The Second Chance

"Just kick the child, Arthur!"

"He's just a kid! We already shot his father! I'm not going to kick him!"

I look down to see the child biting and gnawing at my leg, crying and sobbing while the smoking gun barrel from the revolver my partner held released its fumes.

I gently tried to wrestle him away as my partner and I tried to escape the government office. Sirens were already whining in the distance as police sped toward the building.

We didn't know the judge had his kid over, not to mention in the same room just as my partner had shot the man. Guilt overwhelmed me not for the kill itself, but because we made the child watch as my partner extinguished the life of his parent.

It was the corrupt judge's mistake to follow that path and there were no exceptions or excuses that he would justify. I just wished that we didn't traumatize a child, he had no part in his father's doing but there's a good chance that his kid would remember all this.

"Arthur! We need to get out! Punt the kid away and let's go!"

I looked at the judge's son right in the eyes. I met his glazed eyes from the tears, my hand wavered at the thought. The little punches the child threw barely did anything as I slowly contemplated what to do.

I sighed deeply, I didn't want to do this. I knelt down and grabbed the child's shoulders. One big shove was all it took to send him down stumbling on the floor.

"Kid, I'm sorry. I really am, but this must be done."

I looked back to see my partner already leaving the room. I rush to the door and open it with force. Hearing another cry I turn around to see the child hugging his dead father.

I wince at the sight but relent, I rush out to the hall and flee the scene. Red and blue lights blared from the windows, they shone and blinded me with their luminosity. I raise my hand to shield my eyes, the slits from my hand letting rays of it still shine through.

"They're here."

Cars parked outside with multiple officers starting to fan out in the perimeter of the building. My partner was in front of me, pulling on the handles of the door we were supposed to escape through.

I stopped right in front of him. "What's the hold-up?"

He snaps his head at me. "Help me with this! Something is stopping us from opening this thing!" He prepares a stance and waits for me.

I nod at him and take my position on his left and prepare to kick.

"One! Two!"

I raise my leg and braced myself to send a kick right at the center of the doors.

"Three!"

The doors flung open as the audible snapping of the locks made it possible for us to exit. The wooden frame was forced outward as my partner and I stared at what our escape led to.

It led right into police officers who were aiming at us.

"Shit!" My partner pulled out his revolver from its holster and aimed straight at the officers on site. He tried to dive away while laying covering fire and I dropped to the side.

One of the officers shouted out from the distance. "He's got a gun!"

Shots were fired from the streets, and an orchestra of death resounded in the night. Multiple small arms fire reached my partner. The shots stopped as a lull in the fighting happened with both of us being exposed to the small caliber bullets.

My partner and I came to our senses and used the free time to close the door, more shots reached us when the officer's finished their reloads.

The body armor made good work as it stopped most of the bullets. Multitudes of sharp pain finally reached my thoughts, I winced at the subtle pressure on my chest and pressed a finger on my ribs. The adrenaline coursing through my brain did well to dull the excruciating pain but I held myself to consciousness.

"Broken… of course it is."

I look to my right to see my partner slumping over the door and holding on to his neck. His collared shirt dyed itself a deep red, while a gush of blood left his open wound.

"No, no, no!"

I grabbed him as he fell over. His final moment was helping me close the door and lying just in time to see me with a worried face. His eyes went dark and his gun finally left his hand and clattered on the floor.

"I'm so sorry…"

He had died in those moments closing the door while we both shut it close. I gently placed my index finger on his eyelids and shut them gently, hopefully giving his body a sign of respect.

I left him on the ground and sprinted as fast as I could to the other exit I could use. I turned around the corner and bumped into something as I was sent careening down to the ground.

Bringing up my eyes, I saw the kid from before with his tear-filled eyes now gone, replaced with a contortion on his face and his fist curled into itself. He grits his teeth as he stares at me in contempt.

I paid no mind to him and went on my way to the second exit. I skidded to a stop, my shoes squeaking as I fumbled my shaking hands to open the door. I reached for the metal latch and turned it.

