True Heroes

by Gann, Myles

  A scoff could be heard from the receiver, but he heard the same scoff through his open door and down the hall a bit. Caleb turned around as the voice said, “Don’t even recognize your own girlfriend’s voice anymore?”

  Carol gently pushed open the door, and Caleb’s stomach turned over as he whispered inside his own mind, ‘You still have your make up and nails on, and you’re bleeding from the nose.’ Her slight smirk disappeared as she hung up her phone and rushed to his aid. “What happened?” His black make-up came off on her rubbing fingers; his black nails didn’t go unnoticed. “What’s this about?”

  Caleb looked down to avoid eye contact. “This is what I am now….”

  ‘She caught my hand in the cookie jar this time. Goddamn why did I do this to us?’ “What the hell does that mean? How long have you been dressing up like a little punk? Since you dyed your hair black?”

  “Pretty much, but it doesn’t mean that I’m a punk or gothic or anything like that. It means that I’m a charred mess on the inside. There’s something underneath all of this,” he ran his hands around his body in a slightly frantic motion, “but I have to brush away all the ash to actually know what it is.”

  “Why not tell me? That’s not what everybody sees, Caleb. Everyone else will see this as a stupid little cry for help, and I can’t back you up on this if you don’t ever tell me about anything. You lied to me when you said you’d start telling me things, apparently.”

  Caleb’s eyes reset into hers and became almost aggressive. “Do you think that about me?”

  Carol could obviously sense his frustration and took a small tissue to his nose. “Of course I know there’s something else to you. The thing I’m more worried about is you not telling me about this.”

  “This was long before that night and it’s along the same vein. It’s just something I have to take through a process before I can share it even with you.”

  “Where did all this come from? What’s still hurting you?”

  “You’ve been here to see all of it! What happened with my father this summer, what’s still happening inside and around me at all times, and the stupid mystery of the future; that’s what all this is about! Black, to me, means the entirety of the world’s problems is on my chest and on my body. They’re mine to shoulder so that nobody will ever have to. The problem is that I’m not ready. I need more time! I can’t solve problems I don’t have all the parts to.”

  Carol sat on his bed while taking one of his hands in hers and placing her forehead on the back of their entwined fingers. They wiped the blood off his face together before he reset his posture. Caleb looked down on his beautiful girlfriend, feeling calm despite his outward expression. ‘Where did that all come from? Couldn’t have been my power; it’s all tapped out. Isn’t it? I thought it was, but maybe it hasn’t.... Maybe my power is taking a toll on my mind…gotta keep tabs on that.’ “Carol….”

  “Do you really think that? Do you really think that I don’t know you and I’m just some girl who is far beneath you?”

  “I know that you know me, and no I don’t think that. I have to dive head-first into my power to be better than you, Carol. You’re so smart and beautiful that I just took for granted that you’d see what I wanted you to see if you ever saw me like this. That was unfair to ever think and I’m sorry. My power’s so weak right now that I’m showing just how stupid I can be without it. Now you see what I truly am and why I need to wear this crap.”

  Carol’s head raised and she placed a hand on his face while smirking slightly. “See, the thing about dating a superhero with superpowers is that things just never seem normal. You are nowhere near an idiot, power or no power. I need you to be you like you usually are, but you have to be the same kind of you from one hour to the next. Whoever you are at school, be the same person around me and vice versa. Just tell me what I can do and I swear I’ll do it, because…well, because I really, really care about you, Caleb.”

  Caleb dropped down on one knee in front of her—any anger he’d harbored fully evaporated away with her last statement—and smiled softly. He readjusted his body until they were staring into each other’s eyes, and then, everything melted with a kiss. All the mental pain, nosebleeds, problems, and future plans hit the floor like spent wax from the flame of their sparking kiss. He broke away after almost an eternity in embrace and whispered, “I really care about you too.”

  As they embraced each other, fifteen people—men, women, and children—lost their lives on a near-by highway because of icy roads, poor brakes, and nobody around to help.

