Alpha Male (2 page)

"We got a call saying it was an explosion. When we got here, there was a pillar of fire coming up out of a busted gas main, and this huge crater here. Judging by the pieces, we suspect the casualties to be less than ten, but more than five," he said with a monotone voice.

"Have you talked to any witnesses?" Alpha asked.

"Not yet, but I was just about to," Reedy said, grabbing the walkie talkie. "This is officer Reedy; requesting permission to speak with the Commander."

"This is Rose," came a voice over the speaker. "What do you need?"

"I've got Alpha Male down here asking questions—" he started.

"It's OK," she interrupted.  "Let the asshole help. Tell him to be in my office tomorrow morning."

"Roger," Reedy said. He looked back up at the hero, ready to speak.

"I got it," Alpha said with an annoyed grin.  

"This lady over here says she knows something," Reedy said, walking over to a woman standing behind the yellow police tape. She had both of her hands clasped together under her chin while a man held her close with his arm over her shoulder.  Her dark brunette hair hung in her face, and she stared at the ground as if she couldn't care less about it.

"Ma'am, can you explain to us what happened here?" Reedy asked, flipping open a note pad.

"It's you," she said, looking up at Alpha, her bottom lip quivering. "Why didn't you save them?"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry..." he replied.” I didn't know it was happening until it was too late."

"Where were you?" she screamed, and tried to lunge at him. The man tightened his arm, pulling her close and she started crying on his chest.

"I'm sorry," Alpha said.

"Look," the man said. "My wife and I saw it happen. You'll have to forgive her. She's never seen anything like this before. We have our own daughter at home, and seeing that girl in trouble..." his words trailed off as she bawled into his blue button up shirt.

"I...we understand,” Reedy said, flashing Alpha a glance. "Please, tell us what you saw."

"Well, we were walking to the store when we both heard a loud rumbling. The earth suddenly sank. A few seconds later, something exploded up out of the middle. It was a naked man, followed by two other...men, but they were different; deformed maybe. The three of them fought for a few moments, then the naked man took off. Those things followed him and that’s when the gas main exploded. The people standing nearby were..."

"Bill...don't," she said, looking up at him. "Don't."

"Well, you see what happened," he said, gesturing towards the destruction. Reedy scribbled on his pad while Alpha looked at the man.

"Three men?" Alpha asked.

"I don't know if you can call them men. They were more like monsters," he said, and his wife started sobbing again. Alpha started looking around, examining the place.

"Which way did they go? Are you sure you saw…monsters?"

"I don't know what else to call them," the man said.

"We have to get home," the wife said. "I need to see Hannah.”

"Do you have a number where we can reach you?" Reedy asked. The man pulled out a business card and handed it to the officer.  Reedy gave it a quick glance. "Thank you Mr…Weir."

Mr. and Mrs. Weir walked off. He was still cradling her as they pushed through the crowd. Reedy turned back to Alpha and was about to speak when he noticed the hero was already gone.

"Asshole," Reedy said, walking towards his next witness.  

Alpha Male flew over the buildings, looking down on the city streets for any signs of the fleeing men. With smoke billowing into the air, it didn't take long before he saw their destructive path.  A police car was parked near an overturned van, while the officer stood by the wrecked vehicle, motioning to the growing crowd of people to stay away.

He flew in for a closer look, but didn't bother to stop when he saw more wreckage further down the street. People huddled against the walls of the buildings. Most were scared and confused, but some were moving closer with their cell phones in hand. He watched as the onlookers waved him along, yelling "That way!" their faces brightening up as he passed.

He stopped at a small grocery, examining the wreckage that had been left there. The things he pursued had taken out the corner of the building, leaving a pile of debris scattered upon the side walk. An unconscious woman was pinned beneath a large section of fallen brick. A small group of men were trying their hardest to lift it off of her. Blood ran from her mouth, but she was still breathing.

"Let me," he said to the men, who promptly moved out of the hero's way.  With little effort, he lifted the rubble and pulled her free. His head shot around, looking for an ambulance, or police officer but there were none to be found.

"Call 911," he said to a boy filming the incident on his phone. The boy didn't respond though. Instead, he moved in closer, trying to record every detail.

"Give me that!" Alpha said, taking the phone.

"Hey prick! Give me my fucking phone back!" he said as Alpha dialed the three numbers.