The stiffness of the latch confirmed to me that it wasn't a viable escape route anymore. I peered into the slits of the door and could see the bright flashing lights of police vehicles.

The plan was completely derailed, it might have been foul play or we were just unlucky but everything went downhill. I became desperate.

There's got to be somewhere else. Would the roof do any good? Were there any underground options? No, perhaps the simplest solution would be the best.

I quickened my pace and darted my eyes across the entire hall. Nothing of note was there and I went to another part of the west wing. I saw the emergency exit sign glowing green and hastened.

I reached the door and slowly turned it open, it was at the back and I silently hoped none of the cops had reached the back side of the building yet.

A creak reached my ears as I glanced outside and felt a wave of relief wash over my body. I swung it open and stepped one foot outside.

*BANG!*

My body was sent jerking back, as I turned my pained neck to the back to see the child holding my partner's gun and letting it fall to the ground as he stared at me. Air left my neck and I could barely feel my exhalation flowing.

My hand shook as I reached to my neck, the same way my partner did during his own demise. I felt lightheaded, like losing my breath on a climb. I clutched my neck and stared at the deep crimson blood soaking my hands. It flowed right in between my fingers and dripped on the floor.

I felt cold.

I fall to the ground as my knees went weak and my arms felt heavy. My consciousness threatened to leave as my vision started to narrow. The dark recesses crept in slowly as my breath stopped and my muscles ceased to function.

My eyelids finally shut as I fell into the darkness of death. I didn't even have the last word.

What felt like seconds become minutes and minutes became hours. A slow drop started and a tingling sensation arrived in my head. I felt like I was sinking as my heart felt like leaping out of my body.

I was drowning.

I tried urging my body to move but it wouldn't respond. My lungs felt like it was filling with water yet no liquid was present. I thrashed around but no response from my limbs came. Though my panic subsided as a comfortable silence came to me.

I accepted my fate, I felt… incomplete, and unsatisfied but the empty feeling didn't leave and I greeted the floating sensation with newfound ease.

Joining up with revolutionaries only to die within a week was not how I expected my day to go. Finally, when I mustered up the courage to fight back, I was met with my end.

What could I have done better?

I was almost out but… that kid.

My most recent memory came up, the glare that I got and the death that resulted made me unsatisfied. If only he knew that his parents were the worst scum on the earth. What made him do such a thing? Why…

I don't want to think about it. About anything at all. Why did everything have to end so abruptly?

The floating sensation stopped. Feeling the change in the environment I was confused and now surprised. Light entered my eyes and my vision returned, along with the rest of my body. Undamaged by anything and I was stark naked.

I erratically moved around my neck and I felt the gunshot gone and my body felt alive. The darkness left and was replaced by a dull-looking room. A few couches and gaming systems were there.

"Oh stop looking around like that."

I whipped around and saw no one there, a cold touch reached my shoulders, and reacted with instinct as I grappled with whatever touched me.

It didn't budge at all.

"Don't even try doing that. Why must I deal with humans like you."

I didn't recognize the man. He had long unkempt blonde hair and was dressed in only boxers and a white shirt. I removed my hand from his hand and stepped away in a swift motion.

"Where am I?"

He looked annoyed at my question.

"Bah! Why is it that you mortals keep asking the same kind of questions over and over? We've been watching you for centuries and you didn't change! When we gave you your ability to think, I didn't expect that you'd be so bland in reactions."

He went for a mini-fridge near what looked like a gaming pc.

"To answer your question, you're in limbo. Not in this place though, this is my home and I pulled you right out of there to save you and all."

He took out some milk from the fridge and walked toward the side of his room with a kitchen. He takes out a glass and offered it to me.

I took it without question and held it up for him. He poured me some milk and shut the carton close and returned it to the mini-fridge.

My shock was now gone and I couldn't help but take on the new information of me being apparently in a place called limbo. I needed to confirm if what I heard from the internet was the one he was referring to.

