Hero's Diary: Day 1
10/11/18 at 13:00 EST

I was involved in a car accident today. Even though I was only playing the role of the observer, I've got the uncomfortable feeling that my life will forever be changed.

My parents had asked me pick up some groceries from the corner store a few blocks from where we live in a small suburb. It was as routine a task as it always had been. Bags in hand, I crossed the street at the crosswalk just as the lights were changing against my favour. As I stepped onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street and began heading home, the sound of blaring car horns caught my attention and I turned around to see a strangely-dressed man running across the street in a frenzy, forcing a nearby sedan to slam on the brakes and honk irritably.

The man continued his senseless dash across the street, waving apologetically to the motorist, when he collided with a red SUV speeding by in the other direction. His body bounced rather humorously off the hood of the car and he spiraled like a ragdoll through the air in a graceful arc, eventually landing on the sidewalk near my position.

I was shocked. Even more so, when I realised that he wasn't dead. He was unable to stand, but turned his head toward me, pleading not for my assistance, but my attention. I considered declining him politely - I had to bring the groceries home, the sooner the better. Nobody likes warm milk, after all. Before I was able to bow out, however, the man removed his belt and held it up to me. The gesture was almost as strange as the belt, which had a gaudy red buckle on it the size of a Sega Game Gear, and an even gaudier yellow "V" emblazoned on it, which I'm sure poked into his stomach irritably every time the man bent down to tie his shoes.

The wounded man, in his dying breaths, asked me to take his belt, and that "the fate of the world depends on it!". I clearly saw the SUV hit his midsection, but I wondered if he had also fallen on his head, whether it be before or after the accident. I gave him a confused look, I'm sure. I showed him my grocery bags, indicating that I had other obligations to fulfill, but his persistence and reach were baffling, and he forced the belt into my arms. He then went on to talk about some superhero infant and a demon general having a "showdown" in a park down the street from where I happen to live. Is that some sort of play that he wants me to participate in, in his stead? I was about to ask him about it, but he collapsed. Dead.

I sighed heavily - how was I going to carry the belt and my groceries at the same time? I looked down at my arms, and the belt cradled in them. It actually matched my red jumpsuit rather nicely, so I decided to just wear the belt and carry the groceries home. Nobody else was around to ask questions, so I decided to head on my way. Maybe I'll check out that play once the groceries are in the fridge where they belong. It might even be a paying job, which would be great, considering my parents didn't actually give me any money to buy these groceries with.
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Tagged under: ZHP
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