down with every soul-crushing stride she took.

‘Do I do it? The baby is right there. It would be so simple.’

His heart warred with his mind. He knew if he wanted to survive, he would need to hop bodies. His arms pushed against the ground with what little energy he had left to no avail. He had waited far too long to swap from the failing body and now he was paying the consequences.

His frail bicep pulled the metal lid of a trash can over his head and threw it into the woman’s shin with all of the force he could manage. The tin object flew through the air and made clean contact with her.

She didn’t even flinch. The lid bounced off of her and skidded into the distance.

He looked into her eyes and paled. They were cold and filled with vitriol. Something in the distance caught her attention for a moment before she turned to him once more The mask she wore held tight around her eyes but did little to hide the anger.

‘Maybe it will be quick?’

He kept flipping to the baby only a few hundred feet away.

‘I can do it. I can erase that little mind and live another day. Come on.’

The latex-clad woman planted her feet on the old asphalt and looked down at his fragile body with disgust. Her domineering voice called out to him.

“Zane Silva, you are being accused of being a mind hopper and you have been found guilty by a jury of your betters. As such, your life is forfeit and you will be terminated immediately. I am the Hero dispatched to carry out your punishment.”

Her hand turned from a tight fist into a straight spear-like formation. He watched as she launched an attack toward his downed figure. With his last bit of vigor, he threw his body to the side and out of the way.

He almost cracked a smile when a tremendous pain ripped through him.

His head turned with shaking breaths where he looked at the stump his arm used to call home. He bit the side of his cheek to stifle the scream that desperately cried for release while ragged breaths pushed from his chest.

His psychic power flew into the person in front of him in a final bid to stop the vicious attacker. Her visage of complete and impartial anger turned into a sneer.

“At least I know they were right this time. That’s rare.” The commando-like tone did little but confirm his failure.

He went searching one last time. The baby was right there.

He warred within himself.

“I can’t do it!” He yelled as he gave up. He had done horrible things but he was finally glad to have found his limit. The only thing that he couldn’t bring himself to do.

He actually put another life above his own. A random baby’s life. A strange sense of peace fell over him despite the burning sensation on his side.

The Hero grabbed him without a care in the world. A random gunshot in the distance seemed insignificant against the unstoppable force before him.

The faint light overhead flickered as he looked into her face once more. It was horrifying and certain.

He will die.

“Damn.”

An unfamiliar voice.

-

“What was that?” Sean stopped in his tracks and looked down the alleyway. It was just as dimly lit as all of the other shortcuts through the mazelike city.

Above the drone of the ever bustling metropolis, he could hear the faint cries of a baby through the thin walls of a Chinese restaurant nearby. He listened deeper in the alley, turning his head to the side in hopes of catching the noise once more.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

A few seconds of relative silence passed without another sound. He must have let his paranoia get to him.

“Huh.”

A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. He jumped in surprise and turned to look at the owner.

“Hey! No sudden movements! What are you doing around here? Curfew is in half an hour.”

The brown uniform he was intimately familiar with caught his attention. The peacekeepers of the city, the Normal Watch, the men who had taken the place of the cops that once kept the city safe.

“I, uh, yeah, I was heading home actually.” He stuttered under the man's sharp gaze.

The officer scanned him up and down, noting his ragged clothes and the stubble that covered his face.

“Sure you are. I’m sure someone like you is heading to some sweet penthouse, eh? Hands against the wall.” The growing pit in his stomach dropped as the words left the man’s mouth. He swallowed the thick wad of spit in his throat and turned to the brick wall.

The stained coat he wore hung loosely against his body. The officer moved his rough hands to Sean’s sides, feeling him for any weapons or paraphernalia.

“Hey, watch it!” A stray hand got unnerving close to the needle in his obscured coat pocket.

“Shut it! Stop moving and face forward!” The loud yell sent his gaze back to the brick.

His senses were heightened to the extreme. His pupils were dilated from the recent hit of crushed pills. Every single roaming touch of the man was registered within his mind.

“I got a knife in my front left pocket.”

He croaked out in hopes of distracting the officer from the real prize. The large, calloused hand shoved itself deep into his pants and pulled the rusty blade out of its place.

“That’s more like it. What else do you have on you?” He could hear a hint of tension leave the man’s voice after finding the weapon. Maybe his plan had worked

“Nothing. I don’t really have much. I got robbed recently.” Someone had stolen his pills recently, but it was just another play to misguide the peackeeper away from the actual prize.

The search grew quicker by the second as the man had already found something he could charge for. Just as he withdrew his hand, he felt something jab his knuckle.

“Ow, shit. What was that?! Huh?!” The hand fumbled around in his loose coat before finding the prize.

“Awe, you thought you could hide this from me. He pulled back out of the pocket with the yellow tinted syringe clutched in his hand.

“What is this junk? Some new speed or some super narcotic?”

It was now or never. He couldn’t give the man time to figure out what it truly was. Sean threw his body into the officer and used his hands to pry the needle from his grip.

With his prize secured, he turned to the dimly lit alley. It was the only salvation he had. The man’s partner AI had undoubtedly called the situation in while he was on the ground, fumbling around for the gun latched to his hip.

His legs pumped against the slick pavement, propelling him into the shadowy alley.

“Stop! I will shoot!”

The command flew into the air.

Sean knew the reality. If he stopped, he would be incarcerated for grand theft and beaten to a pulp just for the fun of it. If he kept running, he at least had a chance to get away.

He refused to just be another number like he had been ever since he could remember. He had risked his life to steal the syringe in the first place, so what was risking it one more time to keep it?

He returned it to his pocket and glanced behind him. The peacekeeper was hot on his trail as he tossed trash cans in the path in hopes of slowing his pursuer down. Corner after corner cut off the line of sight that the man desired, much to his apparent frustration as loud grunts and anger tinged huffs erupted over his shoulder.