  - - -

  Caleb was drowning in an endless void; white stretching beyond all cognition of space until his feet felt pressure against the soles of his shoes. He felt the crunch of gravel through his tread and felt a brisk wind splash his face. His feet carried him forward as his eyes looked around, seeing brown and bare trees set against the white backdrop, like risen skeletons wandering through a hovered land where not even stars dared to venture. Carol suddenly appeared beside him with her foot caught in some sort of hole. After a moment of thought, he recognized she was caught at a railroad crossing, and a train was sending vibrations to them from only a few hundred feet away. As she struggled, various objects started coming into sight. A road appeared out of nowhere next to his gravel standing point and Carol’s car appeared on top of the new pavement, all the while the train whistled its warning from a small opening of the oncoming white mass. The sun appeared overhead, allowing for heat to harass his skin and sweat to sprout up under his hair line as Carol continued to struggle her foot free and mouthed something he didn’t understand. Her eyes were blank slates without color or emotion; every bit of personality burst from her gaping mouth and unheard words with clay features surrounding. Whatever the syllables were, they moved his feet without a conscious command from Caleb’s unconscious brain.

  His body swayed between the oncoming train and the struggling Carol. Suddenly, his mind filled with detail: the white sky turned blue with intermittent clouds, the train began to chisel away and turn into a detailed engine with steam pouring from open valves, and a very real bead of sweat dribbled down the back of his neck. The train was dangerously close now and Carol was still struggling with her foot, so Caleb readied himself. He gathered his power and prepared his body. ‘Only one chance to save her.’ The train whistle sounded frantically now as it closed in, and Caleb exploded all of his power forward. Just as the train was about to make contact with his outstretched aura, it suddenly retracted on its own and, just as the train made contact with his body, he woke up in his sweaty, train-free bed.

  His body half sat up and quickly caught his shortened breath. ‘That last part…. I’ve never seen so many details in a dream.’ He glanced at the clock. ‘Five minutes after my alarm should’ve sounded and five minutes until I need to be ready…can’t be late for Carol today. Yesterday’s problems gave her the idea for a relaxing Saturday, which I completely agree with for more reasons than she knows.’ Flipping off the covers, he threw on a new shirt and new pants. ‘Took a shower last night so I’m fine there…spray some deodorant just in case…man that dream won’t leave the backdrop of my mind. It was so vivid; how can I be sure that was the dream and this is awake-world? I don’t ever have emotional aspects in dreams. They’re all of running or whatever, but that fear…palpable even now.’

  He glanced out the window to see Carol’s gorgeous car in the driveway awaiting his arrival. Travelling down the hallway from his room, he shouted out, while speeding his pace as soon as he hit the living room, “Going out with Carol. Be back tonight sometime.” He took two more strides forward before a slight extension of his power revealed both parents in the driveway next to Carol. Backing up a few steps and looking out a window, his mind processed this. ‘Dad’s home…and they look happy….’ He took a step back from—‘When’s the last time I saw them together? A month ago, maybe…no, that was two months ago, and he’s home on a Saturday, what’s that about? Both of these blue-m
oon type events probably caught Carol as off guard as I. Better go save her.’

  The door opened, allowing a gentle and brisk breeze to slap Caleb in the face, drying more moisture from his features. He threw a hand up as a wave, and was a little surprised—‘I’m not angry but definitely surprised,’—that his father gave a wave and a smile of his own. It actually filled him with a small sense of delight to think they actually had a normal family, if only for a split-second. Caleb let that moment pass and walked around Carol’s car to hug his mother. His father knew better than to ask for one. “Heading out so early?”

  His father’s voice was deep and almost a perfect match to his fully-bearded chin and his iron-clad, grey eyes. ‘He always struck me as the type of person who, while intimidating as all get-out, tries to conceal it under a professional demeanor. Whatever it is my father does, he looks good and sounds good doing it,’ Caleb imagined. “Afraid so, Dad.” ‘First time I’ve called him that in a while.’

  Mom took over the questioning. “Where to?”

  Carol looked up and answered, “Little R-and-R type places. Nowhere too special.”

