High School Heroes Chapters 32-33
The epic conclusion of High School Heroes!
Here is the final installment of High School Heroes!
Here we go. The epic conclusion. Will Christine be able to defeat her fearsome enemy? Will she become the hero she is meant to be? Read and find out!
Enjoy!
Chapter 32
Sludge
I’m glad I had the reflex to put a force shield around myself at the last second. If I hadn’t, the impact would have killed me instantly. As it was, my entire body felt like a giant bruise.
I lay on the ground, trying to clear my head for the second time in only a few minutes. Tommy’s silhouette filled the doorway. I had landed well inside the room, about fifteen feet from the door, which now lay on the floor at the entrance.
I scrambled to my feet, raced to the far side of the room and hid behind one of the lab tables, still set up with equipment from whatever experiment the classes worked on that afternoon. What to do?
Tommy—it—slithered in through the doorway. I hoped it didn’t have some sort of sixth sense that would let it detect me. I waited for it to clear the entrance. I lifted the door until it was only inches from the ceiling. Then, sliding it along, slowly and quietly, I moved it until it was just above the monster’s head. It didn’t seem to notice me and continued inching its way into the room.
Tommy tossed a lab table to the side, sending everything clattering to the floor. A gas jet from one of the burners spewed methane as the hose ripped off the nozzle. The monster stopped, turned and went for the nozzle. It grasped the end with one of its arms and began sucking the gas into its body. When it had its fill of the noxious fumes, it removed the arm. The whooshing sound of gas shooting from the nozzle didn’t return. All I heard was a satisfied, “Ahhhhh,” from Tommy.
With the door in position and the monster apparently patting itself on the back for a job well done, I decided it was time to strike. I mustered all the force I could and used it to slam the heavy door down on top of Tommy.
The door cracked in half on impact and sent pieces of Tommy scattering all about the floor with a loud SPLAT!
I came out of my hiding spot to examine what I had done. It looked as if someone had piled dirt in the room and then sprayed it all down with a fire hose. The entire room stank of cleaning fluids, making my already punch drunk self a little more lightheaded.
Suddenly, the mud pieces began to move. They wiggled across the floor toward the broken door. At the same time, a horrible groan seemed to come from all around me.
While I cursed my stupidity and my dumb luck, Tommy reformed into the hulking, brownish mass once again.
“That wasn’t very nice, Christine. That almost hurt.”
I ducked for cover, scurrying on my hands and knees around the edge of the room. I had to stay away until I could think of something else. I backed into a corner, against the chemical storage closet.
Since a physical attack wouldn’t work, I needed to rely on a mental one. And as much as I hated to admit it, I would have to kill it.
I sent a mental tendril out into the room, attaching to Tommy’s animalistic mind. Then I stood, confident I had the monster where I wanted it. The mass oozed around to face me.
This time I smiled at it. “Tell me, Tommy. What are you afraid of?”
I delved into his mind. It was a mess, but I pushed through to find what he feared most. More of his old memories flashed through my mind. The man with the beer bottle. Standing in court. Sitting in Mr. Philmore’s office. Beating up a third grader on the playground. The images flashed faster and faster until they all blurred together. This had never happened before, and even as I tried to stop them, I couldn’t pull away.
All at once, everything stopped—the images disappeared. I was no longer alone with Tommy. People filled the room, pressing in on me. I backed into the supply closet, giving myself as much space as possible. Still they surged forward, closing all the gaps and threatening to crush me against the wall.
At that point, I began to hyperventilate. I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs, not even to scream out in terror. I spun and tried to climb on top of the supply closet—anything to get away from all those people, who seemed intent on pushing closer and closer. I’d thought the closet was anchored to the wall, but it tilted forward under my weight and toppled off balance. The more I tried to pull myself up, the more the closet seemed to want to move away from the wall.
Eventually, I had to let go. The closet tipped. I had to get away before it crushed me, so I launched myself into the crowd.
The crash was loud. All the glass containers inside shattered. Noxious vapors shot from the battered closet. Overwhelmed, I backed away.
That was when I realized the science room was empty. It took a second for me to realize that my own power had been turned against me and I had seen my own worst nightmare.
So, I can’t attack it physically, and I can’t attack it mentally either.
There didn’t seem to be anything I could do to Tommy.
The next thing I knew, my legs were lifted from the ground and I was sent crashing on top of another lab table. Tommy rushed past me to the fallen closet and flipped it over. It crashed against the wall. More fumes poured out. Tommy tore the doors off. The hinges and metal made a terrible screech. All the chemicals, liquid and solid, lay mixed on the floor. Tommy reached out with a long tentacle, and like a giant straw, sucked them all in. God knew what was in those containers, but it had to be bad mixing chemicals like that. It didn’t faze Tommy in the least.
He’s feeding, I finally realized.
If the monster had been changed all the way down to its genetic level, then it needed different nutrients in order to survive. It appeared that since cleaning fluids changed Tommy, he required those same chemicals to sustain himself. Quinn would have a field day writing a paper on that.
It was seriously like something out of a comic book. As Tommy devoured the chemicals, I backed away. I had to get help.
