by J.T. Stoll
Vero watched the hills leisurely pass as Pieter’s car struggled up to freeway speeds while carrying four people. In his trunk, he had some firewood, lighter fluid, obligatory s’more materials (Pieter’s idea), and magic weapons from another world.
“We headed to Pismo Beach?” she asked.
“Nah, they don’t allow fires,” Neil said. “You haven’t lived here long, have you?”
She glanced back at him in the rearview mirror. “Six months. My oldest sister married a guy here, and we moved. We’d been dying to get out of Bakersfield forever.”
“You’re from Bake-O?” Neil said. “I’m sorry.”
Pieter reached back and slapped him on the side of the leg. “This is why you don’t have a girlfriend.”
The sun drifted below the line of hills, and the sky above captured the last of its golden rays. The road curved left, they crested a hill, and a sparkling expanse of ocean greeted them. Peace knocked a little stress out of Vero’s chest.
“I don’t miss the Central Valley,” she said.
“What about you?” Neil asked, turning to Gloria. “You lived here your whole life?”
“N-No, we moved here when I was five.”
She seemed nervous. Neil pressed on. “What brought you here?”
“Mom’s job.”
“Yeah? What’s she do?”
“She died ten years ago.”
“Oh, I’m… umm…”
Pieter slapped Neil on the knee again; the car went silent.
Vero wore her band. She’d gotten into the habit after Sunday, at least when her clothing allowed. It stayed in her purse or backpack otherwise. After what happened at Carlos’s place, having it felt safe. The axe now spent most of its time in Pieter’s trunk. It was already Saturday. Between school and Gloria’s job, this was the first time they’d been able to get together.
They passed through a toll gate and drove out onto Grover Beach, following a vehicle pathway made out of pressed sand between enormous sand dunes and the icy waters of the Pacific.
“Jed and Dek were spotted, again,” Neil said. “Somebody dubbed them the Medieval Burglars.”
Vero’s pulse quickened. “Did they hit up more shops?”
“No, witnesses say they were sitting on top of one of the downtown buildings, just watching people go by. They were gone by the time the cops showed up.”
The car bumped up and down over the sand.
“Watching for us,” Neil said.
“Yeah,” Pieter said. “We kinda figured that out.”
Pieter pulled his car off to face the ocean. Amid the sound of crashing waves, the boys stacked the wood from the trunk into a log cabin and doused the structure in lighter fluid. Vero and Gloria watched them from seats in the fine-grained sand, which still held the sun’s heat. Gloria, in a sweater, crossed her arms and looked out at the surf. Vero scooted over to her.
“Cold?” Vero asked.
“Just thinking.”
Pieter ducked and held a lighter to the logs. The fuel caught, and a wave of heat washed over Vero. Above, the first stars appeared. Everything seemed like four friends having an ordinary bonfire on a Saturday night.
Vero held her hand toward the fire’s warmth. “I’ve been wanting to try something.”
“What?” asked Gloria.
Vero stood up and focused on her soul armor. Inside Pieter’s trunk, the axe was close enough that the armor didn’t whine of incompletion like it had at Carlos’s apartment. Heat danced inside. Heat was her friend. But how much of a friend? She held a hand over the dancing flames.
“Careful, pretty girl,” Pieter said.
Her inner fire connected with the bonfire. She reached into the flames. No pain, no burns, only strength. Even the smoke didn’t send her eyes watering, though the smell was strong.
“That doesn’t hurt?” Pieter asked.
“No, feels great,” she replied. She knelt and lay on her stomach on top of the logs. Sparks popped and burst out as the fire readjusted itself. “I’m Diotein, the fire, right?”
Something wet hit her back. She craned her neck; Pieter held the lighter fluid. He opened his mouth in feigned surprise. “Oops.”
She laughed, the added flames giving strength. “Cut… cut that out!” She waved her hand playfully, which sprayed flaming droplets in his direction. Pieter dove into the sand.
