by Bryan Cohen
Chapter 43
The henchmen took off Ted's hood and pulled him out of the van. He listened to the wind, hoping to hear a certain sound. When he caught some noise from the propeller of the helicopter, he knew he'd laid out all the breadcrumbs he could for Erica to find him. He hoped there was enough time for her to follow them.
Ted couldn't get his bearings in the short time before Tank and the Torellos marched him into the mouth of the cave. There were a few cave networks nearby and Ted had gone on a field trip to one of them as a kid. He recalled feeling claustrophobic in the dark, damp cavern. Now didn't feel any different. He wondered if every bad guy needed a foul-smelling underground lair to consider himself a true villain.
With every step, Ted got the feeling he'd been there before. Certain rock faces started to look familiar. When Nigel picked up a torch and lit it with a lighter, it all came rushing to the front of his brain. The torch was in his dream. So was the cave. If things played true to his premonition, the sword would come next, followed by the portal and the possession of all his friends.
Ted surveyed his options. His arms were still bound, not that he could have done much with them anyway. If he tried to use his powers offensively, Nigel and the others would block them and likely beat him senseless. There was only one option he could think of. He'd need to talk his way out of this one.
"So how does this work exactly?" Ted asked. "You stab me and all your friends come out to play?"
Nigel, who was leading the pack, stopped moving and turned back. He looked otherworldly with the light from the torch flame flickering on his face.
"It's more than that, Ted."
"What," Ted said. "Balloons come out, too?"
Nigel smirked.
"People who wasted their life get a second chance to live as something greater. As someone greater. They won't have control over what they do. One of our brothers or sisters will take care of that. But a small part of them gets to be a miracle on Earth. Plus, one added bonus: you die."
Ted didn't like the sound of that. He hadn't had the chance to say goodbye to his parents. Or Natalie. Or whoever it was Erica had become. He wasn't ready to die.
"Do you think you'll be in charge when the other dark souls cross over?"
Tank grunted.
"What do you mean, in charge?"
Ted was glad one of them had taken the bait.
"You've got an army coming over to take over our world. Do you think the other dark souls will make you a General? Do you think you'll get some kind of reward for what you've done?"
Tank didn't have an immediate answer. Ted hoped he had his hooks in him.
"We don't need to be in charge, Ted," Nigel said. "This is all for the good of our people."
Tank didn't respond. Neither did the twins.
"You're all soldiers. You're on the front lines doing the dirty work. All of you are outsiders and that's what you'll be when the rest of the army comes."
Nigel stopped the group again. He waved the torch in Ted's face.
"Your fate is sealed, Ted. You can beg for your world all you want, but the decision has already been made. Tank, shut him up."
Tank didn't move. He was still deep in thought.
"I wanna hear more. What do you think'll happen after we kill you?"
Nigel glared at Tank, then at Ted.
"You won't be in charge,” Ted said. “When they cross over, you'll still be doing their dirty work. Right now, you're more free than you'll ever be again."
Phil coughed, eliciting Nigel's visual wrath.
"What do you suggest we do instead?" Phil asked.
Ted's last-ditch plan was making more progress than he ever thought possible. If only he'd had the ability to talk his way out of the awkward situations of middle and high school. He supposed the chance of dying by sword and ending the world might have given him the courage he needed.
"Walk away," Ted said. "Be stronger than 99% of the people here. Live as gods."
Ted couldn't see all of Nigel's face in the torchlight, but the parts he could see were enraged. He was not Nigel's favorite person right now.
"Tank, get the sword."
During his efforts, Ted hadn't realized they'd gotten to a wider part of the cave. It was almost like a little sitting room in the middle of nothingness. Nigel gestured over to a part of the wall that had been covered up by a gray sheet. Ted looked at Tank. He and the twins were as stone, with none of them obeying Nigel's wishes. As Nigel continued to stare them down, Ted tried to use his powers to bust out of his restraints, but they were too thick and strong. Ted spotted a sharp-looking part of the wall jutting out near where he was standing. He edged over to it and began rubbing his restraints against the rock.
"Tank! Get me the sword. This is what we've been waiting for."
Tank eyed the gray sheet. Ted felt his restraints begin to break apart from the force of the sharp rocks. Tank turned his attention to Nigel.
"The kid has a good point."
Ted internally patted himself on the back.
"This is what our people have been seeking for hundreds of years, Tank."
"What's the point? Right now, we're stronger and better than anybody else. If we stab him, we'll be the same. I want to live like a god."
Nigel seethed. Then he noticed Ted by the wall.
"Get him away from there."
The twins didn't move. They appeared to be swayed by Ted's reasoning as well. Ted felt as though his arms were nearly free.
Nigel slammed his fist against the wall of the cave, causing everything around them to shake. Several rocks fell from the cave ceiling and nearly landed on Ted.
"You want to live like a god?" Nigel asked. "You can die like one, too."
Nigel lifted up the gray sheet and opened an ancient-looking case. Ted expected to see the weapon that would cause the end of the world. Instead, it was just an empty box.
"Where is it?" Nigel asked. "What have you done with it, Tank?"
Tank was barely listening. The previous threat had sent him to a higher level of anger than Ted had yet witnessed, and that included how pissed off he'd been after Ted hit him with the textbooks.
"I don't know where your sword is, but I'm glad it's gone."
Ted broke his restraints completely, doing his best to hide this fact from the others.
"Whatever you did with it, I'll find the sword. Until then, I'll kill you the old-fashioned way."
Ted thought Nigel meant him for a second, until the Brit locked up Tank in a grapple. This was Ted's moment. He let his restraints fall to the ground, put his hand into the air and pulled the lit torch toward him. Before it could reach his hands, Jason tackled him to the ground. The torch dropped onto the rocks below as Ted struggled against the strength of his former peer.
"This is for my cell phone." Jason wound back and slammed his fist toward Ted with all his might.
Ted rolled at just the last second, causing Jason to break his hand against the rocks and scream in pain. Before Ted could stand up, Phil leapt into his path and swept his legs out from under him.
"Don't you hurt my brother," Phil said.
"Once again, all his fault."
Ted used his powers to lift several of the fallen rocks and toss them toward Phil. Ted's opponent blocked the powers and the rocks fell to the ground.
"I can stop everything that makes you special, Ted. You're just the same nerd we grew up with."
"At least I can concentrate on two things at once."
"What?"
While the two of them chatted, Ted floated the torch off the ground and right behind Phil. When he turned around, Ted let gravity take it, catching Phil's clothing on fire. Ted noticed that Phil and his brother had very similar screams before he floated the torch in his own direction.
As Ted prepared to run away, he looked back to see Tank and Nigel fighting. Tank appeared to briefly have the upper hand, knocking Nigel back against the cave wall multiple times. But then, just before Ted ran, Nigel punche
d Tank with so much force that his hand went clean through Tank's body. Ted didn't look back to see what happened next.