"Limbo?"

He sat on his brown couch and took out his phone.

"Yes, yes. A land where you get sent to when you are neither dead nor alive. I'm supposed to help you with that problem but I don't feel like it at the moment."

Somehow I doubted his claim of being able to help me. He was dressed like he had forgotten his pants to work and forgot to shower for ten consecutive days.

"How are you able to help me? Also, I remember dying so how am I alive?"

"Fool."

He clapped his hands together and slowly separated them. A thin white light appeared and once he had finished, he materialized an Ipad out of thin air.

I was believing his claim. Though it might just be magic tricks or some kind of illusion. I still held doubts but I felt that questioning him further was going to be a mistake.

"That's for your first question, now for your other one. You died in your physical form but you were unable to move on. Lots of those things happen."

"I didn't want to die?"

The man stared at me and shrugged. "Like a huge amount of that. You sound calm right now but I know better."

Know better? How would he know… even I feel comfortable right now despite what was happening. Though maybe the one thing I wanted was some soda, not milk.

"So without further ado. I'm here to give you an offer."

He let down his devices and stood up, before teleporting away and returning with a proper-looking suit with his hair styled professionally.

"Either you suffer here for an eternity or I send you somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?"

He readjusted his tie and answered with an unusual formality in his tone. "Well, I need to go through the necessary procedures to create a world of my own imagination since the others didn't want to work with me."

"Wait, make one?"

He opened his mouth to answer but stopped before bringing his hand up to his chin.

"Hmm, yes. That does sound a bit tedious doesn't it?"

I didn't mean that. I tried to raise my concerns to him. "What? No, I mean, do you really make a world right from the get-go?"

He ignored my question and kept continuing.

"You gave me a good idea. Hold up for a second."

The man brought out his phone and started to swipe at it repeatedly. He did this for about a minute before smiling at a choice and pocketing the phone he held back into his pants.

"Ok, I know where to send you."

He snapped his fingers together and a manga-styled graphic popped out of thin air displaying symbols from the Japanese language and English text on the one above it.

"My Hero Academia? What's that?"

"Don't need to know and don't care enough to tell you. Here."

He closed his hands together and made a first with it. He blew right into his knuckles and out came a bead of white coming from his palms.

"Don't be shy, come on."

A chance at another life… perhaps it may be just the thing I needed. If I failed before then perhaps I can find out if I can still have a place in life. I can change what I did wrong, maybe then I could be satisfied.

I need to do this.

I reach out and try to grab it before it gets yanked away unexpectedly.

The man pursed his lips. "On second thought… This is not a donation. I mean, I can but… that's not my style."

A smirk shows itself on his face, while I sat there nervous at what the man was implying. "I'm bored, human."

"Tell you what, I'll send you to this world if you can beat me in a game. I'll also throw in a power-up but you'll have to choose something else negative."

He waved his arms to his side in a presenting manner. "Will you play?"

I didn't know what to do. It was extremely risky to go against a powerful being. I know it's something that I wouldn't usually gamble on but if this is what it takes for another chance then I'll take it.

"What game?"

He flashes a menacing smile. "Hmmm, how about poker?"

A pack of cards appears on the table with a stack of chips between the two of them. He sat down with confidence and offered a seat opposite to him. A chair from nearby was dragged harshly on the ground and propped itself up.

Minutes go by.

A few hands get played with the man getting more irritated at losing more and more. He slams down the cards he has after going all-in. I placed a large bet on the river which is probably why he was acting so aggressively.

"Full house! Show me your bluff!"

I glance down at my hand and the table and felt the edge of my lips curl upward from the soon-to-be victory.

"That's a good one… Quads."

The man freezes at his hand being beaten. I noticed the twitching in his eye as his face reddened from fury. He meets my stare and loudly scoffs.

"Don't let it get to your head."

The man shuffles around his seat and snaps his fingers. The cards dematerialize, along with the chips that I raked in. He stands up with a distinct heavy force and huffs out a sigh.

