Chapter 46: Chapter 46 – The Right Thing
Mia sat down beside Matthew while Faralynn, Sarah and Erin were talking to the police. She held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you for what you did up there." She whispered so that the police around them wouldn’t hear. "I’m sorry for making you do it."
"I wanted to." Matthew said squeezing her hand. "Did he...?" He tried to ask, but didn’t know how to approach the subject.
"No. He didn’t. You arrived just in time." Mia answered hiding her face on his shoulder.
"I’m glad." He inhaled deeply in relief.
They sat there in silence for while until a familiar face approached them. It was Detective Richter. He called Matthew away from the others so that he could interrogate him alone.
"Hey kid. We meet again." He said with a smile.
"Yes." Matthew said looking over to Mia who was now sitting beside a woman, most likely a detective as well.
"You killed a man this time." Richter said in a disappointed tone. "Care to tell me what happened?"
"He kidnapped my friend. We fought and I had to kill him." Matthew summarized.
"Had to?" The Detective raised his eyebrow. "Coroner said you shot him 15 times."
"He was stronger than I am. Look at me. I’m all beat up. It was him or me." Matthew said irritated.
"I get it. Guy was a creep. He touched your friend. You got angry. He deserved it, didn’t he?" Richter set up a trap for Matthew.
"He did." Matthew fell for it. "Seeing Mia like that. The way she was crying..."
"You lost your head." The Detective completed Matthew’s thought for him. "I understand. It was self defense this time again. Wasn’t it?"
"Yeah. I think so."
"That’s enough for today." Richter closed his notebook, having got what he wanted. "But I have some bad news for you. That robber you sent to the hospital? He died yesterday."
Matthew felt the ground disappear under him. Hundreds of thoughts invaded his mind. Fear of going to jail. Remorse for killing a person. How would his mother react to the news? How would Sarah look at him now? Would Vanessa truly help him? Did he disappoint his father? Would Farzan expel him?
"Kid? Are you ok?" The Detective asked after Matthew seemed to enter his own world. "Kid, you don’t need to worry. You’re ok, it was self defense, remember?"
"Yeah... Yeah..." Matthew said not really paying attention.
"Try not to let it affect you." Richter consoled him giving him a small tap on his back.
After the police collected all the evidence and testimonies and the body. They brought the man in green shirt, that Matthew had put to sleep, to jail.
Faralynn went home with Erin and Mia escorted by her security team. Sarah and Matthew went home by bus, refusing any ride the others offered. They needed a bit of normalcy right now. They sat at the back of the bus away from the few people who were already inside.
Sarah nuzzled on Matthew’s shoulder and asked in a low voice:
"What did that cop say to you? You’re weird since you talked to him."
"That robber that was in the hospital." Matthew said making sure no one else could listen to them. "He died."
Sarah took a deep breath and hugged Matthew.
"You were only protecting yourself. You don’t need to feel bad."
"The thing is. I don’t know if that’s true Sarah..." He said with an uneasy voice as if he was going to cry.
"What do you mean?"
"I was so angry. No only with the robber. But today too." Matthew paused a bit and then concludes. "I kind of enjoyed it."
Sarah put her head on his shoulder and thought for a while. Then she took his face on her hands and looked deep in his eye.
"I know you Matt. You are not a killer. Look how sad you are right now. I know you Matt. If you were a killer, if you truly enjoyed it, you’d be reveling right now. But no. You’re here suffering for people who don’t deserve your pity. That man tried to rob you, he stabbed you. More than once! And the other guy today. He tried to rape Mia. You did the right thing Matt. Everyone agrees. Me, Faralynn, Erin and specially Mia. You don’t need to feel like that."
Matthew averted his gaze from hers. Her words made him feel better. But he still wasn’t sure. Today it was not the demonic mana who took control. Today he chose to listen to it. And that scared him. Was he changing because he kept using the mana?
When they got home, the event was already on the news. Their mother received them with a tight hug.
"I’m so glad you both are okay."
They sat down with their parents and Sarah told them exactly what happened in the mall. From the kidnapping to Matthew’s heroics. Matthew himself was looking at the floor ashamed about what he did.
When Sarah finished the story, their mother got up her chair and held Matthew tight in her arms. She kissed his head saying:
"My poor baby. I’m so glad you’re ok. My baby hero. You saved another person."
Then, their father got close to Matthew and put his hand on his head.
"I’m proud of you Matthew. You did great."
After those words, Matthew started to cry. He needed the validation of his family. He needed them to tell him he was not a monster.
"Thank you" He cried.
The next day, Sunday, he called Vanessa and told her what happened. Vanessa was having lunch with Paula and, when Paula heard the story, she grabbed the phone from Vanessa and said to Matthew almost screaming:
"You did great kid! I saw on the news, but had no idea that was you! Fuck that guy!"
Matthew laughed at her enthusiasm. Knowing her history, he understood well where she was coming from. Vanessa pulled the phone back to herself and continued her conversation with Matthew.
"Don’t worry about the police, kid. I got your back. I talked to friends in the DA’s office and he assured me they had no intention of persecuting you. They said it was a clear case of self defense. However, this new thing in the mall got big. It was on the news."
"What does it mean?" Matthew asked swallowing hard.
"I don’t know yet. By what you said it was self defense again. But since it’s on the news... They keep talking about curbing adventurer violence. I’m worried they will want to make you into propaganda. I’ll talk with my friends. Don’t you worry. We’ll get you out of trouble if anything happens."
"Thank you, Vanessa." Matthew said.
"You’re welcomed, Matthew. We’re a party. We protect each other. And thanks for letting me know this time."
Matthew only laughed awkwardly at that last remark. He had no excuses for not telling her about the other stuff before.
They soon said their goodbyes and hanged their phones.
Matthew spent the rest of his Sunday training the weapon movements he learned from Firynn. He realized on his last fight that he was woefully unprepared to fight humans. The moment he face a guy who knew how to fight properly, he couldn’t even land a punch. He got lucky with he gun.
He also realized that he probably should walk armed from now on. This was the second time he got into a fight unarmed.
Matthew trained until his body couldn’t move anymore and his muscles started to ache. He took a shower and went downstairs to have dinner with his family.
While eating, the TV was on on a news channel. The hosts of the program were debating exactly what Vanessa said. They were complaining about the increase on adventurer violence and used Matthew’s actions as a bad example.
They showed pictures on the glass dome that shattered when he fought the man in green. They also showed footage of the body of the bald man being taken away by the police inside a black bag.
"This can’t go on." Said one of the hosts. "We’re not even safe in broad daylight inside of a shopping mall!"
"It’s an absurd that adventurers can walk around unchallenged fighting in public spaces and causing mayhem." The other host said.
"Wait a minute." A third host said. "The adventurer that did this was fighting a couple of bandits that kidnapped a girl. That dead man there is one of the kidnappers." He tried to defend Matthew.
"But it was his job to do it?" The first host asked. "Why didn’t he leave it to the police? This is just vigilante justice. He killed a man without due process. And my sources say it’s not the first person this man killed."
Matthew’s blood got cold with that last remark.
"Show the picture." The second host said to her crew. The picture they displayed was the scene of Matthew’s robbery. The bus stop destroyed, blood all over the floor. "That is the work of the same man. Another dead. This man is no hero for..."
Matthew’s father turned off the television before the host finished her thought.
"Don’t pay attention to them, Matthew. You did the right thing."
Matthew breathed deeply and said not sure of himself:
"I know."