Heroine ϟ Marvel [3]

8.2

CHAPTER TWO

Caught in the Crossfire

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BAGALIA
RED LIGHT NATION

The rain was pelting down hard in Bagalia. The clouds of fog stretched for miles, Ana noticed, as she tried her best to navigate within it. The royal blue raincoat was doing nothing to protect Ana from the sharp drops of water falling from the sky. She grimaced when she could feel her bra fill up with water, and pinched it forward to let the liquid continue downward into her clothes that were already soaked and sticking to her skin. Ana was walking without any directions. From the airport, she saw the city's skyline and thought to start there, but as far as she knew, she could be going in circles. Ana was tired, cold and hungry. All she wanted at that point was a warm place to stay and eat.

Ana squinted, looking through the fog straight ahead. She thought she saw something. A flash of light. She quickened her pace and hiked her backpack up her shoulders. The lights of which there were two, were getting closer. A low rumble of an engine told her it was a car. Ana released a breath. Hopefully she could ask someone for directions.

"Hey!" Ana used one hand to shield her face from the rain as the other waved in the air over her head, aiming to beckon the driver to her location. She frowned when the engine revved loudly. The car was speeding forward and the driver couldn't see the woman with her hand in the air. Or at least that's what Ana liked to think. An eerie shout from the driver made Ana's breath hitch, and she tripped backwards onto the sidewalk when the car charged at her, almost crashing into her. The driver's laugh only grew louder as he disappeared into the fog, the very sound making Ana's spine shiver.

"The hell..." Ana whispered, standing up. She glared then, remembering where she was. And just like that, the fog behind her dissolved, displaying the wonderfully roguish city of Bagalia. Ana's jaw dropped. Buildings covered in immoral neon signs. At least a dozen crimes were being committed right in front of her. Ana flinched when she heard a woman scream, and frowned when it turned into a petrifying cackle. Cars zoomed behind her with passengers throwing fireworks into the air, roaring with laughter when Ana jumped away and covered her sensitive ears when they went off at her feet. The blinding colours of the combustible chemicals led Ana to shut her eyes and gasp. She shielded her eyes and darted for cover underneath a dark, one-storey building.

Howls and shouts followed after her in the wind. She felt surrounded even though no soul was near her. Ana's back met with the blood stained brick wall of the abandoned bank. She lifted her feet when she heard she stepped in shards of glass from the broken windows above her head. At least her footwear was made by Tony, otherwise the shards would have cut right into her soles. Ana's head snapped to the left when she heard a man sniff and a switchblade spring out from the handle. He had come out from the back of the bank, and lifted the blade in warning.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" He voiced, tone cold. It was slightly muffled from the ski mask over his face. Ana scrunched her nose up when he tried to smile at her with his missing teeth through the mouth hole of the mask.

"Stay back." She snapped, curling her hand into a fist.

The criminal eyed Ana's bag and shook his head. "Gimme your bag!" He yelled and sprung forward, ready to attack. Clearly, he was drugged up and itching for blood. Ana stepped aside and caught his hand before the two inch knife could come into contact with her. He grunted when she forced him into the wall. She stared at him and listened to the way his wrist bones cracked from the slight pressure she placed on it with her thumb and index finger. His bloodshot eyes widened as he let out a cry, and he looked at her with something similar to fear.