  “That’s what she thinks.” Caleb smiled widely and moved closer to Carol. “She doesn’t know of a little surprise I have planned for her.”

  Carol smiled and wrapped her arm around him for a second before Caleb walked by and into the passenger’s side door. “Well,” his father leaned down to his open window, “make sure you protect this boy of ours. He’s gonna make us all proud one day.”

  ‘Curiosity and memories…. Dad doesn’t know anything about what’s inside me. I remember Mom telling me that last year. I wonder what he actually knows about the entire situation. Asking would be a waste of time and he’s not around enough for me to make any informed deductions, and so I’m stuck. Yeah, Mom, I get it. You can put away the look: I won’t ask anything.’

  “Don’t you worry, I will.” Carol’s smile was the icing on the cake that was comforting Caleb’s father. As the parents gave a last smile and walked away, Carol moved her hand to her shifter and placed it into reverse. Both parents, sporting nothing but pajamas and robes, wrapped one arm around the other and walked towards the front door of their house as Carol quickly drove away from the strange scene. The silence between them didn’t last as Carol broke it a half block later. “Well, that was one of the least expected things I’ve ever seen.”

  Too into his own thoughts to give an in-depth answer, he settled for less. “You and me both.”

  Carol glanced over and smiled. “I didn’t mean your dad and mom together.”

  It was Caleb’s turn to glance over. “What did you mean then?”

  She held his hand for an added bit of solace from his thoughts. “You’re dad was a lot different than I ever expected. A lot nicer….”

  Caleb said, without a thought to the contrary, “Funny the faces people put on for other people when they first meet isn’t it?” Another long pause lasted for almost two full blocks before Caleb moved the day forward. “Where are we off to first?”

  Outside the moving car, down a street, into an alley, and on the dark side of a dumpster, two people were slumped, one with a freshly-emptied gun in his lap, the other a bloody knife. Between them were two wallets and less than a minute of life.

  - - -

  Five hours flew by in a flash. ‘She really knows how to plan half-a-day I’ll give her that. We haven’t had that much fun in a long time. All the more reason to make my half of the day even better.’ He glanced over at Carol, who was passed out in the passenger’s seat, and smiled while carefully maneuvering the road. ‘A few more minutes until the very small, frozen lake up this windy road comes into view, and I’ll use that lovely body to build up my apology stockpile for a long, long time. I’m glad she was tired enough to let me drive. It’ll add to the suspense, even when she’s dreaming.’

  Caleb accidentally woke her up, however, with a rather rough brake at a downed railroad bar. She yawned and stretched out for his hand as he felt a knot of guilt well up inside of him. “I’m so sorry, baby, go back to sleep for a few more minutes.”

  Carol smiled and shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine, honey. Where are we going?”

  “To Surprise-ville!” He chuckled with her while leaning back in the driver’s seat. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” They sat there smiling for a few more seconds before Caleb rolled down his window and listened for any kind of train noise. ‘Could roll across the tracks. Eh, it’d be risky with all that ice. Last thing I need is to waste more time here than we need to. Not to mention if we get stuck on that and a train comes, I’ll have to turn my dream into a reality.’

  “I’ll get out and see if the train’s coming.”

  Carol got out of the car. ‘Wow déjà vu.’ She approached the tracks cautiously and tried to look beyond a bend of skeleton trees. Before Caleb could get his window rolled down, she slipped and screamed a little. He opened the door and quickly got out. “What’s wrong?”

  He shook away a dizzy feeling as Carol answered, “My foot’s just caught.” ‘Her lips moved like that in my dream. Strange. At least there’s sound this time. That makes interpretation a lot easier.’ He looked down to see her foot caught between a collapsed piece of cement and the rail itself. ‘More familiarity there.’ Caleb turned as Carol continued to struggle, and he saw the train, which was much closer and coming much faster than his dream. Its horn blared repeatedly, only bringing Caleb’s body around to face the oncoming engine. “What are you doing? My foot’s free let’s get back to the car.”

