The blinding lights may have been behind them, but they weren’t out of the woods just yet. The police helicopter followed, refusing to give in where his comrades on the ground had already accepted defeat.

  Gabriel took a glancing look back and noticed the helicopter wasn’t going to quit. He clutched his father tightly and turned his head back around. His wings propelled backward; then, he soared through the air as fast as he could.

  The effort triggered streaks of black lines to flood his vision once more. He was running on empty, but he was left with no choice but to empty the tank. He pushed and pushed, his body fighting back against every surge forward, refusing to cooperate with Gabriel’s wishes.

  Come on, I know I’ve put you through the wringer, but I need one last push. Please… for both of our sakes.

  Gabriel’s grip started to loosen. And Robert noticed immediately, glancing from the corner of his eye, concern laced across his features. Gabriel’s once firm, assertive grip was giving out.

  “Dragonblade… you sure you're alright? Everything okay up there?”

  Damn it. He noticed. Of course he did. Gabriel could feel his own body giving out, too.

  “Everything’s okay. Just hang on.”

  But the crack in his voice and the subtle slur were enough of an indicator to tell Robert he needed to worry. Gabriel ignored the 'fuel on empty' signs and pushed again—harder. His stomach began to churn; his muscles tightened and loosened as he came in and out of consciousness. His brain had given up, but willpower was the only thing pushing him forward.

  “We’re losing visual! We need to go faster!” the officer said, looking into the pilot's eyes with a panic-stricken face.

  “We’re going as fast as we can! We haven’t got another gear!” his comrade responded.

  They sat there, watching as Gabriel soared through the air like a bullet released from its chamber. He refused to give up, not when he was so close. All the warning signs were there, but he cast them aside; there was no room to feed into pain and doubt.

  Come on… just a little bit further. We’re so close.

  But you can only will something running on 'E' for so long, and Gabriel was about to find that out the hard way.

  He crashed through an abandoned warehouse window, skidding twenty feet across the concrete floor. When the dust settled Gabriel rose gingerly, blood streaking down his head and his vision groggy. He walked over to the closest pillar and rested against it, his head ringing like a bell and his legs shaky.

  That’s when he looked down and saw himself through a mud-stained puddle. Half his face was showing. Gabriel’s eyes widened in shock.

  “Dragonblade?”

  Gabriel jumped in shock, quickly turning his back toward his father. Robert’s head cast to the side as he spat blood from his mouth.

  “I didn’t mean to make you jump. I was just checking if you were okay... you know… after the fall.”

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  “Like you care.”

  “I do… I do,” Robert said genuinely, arms out in front of him as he pleaded toward Dragonblade. “Anyone willing to put their life and reputation on the line to save me... it means more than you know.”

  “Then repay that by stepping away from your life of crime. You’ve been given a second chance. Use it.”

  “I’m not like the rest of them,” Robert argued.

  “I’m not your prototypical criminal.”

  Gabriel’s lips began to tremor. He wanted to turn around, to shout at his father. To scream. To cry. But he settled for something else entirely: the truth.

  “That’s what every criminal says, Robert. Everyone has their story, their reason as to why they went down the dark road and couldn’t turn back. So, what’s yours?”

  Robert paused for a moment, staring at the only thing Dragonblade gave him: his back.

  “I’ve told so many lies, lived two different lives, all in the name of achieving a goal I thought I was owed,” Robert said. “Now look where it’s got me. A criminal name, broken children, and awards that—once you win them—nobody truly cares about. It’s just on to the next one. It’s 'what have you done for me lately?' In that pursuit of constantly chasing, two boys have been raised that I barely recognize. I barely have my fingerprints on them. They were raised by a wife I don’t even deserve, yet here I am, saved again. So, if you’re looking for me to say I deserve to be saved, I don't. I don’t deserve anything I have in my life... but I needed to save my son.”

  Gabriel’s eyes widened. He cast his hand across his face, trying to hide the tears, but they continued to flow, falling into the puddle and causing the reflection to ripple.

  “Your son… what does your son have to do with this?”

  “There was a man who I got into bed with… a bad guy from my past. I know, before you tell me how stupid that was, I tell myself that every day. Everything was going well; he was the silent investor. He cleaned his money and got what he wanted, and I got what I needed to keep the lights on and actually do something in the science world,” he said.

  “But I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t allow him and his boss to flood the streets with drugs and guns. I have sons—sons around the same age as the kids he’s putting this garbage into the hands of. I couldn’t stand by and watch anymore. So, I told him I wanted out. He wasn’t happy. He intimidated me and tried to bully me, but I was out. He was plotting, though, waiting to get his revenge. Me being absent from home gave him the perfect opportunity. He used my son, Daniel, to get back at me. He has a recording of him in a compromising position and warned me if I didn’t do this, Daniel would go to prison. What choice did I have?”

  Robert’s voice shook with every word that came from his mouth. But Gabriel didn’t move or react; he just continued to look befuddled at the puddle.

  So, the light was on. The police were working with Derrick. It was all a setup. Daniel’s life could have been ruined, all for power and revenge. Gabriel’s fingers curled into a fist and his muscles tightened, as his veins bulged from the corner of his head. Coward! He’s just a kid, and you used him as a pawn in a game that didn't need to be played. You’re sick, Derrick. You’re sick.

  As Gabriel continued to revel in his thoughts, the broken cells of his mask began stitching themselves back together. He took a moment to calm himself, then turned slowly to face his father as his mask neared completion.

  “I get it,” Gabriel said, finally facing him. His mask fully rebuilt. He analyzed his father’s face and immediately noticed the mess he was in. Snot running down his lip and tears flooding his cheeks; he was broken. “We all make mistakes, but now you’ve got to do better.”

  “I know,” said Robert, hanging his head low.

  “We’ll stay here. Keep a low profile and make sure we’re in the clear. Then, when morning comes, I’ll bring you home... to your family.”

  Robert looked up at Dragonblade in shock. “Thank you, Dragonblade. You won’t regret this.”

  “I hope I won’t. Just stay away from a life of crime and be there for your family… okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Robert looked around. The warehouse was grungy and damp; it smelled like old dog and a funky scent you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but it stayed on the edge of your mind. Another dire situation, another roll of the dice that came up with his lucky number. But for Robert, he knew he had used up all nine lives.

  He slumped against a crate, slowly dragging his worn-out body to the ground, and rested his back against it. He had lived enough lives for one lifetime, and he knew the only life still worth living was one that prioritised his family over everything.