He looked up at me, smiling. “Name’s Wes.”
“Nice to meet you, Wes.” I gestured to his notebook. “Where do you get those?”
“They’re in the Common Room,” Hank said.
I turned to him. “Cool, I’ll have to grab one.” I craned my head to try to get a glimpse at what Hank was drawing, but I couldn’t tell. I wanted to ask him about his drawing of me, but wasn’t sure when I’d get the chance. It was definitely a conversation I wanted to have in private.
“That was a real scene Sven caused with you earlier,” Wes said.
I turned my attention back to him. “Yeah, I guess. He seems like not a very nice guy.”
“Especially since you’re the one who beat him to a bloody pulp.”
As if on cue, a man I recognized walked by. It was the guy from the bank in Dallas. He shot me a look as he passed, but didn’t try anything. I got the message, though. I’d really have to watch my back.
My gaze turned to Brian, who was sitting on a bed, talking with his group. I figured his change of heart toward me wouldn’t last. I was disappointed I was right, though. I’d been hoping he really had changed, but it seemed that his powers stopped developing. The Eximus, or something, had changed him. He was now back to regular ol’ Brian Turner and right now, I was regular ol’ Kane Andrews.
Not Tempest.
Kane.
* * *
I LAY in bed staring up. Ambient light filtered in through the viewing glass around the edges of the ceiling. The lights were off, and the rhythmic sounds of people breathing as they slept filled the room.
I took in a deep breath and winced. I still wasn’t used to the overpowering smell of bleach and plastic.
“Jesus, that smell is awful,” Samantha said in my head.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. On a computer screen somewhere, some technician probably saw my heart skip a few beats. “Holy shit, is that you, Samantha?” I whispered.
“The one and only.”
Relief washed through me. I felt my body buzz, not from the Eximus energy. I felt as if my powers might return and I’d be able to fly out of this godforsaken place. “How long have you been in my head?”
“A while now. I was waiting to say something until I figured everyone was asleep.”
I closed my eyes and breathed deep. I couldn’t get over how good hearing her voice felt. “Thank you, Samantha,” I whispered.
Her intoxicating chuckle echoed around my humming brain. “No problem. I couldn’t give up on the other half of Samantha & Kane, LLC that easily.”
“Oh, man, I bet our stocks have plummeted.”
“It was a bloodbath on the trading floor,” Samantha said, feigning sadness.
“Send our investors my condolences.”
“Ha, speaking of which! One of our board members, a Ms. Holocene, is spending all of her time searching for you. We all are, Kane.”
The thought of that touched me. Broke me. I found that my cheeks were suddenly wet. I reached up to touch them and realized I was crying. It was all too much. I had some amazing friends—family, really—who had my back. They wouldn’t stop looking for me until I’d been found. I wasn’t alone.
And I never would be.
“Samantha, thank you.”
“Of course, Kane.”
“So how are things going out there? Are my parents okay?” I asked, changing the subject.
“They’re freaking out, of course, but I called them from a payphone and explained what I could. Other than that, I’m starting to hear some troubling rumors about this Super. He calls himself Atlas. I don’t even know what his powers are, but apparently he’s gaining lots of followers every day. I don’t know how or for what reason, but Doug and I are keeping an eye on the situation. We’ll let you know what we find out.”
“Okay, tha—”
Cold hands wrapped around my ankles and yanked me from my bed.
30
BRAWL
MY HEAD SLAMMED into the ground and I saw stars. I became dizzy and disoriented, nausea washing over me. My body was being dragged across the cold cement floor.
“Kane, what’s going on?” Samantha asked, growing frantic.
I didn’t respond. I struggled against the person who had my ankles. I kicked and flailed, but it did nothing. I could see five figures, all rushing toward the locker room with me in tow.
I grabbed the legs of one of the empty beds as I passed, dragging it across the floor with me. It scraped across the floor, sending a loud screeching noise echoing around the room. People sat up in their beds, half-awake, trying to figure out what was going on.
Someone stomped on my hand, causing me to let go of the bed. I looked up and saw the one who’d done the stomping was Prime, the guy from the bank.
I flipped over onto my stomach, causing the person who was dragging me to cross their arms. They got tangled up and let go of me. I scrambled to my feet, but barely got running before someone wrapped their arms around me and threw me backwards.
I went flying through the doorway that separated the sleeping quarters from the locker room. I slid across the floor and slammed into the first row of lockers.
Brian, Sven and Prime entered the room, along with the black-haired girl and the dark-skinned guy.
Brian charged at me, his fist raised. I didn’t get up at first. I waited until he begun to swing, then dove out of the way. Brian’s fist slammed into the thin metal locker door, causing it to bend.
He howled in pain and I got up to my feet. I ran down the aisle of lockers to the showers in the back. My five pursuers were close behind.
The lights in the shower room were turned down very low, allowing for barely any light. The pipes seemed to zigzag on the wall and I ran to the nearest one. I grabbed it, yanking on it as hard as I could. I had more strength than usual, thanks to the adrenaline pumping through me, but it still wasn’t enough.
