Drives
I felt a sense of sadness wash over me as Macy left the car and disappeared inside her apartment building.
“So, what was going on between you two?” Drew said from the back seat, his voice slightly louder than usual.
I felt my cheeks blush. “What are you talking about?”
Drew laughed. “Oh, you know what I mean. There was something different. I don’t know.”
“What I want to know is, what was going on between you and Veronica?” I said, changing the subject.
Drew giggled. “We were talking, is all.”
“Oh, yeah?” I said as I pulled onto the road and began driving to Drew’s house. “Talking? It looked like it was a little more than just talk. Isn’t that right, huh, Michael?”
Michael grunted in response. I looked in the rearview mirror, and could see him holding his pudgy face up with one hand as he stared out the window.
“Anyway,” Drew said. “I think something’s going on between Macy and you.”
“And I think you’re drunk,” I said. Even though he was right, I didn’t want to say anything about what was going on between Macy and me. Mostly because I didn’t really understand what was going on all that well, either. I wasn’t sure if we were “dating,” “talking,” “seeing each other,” or something in between. Besides, even if I did know, I didn’t want to blurt it out without making sure it was okay with her first.
Ah, who was I kidding? If we were officially dating, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops before she even got the chance to tell a soul.
Drew and I talked a bit more on the drive to his house. When we pulled up, Drew almost fell out of the car. I had no idea how he’d gotten drunk so fast at the party. I guess he was an extreme lightweight.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Drew said before he shut the door.
“Wait, what?” I asked.
“Yeah, I need you to give me a ride to my car.”
I nodded. “Oh, okay. See you then.”
Drew shut the car door and began sneaking toward his house. I backed out and left before he got inside, but I assumed he made it inside safely.
It was just Michael and me in the car as we drove down the highway of Ebon, the streetlights flashing in and out of my car. I kept checking the rearview mirror, but Michael never moved.
“Wanna listen to some radio?” I asked him as I reached for the volume knob, turning it up a smidgen.
Michael shrugged. “I don’t care.”
I sighed and clicked the knob inwards, shutting the radio off. “What’s the matter, Michael?” I asked. “You’ve been acting strange.”
Michael sighed and turned away from the window. He looked at me in the rearview mirror as I glanced back and forth from him to the road. “You ever see somebody doing something and think you could do a better job than they could?”
I felt confused as I tried to figure out what Michael meant. “I mean, I guess, yeah. Why?”
Michael looked back out the window. “I feel like there’s so many things I could do better than other people, you know? Like if only I had the chance.”
“Well, then, just do it, you know?” I said, doing my best to offer some sort of encouragement.
“It’s not that simple. I can’t just do it.”
“What do you mean?”
Michael waited a beat. I guessed he was trying to figure out whether or not he should tell me what he was thinking. “You know the Second Super—Tempest, some people call him?”
I began to get very hot, and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “Of course,” I said, doing my best not to stammer. “Everybody knows Tempest.”
“I feel like he’s doing really shitty, you know? Like I could do so much better than he’s doing.”
I was taken aback. “Well,” I began. I had to tread extremely lightly on this subject. “I don’t think it’s really that easy. I mean, at least it doesn’t seem like it is.”
Michael nodded. “Yeah, I agree, it’s definitely not easy.”
Damned straight.
“But I feel like if I were him, I’d be out there every night, saving people. If I were him, I’d stop every person from stealing, from killing, from abusing their family.” Michael’s voice was surprisingly not filled with anger, but filled with hope and wonder. “I’d be out there saving the world,” he said. I looked back at him, and he was staring off into space, smiling, his eyes distant, thinking about the adventures he’d go on if he were Tempest.
“I’m sure he’ll get to that eventually,” I said. “I think he’s probably trying to focus on Richter right now.”
Michael nodded and sank back down into his seat. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I just wish it’d get taken care of sooner, you know?”
I nodded and clicked the radio back on. I turned the volume to a really low level. “Me too, bud,” I said. “More than you know,” I whispered under my breath.
We drove without speaking, deep in our own thoughts, the radio playing the soundtrack to our drive. But then our soundtrack stopped as the radio went silent and a loud beeping noise was emitted by the speakers. The sudden loud noise caused both Michael and me to jump in our seats. A man’s voice came from the speakers, filling the car.
“Attention, residents of Ebon and all towns in Fairview County. The federal government has issued a mandatory curfew beginning tomorrow night. No person should be out between ten o’clock at night and five thirty in the morning, unless it’s in case of an emergency. No other exceptions. I am also announcing that the FBI is launching a full investigation into Tempest and the reports that he may be living in the area. If you are approached by a federal agent for questioning, please cooperate, as they are only here to help, and they have our safety and that of all United States citizens in mind. Their main base of operations will be at the Ebon Junior High School, and they will be acting in full cooperation with the Ebon Police Department. Should you have any more questions, please contact the EPD at 903-555-8584. Thank you, and you will now be returned to your regularly scheduled programming.”