I made it about four steps when a tentacle slashed out and wrapped itself around me. It felt like mud, but was incredibly solid and stank of ammonia. I struggled, but I couldn’t break its grip.
“It’s no fair running away,” it said in an amused tone. “After all, the game isn’t over yet.”
“Tommy!” I needed to get through somehow, to make him realize he needed to stop. Lives depended on it—especially mine. “This isn’t a game. You can really kill someone.”
The end of the tentacle shot up and slammed me into the ceiling. “I told you to call me Sludge!”
If I didn’t have a concussion already, that blow was enough to create one. It took all the mental power I still had not to pass out.
The one blow seemed enough punishment for Tommy. He lowered me to within a couple inches of the floor. Then he began stroking my face with the end of the tentacle. “You’ve always been beautiful. You’re even more beautiful now that you’re about to die.”
I mentally grabbed one of the tables, lifted the heavy metal and sent it flying into the tentacle. With a squishy snap it split from Tommy’s body. The loose end landed on the floor, turning back into the muddy substance that made up the monster. Within seconds, Tommy absorbed it back into itself and blasted another tentacle my way.
This time I was prepared. I willed the broken closet doors to fly into the air to block the tentacle. It exploded like a slush ball against a wall. Without hesitation, Tommy sent another tentacle flying in my direction. I moved one door to block it.
Three, four, five strikes. Each time I used one of the doors to deflect Tommy’s blow. He even snaked a tentacle along the floor where he thought I wouldn’t notice. I shot the door down on it, cutting it off.
I was growing tired. I’d never used so much power at once before. Each time it threw a tentacle at me, my reaction got a hair slower. It was only a matter of time before I couldn’t do it anymore.
Somehow, I needed to get away. But it was quick… and strong.
One tentacle plowed between the doors. I brought them together, scissoring the thing between them, lopping it off. Its thrust halted just a few inches from my face. It slopped to the floor and began wriggling its way back to Tommy. It was the first of many that would make it past my defenses.
“This is fun.” Tommy chuckled evilly and lashed out again. “I hope your friends provide this much of a challenge.” Several more attacks followed, which I was barely able to block. “What’s the matter, Christine? Does my girl have nothing to say?”
My grip on the doors was loosening. It took all my concentration to keep up with the flying tentacles.
“It’s going to be fun watching that football player squirm while I strip the skin off his body. I wonder if he’ll heal quick enough for me to pull it off again… and again.”
It wanted my concentration broken. But all its words did was strengthening my resolve.
“Maybe I’ll keep you alive long enough so you can watch.”
Three tentacles discharged at once. I spun one door on its side to block two. The other door easily handled the third one.
“You’ll have to kill me first.” Then I thought: if it wanted to goad me, I would do the same. “Tommy. I swear, what a stupid name you picked for yourself. Sludge? I mean, could you pick a dumber name? If you’re going to throw names around, Pile’o’Crap would have been a better choice.”
It howled and whizzed a volley of tentacles at me. One attack got past the doors, but it shot wide and slammed the wall behind me. He was a bit slower to recover too, now, and when he shot another cascade of tentacles in my direction I barely needed to block them. They all went wide. With its anger it was losing its concentration.
Just as my confidence was returning, one door shattered. I hurled the shards at him. Too late. A tentacle slammed me hard in the chest, knocking me backwards to the floor.
Immediately, another tentacle crashed and engulfed my head. I tried to yank it off before the substance solidified like it had on Peter. I grappled and groped but my fingers merely slipped off. There was nothing to grab onto.
If I didn’t crack the shell I would suffocate. I concentrated on the outer shell, to find a microscopic crack and widen it, but I couldn’t feel anything. I couldn’t concentrate.
Pounding the outside with my fists, I attempted to break the thing open. But it proved just as hard as the shell on Peter’s head.
Death had come knocking.
I tried creating a shield around my head and expanding it, but again, I found it impossible to concentrate long enough to accomplish the task.
At least you gave him a good fight.
Strange, I should think such a thing while I was dying. At the very least, I delayed him from killing everyone else. Hopefully, I’d given them all more time to finish up the dance and escape. If not, I’d given it my all.
How would my death affect my parents? What will this do to my mother? What will happen to the baby? The baby I would never meet.
I made one last attempt to break the shell. I struck it hard with both fists and even tried slamming my head on the floor. All it did was give my already rattled head a bigger headache.
I stopped struggling, conceding to fate.
My lungs ached for air. I’d heard people talk about how their lungs burned when they were suffocating, but I hadn’t actually expected them to feel like they were of fire.
I didn’t struggle. It wouldn’t have done any good anyway, and I was never one to do things that were useless. Besides, Tommy wanted me to struggle—I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d tortured me.
A miraculous thing happened then. Though I’d given up, it seemed that Life hadn’t given up on me. Air rushed into my body, filling my burning lungs with cool crisp air. Seconds later, I could see.
After thinking I would never see again, my vision seemed so clear.
I lay there, gasping, allowing oxygen to fill my lungs. I couldn’t move anyway, my body had taken a pretty bad beating.
