Emi was out of breath. He could hear the chaos from the
rampaging centaur. He had taken refuge inside a large store. It was one of
those stores were you could buy a whole bunch of stuff in bulk. He and several
others ran inside the store. People were already dialing 9-1-1. Emi took a deep
breath as he pulled out his phone. He searched the contacts.
He was so glad Symphia had given him her
cell number. She told him to text her any questions he had. She was at work,
but he had no clue how to deal with a centaur. He typed the text as quickly as
he could and pressed entered. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand
up. The centaur was getting closer. He made a mad dash to the back of the
store.
Emi found himself in an aisle of kitchen
ware. He crouched down in the aisle and grabbed a frying pan. He jolted up and
bumped his head on one of the shelfs when his phone rang.
“Oow…” Emi rubbed his head. He pressed
the green button on his phone. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” Symphia demanded.
“A whole food store,” he answered.
“Where’s the centaur?”
“Outside somewhere. I could hear him
rampaging from the front of the store.”
“What did he want from you?”
“He said something about giving him my
powers. A guy tried to stop him and then he stomped on him. I ran first chance
I got.”
“Centaurs aren’t normally violent.”
Symphia muttered on the end.
“Well not everyone is a stereotype,” Emi
replied, “Because this one is violent. You should have seen the way he stomped
that guy. It was terrifying.”
“I know. We have patients entering the
hospital right now. But I’m on my way to you. So just hang tight until I get
there.”
“Will do.” Emi saluted. A click later and
his phone was back in his pocket. Several other people had joined him. They
each had similar ideas to him as they grabbed kitchen ware as potential
weapons. Some cuddled their families that were with them. Emi began practicing
breathing techniques as he tried to stay calm. It was becoming difficult as he
felt like his throat was closing off. He really needed some fresh air.
But with a centaur rampaging outside, he
wasn’t about to go out there.
There was a loud bang and people screamed
as they jumped, hugging their loved ones tightly to them. There were a few more
bangs before there was the shattering of glass. Emi felt his hair stand on end
as he heard the struggled breathing. Whatever it was was growing tired. Emi
knew that it could only be the centaur though. He gripped the pan tighter as he
listened to the steps.
Clack-Clack. Clack-Clack.
He was amazed that stepping on broken
glass didn’t hurt the centaur’s hooves. Though maybe the centaur was hyped up
on adrenaline and couldn’t feel pain.
The steps grew closer. Emi felt like the
centaur was only a row or two away. People cried and backed away as the creature
walked up and down the rows.
Emi’s blue eyes widened in terror as he
saw a glimpse of the centaur walking up to the end of the row. Emi shrunk down
and attempted to crawl under the row itself. Maybe then the centaur wouldn’t
notice him.
The centaur’s pupils shrunk as he took
notice of raven hair. He had grabbed hold of several raven heads looking for
the new deity but it was the only feature he could use to find the deity. He
yanked at the tuff of black hair.
A loud yelp escaped as several others
cried.
“There you are,” came the low growl.
Emi’s blue eyes struggled to look back at
the centaur. He attempted to grip the pan tighter but he wound up grabbing air.
When the centaur grabbed him, he had dropped the pan.
Curses! I’m going to die… and
defenseless too boot!
Emi closed his eyes as he took a deep
breath. He really was having trouble breathing. But if he didn’t scream now,
how would a knight in shining armor come to save him. He curled up his body as
he built up everything inside of himself.
The scream shocked the centaur, but he
only held the deity farther from him. If the deity was any good with his
powers, he would have used them earlier. Everyone screamed with him, some
couldn’t find the strength to move while others made a mad dash out of there.
Several bottles popped opened a few rows
down. People hollered as they ran from the flooding row. The small river of
soda and juice came under the rows towards Emi and the centaur.
“So that is your power?”
“You want my power and you don’t even
know what it is?” Emi screeched, his voice hoarse from screaming.
The centaur nodded.
“Isn’t that just stupid? I mean, why
would you want a power if you don’t know what it is? For you all know, my power
could be the stupidest power ever!” Emi waved his hand. “Why do you even want
my power anyway?”
“So I can be stronger,” the centaur
answered simply.
“But for what purpose?” Emi crossed his
arms. “Why do you need my power to be stronger?”
The centaur thought for a moment. “How
else will I get stronger?”
“By working out,” Emi answered
matter-of-factly. “But for what purpose do you need to be stronger? You seem
plenty strong to me. My powers would only be a hindrance to you. They are for
me.”
“Purpose?”
“Yeah. Why do you need to be stronger?”
Emi stated. “Were you challenged to a fight by another centaur and you’re
worried you might not be able to take him?”
“No. I am the strongest centaur there
is,” he stated sternly. It was as if he was insulted by the very notion.
“Then why do you need my powers?” Emi
asked again. “I’d at least like to know why I’m being yanked in the air by my
hair. By the way, it really hurts.” He gestured to his hair that was wrapped
around the centaur’s hand.
“Oh,” the centaur simply said. He lower
Emi to the ground cautiously. “Do not run away again.”
“I’ll wait to hear your reason,” Emi
shrugged as he sat down, crossing his legs. “After that, I make no promises.”
The centaur nodded as he thought for a
brief moment. “I need your powers because Ethel told me I needed to bring her
something valuable. What could be more valuable than the power of a deity?”
“Ah,” Emi nodded. “Did you ask Ethel to
marry you? Is that why she wants something valuable?”
The centaur turned red and glared at Emi.
“Are you a mind reader deity?”
“No. But I know enough stereotypes to
tell that my life just became a manga.” Emi shrugged. “Though I doubt Ethel
wants my powers. I think she was referring to something else when she said she
wanted something valuable.”
“What else could Ethel want?” the centaur
threw his hands in the air.
Emi smiled at the centaur. He opened his
mouth, but a voice cut him off.
“Emi!” Symphia cried as she rushed to hug
him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, the centaur and I are talking.”
Emi stated. “He wants my powers to give to a lady named Ethel that he proposed
to. Love isn’t my area, but it’s yours. Would you mind giving him a hand?”
Symphia light up like a Christmas tree.
“It is my specialty!” She jumped up and grabbed the centaur’s hands. “Don’t
worry, I’ll help you achieve a happy love life.” She turned over the centaur’s
hands and stare intently into his palms. Her eyes glowed magenta as she traced
lines on his hands. Strings formed around her. The strings disappeared shortly
after and her eyes turned back to their warm brown. “I know something that
she’ll find valuable.”
“Is it jewelry?” Emi smiled. “Girls
really like jewelry.”
“Exactly!” Symphia nodded. “I know just
the kind. Harris, would you mind coming with me?”
“How do you know my name?” The centaur
took a step back from her.
“Because I’m a love deity. Names are an
easy thing to find,” she winked. “Now come on.”
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