Blazing Hero Chapter Two: Seven Years Later

Current Time

The midday sun blazed over the bustling city, its streets were alive with chatter, market stalls, and the clatter of passing carts. But cutting through the chaos came the pounding of swift footsteps and the sharp voice of a teenager on a run.

“Get back here, Marco!”

A young teen with messy black hair and a confident smirk dashed through the crowd, weaving between startled pedestrians with practiced ease. He moved like a cat, agile and light on his feet, his red eyes flicking from obstacle to obstacle. Unlike the group behind him, he didn’t push a single soul out of the way.

Behind him, five larger, older boys barreled through the street like a stampede of angry bulls. People shouted as they were shoved aside. Vendors cursed as fruit baskets toppled and carts rattled from the disturbance.

“Watch it!” Someone yelled.

But Marco didn’t stop. His grin only grew.

He rounded a sharp corner to the left and darted into a narrow alley. His heart was pounding, but his steps were steady. This wasn’t the first time he’d been chased and it probably wouldn’t be the last.

“You can’t run forever, Marco!” Roared the biggest of the group. He had a square jaw, short brown hair, and wore a filthy jersey smeared with dirt and garbage. The others weren’t much better, trash clung to them like they’d rolled through a dump.

“When we catch you!” The leader growled. “You’ll pay for that stupid prank!”

Ahead, a tall chain-link fence blocked the alley’s end.

Marco didn’t hesitate.

He leapt up and scaled the fence with ease, his fingers finding every foothold, his body moving like he’d done it a thousand times. As he reached the top, he glanced back down at his pursuers, now reaching the base of the fence.

Perched at the top, Marco flashed a cocky smirk. “You guys will never catch me!”

The teens below roared in frustration and scrambled up after him—but they weren’t nearly as fast. By the time the first of them reached halfway up, Marco had already dropped to the other side and taken off again, his laughter echoing down the alley as he vanished from sight.

—--------------------------------

Thirty minutes later, Marco was still running, his breaths shallow and sharp, legs burning from the effort. The streets had grown quieter, more open, until the only sound echoing through the sunlit road was the rhythmic slap of his own feet on the pavement.

‘Did they give up?’ Marco wondered, glancing over his shoulder. That was a mistake.

WHAM!

His body slammed into something or someone and Marco hit the ground hard.

“Ow...” He groaned, wincing as he sat up and rubbed his side.

Blinking up, Marco saw a tall figure standing before him. A boy—maybe a few years older—stood over six feet, with neat blond hair, sharp features, and dressed in a perfectly pressed black suit. The collision hadn’t even budged him. He looked down at Marco with mild surprise, then broke into a small, almost nostalgic smile.

“Didn’t think I’d see you again so soon.” The blond said casually, offering his hand.

Marco blinked, confused, but accepted the gesture. The taller boy pulled him up with ease.

As Marco brushed himself off, he looked up into the stranger’s face and noticed his striking green eyes, calm, observant and somehow familiar.

“Have we met before?” Marco asked, tilting his head, clearly puzzled.

The blond’s smile faltered. “You don’t remember me?” He asked, a frown tugging at his lips. His expression turned thoughtful, distant. “I guess... that's fair. After your father’s death, I imagine I didn’t cross your mind much.”

The words hit Marco like a brick.

His eyes widened. “Wait—how did you—?”

But before he could finish the question, the blond held up a hand to stop him.

“Listen,” He said quickly. “I don’t have time to explain right now. But we will talk. My name’s John.”

He started walking across a street and passed by a crowd going the other direction, raising his hand in farewell.

“Let’s meet again, Marco.”

And just like that, John turned and disappeared into the thinning crowd, leaving Marco standing there—heart racing, mind reeling.

“Marco!”

Before Marco had a chance to process his strange encounter with the blond stranger, his name was shouted again—this time in a raging voice from behind.

He turned quickly and his heart sank.

There they were.

The five familiar figures, all panting and flushed, finally caught up with him. Their clothes were still stained with dirt and trash, and their faces glistened with sweat.

“We finally found you,” Wheezed the shortest of the group, a brown-haired teen hunched over and gasping for air.

Marco gave them a cheerful smile and a mock wave, clearly enjoying himself. “Hey! What took you guys so long?”

