Aiden approached the back exit of the campus.
As he pushed through the doors, his eyes swept across the desolate, deserted street. A dilapidated warehouse stood at the far end, seemingly abandoned.
Tony had mentioned something about the back corner, so Aiden cautiously navigated the cracked asphalt toward the looming structure.
He found an old, rusty metal door. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind, but he pushed it aside. This was the place, the chance to set things right. He squeezed through the gap, bracing himself for a face-to-face conversation with Mark.
The moment he stepped inside, a deafening slam echoed behind him as the door swung shut, plunging him into near darkness. A harsh click followed, the distinct sound of a lock snapping into place.
Alarm bells went off in Aiden's head. This wasn't right.
Then, with a blinding flash, the overhead lights flickered to life, revealing a scene that turned his blood to ice.
Dozens of figures emerged from the shadows, tattooed and hardened, forming a menacing circle around him. Their eyes gleamed with hostility, focused solely on him.
In the middle, his face contorted into a mask of pure hatred, stood Mark. His presence radiated anger.
"Look who finally decided to show," Mark growled
Aiden tried to speak, his voice faltering against the suffocating atmosphere.
"Mark, what is this? I thought we were going to talk."
"Talk?" Mark mocked, a cruel laugh echoing through the warehouse.
"Seriously? You think apologies are going to fix this?"
Aiden recoiled "Sarah's literally left you months ago. What does any of this have to do with her?"
Mark's rage flared,
"She's still off-limits, you hear me? No one messes with what's mine."
Mark stepped closer, his fists clenched at his sides.
"That beating Max got yesterday? That was just a warning. Now, you're gonna pay the real price for your interference."
"I won't fight you Mark." Aiden responded
"Then I'll give you a reason to." Mark grinned.
Suddenly, a heavy metal door at the back of the warehouse creaked open, revealing a dark and dank room. A figure emerged, his clothes bloodied and torn.
As the figure stumbled closer, the harsh light illuminated the face of an unconscious Max.
A wave of nausea washed over Aiden. Max's face was bruised, swollen and unconscious. He looked like a broken doll, barely recognizable.
With a cruel shove, Mark sent Max crashing to the ground at Aiden's feet.
Aiden stared at the scene before him, his mind reeling. He felt a primal urge to rush to Max's side, to offer comfort and protection.
But as his hands instinctively reached out, Mark's cold voice stopped him in his tracks.
Mark warned, his voice low and dangerous. "This is just a taste of what happens to anyone who dares to cross me."
Witnessing Max's broken form, a surge of primal rage ignited within Aiden. It simmered, an untamed power he had never felt before
Aiden's subconscious seemed to take over.
A hulking figure with bulging muscles, stepped forward, a sneer twisting his features. He raised his fist, aiming for a devastating blow towards Aiden.
Aiden, however, didn't care, his gaze fixed on Max.
He saw the approaching fist, heard the wind whistling past his ear. The blow landed squarely on his chest, but Aiden felt nothing.
It felt like a gentle nudge. He barely registered the impact, his focus solely on Max
Aiden stood unfazed, while the surprised hulking figure stumbled back, his fist throbbing. A bewildered silence descended upon the warehouse.
Aiden's eyes narrowed. He raised his hand, in a swift, effortless motion, and delivered a blow against the hulking figure.
The blow connected, sending a shockwave through the air. Before anyone could react, he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
A stunned silence descended upon the warehouse. Mark's smirk vanished, replaced by a look of utter disbelief. The other figures surrounding them took a cautious step back, fear flickering in their eyes.
Mark, however, had quickly recovered from his initial shock. His face contorted with rage and frustration, he whipped out a handgun from his pocket.
"You think you're strong?" Mark spat, his voice laced with desperation.
"Then what about this?"
Aiden's subconscious didn't flinch, didn't raise his hands in surrender
With a snarl, Mark pulled the trigger. The deafening gunshot echoed through the warehouse.
Aiden tilted his head slightly. The bullet whizzed past his cheek, missing him by a hair's breadth.
