by Braxton Husk
He was hoping that Exton would walk out merrily and healthy, but he didn’t walk out at all. Police were still on their way to search through the debris, but William didn’t have the patience. He walked over to where the school entrance used to be and saw something shining in the middle of the debris. William stepped onto the rubble and carefully began to walk over to the shiny object. He knew that if Rose was here, she would tell him that he was going to break his ankle or something, but Exton was all he had left.
Dodging the thorns, William made his way to the shiny object successfully without breaking his ankle. The shiny object was a button of Mickey Mouse on a backpack.
He began searching again, and then he noticed he had bought that same pin for Exton on a trip to Disneyland. William reached to grab it from under some rubble, but it was stuck to something. He cleared the stone and pieces of metal out of the way. It was Exton’s backpack.
William cleared more rubble, hoping Exton was not still attached to the backpack under the debris, letting out a sigh of relief when he realized it was only his backpack. He picked it up and dusted it off.
He also noticed something lodged under another piece of stone. It was a larger stone, so William used all the muscle he had to pick up the stone and throw it aside. It was the picture William had taken of Rose but ripped in half.
Wasn’t this picture in my car? William thought to himself.
And even if a stone fell on it, it would be damaged but not ripped in half like this. William wondered what could have done this. He put the two pieces in his pocket.
William kept searching, but there was no sign of Exton, and he began to panic. He ran back to the group of kids and shouted, “Exton!” one more time. There was still no response.
The police soon arrived, as William was still looking for Exton. They approached William and told him to leave the premises, and that if they found something or someone, they would notify him. William wrote down his number on a small notepad that one policeman had in his pocket. As William walked back to the car, the thought of losing his son was killing him.
On the way home, William was stuck in traffic due to an accident half a mile down the road. All his memories of with Exton began to play back in his head, just as they did when Rose passed away.
After about two and a half hours, William still had not received the call that Exton had been found in the damaged school. The search team had not found anything in the wreckage, so they began to look outside the school, wondering if any kids were outside when it took place and ran home or into the woods.
Back in the woods, where Exton had hit his head and was knocked unconscious, he was just waking from his slumber. He looked around because he had forgotten where he was, but not how he had gotten there. As his eyes began to focus on the dark oak trees, he was no longer surrounded by the fearsome dark thorns. He was laying on a patch of leaves, grass, and flowers. The rock that he had landed on had somehow settled into the ground. Exton’s head was no longer laying on it; he was resting on a soft patch in the grass. The edge of his naturalistic bed was a row of thick pointy thorns, pointing outwards into the woods. Exton realized that his power tried to destroy him, but it also tried to protect him.
While Exton was still looking at his surroundings and had recovered most of his memory, he heard footsteps approaching. He jumped up in consternation, fearing someone had found him. He ran behind a bush close to the sound.
A group of policemen had been searching in the woods. He immediately thought they were after him. Exton ran out of the woods as quickly and as quietly as he could. He made his way back to school property, and turned around to see if he had been followed. There was no sign of them. There was also no sign of the students or any of the teachers.
As Exton’s foot touched the school property line, something clicked inside him. All the regrets, the worries, the questions about how he got these powers, what he was going to do with them, and how he was going to control himself, flooded him. Exton didn’t want to lose his father; he had already lost his mother. He didn’t want to kill or even hurt his father with these powers he knew nothing about.
The word “Disneyland” and the date, “March 17,” replayed in his head over and over. Exton stopped in his steps and gasped. He suddenly remembered that he had been born in the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland on March 17th. Not only was March 17th Saint Patrick’s Day, a stroke of good fortune, but what else could have occurred on this day? He knew where he needed to go.
Exton ran into the damage and rubble, hoping he could find his backpack. He had earlier memorized the map of the school to find a way around Luke if he needed to. That considerably helped him to find his way to where he was last, before the building collapsed.
Exton made his way to where the backpack should have been. He knew he was in the right area because there was a locker on the ground with a Luke-sized dent in it. Yet, no backpack was to be found. Exton immediately thought of his father, and rushed down the sidewalk, towards the street.
Exton’s house was not too far from his school, but there was a highway in between. He made his way to the street, trying to stay as tranquil as he could while running, so as not to draw attention to himself.
He made it halfway down the street and almost to his neighborhood when his hands began to twitch again. Frantically, he began to run faster, hoping to get home before his powers manifested. All of a sudden, the sound of cars honking at each other began to grow louder. He began to see the flashing lights of a police vehicle not too far in the distance. He also heard sirens at close range. He slowed down when he got closer to whatever it was.
Exton had finally made his way around the turn to witness a car, hood first, in a ditch. He couldn’t see what was happening for a few seconds because of the cars passing in front of him. But, there was one car that stood out from the others. It was his father’s.
He knew it was his dad’s because of the Mickey Mouse antenna topper on the car. Once he noticed that, he began to run once again. He didn’t turn around to look for his father; he was petrified that something would happen.
