Time Spent

by J. David Clarke

  The truck roared to the life, throwing gravel to pelt Brandon's naked body.

  "At least give me some pants!" he cried.

  He stood for a bit, watching the truck rumble off into the distance.

  "Man...comics are bullshit."

  BRANDON

  "More super than super."

  "This is an unmitigated disaster, General Higgins!"

  Higgins sat in his office chair and lowered his head. The General addressing him was a younger man, with dark hair and a pointed chin. He had assumed command of the base in the days since the disaster, since everything had somehow spiraled out of control. Higgins still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but he knew Washington was pinning the whole thing on him.

  The younger General, William Stearnes, continued. "You allowed skirmishing children to tear apart this base, General! Tear apart a United States Army base! Do you have any idea how that makes us look?"

  "But they weren't kids. Dr. Juergens' analysis said they weren't even human anymore. They could do things. Things you can't believe!"

  "Dr. Juergens," Stearnes said. "This Dr. Juergens?" He held up a photograph.

  Higgins peered closely at it. "No, that's not him."

  "How about this one?" Stearnes held up another photograph, of a white haired man with wire-rimmed glasses, sitting with his arm around woman with graying brown hair.

  "Yes, that's him! Dr. Juergens," said General Higgins.

  "No," said Stearnes, "This is a photo of Carl Macklin and his wife. It was taken from his home. You let this man, the same man you were looking for, run your investigation and your entire base for MONTHS."

  "No, that's not possible," Higgins stammered, "we couldn't find any pictures of Macklin, there was nothing in the house!"

  Stearnes looked down at him with utter contempt. "And who told you that, General?"

  "W-...it..." Higgins fell silent.

  "Exactly." Stearnes shoved the photo into Higgins' chest. "Exactly."

  "In fairness," said a voice from behind him, "this guy Macklin was a pretty good liar. We all fell for it."

  Stearnes spun around to see Brandon standing in the middle of the office, wearing work goggles and a Superman t-shirt. One by one, they appeared out of thin air, surrounding Stearnes and Higgins. The first was a beautiful girl with striking green eyes: Becca Miller, her long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a black pantsuit and white buttoned shirt. Next came Tyler Chambers, in a blue t-shirt and jeans, his arms folded over his chest. Mia Lozano appeared beside him, a hood pulled low over her spiky blue hair, hands shoved into her pockets. Next to Stearnes was Heather McDonnell, who was recognizable though her features were entirely formed from shining silver metal. Lastly, what could only be Simon Chu appeared, his gorilla form grown massive and wild looking. Before him floated Kevin Lloyd, seemingly unconscious but weakly clutching at his throat. Simon inclined his head, and Kevin's body lowered to the floor.

  "My God," Stearnes said, reaching for the desk. A metal hand shot out and clasped his wrist. Heather held it away from the drawer.

  "Let's not do anything hasty," Becca said, withdrawing a badge from her inside pocket. "I'm with the FBI, we just need to talk."

  "You're out of your jurisdiction, Agent...Miller," Stearnes said, reading her badge. "You have no idea what you're involved with here!"

  "She...She's one of them!" said Higgins, pointing at her.

  Stearnes' eyes narrowed. "Of course. I recognize you from the footage. What do you want here?"

  Brandon stepped forward. "We just want our friend, the blond kid: Zachary. Give us Zachary and we'll leave peacefully."

  "Peacefully?" Stearnes laughed. "We're way beyond that, Curly. You and your friends have been declared enemy combatants. The Secretary of Defense is involved now. There are going to be Senate hearings over this. You don't get to just walk in here and walk out."

  "Actually," Becca said. "Yes we do. We don't have to ask. I can take you all over anytime I want and we can do whatever we want, and leave, and you won't even know we were here. We're just playing it nice right now."

  "We don't want to hurt anyone, or use our powers, if we don't have to," said Brandon. "We just want our friend."

  Stearnes was silent.

  Heather raised a metal hand and pressed him against the wall. "Where...is...Zachary?"