“Remarkably, your clothing isn’t catching either,” Neil said. “It’s also protected. As I suspected, we have a lot to learn about these things.”
“I could sit here all night,” Vero replied.
She felt a little pulse—not a physical feeling, more of something inside. The belt around Neil’s waist glowed silvery. He reached his hand over the flames. “Uncomfortably warm for me. Better than third-degree burns, but not the sort of thing I’d like to take a nap in, like Vero there.”
She closed her eyes and soaked in the wonderful heat, like a hot bath after a day playing in the snow.
Neil droned on. “But anyways, this goes to show that there’s more to these artifacts than hacking and slashing and jumping really high. For example, when James pulled them out of the bag, they were collapsed on themselves or folded up somehow. Not sure about you guys, but I haven’t been able to replicate that: Reitach is completely solid, no hint of a joint or telescoping parts. Seems like it was some part of the magic we haven’t figured out. Also, James said something about sight. I think we’re getting the beginnings of that, right now. Check this out.”
Vero opened her eyes. Neil stepped outside the firelight. “I have activated my soul armor, so you see light emanating from it, right? However, look at the sand around me. Does it appear illuminated?”
“No…” Pieter said.
“The light from my armor isn’t reflecting off the sand. It’s not light. You’re seeing something else, perhaps something from elsewhere in the electromagnetic spectrum…”
Vero lost track of Neil’s words. Pieter’s voice broke her out of the daze. “Vero, you’re smothering the fire.”
Vero pulled herself away from the flames and sat next to Pieter. “Not so close,” he said, squirming away.
Her heart dropped. “What, why?”
He pulled a marshmallow out of their bag and held it next to Vero’s cheek. It began to turn a golden brown. “Because I can make s’mores on you.”
“You always said she’s the hottest girl in school,” Neil said.
“That joke is now officially banned,” Pieter replied. He smeared the marshmallow onto her cheek.
Vero pulled it away; a string of melted sugar trailed behind. She sat in the cool sand by herself.
“So, uh, looks like we’ve started the team meeting,” Pieter said.
The fire crackled.
“Team meeting” sounded like a school project. Vero pictured James again. She heard the glass shattering at Carlos’s shop. Whatever comfort she’d gained from the fire faded.
Neil removed a laptop from the backseat of Pieter’s car and opened it. Under the twilight, the screen made his face a ghostly white. “Yes, I was wondering when we’d begin. Thanks for coming out. I thought that a bonfire would afford us the most privacy.” Other than passing cars, the only other people on the beach were marked by a few scattered fires. “I have a list of things to discuss. Item one, team name. I’m now accepting nominations.”
“Team name?” Vero said. “That’s item one? And who put you in charge?”
“Well, I’m the best strategist,” Neil replied. “I’m raid leader for the Army of Pwn, after all. Anyways, I have seven suggestions. One, The Rebel Alliance. Two, The Avengers. Three, The Fellowship. Four…”
“Rebel Alliance? What are we rebelling against?” Gloria asked.
“It’s a…” Neil began.
Pieter interrupted him. “Stop, just stop, Neil. Are all those movie and comic book references?”
“One’s from a video game…”
“All right, let’s skip the team name and get to something more important,”
Pieter said.
“A name’s important.”
“How about, ‘What in the world are we doing?’” Vero shouted.
“Keep your voice down,” Neil said.
“Say something useful.” Vero glared at him over the flames.
“Oookay, how about we start this over,” Pieter said. “Neil, close the laptop. We’ll get to your to-do list later. Gloria, you’ve been quiet. What do you want to talk about?”
“That’s okay. I don’t have much…”
“No,” Pieter said. “We’ve been talking to each other all week about this. I haven’t heard from you… outside algebra, that is.”
“Well, I want to know… how are all of you doing?” Gloria asked.
“I’m good,” Neil said. “Though we should totally figure out the scope of what exactly—”
“I’ve had worse weeks,” Pieter said. “Homework load not too bad. Family drama manageable. I’ve got a pretty girl in my life. And, you know, superpowers cancel out the threat of murder in my book. You, Vero?”
