Supernal Dawn

by J. A. Giunta

  She’d been reading and organizing files on a tablet. She’d set it aside and sat waiting with fingers interlaced on the table. Her nails were manicured but not painted. Her blonde hair was straight, cut at the shoulder, with a few platinum highlights. Green eyes, delicate cheeks and the firm jawline of someone in peak fitness, her beauty was more than a little distracting.

  Looks like late twenties, he thought and glanced at the slight tan line on her ring finger. And married.

  “You’re not in any kind of trouble,” Emily said. Her voice was pleasant, the tone friendly. “I just need to ask a few questions.”

  Even her smile was disarming.

  She wore nice clothes, professional looking, with shiny black shoes and a suit jacket. She didn’t seem like a police officer or a detective.

  A government agent, most likely.

  Lee sat in the metal folding chair and sensed relief pass through her. She’d been afraid but was less so now, as if they’d passed some sort of hurdle together. If she’d expected any resistance, he supposed, from a dangerous person with superpowers, it would have happened right away. But Lee had remained calm, shown reason and a willingness to listen.

  He put his hands on the table, so she could see them. He didn’t want to give her a reason to pull the holstered gun he could see outlined beneath her jacket.

  “Do you know why you’re here?” she asked. “What’s happening out there? And not just here, in Sungrove, but all over the world?”

  There were slight pauses in her speech. He could’ve attributed it to careful thinking, but when he looked for it, he caught sight of the earbud. She was being given information as they spoke, not necessarily coached but definitely guided. Lee didn’t have to look at the mirror to know who was on the other end of that connection.

  Emily was about to say more.

  “Tell me,” Lee said.

  “People are manifesting powers,” she explained. He stayed quiet, reading their emotions, trying to learn as much from them as she was from him. “Our analysts believe the soundwaves from the Pillars affected physical changes in some people. It’s still too early to tell for sure, but it looks like only a small percentage of the population is showing signs of any change.”

  Lee nodded. He could sense the growing frustration from the three behind the mirror, particularly from the man in the middle.

  Emily leaned forward and placed both her hands on his. He felt a shock go through his system, like a jolt of electricity up both arms and down to his privates. It wasn’t that he’d never been touched by a girl before, but any contact from a pretty woman had an immediate response.

  Unfortunately, her feelings didn’t match her actions. He sensed no passion in her, no actual longing for his gangly body, only determination and...duty?

  Great. She’s flirting because it’s her job.

  “You seem like a good guy,” Emily said. “No one’s going to hurt you. Have you noticed any changes in yourself?”

  Lee sighed. It would’ve been so much easier if he could believe she was attracted to him. He began to dread all the relationships his new power was going to ruin. He pulled his hands away.

  “Sorry,” he said. “That’s not going to work on me. Ever since I woke this afternoon, I’ve been able to sense what people are feeling.”

  She sat back, genuinely intrigued. “Really? So you’re an empath?”

  Lee scrunched up half his face.

  “Not exactly,” he said. “I think it’s more like a side-effect, a part of diagnosing injuries. I haven’t tried it yet, but I think I can heal people.”

  She nodded and gave an appraising smile, obviously listening to the voices in her ear.

  “That could save a lot of lives,” she said. “You know, we have specialists who could help you, offer training and guidance, give you the time and resources to hone your ability. Think of all the lives you could save, how proud your,” Emily paused, as she realized her mistake, and finished with, “you’d be.”

  She’d been about to mention his mother.

  Lee guessed they wanted some kind of commitment before making any mention of his legal guardian. He let it slide. It was in his best interest to keep her relaxed, so she’d continue to make mistakes.

  “Sounds like you’re offering me a job,” he said. “I haven’t even finished high school. What kind of salary does a superpower get me?”

  “A lot better than mine,” she joked.

  He wanted to smile, to laugh lightly along with her, but nothing she said or did stemmed from a concern for his wellbeing.

  “More than just a great paying job,” she went on, “we could offer you security, for your family and friends. It would be very dangerous if the wrong people knew what you could do. They’d want to exploit you, control you, and they’d use those you care about to do it.”

  First persuasion and then bribery, he thought, now coercion. She’d just threatened his family and friends in the guise of offering protection. Isn’t that how the mob worked?

  Lee supposed she would’ve tried blackmail, if he’d had any secrets worth exploiting. Though exposing his power to the world would’ve worked just as well. There was no denying dangerous organizations, lawful or otherwise, were going to try to take advantage of anyone with powers.

  Lee groaned inwardly. She’d shown him the carrot, but a part of him just had to see the stick.

  He said, “What if I don’t want any part of that? I just want to be normal.”

  “That’s not always up to us,” she replied. “Sometimes we just have to make the best of what we’re given. What we’re offering is as close to normal as you’re going to get. We can keep you and your family safe, despite what goes on at your mom’s spice shop. We just want you working with us.”

  What about the spice shop?

  Lee did his best not to show any surprise at the mention of it, though he didn’t think he did a very good job. It didn’t matter. Whatever she’d alluded to, she knew he was unaware. It was just another ploy meant to keep him off balance, to make him question the wrong things.

