"Hero Steven?" Alex mumbled and tried to jump out of the bed but Pter quickly grabbed him, holding him on place.
Alex turned to Peter, staring at him with shock written all over his face.
"What do you think you are doing by holding me here?" He asked him. "Hero Steven is my father and I need to go see things for myself!"
"No, you can't," Peter said to him. "Your leg hasn't completely healed, you can not be moving it around."
"I dont care about my leg, it's my father they are calling a villain, I need to go warn them! They can call me names but not my family, not those I love!" Alex yelled and tried to move but Peter was firmly holding him, not allowing him to leave the bed. "Peter, please I need your help. You have to let me go to my father," Alex pleaded. "I need to see him now."
"You can't, the news is everywhere and you can't be seen outside now," Peter said, trying to make him reason but it seems it wasn't working.
All Alex wanted was to see his father.
"Why? Tell me why?" He demanded. "That's my father we are talking about, he needs me now so I must go and see him!"
Using all his strength, he forcefully pushed Peter away and tried coming down from the bed but just then, he remembered that his injured leg was tied to something.
Grunting, he began to loose the tie hurriedly and when he was done, he came down from the bed.
Due to the force he used, he hit that same injured leg on something and cried out in pain but he refused to dwell on it longer and made for the door.
Peter finally got to his feet, his hand on his bleeding forehead. He looked around the door but didn't see his friend there anymore.
"Shit!" He grunted and went after him.
Outside, Alex dragged his injured foot to the head of the academy's office. On his way, whenever a student sees him, they would start pointing fingers at him, muttering and laughing among themselves.
He ignored them and increased his pace. He needed to get to the Dean's office, because once there, he will get his answers.
How could they say his father was a villain? The man whose love for the masses knew no bounds?!
Something was wrong.
Finally, he arrived at the office and was about to open it when suddenly, he heard some voices from inside the office.
Curious, he didn't go straight to open the door snd instead, listened to the conversation.
"Is the boy aware?"
"No, I don't think anyone has told him."
"Good. The man should have been executed publicly by now. His fate will serve as a warning to other heroes and villains alike. Once caught, they will be killed instantly!"
....
"What about the boy? What should we do about him?"
"The kid is still unaware so we will not do anything to him. We will hide this from him for now but if shows signs of being aware, then we dispose him!"
Hearing this, Alex stumbled backwards but luckily, he was quickly caught by Peter, his friend.
He turned around and saw Peter, seeing the wound on his forehead, he lowered his gaze — he had unintentionally injured his friend. Tears gathered in his eyes, ready to fall
But Peter patted him, giving him a reassuring smile, he held him closely and the both of them left that spot immediately and returned to the clinic.
"Did you listen to everything?" Alex asked Peter as they got there. He had wiped his face but the pain was still imprinted deeply in his heart... It was something that would grow with him, forever... A nightmare that will hunt him even in daytime.
"I did," Peter replied. "I heard everything."
His face darkened, he could not believe that the people they once looked up to could be evil. Though he didn't know the connection between their school and those at the top but he was certain that the school had hands in it.
"Don't worry, Alex, I will help you and find answers," he said to his friend.
He had wanted to help his friend as always but this time, his friend refused.
"No, Peter," Alex said. "This time around, I must do things myself."
"But why? What difference does it make?" Peter asked with a frown.
Alex's eyes seemed to cloud over, his gaze drifting away from Peter's. "Because, Peter, this time it's personal," he said, his voice shaky as he spoke. "They're talking about my father, about executing him. I need to know why, I need to know what crime he had committed, those involved, and what they were thinking. Obviously, this is not something they did out of a whim. They have been planning it for long and this time around, they succeeded. I need to find out myself."
Peter's expression softened, understanding etched on his face. "Alex, I--"
But Alex cut him off, his voice firm. "No, Peter. I appreciate your willingness to help, but this is something I need to do on my own. For my father, for my family... for myself."
The determination in Alex's eyes was unmistakable, and Peter knew better than to argue with him when he was like this. He nodded slowly, a small smile on his face.
"Alright, Alex. But promise me one thing: you'll be careful, okay? You won't do anything reckless or stupid."
Alex's gaze locked onto Peter's, a small smile creeping onto his face. "I promise, Peter. I'll be careful."
And with that, Peter turned and left the room, leaving Alex to watch him go with a mix of concern and sadness etched on his face.
As he lay on the bed, he could help but imagine his father been beheaded in public. The humiliation, the resentment he must have faced... Alex could not forget any of these, and swore in his heart to dig them out, one after the other, and when that happens, he'll make them pay 100 times more.
As he was lost in thoughts, the door to the room opened and he thought it was Peter.
"Didn't I tell you to go— oh!"
Turning to the door, he realized that the person that came to visit him was not his friend but David.
"What do you want?" Alex asked him. Inwardly, he felt that the boy was here to perhaps make fun of him.
"To know how you are doing," David replied, taking Alex by surprise. Seeing the surprise look on his face, David frowned. "What were you thinking before?"
"Weren't you here to..." Remembering what he heard from the Dean's office earlier, Alex knew better than to expose himself. "Nevermind. Since you have seen me, you can go back."
"I can't leave until you answer my question," David said.
Alex narrowed his eyes. What could possibly be David's question? Is it about his father? If so, what should he say?
"Are you even listening to me?" David asked, gazing at him.
"I am," Alex mumbled. "What do you want to know?" He asked.
"During the inter-house sports festival, some villains attacked us while we were still carrying out the tests, some of us in the group were killed, but you weren't. Can I know why?"