Pretty Much Invincible

by Carey, Stephen

  ---

  After William gave her the backpack, Sally exited the neighbourhood the same way she had entered. She picked a random direction and began to walk. Sally kept her father’s advice in mind, about not going too far and getting lost. She then wondered what Bruce would say about all this.

  Damn it, Shane, Bruce would say. I don’t care if she’s invincible or not, you shouldn’t send her out on her own. She’s still just a kid. Be a man and go with her!

  Yeah, Bruce would probably have said something like that.

  ---

  After nearly an hour of finding nothing useful, Sally came to an overturned car on the side of the road. She approached the rusty vehicle and crouched down low, peering in through the smashed window. Seemed pretty empty. Sally turned the car over and then opened the back door. Nothing but shards of glass. Sally sighed. It would be best to return home (not really your home yet) soon.

  Then, Sally-Mobile popped into her head. Sally-Mobile? Yes, most heroes had some from of transport—a car, plane, helicopter. Mr. Super-Brain’s Brain-Copter was one of Sally’s favourites. A smile formed on her face. She removed her backpack and threw it into the back seat of the car. Then Sally hopped into the driver’s seat and whispered, “Sally-Mobile.”

  It was a bit of a fixer-upper, to say the least. Nothing the imagination of a child couldn’t handle. She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and imagined her perfect superhero vehicle. “Big, but not too big,” she whispered. “Powerful, but fast. Blue. No, red—bright red. Big spoiler on the back. Rockets, it can shoot rockets. Smokescreen. Ejector seat. Big wheels. Bulletproof windows. Yeah!”

  Sally opened her eyes, she had a grin from ear to ear. Now it was not a pile of scrap, it was the hi-tech, squeaky-clean, badass Sally-Mobile. All villains pooped their pants whenever they saw this vehicle coming toward them.

  “Robbery in progress!” the man on the radio said. “Repeat—bank robbery in progress!”

  Sally’s eyes lit up as she listened to the man report the location of the robbery. “That’s not far from here!” She pushed a button on the dashboard and the car engine made a thunderous sound. “Let’s go catch some criminals!” She stomped on the accelerator and the car zoomed off at a speed no normal car could achieve.

  The Sally-Mobile swerved left and right, avoiding other vehicles on the road. Up ahead! She spotted the police shooting at a speeding car. Their bullets had done nothing to the villains’ vehicle—because it was no ordinary car. The bank robbers were driving a big, chunky, heavily-armoured car, equipped with all kinds of hi-tech gadgets.

  It was a formidable vehicle, for sure, but nothing the mighty Sally-Mobile could not take down.

  Once the police officers saw Sally’s car, they ceased their pursuit—she would take it from here. Sally was closing in fast, she hit another button on the dashboard and two machine guns appeared on the front of the Sally-Mobile. She opened fire but the machine guns were infective. Fine—time to go bigger. Rockets. Hit these jerks with rockets. The timing had to be right, otherwise innocents would get hurt. The rocket launchers on the sides of the car locked on to the villains. Wait. Wait for it. Sally had a small window of opportunity to fire the rockets without risking innocent lives. She fired. Boom! The villains’ car flipped, landing upside down.

  Sally hit the brakes, quickly exited the Sally-Mobile, and approached the villains who were crawling out of their heavily-armoured car. The car was only slightly dented from the rockets. A job well done!

  “You guys are going away for a long time!” Sally bellowed, hands on her hips.

  The three criminals, all dressed in rat costumes, raised their hands and surrendered. Three dirty rats. Scared little rats.

  The onlooking crowd applauded and cheered, some of them jumped up and down waving at the little hero.

  “Just doing my job,” Sally said, returning to her car.

  Inside the car, Sally sat in silence for a moment, thinking about what adventures she might have next. What kind of criminals would she face in the future? What kind of... kind of...

  Kind of need to go now.

  Her car began to revert back to its former state. Her smile faded along with the Sally-Mobile. Little Sally Rogers was back in the wasteland, sitting in a piece of junk.

  “Just doing my job,” Sally whispered sadly, lowering her head. She got out of the car and grabbed her backpack. Time to return to her father.