The humming in my head subsided.
I hadn’t been expecting that. I was in the middle of pulling on the metal bar and it came off the wall with ease. I stumbled backwards, trying my best not to fall.
The humming returned.
I looked up and saw Director Loren standing on the observation deck, watching with a sly smile.
I turned my attention to my five attackers, who had just entered the showers.
Once again, Brian lunged at me. I jumped to the side and brought my pipe down on his wrist. He fell to his knees, howling in pain. I slammed the pipe into the back of his head and he fell to the floor in a heap.
Pain exploded across my back. I’d turned my back to my attackers to take out Brian and they’d used that to their advantage.
I fell forward but turned around just in time to catch another punch to the face.
I swung my pipe around wildly. The edge of it scraped the girl attacker, causing a large gash on her face.
I felt a punch to my gut.
Another to my face.
The pipe was knocked from my hand.
Sven picked me up and slammed me to the floor. They started kicking me, hard. As hard as they could. I did my best to shield my ribs, but I knew it’d be impossible to prevent any of them from breaking.
But then the four sets of feet kicking me turned to three.
Someone had tackled Prime and was on top of him, punching his lights out.
Another slammed Sven into the wall behind me. I heard his nose crack, the sickening sound echoing around the shower tiles.
I grabbed the foot of the girl before her next kick landed. I twisted it and she fell to the floor.
More people flooded into the shower room and began attacking my attackers.
But then they started to fight back.
Sven punched Hank—the one who had slammed him into the wall—square in the throat. Hank grabbed his throat, unable to breathe.
I ran to Sven, grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the shower wall. My anger took over and I slammed his head again. I pulled his head back, rea
dy to slam it once more.
But someone tackled me off him. This person was someone I didn’t recognize, but from the look on his face, he recognized me.
He punched me good in my stomach, but that was all he got in. I head-butted him, crushing his nose with my forehead. His hands clutched his bloody nose and he howled in pain. I grabbed his head and threw him off me into a heap on the floor.
Someone grabbed my shirt, but before they could throw me, I grabbed them. I threw them as hard as I could up against the wall and gave them a kick in the face. I went to kick them again, but they grabbed my foot and yanked on it. I almost slammed into the floor headfirst, but caught myself.
Cold water rained down on me. I looked up and saw that they’d turned on all the shower heads.
And that was when I saw what was really happening around me for the first time.
All the Supers were in the shower room, engaged in an all-out brawl. Blood mixed with water, swirling and snaking across the floor, searching for a drain to go down. There were probably around twenty people fighting each other in a dark shower room while cold water rained down on us.
The girl from earlier grabbed me and pulled me up. She was about to punch me, but before she could, I fell purposely to the floor. She hadn’t been expecting that and because of the wet tiles, she fell to the floor with me. The only difference was that I was ready for the tumble.
We lay next to each other, drenched with cold water. I slammed my elbow into her stomach, and she exhaled in a big woof. I rolled over on top of her and wrapped my hands around her throat. Anger filled me. She was one of the ones who had started this all. She’d dragged me from my bed while I was talking to Samantha.
I hated her.
She gasped for air and grabbed at my wrists.
But then she decided to go a different route.
I was too close to her, so she clocked me on the side of my head. I fell to the floor, but recovered quickly. I was ready for more, but suddenly the Eximus shockers in our necks were turned up.
Everybody fell to the floor, writhing in pain. It amplified the pain I was already experiencing from the brawl. The electricity coursed through my head, but thankfully it stayed on the inside. It never came in contact with the water that covered the floor, thank god. That would not have ended well.
The pain began to recede and I felt two arms hook beneath mine. I was being pulled away by two STF guards. All the other Supers were still lying on the bloody, wet shower floors, incapacitated by the Eximus energy that flowed through them.
31
PROMISES
I SAT RESTRAINED to the same metal chair I’d been in when they brought me here. It felt as if I’d been sitting there for hours, but really it hadn’t been that long at all.
I hurt all over. It didn’t seem like they were going to let me heal, at least not yet. I looked around the room for any sign of people watching me, but there was no one. I was alone.
That is, until the door opened. Loren walked in and someone wheeled in a gurney behind her. The person left and it was just Loren, me and whatever what was on the gurney. It was covered up, but it had the shape of a body.
“That was quite the scene back there. I actually began to enjoy myself,” Loren said. “I don’t think he did, though.” She pulled the sheet on the gurney back. Wes’ dead body lay there, bloody and broken. “It seems he had his head bashed in. A shame. But he served his purpose.”
I struggled against my restraints. I seethed in anger. I wanted nothing more than to see Loren lying on a gurney of her own. “You’re sick, you know that?” I hissed.
“I am not!” Loren snapped. “I care about the protection of this country. Of this world. If some of your kind have to die, that’s fine. In fact, that’s great. That’s the whole point of this. Your annihilation.”
“Then why don’t you just kill me, huh? Just do it already!” I screamed in her face.
