Users

by Stacy Buck

  "Aw shit," Carter said.

  Evan opened both palms and pushed out with his powers. An unseen force field created by Evan's moving powers deflected the balls of fire. They bounced harmlessly into the ground and fizzled out in the mud. Carter knew he was fucked. Exposed and unable to run, he was at their mercy.

  The user to Evan's left picked up a small twig from the ground, put it between his hands, and grimaced with strain as his changing powers went to work. The stick elongated, thickened, and turned into a wooden baseball bat.

  "Well, well. What do we have here," the man with the bat said. "Should we tee off on him, or is he going to surrender."

  "I don't know. It could go both ways," the other said. "He ain't too bright."

  "Naw man, he knows he's fucked. See that look on his face. He ain't gonna do shit," Evan said.

  Carter clenched his fists. He strained to keep from going full inferno on their asses, knowing that even fully powered it was three to one odds, and he stood next to no chance of winning.

  "Well? What's it going to be?" Evan asked.

  Carter threw a hateful glare at the trio.

  "I surrender," he said.

  "Good boy," the man with the bat said and they strolled by at a leisurely pace, walked over to their fort, climbed the stairs, and took the flag.

  "That's game over!" Walt yelled before blowing the horn to signal the game was done for the day. The other team cheered as Evan and his two companions marched out of the forest with the flag in Evan's hand. They slapped each other on their backs in congratulations as the trio joined the rest of the their team.

  "Nice one," Barber said as he lifted himself up out of the dirt. He had been knocked down and hard judging by the smear of mud that ran down his face, chest, and pant leg.

  "What the fuck? It was three against one. That's a no win situation. Did you expect me to get my ass beat?" Carter asked incredulously.

  "I expect you to not act like a bitch!" Barber yelled.

  Rick and the rest of the team, most of which were battered and bloody came into view as they rounded a giant fir tree.

  "What happened?" Rick asked. "I heard shouting."

  "Carter surrendered without even putting up a fight," Barber said.

  Rick was shaking his head in disappointment.

  "That's weak dude," Rick said. "Really fucking weak."

  Carter stormed off for his cabin defiantly.

  Waiting at the edge of the forest was Walt.

  "What was that?"

  "Not you too," Carter said. "Why don't you guys get off my back."

  "You're a coward."

  "I'm injured and was outnumbered three to one!" Carter protested.

  "Life doesn't always present you with fair fights. That's why you'll never beat Alaric," Walt said and Carter couldn't find the words to argue with that.

  #

  Chapter 13

  The night was pitch black. A layer of marine clouds had come in off the Puget Sound and smothered the moon and its light. The fire that had burned so brightly just hours before was little more than glowing red embers. Carter was alone. An eerie silence had fallen over the compound, but Carter needed the time alone. He was pissed. He wasn't sure what hurt more, his aching leg, or his battered ego. To top it all off his own team had turned on him just because he didn't want to get his head bashed in with a baseball bat.

  The crackle of a crushed leaf beneath a footfall sounded from behind Carter's back. Carter whipped around fast enough to almost break his neck to find a lone figure approaching from the direction of the cabins.

  "Who's that?" he asked.

  "Walt said you need a talking to." A grizzly voice said from the darkness.

  The old man's face was grim in the dim light of the smoldering fire as he approached. Old Dan took a seat on the log across the fire from him.

  "A talking to about what?" Carter asked.

  "You ever wonder why you're always getting your ass kicked?" Dan asked.

  "No, not particularly," Carter said playing it as cool as he could, but inside he was scared shitless by the decrepit old man.

  "Maybe it's because things are just harder for you than most people, or maybe it's because you can't stop feeling sorry for yourself," Dan said.

  The old man's eyes bore into him. Dan exuded hardship, the kind that ate away at you by just being in his presence. Years of hard living were splayed across his face in deep lines that showed not only his age, but also his lifestyle. His nose was stained red from decades of hard drinking and his lips were dyed yellow from a lifetime of smoking.