  She began the journey home.

  Mom. If you could only see the things I can do. Hugo, Timmy, you kids would be so amazed by me.

  Sally recalled that terrible day. Hugo’s eyes turned completely black, he could not stop vomiting. His body fell apart, slowly. Poor boy had been in total agony right up to the end. What an awful way to go. And Timmy! Oh, God!

  Sally hoped that she would make some new friends soon.

  ---

  It’s inside me! This... fucking darkness is inside me! I can feel it! It’s tearing me apart from the inside! Oh, Jesus, help me! My mind and body! Fucking help me! Somebody!

  Actually, it’s OK, I feel much better now. Thanks, though.

  So, anyway, I took a trip to my ex-wife’s place and I... um... well... I put that crowbar to good use. Seeing her brains all over the kitchen floor, made me feel... sort of... hopeful. You know?

  Wait! Hold on a second! I just realised that... that ain’t right. Beating someone’s head in the way I did. It’s wrong! Right? I have this goddamn feeling in my gut—I think it might have been the wrong thing to do! Shit, I can’t work it out.

  And now this! Now my fucking ear fell off! It was my favourite one, and all. Why couldn’t I have lost my least favourite ear? At least take my least favourite, darkness, you cunt!

  CHAPTER 13

  Carla placed her rifle onto the car hood, reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. Three smokes left. No telling how long she would have to go without a cigarette when these three were gone. After careful consideration, Carla lit up a cigarette. She stared off into the distance and thought about the little girl, Sally. The things that kid could do were mind boggling. William reckoned that Sally’s abilities were connected to the darkness somehow. A mysterious force that had wiped out most of humanity, a superhuman girl—were they connected? Probably. But what did it all mean?

  A handsome young man, Danny, approached Carla and said, “Can I have one of those.” He pointed at the cigarette.

  “Nope. Only three left,” Carla replied. “Sorry.”

  Danny smiled and nodded. “Fine.” Then, his face turned more serious. “I don’t think our new arrivals are going to leave any time soon.”

  Carla thought for a moment. “Danny... maybe having that girl around could be a good thing. No one would fuck with us.”

  Danny considered many possible scenarios. “And what if she decided that she wanted to fuck with us? Or what if she just lost her temper?”

  “Yeah.” Carla had thought about all that.

  “Dad is freaking out. He doesn’t know what to do.”

  What could they do against someone with such power? Carla nodded as she imagined all the damage little Sally could do.

  Suddenly, Danny drew his pistol and pointed off into the distance. “Look!” Someone was approaching.

  Carla threw what little was left of her cigarette to the ground and grabbed her rifle. A woman, on a bicycle—appeared to be unarmed. The bike was swerving left and right, the exhausted rider was struggling to keep it steady. The woman fell off the bike, slowly got to her feet, and shambled up to the row of cars.

  “You’re... not cannibals... are you?” the woman said, panting.

  Carla aimed her gun at the stranger. “No.”

  “You... good people?”

  “Yes.”

  “Name’s Lucy. I could really do with... some food... water.”

  “Sorry. You will have to go elsewhere!” Carla said, shaking her head.

  Lucy, a pretty woman in her mid-thirties, thr
ew her arms up and laughed. “Elsewhere? I’ll be... dead before... I find somewhere else. Please!”

  “That’s not our problem!” Carla said loudly. “Leave!”

  Lucy dropped to her knees. “Fuck... you,” she said weakly. If she had the energy to roar, she would have.

  Carla did not get any enjoyment out of turning people away, but that was what had been decided. They had to look after their own, first. If they were going to survive, they had to be stone cold.

  Before Carla could get another word out, Sally approached and said, “We have to help her!”

  Carla and Danny turned to face the little girl. “We’re... not taking in any more people,” Carla said nervously.

  Sally did understand why these people were the way they were, but she could not just let that woman die on the street. Heroes don’t just let people die. Limping Luke is probably dead by now. She quickly dismissed that thought.

  “Let her in,” Sally said. “It’s only one extra person!”