Oh, Pieter. He made life light, bearable. Even the hard parts. Though sometimes, Vero wondered how he really felt under all the humor. She scooted over and laid her head in the comfort of his lap.
“I…” The words caught.
“It’s okay,” he said.
Where to start? Frustration at their ignorance, anger at the guys who were ruining the life she was building here in SLO, including James for starting this whole thing. And, constantly in the background, fear and stress. “A lot’s happened. I just want to know what we do.”
Pieter turned toward Neil and nodded. “Neil, why don’t you tell them your scenarios?”
Vero rested against Pieter and looked up as the first stars emerged from the darkness.
“All right, scenario one—”
“And keep it brief,” Pieter said.
“Right,” Neil said. “Well, we don’t know much. We don’t know if Rolland is an evil overlord or a benevolent monarch. We don’t know if Terian is coming to conquer Earth or protect us from his father. Plus, despite James seeming so convinced, who says they even have a big enough population or advanced enough weapons to do any damage? He was dying when he came to us, and it sounds like nobody from his world has ever been here. How they know anything about our society is just another one of those big questions.”
Neil tossed another log on the fire, sending up sparks, and continued. “Knowing that little, I, for one, don’t want to join James’s little guerilla army just yet.”
“Really, dumping all this on us was a pretty douche move,” Pieter said. “We don’t owe it to him.”
“Douche or desperate,” Neil said. “Anyways, do any of you actually want to try and harry the movements of EP’s army?”
“EP?” Gloria asked.
“Sorry, Evil Prince. Terian, that is.”
“Though he might not be evil,” Pieter said.
“Well, cool name either way,” Neil said.
“I don’t wanna fight,” Vero said. “I’ve got enough problems at the moment.”
“Agreed,” Gloria added.
“Good,” Neil said. “In that case, we’ve just got one barrier.”
“Jed,” Pieter said. “And that other guy with him…”
“Dek, the wildian,” Neil said. “That’s what James called him. Whether that’s a race or ethnicity, who knows? Anyways, if they’re here when the main army arrives, we’re identified. We don’t want to end up in that situation. If they’re not here, we’re just ordinary high schoolers. I’ll get back to WoW, Vero and Pieter get back to kissing…”
Vero groaned.
“…And Gloria, you get back to your life.”
Fighting in the fury of that first night had been one thing. But actually hunting someone down and killing them? “What do you mean by ‘gone?’” Vero asked. “Like… dead?”
“Preferably not,” Neil said. “Because whether he’s from another dimension or not, we might end up in jail. I’d rather just get rid of his soul armor and take him to the police. He and Dek are currently wanted for armed robbery. We’ve got a justice system; let them handle the Ruachites… Ruachers…”
“Ruachians,” Pieter said. “Like Asians. Europeans. Ruachians.”
Neil tapped the keyboard. “Ruachians. Check. Anyways, I suggest getting them to the police. Jed wants to find us and kill us? We get him first then get on with our lives.”
“And if it’s not that clean? If it comes to killing or being killed?” Pieter asked.
The fire crackled.
“It won’t,” Neil said.
“Why don’t we just tell the police right now?” Gloria asked. “That sounds easier.”
Neil shook his head. “Bad idea. For starters, if they find out about our weapons, they might suspect us of James’s murder. Plus, the army or CIA or whoever would take our soul armors. And I don’t want to give up our protection with those Ruach…ians still out there.”
“What do you mean?” Vero asked. “The cops would protect us, right?”
Pieter scoffed. “Did you see what Jed did that first night? I don’t think the SLO-po is ready for something like that. I don’t know if anyone is.”
“So, witness protection or something,” Vero said.
“You want to leave SLO for witness protection?” Neil asked. “And give up your soul armor? Do you?”
Vero paused and rubbed a finger over the band on her arm. Her sisters and mom loved this place. And, truth be told, Vero did, too. She didn’t say anything.