“You little—!” Growled a brown-skinned teen with sharp black hair and intense brown eyes. “Just wait ‘til I get my hands on you. I’ll punch that stupid smile right off your face!”

“Right, but first…” Marco winked. “You still have to catch me.”

He gave them a lazy two-fingered salute, spun on his heel and took off sprinting down the street, somehow still full of energy despite the long chase.

The group just stood there for a second, stunned.

“…How does he do this?” The short brunette muttered, hands on his knees.

“Don’t know,” Grumbled the brown-skinned teen, wiping his forehead. “But I’m out. I need a shower.”

“Yeah, we should stop,” Sighed a long-haired teen, slumping against a lamppost. “We’re not catching him today.”

“But he humiliated us! In front of the whole school!” Protested the biggest one, his face still red with anger.

The one with the widest frame, who had barely said a word until now, finally spoke up, arms crossed. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him… at school. He can’t run forever.”

The others nodded, already plotting their next revenge but deep down, they all knew, Marco wasn’t going to make it easy.

—---------------------------------------

The late afternoon sky was painted in brilliant hues of orange and gold, bleeding into deepening shades of blue near the horizon. Wisps of cloud drifted lazily away, chased by a soft breeze, clearing the way for a starry night with the twin moons rising.

Marco walked alone through a quiet neighborhood, his pace finally slowed to a calm stroll. Every house he passed had its own personality painted in different colors, built in distinct shapes. No two homes were the same, and that gave the street a warm, lived-in charm.

He came to a stop in front of a red two-story house, surrounded by a simple metal wire fence. Its exterior was familiar and comforting—worn in the way home should be. He pushed open the gate, which gave a small metallic creak, and made his way toward the porch.

‘I wonder who that guy was.’ Marco thought, his brows furrowing. ‘He seemed familiar, but I can’t remember where I saw him. Oh well... if he really does know me, I’ll probably run into him again.’

He sighed as his eyes drifted up to the front door.

‘A better question is... how do I explain to Mom that I missed some classes again?’

He stepped onto the short porch stairs, the wood creaking slightly under his weight. Pulling a small card key from his pocket, he quietly slid it into the lock. The door opened with a faint click, and Marco slipped inside.

The interior was modest but cozy.

A brown carpet stretched across the living room floor. Two small sofas sat on opposite sides of the room, facing a compact plasma nestled on a wooden stand. The ceiling was white, with two lightbulbs casting a warm glow. To the right, an open view revealed part of the kitchen, and in the center of the home, a staircase led up to the second floor.

Marco gently closed the front door behind him, careful not to let it slam. He then tiptoed forward, moving on the balls of his feet with the stealth of a well-practiced escape artist.

Just as he was about to place his foot on the bottom stair—

“Hrrm.” A low grunt echoed from the kitchen behind him.

Marco froze.

Slowly, he turned his head toward the sound.

“Where have you been!?” The furious voice cut through the room like a whip. It was sharp, feminine, and heavy with a distinctive accent that made it all the more terrifying.

Marco slowly turned around, his back stiff.

Standing at the entrance of the kitchen was a tan-skinned woman in her mid-forties, no taller than five feet but radiating the presence of someone twice her size. Her long black hair was braided neatly down her back. She wore a yellow apron over a red blouse and blue pants, and in her brown eyes, there was fire.

“Uh… hey, Ma.” Marco said nervously, forcing a sheepish smile. “How was the bakery today?”

His tone was casual, but his eyes screamed panic.

“It’s fine,” She said through gritted teeth, stepping forward. “But that’s not what I asked. Now tell me? Where have you been? Or else.”

Before Marco could dodge, she lunged and pinched his ear hard with her nails, twisting just enough to make him squeal.

“OW, OW, OKAY—LET GO, I’LL TALK!” Marco cried, hopping in place as little tears welled up at the corners of his eyes.

She released him, arms crossed, one foot tapping furiously.

“So? Where. Have. You. Been?” she demanded. “I got a call from the school saying you weren’t in class.”

Marco took a breath and threw his hands up, diving into his usual strategy: talk fast and sound heroic.

“Okay, okay, so here’s what happened. I was just minding my own business at lunch, right? When I saw these guys messing with the new girl. It looked like she was in trouble. And since I’m such a great person, I decided to help.”

His mother narrowed her eyes.