  “No,” Danny said, hiding his fear of the girl (or trying his best). “You, your father, this woman...” He held up three fingers. “That’s three extra people. We barely have enough resources as it is. And God knows how—” He noticed Shane was approaching.

  Shane looked at the woman outside, on her knees. Part of him wanted to deny her entry, a larger part of him wanted to do the right thing—or what he considered to be the right thing.

  Carla and Danny waited anxiously for Shane to speak.

  “She’ll die,” Shane finally said. “We should take her in.”

  Was that an order? Danny and Carla wondered. Sure felt like an order. Danny’s eyes were now full of anger. This was their home, they should decide. William should decide—he was their leader.

  “No!” Danny snapped. He then glanced at Sally and decided he should calm himself—she could rip him in half if she wanted to. “We won’t... can’t... let any more people in.”

  Shane stared at the woman outside. It was up to him. He could decided what to do. Yes, you have the final say. You have the most powerful weapon!

  “We have to help her, Dad,” Sally said, pulling at his arm. “Look at her!”

  “OK,” Shane said. “Go get her, Sally.”

  “Wait!” Danny said, just as Sally leaped into the air.

  Sally landed near the desperate woman. Lucy couldn’t believe her eyes. Did that kid just do that? Impossible! she thought, her mouth wide open. Maybe the dehydration is making me hallucinate?

  “I got you,” Sally said softly. She picked Lucy up off the ground, cradling her in her arms. “You’re going to be OK.” Sally walked back to the line of cars and jumped over them.

  Lucy was beginning to loose consciousness. Now that the stranger was up close, Shane noticed how beautiful she was. “Get her some food and water—now!” Shane yelled. That was definitely an order.

  Yes, you are in charge. Pretty lady. You tell them. So pretty. Take control! Look at her, Shane. You are in charge. Powerful!

  ---

  Shane and Sally had brought Lucy to their house, they would help her to recuperate. No one else was willing to aid the poor woman. Lucy was sitting at the dinner table eating cold beans out of a tin. She kept glancing over at Sally every now and then. Little Sally was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching Lucy eat.

  Shane took a bottle of water from the non-functioning fridge, placed it on the table, and said, “More water?”

  “God, yes!” Lucy replied, grabbing the bottle. She gulped the water down fast. “So good!” She fixed her eyes on little Sally. “You picked me up like I was a little baby.”

  Sally smiled and nodded. “Yep!”

  “How?”

  “I’m really, really strong! I can lift a car up over my head. Easy.”

  Lucy looked at Shane, trying to work out if the kid was serious.

  “Sally is... different,” Shane said. “She’s unbelievably strong, pretty goddamn fast, and...” He smiled. “She’s bulletproof.”

  Lucy dropped her spoon into the tin and looked at the little girl. “Bulletproof? You shitting me?” They had to be messing with her.

  “Language,” Sally said.

  “I shit you not,” Shane said. He opened the cutlery drawer, took out a fork and handed it to Lucy. “Here.” He gave Sally a look, she understood.

  Sally was more than happy to give a demonstration. She sat next to Lucy and rolled up her tattered sleeve. “Stab me,” she said with a big, goofy smile. “Hard as you can.”

  What the hell? Uncertain, Lucy looked Shane in the eyes. “She wants me to stab her.”

  “Don’t worry,” Shane said. “You won’t hurt her. At all.”

  Was this some kind of weird test? Lucy took the knife. This kid had lifted Lucy with seemingly little effort. She had leaped into the air like a giant grasshopper. Maybe she was bulletproof. And fork proof.

  “Do it,” Sally said eagerly. “You’ll see. I can’t be hurt.”

  “Alright, then,” Lucy said. “You want me to stab you, I’ll stab you.” She took a deep breath and then brought the fork down hard onto Sally’s bare arm. “Holy shit!” Lucy examined the fork, it was bent out of shape. “What the hell are you, kid?”

  “I’ve been asked that a lot lately,” Sally said, grinning. “I don’t really know what I am.”

  Unable to take her eyes off the warped fork, Lucy said, “Did you find her in a crashed spaceship somewhere?”