  "What are you?" Stearnes asked through clenched teeth.

  "I don't know anymore," she said, a breath through her parted metal lips.

  Simon let out a low growl.

  "Just tell them where he is," Mia said, a yellow light flickering from her right eye. "Just tell them....please."

  Tyler turned toward the wall. "I think Max has him. Hang on," he scanned the wall. "Yeah, I see him. Come on!"

  "You're coming with us," Brandon said, "both of you. Remember, no trouble."

  They followed Tyler down a series of halls. Whenever they passed soldiers on guard, Stearnes told them to stand down. Whether he did so of his own volition or Becca made him do so, Brandon didn't ask. Finally they came to the door to a small room. Through the window, Brandon could see Zachary, strapped down to a hospital bed.

  Brandon unlocked the door and they went inside.

  Mia reached out her right hand, yellow energy playing across her fingers. She tore the straps off, one after another.

  "Those are for his own protection," Higgins said. "I swear."

  With the straps off, Zachary crawled off the bed. He had a strange look in his eyes, like he wasn't seeing them.

  "Zachary, are you okay?" asked Brandon.

  Zachary moved to the corner of the room and sank down, clutching his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

  "What have you done to him?" Brandon asked Stearnes.

  "We didn't do a god damn thing. He's been like this ever since he was brought back here from the building downtown."

  "The rooftop," Brandon said. "That's where I last saw him."

  Becca leaned over him. "Zachary, can you hear me?"

  Zachary didn't pay any heed to her, just kept rocking and whispering.

  "Can you tell what he's thinking?" Brandon asked.

  "I never could," she said. "He's like a blank wall to me." She turned back to him. "Zachary, it's Becca. Do you remember me?"

  Nothing.

  "We need your help, man!" Brandon exclaimed. "It's Kevin. He's hurt. Something happened to him!"

  "Okay, Dork, yelling at the catatonic guy not exactly helpful!" Becca said.

  "Whatever did this to Kevin is still out there, and if it can hurt him, what can it do to the rest of us?"

  "She," Becca said, remembering. "Not it. He said, 'she's here'."

  "Who's here?" Tyler asked. "Who is 'she'?"

  A look passed around the room. No one answered.

  "We're screwed." Mia said, shaking her head. "You should have left me where I belonged."

  Becca turned back to Zachary, taking one of his hands in hers. "He's cold." She rubbed his hands. "He brought me back to life once. I never even said thank you. God, I'm a bitch."

  Zachary's whispers became a bit louder.

  "What?" Becca said. She leaned close, placing her ear right up against his mouth.

  "What's he saying?" Brandon asked.

  "Shh!" Becca listened, then let go of Zachary's hand and stood. She turned toward them, slowly. "He's saying 'be brave'. He's saying it over and over."

  Silence fell on them, for a moment.

  "What happened to him on that rooftop?" Brandon asked.

  "I didn't see," Becca said.

  They looked around at each other, but no one answered.

  "I only know I was terrified," Brandon said. "And I remember the sound: the sound of the end of the world."

  ______________________

  The wind screamed around the rooftop as Brandon landed. The first one he saw was Kevin, standing close to the center of the roof.

  "What's happening?" Brando
n shouted, but the wind killed the sound of his voice.

  The others were there too, and there were sparks jumping between them, like the ends of jumper cables when you touched them together.

  Brandon moved closer, and the sparks jumped to him. He backed off, but it was no use. Lines of energy arced between them now, and then arced into the air above the rooftop. Where they came together, the sky darkened. A shimmering hole formed in the air. A sound rose, like the sound of cracks opening in ice, only a million times louder.

  Brandon clapped his hands over his ears.

  ______________________

  "I dunno," Brandon said as the credits scrolled on the television. "Talking in metaphor? Kinda far fetched."

  "No, it makes total sense!" Beth exclaimed.

