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Chapter 15 - ATLATL

This was all new; he had never done this before.

Atlatl skulked through alleyways in his dark gray suit; he was on the lookout for any would-be criminals.

The short hero wore a gray and blue suit; it had a small logo that read "ATL" in the center of his chest; on his back was a quiver with darts that looked similar to arrows, just longer; and in his hand was his atlatl.

The weapon was a sleek and slender contraption with a small groove and hook at one end and a black leather-wrapped handle on the other; it worked for two purposes. The weapon could fire a dart at long range by giving the wielder what was essentially an extension of the thrower's arm to gain a significant boost in power, and in a close combat scenario, he could use it as a club.

His weapon was his identity; it's what set him apart from a cop or just a person who hoped to do the right thing.

Atlatl was a beacon of hope for a better day.

That's what he told himself, at least. He had already, in only a handful of short days of vigilante work, heard murmurs of something much larger than petty crime brewing on the streets, and he had hopes of getting to the bottom of it.

He had only used his atlatl for a few days; most people didn't even know what his weapon was called. Regardless of what people knew, he was aware of how to use it, and he was lethal from about fifty yards, according to his exercises.

Atlatl had no intention to kill, but if it happened, he wouldn't quite care; these are criminals, after all. The problem was that he would likely be ruined if someone knew he killed someone, so to protect his own reputation, regardless of what he believed, he chose mercy.

Atlatl found himself on a set of emergency stairs on the side of an apartment building. He began to ascend them, looking for a better vantage point to look out over the city. When he got to the top, he saw the distant glow of police lights, their red and blue hues illuminating the large cityscape of Santa Rosa.

Atlatl reached down to his belt and turned on his portable police scanner. He heard of a plethora of crimes occurring that some people deemed less meaningful than others.

Atlatl didn't see it that way; any petty theft could quickly turn into murder if someone was desperate enough.

That's all criminals were to Atlatl: desperate.

With that, Atlatl scaled back down the building and made his way towards a nearby disturbance that had been reported near him. He quickly ran through alleyways, dodging trash cans as he blew past them. His clean blue running shoes hitting the concrete made a subtle tapping noise as he approached the scene.

He instantly slowed his pace when he heard the screams of a woman nearby.

'Uh oh, I might be too late,' thought the hero.

"PLEASE!!! SOMEONE HELP, HE'S GOT A GUN!"

The dark-suited hero drew his weapon from his back and loaded a long, slender dart into the top of his atlatl. He quietly stepped toe-to-heel towards the crime in progress. He could hear the nervous voice of a woman as he tiptoed behind a dumpster.

"Ok here, take my purse and leave."

"C'mon lady, gimme the watch too, and make it snappy!" said a gruff-sounding man.

It was always criminals preying on the vulnerable; this woman was out at night alone, and this man chose to stick her up. He deserved some justice.

Atlatl stepped out from behind the corner of the alley.

"Hey! You stop that now!" chimed in the hero.

"Who the hell are you?" said the mugger.

"PLEASE HELP!!!" said the woman desperately.

"No need to fear; the mighty Atlatl is here!"

Atlatl stepped into the dim light of the alleyway, where the man stood close to the woman with his gun drawn.

The barrel of the weapon was inches from the woman's face.

"Back off man, I don't wanna have to hurt her…." said the mugger.

The woman looked over at Atlatl with desperate eyes.

The hero gripped his weapon tightly as he took a slight step forward. His torso quickly twisted as his throwing arm snapped forward and flung the dart forward with great force.

The dart launched out with incredible velocity, faster than the criminal could react. It blew right over his head, barely missing him.

The fact is that Atlatl had aimed for the mugger's arm; however, he kept his cool and tried his best to play it off.

He quickly loaded another dart from his quiver, taking advantage of the mugger's shock.

"You see, I've got you holding still…. If I wanted to take your head off right then…. I would have," stated Atlatl.

The two stared at each other; this was a good old-fashioned standoff.

The tension was palpable. Atlatl stood poised to release another dart, while the man had the hammer to his revolver pulled back, ready to strike.

The wind gusted throughout the alleyway, and some loose garbage took flight in the wind. A flying newspaper blowing in the wind served as the perfect distraction. The paper blew between the two and briefly blocked the vision of the would-be murderer.

Atlatl fired first and pierced the gruff criminal's thigh. The man screamed in pain and dropped the gun in his panic as he crumpled to the ground.

The gun went off as it struck the ground, firing a stray bullet into the side of a nearby dumpster.

The woman, now free from the man's grasp, quickly scooped up her bag and ran, leaving Atlatl alone with the criminal.

Atlatl holstered his weapon on his thigh before he quickly ran toward the now kneeling man and jumped off of two legs. He rose into the air with his bare fist pulled back. He swung his fist down into the center of the criminal's face with all the momentum he had built up; it was enough to knock the criminal out for a good long while.

Atlatl took out a phone and called the police anonymously, reporting a criminal knocked out at his current location.

Atlatl found a place to watch in wait as he saw the man attempt to limp off into the night. The lowlife scum didn't get far before the police showed up and immediately cuffed him. It turns out he was wanted for several other infractions on top of a domestic disturbance.

Atlatl made his way to his place of residence; after all, he had stuff to do tomorrow.

No days off for Atlatl or his alter ego; the hero business is difficult and not for the faint of heart after all.

As he ventured across rooftops and alleyways, he thought of how he had fulfilled his greatest childhood fantasy: he was the hero, the city's guardian.

A childlike sense of wonder washed over Atlatl as he stood at the corner of a rooftop and did a quick scan of the skyline and the streets below before he slunk into the alleyway and threw on a pair of sweats and a hoodie he had stashed earlier over his spandex costume. He made his way home on the sidewalks, alone in the dark, misty streets.

Atlatl had a slight issue. He couldn't wake anyone up on his way into his home; no one he lived with knew of his nighttime habits after all. He grabbed onto the siding of the house and climbed up into a window he had left open intentionally.

He squeezed through the small opening and plopped onto the floor.

THUD!

His body hit the ground hard, and someone's footsteps could be heard making their way up the stairs to his room.

"Hal? Are you ok in there?" called his mother from just outside the door.

"Yes mom!" responded Hal nervously.

"Ok honey, just try to be a little quieter; your dad has a busy day at work tomorrow!"

"Alright, goodnight mom!"

"Goodnight sweety!"