The Subatomic Kid

by George Earl Parker

  “Pretend I’m not here and go around back,” it said.

  She spun back around and stared at it. “What?!” she asked.

  “It’s me, John,” it said. “I’m not here, go around to the back.”

  “But you are here,” she said. “Just let me in.”

  “I can’t,” he said, “Because SID’S PLUMBING is after me.”

  She had seen the plumber’s truck parked outside the house, but it hadn’t looked particularly sinister to her. “Why on earth is the plumber after you?” she asked.

  “They’re not plumbers; they’re from the school. Please just come around back and I’ll explain everything.”

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly as she walked off down the path, wondering exactly what it was she was getting herself into.

  ***

  “Mr. Hunter?” Steve asked.

  “Huh?” Hunter grumbled.

  “Do you remember the girl I was telling you about earlier?”

  “Sure I remember,” Hunter said. “It was only six or seven minutes ago.”

  “Well, I’ve been watching her on the monitor, and I believe she’s been talking to the mail slot.”

  Hunter screwed up the newspaper and slapped it down. “Really?” he said. “That is very interesting.

  “Yes, sir,” Steve said, smiling broadly.

  “Well, let me see the videotape.”

  Steve proudly rewound the tape to the time just before the girl arrived, and hit the play button.

  ***

  Back in the kitchen John looked around for the two jocks, but they were nowhere to be found. He wondered if they had left, and just as quickly dismissed the idea. They were having too much fun at his expense, and they wouldn’t leave until they had completely exhausted the source.

  When he opened the kitchen door, Kate was standing there looking so adorable he nearly swallowed his tongue. “Hi,” he croaked like a frog.

  She passed by him like she owned the place and was inside the kitchen before he could gather his thoughts. “Hi,” she said. “So what’s going on?”

  “I got the books you were interested in—they’re over there on the table.” He pointed across the kitchen, amazed that he’d managed a whole sentence without his voice failing him.

  “I mean, what’s going on with all the cloak and dagger stuff?” she qualified.

  “Well, it’s very weird…you wouldn’t understand.”

  “Oh yeah? And why wouldn’t I understand?” she asked, tossing her bag on the table and putting her hands firmly on her hips.

  “Because nobody understands.”

  “Well, if you mean that a plumber’s van is watching you and you can’t open the door, then you’re right, I don’t understand; it’s just plain nuts.”

  “Okay,” John said. “The guys in the plumber’s truck are secret agents, I think, and they’re after me because I loused up an experiment at school that transported me to another dimension and turned me into a fly and a bear.”

  She stared at him for a long moment. “You see, I do understand.”

  “Really?” He smiled gratefully. “I’m so glad. I didn’t think you’d…”

  “Yeah,” she shot back, raising her voice over his. “I understand that you are completely loony.”

  Muffled laughter erupted from somewhere.

  “What was that?” she asked, casting an eagle eye around the kitchen.

  “What? I didn’t hear anything.”

  “Then you’re even crazier than I thought. I’m out of here!”

  “But wait a minute; I can explain everything from the beginning!”

  “Save it for the doctors at the insane asylum,” she shot back, grabbing her bag off the table. “They’ll appreciate it more than I ever could.”

  As she walked toward the front door, John had the silly notion there was something he could say that would stop her leaving, but as she disappeared into the hallway he knew all was lost, and he sank down into a chair. Almost immediately he stood up again as Kate returned, walking backwards into the room with her hands in the air.

  “Oh good, you’ve changed your mind,” he crowed. “But why are you…?” The sentence remained unfinished as Hunter appeared in the doorway, holding a gun.

  “Well, well, well, what do you know? You were in here all the time,” he quipped.

  “Get out of my house,” John shouted as he leapt toward them, then stopped dead as Hunter swung his gun and pointed it between his eyes.

  “Now, now, be nice,” Hunter cautioned. “Or I may just have to start shooting.” He swung the gun back to Kate. “And I think she’ll be first.”

  “You’ll be sorry for this,” John promised.

  “Naw, I don’t think so,” Hunter said.

  Steve pushed past them into the kitchen and started opening cupboards. “Oh, my… what do we have here?” he said triumphantly as he dragged Tex and Cal out of the closet.

  “Come on, boys, join the party,” Hunter said, waving his gun and smiling.

  Kate shot an evil glance at John. “What are they doing here?” she asked angrily.

  “We came to watch,” Cal said.

  “He invited us,” Tex added, “Thought we might get a kick out of it.”

  “It’s not like that,” John protested. “They’re lying.”

  “Pervert,” Kate spat back.

  “We bet him he couldn’t get a date with you,” Tex offered, “and I don’t think he did.”

  “You are so dead,” said Kate.

  “Shut up!” Hunter shouted. “Now here’s the deal. Your friends’ safety depends on you, John. Just do as we say and they’ll be fine.”

  “Look,” he said, “this has nothing to do with them; let them go and I’ll come with you.”