“Now, I could’ve gone up to them and told them to back off—but you told me not to fight in school anymore ‘cause I’d get in trouble. So instead… I came up with a genius plan.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I snuck behind them and tossed trash at their heads. They never saw me coming. The teachers didn’t catch me, the girl was fine, and the jerks? They soon started chasing me over the neighborhood. ”

Marco grinned proudly and thumped his chest. “And I outran them through the whole city! Pretty sure Dad would be proud.”

His mother’s expression went from disbelief… to fury.

SMACK!

“OW—WHAT THE HELL, MOM?” Marco cried, clutching the new bump on his head.

“You almost got into a fight, and you almost got in trouble again!” She snapped, her hands shaking as she glared at him. “Do you know how much trouble you’re causing me, muchacho?”

Marco winced. “I was just trying to help...”

“Did she even ask for your help?” She asked, her voice low now—but no less dangerous.

“Well… no,” Marco admitted, scratching the back of his neck. “But come on, I couldn’t just leave her. That’s not what Dad would’ve done.”

Her face fell at the mention of Leo.

“Marco…” she sighed, trying to rein in her anger. “You could’ve gotten hurt. I know you feel like you have to help everyone now that your father’s gone, but you have to learn to think. If someone doesn’t ask for help, it’s not your place to jump in swinging. There are other ways. Responsible ways. Tell a teacher. Call the police. Don’t make yourself a target.”

“But what if helping people helps me find the man who killed Dad?” Marco said suddenly.

That silenced her.

She looked at him—really looked. Behind the stubbornness, behind the pride, she saw what she’d feared for years: a boy chasing vengeance.

“I doubt helping a girl with some school bullies is going to find him,” She said gently. “And Marco... you know how I feel about you going down that road. It’s just asking for trouble.” She pleaded wanting her son to just live his life.

“But don’t you want him to pay for what he did?”

“Of course I do,” She whispered. “But nothing—nothing—will bring your father back. And I won’t lose you too. You’re all I have left.”

Marco looked away, guilt bubbling up. “...Fine.”

She nodded, satisfied for now. “Good. Now go wash up—lunch is almost ready.”

Marco turned to go upstairs when he heard her call out again.

“Oh—and Marco Torrez!”

He froze at the use of his full name.

“You’re grounded for a week.”

“Awwwwwwww!” His groan echoed all the way up the stairs.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10,000 years ago. Deep space. Ark Horizon.

Shortly after the recon droid's discovery of a habitable planet

Captain Ricardo Torrez sat in the high-backed command chair at the center of the bridge, the weight of 10,000 lives pressing down on his shoulders like the hull of the dying ship. The soft hum of flickering systems and dim red emergency lights filled the room with quiet urgency.

His elbows were on his knees, eyes locked on the flickering data pad in front of him. Displayed was a still image of a vibrant, alien world—the one their recon droid had just discovered. His grip tightened around the screen.

The automatic doors hissed open, and fifteen figures stepped inside—seven men and eight women, each of them a department head aboard the Ark Horizon. Engineers, medics, officers, specialists. They were from all ethnicities, backgrounds, and ages, united only by shared trauma. Each bearing the wear and weight of too many sleepless days.

You could see it in their eyes, the exhaustion, grief, and resolve. These were people who had given everything... and had precious little left to give.

One of them, a tall, pale man with sunken eyes, broke the silence, and a logistics officer named Henry cleared his throat. “Why were we summoned to the bridge, Captain? What’s going on?”

Before Ricardo could answer, a voice snapped from the rear.

“I still have a medbay full of injured!” Barked Dr. Nia Alvarez, the head of medical. Her normally calm demeanor cracked with frustration. “You can’t just call me out of triage in the middle of treating burn victims and not enough staff to treat them all. Ricardo!”

“I second that,” Grunted Chief Engineer Baret Velez, arms crossed, his jumpsuit stained with grease and ash. “Half the outer decks are one bad spark away from collapse. My team’s stretched thin and I need to be down there supporting them.”

Ricardo raised a hand, calm but firm. “I understand. But this couldn’t wait.”

His eyes scanned the room and narrowed. “Where’s Dr. Takahata?”

There was a brief silence.

The head of agriculture, a soft-spoken older woman named Mei-Lin, answered quietly. “He’s… still grieving. He lost his wife and daughter during our hasty launch last week.”

Ricardo sighed, pain flickering across his face but he rubbed his temples to ignore the feeling. “Of course he is.”