  "It's not for a lack of trying," Carter said.

  "I believe you try. I just don't believe you're prepared." Dan pulled a pack of smokes from his shirt pocket, took out a cigarette, and stuck it between his lips.

  "I'm prepared as I'm ever gonna be," Carter said. "I've seen my share of action. I've even done a few jobs for the government."

  "You're not prepared. You haven't taken any of the General's training seriously. You don't take shit seriously." The old man lit his cigarette and took a long drag. "You know how many times I've relapsed? More times than I can count."

  "What does that have to do with anything?"

  "Everything. You think any of these other Users know what it feels like to be a Scorcher? What it's like to have your insides burning up? Fuck no. They're powers are painless. You've got to learn to fight past the pain."

  Carter let out a cloud of hot breath against the chill night air as he sighed.

  "The pain is all I know."

  *****

  Carter pushed hard up and down. His arms ached with the strain of his body weight, but he did push up after push up.

  "You're up early," Barber said with a big yawn and a stretch. "How long have you been out here?"

  "I don't know...a couple hours maybe," Carter said.

  "A couple of hours?" Barber asked incredulously. "Since when do you care about working out?"

  "Since now," Carter said between grunts of exertion.

  The bell rang and everyone else lined up for their morning exercises. Carter pushed himself as hard as he ever had. Doing more push ups and sit ups than anyone else in the compound. When it came time for their run, Carter ran himself ragged, keeping a full five paces ahead of the next fastest in the group. After circling the entire compound, Carter and the other Users rounded the big house and came to a stop. Walt waited in his usual spot, leaned back in a chair, and his feet up on the porch railing.

  "What's gotten into you?" Walt asked.

  "Great day for a run," Carter said deflecting Walt's question.

  "Great day for a fight," Walt said. "Are you up for it, or are you gonna pussy out and blame it on your bum leg?"

  "The legs fine. Set it up."

  "If you say so hot shot." Walt eyed the pack of Users gathered in front of his house. "Evan!" he shouted.

  "Yes," Evan called back.

  The lanky blond was a full six inches taller than the next tallest user in the compound. He was wiry, but his muscles were corded and solid. Evan could have passed as a Nordic god in a time long past, like Thor's skinnier twin brother.

  "Get ready. You're fighting," Walt said.

  "Oh, this is going to be good," Evan said and his two buddies from the game of capture the flag the previous day laughed. Carter scowled at them as he entered the pit.

  "Come on funny guy, let's get it on, or are you planning on killing me with comedy," Carter said. Evan's cocky smile turned to a frown as he climbed down to face Carter.

  "You think this is even going to be a fight?" Evan asked. "Just a few days ago you got beat up by a sixteen year old kid."

  "He's a tough kid." Carter winked at Barber standing in his typical spot at Walt's side.

  "Enough talk," Walt said. "Fight!"

  Carter burst across the pit, running with abandon. With the element of surprise on his side, Carter swung a wide right hook aimed at Evan's head, but the towering man leaned back and his punch just b
arely grazed Evan's chest. Evan, with his head already cocked back, swung forward and slammed his forehead into Carter's nose. He fell back onto his ass. Carter shook his head from side to side to clear the stars from his eyes. Blood dripped from the bridge of his nose where the skin was ripped. With a growl, Carter summoned the heat within him and a ball of fire burst to flame in the palm of his hand.

  "I'm going to shove this down your throat," Carter said getting to his feet.

  He reached back, preparing to throw, but before he could let go, Evan called on his own powers. Carter was blinded with a face full of sand as Evan pooled a giant ball together from the surrounding pit to shower his face. Grains of dirt stuck to his eyes, and his fireball went wide.

  "Watch out!" Carter heard Walt scream.

  "Get down!" said another voice followed by a series of thuds as the users surrounding the pit hit the ground, narrowly dodging his fireball.

  "Nice shot flame brain," Evan said.

  "Fuck off Mover." Carter wiped the bits of sand from his eyes and immediately threw down a wall of fire between Evan and himself.