  “I don’t think so,” Hunter laughed. “They know about us; and besides, they’re the only insurance I have. Now, Steve is going to lead you out to the truck and I’m going to follow. Don’t try anything—one false move and somebody dies.”

  As they were filing out of the kitchen, the telephone began to ring. John stopped and looked back.

  “It’s not for you,” said Hunter. “Now move.”

  Chapter 8

  FALLOUT

  Doctor Kurt Angstrom’s selfish desire to become immortal and stay rich had been detonated. The mushroom cloud from the blast had risen like an exploding fungus, and now the fallout from the event had to be contained and managed.

  He sat in the artificial darkness of his penthouse apartment and prepared to view the videotape of Doctor Leitz’s first experiment.

  “The darkness doesn’t worry you, does it, Miss Moon?”

  She sat in an armchair across from him, and smiled. “No, it doesn’t…I like it; it’s comforting.” She had smiled because it was a game he liked to play. He used darkness as a predator does, to search for weakness; and if he found it, she would be dead meat.

  “You know, of course, that it’s easier to motivate people in darkness, do you not?” he asked in his usual sardonic tone.

  “I do,” she replied evenly, warming to their interplay.

  “In darkness one is closer to the subconscious mind, the child mind. In darkness the imagination finds it easier to ride the roller coaster of emotion, whereas light dulls the senses.” He started the tape and stared at the bleached white image on the screen.

  “It’s hard to tell exactly what is happening here,” he said. “There’s so much light. I see a vague shape and then a blinding explosion.” The tape came to an end and he switched off the monitor; he was back in complete darkness and Miss Moon could tell he felt more comfortable.

  “So, tell me, what did I just see?” he asked.

  “You saw an experiment in which Doctor Leitz endeavored to embody the principles you tasked him with. Due to unforeseen circumstances, a foreign body was introduced into the experiment, namely a young boy; this corrupted the outcome of the event. However, in Doctor Leitz’ opinion the experiment was a success.”

 
“The boy was killed?”

  “No, according to Doctor Leitz he introduced a strange variable into the event.”

  “A strange variable?”

  “Yes, an element that changes the outcome of the first event and corrupts it.”

  “How did it change the experiment?” he asked.

  “It created a new experiment within the confines of the first, and Doctor Leitz had to hypothesize the outcome.”

  “And his conclusion?”

  “He has concluded that the boy may have inherited the ability to change his shape.”

  “Interesting, but why?” he asked.

  “The alchemists of old spent a lifetime purifying a mysterious substance they referred to as the Stone of Knowledge, and once they had achieved their goal, the Stone had the power to grant them eternal youth, health, and the ability to transmute metals. Doctor Leitz approached the problem from the opposite end. He began with the transmutation of matter and surmised that he could work backward from there to the elixir of youth. The boy passed through the part of the experiment that changed matter, and the boy has the ability to think. When you add those two elements together, you can only reach one conclusion.”

  “I sense you are less than enamored with this theory, Miss Moon,” Doctor Angstrom conjectured.

  “You’re right; I find it difficult to believe, even though Doctor Leitz succeeded in turning a chair into a sunflower, an error he claims was due to the strange variable. I still find myself prejudiced against the idea that a human being can change shape by an act of will.”

  “It seems plausible to me.”

  “I imagined you would think that way. Perhaps I’m just adhering to outmoded thinking. We are, after all, deeply into the unknown.”

  “And the boy, where is he?”

  “Mister Hunter has just completed his mission. We have the boy and three of his friends,” replied Miss Moon.

  “Why do we have four of them?”

  “The other three were with the boy when Mister Hunter apprehended him; he had no choice but to take them all.”

  “We shall need to create a plausible reason for the disappearances,” Doctor Angstrom counseled. “Sadly we must create a terminal scenario; the chances of them being returned to their loving families are extremely remote.”

  “I shall devise a tragic disappearance; Mister Hunter will take care of the details,” she replied matter-of-factly.

  He so wanted to believe that this boy could become whoever or whatever he wanted to be just by an act of will. If it were true it meant that he, Kurt Angstrom, had the chance to return and revisit his own childhood. Had the chance to immerse himself in all the experiences he had missed out on; the opportunity to return, and rewrite missing chapters in his own history.

  In his wildest dreams he had never imagined this amazing outcome from his quest. It was beyond belief, and for the moment it meant the young boy was of paramount importance. He would enslave the boy using the control worm, which would give him an opportunity to study the child and assure himself there were no adverse side effects. Once he was convinced it was safe to do so, he would undergo the same procedure himself.

  “It occurs to me that the boy has little or no idea of his unique talent,” Doctor Angstrom pointed out, barely disguising his excitement over the miraculous possibilities that lay ahead for him.

  “Probably not—it’s only been a couple of days,” Miss Moon replied.

  “I shall give him the chance to willingly comply with all my requests, but if he is defiant I shall coerce him with the control worm. My plans will, of course, render his friends redundant, in which case you will see they are disposed of.”

