Gbajumoh Love 1 year ago

@gbajumoh-love 16 min read Write a comment #short-stories

Nemesis

The loud shrieking sound of the alarm clock blared furiously into the ears of the sleeping Corrigan. With frantic efforts, Corrigan reached out to the alarm clock and slapped it shut, a grunt escaping his lips as he did so. Obviously, he had been enjoying his sleep.

CHAPTER ONE (AWAKENING)

The loud shrieking sound of the alarm clock blared furiously into the ears of the sleeping Corrigan. With frantic efforts, Corrigan reached out to the alarm clock and slapped it shut, a grunt escaping his lips as he did so. Obviously, he had been enjoying his sleep.

With a loud yawn, he stretched out his arms wide and opened his eyes. Sitting upright, Corrigan gave out another yawn, this time, his eyes shut and mouth wide open.

After a few moments, he stood unto his feet, slipped his feet into his flip flop, and headed towards his bathroom door.

"Another great day!" He said as he smirked. He opened the door to his bathroom and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

The next one hour saw Corrigan all dressed up and set for work. His workplace was just a few meters from his place of residence, so he had easy and free access to his place of work.

As Corrigan strode along the streets, he hummed to himself a tune he had learned from a concert he had attended. As he hummed and walked, he tucked his palms into his pockets. 

Corrigan was dressed corporately; he wore a plain white long-sleeved shirt and dark blue trousers. His legs were adorned with a well-polished, stylish black shoe. His left wrist homed his gold watch, and his right palm had his briefcase held firmly in its grasp.

Corrigan was a twenty-four-year-old guy whose entire appearance sparked handsomeness. He was fair in complexion, average in height, and average in body shape. He was average in everything, which made him stand out in beauty. His face looked smart and cute as he pouted his lips while humming his tone to himself. His sharp eyeballs glanced around in quick successions, and his pointed nose twitched periodically.

As he passed an alley, something caught Corrigan's, and this made him stop abruptly in his tracks. Right inside the alley, a group of four gangsters had ambushed a figure and were plumping their feet upon the figure who lay sprawled on the hard ground. They were so focused on beating up their victim that they did not notice Corrigan walk up to them. 

"I guess this city will never be truly free from bullies." Corrigan's voice landed in the ears of the bullies. "What a pity."

"Get the f**k off, man!" One of the bullies yelped at Corrigan.

"You get the fuck off...." Corrigan stated calmly, a smile playing on his lips. "...or you'd feel the blood-hungry taste of my fists."

Fuming dangerously, the gangsters walked towards Corrigan. They all glared menacingly at him, and they were ready to rip him apart.

"You're gonna learn to mind your business. I guess your mama did not train you well." One of the gangsters said as he approached Corrigan in a dangerous manner. 

"Why.....?" Corrigan sighed frustratingly. "....they never learn."

Ragingly, one of the gangsters rushed at Corrigan and swung a fist at him. With a smile and swift precision, Corrigan moved his face slightly to his side, allowing the Gangster's fist to travel across his face. With the Gangster's fist ending its journey, Corrigan turned to the shocked gangster and caught hold of the fist.

"Didn't want to do that today." Corrigan sigh. With a slight drag, he pulled the gangster towards himself, and when the gangster was near close proximity, he launched out his full arm and struck a wide blow on Gangster's chest, sending him plumping onto the ground, apparently unconscious.

"Who's next...?" Corrigan asked as he turned to confront the remaining group.

Terrified and frightened, the remaining gangsters took to their heels. Apparently, they were too scared to face Corrigan, who they imagined to be a devouring beast.

"They only learn after an example." He said and heaved a sigh, and then, turning towards his previous destination, Corrigan began to walk out of the alley, then a voice stopped him.

"Ex....excuse me." The voice came from behind.

Corrigan stopped and turned his head over his shoulder.

"Thank you." The voice said in appreciation. Apparently, it was the very figure the gangsters had been trashing. His clothes were rumpled, and his face was swollen a bit.

Corrigan turned around fully and took in the appearance of the boy standing a few meters from him. The young boy was around nineteen years or below. He was dark in complexion, about five feet tall, and he had a bald head. He looked fit, and this made Corrigan wonder how a semi-muscular kid got himself beaten up by a few gangsters who couldn't even land a simple punch.

"You okay Ummm....?" 

"Danny." The boy quickly cut in. "The name's Danny, and I'm okay, thanks to you." 

"Have a bully-free day, Danny." Corrigan smiled and nodded at Danny, then he turned and walked out of the alley.

A few seconds passed by, and when Corrigan was out of sight, Danny dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out his phone. He worked his way to his dial-pad, dialed some numbers, and placed the phone on his ears.

"Hey, Dammy..." Danny said once the person at the other end had picked up. "I found him, Dammy. I finally found him."

*  *  *

The time was 14:00hours, and the sun was blazing down its hotness upon Spark City. The whole city was bubbling ferociously with activities; the streets were crammed with vehicles that journeyed to and from their specific destinations, there were roadside stalls that were packed full with buyers from all parts of the town, all clamoring for the traders to attend to them quickly, and then there were the sidewalks beaming with the presence of Spark City pedestrians whose endless ocean of footsteps echoed out in synchrony with the horns that blared from moving vehicles.

Corrigan emerged from the horde of pedestrians, speed-walking towards a building. He arrived in front of the building and paused to catch his breath before stepping inside. The glass five-story building had a very bold "SPARK DAILY" plastered on the walls.

Corrigan stepped into the building and made his way toward the elevator. As he walked past the receptionist, his ears picked up the receptionist's greetings. He nodded at the fair young lady, accompanying the nod with a smile.

