# Deathtouch Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Disempower
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The light turned green and I gave my daughter’s hand a light squeeze, hefting the grocery bags I was carrying in my other.
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“Alright, come on, across the street!” I said enthusiastically. “Gotta hurry before it turns red again!”
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Fang gave me an almost patronizing smile even as she held Amber’s other hand. I knew she was just barely holding herself back from saying anything, probably since we were in public and all. I just grinned back - if she said so much as a single word, it would be mutually assured destruction. Ever since Amber was born, she’d gotten way more into the baby talk kind of stuff than I ever had.
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Who would have thought life would ever lead the pair of us here, like this? I supposed it was kinda funny.
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We walked briskly over the crossing, still slowing our pace to accommodate our daughter’s short little legs. She kept up well at first, but just before we reached the other side she seemed to forget her urgency, slowing down to turn her gaze to the line of cars now beginning to gather. Fang and I both gave her a firm pull to hurry her along – the light had already turned red.
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“Come on, Amber, nearly there,” Fang said encouragingly.
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Amber hurried her steps at the reminder, levering our arms to lift herself up and jumping onto the sidewalk with both feet.
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“Made it!” She gave a triumphant little laugh.
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“You certainly did!” Fang giggled. “Now, let’s head back to the car!”
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“Okay, mommy!”
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We weaved our way through the carpark with no issue, Amber grasping our hands tightly the whole way. It hadn’t always been easy, bringing up a kid, and I hadn’t been nearly ready for it. It had been a lot of exhausting work, and we’d had a lot of sleepless nights for the first year or so. But moments like this, my own little family out on a shopping trip, moments where I could practically feel my heart swelling – they made it all worth it.
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Ever since my last year at high school, when I’d transferred out and met Fang – easily the best thing that had ever happened to me – my life had gone in a completely different direction than I’d ever thought it would have beforehand. The people I’d met there, the things I’d learned... They’d made all the difference.
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“You’re getting quieter at least, Anon,” Fang remarked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
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“What’s that?” I asked.
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She tapped her beaked lip with a wry grin and a quirked eyebrow. “You’re getting quieter. With the mumbling.”
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“Oh, for god’s sake,” I muttered. Fang just burst out laughing.
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“Touching stuff, though. What I could hear of it, anyway,” She prodded. I just shook my head and looked away as she kept on chuckling away. I really had to do something about that.
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She took a moment to fish the keys out of her pocket as we reached our car. She unlocked it with a tap of a button, and I let go of Amber’s hand to open the boot. As I put the bags in the car, she seemed to study them carefully.
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“There we go. Where we heading next? The butcher’s?” I asked, closing the door again. We usually stopped to get her customary surplus of barbecue meat after grocery shopping.
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Fang held up one arm to stop it, still looking intently at the bags. Her voice was flat as she spoke. “Where’s the bread?”
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“We didn’t get any bread.” I gave her a quizzical look.
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“We didn’t get any –” Fang slapped her head as she realized. “I completely forgot to put it on the shopping list. We walked right past it, too.”
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“Me too,” I admitted. “Well, I can run back and get some if you want to take Amber ahead to the butcher’s,”
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“Good idea,” She smiled, then turned her gaze down to her daughter. Side by side like that, they looked so much alike. “Alright, come on Amber, daddy’s going back to the supermarket for a sec, so we’re going to run on ahead, okay?”
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“Okay, mommy!” Amber replied as happily as ever.
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I left them with a little wave and headed back through the carpark. As I stood and waited for the crossing light to turn green, I decided that next time I’d have to double check that shopping list. Double check, and hope I could remember to put bread on it. I’d probably forget I’d even thought this before our next shopping trip.
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Finally the lights changed, and I made my way across. Not a few paces in though, a loud noise off to my side drew my attention.
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A fucking truck. Barreling down the street. Couldn’t be more than a dozen metres away.
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Straight toward me.
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I wanted to say that my brain switched gears immediately, but it didn’t – it was more like it jammed. In that single instant it felt like I tried to make a dozen decisions all at once, and managed to settle on none of them.
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Jump to the left. Duck away right. Step back to try and buy time.
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But all I did was stand there, grappling with a spike of adrenaline my brain hadn’t been ready for.
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I only barely managed to close my eyes, a moment before it made impact. In that one single moment, I knew I’d fucked up. It was over.
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I was about to die.
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I was about to leave my family behind.
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Right as my life was picking up, it was being taken away.
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It felt... unfair.
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I didn’t see my life flashing before me like I expected. In that brief moment of hyperclarity before my imminent ten-ton death, I think I only managed to eke out a few quick, half-formed thoughts. My last split second was spent thinking about the injustice of it, despite everything.