  “No,” Shane said, laughing. “My little girl is not from outer space.”

  There was a knock on the door, Shane opened it. It was William. He didn’t look too pleased. “Hello,” Shane said pleasantly.

  “You let someone in!” William said loudly.

  “Yes. Look... she would have...”

  William barged his way in. “It is not your decision to make! This is our home! I am in charge!”

  “I know that,” Shane said. “But...”

  “Do you? Do you know that? Because you seem to think you can do whatever you want!” William took a deep breath. “We are not taking in any more people. That is the decision we made.”

  “I understand that, William. But what do you expect me to do?”

  William glared at Shane. “She can’t stay here. Did you even check to see if she’s infected?”

  “I...” No, he never checked. Stupid!

  “I’m not infected,” Lucy said from the kitchen. “Be obvious by now if I was. I can strip right here if you like. You can search for marks.”

  William glared at Lucy. Then he looked Shane in the eyes and said, “She can’t stay!”

  “At least let her stay a few days?” Shane said. “Come on?”

  William wished that the three of them would just go, get out of his neighbourhood. That was not going to happen, but maybe Shane would be reasonable enough to get rid of this new addition. “Two days!” William said firmly. “Then she goes.”

  “Fine,” Shane said. “Two days. Fair enough.”

  After William left, Sally came out of the kitchen. “Dad, you can’t just kick her out,” she said.

  “He’s right, Sally,” Shane said. “This is their home, their rules. And resources are scarce, we have to be smart.”

  Lucy lowered her head and continued to eat her cold beans.

  Don’t let the old man tell you what to do, Shane. You are in control!

  CHAPTER 14

  That night, Shane slept in with Sally and gave the sofa to Lucy. No blankets or pillows, but it was heaven compared to what Lucy was used to. But soon, she would be kicked back out into the wasteland.

  In the middle of the night, Shane heard Lucy shout something. He leaped out of bed (Sally still sound asleep) and ran into the living room. Lucy was sitting up, her white T-shirt covered in sweat. The moonlight lit up the room.

  “You OK?” Shane asked.

  “Yeah, sorry,” Lucy said, rubbing her aching head. “Bad dream.”

  “We all have them these days.”

  �
��Too fucking true.”

  Shane suddenly realised he was wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. He became really self-conscious. “Em... well... if you need anything...”

  “Could you sit with me for a while? Talk?” Lucy had such misery in her eyes. “Been a while since I had a proper conversation with anyone.”

  “Em, sure. No problem.” He pulled up one of the wooden chairs and sat near her.

  After a moment of silence, Lucy said, “Where’s the mother?”

  Shane got a flash of Maria’s bloody face. “Dead.”

  “Sorry to hear that. How long?”

  “Not long.” Shane quickly changed the subject. “So, where you from, Lucy?”

  “Born and raised in Colorado.” She sat back and looked up at the ceiling. “But that seems like another person now. Feels like I’m thinking of someone else when I think of...” She rubbed her tired eyes.

  “Married?”

  “Nope. Although, I’m sure me and George would have gotten married down the line. Maybe we’d be married by now—if the world hadn’t went to shit.”

  “Is George...?”

  “As a doornail.” Her eyes began to water. “Poor bastard, he... he tried to save someone, a little boy, and... got himself killed.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I told that fucking idiot to just... run. But he couldn’t help himself—he had to try and save the kid.” She was so mad at George, but also so proud.

  “How long have you been alone?”

  “Weeks. It’s a miracle I’ve made it this far. A goddamn miracle.” She looked Shane in the eyes. “You can’t kick me out of here.”

  “I’m sorry, but...”

  “Fine!” Lucy yelled.

  “Keep your voice down, please!”

  She lowered her voice. “Fine. If you want to get rid of me... then just put a bullet in my fucking head right now. I’d rather that than go back out there!”

  “I...” Shane was stuck for words.

  “At best, I would die alone. At worst...” She slowly shook her head, recalling the horrors she had seen. “God,” she whispered grimly. “I was so lucky to find this place when I did. You have to let me stay.”