"Fine, I'll send you away."

I held up my hand to stop him and raised my eyebrow. "Don't I get a power though?"

The man jolts his head upward. "Ahhh, right. That."

"Sheesh, I'll give you your power. Let's see what I can use."

Hold on, was he going to take this on whatever he has on his phone? I thought I'd be able to choose. This wasn't what I expected!

After the man taps on something on his phone, he nods and turns his attention to me. "Ok, now this will be good." he chuckles.

"Didn't I get to choose though?"

"Well, too bad. You can thank me later when you get there. Trust me. Also, as for your disadvantage, I'll keep it a secret, you'll notice it soon enough."

The bead of light returns to his palms and he holds it up. Instead of offering it like before, I feel a pulling sensation dragging me at a sluggish pace.

"This isn't fair!" I yell out as my body slowly gets pulled toward the bead of light. I tried to move but some type of gravity kept its hold.

He laughs and waves. "Of course, it isn't. Good luck chump!"

I get forcefully dragged in the direction of the bead of light. The moment my body touches it, I sink into the ground and the room fades away, leaving darkness instead. Limbo as it was called, enveloped me once more.

I shot up in a cold sweat, I felt my breath leaving my body from the panic. I wipe my forehead and grasped my head. Like the feeling of jumping off a cliff and diving to the ground, only to suddenly spring your entire body up after suffering a nightmare.

Looking around after that wretched event, I could notice the narrow-looking passage. Musty buildings filled with graffiti flanked my sides. A horrible rotten egg mixed with a vomit-like smell enters my nostrils as I shut it close, holding down a puke from happening.

"I'm in an alleyway?"

Wait... what?

I was perplexed at my voice, it was of a young woman, maybe in her early 20s. Curious as to what transpired I finally focused on the unfamiliar body I now inhabited. I stared downwards to see a pair of breasts that were definitely not mine.

"Who is this?!" I yelp out.

I pull at the odd clothing choice my body had worn. Never in my life had I seen something so exotic, much less exposed because of the massive lack of proper coverage to my side boobs. Not only that, I looked down to see the complete lack of anything covering my legs!

I was practically walking around in just underwear!

"I can't believe he'd done this to me."

Pale skin, soft-looking arms, and a grown woman's physique. I couldn't see more but I did spot a mole on my chest, still, it was out in the open and that particularly didn't sit well with me.

The first thing I'd do is to get some baggy clothes or something, anything but… these. I stood up in a slight daze. Looks like I still haven't recovered from my transportation here.

Little by little, I regain my balance as I walk out into the open street. I was left in surprise when just in the distance atop what looked like a train station was a giant fighting someone made out of wood.

"What...?"

I scanned my surroundings, the streets were filled with people clamoring about the fight. Actually, quite a few were looking at me. I tried to cover myself up with what part of my outfit I could use, but seeing that it was futile, I relented and just rolled with it.

"Curse this."

A resounding boom echoed through the area. I look back at the fight at the train station reaching a climax. People still gawked at the fight, some were even cheering. What world did you send me to?

People were now screaming at the top of their lungs, their cheers begging for the wood man to show something flashy. I didn't even care that I was half-naked anymore. The fight was crazy enough.

A literal horde of cameramen flocked to the fight like it wasn't something that could endanger their lives. Something was going on, the man started to raise his arm and sprouted dozens of branches that came out of himself.

"[Canyon Cannon]!"

Just as a group of saplings grew to an impressive speed, another large person came out and drop-kicked the person on the train tracks. The first thought I had was how can someone be so confident in that skin-tight outfit of hers.

I had so many questions. Questions that I desperately wanted the answers to. Well, despite everything, at least I didn't have anything bad happen to me yet.

A tap on my shoulder made me snap back to reality. I turned around to see one of my worst fears staring me right in the eye. A uniform of blue and an insignia that showed their department.

"Ma'am? You're under arrest for indecent exposure."

Great.

I have already committed a crime in the first few minutes in here, not to my intention.