Chapter 24: The Church of Mourning and Death
The sound of news broadcasts came from the car radio.

"The fire at Midtown High School, which was hosting a regional football tournament, was reportedly caused by an electrical circuit igniting accidentally, and other witnesses mentioned a short circuit in equipment on the band stage."

The old Toyota turned a corner and headed toward the church near Midtown High School.

Uncle Ben, who was driving, listened to the sound on the radio and sighed slightly.

"It's such a tragedy. I hope the dead can rest in peace."

Peter, who was sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the scenery flashing outside the window, shook his head, and said to Uncle Ben: "This is not a natural disaster, Uncle Ben."

Three days have passed since the tragic football game.

Not surprisingly, this incident became a hot topic for media coverage.

But almost all media defined it as a fire incident caused by a circuit short circuit.

The host on the radio continued to broadcast.

"Four fire trucks from Brooklyn were dispatched to Midtown High School, but the school's fire hydrants had been damaged, preventing the fire from being put out in time."

"Five bodies have been found so far, one of whom is a teacher at Midtown High School, and the other four are participants in the football game. It is reported that they are all members of the 'White Shark' football team and are under the age of 18."

"In addition, two firefighters were taken to hospital for treatment due to smoke inhalation."

Listening to the host's report, Uncle Ben's brows furrowed more and more.

"I made a mistake by letting you go to the football game that night."

Uncle Ben felt a little guilty about letting Peter go to school that day.

"I'm not injured at all, so you don't need to blame yourself, Uncle Ben. Besides, some things are beyond our expectations."

Peter comforted Uncle Ben.

“Yes, there are some things we can’t predict.”

Uncle Ben stepped on the brakes and waited for the red light at the intersection.

"There are always things that happen to people in their lives, sometimes good things, sometimes bad things, and when bad things happen we have to endure them, especially when you can't change it."

Peter nodded and asked Uncle Ben, "What if we could change?"

“Then do your best to change it.”

Uncle Ben turned to Peter and said, "I think, my nephew, Peter, if something bad happened, you must have done your best."

Peter shook his head and replied to Uncle Ben: "No, I didn't, it's just so-so."

"I know you, Peter."

The red light signal turned green, Uncle Ben stepped on the accelerator and drove forward, and continued to say to Peter: "You are not the kind of person who is careless."

A few minutes later, the car arrived at its destination and stopped in front of a church.

The "fire" incident at the Midtown High School football game resulted in the deaths of many students and teachers.

The memorial service for the deceased was held in this Christian church.

Many teachers, students, parents and others from Zhongcheng High School have already arrived.

People dressed in solemn black clothes, with white flowers on their chests, looked solemn and dignified.

The scene was filled with a heavy and sad atmosphere.

Uncle Ben and Peter, both wearing black clothes and ties.

Peter had no intention of attending this kind of funeral, but at Uncle Ben's strong request, he finally accompanied him.

"Hey, Peter." He found a random seat and was about to sit down when he heard a voice coming from behind.

Peter looked back and saw a rather handsome face.

"Harry Osborn?"

Based on the memories of his previous life, he quickly recognized the identity of the person in front of him.

Harry Osborn, the son of Green Goblin Norman Osborn, is also a good friend of Peter Parker.

"We haven't seen each other for a few weeks, Peter. Have we become so familiar with each other?"

Harry, wearing a black suit and tie, came over and patted Peter on the shoulder.

"Even if you call me Little Norman, it's more intimate than calling me by my first name."

Peter recalled and asked him, "I remember you went to participate in some international event?"

"The United Nations charity event can help you accumulate credits and expand your network so that you can go to a better university. My father signed me up for this. Of course, his purpose was not to get me into a good university, but to train me."

Harry shrugged his shoulders and said nonchalantly, "My father is always like this, majestic and always seems to have a lot of ideas, while I am the one who always has no ideas."

Perhaps realizing it was inappropriate to talk about his father like this, he quickly changed the subject, "I heard Gwen was in the hospital?"

"Ah."

"That's terrible news, and what happened on the playground."

His expression was somewhat heavy as he said, "I didn't expect something like this to happen in school."

Peter nodded slightly to the naive and seemingly love-deprived teenager in front of him and prepared to sit down on the chair next to him.

Harry didn't seem to feel his "friend"'s deliberate distance, and he moved closer and sat next to him.

"Peter, is this really a fire? I heard it was a spider monster"

Before he could finish his words, a guest attending the funeral in front of him turned around and glared at him.

Harry realized that his voice was a little loud, so he quickly lowered his voice and continued to say to Peter: "You were there that night. Was the spider monster real?"

Peter listened to the priest's prayer on the stage, looked straight ahead and said, "Maybe you should ask your father. Isn't he an important person? He may know more than you."

"He is not an omnipotent God, how could he know all this?"

Seeing that Peter didn't want to talk, Harry stopped asking helplessly.

"We fear death, we reject death, and we will eventually die. We may not live forever, but our spirit will never die. Don Rhodes, Taylor Blanton, Jim Nantz, Bill Chancellor, these are our friends who died young, but they are all remembered by us."

The pastor on the stage delivered a eulogy.

"To us, they are not perfect, but they are close to perfect. They are good players of the game, defenders of dignity and courage on the field. The 'Hand of Death' will not easily erase our memories of them."

Peter, who was sitting in the audience, looked a little surprised when he heard the pastor talk about the "Hand of Death".

It was ironic that I was called the "Hand of Death" by Ms. Weber and now I hear it again at the funeral.

He shook his head and automatically blocked out these meaningless eulogies.

Just as he was about to go out for some fresh air, his heart suddenly contracted.

His pupils dilated instantly and he suddenly grabbed the handrail next to him.

　Please collect and recommend, thank you!

(End of this chapter)