A few minutes later, Exton finally made his way home. Overwrought with his legs throbbing and aching, he ran into the garage, picked up the welcome mat, and grabbed the key beneath it. He briskly ran into the living room and up the stairs to his bedroom to get some black clothes. He promptly snatched a pair of black Nikes, black jogger pants, and a black Spandex sports shirt. He grabbed a black hoodie just in case it got a little chilly outside. He also seized his mother’s necklace off the dresser next to his bed.
As he slipped the necklace over his head, he heard a car door shut. Exton hurdled over his bed and opened one of the blinds to peek out. It was his dad.
Exton grew apprehensive. While putting his shoes on vigorously, he heard the garage door creek, and thought to himself, Did I forget to shut the door?
He instantly made his way down the stairs. He noticed his backpack had been placed down near the garage door. Exton took a quick look around to make sure his father was not there, before running over and promptly slipping it on.
He was almost out the door when he remembered that Disneyland was further away than his school. He ran back into the kitchen and began to open the cabinets on the island, hoping to find a bus pass. He was out of luck. It was not there. As he tiptoed to his father’s room to look in the nightstand, he began to hear footsteps. Luckily, there was a closet not far from the bedroom.
He quickly hid inside it, hoping to be obscured. Only a bit of light was visible inside the closet, coming through the crack at the bottom of the door. He waited, hoping to hear the footsteps grow faint, but he heard the steps on the wooden staircase.
He immediately opened the door and darted into the bedroom. He began to search in the right side of the dresser. Still no luck; all he found was some old reading glasses, a flashlight, and some books. He walked to the other dresser on the left side near the bathroom and began to search. He found the bus pass and a seas
on ticket to the park.
As he turned his head to put the tickets in his bag, he noticed his father standing there, and he jumped.
“What are you doing here? I was worried sick!” William said, hugging Exton like the python in the jungle book.
“Umm … I ran away right before the building collapsed,” Exton said, stuffing the tickets in the water holder part of his bag, as the Disneyland ticket slipped out.
“But how did it collapse?” William asked, letting go of his son from the long python-like hug.
“Trust me, Dad, I wanna know just as much as you.
“Well, I gotta get going,” Exton said, as he began to walk towards the door.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where are you going?” William asked, as he stopped Exton by grabbing him by the wrist.
“Oh, I was just going to spend the night at a friend’s house,” Exton replied.
“Not to be nosey or anything but … have you made a new friend?” William asked.
“Yeah, I ran into him the other day while switching classes.”
“Oh, okay!” William said with a sad look on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking we could go to out to eat or something for your birthday,” William replied.
“Dad, my birthday isn’t until tomorrow.”
Exton tried to hide the bus pass with his palm.
“Well, okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning then?”
“Yeah, for sure!” Exton said walking out of the door, as his hands began to twitch.
“Okay, bye!” William said, trying to sound happy for Exton.
As William closed the dresser Exton left open, he noticed a Disneyland season pass for one. When he slipped the ticket back in, he realized that one of the bus passes was missing. After such a trying day, he decided not to give it much thought.
Chapter 5
As Exton walked into the garage, he made sure to turn around and close the door. He walked to the left wall in the garage and grabbed his bike off a bike rack that hung on the wall. As he placed the bike on the concrete floor, he noticed the tires were as flat as the Kansas plains.
Exton walked over to the built-in cabinets, opened one of the doors, and pulled out the tire pump. He connected the pump to the tire and pulled the handle up. As he pushed the handle down unknowingly with vigorous strength, it went way too far and cracked the pump in half.
“Oh my gosh!” Exton said frantically, backing up into the countertop that was mounted against the wall.
Wait, Exton stopped and thought to himself. First the thorns, now this!
Okay, thorns equal Maleficent? I guess strength equals Hercules? Exton gasped, wondering if he got those powers from that shooting star.
“Heh, look at me talking to myself in my head,” Exton said out loud.
“No, you’re not alone. I was listening to you,” a voice in Exton’s head said to him.
The voice sounded like a girl about his own age.
“Wait, what! Who are you?” Exton asked to the voice looking around the room.
“That’s not important at this time. What’s important is getting you to where you belong!” the voice said.
“And where exactly is that?”
“I thought you already knew that!” the voice said to Exton.
Exton could sense that the voice had a smirk while saying that to him.
“Yeah, right!” Exton said to the voice in his head.
“Then I guess you’d better get going!” the voice replied.
“Yeah … guess I should …”
“Wait! I almost forgot!” the voice said.
“Close your eyes,” the voice commanded of Exton.
“Okay!” Exton said as he closed his eyes.
“Now … think happy thoughts,” The voice commanded again.
“Okay!” Exton said to the voice, thinking of spending his birthday with his mom.
“Now … Open your eyes,” the voice said.
When Exton opened his eyes, he was hovering over his bike and broken tire pump. Exton gasped just as he hit his head on the ceiling.
“Ouch!” Exton yelled, closing his eyes as he rubbed his head, not really knowing what was going on. He then opened his eyes and said, “Wait! What!?”