I should have been dead, but I wasn’t. The source of my luck came into my vision a second later.
“Are you all right?” Ethan’s voice sounded far off, even though he was only inches away. There was no anger in his eyes, only concern. He caressed the side of my face, sending a wave of warmth through my body. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
Over his shoulder, the dark mass of Tommy loomed. I tried to find my voice, but I couldn’t get any words to form. I lifted my hand and pointed.
The rest happened so quickly: A tentacle flung down to where Ethan knelt next to me. With a burst of wind, Ethan was gone. The tentacle struck the floor a few inches from my head.
Before Tommy could react, Ethan was behind him, pounding on his back. He must have hit it a hundred times in the first second. Chunks of sludge flew off in all directions, all of which slithered back toward the central mass.
I was just about to warn Ethan that beating it was useless when something crashed down on top of Tommy. It looked like the teacher’s desk, which now lay in pieces on the floor.
Savanah stood on the far side of the room. “Pissed off” would definitely be an understatement to describe her. Her dress was torn, her hair was in shambles. A feral growl escaped her lips. If she’d hit Peter with the power she just displayed, she would have caved his skull in.
Ethan knelt down next to me. “It’s over.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s… not.” Even as I gasped, the pieces were pulling themselves back together.
Savanah stood above me. “I killed it. There’re pieces of it all over the place.”
“It can’t be… killed. I tried. It keeps—” I tried to sit up, but my head spun like a top. Ethan eased me back down. “I’ve t-torn it apart a couple times. It can p-put itself back together.”
Gaping mouths watched the pieces sliding across the floor, reassembling. Savanah let out a string of words that are not repeatable for polite company.
“What do we do?” Ethan asked.
“We have to get out of here,” I responded.
Ethan shook his head. “We can’t do that. This thing needs to be stopped.”
“It’s Tommy.”
His mouth hung open for a moment.
“I don’t care who it is,” Savanah said. “We need to do something. He’s almost back together.”
If we didn’t make a decision in the next couple seconds, then it wouldn’t matter. Ethan’s eyes gave away his verdict—no matter what Savanah and I decided, he would stay and fight. That meant I was staying too.
I groaned through the pain and forced myself to my feet. I had one more round left in me, and I would use it to make sure Tommy went down for good.
Ethan helped me up, and made sure I could stand on my own before letting go. I couldn’t help hoping that after this, things would go back to normal between us.
Savanah came up on my other side. “Good choice. Now let’s kick his ass!”
The monster that was Tommy was whole again. It studied us for a moment, looking us up and down. Three tentacles slowly sprouted from its body. I lifted one of the fallen tables and made it float in front of me. Savanah and Ethan stood tall and waited for the attack.
“You three can’t hurt me,” Tommy said. “Give up now and let me kill you.”
“God, he even has the dialogue of a bad comic book villain,” Ethan muttered.
I allowed myself a smile. I didn’t realized how much I missed his enthusiasm. I hoped Ethan would never change. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time or the energy to say so.
“It’s because of you I’m like this. You three created me. Now, I’m unstoppable, and to thank you, I’m going to destroy you.”
“You’re nothing but a bully, Tommy,” I blurted out. “We’re not some little kids you can pick on. So, fight us, or back down. Just please, stop talking. You’re giving me a headache.”
“And to think I used to like you,” it said. Then it shot the three tentacles, one at each of us.
I blocked mine with the table. Ethan easily sidestepped. Savanah caught hers. But even as she held it, it liquefied and returned to the large mass.
Ethan started punching it again and again. His fists moved so quickly I couldn’t see them. What I did see were the chunks of Tommy flying off in all directions.
The smell of cleaning fluid once again permeated the room.
Damn. It was so obvious. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? “Cleaning fluid. Of course!”
“What are you yelling about over there, Loser?” Savanah broke free of a tentacle that had wrapped around her chest.
“Don’t worry about it,” I called. “Just keep it distracted.”
There really wasn’t much of a problem there. Tommy seemed to have his hands… well, tentacles… full. I let the table drop to the floor and sifted through lab equipment until I found what I was looking for: the Bunsen Burner. The gas jet was still working. All I needed to do was light the stupid thing.
As I searched for a lighter, or match, a piece of Tommy landed on my cheek. It clung there for a moment, and then began slithering toward my mouth. I clamped my mouth shut. Finding no entrance there, it scrambled for my nose. I swiped it away, flicking it to the floor.
What was that all about?
Finding a proper igniter was a fruitless effort, but I kept searching the floor and all the tables. There had to be something lying around. If they were doing a lab in class they had to light it somehow.
I raced to where the teacher’s desk used to be. There were piles of papers and other items on the floor. Pushing all the papers aside, I scanned the floor. There had to be something. After almost a minute of looking I spotted a tiny book of matches.
Something was wrong behind me. Why didn’t I hear the sounds of a struggle? There was no fighting, no punches being thrown, not even heavy breathing.
I spun around to see Tommy stalking over both Savanah and Ethan. Both had foamy, muddy mixtures oozing from their mouths and noses. That must have been what the little tendril that landed on me was trying to do, get inside me so I would choke on it.
