by Bryan Cohen
Chapter 23
Ted was surrounded by darkness. No matter which way he looked, nothing seemed to register. He realized there was something firm in his hand – a long piece of wood. Instinctively, he took out a lighter and set the torch aflame.
"Ah, much better. I guess."
The darkness gave way to blank cave walls. He wasn't sure what was more frightening, the pitch blackness or the ominous cave. As he looked over his shoulder, Ted saw he was not alone. Dhiraj carefully examined every treacherous step as he walked. Erica was there, too, and she looked much more confident on the terrain. There were three others with him, but he was unable to make out their faces. As he turned back to the front, he saw their adversaries. Nigel and his crew rushed at them.
"Run," Erica said. "You're too important."
"I appreciate the thought, but–"
Ted should have listened. Before he could finish his thought, Nigel was upon him. He pulled back his sword and shoved it forward, right into Ted's stomach. Erica and the others screamed as a blue light emanated from the wound, opening a portal to another world. Ted tumbled to the ground as the gateway grew larger. Small pulses of energy shot out of the light, slamming into each of his friends. They weren't his friends any longer. Erica, Dhiraj and the others became darker. Erica walked up to Ted, who writhed in pain.
"Please, help me."
Erica lifted her foot and stomped on Ted's neck. Everything went black.
Ted woke up on a bench outside of the school gymnasium. He reached over for his bag, but in his restlessness, he'd accidentally propelled it across the hallway. Ted stretched his arms to the sky and attempted to wake up.
"Just what I needed. Nightmares."
He shook his foot awake and walked toward his backpack. The bag was sitting next to a paintball stain on the wall from last month's unauthorized war games. He recalled Principal Stoll saying it would take years to find all of them during an angry all-school assembly. He threw the strap of the backpack over one shoulder.
Ted had dozed off in an effort to escape. As soon as the end of the school day bell rang, Dhiraj texted him a link. It was a video some classmate took of Ted's encounter with Natalie. A story with the title "Female athlete gets heated with superhero ex-flame." Ted had a feeling Natalie would be displeased. He wondered if the news vans would show up at her house as well.
"Natalie," he said. "Oh man."
Ted lifted his bag over his shoulder and walked to the parking lot.
Throughout high school, Ted wasn't very high on the confidence charts, and he would constantly beat himself up with thoughts like you'll never get a girlfriend, you're too much of a loser. Ted had the habit of developing crushes on any girl who would pay attention to him. As Natalie was the girl he spent the most time with, he came to appreciate most of her traits, positive and negative. When she saved him the trouble and asked him out, he wasn't sure how to react. They had been in a mall food court, preparing to see a summer action flick.
"I like you, Ted. I want us to date."
Ted dropped the soda he was holding. The top came off, but it landed perfectly on its base, spilling only the top layer. He reached down to tend to his mistake while looking up at Natalie. She looked even taller and more muscular from the ground.
"I like you, too," he said. "You're not intimidated by my suave and poise."
Ted snapped the cap back on and stood up. The soda on the side of the cup trickled down his arm. Natalie wiped it off with an extra napkin.
"Let me phrase it in the form of a question. Will you be my boyfriend?" she asked.
Ted gripped the soda with both hands. He figured Natalie would slap him if he dropped it again.
"Yes. Does that mean I have to pay you back for the ticket you just bought?"
Natalie laughed. A few minutes later, they were holding hands during the previews. She didn't even seem to mind his soda-coated arm pressing against hers. He'd never felt completely comfortable in the relationship, because he was constantly worried about screwing something up. The good moments remained amazing, despite his anxiety. And now, she was his "ex-flame." Was Erica his current one?
"It doesn't make any sense," he said to himself as he walked down the stairs outside the school.
Erica made a point to ignore him in middle school after she joined the popular crowd. He sent her half a dozen messages online, trying to remind her of the birthday parties, the hangouts and the fun times they'd had together. She never responded to a single one. Every time he saw her in the hall or came across a yearbook photo of her, he would think about how he somehow screwed it up himself. If he'd only been more popular or more attractive, maybe she wouldn't have ended their friendship.
"Always thinking positive, aren't you Ted?"
Despite all that time apart, the news of her disappearance was devastating to Ted. She was still a part of his heart, whether he liked it or not. He knew his turn in mood affected his relationship with Natalie.
"I let a girl who didn't talk to me kill my chances with a girl who wanted to love me. Real super, Ted."
Ted reached his car. He'd opened the door and thrown in his backpack before he realized Dhiraj was sitting on the hood.
"You know, talking to yourself like a crazy person isn't going to help your public image," he said.
"You know, we still haven't signed an official management contract. I've had offers."
Ted knew exactly how to rile up Dhiraj. His friend hopped off the car.
"I'll email you a contract today, buddy."
Ted chuckled.
"It's all good, Dhiraj."
Dhiraj breathed easier.
"Cool. By the way, kudos to you on being part of a scandal in your first 24 hours of celebrity."
Ted grumbled.
"Get in the car."
Ted didn't want to think about how he was perceived in the media. He didn't want to know what hashtag of him was trending. He liked being in high school. He enjoyed homework and class, but the social stuff made him uneasy. Waking up to 10,000 friend requests made his life a lot more complicated. He took an alternate route home to avoid any attention.
"Don't worry, Ted. I already put up a press release about Natalie. It was Natalie-approved!"
Ted turned on the radio and moved it over to the classic rock station.
"Next time, can you let me approve it, too?"
"Yes sir."
Ted let himself focus on the song for a few bars.
"This isn't easy, Dhiraj."
His friend nodded.
"I'm sure whatever gave you these powers wouldn't have done so if you couldn't handle them."
"That's a nice thought."
When Ted pulled into his driveway, he was surprised to see just one news van. The familiar YNN was emblazoned on the side.
"When did they get here? YNN is the big time," Ted said, slamming the car door behind him.
"Oh, I set up a national news interview with you for an hour from now. Twenty-five million people are about to hear their first conversation with Ted Finley."
Ted leaned against the car and groaned.
"Great! Just what I wanted."
"You better shower up. You don't look camera-ready."
Ted let himself slink to the ground. He began to laugh.
"Let's see how deep I can dig this hole," he said.
Dhiraj gave him a hand up and the two of them went inside.