  “In the unfortunate case that it becomes necessary, it shall be done,” said Miss Moon. She would enjoy planning their demise. It had been a while since she had been given the power to eliminate someone.

  “Meanwhile, I would like you to take steps to keep these four young minds occupied and filled with fear. Blindfold them and disorient them; make them walk and run a long way to keep them on their toes. Find a large dark space, and in the center create a white room; make it very, very bright, and imprison them there.

  “Be sure the room has a camera so we may monitor their actions. It is imperative they are preoccupied with one another’s teenage angst, which should dull the boy’s imagination sufficiently and allow me time to decide how I may best take advantage of his peculiar talent.”

  Leaning back in his wheelchair, Doctor Angstrom could almost hear the crowds cheering him as he stood in the darkness delivering a speech. Thousands upon thousands of adoring eyes focused solely and totally on him, the super being, the man who lives forever, the living legend, the mythmaker, the God-king. Yes, eternity is going to be a blast, he thought.

  ***

  While going over the plans of the building that was now the school, Hunter remembered that the whacked-out English eccentric who built the place had created a sub-basement. The area was unremarkable except for the fact that it housed all the miscreants of the insect and rodent world. At its center, however, lord whoever-he-was had constructed a massive steel vault.

  Hunter had installed a closed-circuit camera in there for Leitz, thinking he would use it to store some of his more sensitive secrets—plus, if there was ever an interrogation to conduct the place would be perfect. In his present situation, however, the vault took on a whole new meaning; it was the perfect place to contain and observe his prisoners.

  He had called Miss Moon and informed her that he intended to use the place, and she thought it was the perfect solution to a thorny problem. She relayed the order that he run the kids around in circles for a while, and he quickly agreed. But for the life of him, he could not work out where he could take four blindfolded kids with their hands tied behind their backs to run them around without arousing suspicion.

  As it was a weekend the school was empty, and they knew they would be safe from prying eyes as Steve backed the truck right up to the underground entrance. Even if there were someone lurking around, nobody would suspect that SID’S PLUMBING was doing anything other than cleaning out blocked drains or fixing broken pipes.

  The kids were led into the basement, and true to his word, Hunter took them on a couple of swift circuits before descending down to the lowest level. He could see the point of disorienting them, but being a fairly decent student of human nature, he knew that by now their adrenaline would be running so high they would be scared out of their wits.

  Down in the cavernous sub-basement, Hunter and his captives could hear the constant dripping of water from leaking pipes. Rats scurried away in all directions as the flashlights waved around and caught glimpses of cobwebs with huge spiders at their centers. Are the spiders so big because they feed on the rats? Hunter wondered. How else would such an obese population of arachnids be fed? The two of them dragged the kids along, stumbling over debris that had been there for decades and raising dust clouds so thick that everyone broke into spasmodic coughing fits.

  When the group finally came to a halt in front of the vault, they were rasping from the contaminated air. Hunter turned the huge wheel that drew the bolt, dragged the door open, and shoved the kids inside.

  “I don’t know about you, Steve, but I’m really starving,” Hunter said enthusiastically, as he spun the wheel back and locked the kids inside.

  “Yeah, me too, I guess,” Steve replied. He suddenly wasn’t quite sure about his new job.

  “Nothing like a successful morning’s work to give you a raging appetite, is there?”

  “No,” said Steve, trying to mimic Hunter’s enthusiasm, “no, there isn’t.” But he couldn’t help wondering as he walked away exactly what it was these four kids had done to deserve such brutal treatment.

  ***

  The four kids lay tied, blindfolded, and exhausted on the floor of the vault. The images running through each of their heads were unspeakably negative, and slightly ahead of his friends in the anguish department, John was full of re
morse for bringing them all into a life-threatening situation.

  “I just have one friggin’ question,” Tex raged furiously. “What the hell is going on here?!”

  “I told you these guys were after me,” John moaned.

  “They aren’t the only ones,” Cal fumed. “If I weren’t trussed up like a chicken, I’d kill you myself.”

  “We all want to kill him,” Kate seethed. “But in order to do that, we need to get ourselves untied.”

  Each of them scooted across the floor until they were back to back and could begin to work on untying the cords around each other’s wrists.

  “Listen, I didn’t arrange it this way. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” John said as he began to tug at Tex’s bonds.

  “You might think you’re helping yourself, but you’re not,” Tex warned. “If I were you I would just keep quiet.”

  “Does anybody have any idea where we are?” Kate asked as Cal began pulling on the knot that secured her hands.

  “Yeah, we’re in big trouble,” Cal said, but no one laughed at his half-hearted attempt to inject humor into the situation.

  ***

  Doctor Leitz sat in front of a TV monitor in his lab watching the four kids crawling around the floor down in the vault. If ever there was going to be an opportunity to break the yoke of servitude, he thought, this is it.