Sean turned into another alley and paled. It was a long run to the next turn, but it was one he had to make if he wanted any chance of getting out of the situation with his freedom in tact. He put his full effort into making it across the littered passage, checking a few of the doors lining the wall to no avail.

His heart dropped each time the knobs failed to turn. It was only a few dozen feet more.

A loud pop rang out behind him quickly followed by several more Sean threw his body to the side to make his profile small as could be. Not a single one of the bullets hit.

'This crazy fucker is trying to shoot me for running?!'

His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest any second now.

“Fucking slippery bastard!” The peacekeeper shouted at him while the clacking of metal filled his ringing ears.

‘Was it a jam or had he forgotten to reload after killing someone earlier tonight?’

The errant thought left his mind as he made it to the next corner. He turned his head and watched in slow motion as the man’s sights were aim directly at him.

‘Fuck.’

A solitary blast rang off.

An intense pressure enveloped his left side. He immediately faltered. His body refused to listen. Something was wrong.

He reached to his stomach while stumbling forward with jerky steps. Five bloody fingers stared back at him

“Damn.” He dropped to his knees.

A shower of warm liquid, sharp shards, and wet chunks blasted his face.

“Huh?” He plopped onto the ground and looked up to the cause.

A pink clad woman stared down at him, opposite of a carcass. Sean couldn’t tell what it had been but the massive pool of blood draining from it was quite telling for what had just hit him.

“Ugh, really? I swear, work just loves to come flying at me.” Her voice was silky and smooth. A far cry from the Normal Watch’s strict and distrustful tone.

“Don’t move!” She turned her gaze upwards as the peacekeeper turned the corner with his weapon at the ready. She appeared less than impressed as they exchanged looks.

“Oh…um, miss hero. I didn’t mean to interrupt. This normal was just trying to run. I’ll take care of him and get out of your hair.” He holstered his weapon and moved to Sean’s side, expertly throwing cuffs on the rapidly fading life.

The man’s arm roughly pulled the street rat up in a bid to carry him away when the hero moved to the other side and lifted him completely off the ground. He could barely even groan as he felt his lifeblood slipping out of his side and his joints screech under the pressure.

‘Damn this shit sucks.’

The officer thanked her and tried to leave when a strong grip pulled him over with an abrupt yank.

“What th-” His complaint ended abruptly while Sean fell to the ground, unsupported by either of the people.

A loud thud entered his ringing ears and the stunned face of the peacekeeper fell into view. He didn’t know what to make of the situation. The body’s remaining eye lost the light of life as the soul that once inhabited it slipped from its corporeal form.

Half of its head was completely missing and only small jerks showed the freshness of the death.

“I guess this makes my job a little easier. I swear, mind hopper duty is always killer. Soooo much work.” The woman spoke to herself as she dragged the body out of Sean’s wavering sight.

He heard the repeated squeak of hard rubber on asphalt. She was coming back.

His extremities felt cold. A light prick stole his attention away.

‘The syringe.’

His final hope was stuck in his gut.

The rough grip of the hero grabbed his ankle and dragged him across the ground. With every crack in the asphalt and yank of his leg, the plunger pushed more and more of the chemical into him.

She lifted him from the ground and threw him onto the squishy pile of bodies.

“Hey, cleaner team, I need a fifty foot radius scrubbed at my current location. A Normal Watcher and his suspect interrupted so I took care of it. Get to it quick.” A beep responded to her request.

“Ugh, this shit is so annoying.” He heard her neck pock as she stretched above him. “ I need to go shopping or something to wind down. I wonder what I will….” Her voice slipped away and the ringing in his head took over.

His life was slipping away, but the chemical was already inside of him. He had done it.

The coveted solution that was meant to awaken a human’s latent abilities. The Pluricrom injection. Its success rate was suspect but any chance was a chance worth taking.

From high security lab to crime syndicate to crime bust to the gutter only to end up in his possesion, injected into his gut. Now, he just needed to live long enough to let it take effect and he would be saved.

Luck and time were the only things he desired. The warm, bloody pile below him was the sole thing keeping him from shivering as his own blood left him.

A blast of wind assaulted his already freezing back. A buzzing noise hit his ears.

‘What is it now?!’

The flickering lights that filled the alleyways of Milenicadia were replaced by blinding floodlights overhead. He put everything he had into lifting his head to the side and saw the cause.

A fleet of drones floated just above his dogpile. He watched as a handful of them lit a small flame before belching out streams of fire. His head fell back down, unable to keep it up anymore.

‘I am so fucking dead.’

They destroyed the trash around him with a combination of fuel and flame throwers before working their way towards the corpses. The astringent smell of burning rubber and numerous other carcinogens filled his lungs with each ragged breath.

The beams of fire belched out once more. He immediately felt the heat licking at his spine. The shallow breaths he had been sucking through his red teeth hiked up in his lungs

It melted through his thick coat with ease and burned into his back. The pain was instantaneous and eclipsed the gunshot that ached horrifically at his side.

All he could do was grunt and moan between desperate gasps. He wasn’t long for the world.

His teeth ground against each other when his consciousness finally gave in. The black nothingness overwhelmed him.

Intense fever dreams of death and rebirth flashed through his mind like a horrific psychedelic trip. Something was certainly missing. It felt like he was thrown into it half way through a journey, thoroughly confused.

Time felt immaterial and fleeting while moving at a crawl. Entire lives flew by his sight only for the same mind to hop to a new body, fresh as the day he was born.

The lives were filled with crime and deceit while restrained by the faintest of moral codes. The visions and dreams were as intense as he had ever seen.

And then, he died.