"Try and take it," Alpha said, disgusted.

"Don't worry about him," one of the men said to Alpha. "We’re gonna teach him a lesson on being a Good Samaritan."

"He's just a stupid kid," Alpha responded. “Leave him be.” A voice on the other end picked up. “We need an ambulance at the corner of 5th and Main. She's been crushed. Send someone quick."

Alpha tossed the phone back to the boy.

"Tell her who you are, and give her any information she needs," he said to the boy, looking towards the crowd of onlookers. "Does anyone know CPR or basic first aid?"

One of the men, a balding, blue collar type in jeans and a mechanics shirt walked up. "I do," he said. "My son's a boy scout. We do this stuff together."

"Take care of her," Alpha said patting the man on the shoulder. He jumped up and flew down the alleyway as even more people began to gather around.

He darted down the narrow passage, dodging dumpsters and debris. Exiting onto the next street, he didn't need to stop. Burning vehicles and shops could be seen for blocks, while jets of water sprayed up from the destroyed hydrants. More bread crumbs for him to follow. Shooting up above the cars, he followed the mess until it stopped. Hovering in the air, he looked around, searching for some clue to follow, but finding none.

"Where did they go?" he asked, landing on the side walk near a group of teenagers.

"In there," they said, pointing down another dark alleyway.  

Alpha rushed in, and stopped.  

"God damn it!" he said.

It was a trash filled dead end with a manhole cover tossed away from the open hole. Without a moment's hesitation, he jumped down the hole and into the dark. Pulling his cell phone from his belt, he turned on its flashlight. The strong glow of the LED light gave him enough illumination to see by, but there was no clear path to take. He had jumped down at a four way connection, and there were no signs to follow.

"God damn it.”

Jumping out the hole, he hovered for a moment, surveying the area. He saw the teens standing at the end of the alley, watching him.

"Tell me," he said.  "Were there three?"

One kid, a skater punk with long dreads took a step forward and said, "Nah man, just two fucked up looking freaks with no clothes."

Another girl giggled a little and spoke up saying, "They were definitely guys."

"Great," Alpha said with a sigh, and shot into the air.

He flew back, retracing his path, but the police and EMT's were now everywhere. He watched them, helping where they could. He felt the urge to stop and assist, but there were more pressing issues. Rocketing upward, he saw a familiar figure standing atop the flat roof of a nearby building.

"Not this. Not now," he said, diverting his path.

He landed in front of a man clad in robotic armor. Both his arms and legs were strengthened with hydraulics, while the helmet he wore was shaped like a steel skull.

"What are you doing out here, Jacobs?” Alpha asked with noticeable irritation in his voice.  

"That's my real name," the man replied through an electronic voice disguiser. "You know I hate when you use my real name."

"Right now, I don't give a shit what you hate. I don't have time to fight you today, so I'm letting you off easy," Alpha said, before turning away.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Jacobs replied. "You will face me! You will face The Mech, and I will beat you this time!"

"I've put you in the hospital how many times?" Alpha asked, looking over his shoulder. "Go home Jacobs. Not today."

With that, Alpha took off again, flying back towards the crater. He wasn't ten feet in the air when he was struck in the head. Alpha turned to face his foe as The Mech's powerful fist smashed into Alpha’s face, knocking the hero back to the building’s roof. Jacobs landed a few feet away and approached Alpha as he struggled to stand.

"I've made a few improvements since the last time we fought," Jacobs said, eyeing the mechanized arm he used to punch Alpha Male. The Mech flashed Alpha an amused smile. “I can jump now.”

"You've never killed anyone, or committed any real crimes, so I've always let you off easy," Alpha said, getting up. "From day one, your issue has been with me, and I've come to accept that—"

"Someone's gotta be able to stop you," Jacobs said.

Alpha released a sigh as the words left Jacobs' mouth. He clenched his teeth, and pointed his finger before saying, “If you stand in my way today, you will regret it!"

"Prove it," Jacobs said, beckoning the hero towards him with a wave.

Alpha screamed and flew at the armored man with his fist heading the assault, but Jacobs anticipated this and pulled up his arm in time to block. From there, Alpha released a flurry of blows, a fraction of which The Mech was able to block. Each hit landed harder than the last until dents became noticeable in the metal suit.

