by J. M. Pierce
“…to explain the luminescence that the subject emits would require, it appears, to let him energize his powers. It has been determined that to let that happen would be of imminent danger to myself, this facility, and the security of the world. We must assume that, as in humans, a biochemical reaction is responsible, but it stands to reason that it happens on a much higher level within the subject. This is the only acceptable theory to a condition that can’t be tested.”
Can’t be tested, he thought to himself. The phrase brought him a strange comfort. They feared him. He’d always known that he was powerful, but he’d never related it to being superior. He’d always feared those that were hunting him. It was true that lives had ended because of his power, but each time it had been in his own defense. Now, something had to change. No longer would he be the hunted. No longer would he fear those that held him. He was a Shadow.
He could feel his strength building within him, and the furnace inside smoldered, awaiting permission to rage. He knew that the change was upon him and could feel every cell within him begin to tremble.
Test played out the escape in his mind. He so wanted to enact a measure of revenge on Dawson, but remembered Cliff’s warnings about the shift draining his power. To be left on this side powerless could mean the end. He played several different scenarios out in his mind, but ultimately he had no idea how things would play out. He was counting on Cliff to be waiting for him, and was hoping that the old man was in the room now, watching and waiting for the moment to come.
After living in an induced fog for so long, the clarity in Test’s mind was intoxicating, and he felt as though he could pulse off of the table at the time of his choosing. Suddenly, a nasally voice came over a speaker somewhere in the room.
“Excuse me, Professor?”
“What? What is it?” snapped the Professor.
“Subject is showing signs of recovery. I think that you should…”
“No need for you to give direction, Steadman. Thank you for your astute observation of the data,” replied the Professor.
With his adrenaline surging, Test focused to keep the power within buried. He heard the Professor walk across the room, and then the sound of keys on a keyboard being tapped interrupted the hum of the lights. Next was the sound of clinking metal, footsteps, and then the sound of someone breathing over him.
The Professor’s touch sent a fire through him; a wave of intense emotion that pushed to be set free. In an instant he felt the furnace release.
“Steadman! Call security!” screamed the Professor.
Test opened his eyes and the explosion of red and blue light from within him illuminated the Professor’s white lab coat. The room began to vibrate, and the waves of energy streaming from Test forced the Professor to back away and out of his line of sight.
“Steadman!” called the Professor.
Test heard the door burst open and could hear Dawson barking.
“Shoot him! End it now! End it now!”
It was then that the familiar sound of gunfire filled Test’s ears. He braced for the impact, but as had happened in the past, the bullets fell short around him.
“Davis, you son of a bitch!” yelled Dawson.
Dawson’s anger and frustration pleased Test, and only served to fuel his resolve. He could sense a difference within him; he knew the transformation had become a reality and in that moment he’d heard Cliff’s voice.
“Let’s go, boy! What’re you waitin’ on?”
Test smiled and closed his eyes. The room suddenly became muffled, as if he’d been lying on his back in a pool of water, and then he began to sink. The room filled with a sizzling sound that blanketed the gunfire and voices. Suddenly he could feel the belts loose their grip, and the table felt as though he had melted into it. And then there was silence.
He opened his eyes and the room was still filled with chaos, but in the corner stood a little old man with a cigar in his mouth and a crooked smile on his face.
“Nice work,” said Cliff as he chewed on his cigar.
Test struggled to focus as he the commotion in the room distracted him. “Why can’t I hear them?”
“You can, if you want to,” replied Cliff as he walked toward Test. “Right now, I’d suggest we get movin’. I don’t know how much time you’ve got. You’ve been down for so long I can’t imagine you got much in reserve.”
Test nodded his head and looked to the door. “You lead the way?” he asked.
Cliff chuckled as plucked the cigar from his mouth. “No problem, but remember, we don’t need no door. Try to keep up.”
Test nodded once more and before he could blink, Cliff suddenly burst across the room. His movements were so fast that the only thing Test could see was a blurry trail.
Though he could no longer see him, he heard Cliff’s voice. “Come on, boy!”
Test took a step and began to run, but as he approached the wall, he came to a stop. Cliff’s arm reached through and grabbed Test’s ear.
“Come on!” screamed the old man.
He fell through the wall and felt nothing more than a slight tug on his entire body. Once to the other side, he stood in front of Cliff.
“You gotta forget what you’d do on that side,” said the old man as he gestured his head to the wall. “Let yourself move at the speed of mind. Your mind and spirit, they can do more for you here than your body can.”
Test took a deep breath.
“You ain’t even gotta do that here,” said Cliff with a wink. He slapped Test on his bare arm and said, “Now, you go first this time. I’ll push you if I have to!”
“Thanks, my friend,” replied Test with sincerity.