No time to spare, I ran to where I left the Bunsen Burner. If only I had thought of this sooner.
I prayed Ethan was okay as I grabbed the burner and turned on the gas. I would make Tommy pay.
His attention shot back to me, tentacles wriggling, eager for another attack. “It’s back to you and me now, Christine. Give up. You can’t win.”
“Don’t count on it.” I flicked a match from the packet and struck it on the pack. It lit with a sizzle. Tommy didn’t seem disturbed.
As I moved the match toward the stream, it went out. Too quick. Tommy was closing on me, attracted by the smell of the methane issuing from the spout. Buying time, I shoved a table in between us with my mind.
It barely slowed him down. He pushed past as if it were nothing and came toward me so quickly that I allowed a second match to go out.
“See, Christine? I am more powerful than you. I will destroy you, as I have destroyed them.”
Ethan and Savanah lay motionless. They were still alive though, their thoughts hadn’t gone blank. Time was running short. Once I had Tommy out of the way, I would be able to save them. I hoped.
“I can see the rage in you,” it continued. “You want to kill me so badly. So, go on. Try. Kill me. See what happens.”
Did I really want to kill Tommy? As vile a person he was in life, did anyone deserve that fate? I would have liked to help him, tried to help him the day of the fire. If possible would even welcome him being the bully he once was. Unfortunately, there were lives at stake. I couldn’t just let them be snuffed out.
The words of Captain Falcon echoed through my head, saying that being a hero was simply doing the right thing.
This was the right thing—it was not only saving people, it was putting a tortured soul out of its misery. From the brief flashes into his mind, I knew Tommy would have rather died in the fire than survive as a monster.
For the second time in my life, I felt sympathy for Thomas Fulton.
Striking another match, I slid it slowly into the stream. It exploded in a great fireball as all the gas ignited, and then immediately settled into a steady flame. I turned the gas up full, holding the hose out in front of me as far as I could.
“I’m sorry,” I said and brought the flame into contact with his muddy flesh.
The reaction was instantaneous, his entire being burst into flames. The flames flickered strange colors as they danced around him—sometimes orange, sometimes red, sometimes blue or green. Each of the chemicals making up his body burned a different color, creating a spectacular kaleidoscopic light show.
Tommy’s screams reverberated off everything, an unending howl of agony. He convulsed. Tentacles fired out in all directions, but as soon as they shot out, they too caught fire and burned to ash.
The room grew bright as flames licked the ceiling. The heat was almost too much to bear. The colors changed, orange, then blue, then green, purple and even black. The scent of burning flesh and rubber assaulted my nostrils, as screams and howls, seeming to come from everywhere attacked my ears.
But I stayed and watched, making sure the flames did their job and destroyed the monster Tommy had become. I withstood the fumes as the mixture of chemicals burned, and covered my ears to keep the painful howls out. It seemed like a while but was probably only moments—it writhed on the ground, growing smaller with each passing second, until there was no more.
When the fire had nearly burned itself out, I ran to Ethan and Savanah, both still unconscious. I ran to Ethan first and wedged my fingers around the growths lodged in his mouth and nose. I pulled and stretched and pried them out. Next I did Savanah, heaving the last of the things into the flickering fire in the middle of the floor. Ethan, and then Savanah, gasped, pulling in deep life-giving breaths of air. Their blue lips regained their pinkish hue.
“Are you okay?” I asked, kneeling over Ethan.
He rubbed at his throat. “Yeah, I think so. What about you?” His voice sounded like he had swallowed a pound of gravel.
No, I wasn’t all right. I definitely had a concussion, I was pretty sure my wrist was either sprained or broken. I was also feeling pretty sick from the fumes and smoke. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Liar.” He grinned at me. “When you sent out that S.O.S., I thought you were a goner. I was so scared. I realized just how much I would—”
“What took you so long getting here?” I interrupted.
“I had to find everyone first, and then we had to find you. I was so worried…”
He didn’t get to finish. I planted my lips on his with all the strength I could muster. I held them there, never wanting to let go.
I’m glad you’re back to the side of good, Ethan thought.
I ran my hand through his hair and down his back, feeling every inch of the body I’d missed for the last seventy-two hours. Maybe it was the adrenaline still running through me, or the fact that we’d both almost just gotten killed, but it felt right to have him there like that.
“Ugh,” Savanah’s voice interrupted my bliss. “Would you two losers get a room?”
If I weren’t so happy that she too was alive, I probably would have slapped her. Fact was, even her rude comments and her prissy thoughts were welcome. I wished Peter had survived the night to join us. If there was anything I regretted, it was that I hadn’t been able to save him.
“Did you see Peter outside?” I asked, trying desperately to keep my voice from cracking.
“Tiffany and Sam were with him when I came in,” Ethan explained.
“And the witch you love,” Savanah added.
Samantha, I knew she meant.
All my friends, and one of my enemies, came to save me. I couldn’t believe it. They had all been snubbing me. Why would they suddenly come to my aid? “Speaking of witches, why were you at the dance with Rebecca?”
“I wasn’t,” Ethan explained, his cheeks turning red.
