Posted June 26th. 

This is not a good chapter. But as I said, I will post a chapter everyday until the wattys2020.

In the beginning, it's about to be messy.  I got a bit behind because of the glitch of Wattpad that lasted a week. 

But by the deadline of the wattys, the whole story will be completed. 

I promise. 

I was going to protect the man from the beating.

While I was heading to an important meeting with a few partners from my workplace, I saw a man being beaten publicly by military officers from the Enforcers of Peace. I knew right there and then, even from five meters above the ground that I was going to protect him from their beating. I wasn't going to just watch him, like the crowd was doing.

I knew I wouldn't be able to just leave him suffering. If I was on the other had, i'd love some help. I was a big believer of paying it forward.

 Father, to my right on the chairlift, touched my arm as I started looking to my left, assessing if I could survive the fall if I jumped.

"What are you doing?" He whispered, leaning in.

It was a rhetorical question. He knew what I was doing. He was trying to get me to indirectly reassess my decision. I had.

Which is why I was still going to help him.

It was the right thing to do. I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight knowing that I could have helped save a life but didn't because business mattered to me more than humanity. Humans should always be first. I was working on that choice everyday. 

"I'm going."

"You have to consider the consequences, Autumn Ace Air. These partners might refuse to work with you because of your recklessness."

"And?" I said, watching another chairlift pass on the cable below. I had to jump and hold that cable, before jumping to the ground two meters in the air. I could do it. I wouldn't die from that jump.

I looked at him. "Who cares? I certainly don't."

I started unlocking the handle. I had to jump before the next cabin would come. Every minute wasted was one where the poor man was receiving a hit. With every hit I saw him receive, I would flinch. What was that? A public beating?

Little did I know I'd be forcefully working with them in the future.

Father was still trying to convince me to stay. "You will lose everything you have, Ace. Partners or bosses do NOT like recklessness."

He looked at the crowd after. "He's fine.  Look. No blood."

But him and I could clearly see the blood dripping from the mans nose, even from seven kilometres away. We had the same sharp eyesight.

I shook my head. "I'm going out."

Ken tried to hold me when I opened the door and jumped. It complicated everything. A lot of things happened really fast.

First, because of the Ken's mindless move, the men beside Ken looked at us. I saw their horrified looks as they realized what I was doing. 

Second, the chauffeur looked back and made a harsh stop.

Third, I was stuck in midair because Ken was holding my hand.

Everyone's horrified looks were in my field of view. 

"Let go." I yelled to Ken.

I could hear the next cabin coming. I had to go protect the man fast. I had to. It was my choice that I made. Not his. He didn't have to approve of everything.

His eyes were focused on me. "Autumn."

That was the name my mom used to call me. It was the name she gave me. Father wanted to name me Ace. They couldn't agree on one so I am called Autumn Ace.

He only called me Autumn when he wanted me to feel a certain way. For example, he'd use it when he wanted to bring out my "mother" side, the gentle empathetic one of my personality. He was such a jerk.

Then I undestood what he wanted.

"Don't worry. I won't tell them you agreed so you'll still get the deal. Let go now."

"Don't be foolish. I don't want you to kill yourself." His eyes were really transparent, as if he wasn't sure what to feel about what was going on.

He was clearly lying. That's what mattered to him.

The sound of the cabin that was approaching was higher. It was only a few meters from where I was supposed to land on its cable.

Ken's hand was shaking. I knew he had to let me go soon because he didn't have enough strength to lift me back up. He was getting tired.

I was getting angry.

"You'll kill me if you don't let go right now." I yelled.

He was. The cabin was very close now. He couldn't hold me till it left. I was about to yell at him to hurry up. Without signal, he let go of my hand.

I landed right where I expected I would on the cable below me. I had barely touched the cable on the lower level, when I saw my reflection in the cabins' windshield and the chauffeur's horrified face. I screamed, and let go one one more time. 

I landed on the wrong foot. My ankle twisted, and I fell on my butt. Hard. The pain that erupted in my ankle convinced me it was disclosed.

The horrified drivers' cabin stopped a few meters later, and he looked at me.

"Are you okay?" He yelled.

"Yes." I smiled, standing to show him that I was fine. Deep down, I knew I wasn't. Pain took over my leg, and I winced as subtly as possible.

I had to stand still a few seconds for it to die down. I was right. I badly dislocated my ankle, and Father must have known too from he was scrutinizing everything.

Looking at how my leg gave beneath me, it wouldn't have been a hard guess.

But I took a deep breath and started walking toward the crowd. After a few seconds, I got used to my half working leg and started running.

I saw Father's cabin stop at the next station, and everyone coming off. Were they coming to look at me ?

Wasn't I a disgrace ? Why would they that?