But before sympathy could settle in the room, a low scoff came from the corner.

“Tch.” Growled General Darius Carlson, the head of security and the only one in the room missing an arm, a mechanical brace clamped tightly over his right shoulder. “The good doctor needs to pull himself together. We’ve all lost someone and he has to get himself together and start working.”

That struck a nerve.

“Are you serious right now!?” Snapped Yasmin Kaur, head of communications. “Have you lost all empathy? That man lost his family. You think we can just ignore that?!”

Carlson’s expression didn’t change if anything this only made him angrier. “And?! Did you also not lose someone?”

This shot Yasmin down as she lost the will to argue. Causing pain to cross her face.

The general’s voice was low but sharp. “You think I volunteered to be pulled out of the rubble while my squad died screaming? This isn’t about feelings. It’s about survival.”

The room fell quiet.

Because as cruel as he sounded… he wasn’t wrong. Every person on this bridge had lost someone. Some had lost everything. And yet, here they were still working. Still standing and trying to keep everything together as best as they can.

Ricardo stood slowly, placing a hand on the console beside his chair.

“Let’s not tear each other down,” He said firmly. “Because we may have finally found a solution to some of our problems.”

That got their attention.

Heads turned. Postures straightened.

“A solution?” Baret asked.

Ricardo pressed a key. The dim lights brightened slightly as the main holoscreen activated, displaying a rotating image of a strange but breathtaking world—vibrant blue oceans, sprawling landmasses of alien color, two moons hanging in orbit.

“We found something.” Ricardo said, voice steady, “This is a habitable planet. Oxygen-rich, stable gravity, minimal radiation. It’s within range even with our depleting resources.”

A few gasped softly.

But not everyone was impressed.

“So… no signs of Earth colonies?” Yasmin asked quietly.

Ricardo shook his head. “No. No transmissions. No structures. No signs of other survivors.”

General Carlson slammed a fist on the wall.

“So we’re really relying on dumb luck now.”

“Luck?!” Baret snapped. “You saw what hit us, Carlson! We were under fire when we launched and those bastards almost tore the hyperdrive apart. We were never supposed to make it this far!”

“You’re damn right we weren’t. We shouldn't have been running in the first place!” Carlson retorted. “We should’ve stood our ground. Fought to the last. Died like soldiers and not running away like rats.”

Ricardo’s expression hardened.

“And what? This ship is filled with civilians, General! Were we supposed to allow the civilians we desperately rescued die? Let the children die? Tell me, General—was that your plan?”

Carlson’s eyes blazed. “We should’ve fought to the last man. Died with honor and avenged Earth.”

Ricardo’s eyes narrowed. “Still upset we pulled you out of that crash zone, huh?”

Carlson’s face darkened. “I’d rather have died with my squad than live with this… cowardice.”

Voices rose, tensions flared.  They each took a step toward each other, tension rising like a stormfront—but several officers moved between them quickly, urging them apart.

“Woooh. Let's calm down. I know things are bad but let's not make it worse by attacking ourselves.” Said Nicoles, the youngest of the group and head pilot of the spacejets.

Ricardo took a breath, cooling the heat in his chest. Then, with a press of a button, he refocused the holoscreen.

“This planet, I’ve designated it the name Tierra.”

There was a beat of silence.

“…Really?” Nicoles muttered. “Tierra? That’s what you’re going with?”

“…Couldn’t you come up with a better name?” Yasmin muttered.

Ricardo blushed faintly. “It’s a good name.”

Mild groans of disapproval followed but they faded quickly as the crew examined the planet more closely. Despite the teasing, their eyes locked on the image of the planet, its rolling valleys, violet forests, glistening seas.

“Looks stable,” Muttered Dr. Alvarez. “It could work. If the biosphere doesn’t kill us first.”

“Who knows what kind of danger could be waiting for us.” Carlson muttered.

“Still better than waiting for the ship to collapse around us.” Baret said.

“Agreed,” Yasmin added, her voice firm now. “We have no choice.”

Ricardo looked at every face in the room—wounded, weary, weathered—but still willing to fight.

“Rho, use all our speed to Tierra and prepare for descent protocols,” he ordered. “We make planetfall the moment we arrive..”

Second chapter done. Tell me what you think and if I made any mistakes and if you have any suggestions.