“I saw you.” I pursed my lips together daring him to come up with an excuse.
“Sam told me to meet them. She’s Samantha’s friend and was alone. I swear, they set me up. I was just being nice.”
I stared at him, not wanting to believe him, but sensing that every word was true. I smiled. I couldn’t stay mad at him.
“Peter’s fine, by the way,” Ethan added.
I was ecstatic that my friends had all survived. Still, the only thought that ran through my head was, Am I forgiven?
“Yeah, I guess so,” Ethan responded. Then he kissed me again.
I barely heard Savanah get up and walk out of the room. “Ugh, you two are disgusting.”
Chapter 33
High School Heroes
I cried that night, not because of the pain, or the fact that my mother was pissed because of what I did to my dress. I wept because I had done the unthinkable. Sure I always told people I was going to do it to them, but I never dreamed in a million years that I would be capable of doing it.
I killed Tommy. Under no uncertain circumstances could he have been able to survive a second incineration. I took a life, it might not have been totally human, but I still took a life, and that was not something I could bear.
Even though Ethan and the others forgave me, I was no longer sure I could forgive myself. “Villain” kept coming across my mind. In stories, it was always the villain who murdered others. The hero saved lives. Looking back on the whole scene, I couldn’t help but think there must have been something else I could have done.
I should have done something more. I could have saved him.
My head pounded again, but I was already well past my aspirin quota for the evening. Ethan sneaked into my room while my parents were distracted, and had been taking care of me most of the night. His most important task was to make sure I didn’t sleep, but I so badly wanted to.
We had informed Quinn of what happened and he promised us he would take care of everything. He insisted we not go to the hospital, since we might draw too much attention to ourselves. “I’m proud of you,” he told us. “All of you. I wasn’t sure if you were ready to tackle larger problems, but after tonight, I’m positive you can.”
“We all almost got killed,” I objected. “I think we’re all just lucky I remembered you saying that cleaning fluid was highly flammable. If I hadn’t, we’d all be dead.”
Quinn wasn’t hearing any of it, nor were the other “heroes” of the evening. They basked in the glow of a great victory. None had done what I had though. None of them had killed.
The image of Tommy’s burning body flashed through my head, over and over again. It was an image I would never forget. Every time I thought about it, a chill ran down my spine.
Quinn had also passed judgment on Sean and Walter. Apparently, Sean had pulled the fire alarm to get everyone out of the building so Walter could get to the chemical closet without anyone seeing him. They’d been feeding Tommy the whole time.
“We were cutting class, hanging out in one of the downstairs bathrooms. He came squeezed in through the grate,” Walter explained to us.
“We were so shocked to see him, we didn’t even think about what had happened,” Sean added.
I guess it didn’t matter what form the boy was in, the two of them were so dense they would follow him anywhere.
For their lack of higher wisdom when dealing with a monster like Tommy, Quinn erased their memories of the event. I’m pretty sure he also restructured their minds as well to make them both more upstanding citizens.
Ethan stroked the hair on my forehead. “You’re not sleeping, are you?”
I hadn’t even realized I’d closed my eyes until he spoke. “No,” I said. “Just thinking.”
It was quarter to five. We had been up for the whole night.
“Ethan, you don’t really think I’m a bad person, do you?”
“Of course not. Why?”
“I’ve been thinking about what I did tonight, and how a good person could do that. I mean, where do you draw the line?”
“You’re not a murderer. You were defending yourself and a few hundred other people. That doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you—and I know you hate to hear it—but you’re a superhero.”
No, I didn’t want to hear that. The fact was, it didn’t make me feel better. If anything, hearing those words, only made me feel worse. Because if that was true, it meant it was okay to kill someone if the occasion called for it, and I definitely didn’t feel up to killing again.
****
At nine, a knock came on my door. Ethan hid in my closet as I let them in.
Both my parents came in which definitely wasn’t a good sign. That meant that they had something important to talk to me about. After the conversation I overheard the other night, I was pretty sure I knew what it was.
“Good morning, honey,” my father said in an overly sweet voice. Nothing like trying to make me feel better before delivering the fatal blow.
“Morning.” I glanced briefly at the closet.
Is this going to be the last time I see Ethan? After I just got him back?
“You look terrible,” my father added. “Did you sleep okay?”
“No.” It was, after all, the truth. I hadn’t slept at all.
My mother looked at me, her expression blank. I couldn’t tell what she was feeling, and I was much too weak to go sifting through her thoughts. “Honey, can you get dressed? We’re going out.”
Right, I thought. The tell-her-over-a-nice-breakfast trick.
I wished they would just get it over with and tell me that we were moving away. That we were leaving all our friends behind and going someplace new. They would probably put a positive spin on it and tell me that it would be a great adventure and that I would make all new friends.
“Do I have to?” I really didn’t want to play their game. More importantly, I didn’t want to leave Ethan hiding in my closet while my parents took me out.
“Yes, you have to,” she responded. “Please don’t argue,” she added just as I was about to protest.
Resigned, I sat back on my bed. I hated the mind games they played. “Can’t you just tell me we’re moving and get it over with?” I asked.
