by Liz Long
“Smart,” Nova mused.
Penelope didn’t look as though she agreed. I shot her a warning look and motioned for them to go into the living room. Shutting the basement lights off and door behind me, we stood there for a minute.
“What do we do now?” Penelope asked.
We stared at Nova, as though waiting for instructions.
She cleared her throat, clearly awkward. “Would your dad be okay with this?”
Penelope answered first, her tone brusque. “He’s never around, so it doesn’t matter.”
“He works a lot,” I said, gently correcting her.
“I gotta pee before we go,” Pen said, breezing over the topic. “Get the stuff out.”
She bolted up the stairs, leaving us alone. Nova and I stood a few feet apart, not knowing what to say. She glanced around the living room, at the framed photos of my family. She stepped closer to the mantle for a better look at one shot. Penelope and I were probably in elementary school here, with grins as charming then as they were now. Nova paused at the photos of my parents and took a moment to admire my mother. Holding little Penelope, everything about her seemed to glow from happiness.
“She died a few years ago,” I said, interrupting her inspection.
Nova whirled around. “I’m so sorry.”
I shrugged. “Car accident. No way it could’ve been prevented.”
“Do you know that because you used your gift?”
I swallowed hard. “No — because my father tried.”
The silence thickened and I wanted to kick myself for being so short with her. My mother was a sore subject, but I wanted to open up to Nova. I just don’t know how.
“Your gift…have you ever been in the hospital?” I asked. My blond hair fell over my eyebrow as I quirked my head to one side. Penelope called it my puppy dog look.
Nova shook her head. “I have one doctor and I only see him when I need a physical for school.”
“I’ve never met an Unbreakable until you.” I shot her a smile, though it might’ve come off as maniacal. I couldn’t tell around her. “Can I ask you a weird question?”
“Sure.”
“Do you ever bruise anything?”
Her long reddish hair swished in her face at the shake. “I don’t even feel pain.”
“What about when that Runner choked you?”
“I couldn’t breathe and almost passed out, but you guys distracted him in time.”
I took another step closer to stand in front of her. “Ever get sick?”
“Once after Starling died, but I think it was more shock than anything. I’d rather not discuss it if that’s all right.”
I nodded, understanding perfectly well. I stayed in front of her as she spoke. Her light blue eyes hypnotized me, making me stand in place. She gave a little half smile and my heartbeat quickened.
“I wanted to thank you for being so nice to us,” I said. “Feels kinda like fate that we met.”
“Why, because we’re both gifted?” she asked in a teasing voice.
“It’s definitely cool,” I admitted, “but it’s not about your gift. More like you’re easy to talk to. You also have a nice laugh.”
I took in her closeness and loved the flush on her cheeks. I leaned in a little and my eyes went to her very soft-looking lips. I forgot about everything else, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. She turned her head upwards a little, as though maybe she wanted me to. I was about to lean in before a thump overhead from my sister made us both jump. I continued to ruin the moment.
“Here, uh, you need one of these.” I pulled a black eye mask from the table behind me. “Penelope made them.”
A flash of disappointment crossed her face and she looked down to my gift. She flipped the mask over in her hands, a tiny smile flickering. “You used my sketch.”
I shrugged, trying to be modest. “I remembered a few of your details.”
She got skeptical on me, shooting me a doubtful look. “Now that I see it, this doesn’t even cover my whole face. How is someone not supposed to figure out who I really am?”
I smiled. “You’d be surprised that most people don’t pay too much attention to the things right in front of them. Do you usually wear your hair up or down?”
Surprised by the question, she hesitated. “Uh, down, I guess. Not every day, but most days.”
“Okay. Pull your hair back, all of it. Put it into a bun so no one can see the length or color very well. Maybe we all start wearing dark hoodies when we go out.”
She gave me an impressed look as she pulled her hair back. “You know your stuff. Have you saved the world before?”
I laughed. “No, but I read a lot of comic books.”
“And you think because people don’t notice a reporter lose his glasses and gain a spit curl that people here won’t realize who I am? That plan doesn’t sound great,” she said. Doubt crept back into her voice and I shook my head.
“People don’t really notice stuff like that. Especially people being saved from danger; they’re usually too hopped up on adrenaline or scared out of their minds.”
“There’s no head strap,” she said, gesturing to the mask.
“It’s a unique fabric,” I said, motioning to the back of it. “My dad used to work for a company that made the material; it’s a prototype.”
“For what?”
“You know, I never asked,” I said honestly. I’d never even wondered about it, having long given up on trying to get information out of my dad. “In any case, the back of the fabric will stick to your skin and keep it from falling off.”
She pulled the mask on, removing any stray hairs that stuck, and and straightened it across her nose to see properly. Her thin fingers traced the pretty swirls on the sides. She looked at me, trying different angles with the black windows in her peripheral vision. “Well?”
I’d been outright staring. I cleared my throat, sticking my hands into my front pockets. “It, um, looks nice.”
“I look silly, don’t I?” she said with a laugh.
“No, you definitely do not look silly. It’s…really cute.” I mumbled the last word, fighting back an embarrassed grin. It wasn’t just cute. The mysterious look was hot on her.