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But as that moment stretched on, I started to get suspicious. I didn’t want to open my eyes, given the situation I was in, but as a split second became a second, and then another, then a dozen, I had to wonder. Why hadn’t I been hit yet? I was plainly, clearly, irrefutably about to die.
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Why hadn’t it happened yet?
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Finally, I mustered myself enough to peek one eye open. What I saw nearly shocked the life out of me anyway.
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It was Fang, but... it wasn’t.
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It looked like the Fang I’d known at Volcano High again, dressed in her old purposely ripped clothes. Its eyes were practically aglow, alight with mischief – that wouldn’t have been so unfamiliar, if not for the sheer malice in its fanged grin. Just a scant metre away from me, it leaned against the front of the truck – which was now disturbingly still, stopped in its tracks – with its arms folded, seemingly aloof.
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It wasn’t Fang.
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“What the hell –”
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I’d barely even formulated my question when it interrupted me with a sudden yell, flaring its wings and stomping one foot forward, getting right up into my face.
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“BOO!”
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I’m not sure if it was in spite of the ridiculousness of the situation or because of it, but I fucking just about jumped out of my skin at the shock of noise, resounding around me far louder than it had any right to be. I took a reflexive step back, clutching at my chest.
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“Holy shit!” I gasped. This was all going way too fast – I’d expected to die just a moment ago. “What the hell – What’s going on here? Who are you – What are you – What’s happening?”
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“Shut up, dumbass,” It sneered in Fang’s voice, far colder than I’d ever heard it. Shuffling its wings a bit, it settled back against the truck, grinning at my predicament. “Look around. Take half a second and see if you can’t figure it out for yourself.”
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“Who are you?” I demanded again.
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“Your mom, bitch.” It said flippantly, leering even more sharply than before. “I said figure it out.”
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I glared at it for a moment before I managed to pull my eyes away. As I inspected my surroundings, the first thing that struck me was how... quiet everything was. How still it all had become. The noise of the city was completely and absolutely muted – everything stopped at the moment just before impact.
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It seemed impossible. It was impossible. This wasn’t a thing that could actually happen.
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I could only think of one explanation. “This is... This is that thing where my life flashes before my eyes, isn’t it? Right as I’m about to die?”
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It regarded me flatly for a second, then gave a bemused snort. “Retard.”
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“Okay, what the hell is it then?” I snapped. This wasn’t funny anymore. “And who are you? Answer me!”
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“Well, this is a truck. Driver didn’t get much sleep last night. Fell asleep at the wheel for a second,” It snapped sarcastically, its tone full of acid. “And this is you, right in front of it, somehow still struggling to put two and two together.”
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“I got that part, I’m about to get hit,” I spat back, but the fire fizzled out of my voice a mere moment later as I realized exactly what it was implying. Its cruel insinuation felt like confirmation of something I hadn’t even realized I’d been trying to deny. “... I’m going to get hit. I’m going to die. You’re... You’re the Grim Reaper or something?”
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It neither confirmed nor denied my suspicion, only shuffling its wings again as it regarded me with its cold amber eyes.
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“Why do you look like Fang?” I growled.
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For the first time it actually looked surprised. “That’s the first real question you ask? You’re on the precipice of death, you fucking tool! Have some perspective!”
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“If I’m dead anyway, what’s it matter?” I raised my voice in return. My heart was thumping in my chest, firmly alive in the face of the end. “Answer me!”
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“Because I felt like it,” It said with a shrug. “Thought it’d be funny for a moment.”
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I had no idea how to respond to that. I didn’t even know what to make of that. For a long moment I just stared at this thing that wasn’t Fang, trying to wrap my head around it. It could have been her doppelganger, but there was something about it I just couldn’t put a name to that broke the illusion, some otherworldly presence that made it quite clear the creature I was dealing with was not her. Like it wasn’t really anyone who’d ever been alive, in fact. It carried itself like it was beyond everyone, and even without any proof, I didn’t doubt that was exactly the case.
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“You’ve had a good little life, haven’t you?” It broke the silence before too long, looking at me a bit more reservedly than before.
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I nodded slowly. If I was to die, I may as well be honest about it. “I don’t want it to end. This doesn’t feel fair. I’ve – I feel like I’ve just started to get everything on track. I’ve got a wife, a –”
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“A daughter, I know,” It said neutrally. “Yes, I’ve seen. You’re doing pretty well for yourself. You really picked yourself up from the shithead you used to be. Feels like a slap in the face to go out like this, doesn’t it?”
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I bristled. “Why are you doing this?”
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“To rile you up,” It said matter-of-factly. “You’ve got a choice to make, and you’ll want to be in the right head space for it.”
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“What choice?”
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“This isn’t going to kill you.” It slapped the truck with one clawed hand, a metallic clang echoing around me. Again, its tone was as flat and dry as the road I was on – simply stating facts without any inflection. “It’s not going fast enough. Guy did hit the brake, just too late.”