  “I had a dream almost exactly like this last night. The train is supposed to tell me something, I think. If not, then I might be dead, or I might stop a train. One or the other.” ‘Wait, in my dream I was protecting Carol. She’s out of the way now, so is there really any need for this?’ Everything seemed to come at the wrong time as the train was rushing forward. ‘Choice time.’ He glanced at Carol. ‘She’s terrified. This…isn’t right. Move!’

  Caleb dove off the tracks as the train raced through the empty air he’d just occupied. Carol rushed over to help him up. “What the-why did you move out of the way?”

  ‘A thing I’m sure all couples ask each other. How insane are we?’ He smiled and giggled a few times before answering, “You weren’t in danger. No need to take on a train unless you need me to.” Both smiled again and just waited outside until the quick train passed. “Hop in. Surprise-ville is close by.”

  They both got in the car again with their hands tightly clasped together minus the needed part. ‘Doesn’t matter now. She does.’ Caleb gave the car a lot of gas after the rail raised to get over the ice, and they were off. His heart was racing still from the encounter. ‘My power is telling me to feel guilty…. What the hell is it? It’s just a series of genetics; how in the world does it affect my emotions? I think it’s more like I’m feeling its emotions. There’s no doubt it has a mind of its own somehow, but mine’s definitely in control. No worries as long as that’s the case.

  ‘In either case, power will get its use once we arrive. Good thing I didn’t take on that train. I would’ve been all out for the surprise. Ah crap, the sun’s still a bit too high. Plan B it is.’ Coming to a perfect parking spot, Caleb tried not to stare too long at the scenic picture gently sleeping beneath them. The frozen lake down a small hill from them was shimmering like the top of a massive diamond in the ground. The angled sun was over halfway sunk into horizon and gave that diamond lake a prism effect where golden rays went in straight, but shot out every possible shade of red to bright yellow into their eyes. Finally, he turned off the car, snapping Carol out of her own daze, and held out his hand. “Ready for a snack?”

  Carol shook her head but didn’t seem to be paying attention to him as much as she was the beautiful sight in front of them. “What did you say about snacks?”

  Caleb smiled as he reached into the backseat and grabbed some chips and snack cakes he’d bought during her nap. Throwing
her a bag, they both hopped onto the hood of her car and stared into the ice fifty feet in front. ‘Not a word. Don’t ruin what’s in front of us with words. She senses that too. Let’s be here for now.’ He waited patiently for the perfect time to begin as Carol pulled her jacket closed and snuggled up to his arm. They waited and watched for a good half an hour before Carol broke out a rather serious question. “If you do become a superhero, when are we ever going to see each other?”

  Caleb smiled. ‘And there’s my cue to begin.’ “Let me show you your surprise before I answer that.”

  He got up, and instantly summoned his power as he walked down to the ice. “What are you doing? That’s freezing water!”

  Through an empowered voice, he said, “Not cold enough to stop me.” He smiled back to her as he stomped a hole in the ice big enough for his body to fit through. He smiled one more time at Carol before jumping down into that hole and swimming to the center of the lake. Underwater, Caleb’s body was surrounded by his energy, which kept the frigid water from reaching his skin, as powerful kicks lead him on. His voice echoed thought through the underwater sphere, “Just imagine the shocked look on Carol’s face: priceless.” He brought his breath high into his chest and let his power flow through the water. “The practice did me well last night. My power is a changeable force; the field can give way to smaller arms that are almost curious in their movement. Then I can stretch them so much further. Let’s see the results.” Using this technique and reaching out as far as he could, he accomplished a blue glow throughout the water. From above the sheet of ice, the light shining resembled a fluorescent spider’s web of cracks in a neon colored mirror. Caleb then seized the tendrils and began to flatten them out, effectively expanding them to most of the iced roof. He used what little free power he had left to check above the sheet and barely make out Carol’s expression again. The sun was using its golden rays to try to thwart the night’s progress, but his blue column of color was fighting and mixing and dancing with the red to create so many new combinations and colors until the darkness took this battle from the waning sun, his snow globe continuing its hold of the world as it was through his eyes.