As I neared the crowd, people started to make a path for me, just like everytime I was out by myself. Among the people, silence had taken over as the citizens were watching in horror and disbelief the violence of the Enforcers Of Peace.

"Shut up!" I heard.

"Where's your wife?"

"Why did you want to do a surgery this dangerous for humanity?"

"We'll take everting and everyone you love until you talk."

Then a slap on his face and something like a body falling on the ground.

With each one of their words spoken, each step I took filled me with much disgust at their lack of humanity and energy to do something.

Why would I even have to protect him? Didn't they feel or have a working sense of right and wrong. They were talking enforcers of peace, just like their name said.

I was outraged.

I came to the closest circle to them, a little limping just as one of the men was about to kick the kneeling handcuffed man on his back.

Before I could think, I screamed. "Stop."

The fit man stopped his movement like a robot,  then scanned the crowd for the source with his bulging red eyes.

He wanted to scare people by doing that. He didn't scare me. Even when he was a lot stronger than me.

"Hi." I said when his eyes met mine, taking a step under the hundreds of people's stares. Some were begging me to go back. They didn't want me to get hurt.

I wasn't going to flake a single step backwards.

He started laughing out loud at me. Truthfully it was not the reaction I was expecting to get. Most people, when they saw me, they either go really quiet or they run to hug me.

I wasn't expecting a hug from him.

But at least a small flicker of recognition in his eyes? I could tell he knew who I was, but I could also tell that he didn't care.

He walked towards the man to hit him again. When he lifted his leg, I spoke again "I said stop."

He laughed again, ignoring me openly. I don't remember how I got to him with my limping leg before he hurt him, but I did. Just as his leg was about to touch him, I grabbed his arm from behind, twisted it and threw him to the ground.

He got up afterwards like a raging bull. He started attacking me with an aggressiveness I had never seen in my life. He didn't see me; a person.

He only saw red, and it was obvious in his attacks. I defended myself, trying to hide my limp. It was a weakness he could use against me. Hit me there and I'll be on the ground before you know it.

Always hide your weaknesses form your enemies.

A few second after, his friend came. Therefore, I had to fight two people at the same time with a half working leg.

That wasn't fair. But I still taught them a lesson.

I fought.

For them. For me. For every person who felt disadvantaged. I knew I was doing the right thing.

Hit, bend, punch, turn around, move backwards.

Repeat.

Dive. Leg outward. Punch again. Kick.

the fight was going on for a while. I was doing pretty good. They got some punches on me too but nothing too serious.

I was succeeding. I was protecting the man.

But I didn't know how much longer I could hold. My hurt leg was tiring me. I couldn't move as much as I should, and I had to put extra energy to lift it properly when moving to hide the limp.

Pain made me bite my tongue while fighting.

It's at around that time that a raven started shadowing me while signing. It looked like the one that used to come to my house sometimes but stopped. It wasn't that one because my friend had lighter feathers.

A few minute later came other ravens. By that time I had a squad of cheerleaders. They were fighting too. Some of them were picking their clothes and others their hair. Some even their van. Slowly people started smiling and cheering me on.

It gave me more strength.

The first raven came from the van. I saw someone standing there. The moment I tried to look closely is when I went down.

The agressive man from the beginning raised his leg so high and hit my hurt one so hard that I let out a scream of agony.

Holding my leg, I fell to the ground, tears blurring my vision.

I couldn't see. I couldn't see. I couldn't see.

I tried to calm down just like Father told me years ago, at age seven, when I was learning to fight.

Don't focus on the pain, focus on something that makes you feel good, or motivates you.

I looked at the man, right in front of me. When my tears cleared out a bit, I saw his smile.

I tried to smile back.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"Don't thank me." I sobbed. "We must come together as a family and fight for what's right."

I took a deep breath, sobbing harder.
"We must not be silent about the things that matter to us to make the world better. "

I wondered why I was left alone by them. When I looked over, I saw that my dad was fighting other men. Had he jumped in in the middle of the fight and that explained why I was only fighting two people when there were more ?

Or he jumped in to protect me when I fell?

My dad twisted the man's arm and let him drop on the ground. Then he came beside me and invited me to stand. One hand on my arm, he spoke.

"What a disgrace to the people."

He sneered. "Don't care."

"You'll care when you'll be sued. I have footage of what you guys did to my daughter and the man."

I spoke too. I also had footage due to a small hidden camera on my clothes.

"How dare you treat him less than animal?"

The man in the van who wasn't downfall finally came out. My breath caught when I saw his face. He was the 'peace sign' guy.

Me and Father started moving away, along with the crowd.

When I turned around shivering like last time, he stopped making sure the trunk was close, and did the peace sign again.

He was looking at me with the same knowing look again. What did he know ?

Did he really know something?

Was he trying to say that the super smart person that could predict my every move was working with the Enforcers of Peace ?

Which exclaimed why he knew about the secret surgery ?