They looked at each other in mild confusion. “Where did you hear that?” my father finally asked.
“I heard you arguing the other night,” I stated. There was no reason to hide it anymore. “You said something about moving to Michigan.”
He smiled at me then. It was a genuine smile, one I hadn’t seen on him in a long time. “Just get dressed.”
Then he, with my mother, left the room.
Before the door was fully closed, Ethan was sitting beside me. His hand ran up my back, rubbing the tension away. I will admit, at that point, my back was one giant knot that needed to be untied (God knew how many bruises I had on it). So far this school year it seemed I had jumped from one crisis to the next. This “moving away” thing was the just latest problem.
I waited a few minutes before dressing, savoring the feel of Ethan’s touch. I’d never dressed in front of him before. It wasn’t half as awkward as I thought it would be.
Finally, I had to go. I kissed him one more time and headed for the door.
“I’ll be here when you get back,” he said.
“Don’t be stupid. Go home. I’ll call you when we’re back.” I went to him for one last kiss. “Besides,” I said in a sultry voice. “You need to change your clothes. They kind of smell.”
He still wore the suit from the dance. He looked up at me and his cheeks reddened. Inwardly, I cheered. For once I was able to embarrass him.
“Love you,” I said, and walked out the door.
I love you too, he thought as I strode down the stairs.
My parents were waiting, both wondering why I looked so happy. I couldn’t tell them that my boyfriend just told me he loved me for the first time. I couldn’t have them figuring out that I had a boy in my room all night long, let along hiding in the closet when they came in.
By the same token, I couldn’t help wondering why my parents seemed so happy. Seemed like at least one of them should be upset. However, maybe it was all the extra money coming into the house that had them both excited. Either way, I couldn’t share their enthusiasm.
I figured they were going to take me down to IHOP or someplace like that. However, we passed by everyplace that served breakfast in Jefferson Hills. It wasn’t until we crossed over the bridge that I realized they were taking me into Pittsburgh.
The city looked so different traveling in the car rather than at supersonic speeds in Ethan’s arms. This way, the city actually seemed dirtier. The grit and the grime seemed to cover everyone and everything. I didn’t see anyplace to eat. Why would they take me here?
Maybe they just want to show me how bad I could have it.
My parents didn’t say a word the entire car ride. However, their anticipation grew with every minute, and I didn’t even need my mind reading powers to know it. My mother kept shifting in her seat and fidgeting with her hair. My father kept gripping the steering wheel tightly and then looking at my mother and grinning nervously at her.
I rolled my eyes at them. Let them have their secret. Either way, it would ruin my life. At least I could let them be happy about it.
We pulled up to a rundown high-rise on the edge of the city. My father parked the car and got out. My mother was only a step or two behind him. I decided to get out and get it over with.
My parents stared in wonder at the building.
It looked like a simple office building, old and in need of some care. Some of the windows were lit up. Some employees sat, looking out the windows. What was their attraction to this rather ordinary building?
“What do you think?” my father asked me.
Great, now he’s getting all cryptic on me.
“About what?” I replied.
“My new office. I’m opening an accounting firm. Right here.”
I heard the words, but wasn’t sure I heard them right. I looked at my father, wide-eyed and in disbelief, then at the building, then back at my father. He couldn’t be serious. No way he could afford to buy his own office.
“Are you serious?” I asked.
He nodded.
I was completely floored. I couldn’t even think of words to say. “But… where did you get… when…”
“Your Uncle Murray loaned me the money. He’s been trying to give it to me for months. He wants me to call it the Carpenter Brothers Firm. What do you think?”
“I’ll think about it.” I giggled. Truthfully, the name sounded cheesy, and the fact that Uncle Murray’s last name was Burton didn’t make much sense—but whatever. We wouldn’t have to move and my father could be happy, so I guessed I could live with it.
“This does come at a price,” my mother added.
Here we go. Just when I thought things were going to get better.
“I already have a few clients through the mill, but until I can drum up more business, things will be a little tighter than usual,” Dad explained. “Your mother’s already gotten herself a job at a department store, working a few evenings a week. I’m going to be here until about six, if not later, every night. So…”
He let it hang in the air, as if I was supposed to figure out his psychotic drivel. I shrugged to make him understand I didn’t know what he was talking about.
“So,” my mother concluded, “we’re going to need you to watch the baby after school.”
“I guess that’s not so bad,” I said as my dreams for a car flew out the window.
I looked at the building again. For some reason, it didn’t look as rundown as it had before. As a matter of fact, the building was beautiful.
“So, is this where you guys were all day yesterday?” I asked.
“Mostly,” my mom said.
“We’re signing the papers on Monday. The third floor is ours,” my dad added.
“Great! Can we get breakfast now though? I’m starving.”
****
The rest of the weekend was pretty much uneventful. Ethan came over Saturday evening, and then again on Sunday. I managed to keep my injuries hidden from my parents, mostly because they were too busy with their own agendas. I pretty much just lounged around.
School on Monday sucked, as usual. Mr. Jenkin’s classroom had been relocated. The story was someone vandalized the room during the dance on Friday. I had to stifle a laugh. Quinn really had taken care of everything.