Test walked around Cliff, and then imagined himself running as fast as he’d seen Cliff. He took off at a jog and when confronted with a wall, he closed his eyes and leaned through it.
“Atta boy!” yelled Cliff. “Now, get the lead out!”
With each step, he felt himself letting go, and each new room flew by a little faster until the only distinction between them was just a variation in light. He was so amazed with the speed at which he was moving, he didn’t notice Cliff pass him until he came upon him. The instant he thought of stopping, the blur of the world around him came into focus and he stopped on a dime.
“What are we doing?” asked Test, glancing over his shoulder to a room filled with electronics.
“We’ve got to go up,” replied Cliff.
Test looked to the ceiling. “I suppose I just think about going up and it happens?” replied Test in a smart aleck tone.
Cliff grinned. “As a matter of fact—yes; you go first.”
Test winced at the manner with which Cliff expected him to know things.
“What? You can fly in the real world, can’t you? What makes this so hard to believe?” Cliff chuckled. “Watch me.”
With a wink Cliff burst up and through the ceiling, and then returned.
“See.”
“How do…”
“Boy, you’re runnin’ out of time!” screamed Cliff as he leaned into Test. “Go!”
Test took a deep breath and then jumped into the air, but nothing happened.
“Use your mind, son, not your muscles!”
Test leaned his head back and, somewhat fearful of an impact, thought of flying up. He felt a quick rush around him, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself standing alone in a new room.
“There you go! Nice!”
Test spun around to see Cliff standing behind him.
“Now, don’t just stand there, up and out, boy!”
Cliff took off first and Test tried desperately to stay close to him. He was sure that the old man was holding back, and for that he was grateful. The world moved so fast that it was difficult for him to follow without losing sight of him.
After a few short minutes, and without incident, Test suddenly found himself standing outside in the middle of a down pour. He looked up to the sky, and watched as lightning danced between clouds th
at churned angrily. The large drops of rain fell from them in sheets, yet he stood dry as a bone in silence. Slowly, as if someone were turning up the volume, he began to hear the thunder around him.
“Come on, son! You’re losin’ it!” yelled Cliff who was now far ahead of him.
The thunder drowned out Cliff’s voice. It rolled steadily while the sound of the rain washed over it all. He looked up to Cliff just in time to watch him fade from sight. In that moment he felt his left shoulder heave forward, and then a horrific pain shot through him as he fell to the ground.
“Cliff!” screamed Test. “Help me! Help me!”
The pain was unbearable. He took a knee and then, through the thunder, could hear more bullets flying by him. He turned back to see a group of men running towards him. With a final rush of adrenaline, he closed his eyes and forced himself to shift.
As before, the sounds of the living faded and he was suddenly being helped to his feet by his old friend.
“Damn it, Test. You okay?” asked Cliff as he began to force Test to walk.
The pain that had engulfed him only seconds ago, was now gone. He felt his shoulder as he began to run.
“Yep, sure enough you got shot,” snapped Cliff. “And sure enough it’s gonna hurt when you go back, but for now you gotta forget it and go! You’re out of time!”
In a blink Cliff was gone. Test looked ahead and could see Cliff waving for him to follow. The rain was so thick that he couldn’t make out what stood beyond the old man; there was no telling where they were. Test took a couple of steps and then burst through the unknown. He followed Cliff step for step and didn’t stop until he felt the first drop of rain on his face.
The blurry world of the living suddenly came into focus as if someone had dropped it from the sky.
“Cliff!” he yelled.
He looked around, but Cliff was nowhere to be found. The pain in his shoulder was mind numbing, and his arm hung to his side like a broken tree limb. He was exhausted and had never noticed the weight of his body so much as he did now. He stood bent over with one hand on a knee, gasping for air and watching the rain cascade off of his head like a waterfall. Through the thunder and driving rain, he thought he could hear someone calling his name.
He looked up and realized he was standing on the backside of a hill that looked down upon a winding road. On the shoulder was a small red car, and beside it stood someone waving their arms. He squinted hard, and then the realization of who it was brought comfort.
“Alyssa,” he whispered.
He took two steps down the hill and then felt consciousness begin to fade. Taking one more step, he slipped and began to roll down the hill. After several collisions with the wet earth, his body came to rest. He looked up at the dark sky, closed his eyes, and succumbed to unconsciousness.
Chapter 23
The fog in Test’s mind slowly began to burn off, and he quickly realized that he was in a moving vehicle. The sound of Alyssa’s voice would normally have been a pleasant thing to wake up to, however the pain in her voice, coupled with the pain in his shoulder, did nothing to ease his mind.
“We have to get him to a doctor, Cliff!” screamed Alyssa.
Though Test couldn’t hear Cliff’s response, her answer made it clear.