“You guys ready?” Penelope interrupted as she came downstairs and flopped onto the couch. She looked from me to Nova. “Why are you both so red?”
I choked back a laugh and Nova cleared her throat. I changed the subject. “Um, ok, so what’s tonight’s plan?”
We both turned to Nova, waited for an answer.
“Oh, um…I don’t really plan it out. I usually go downtown and see who turns up for an ass-kicking.”
Penelope grinned, immediately jumping up to head for the car. “I’m good with that.”
Nova drove us over since she knew downtown so well. We didn’t discuss what could happen. Instead, I asked her about the band on the radio and we somehow wound up talking about music the entire way into the city. Penelope tossed a black baseball cap at me and put her own on so our white-blond hair couldn’t be easily spotted.
Parking in what Nova deemed her usual spot, we got out and headed downstairs and outside. We waited for her directions and whispered when we talked.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone besides homeless people,” she said as we rounded a corner.
I frowned at the litter that covered the sidewalks. Graffiti covered many of the walls, while FOR RENT signs decorated dozens of empty windows.
“But you’ve saved people?” Penelope asked.
“A few; a prostitute on my first night out and the couple that started my fight with the Runner you stopped.”
“That’s less than I thought,” she said.
I could tell Nova tried not to get all bristly at her tone. “I’ve been coming here too late; I thought crimes happened at like, midnight, but it’s more like somewhere between eight and ten. People get caught after dinner or events.”
We peered down an empty alley. I str
ained my ears for sounds but nothing moved. I shrugged and we moved on down the block. Seven blocks later, Penelope started complaining.
“I’m bored. I thought you said this was fun.”
I shot her a look, but she paid no attention, her eyes bouncing from building to building.
“I never said that,” Nova said in a tight voice. “Look, I don’t have fancy technology or special uniforms. This isn’t the movies. If we don’t spot anything on the rest of the sweep, we’ll go back if you want.”
“Pen, you can’t be so impatient,” I said, hoping to ease the tension. “We’ve only been out here for like, twenty-three minutes. Give it an actual chance.”
“Look, Timekeeper, just because you can keep track of every minute of the day doesn’t mean you have to always remind me,” she snapped back. “I was expecting a little more excitement.”
“Sorry,” Nova said. She adjusted her mask over her nose. She shrugged while Pen looked at her. “I’ve only done this a few times, but it hasn’t exactly kept me busy. I told you, my hours were off.”
“Plus, Fortune usually strikes out of nowhere,” I said. “They might not go out all the time if they have to stay underground. Or wherever they’re holed up.”
She nodded in agreement. “And no offense Penelope, but this isn’t something I consider to be entertainment. I don’t want to do it because it’s fun.”
Penelope gave her a sideways look, a glint in her eye as she spoke. “You’re a liar if you say it isn’t fun for you to kick a bad guy’s ass. It’s what you’re built for, being an Unbreakable.”
Nova’s mouth opened and closed without response. When her eyes met mine, she gave a weak chuckle. “She has me there. It has been fun to hurt the bad guys.”
“Yep, I bet you love being invincible. This life must be all you think about,” Penelope continued. A smile crossed her face. “I bet you sit in class, imagining all sorts of ways to hurt people.”
The hairs on my arms stood up at her statement. I didn’t want Pen to talk that way, knew that’s what Dad was worried about. I had to reel her back in before this got ugly. I didn’t want her to freak Nova out.
“Ways to hurt Fortune,” I corrected her. Her smile widened. I glanced at Nova, but she remained silent, her lips pressed tightly together.
No one spoke for three more blocks.
“You want to kill him, don’t you?” Pen asked, as though she were talking about the weather.
“You sure you’re not a Telepath?” Nova asked Penelope, throwing her a sharp look.
A grin flashed across her face before she responded. “Cole asks me that all the time. I promise I’m only a Telekinetic. We only get one gift and moving stuff around is my thing.”
“You always seem to know a little more than anyone else. Insightful or whatever.”
Her tiny shoulders rose and fell once. “I’m observant and honest. Two things that sometimes come out a little rude.”
When she saw Nova’s surprise, her smile grew. “Yeah, I know how I come across. It’s not gonna change, either. I don’t care what anyone else thinks of me, or my gift for that matter.”
I admired my sister for the most part. She was comfortable enough with herself not to be bothered by anyone else. She had a confidence most people didn’t have, especially gifted people who had everything to lose. But I also worried about her control, or rather, the lack thereof that happened to go with a bad attitude. I’d promised Dad years ago I’d protect her. Even from herself.
We paused our patrol beside a coffee shop. Closed for the night, I could make out the dingy booths and coffee bean grinder on the front counter. Penelope looked bored again, strolling a few feet away to check her cell phone. Her pale skin glowed in the smartphone’s light.
“It’s pretty quiet tonight,” Cole commented next to me.
He stuck his hands in his front pockets and leaned against the brick wall. I had to smother the urge to lean into him.
“I guess we need to think more like Fortune,” I said. “If he took the Runner seriously, then he’ll plan how to get around us.”