My whole group of friends came together again for lunch. It was as if nothing happened. As happy as I was having us all together again, there was something I felt I needed to do.
I went to Samantha to extend an olive branch. “Hey,” I said to get her attention.
Of course she ignored me, but eventually, seeing I wasn’t going away, she looked at me, as did the rest of her table. “Well, Freakshow, what do you want?”
Her cheerleader friends laughed. She was lucky I was in a good mood, otherwise I would have sent her flying… literally.
I looked at her friends. I couldn’t say what I was about to in front of them. It was bad enough I even had to have this conversation with the girl I hated most. “Leave,” I said to them, adding a little mental nudge to the order.
They obeyed.
Samantha looked at me wide eyed. I could tell she was afraid and was torn between confronting me and running for her life.
“Wha… what do you… w-want?” she stammered.
“Just want to make peace, that’s all. For Sam’s sake.”
“I’m not going to be friends with you,” she said.
“And I’m not with you, either. But he shouldn’t have to choose between his best friend and his…” I hesitated to say it, “…girlfriend.”
She wretched inwardly at the thought of being civil toward me. But, since she really liked Sam, I knew she would agree.
She looked over at our lunch table where Sam was watching us with eagerness. The truth was, he’d made me come over here. Wanting to keep him in my life compelled me to obey.
“Okay,” she said.
“And,” I added, bringing myself closer to her. I narrowed my eyes and made myself look as frightening as I possibly could. “I trust that you won’t let out anything that you saw the other night. The consequences for that would be… extreme.”
She shook slightly at the threat, but this time was a little quicker composing herself. “I’m not going to say anything, Freakshow. Who would believe me anyway?”
I extended my hand. I just felt that this should be sealed with a handshake. Reluctantly, she accepted it.
“I still hate you, ya know,” she said through clenched teeth.
I stared wide eyed, at her feet. “Oh my God, is that a rat?”
She screamed and jumped up from her chair, looking around for the unseen creature. I simply turned and walked away, hearing her grunt in my general direction.
I sat back down at our table “What did you do?” Sam asked.
“Let’s just say Samantha and I are never going to see eye to eye.”
He gave me a look that said he was unhappy with me.
“Relax, I didn’t use my powers.”
He continued to look at me with incredulity. As did the other five sets of eyes at the table.
“I swear,” I told them all. It was still going to take a bit of convincing before they all completely trusted me again. But it was a road I was willing to walk down, as long as they were on it with me.
****
Ethan and I walked arm in arm out of the cafeteria. Nothing in the world could have made me happier than knowing that this was the way things would be from then on. Me and Ethan, together forever. There couldn’t have been anything better.
As we walked, something on the television in the hall, once again broadcasting the news, caught my attention. I think it was the same woman who broadcast the bank robbery a few months ago.
“Is it simply vandalism, or is this something more?” the woman was saying. “Officials investigating the recent reports of destruction at Thomas Jefferson High School in Jefferson Hills, say these aren’t simple random acts of vandalism. Some say they’re more like attacks against the school and its population.”
The mention of our school had many of the students gathering around the television. Many of them were aware of the things that had happened, but only a few actually knew what had occurred.
Images of the outside of our school popped up on the screen next to the woman. I couldn’t tell if it was a live shot or not, either way, I knew the film crews would never be allowed inside the school.
“Since November, there have been numerous fires and reports of property destruction all over the school building. Most recently, an entire room needed to be renovated due to fire damage and what was described as ‘willful destruction of school property’.
“Investigators will be looking into these matters, and they promise that whoever is responsible will be found and punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
She went on to talk about how our institutions of learning weren’t safe anymore, and how it seemed that stricter measures needed to be enforced. I hoped all of the things she said were just speculation. The last thing our school needed was policemen patrolling the halls. That sounded more like prison than school.
“We should tell Quinn about this,” Ethan whispered.
“I’m betting he already knows,” I responded, but I trailed him as he made his way to Quinn’s classroom.
The man was there, standing in the door to his small office. The same news report played on one of the monitors. He drank from an ancient looking cup as he watched. “I trust you two saw the news,” he said as we entered. He didn’t even look over his shoulder to see if we were there. His eyes remained focused on the television.
“Yeah,” I responded. “What does it mean?”
“It means we’ve been found out.” He faced us then, at the same time that both Peter and Savanah entered. “Please, sit,” he told them.
They did as instructed, I could tell neither of them had come here of their own volition. They must have been mentally ordered there by Quinn himself.
“Despite my best efforts, it appears that we have gained the attention of those whom I wished to remain ignorant of our presence. But, now that we’ve had another ‘unexplainable incident’, I guarantee they are on their way here and that they will be coming for us. So, it is imperative we kept a low profile.”
The last sentence was directed toward me and Ethan. The two of us were not exactly good at hiding our powers.
“I’m not walking to school,” Ethan said.
“You may not have to for long,” Quinn informed. “Once they’re satisfied there is nothing going on, they will leave.”