  “Where’s my mother?” he asked. “She was supposed to meet me here.”

  “She’s already here,” Emily said and showed him a live feed on the tablet. His mom was seated at a table, just like he was, talking to a different agent. “We’re explaining the situation to her. If you’re still undecided, we can go join them.”

  They’ve already convinced her, Lee thought. They wouldn’t risk putting us together, if they thought she’d say no.

  Lee said, “All right, let’s—”

  Gunshots rang out from somewhere in the building, followed by shouting and abrupt screams. The entire room began to vibrate, shaking dust loose from the ceiling panels. Shots continued in fast succession, loud pops from multiple guns.

  Lee immediately thought of Ember and jumped to his feet. Emily had a hand to her earbud.

  “What’s happening?” he asked. “My sister’s still out there.”

  Emily stood, reached toward her holster, though she didn’t draw the gun.

  “Everything’s all right,” she said. “I just need you to remain calm. Other agents are responding.”

  “I need to get to my sister.”

  Lee could feel the panic and pain in a dozen bodies but had no way of knowing who they were. He could tell where they were going, though, either running to or from something. He needed to get closer for a better look at the bigger picture.

  “It’s too dangerous,” she said when he began to move. “You’d only be in the way.”

  The metal door buckled inward and flew across the room, crashed against the opposite wall with enough force to crack the concrete. It fell to the ground loudly, with hinges and pieces of the doorway still attached. A guy a little older than Lee stepped into the room. He was taller, more muscular, with short dark hair and a wide grin.
He looked like a football player who’d just scored a touchdown.

  “Mr. Tompkins,” Emily warned, “you’re making a mistake.”

  “Let’s go, buddy,” he said to Lee. “I’m busting us out of this place.”

  Tompkins wore jeans and a black tee. The shirt had several holes in it large enough to see skin, but there was no blood anywhere on him.

  Didn’t Jen say the Supers were bulletproof? If I’m one of them, does that mean I’m bulletproof too?

  He focused his ability on the guy, felt the rush of adrenaline coursing through him and the high of being truly powerful. There were numerous things off about him, however, very noticeable differences in his anatomy.

  Is his skin altered in some way?

  It was, Lee realized, the deeper he probed. It wasn’t just thicker. It was denser, stronger, infused with a foreign substance. His whole body was, every muscle and bone, every soft tissue and tendon. Each organ had been condensed and duplicated in a different spot. There were even new ones he didn’t recognize, though he wasn’t a doctor by any stretch. It just seemed too odd, made him wonder in what other ways he’d been changed himself.

  There were still weak spots, of course, like the eyes and mouth, the ears, places where the brain could be penetrated. He may have been bulletproof, but he wasn’t completely invulnerable.

  “Come on, dude,” he said. “I ain’t got all day.”

  Emily drew on him.

  “Place your hands behind your head,” she said with forced calm, “and don’t make any sudden moves.”

  Lee knew she screwed up the moment she pulled her gun. He sensed the thrill inside this guy at the prospect of violence, at any opportunity to use his power.

  “You’re not buying their bullshit, are you?” Tompkins asked and pointed at her. Emily fired at the same instant, struck him in the chest. The bullet made a new hole in his shirt but didn’t break the skin. “Ow, bitch! You know, this was one of my favorite shirts before today.”

  He thrust his hand out, and she fired again. The air between them wavered in rings, like visible shockwaves racing toward her. They struck the bullet, sent it wide into a wall, and then the vibrations rammed full force into her. Lee felt and heard bones break, as she was crushed against the concrete wall. She slumped to the ground, unconscious and bleeding from her nose and ears.

  “So,” Tompkins asked, “what’s it going to be?”

  Lee thought through every possible outcome of a life on the run, being a fugitive from the law, being thought a criminal from the very start, taking on the crimes of others by association, putting family and friends in danger for being close to him. There was no happy end to that road.

  “Sorry,” Lee said, “but running isn’t the answer.”

  “And what is, working with them?” Tompkins shook his head and laughed. “They’ll turn on you first chance they get. Or worse, they’ll make you one of them. And you know what they say. ‘If you’re not with us…’”

  Lee didn’t flinch. He had the benefit of knowing what Tompkins was feeling at that very moment, the fear and uncertainty of what Lee’s power might be.

  “I’ve studied you,” Lee said, “seen your power already and how it works. I know how to kill you. You really want to risk it?”

  Tompkins narrowed his eyes. “Fine, be a dick.”

  He turned and left the room.

  Lee rushed over to Emily and put a hand to the center of her chest, where the most damage had been done. He felt bits of him leave his body and enter hers, like the tiny blue fireflies he’d seen in the parking lot at Finley’s.

  Once inside, they began to multiply exponentially and spread throughout her body. He set them to the task of mending her bones and ruptured organs, then ran from the room for his sister. He could still feel the bits working, could direct them from afar, though he knew they’d stop healing if he left the range of his sensory bubble.

  “Ember!” he shouted, when he caught sight of her past the hallway.

  There were people slumped over, blood splattered over the cubicles and on the walls. Lee sensed eight unmoving bodies in the immediate area and could do nothing to bring them back.