“You,” Cole corrected, “he’ll plan how to get around you. That Runner didn’t see us.”
“Wouldn’t he realize what happened when we left and he unfroze or whatever? He heard Penelope shout at him.”
“What if he did?” He shrugged, unfazed. “He can’t know for sure.”
“But I knew something was off when you paused everything to move that car at school. If I figured it out, surely he will. They’ll hunt wherever they think we might be.”
“He had no idea who you were, right? Even if they figure out we’re working together, there’s no freaking way for them to find us. Fortune would never suspect a couple of high school students.”
The fight went out of me with one heavy sigh. “Yeah, okay,” I admitted, “but we still need to plan for him. Unless you want out, in which case I need to plan for him.”
Shock crossed his face and he looked away for a second. His voice was low when he turned back to me and spoke. “I want to help you because I believe in beating the bad guy. Fortune shouldn’t get away with what he’s done. Not just to you, but to everyone.”
I looked down, cheeks burning with what felt like a reprimand. He hurried to reassure me.
“But he should especially pay for what he did to you,” he added, voice still low and husky. “You’re my friend and I see the pain you’re in. You deserve so much more.”
My heart swelled at the words. He paused for a long minute and I wished I knew what he was thinking. To fill in the awkward pause, I asked what I’d been wondering for a while now. “Are all Timekeepers like you? They can freeze everyone?”
He shook his head. “Everyone’s different, like with your gift. Timekeepers, some freeze like me, others move time forwards and backwards.” He smiled as if we were conspirators and whispered, “Some can even travel through time. It’s kind of frowned upon, but it sounds really cool.”
The question spilled from my lips, sounded desperate even to my ears. “Can you…would you ever be able to travel through time?”
He knew my real question, heard the small hope that I could get Starling back. A sad smile crossed his face and I bit my lip, embarrassed. Before he could say anything, I changed the topic again.
“What’s the plan, then? How far does your range go as far as freezing people or throwing them across a room?”
He considered my question and shrugged. “Can’t say for sure. I can’t do it with more than say, twenty people around.”
“Grandpa used to say something about your hands,” Penelope added from her spot several feet away. She didn’t look up from her cartoon video game. I refrained from shooting her an annoyed look. Right now, his little sister was being a third wheel.
“Right, he said that I control it through my hands,” he said, trying to capture my attention again. “Other Timekeepers can use their eyes or vocal tones. I have to be careful with who knows that.”
“If you had your hands cut off, would you not be gifted anymore?” I asked in horror.
He winced at the thought. “Maybe. There are rumors in history of some overcoming the disability to freeze time with their eyes, but it’s rare. Takes true skill, not only power.”
“You have plenty of power, of course you could do it,” I said, but he held a hand up to stop me.
“No, I couldn’t do that as I am now,” he said. “I’m only seventeen. Power is important to have, but it’s more than that. Those with power, even those like Fortune, have incredible skills. They’ve been doing this for years.”
My eyes went down to my shoes. That doesn’t exactly scream great news for us.
“I’m sort of the same,” Penelope said. “Our grandparents helped us as soon as our gifts came to us. We’ve had a lot of training on how to control what we can do. I’m still nothing compared to others. And we know I’m not a modest person, but I’m pretty powerful for a teenaged girl.”
My lips curl
ed into a smile and I had to admire her tenacity. The girl didn’t seem to be scared of much. I was relieved to finally talk to someone about my gift, about who we were. There was no need to hide around them. Cole was the first boy I’d ever been able to be my true self around.
I opened my mouth to tell him just that, but muffled shouts in the distance broke up our conversation. We paused, listening for the direction. “This way!”
Our footsteps pounded on the sidewalk. We slid to a halt after four blocks; Penelope peeked around the corner.
“Looks like a convenience store robbery,” she reported.
“There will be cameras,” Cole reminded us.
“I thought that’s what you were here for,” I said, smiling.
He grinned at my teasing. “Good point.”
With that, he stepped around us and down to the store, pausing just outside the giant window. I’d stopped in here once to get sodas for me and Starling. Cole’s hands went up and clenched, stopping the activity inside the store. Penelope and I ran forward for a closer look.
Nothing moved, not even the clock on the wall, its ticking silenced in time. Two Latino kids, only a couple years older than us, had decided to rob the place. One held up a knife, frozen mid-gesture with it. His partner stood behind him as backup, hand in his pocket as though he could have a gun. I knew the Indian man behind the counter was the owner, and his terrified face upset me. These jerks had no right to scare people this way.
“It’s a candy bar,” Penelope said, breaking with silence with her scoffing.
I barely glanced at her. “What?”
Penelope actually poked the hooded guy in the back. “He doesn’t have a gun. It’s a candy bar.”
Cole stood in the doorway, hands still up and face scrunched with concentration. “We’re in no hurry, but I suggest we call the cops.”
I hurried around the counter to pick up the phone, dialing 911. “There’s a robbery in progress…please send help now.”
I put the phone down, leaving it off the hook so they could trace it. “They’re only a couple blocks away. We need to leave right now.”