The radio returned to playing music. Michael and I sat there in silence for a few moments, trying to process what we’d heard. It wasn’t until I pulled into the parking lot in front of Michael’s house that either of us said anything.
“Thanks for the ride,” Michael said as he climbed out.
I was expecting him to say something about the curfew, and was relieved when he didn’t. “No problem. Goodnight,” I said before he shut the door.
I backed out of his driveway, and once his house was out of sight, I floored the gas pedal. My stomach sank and I began sweating. I hadn’t used my powers, but still: the government was looking for me. And from the sound of what the president had said earlier, they weren’t looking to be my friends.
Breaking Curfew
“This is not good,” Dad said as we stood around the kitchen.
I was sitting on the counter, my legs swinging beneath me. I'd told Mom and Dad about the curfew and the government moving into town, searching for me.
“I thought they said they'd leave you alone as long as you didn’t use your powers and interfere with them?” Mom asked.
“Yeah, that’s what they said.” I sighed in frustration. “How am I supposed to let this all blow over when they're out there looking for me? I can't defeat Richter like this!”
“I know, son. I know. We're going to have to see where this takes us. Everything will work out. Hey, who knows, maybe they do have some way of beating Richter. Then you wouldn't have to worry about anything at all!”
“Yeah, maybe,” I mumbled. It all seemed like wishful thinking to me.
“Your father's right,” Mom said. “Tempest and Richter have clashed in this city twice now. Maybe they're wanting to be ready for the next time it happens.”
I pondered what she’d said for a moment. It made sense. If they did have a way of defeating Richter, they'd go to the place where we had encountered each other multi
ple times.
“Maybe they're using me as bait,” I said.
Mom sighed. “I don't like the idea of that. Not at all.”
“Yeah, well, neither do I. But if it helps them defeat Richter so I don't have to do anything, that's fine by me.”
Dad raised his hands, stopping Mom and me before we got into a fight. “The fact of the matter is that we’re not one hundred percent sure of what we’re dealing with here. Until things become more clear, your only option is to continue what you’re doing and lie low.”
I sighed. Yeah, I didn’t want to become an enemy of the United States, but still, I wasn’t confident of their ability to take down Richter. Not that I was all that confident of my own abilities either, but the real fact of the matter was that I was the only one who’d ever hurt Richter. Now I was hiding in my house, afraid of what the government might do to me.
An idea began to take shape in my head, but not one I would dare say out loud. My parents would kill me if they ever found out what I was thinking about doing.
“Well,” I said as I pushed myself off the countertop. “I’m gonna go to bed now. It’s been a long night.”
Dad patted me on the back. “You’re right, kid. Go get some rest. I’ll stay up for a bit and keep an eye on the news, see if I can learn anything else.”
I smiled at him and realized how thankful I was to have someone like my dad on my side. “Alright, sounds good.”
I gave Mom a hug goodnight and then went upstairs to my room. The lights inside it were turned off, but I knew exactly where my bed was. I fell on top of it and lay there, waiting. I would have to wait a while before the coast was clear for me to sneak out.
I knew the smartest thing to do would be to do exactly what Dad wanted: to lie low. But when you’re the only person who can stop a madman from destroying the world, lying low isn’t an option.
I JUMPED OUT MY BEDROOM window—sans Tempest outfit—and took off flying before I hit the ground. Flying was still such a weird, amazing sensation to me. One I doubted I’d ever get used to.
I slowed down once I got close to Ebon Middle School, flew a few thousand feet in the air to a spot above the school and hovered there, surveying the area. Using my eagle-like vision, I could see everything on the ground clearly. There were large generator lights spread out around the parking lot. Workers were unloading box after box of equipment from vans, and bringing them inside the middle school gym.
The middle school was right across the street from the high school, which I found amusing and ironic since the high school was where all of this had begun just a short time ago.
Large Humvees pulled into the school parking lot, and once they came to a stop, soldiers in dark clothing with assault rifles slung across their shoulders unloaded from the back. They joined the few soldiers who were already there and began to set up a perimeter. Most of them stayed in the front to help unload, some began setting up road barriers to keep people from entering the parking lot, while others began to spread out around the school, keeping watch over the back and sides.
One thing was clear: the government wasn’t holding anything back.
I hovered over the school watching everything unfold. A pit began to grow in my stomach and I began to feel lightheaded. They looked as if they were preparing for a war, and I wasn’t sure if I was friend or foe.
But I wasn’t going to leave until I found out exactly what was going on.
Searching for Answers
I flew down closer to try to get a look inside the gym, where the main base of operations was being set up. I landed behind one of the large generator lights, which had the letters DHS printed large on its side.
I poked my head around the corner and looked through the open doors that people were filing in and out of. Even though I was a good distance away, I could see what had to be hundreds of yards of wires being hooked up to various computers spread out across many individual desks and tables. The tables were set up in a series of squares; the largest was on the outside, and they got smaller and smaller. There was a gap that led to a podium in the center of the basketball court, where I assumed someone would stand to give mission updates and briefings.