“Umm, maybe I’m being stupid here,” Peter chimed in. “But who exactly are ‘they’?”
Quinn sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The MHDA. Short for Meta Human Detection Agency. They formed in the 1960s, when it became obvious there were beings in the world with, shall we say, more than normal human abilities. Many of them were rounded up, and never heard from again. They are an elite group—not even the CIA and FBI know they exist.
“I guarantee you that MHDA Agents will be arriving by the end of the week to look over the goings on here. They will be checking our surveillance systems, and they will be trying to identify the four of you, as well as myself.”
“So, why don’t we just get rid of them when they get here? Can’t you just erase their minds and make them think that nothing’s wrong?” Savanah suggested.
“I wish it were that simple,” Quinn stated. “But unfortunately, they are prepared for such things. As a matter of fact, they are prepared for just about any attack we could throw at them. They have the technology and the training to take us down if they want.”
“What happens when they take us away?” Ethan asked.
“Some say they put you in some internment camp. Don’t ask me where, I don’t know. Others say they brainwash you and make you one of their agents. I really don’t know.”
Just when things were going so well, another crisis had to pop up. Now, we had to act like everything was normal. But things weren’t normal. We weren’t. This would probably be the hardest thing I’d had to do in my entire life. Why can’t life ever be easy?
When the four of us left the room, Quinn went back to watching the television in his office and drinking from his old cup. We solemnly walked the empty halls. None of us wanted to think about what could happen in the next couple days, but try as we might, it was the only thing that came to mind.
Our tracks took us back past the cafeteria. Overhead, the monitors still blared the news report. The same woman sat at the same desk. The graphics behind her had changed. Now it was a video of a car careening down the highway with several police cars in hot pursuit. “… not come in yet regarding the reason the suspect is fleeing police. Reports however, believe two children have been spotted in the back of the car. Police are attempting to set up a road block, but fear the suspect might attempt something drastic.”
“It’s a shame we need to keep a low profile,” Ethan said.
“A loser who’d kidnap children deserves a good old fashioned beatdown,” Savanah added.
“Definitely,” Peter agreed.
“We could always…” Ethan mentioned.
I could see where this was going. No way they were dragging me into another foolish crusade to help the weak. We were already in enough trouble.
“NO!” I shouted. “Are you insane? There’s got to be like a hundred police out there. Not to mention the news cameras in the helicopters.”
“So, we put on some ski masks,” Peter suggested. “Ski club has some in storage down by the gym.”
“Go get ‘em,” Ethan said.
This was quickly spiraling out of control. Peter ran off as I grabbed my head in frustration. It seemed like everything I said, they just wanted to be contrary to. I swear if I said it was a bad idea to go skydiving without a parachute, they’d all want to try it. Why won’t they listen to me?
“Because a hero always does the right thing,” Ethan said.
I groaned. “Has anyone told you that you sound exactly like a comic book character when you speak?”
“No, you’d be the first one.”
“This is dangerous,” I told him. “We could all be killed.”
A lopsided grin spread across his face at that moment showing just how psychotic my boyfriend was. “I know.”
I looked to Savanah. “You too?”
She shrugged. “It beats going to Chemistry.”
“Did either of you listen to a damn thing Quinn just told us?”
“Yeah, so?” Savanah responded.
It was like talking to a brick wall. I couldn’t believe they were dragging me into this.
“Have you considered how you’re going to get over there? It’s not like you can carry all of us at once.”
“Actually, the football team has a cart they use to carry water jugs. It’ll easily fit all three of you.”
I wanted to bang my head into the wall. Maybe it would bring my concussion back and kill me. It would be better than the torture they were putting me though.
Peter came back then with four ski masks. Leave it to him to find them so quickly. He handed them out but I refused to take one. Ethan grabbed the extra.
“Come on, Chris,” he said, with only a hint of a plea. “Don’t make me go without you.”
My eyes said, “I hate you,” while my hand grabbed the mask from him. “Fine,” I said. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a hero, Ethan knew that. I was afraid of what it would lead to. Me, the girl who could make people see their own fears was afraid. What irony.
I looked at each of them, feeling their enthusiasm. I pulled the mask on over my face. “But this is the last damn time!” I knew full well it wouldn’t be.
We ran out to the storage shed where Coach Green kept the football equipment during the off season. Savanah broke the door (adding to the vandalism of the school). Ethan ran in and grabbed the cart. It was rather big. We would all be able to stand in it while he pulled us. I just hoped nobody would fall out. I certainly didn’t want to end up as a blood splatter on the side of the road.
I climbed into the cart behind Savanah and Peter in their ski masks. Quinn stood in the second floor window, smiling and shaking his head at us.
Be careful, he thought. And good luck.
“We ready?” Ethan positioned himself at the front of the cart.
“Yeah,” Savanah answered for all of us.
“Hold on, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
The cart jolted forward and we zoomed away on another thrilling adventure.
My life had taken an unexpected turn. All throughout I wondered why I had been cursed at my newly acquired powers. But, I realize they aren’t a curse at all. I could do good with them, even if it meant I could get thrown into some jail cell for it. As long as my friends were with me, it would be worth it.
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