Battling Guilt Part1

She angrily sauntered down the dark hallway, seeking out a medium for the vengence she craved; an impure soul that she could wreak havoc on. Petra was so angry that her hands were shaking; she was burning with fury at the loss of her cousin, Thor.

She couldn't take her anger out on the man who killed him, because he took his own life. She wandered towards the end of the hallway of the abandoned hospital, unable to find any of Ivan's cultic cohorts; the goons he hired to track down Thor.

Petra left a hole in the wall with one harsh thrust. Even her endless strength wasn't enough to save the life of the only person in the world who ever gave a damn about her. The next day, she drank herself to a stupor, unable to shake the images of Thor's death from her mind.

She tried desperately to relive the moment, searching for any hint of what she could have done differently, any hope that she possibly could have saved him. And when she wasn't searching for an answer that might not be there, she was guzzling down shots of whiskey, staring at her acorn shaped brown eyes in the mirror, the eyes that Ivan fell in love with.

It's my fault, she thought. I'm the reason Thor didn't make it to his 21st birthday. Because Petra always had to be the hero, right? Her inhuman strength was what branded her with the role of the paragon of hope, the impossibly strong, brave, reliable, and responsible woman that everyone ran to when they needed help.

So of course she couldn't help but drown herself in her own guilt for Thor falling to his death. The night that it happened, everything was normal. Or it seemed normal anyway.

It had been months since Petra had broken up with Ivan, so he was the last thing on her mind. Petra and Thor had a family tradition where they would meet once a week for pizza to complain about toxic family members, and overall get into petty mischief such as making fun of tacky outifts at the club, or overspending on pizza and burgers.

This night was a combination of both. "Have you told your mom about your super strength yet?" asked Thor before stuffing a double cheeseburger in his mouth. Petra scoffed.

"And what gave you the idea that was actually a plan?"

Thor shrugged. "You're probably right," he said, wiping ketchup and mustard off of his stubble covered chin.

Petra let out a snort filled chuckle. "Do you know what my mom would do if she found out I had super strength? She would chew me out for keeping this a secret from her for so long and then faint. And then wake-up and chew me out again for whatever else I've done wrong in my life."

Thor laughed in agreement. "You do have a point. No offense but Aunt Bethany has a low threshold for anything she can't understand and control..."

"You don't have to sugar coat shit, Thor. I get it. My mom is a control freak."

"Well I mean come on, you're about to be 24. You've told me. Can't you at least tell your brothers?"

Petra shook her head. "They're worse. They'll just call me a freak and shun me more than they do now." Petra picked up her phone and looked at the time. It was 10:40. She looked up at the star scattered sky and then at Thor.

"Okay enough trash talking. Let's go get our party on."

Thor yawned. "I don't know if I'm up for it tonight. I had a ten hour shift at the mill today."

Petra puckered her lips and widened her eyes. "Please?"

"THE PUPPY DOG POUT? REALLY PETRA?" Thor rolled his eyes. "Fine. But only because you're so annoying."

Enjoy this post? Feel free to tip me and I may just post part 2 sooner than later.