Exton started wiggling and his arms started flapping, as if gravity had been turned back on.
“Oooh, I felt that one. Sorry, Exton,” the voice said.
“Wait … How do you know my name?” Exton asked the voice.
“Oh, trust me, I know all. I can also see all,” the voice said.
“What are you?” Exton asked.
“You’ll find that out soon enough.”
A few minutes later, the voice persuaded Exton to fly again. It took a while to get out of the garage, but he did it and landed softly on the concrete.
“Okay, let’s try this one more time. We have to get you to the bus station!” the voice said to Exton.
“Okay, here I …”
Exton began to float upwards until he commanded himself to stop in his mind.
“Go!” Exton said, as he immediately began to fly through the air.
He went slowly at first, but as he progressed, he began to go faster.
“Okay! I see the bus station!” Exton exclaimed.
“Okay! Remember everything I taught you! Lean down, then fly back up a bit!” the voice instructed Exton.
There was no reply from Exton.
“Exton?” the voice shouted.
Exton’s face was buried in a tree with a few leaves sticking out of his hair.
“I’m okay …” Exton muttered under his breath.
“Seriously, are you okay?”
“Yes, I just got the wind knocked out of me.”
“Whoa, I almost thought you got hurt there.” The voice chuckled as Exton tried to lower himself from the branch he was holding onto after the impact.
As the branch began to crack, Exton said, “Should have taken the bike …”
The branch snapped, sending Exton hurdling towards a pile of leaves. “Ahhh!” Exton screamed, as he landed in a pile of leaves behind the bus station.
The leaves didn’t break his fall very well, but it was better than nothing. Exton stood up as he brushed the leaves off his hoodie and pulled the leaves out of his hair. He noticed the bus coming down the road; it let out a big “eek” as it came to a stop. The doors opened as the LED sign on the front of the bus changed to “Disneyland Resort.”
As Exton boarded the bus, the driver stopped him and asked, “Where are your parents, kid?”
“Oh, they’re waiting for me at the entrance of the park. So, can you please hurry?”
“Okay, geez, sorry to bother you, kid.”
“Sorry, I’m just in a huge hurry,” Exton said.
“No worries, kid. Can I see your bus pass, please?”
Exton pulled out his bus pass from the side of his backpack and handed it to the bus driver. The man turned around and did something to the card, but Exton couldn’t see from where he was standing. A few seconds later, he handed Exton his bus pass.
Exton took a seat close to the front so he could get out faster, even though no one was on the bus besides him and the bus driver. The driver swiftly closed the bus doors, and the bus progressed down the road. Before long, they were only a few minutes away from the resort.
“Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, why aren’t you in school, kid?” the bus driver asked Exton, looking at him in the review mirror.
“We got off early for spring break,” Exton replied. Technically, that was true, except the school was kinda destroyed.
“Oh, okay, cool,” the bus driver laughed.
“And one more question.”
“Hm?” Exton seemed annoyed.
“Why are you going to Disneyland by yourself?”
“Oh, remember … I’m meeting up with the rest of my family.”
“Okay, well, we’re here kid.” The bus came to
a creaking stop, and the driver pulled hard on the lever to open the door.
As Exton walked down the stairs, taking his first step on Disney property, the man shouted, “Have fun!”
Exton made it down the bus station pathway and to the entrance of the resort. Walking down the pathway with huge crowds of families entering the resort, the smell of hot dogs and churros grew stronger with every step he took towards the entrance of the Magic Kingdom.
To the left of him was the California Adventure Park. Exton wasn’t born there. He was born in the heart of the Magic Kingdom. As Exton walked near the gate of the park, a monorail zoomed by on the track above his head. Exton looked up, as he turned around and began to walk backwards.
He then heard the train whistle blow “Toot, toot!” As he turned around, he came face-to-face with a beautiful girl. She had bright blue eyes, dark brown hair, and was wearing a colorful T-shirt that had a silhouette of Minnie Mouse’s head on the front, with the words, “Never Stop Dreaming!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you? Are you okay?” Exton asked the girl as they both took a step back.
“No, I’m totally fine,” the girl replied.
“What’s your name? I’m Exton.”
The girl’s eyes opened very wide as a smile formed on her lips.
“Wait. Aren’t you the person who was born here when a shooting star passed over?” the girl asked as if she was quickly trying to change the subject.
But Exton didn’t care. All he cared about was that he was talking to the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
“Um … yeah, but how exactly did you know that?”
“That story is still known today. I’m sure everyone knows that story,” the girl replied.
“I guess it was a pretty big deal.”
“Yeah, and I know how it felt to lose your mother. I lost my father.
“Wait … How did you know that I lost my mother? I know for a fact that was not in the story. My father didn’t want any more grief.” Exton said.
The girl looked petrified. “I guess I know more of your story than others do,” the girl said, casting her eyes downward.
When Exton turned around to reach for his ticket to the park, the ticket was gone, and the girl was gone as well. “What the?” Exton thought.