Most people were still transporting items into the gym, so most of the laptops that had already been set up were left unattended. I knew that if I could get my hands on one of those, it was bound to contain loads of information pertaining to their mission. I couldn’t run through the front door and grab one of the laptops, however. Yeah, I’d be moving fast enough, and it was dark enough that they probably wouldn’t even notice the blur that ran past them, but the wind that would be caused by me running that fast would be sure to tip them off that something was up.
I decided to go in through a side door instead. I ran to the side of the middle school and pulled on one of the doors. Thankfully, it was unlocked. However, that meant that someone had to have gone through it, which meant that there could be guards in any of the classrooms down the long corridor that led to the gymnasium. Just to be safe, I decided not to run down the hallway at superspeed. I needed to be extra cautious, which meant crouching low to the ground and sneaking down the corridor keeping my head below the classroom windows and my senses on alert for any sign of soldiers patrolling the perimeter.
I began to sneak down the hallway, staying close to the wall. However, with every step I took, either my shoes squeaked, or my footsteps echoed around the empty hallway. They weren’t that loud, but when you’re sneaking around the makeshift top secret base of the Department of Homeland Security, they might as well have been as loud as gunshots.
Then I started thinking like a superhuman, and realized I could fly down the hallway. I lay down flat, face down on the floor. I then willed my body to float a few inches off the floor. I began to fly very slowly down the hallway, still sticking close to the walls. My eyes focused on the doors to the gym, and I concentrated on nothing else but reaching them.
I was so focused I almost didn’t realize the door to the classroom in front of me had swung open. I stopped hard, my face an inch away from the wooden door. Two men walked out of the room, and I was frozen with fear. I had no idea what I would do if they turned around and saw me. I held my breath, not daring to make a sound.
Thankfully, the two men turned in the other direction and walked through the gym doors. The sound of the doors slamming echoed through the hallway like an explosion.
I let out the breath I’d been holding. I’d never felt so relieved. I decided that I should probably pick up the pace a little. Even though I wanted answers, I would be glad when it finally came time to get out of there.
I reached the doors at the end of the hallway and lowered myself to the ground. I crouched up against the door and slowly slid my body upwards, stopping as soon as the smallest sliver of the room came into view.
From this angle, I could tell that most of the people were toward the front of the room, as they’d finished setting up the back of the room. That meant they were almost through though, which meant I was running out of time.
In the back corner sat an unattended laptop that was turned on and set up. It was the farthest away from anyone, and the closest to me, so snatching that one would be my best bet.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. I counted to three, and then ran as fast as I could through the double gym doors. I made a beeline for the laptop, running as fast as I could. I looked to my right and caught a look at the government workers, who seemed to be frozen in time. All of them were either making their way outside, or getting computers and televisions set up, so nobody was paying any attention to the back of the room. No one would see a blur run in and out, or notice the missing laptop.
I grabbed the computer, turned around, and ran back out the doors that I had come in through. I slowed down and came to a stop in the middle of the hallway, then snuck back over to the double doors that led to the gym and sat down next to them. I wanted to be close by so that if I heard or saw anyone
making their way to the back, I’d be able to see them in time and get the laptop back before they noticed, hopefully without them noticing me.
I got to work. I opened the documents folder of the laptop and was met with a sea of files that would take forever to go through. I clicked on the search bar and entered Tempest. I was surprised at how few files popped up, but then again, I’d done a pretty good job of covering my tracks.
I opened a file called Tempest Possible Locations 7_15_15 Revision. When the file opened, there were only the names of a few towns—Ebon, Indiana, right at the top, of course. There were no specific names, though, which was good for me. They had an idea of what town I lived in, nothing more.
I exited out of the file, then checked to make sure no one was going to the back of the gym, but everyone was still unloading and setting up. I knew it was only a matter of time, though, so I had to work fast.
I searched for Richter next, and tons of files popped up. One that caught my eye was called Richter Known Locations. I double-clicked on it, and when it opened, I couldn’t help but smile. It was a list of exact known hideouts of Richter. The one at the top was the Statue of Liberty, one of the few landmarks left standing in New York City. The rest of the locations on the list were places like the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Eiffel Tower, the Burj Khalifa, and a couple of other really luxurious and exotic places.
I exited the file and was about to open one called Richter Known Associates 6_30_15, but approaching footsteps broke my concentration. I looked through the window and saw a lady with black hair pulled back in a ponytail and her head buried in a tablet approaching the back of the room. I panicked. I got up, and after double-checking to be sure that she had her attention glued to her tablet, I ran through the door as fast as I could, put the laptop back, ran back through the doors, and came to a stop in the hallway.
I ducked into one of the classrooms and crouched down behind the door. I felt the euphoric sensation of almost getting caught, but not, as I tried to catch my breath.
The First Superhero Books 0-3 Box Set Page 10