Neil gazed into the fire. “We take care of Jed. Then, if we want, we hand everything to the authorities. Or not. Personally, I say we keep the whole thing a secret. If nobody knows who we are, we get our lives back.”
“You make it sound so easy to keep it secret,” Vero said.
“Well, at some point, I wanted to talk about disguises. You know, take a hint from the Justice League and protect ourselves and our loved ones. We’ll… we’ll work on getting some masks or something. But regardless, I don’t think we’re ready to face them down. We need to train, to figure out how to use these armors. Then, when we feel strong enough, we go after him. If we’re really lucky, the cops catch him before we even have to do anything.”
“And if we’re unlucky, somebody else comes through the portal to help them out,” Pieter said.
“Right. Which is why we can’t wait too long.”
“What about the invasion? What if it’s real?” Vero asked.
“You don’t think the authorities will notice when Ruachians start coming through en masse in the middle of SLO? The army doesn’t need a pro tip from us about defending the country,” Neil said.
Vero wanted to argue. Something about Neil just made her want to argue. But he’d thought this out pretty well. It seemed like the best way to get rid of the problem. “I’m down to train. Jed, well…” She still didn’t like the idea of fighting again. “Either way, it’s better if we know what we’re doing.”
“I don’t want to fight,” Gloria said.
A log collapsed on the fire. Everyone stared at her.
Neil raised his voice a little. “You have a better idea? A better way out of this?”
“Well, we could… just keep our heads low.”
“Gloria, he threatened to hunt us down and kill us. Not to mention holding up a bunch of stores downtown. Do you really want someone like that wandering around SLO? The best way to protect ourselves is to fight him. We can’t just run and hide.”
“I just… yeah, that makes sense,” Gloria said, frowning slightly.
Vero sat up and brushed some sand off her back. “Hey, Glori, you mind walking to the bathroom with me?”
“Um… sure,” Gloria said.
Vero pulled the girl up by the arm. Gloria’s face spasmed in pain and her arm tensed. Weird. Vero hadn’t pulled that hard. She shrugged it off, and the two walked toward the restrooms at the beach entrance.
“Glori… You mind if I call you
Glori?” Vero asked.
“I’ve had worse nicknames.”
“You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Well, all things considered. But this is all pretty scary.”
“Yeah, it is,” Vero said. “But you know, with that thing on your chest, you’re the strongest woman ever alive. Have you tried it out since a week ago?”
A car passed, headlights white against the sand.
“Just a little,” Gloria said.
“Glori, you’re braver and stronger than you let on, aren’t you? There’s something like steel in you.”
Gloria looked at her feet.
“Look, I know this is all crazy, but we can’t just sit and do nothing,” Vero said.
“No, probably not. I’d like to, but I think you’re all right. Eventually, they’ll find us.”
“Right. Don’t you want to at least figure out how that thing works? Don’t you want to be able to do something, rather than be helpless?”
A light just above Gloria’s breasts lit up. Thanks to Neil, Vero couldn’t help but notice that it didn’t light their path. “That’s in a pretty awkward spot,” Vero said.
“Yeah, it shows up under my clothing, depending on what I wear. But like James said, it has to be against my skin to work right.”
“Mine also shows under most of my clothing. I keep it in my purse mostly.”
Gloria shook her head. “Wish I could do that. I have to basically undress to get mine on.”
“What’s it feel like when you use it?” Vero asked.
“Peaceful. It beats in tune with my heart.”
“Sounds like the opposite of mine. I feel like I’m burning up.”
They walked in silence for a moment.
“We need you, Glori. And not just to fight with us. Don’t just zone out when we talk. Don’t let Neil steamroll you. He acts smart, but he’s an idiot.”
They arrived at a small, freestanding building made of cinderblocks. Four unisex bathrooms exuded the faint smell of raw sewage.
“Thanks,” Gloria said.
“No problem. Let’s go back.”
“Didn’t have to pee?”
“Nah, you just needed someone to talk to. No way I’m stepping into one of those.”
9. Tortilla Chips