  “Are you all right?” he asked her when he got close, unable to get a sense. He assumed her power was blocking his. “Are you hurt?”

  She reached out to take his arms, glad to see him as well but struggling with the situation. He quickly pulled back.

  “Don’t touch me,” he told her.

  If she interrupted his power, Emily might die.

  They both instinctively ducked, as more gunshots rang out in nearby rooms. An officer was thrown from one room into the hallway wall and fell to the ground unmoving. A teenage girl walked out after him, looked toward Lee and Ember then headed the opposite way.

  “This is crazy,” Ember said, as Tompkins strode in from another corridor. He was holding a cop by the neck, had him lifted off the ground as he walked and tossed him like a toy across the room. “We have to find mom and Allie and get the hell out of here!”

  Lee felt the officer die, as the man’s body hit and went through a cubicle, a computer monitor and into the concrete wall on the other side. His neck had snapped upon impact, a shower of sparks in his wake.

  “We have to stop them,” Lee said. “We can’t just let them keep killing people.”

  “Isn’t that what the police are for?” she asked, trying to stay hidden. “That’s their job, right? Protect and serve?”

  She grabbed his arm to pull him away, as if she already knew where to find their mom and her friend. Lee lost all sense of those around him. He’d only been halfway finished healing Emily.

  “Damn it!” he snapped and snatched his arm away. “I told you not to touch me!”

  “We don’t have time for this,” she said. Lee was busy trying to reestablish his control over the bits inside Emily. “We need to find mom. She can do more here than either of us.”

  Like what, he couldn’t help think, yell them to death?

  “Wait,” Lee said, once Emily was healing again. “I need your help to stop this Tompkins guy. He’s killed people here, and he’s not going to stop once he leaves.”

  “You don’t know that,” she said.

  She kept talking, but Lee was focused on Tompkins and the surroundings. He looked for something he could use, anything that could stop him. His eyes fell upon a gun under one of the desks.

  “Trust me,” he said. “I know. I can feel it. Besides, Allie can take of herself. You saw her at Finley’s. She has powers. But this one,” Lee nodded toward Tompkins. He had grabbed hold of another officer, held him up with one hand and was poking him in the chest with the other while taunting him. “We can’t let him kill anyone else.”

  “Look at him!” Ember snarled. “How are we going to stop him?”

  His plan would still work without her, but Lee didn’t want to risk getting hit by those vibrations. It would be much easier to take him down if Ember blocked his power.

  “We rush him,” Lee said, already choosing a path. “Just grab hold of him, anywhere, but make sure you touch his skin. Don’t just grab onto his clothes. All right?”

  “Seriously,” she said more than asked. “And while I’m trying to grope him, what the hell are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to take care of him,” Lee said with a grim determination.

  There were no half measures here. Tompkins wasn’t going to stop killing people, until someone put an end to him. He was too dangerous for a jail cell, if one even existed that could hold him.

  Lee felt Tompkins plunge his hand inside the officer’s chest, experienced the horror and pain of fingers wriggle through, wrap around the heart and begin to squeeze.

  “I can feel your heartbeat,” he teased and laughed.

  “Now,” Lee told her, “while his hands are full.”


  He charged forward and to the right, sensed her follow half a step behind. Ember lunged straight for Tompkins, took hold of one arm in both hands and began to squeeze with all her might. Had he been a normal person, she would’ve crushed every bone. As it was, he only managed to look annoyed.

  “Get the hell off me,” he said to her. “I’m a little busy playing here.”

  Lee had snatched the gun up from under the desk as he ran, walked up to Tompkins and put it to his eye. He pulled the trigger three times without delay. Ember shrieked and let go. The officer slid down and off the bloodied arm into a heap. A final gurgle, and he was dead. Bullets didn’t come out the other side of Tompkins’ skull but had managed to break through the thin bone behind his ruined eye. They shredded his brain. It took a moment for him to fall, much longer than Lee expected.

  “You killed him!” Ember said, shocked and staring down at the corpse. “What is wrong with you?”

  Her words and sentiment swept through his mind, a single gust in the storm of emotion raging all around him. So much of it was relief, he wasn’t sure it was his own.

  “It was the only way,” Lee said quietly and put the gun down. Men and women who’d been hiding began to come out from under desks. “He would’ve gone on to kill hundreds, even thousands, and no one would’ve been able to stop him.” He raised his eyes to hers, wanted her to understand. “But I knew how. Every person he killed, if I’d allowed him to leave, would’ve been on me.”

  “Who are you to decide that?” she asked, hurt and afraid—not for what he’d done but for what was sure to follow.

  Other Supers had come in, saw their savior on the floor and ran back the other way.

  Ember shook her head at him, as if he was the one who didn’t understand.

  “If you knew what I knew,” she said and swallowed, “you would never have killed him.”

  Lee’s voice hardened.

  “If you knew what I knew,” he said and turned away, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  - Ember -

  Ember stared out the window, watching cars pass them going in the other direction and wishing they were in them, instead of locked in the back of a patrol car.