“What do you mean it’s not that bad? Now you’re a doctor?”
He opened his eyes to find himself staring at the interior roof of a small car. “Alyssa?” he asked.
Test felt the car swerve as Alyssa turned back to look at him.
“Hey!” she exclaimed in a panicked voice. “Are you okay?”
She reached her right hand back to Test and he took it into his. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he replied. “I think so. Where are we? Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you to the nearest hospital,” she replied.
“No!” yelled Test as he painfully jerked himself upright in the seat. “You know you can’t!”
“You’ve been shot! I can’t just let you…,” she suddenly interrupted herself. “Shut up, Cliff!”
Test released her hand and grabbed her shoulder. “Settle down,” he said firmly as he looked to the empty passenger seat. “What’s he saying?”
She turned her head and as if staring out the passenger window, replied. “He keeps saying that it’s not that bad, and that we can’t risk it.”
Test looked down at his bare chest and was taken aback. What blood hadn’t been washed away by the rain had dried in a spider web like pattern. Where he had been laying was a blood soaked patch of stained fabric. While it wasn’t a horrific amount of blood, the sight of it caused a touch of fear. He tried to roll his shoulder, and while it was incredibly painful, he was surprised that he still had movement. “Well it sure as hell isn’t a flesh wound, but I think he’s right. There’s no where that you could possibly take me.”
“Cliff! Will you be quiet?” screamed Alyssa once more.
“What? What’s he saying?” asked Test.
“He says that you should be more worried about the Reapers than you should about Dawson.”
Test’s heart sank. He hadn’t forgotten about them, but he hadn’t had any time to think about what he’d do if they came. “Alyssa, you’ve got to calm down. Now listen, I’m assuming Cliff told you about the Reapers?”
He watched her face in the rear view mirror as she nodded; the fear was clearly evident in her eyes.
“Actually, your Mom did.”
“Okay then, you realize that right now I can’t defend myself…,” he paused, “or you, should they come.”
She glanced back and forth between the road and the mirror. “So what do we do then? I have to at least get you cleaned up.” Her voice had grown less desperate, but there was a quiver of anxiety still present.
“Where are we?” asked Test.
“We’re about ten miles from Philipsburg.”
“Kansas?” he asked somewhat surprised.
“No, Pennsylvania.”
Test sat silently for a moment. Overcome by a sudden feeling of dizziness, he laid back down on the seat. With his good arm, he buried his eyes in the crook of his elbow and took several deep breaths. “Do you have any cash?” he asked.
“Some,” she replied.
“Do you think we’re being followed?”
“I don’t know how we could be. I picked you guys up north of Baltimore.”
“Maryland?” he spoke to himself. “Where were they keeping me?”
Test watched her as she seemed to be listening to someone other than him.
“Cliff says you were being held at Ft. Meade in Maryland, at the NSA headquarters. They were holding you underground; some sort of secret area. Lot’s of stuff happening there the government doesn’t want people knowing about.”
He processed the information, but struggled with the timeline. “How long have we been driving?” he asked.
“Not terribly long,” replied Alyssa.
“How far is it from Ft. Meade to Baltimore?”
“I’m not sure. Cliff?” she asked, turning to her invisible copilot.
“He says it’s about a thirty minute drive, but you guys did it in about ten minutes.” She giggled. “He says you’re slow.”
Test could hear her voice begin to relax, and that made him feel more relaxed as well.
“Thanks, old man,” he replied with an unexpected yawn.
Alyssa reached her hand back over the seat, reaching for his hand once again.
“Why don’t you go to sleep? I’ll stop at the first hotel I see and we’ll come up with a game plan.”
Exhaustion had suddenly set in so deeply that he could barely lift his hand to hers.
“It’s a deal,” he replied with another yawn. “Keep your eyes on her, huh, Cliff?”
With another giggle, Alyssa reached back and patted his leg. “Go to sleep.”
Chapter 24
Test was awakened from his comatose state by the gentle touch of Alyssa’s hand.
“Rise and
shine,” she said softly.
Test peered through his eyelids to see her smiling face above him. With a portion of her hair tucked behind her ear, the remainder hung down and caressed his cheek. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent with a grin, and the expression on her face left him feeling better than he’d felt in a while.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
“Why thank you,” she replied as she looked up and out the back window. “We’re at the hotel.”
Test began to sit up, but was quickly stopped by her hand.
“Not yet, there’s someone coming. Be still.”
Test fell back down for a moment and admired her while she watched the people pass by.
“I mean it, you really are beautiful.”
She looked back down to him, placed her index finger to her lips, kissed it, and then placed it upon his. The world seemed to stop, just for a moment.
“Okay. Are you ready?” she asked, checking each direction one last time.
Perfectly content in the moment, Test lied in reply. “Yes.”