Two Page Shorts by Nick Venom (ebook reader for surface pro TXT) 📕

me, sir. You’re not supposed to be coming from the employee’s entrance. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” A staff member told the man. “If you refuse to leave, I will contact the police.”

The man scoffed at the staff member, brandishing a metal chain from his belt. He grabbed one end of the chain, holding it threateningly. The staff member retreated a few steps, glancing around for somebody else to deal with the man. 

“You’re not my target… move away.” He growled. The staff member stumbled out of his path, shaking at the man’s aura. He felt like he was going to suffocate because of the man’s intimidating aura. 

Now with the staff members and the customers deciding to not intervene, the man was able to press forward. He stopped in the middle of the room, looking around for his target. He noticed that one of the staff members, one of the cooks, was smashing numbers on a phone but ignored him. None of the staff members was his target. 

“Where is… Jarvis?” The man’s voice boomed.

Jarvis’s eyes widened. He looked away from the man and Andy followed suit. Neither of them wanted to be recognized by the man who had malicious intentions. 

The man continued to look around for Jarvis, but couldn’t find him easily. I need to find him! Otherwise… they’ll harm her. Damn you, Jarvis. Appear and let’s get this over. He thought to himself before flooding his mind with the appearance of Jarvis and what he was wearing the night he was captured. All of his information was given to him by Death Trooper and Arin.

“Where are you, Jarvis? Appear or I kill everybody here.” He remarked, gripping the chain in his hand tightly. The threat wasn’t empty.

“What do I do?” Jarvis whispered to Andy.

Andy bit his lip. “I… I don’t know. He must be with the people who kidnapped you. But we can’t let innocent-”

“You two.” The man growled. Jarvis and Andy turned to face the man, who was smirking at them. “One of you is Jarvis, I presumed. The other isn’t.” The man muttered, going over the information provided to him about Jarvis’s appearance. Unfortunately for Jarvis, he was still dressed in the same clothes from the previous night, allowing the man to deduce which of them was his target. 

Andy’s eyes widened as the man approached them. He had control of one end while the other end dragged behind him. However, it quickly shifted from being dragged on the floor to scrapping against the ceiling to striking the table. The swift attack split the table Jarvis and Andy were eating at in half.

“Woah, what the hell!” Jarvis exclaimed, shooting up from his seat. He stared at the man with horrified eyes. “Who are you? Why are you after me?”

“Ironix,” Ironix muttered. “Don’t worry about why you’ve been targeted. Come with me peacefully and nobody dies. Otherwise, there’ll be a massacre.”

Jarvis bit his lip, contemplating his options. He didn’t want to go peacefully and give up his freedom to the people who kidnapped him, but he didn’t want bloodshed. Especially innocent people’s blood.

Andy, meanwhile, watched Jarvis’s face and saw him hesitate. He’s going to give in, right? No, don’t do that! But… what about the others? They’ll die if he doesn’t go with Ironix. He thought to himself, bitting hard on his cheek. Wait… could he fight back if they were outside and the innocents are evacuated. That’s a genius idea! Andy glanced around for a way to push Ironix outside, discovering it with a nearby fire extinguisher. He looked up at Ironix, who was glaring at Jarvis and waiting for his answer. He wasn’t paying any attention to Andy, who he considered as not of importance. This created a golden opportunity for Andy, who dove forward and sprinted for the fire extinguisher. The staff and customers watched with fear as Ironix turned around to deal with Andy.

However, Jarvis made up his mind and attacked Ironix before he could attack Andy. He fired off a blast of raw energy that smacked into Ironix’s back. Although the energy was enough to burn through his clothing, Ironix was dealt no damage. 

Ironix turned on his heels to face Jarvis with a large grin on his face. He swung his chain at Jarvis, nicking his shoulder. “It doesn’t matter to me how you die, but… you can’t say I didn’t give you a chance.” He muttered as he went for a second strike. The strike saw the chain piercing Jarvis’s left side and digging into it before being yanked out. It left a shallow wound in its wake. 

Meanwhile, Andy grabbed the fire extinguisher and turned to face Ironix. He glanced at the staff and customers, who were all huddling under their tables or in corners. “Get out through the back!” He whisper-shouted. One of the staff members nodded and began to move people from their tables and shuffle them through the kitchen and out the backdoor. They did this as quickly as they could while the battle raged onward. It was quickly leaning towards Ironix’s advantage as he was able to keep his distance and attack Jarvis from afar while Jarvis was working with a power he wasn’t familiar with and couldn’t control while also trapped in the corner booth. He was losing and it was becoming apparent.

Andy gnashed his teeth as he sprinted towards Ironix with the fire extinguisher. Once he got close enough to Ironix, he sprayed the contents of the extinguisher onto him. The extinguisher dealt no damage, but it did allow Jarvis to escape the corner at Andy’s insistence.

“Go outside!” Andy shouted. Jarvis nodded, not affected by the extinguisher’s contents. He dove out of the corner booth, no longer trapped. He now sprinted out of the front door with Ironix glaring at him.

Ironix turned to face Andy, who sprinted out of the front door. Andy was unarmed, so he kept his distance from Ironix to avoid being killed without any resistance. Unlike Jarvis who could fight back, Andy was a normal human. He couldn’t survive a single attack from Ironix.