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I struggled to digest that for a moment. That had to be either a really cruel joke, or... or what? I’d completely misread the situation?
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“Wait, I’m not going to die after all? So then –”
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“It’s gonna hurt.” Its face split into a sadistic grin as it spoke over me. The malice from before flooded its voice again. “It’s gonna hit you, and it’s gonna fucking hurt. It’s gonna hurt more than anything you’ve ever felt before in your life, you sad, fragile little man. It’s gonna fucking hurt.”
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“I don’t care,” I said immediately. “I don’t want to leave like this. I don’t want to leave my family.”
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“Nobody ever does,” Somehow its vicious smile only grew wider. “You think anything you’ve ever felt will be as bad as this? Pfft. What’s the worst you’ve had, falling down some stairs into a little bollard? That exhaustion when little Amber just wouldn’t sleep? Oooh, they’re all just like you, at first. ‘I don’t care, I can take it, I’m ready for it’... Big fucking bluster.”
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“I don’t –”
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“You will.” Again it overrode me, somehow drowning the words in my throat before I’d managed to speak them. “I know, I know, you think you can handle anything, no matter how bad it is. I’ve heard a million and one people say the exact same shit. But as the hours turn into days, as the days turn into weeks... months, perhaps, even... you’ll start to care then. The mind may have no limits, but the brain sure as hell does. Spend long enough soaked in agony, flooded in pain signals coming from every inch of your body... we’ll see if you change your tune then, hey? Most everyone else does.”
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“I...” My voice failed me as I looked at the vindictive mockery of Fang’s face glaring at me, alight with brutal mischief. Nothing like the real Fang’s face. “So why are you here, then? Are you going to kill me or not?”
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“That depends on you. I’ll take you away if you want me to, sure. Nice and painless.” It gave a chuckle and slapped the truck again, another clang ringing out. “Or you’ve got the other choice, here. It’s me or the truck, and it ain’t gonna be anywhere near as gentle as me.”
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“Why don’t I just walk away?” I challenged. “If everything’s stopped, I can just move out of the way.”
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It gave a short, dismissive laugh. “You honestly think that’s going to work?”
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I didn’t.
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Once more it focused its gaze in on me. “You’ve never known pain like what you’re about to. Who knows how long it’ll be before you recover? Who knows if you even will recover? Who knows how long you’ll lay there suffering, wishing you could scream? And who knows if I won’t be coming to collect you soon anyway? You might be enduring all that for nothing.”
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“You’d really do that?” Somehow that felt like a whole other level of cruelty. “Give me that kind of hope, then take it away anyway?”
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“The mind may have no limits, but the brain sure does,” It repeated coolly. “Denial can carry you a good long way, it honestly can. But you can’t just deny a knife through the heart or a bullet through the skull. If your body fails you, I’ll come to collect. If it’s your time, it’s your time.”
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“I can’t just leave them,” I shook my head. It didn’t matter if it hurt. It didn’t matter if there might not even really be a chance. I could not just abandon my family. Not ever, but least of all now, when things were just starting to come together. “I have to try.”
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“That’s your choice to make,” It said, waving one hand airily. “I’m just here to make sure you see the cards you got on the table. What you do with that is up to you.”
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“Then I’ll try.” I said as firmly as I could, looking it square in the eyes.
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“Alright, then.” It locked eyes with me, smiling its wicked smile once more. “It’s gonna hurt. You take a moment, okay? Get your bearings, take a breather. This might be the only break you’re going to get for a good long while. So enjoy it, alright? And when you’re ready to fucking suffer, let me know.”
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To my surprise, I actually found myself more acutely aware of my limbs than I had ever been before. I credited it to the fact I was about to lose any and all feeling that wasn’t pain for an indeterminate amount of time. As I flexed my fingers, I could swear I felt every nerve ending all the way up my arm flaring a response. Defiance lit my entire frame up as I breathed in and out, as though my body was trying to remind me of everything I had to lose if I succumbed. Everything I might never feel again, if I couldn’t hack the challenge now laid before me.
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The truck glared down at me, cold and impassive, an instrument of death that the panicked-looking driver hadn’t even realized he’d been wielding. Through the tinted window, I couldn’t really tell what kind of dino he was. I guessed it didn’t really matter.
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I took one last deep breath. I supposed I didn’t really have any idea exactly what I was walking into. I probably wouldn’t ever be prepared.
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But I had to try.
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“Hit me,” I murmured resignedly. “I’m ready,”
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The fake Fang laughed, its stare hard. “Then hold on. Hold on to everything you know and love, and deny me with everything you’ve got – or give up and perish in the darkness of pure agony, like millions before you.”
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With a flourish, it stepped away from the truck. In a single instant, it seemed to utterly disappear – and the truck took its place, once more set on its path straight toward me.
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The world went black.