Seeing an opening, Jacobs threw a wild left hook which connected with Alpha's jaw, knocking him back a few feet. The powerful disorientation from the blow only lasted a moment before Alpha rushed back in, renewing his barrage of attacks. This time, he was flawless in his execution. Each hit landed on its intended target, while The Mech’s slow defenses faltered. The last punch hit the man's helmet, knocking it clean off his head.  

Blood poured from the beaten man's mouth and nose as Jacobs tried to keep coming. Golden hydraulic oil squirted from cracks in the metal and the appendages gave off a tired whir as their fluids poured out onto the ground. Gears grinded as Jacobs tried to force a final step out of the machine, but it would not come.

"Is this ever going to end?" Alpha asked.

"No," Jacobs replied. "Never. As long as you exist, someone has to be here to stop you. I've devoted my time and money to this, and I won't back down."

"You will if I kill you," Alpha said, showing his teeth.

"You make my point for me," Jacobs said, with a sneer. "One man shouldn't be allowed the kind of power you have"

Alpha tightened his fist and started to punch, but stopped himself when Jacobs flinched. Letting out a frustrated yell, Alpha flew off, leaving the man in his disabled suit.

He could hear Jacobs yelling something, but he was too far away to understand the man's infuriated babbling. Alpha's face was hot with anger as he viewed the chaos below. Emergency vehicles rushed off in every direction, doing what they could to help the citizens in peril while he darted through the clouds on his own personal mission.  

He spent the next few hours searching, stopping on occasion to ask for information, but no one knew anything. The futility of his actions became more apparent the longer he pushed on. It wasn't until the sun started to set that he abandoned the search in order to take up his nightly patrols.

"I know you're down there," he said, as the lights of the city came on.

Chapter Two.

“Yes sweetheart,” Reedy said over his cellphone. “Everything’s under control now, so I should be able to come home in an hour or so and we can do that thing we were talking about earlier.”  

Sitting in his car, Reedy propped the phone up with his shoulder as he typed away on his laptop. His fingers pounded out the latest report for his superiors as his wife chattered on. He was barely listening when the alert came over the network. Both eyes went wide when he saw it. “Fuck,” he said.

“Baby, I have to go, I just got another—Hello? Shit never fails,” he said, shifting his car into gear and taking off with sirens blaring.

Reedy pulled up to the parking lot of the Ole Towne Bar, but had to stop in the street.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he said, smacking his hand down on the steering wheel.

The bar that had once sat beneath the underpass, was now gone. The structure had been completely leveled, leaving nothing but scrap wood and glass all over the property. People stood outside with that familiar look of awe, fear, and confusion that he had seen earlier in the day. Pulling up onto the sidewalk, he shifted his car into park and got out. He checked his gun and badge, then walked towards the scene.

“I’m definitely going to need assistance down here,” Reedy said into his walkie.

“Copy that,” came the voice of the dispatcher over the microphone.

“Thank god you’re here,” said a man, storming up to Reedy. “This shit is fucked man, it’s just fucked. I don’t know what the hell is going on here, but you have to do something. It’s all just fucked up man.

“Whoa, sir. Slow down and tell me exactly what happened,” Reedy said, digging through his pocket for a pad and pen.

“Some asshole knocked the goddamned building down! Scariest shit I ever seen!” the man said.

“Please, Mr...” Reedy said, writing on his flip top note pad. He eyed the man up and down and saw the grass stains running up his legs and shirt.

“Siegel...its Joe Siegel,” he replied, as Reedy wrote it down.

“Please Mr. Siegel, I need some more details,” Reedy said, looking over his shoulder at the wreckage.  

“My buddy Jerry and I, we were playing some pool before heading home when this naked man came in. Everyone got upset because...it’s a fucking naked man! Jerry and I, we figured it for a prank, like that Borat asshole, but this guy was weirder than that. He was confused and stumbling about, asking for something to drink. The bartender gave him some water while Nancy, the waitress, went in the back to get him a coat or something. The weird fucker was just staring at the TV the whole time watching the coverage of the explosion today. We didn’t pay him no mind after that, but then glasses started shattering all over the place. I turned to look at the fucker again, and I was thrown out the window. I landed over there,” he said pointing to a spot on the ground where a pile of wood now laid. “I got up to rush back in, but then the place just...exploded. I swear to god it was him. He made it happen...with his mind or something.”