The Lone Avenger Chapter Three

Given the function f(x,y) = 2x X 3 + 3y squared +5xy, find af/ax. I stared at the paper, and then squinted, making the problem harder to see. I was sitting in the bay window, doing math homework. had my brown Claire’s Cafe baseball cap on, my brown hair spilling out from under it. The Cafe apron was thrown onto the opposite end of the window seat along with my backpack, and it was quiet. Well, if you don’t count the sounds of Mrs. Cabrera’s soap operas coming from downstairs.

I went back to my math homework, trying harder to focus. I finished the first three problems and kept going. Calculus isn’t as bad as people kept telling me it was, half of the issue is just stressing over it.

I glanced outside at Mrs. Cabrera’s lawn, and overgrown rose bushes. I sighed, knowing after my homework was done I had to mow the lawn. Mrs. Cabrera was too old to mow it anymore, and even though there were other things I could do, it was the way she made sure I got exercise.

I took the baseball cap off and left it with my backpack and went to find the shed keys.

Outside I unlocked the shed, pushed the mower out, and yanked on the start cord several times before the mower groaned and began buzzing against the grass.

I half heartedly started mowing, the gross smell of grass mixed with oil making me crinkle my nose.

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I was finally puting the annoying mower away, and locking the shed back up when it happened. I noticed a boy with freckles sprayed across his nose and flaming red hair run past Mrs. Cabrera’s yard. He was panting hard, and looked frantic, but kept running until he was out of sight. What was that all about? I walked to the curb, and stared, my brown eyes growing huge.

Mrs. Cabera are kind of between suburban and city inhabitants, the buildings aren’t as tall here, but it’s about a ten minute walk away from a subway station.

It was chaos. Flames were spitting from windows, cars were stopped and rammed into each other, people were running and screaming, and in the center of it, two figures. A boy and a girl, both with straight jet black hair, and black tattoos running along their arms.

I wasn’t sure whether to run into the house and lock it, hoping we’d be missed, or to run over there and to get as many people out as possible. I ran up the steps, and into my room, reaching for a cardboard box marked ‘Fencing Gear’ underneath my bed. Inside were several epees, special swords made for fencing that have blunt tips, a fencing mask, and a few pairs of gloves. Not what I was looking for. I dug under all those and found it, a real sword, with a silver handle, and a sharp tip. It had been mom’s, the only thing I actually have from her.

I strapped the sheath against my waist, tied my hair up into a ponytail, and hurried out of my room.

The fires had gotten worse, and spread to several car engines in the crashes, and a whole store was burning. I glanced into the window of the store, realizing how ridiculous I must look. A girl wearing a sword trying to fight a fire. Hilarious. Then I realized there were two pairs of eyes watching me. Two boys that looked around the ages of eight and ten were stuck inside the store, trying to avoid the fire.

The door was already submerged in fire, and it was so hot the glass doors had started to melt. Nope, can’t get in that way. I glanced around quickly, trying to find the best way to break in. The window. The glass will break and fall in the direction of the force applied, it won't rain down on me. Then I realized it would shatter onto the boys, and scrapped the idea. I decided to search for another way in, “I’ll be right back,” I told the boys, hoping they could hear me through the glass.

Luckily there was a back door, labeled employees only. Even luckier, it was unlocked. I guess the people had been in a hurry to leave when the building caught fire. I slipped inside, it was a small store, and the inside wasn’t overcome with flames quite yet. The two boys turned, their big eyes staring at me. “C’mon!” I yelled. “Just step over the-”

Suddenly a wall of flame came between us. How? There hadn’t been a source, and the walls were still intact…

A girl with long sleek black hair had an arm around one of the boys’ shoulders, a knife dangling easily from her fingertips. “I’ll take it from here.” I could tell from the look in her eye she wasn’t planning on helping them… I did the only thing I could, a stupid thing.

I charged through the flames.

Summary
Maya is minding her own business and living a normal life until she sees the chaos that Scarlett is causing in New York. Maya rushes to help to young boys, and ends up running into flames.