After walking through hallways, Corrigan finally arrived before the door to his office. He stepped into it, and before he could breathe in the fresh air, a voice had snapped at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" 

With a quick stride, Corrigan walked past the desks of his co-journalists and rushed to his Director's table, which was at the far end of the spacious office.

"Director Cross, I am so sorry for coming late....."

"Enough of that bullshit!" Director Crosscut him short. "Same thing you said yesterday, the day before yesterday, and all the days before. What the hell is wrong with you, Corrigan!'

"I am so sorry, Director; I promise it won't happen again." Corrigan pleaded calmly.

"Off to your desk Young Man. Get me the report of the Spark City gold mines ASAP." Director Cross dismissed Corrigan. And with a smile, Corrigan bowed and walked over to his desk.

Director Johncross, popularly known and referred to as Director Cross, was a strict Director of the Departments of Edition in Spark Daily. His strictness towards all his staff was what earned him a respected reputation in the company.

Director Cross was a middle-aged man of about thirty-eight years of age. He was chocolates in complexion, had an awkward muscular body, and semi bald hair that sometimes made his appearance look old. His face homed sharp and glowing eyeballs, although they were always covered by his reading glasses. 

The respect his workers had for him was top-notch, and none dared to be on his black list. Well, except for Corrigan, who had earned a good seat in that.

Corrigan sat on his chair and let out a sigh of relief. 

"Wasn't as bad as I imagined." He sighed to himself.

"You always get lucky with him, bro." A worker whose desk was close to Corrigan's whispered.

"Oh please...." Corrigan smirked. "Everyone knows Director Cross respects my achievements and is not willing to annoy me by punishing me."

"Talking bout achievements, where are the files for the robbery cases we cracked?" The co-worker asked, his palm stretched towards Corrigan.

"Can everyone just chill out with the files request, Arghhhhh?" Corrigan yelped quietly.....

*  *  *

(FLASHBACK: 30 mins ago)

*Location: Abandoned Warehouse*

The interior of the warehouse was void of any valuable or tangible objects. The place was empty.

At the very center of the spacious warehouse, a figure was tied to a chair. The hands of the figure were tied behind the chair, and her lips were gagged with tape. With a significantly closer look, it could be noticed that the tied-up figure, who was a female, was unconscious.

Minutes flew by in a swift, and the figure was still seated on the chair, unconscious. Then the door to the warehouse suddenly flung open, and figures numbering up to about five entered the warehouse. They were huge figures, probably bouncers seeing that they were all clad in black overcoats and covered their heads with black hats.

They approached the lady tied up on the chair and surrounded her. A few seconds later, another figure entered the warehouse through the same door. This new visitor was different from the rest of the bouncers. He was a bit shorter than the rest. Instead of the scowl the other men had on their faces, this one wore a bright smile.

Walking up to the lady, unconsciously, the figure bent down a bit.

"Such a beauty is not supposed to be in this situation." The figure said, his deep baritone voice coming out. "Loosen her." 

Acting as instructed, one of the bouncers went over to the tied-up lady, pulled out the tape from her mouth, and proceeded to loosen the ropes binding her wrists.

Just as the ropes loosened from her wrists, and in a swift, the tied-up lady opened her eyes and then struck her knee upon the jaw of the bouncer that just untied her, sending him falling raggedly unto the floor.

In a rush, the Lady grabbed the chair she was sitting on, spun around, and slammed it upon the body of one of the other bouncers, sending him too to the floor.

The rest of the bouncers made a few steps backward while their leader looked on, a smile playing on his lips. 

The three other bouncers made belligerent stances against the Lady, their faces glaring dangerously at her. Their fists were held high, ready to pummel their iron surfaces upon the Lady.

Ragingly, one of the bouncers charged at the Lady and when he neared her, he swung his fist forward at her. Acting with an amazing reflex, the Lady shifted back a bit, dodging the fist. And when the fist of the bouncer had traveled past her face, the Lady swung forward and struck her hardened fist upon the face of the bouncer, sending him falling unto the ground in pains.

The two other bouncers also charged forward in rage at the Lady. With swiftness, the Lady grabbed hold of the chair she had been tied to before and with her, every strength launched it at the charging bouncers. The chair smashed onto the bouncers and smashed to pieces, but not without launching them to the floor in pain.

Breathing heavily, the Lady fell to her knees, apparently tired and out of breath. As she struggled to catch her breath, the sounds of palms jamming unto each other came into her ears; someone was clapping.

"Amazing moves, Kenny." The Leader of the bouncers who had been spectating the fight commended her. 

The Lady, now known as Kenny, raised her head a bit and glared dangerously at the source of the voice she had just heard.

"I've seen that those agonizing years of torture are finally paying off, Kenny." The Leader said again.

Without replying or even making any effort to reply to him, Kenny stood unto her feet and glared at the face of the Man standing before. Her face was emotionless, and her fists were clenched.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The Leader of the bouncers said, his eyes fixated on Kenny's clenched fists.

Smirking, the Lady spoke up. "I wasn't planning to fight you."

In a swift, Kenny stooped low, grabbed a board that was lying on the floor, and launched it at The Leader of the bouncers.

The board travelled straight at the Leader bouncer, but halfway, it suddenly stopped and floated in the air.

"Kenny Kenny....." The Leader of the bouncers smirked and made a few steps forward. "Do you ever learn?" 

As he walked behind the board that was still floating mid-ait, he noticed that Kenny had made clean her escape.

"I take that back; you've learned a lot." He said, gritting his teeth. As he did so, the board lost its levitation and smashed unto the ground.

One of the bouncers who had struggled unto his feet approached his Master.

"Highlord, should we go after her?" He asked.

"Stay put, people." Highlord said, the smile returning to his lips." She will lead us straight to him. Just watch closely and see how she will lead us to Corrigan. And then he let out a burst of loud laughter...

*    *    *

THE END OF CHAPTER ONE