“You… You’re not a target, so leave before I have to kill you.” Ironix told him. Andy stopped, turning around to face Ironix. He spat in front of him - treating that action as his answer. Ironix shrugged his shoulders in response. “Suit yourself then.” He remarked, holding one end of the chain tightly with one hand. The other hand dipped to his belt, brandishing a throwing knife. He threw it at Andy, grazing his cheek. Andy barely dodged it in time. 

“Andy!” Jarvis shouted, seeing blood spray from the wound on Andy’s face. Fortunately, the wound was small and wouldn’t lead to his death. 

“I’m fine, focus on stopping that crazy bastard!” Andy shouted, retreating several steps backward. Jarvis nodded, acknowledging Andy’s words, and fired off several more blasts of energy. His attacks burn through Ironix’s clothes, but none of them crack through his skin. It was as if his skin was a permanent shield against Jarvis’s attacks. 

“Damn,” Jarvis muttered. His attacks were powerful, but it was evident that he lacked experience and control as his attacks were often random bursts of energy, some being long blasts while others were short. He hadn’t even scratched the surface of his powers, but yet he engaged in two fights since gaining the powers. Everything was moving too quickly for him.

While Ironix attacked Jarvis with his chain and Jarvis counterattacked with his blasts of energy, a gas truck rolled into the restaurant’s parking lot. The driver wasn’t paying attention, half-awake. He shambled out of his truck, swaying back and forth as his sleepy eyes led him towards the restaurant. He was starving and tired, a dangerous combo for a truck driver.

Andy approached the man, stopping him before he entered the fighting zone. “Sir, please leave!” He told the driver. The driver furrowed his brows and tilted his head.

“What ‘ya mean? I-” He glanced at Ironix landing a strike, watching as the chain wrapped around Jarvis’s back and front. Ironix yanked on it, retrieving his chain while causing more damage to Jarvis. The chain tore several finger-length wounds into his body. 

“Ahhhhh!” Jarvis shouted through his teeth. “Damn you, bastard!” He shouted, this time with a clear voice. Ironix, however, could care less about Jarvis’s words. He approached Jarvis and struck at him again, piercing his body and forcing him to his knees. The wounds weren’t small anymore, now growing by severity and number of them. The chain was littered with sharp points that tear into skin and tickle bones. Jarvis knew from first-hand experience how sharp the points were as they continued to pull on and break his skin. The broken skin would then release blood. He was bleeding out gallons because of the wounds. Soon, if he wasn’t patched up, death would be in the cards for him.

“Stop resisting Jarvis. They want you alive.” He muttered.

Jarvis cracked a smile. He glanced at the gas truck, eyeing it hungrily. The driver and Andy are far enough, but… will it be enough to escape from him? He thought to himself. Andy looked in his direction before at the truck. He quickly deduced Jarvis’s plan.

“Sir, I need your truck right now,” Andy said, rushing to the driver’s seat.

“Hell no! That’s my truck, don’t you dare touch it!” The driver shouted, but he wasn’t faster than Andy. Andy slid into the driver’s seat and quickly moved the gear into drive. He slammed on the gas pedal and angled the car towards Ironix, nearly hitting the driver in the process.

Andy barreled the gas truck towards Ironix but slowed down as he approached him. He put the truck to a stop, some distance from Ironix, and jumped out of the truck. He turned to face Jarvis, holding up a thumbs up. Jarvis didn’t respond instantly, focused on what was in front of him. Ironix stopped attacking him, now staring at him.

“Why were you picked?” He asked.

Jarvis shrugged his shoulders. “Dumb luck?”

Ironix smirked. “There is no such thing as luck. Only your decisions.” He remarked.

Jarvis nodded, glancing at the gas truck. “You’re right, there isn’t luck… only our decisions right?”

Ironix nodded. “What happened earlier with your friend wasn’t luck, but a decision he made. When you escaped my first attack wasn’t luck, but a decision you made.”

Jarvis didn’t say anything, simply rising to his feet. Ironix allowed him to get back to his feet as it would be easier to take him standing than sitting. 

Jarvis glared at Ironix, glancing at Andy for a split second before focusing his attention solely on Ironix. “Who is after me?”

Ironix shook his head. “Can’t say.

“What can you say then?”

“Not much.”

Jarvis bit his lip. “Then can I say something before you take me in?” Ironix nodded, seeing no reason to refuse. “Can my powers ignite a fire?”

Ironix furrowed his brows. “Ignite fire?” He questioned. He looked around, noticing the gas truck. His eyes widened as he realized Jarvis’s plan. Using Ironix’s narrow view, Andy moved the gas truck close to him without him even realizing it. Then Jarvis prepared himself and readied the first blast. Once he was ready, he fired the blasts of energy into the gas truck and hoped that it would be close enough to be affected by it. Everything was founded on his hope that his amateur plan would work.

Fortunately for him, his hope was enough. He executed his plan and the blast of energy passed Ironix and struck the gas truck. The single blast was enough to create a spark amidst the gas and create a large explosion. The explosion shook the ground, knocking everybody to the ground. The flames consumed Ironix and tickled at Jarvis. They also began spreading towards the restaurant, but Andy kept them at bay with the fire extinguisher. However, he wasn’t able to maintain them for long as Jarvis called him over. He released the rest of the contents before running towards Jarvis. Both men sprinted as quickly as they could, leaving Ironix engulfed in flames, a spreading fire, and a shocked driver.