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“The fuck?!” The thugs drew their weapons, which made the cops draw theirs, but Hector had already grabbed his second thug by the arm. He flung him into the third like a rag doll, and they both stayed down. Hector turned to the fourth, took a bullet in the chest, and punched the man so hard that he felt the guy’s jaw break.

“Holy shit. Who the--” A gunshot cut the words short.

He spun around in time to see Colt gun two other officers down, the third already on the ground. All in the back of the head, before they even knew what happened.

Colt looked at him. “Hey, you’re that kid, aren’t you? What’s with the mask?”

Hector was on him in a blink. He slapped the gun away and shoved him against the wall. “What are you doing?! Why did you kill them?!”

“What can I say? My boss is a family man.” Colt squirmed under Hector’s grip. “You know, you really should’ve listened--”

Hector felt the blade enter below his chin. Everything flashed and went dark.

This was a familiar feeling. Emptiness. A vague notion of being in a vacuum. No life, no breath, no light, nothing to sense or be conscious of.

And then he was back. He sat up, discovering he had been on the floor. He shook his head, blinking. “What happened...?”

‘I’m sorry, Hector... I couldn’t revive you fast enough...’

“Wh-what? I don’t--”

‘Colt stabbed you. The knife pierced your brain. You still need your brain. I had to resurrect you.’

He climbed to his feet. His mask had come off, but that wasn't his first concern. “Where’d he go?”

‘I don’t know. I couldn’t follow him and revive you at the same time.’