Mark, eyes wide with shock, fired again and again, each shot finding its mark – on the wall, the ceiling, anything but Aiden.
Aiden, his eyes locked with Mark's, reached out with two fingers, his movement fluid and effortless.
As the final bullet, propelled, flew towards him, Aiden caught it mid-air. It lodged itself between his index and middle finger
Aiden held it and crushed it effortlessly, his eyes locked on Mark's.
Mark's bravado crumbled entirely. He lowered the gun, his shoulders slumping defeatedly.
A primal scream ripped from Mark's throat, a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation.
"Get him! All of you!" he roared, his voice laced with a mixture of fear and fury.
The warehouse erupted into chaos. The remaining gang members, emboldened by their leader's command, surged forward, a wave of black leather and rage crashing towards Aiden.
But now, they were no match for the power that now coursed through Aiden's veins.
Aiden's eyes glowed with an ethereal white light, a beacon of something otherworldly and powerful.
Before the blows could land, a bolt of raw, tamed lightning shot down from above, piercing the warehouse roof with a deafening boom.
The strike landed directly in the center of the fray, a blinding flash illuminating the chaos.
Knocking the attackers off their feet. Yelps and cries of shocked pain filled the warehouse, followed by a heavy silence as each gang member lay unconscious upon the dusty floor.
Mark stared dumbfounded at the lightning's aftermath, his knees buckling beneath him.
The lightning dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Aiden standing amidst the unconscious bodies. His eyes faded back to their usual hue.
Mark was now broken and humbled. His kingdom of intimidation had crumbled in mere moments.
"What... what in the world?" Mark rasped, his voice barely a whisper.
Aiden wasn't aware of everything. His body, overwhelmed by the unexpected surge of power, wasn't under his own control.
His subconscious mind, faced with imminent danger, had taken over, unleashing a very small fraction of his dormant potential within him.
Suddenly, Aiden's legs buckled beneath him, his eyes fluttering shut. He collapsed onto the dusty floor, the weight of the experience overwhelming his unconscious body.
Mark's fear morphed into a spark of opportunistic hope. He scrambled to his feet, glancing cautiously at the unconscious bodies around him.
As silently as a shadow, he slipped out of the warehouse.
Max finally woke up, his vision, the world tilting on its axis.
He awoke to an unsettling silence
"Aiden?" His voice, hoarse and weak, echoed in the emptiness. He blinked, his blurry vision struggling to focus on his surroundings.
Aiden was nowhere to be seen.
He pushed himself up, ignoring the dizziness that threatened to topple him over, and scanned the warehouse.
There, near the center, lay Aiden, sprawled unconscious on the dusty floor.
Max scrambled towards his friend, fear twisting his features. He knelt beside Aiden, his trembling hand reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair from his friend's forehead.
"Aiden! Wake up!" he cried, his voice cracking with desperation.
But Aiden remained unresponsive, his face pale and serene.
His gaze drifted upwards, landing on the gaping hole in the roof. Its charred edges spoke of an immense heat, an unnatural force.
Max's gaze darted around the warehouse, taking in the scene before him. The men who had threatened them just moments ago were now scattered across the floor, their bodies unnaturally still, some sprawled in grotesque contortions.
Max's mind raced,
He looked back at Aiden, a thought making his stomach clench. Had his friend somehow managed to fight them all off?
But Aiden, he knew, wasn't exactly built for brawls.
He rose to his feet, wincing at the sharp pain in his side. He walked around the warehouse, inspecting the unconscious thugs. They had been attacked, cornered, helpless
Max stood in the center of the room, his mind racing with unanswered questions.
"What on earth happened here?" he muttered to himself
Max felt a cold hand of fear grip his heart. He had no answer, no explanation for the scene before him
Had Aiden fought them off somehow? The idea seemed absurd, yet the evidence suggested otherwise. But if Aiden wasn't responsible, then who was?
His gaze falling on Aiden's hand, still warm despite his friend's unconscious state.
"Aiden… you gotta wake up, man." His voice choked with a sob, his fear threatening to engulf him.