  "It's an awful small pit to be hiding Carter," Evan said.

  "I'm not hiding!" Carter shouted as he dove through the flames. Catching Evan off guard again, Carter tackled Evan to the ground. He landed a punch to Evan's eye before they even hit the dirt, followed by another to the jaw, then another, and another. Evan spit a mouthful of blood onto Carter's face, buying him the split second he needed to retaliate with a wave of mental energy. With a jolt, Carter was sent flying back, hit by Evan's invisible force. The wind was blasted from his lungs as Carter was laid out flat on his back in the dirt. Coughing, Carter crawled to his hands and knees.

  "You had enough yet?" Evan asked.

  "I'm just getting started."

  The pain was excruciating. His heart pumped furiously. Like magma pouring from a volcano, his blood flowed from his pours like lava, igniting his entire body in dancing flames. Carter jumped to his feet, hit the forward thrusters, and did something he had never done before. Fire, in the shape of his body, was projected forth like his fiery soul had been given consciousness and hovered across the sand toward Evan.

  "What the fuck?" Evan cried out as the fire ghost wafted too him.

  He almost got his defenses up in time, was just beginning to lift his arms to throw up a shield of energy, when the fire hit him from head to toe. Evan screamed in terror as his body was ignited into flames, but Evan was no novice to battle. He dropped to the sand and rolled about, quickly extinguishing the flames in the damp dirt.

  The crowd was astonished, and even Carter wasn't sure how he had done that. There was more to this powers than he had ever imagined, much, much more.

  "You're going to pay for that!" Evan shouted. The tall man looked thoroughly pissed as he rose to his feet with smoke wafting off his singed clothes and wet sand clinging to his burnt skin.

  Evan went into a dance, swinging his arms from side to side and as he finished he shot his hands out in Carter's direction. A wave of mental energy hit Carter like a speeding dump truck. Then he was lifted into the air and hovered, dangling a full five feet above the ground. Evan punched the air down toward his feet and Carter was slammed by the unseen force face and belly first into the dirt. Carter thought he heard a rib crack, his mouth was full of sand, and then the world went black.

  *****

  When Carter awoke he was laid out on a hospital bed in the big house.

  "There you are," the old doc said. "Wasn't sure if you were going to come out of that one. You hit your head pretty hard."

  "What? What day is it?"

  "You've been out for three days."

  "Three days!" Carter shouted.

  He had been knocked unconscious for three days and it felt as if hardly a minute had passed. His body was a sea of pain. He ached from his head all the way down to his toes. Carter doubted he could stand. Worse than his aches and pains, if he couldn't beat a Mover or even a sixteen year old kid, how would he ever defeat Alaric? He had given the fight his all. He had even pushed his powers to new limits, doing things he had never done before, and still he lost. Maybe the General was right. Maybe he should just walk out of the compound gates and get it over with. Let Alaric kill him and be done with it.

  As if on cue, Walt entered the room down a set of stairs.

  "How are you feeling?" Walt asked from across the room.

  "Like I just had my ass handed to me," he answered.

  "Sounds about right," Walt said coming over to stand at his bedside.

  "I'm screwed. I'll never beat Alaric," he said.

  "Did you think this was going to be easy?" Walt asked. "That you would show up, train for a few days, and suddenly be able to take on one of the most dangerous men on the planet?"

  "I can't even beat a kid. How will I ever beat a near immortal like Alaric?"

  "All men have their weaknesses. You just have to find his."

  #

  Part 7

  Chapter 14

  Carter spent the entire day at rest, but as the sun rose that next morning, he could hear the bell's toll, and the users outside going over their daily exercise routine. Prompted by the General's words, he slowly shifted on the hospital bed to a sitting position. He tore the oxygen tubes from his nose, and the sticky event monitors from his chest. Carter watched his shaky legs dangle on the edge of the bed for a moment before placing his right foot on the floor. He tested his body weight against his right leg before deciding to stand on two feet. Carter wobbled for a moment, but quickly found his balance.