  They were sitting on the couch in her TV room. Beth was wearing an old t-shirt and gray sweats, which somehow made her even more adorable in Brandon's eyes. She also had a habit of curling her legs up and tucking her feet under Brandon's leg to keep them warm. Why Brandon loved having her freezing cold feet pressed up against him so much, he had no idea, but he did. He really did. It was late, her parents had already gone to bed, and they were alone, having watched three back-to-back episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

  "Think about it," she said. "All the literature and pop culture you absorb all day, it would be so easy to talk in references all the time. 'I'm like Ariel under the sea'. 'This guy at school is my Megatron'. 'I feel like I'm going to the dark side'."

  "That's pretty much how we talk anyway," Brandon said with a smirk.

  She ignored him. "Cabin in the forest," she said.

  "Huh?"

  "Oh, my parents have this old cabin out in the woods. My grandparents, my mom's parents, they retired there, but they died a while back. Sometimes I walk out there. It's nice, but it's kind of lonely, makes me sad. Makes a good metaphor, for times lost and gone. Cabin in the forest."

  Brandon was still focused on the television episode. "But if they always talk in metaphor, how did those original stories get written? And how do they write new ones? It doesn't hold up."

  She pulled a cushion from behind her and smacked him with it. "Overanalyze much?"

  "Did you just hit me with a couch cushion?" he asked.

  "I believe I did."

  "Oh no you didn't...you did not just hit me with a couch cushion!" He reached down and grabbed her feet to tickle them. Beth was extremely ticklish.

  "Ahh! Brandon! No!" she kicked at him, laughing.

  "Besides," said Brandon, releasing he feet, "we both know Janeway is a much better Captain."

  "Than Picard? You're crazy!"

  "Picard's all stodgy and...British," he said. "Janeway's awesome."

  "Picard's French you moron," she said, laughing. "And he's sexy," she added.

  "Oh, you like bald guys, huh?" Brandon asked, putting a hand to his unruly brown curls.

  She raised a hand to tousle his hair. "Not always."

  They were silent for a moment, looking into each other's eyes.

  "Well, I better go," Brandon said, standing.

  "Okay," she said, with a disappointed tone.

  Brandon ejected the DVD from the player and put it back in the case.

  "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said.

  At the door, he bent to give her a hug, and lingered for a bit. Then he walked to his dad's Lexus, waiting in her driveway. She watched him get in, waved, and closed the door.

  "Stupid, stupid, STUPID!" Brandon said, banging the steering wheel. "Should have kissed her, it was perfect, WHY DIDN'T I KISS HER?"

  He drove home through the night, and while he drove he imagined a society of the future, where people spoke in metaphor, and the phrase "Brandon and Beth" carried a note of great sadness and loss. It stood for failed potential: a romance lost because one lover was too afraid to make his move.

  "Stupid," he said again. "Brandon and Beth. I'm such an idiot...just lock me up in the cabin in the forest and throw away the key."

  ______________________

  He descended out of the sky into his back yard, curving up at the last moment to land on his feet with a practiced step.

  Getting better at that, he thought.

  He could have walked around to the front and come through the hole in his living room, which was secured only by plastic sheeting, but then his naked body would have been seen by anyone in his neighborhood who happened to be on the street. Not that there was much point in hiding his nakedness at this point. Brandon had had to sail down numerous times to get close enough to read the highway signs, so he was sure he had been spotted a dozen or more times on the way home. Nevertheless, he walked up to the sliding glass door and peered in, cupping his hands beside his eyes to block the light. He saw no one moving inside. His mother and father were nowhere to be found.

  Why am I not surprised?

  Brandon yanked on the door, only to find it locked. Luckily, he knew this door well enough to have a trick up his sleeve. He jiggled it up and down and the lock came free, allowing the door to slide open.

  Brandon went straight to his room and grabbed some clothes: a pair of brown corduroys and a Green Lantern t-shirt. Just in case this turns out to be the blackest night, he thought.

  Kevin and the others were still there with the guy who had sent him into space with an empty metal shell, pretending it was a satellite. For all he knew, the scientist could have done something to any or all of them.