“Trust me, you’ll get what’s coming to you. But not until we learn more from you, Tempest.” Loren leaned in close. She put one of her hands next to my head and braced herself. “Like what your name is.”
“Again with the name?” I said, rolling my eyes. “Why do you care?” I shouted in her face.
“BECAUSE YOU’RE A GHOST!” Loren screamed as loud as she could. Her face was full of rage and frustration. “We’ve gone through every bit of DNA we’ve gathered from you. All your pictures. EVERYTHING! NOTHING! There’s nothing about you. WHO—WHAT ARE YOU?”
I laughed. “Careful, your crazy’s showing.”
Loren reached into her pocket and blasted my brain with Eximus energy. I convulsed in pain and screamed.
“WHO ARE YOU?” she screamed over my yells of pain. She turned the energy down and grabbed my shirt. She pulled me as close to her face as my restraints would allow. “I vow to you, I will find out who you are, Tempest. One way or the other, I will find out.” She thrust a finger at Wes’ lifeless body, lying on the gurney. “I let that happen. I could’ve stopped it, but I let it happen. People will die, Tempest. People you think are your allies will be your downfall. If you don’t tell me who you are, I will kill everyone. Every last Super, until you tell me who you are. And if you don’t? If I find out on my own? When I do, I will go after everyone you love. I will go after everyone you’ve ever talked to, looked at, or even thought about. I’ll kill them all. Right in front of you. And after that’s done, that’s when I will kill you. The Supers will die with you and they will die by my hand. I promise you that. I promise you.”
Director Loren let go of me and I fell back into my chair. She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her, leaving me there, alone with Wes.
32
BRAINSTORMS
I LAY IN MY BED, Hank asleep next to me. I had no idea what time it was, but shortly after Loren had stormed out, some other people came in and set me free. They took me to get patched up and then brought me back to the bunkroom.
Every few minutes someone would stumble in, their arm in a cast, or with gauze wrapped around their head. They’d walk over to their bed and collapse.
It’d been a long night, but I wasn’t able to find sleep.
“I wanna say something, but last time we were in this situation, things didn’t go too well,” Samantha said in my head.
I closed my eyes, comfort washing over me. “Yeah, that ordeal wasn’t fun.”
“From what I saw, I’d have to agree. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t watch most of it. It was too much,” she said, shame filling her voice.
“No, no, it’s okay,” I said, almost a little too loud. I brought my voice down. “I’m glad you didn’t. I can only imagine what this all must be like for you. All of you guys, really.”
“They’ll be glad to hear that I’m in touch with you. Hopefully we’ll figure something out soon. But don’t worry, we’re going to get you out of there.”
“I have faith that you will,” I said. A few moments passed before I asked Samantha the question that had been bothering me. “Samantha, why do you think they want to know my name so bad?”
“Really? How about, why the hell they can’t find anything about you in any government database?” she asked incredulously.
“Yeah, I’m trying not to even think about what that could mean.”
“Who knows. I would say I’d get Doug to hack into a government database and see what we could find, but we’d need access to a government computer. Can’t just go through the internet. We’ve done it once—that’s how we were able to help you out with the whole nuke situation during the Richter crisis. But that’s because they had satellite locations set up.”
“Great minds,” I said with a smirk, mostly to myself.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. But forget about the ghost thing for a minute. Why do they care so much about my name?”
“Maybe because they want what they can’t have? I don’t know. That seems kinda petty, doesn’t it? Like they’d have bigger things to worry about.�
�
“Exactly, which is what boggles my mind. Why isn’t holding Tempest enough for them? They’re the ones who gave the name to me in the first place.”
“They might just want to know, maybe so they can learn more about the environment in which you developed your powers,” Samantha said.
The door opened and a girl walked in holding an ice pack to her head. I waited for her to walk to her bed and collapse on it before I responded to Samantha. “That could be it. Not trying to be cocky, but I’m probably the most powerful Super there is. I guess they really want to know how that happened.”
“Exactly. Plus, since you killed Richter, you’re the oldest—well, not oldest, but you’ve been a Super for the longest period of time. I don’t blame them for wanting to know everything there is to know about you.”
“Oh, you don’t, do you?” I teased.
Samantha groaned. “You know what I mean, Kane. If they want to kill all the Supers, of course they want to know everything they can about the most powerful and oldest one.”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s probably a bit humiliating, too,” I said. I thought about how angry and frustrated I was making Loren. It was nice having the upper hand, although her threats didn’t sit well with me. Could she actually kill my family? And how many more people would die here inside the STF compound? On the other hand, how many more Supers would die if she found out my name? If she was able to figure out everything there was to know about me and thus, the Supers? It could lead to disaster.
I had a feeling everything was going to head that way, with or without my name.
33
FRIENDLY FIGHTING
FOUR GUARDS STOOD at my sides, in front of and behind me as they led me down a long hallway. The walls were blank and the florescent bulbs cast a harsh light all around. I wasn’t sure where they were leading me, but judging from the device on my head, it was to more experiments.
The First Superhero (Book 2): The Siege of the Supers Page 11