  He took it slow across the room, stepping gingerly, but was walking at a somewhat normal pace as he reached the door. Once outside he strolled over and got in line with the rest of the users as if nothing had happened. Evan, at opposite end of the line, had burn marks on his face and arms, but he smiled and nodded as Carter got down to join in their push ups.

  "What are you doing?" Walt asked when he saw Carter was out of bed and exercising.

  "I'm training. What does it look like?" Carter answered with a question of his own.

  "All right then." Was all Walt had to say.

  While unable to keep up with the rest, Carter completed the entire day's exercises. As he finished Barber came up and slapped him on the back and threw him a toothy grin.

  *****

  "Come on. I wanna show you something," Dan said later that same day.

  "What?" Carter asked.

  Without speaking a word, Dan turned and walked into the forest away from the prying eyes of the rest of the compound.

  "Hey wait up," Carter said.

  In his hobbled state he could barely keep up with an old man.

  "Walt said you did something strange with your powers the other day," Dan said as Carter finally caught up with him deep inside the forest.

  "Yeah, I threw a fire version of myself at Evan," Carter said.

  "That's not strange," Dan said.

  "Well it was strange for me and everyone looking on." Carter took a seat on a broken tree stump to rest his battered body.

  "I was barely ten by the time I learned how to do that," Dan said. "That and a whole lot more."

  "I don't even know how I did it."

  "Well I'll show you how. I'll teach you to control it."

  Dan seemed so convincing in that moment that Carter beleived he may have hit his head harder than he thought. Carter must be out of his mind, thinking that he should take lessons from this crazy old man. Dan was run down and haggard. How could he possibly teach Carter anything?

  No.

  He had to get past that mindset. The same mindset that had been holding him back for his entire life. The addict brain that told him he didn't need to listen to anyone. The addict brain that ran on skepticism and negativity. He had to fight past his instincts.

  "Okay. Teach me," Carter said.

  "First I need to see what you can do," Dan said.

  Carter summoned the fires within him and lit a fireball i
n his hand. He threw the fireball and it burst as it hit a tree. Calling on the heat deep within him he lit up both fists into flames like fiery boxing gloves before going full blast and lighting up his entire body.

  "What do you think?" Carter asked in full flame mode. He was pretty impressed with himself, but Dan's lips were turned upside down in a frown.

  "We've got a long ways to go."

  "What do you mean? I think that's pretty good," Carter said.

  "Pretty good? Are you shitting me? You're way behind," Dan said.

  "What? You think you can do better old man?" Carter let the fires die out before there was nothing left of his clothes.

  "Old man? You fucking punk." Dan growled, his wrinkled face going taut with rage. Suddenly the old man's body burst into flames, but Dan was just getting started. Fire hit the ground around Dan's feet and spread like a blooming flower. Flames rushed toward the layer of twigs and leaves surrounding him, and the debris crackled under the immense heat. A tunnel of fire like an igniting rocket roared to life beneath Dan's feet and lifted the old man free from the forest floor.

  "What the fuck?" Carter asked in astonishment, but his words were drowned by the roaring fire Dan emitted as he soared through the air. Within seconds Dan was flying among the tree tops. Using the fires from his hands, Dan was course correcting on the fly, and steering his direction to avoid the trees.

  Carter almost shit his pants as Dan landed unharmed just yards from where he stood.

  "That was unbelievable. You can fly?" Carter asked.

  "So can you," Dan said.

  "Oh no way. I'll never be able to do that." Carter shook his head furiously in denial.

  "Yes you will," Dan said with certainty in his voice. "And you'll be able to do this." Dan grew a ball of fire in his hand, reached back like a big league pitcher, and threw the fireball. The flaming ball raced toward the same tree that Carter had hit with his fireball earlier, but it turned at the last second going around the tree, and exploded as it hit a tree hiding behind the first.

  "No. Fucking. Way," Carter said.

  "Try it," Dan said.