  Gotta get back there fast, he thought.

  Brandon picked up his cell phone, still sitting on his nightstand where he had left it. He dialed it, and put it up to his ear.

  "You've reached Mitchell," his father's voice said cheerfully.

  "And Melissa!" his mother's voice added, equally cheerful.

  "Annnnnd we're not available right now!"

  "You never are!" Brandon said to the machine in mock cheerfulness.

  "You know what to do next!"

  BEEEEP.

  "Mom, Dad, uhh...some really weird things are happening, and I really need you to come home. Look, just come home okay? Please." Brandon tried, but couldn't think of anything better to say. "Just come home. Bye." He ended the call.

  He sat in the chair in front of his computer and slid the keyboard forward, concentrating. He had just one more thing to do before he left.

  ______________________

  EXCERPT FROM "IDIOT SYNCRATIC": THE BLOG OF BRANDON HOLT

  Hey guys. Things really going insane in a hurry. Sorry I don't have much time, just want you all to know that we found the kids from the bus, and I was right, we all have powers somehow.

  There are these military guys, they want us dead for some reason, and this scientist guy is in charge of them. He said that there was some kind of disaster going to happen, that he was trying to stop it, but he lied, I think. The satellite he sent me to take into space was empty.

  I'm going back there to try to stop him and help the others. If this is my last entry, I just want you all to know I went out fighting. That's what superheroes do.

  Beth would want it that way.

  ______________________

  Brandon pressed the "Post" button and watched as the blog host site posted the entry. He looked at it for a moment, then slid the keyboard back and turned off the computer.

  One more stop, he thought.

  He walked back to the living room and with a yank he pulled down the plastic sheeting.

  "Can I help you find something?" the girl with pulled-back black hair said. She wore an orange apron with white lettering, like all the salespeople did, and chewed spearmint gum with a wide-open mouth.

  "I'm looking for safety goggles," Brandon said.

  "Oh yeah, we have those." She chewed loudly as she led him down an aisle. "Right over here."

  An assortment of various types of goggles lined one shelf. Brandon grabbed one box, looking over it.

  "Are these adjustable?" he asked.

  "Um...I think so..." She picked u
p one of the boxes and started reading.

  Brandon rolled his eyes. "Never mind, this'll do."

  "Ok," she said disinterestedly.

  He took them to the register and she rang them up. Brandon paid her with his dad's emergency card. She started to pull out a bag, but Brandon stopped her.

  "Don't worry about it. I'll wear them out." He opened the box and took the goggles out.

  "You'll...wait, what?"

  He put them on, adjusting the strap as he walked outside.

  The girl shrugged, looking down at a magazine she had by the register. WHOOOOOOOSH!!! A burst of air banged the glass doors open.

  "What the...?" She stepped outside and looked around to see what had happened. She would have seen Brandon then, if she hadn't made an obvious mistake:

  She never looked up.

  Brandon plummeted out of the sky and sailed through the open garage-style door that led to the lab where the scientist had led him to the empty satellite. He landed on his feet and looked around. There was no one in the room.

  "Kevin?" he called. "Hello?"

  He heard something then, a series of muffled explosions, followed by a loud piercing wail. He covered his ears with his hands, but the sound went right through them, bringing him to his knees. Finally, it stopped.

  The doors to the lab banged open and someone came in, a pimple-faced young man with greasy brown hair, wearing army fatigues. He was wiggling a finger in his ear.

  "Ow," the man said. "That shit's loud huh? What was that?"

  "I don't know," Brandon said. "What's happening here? I heard explosions."

  "Yeah, some big shit's goin' down back there."

  Another man banged through the doors, also wearing fatigues. This one had a shaved head and was hugely muscled. Brandon recognized him instantly.

  "Tommy?" Brandon asked, incredulous. "Tommy Malone?"

  Tommy turned and saw him, and a disgusted look came across his face. "Holt? The hell are you doing here?" Then he added: "Nice goggles, nerd."