Failing Test: Book One of The Shadow Series

by J. M. Pierce

  Ignoring Mark, Test walked down the stairs and into the grass. “Stay here,” he said coldly. He was annoyed with his friend, and was feeling a touch of heat from within. With every step, his anticipation, and excitement, built. Suddenly he found himself feeling like a gunfighter in an old western. When he had arrived at about twenty feet from the woodpile, he stopped, closed his eyes, and focused. He let the furnace burn hotter and could feel the pulses growing stronger. The energy had begun to surge aggressively through his body.

  Mark, Marcy, and Nicole watched with wide eyes. They had almost stopped breathing as they watched Test take a step back. In an instant, he threw his right arm forward, his palm open and facing the wood pile. The timber exploded with violent force, sending pieces of wood backwards into the tree line and a spray of splinters in every direction.

  The trio stood on the porch stunned and speechless. Test turned to them and smiled playfully. As they stared down, wide eyed and vacant, he burst from where he was standing and into the air. With confidence and power, he flew over the trio, landing gracefully behind them before they could turn around.

  “That just can’t get old,” said Mark in amazement.

  Marcy shivered with disbelief. “This is for real, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “It’s for real, Marcy. He’s for real,” replied Nicole, proudly walking to Test’s side. What fear had been residing in her was now washed away by the fascination.

  Test put his arm around Nicole. He was mentally spent and ready to be on the road. All that he wanted now was a dark star-filled sky, a campfire, and Nicole’s embrace.

  “Okay, guys. Show’s over!” While he did feel powerful, he actually still felt embarrassed by all of the attention. “We gotta get going. We can take the Barracuda, but that will only sleep Nicole and me.”

  Surprised by the phrase that had just come out of his mouth; he looked at Nicole and could feel himself blushing hotly. She was blushing as well.

  “That’ll work out all right. Marcy’s got her dad’s truck tonight, so we can just throw all of the gear, and uh . . . some of the firewood into the back of it and take off. No pun intended there, buddy,” said Mark with a smile.

  Test turned and looked to the scattered piles of wood. Raising both hands, he picked up a bundle of five to six pieces that rested on the ground forty or more feet away.

  “I guess I’ll take care of the wood. I made the mess,” he said awkwardly. He didn’t yet know how to handle this situation. He was used to being the paper on the wall and not the center of attention. He couldn’t decide if it felt good or bad, but right now it didn’t matter. He was going to the party with Nicole, and that alone made his life more than he had ever thought it could be.

  Chapter 9

  Difficult Conversation

  The sun was beginning to set in front of them. Heading west out of town, Test followed Mark on Interstate 80. This was a new adventure for Test. He wasn’t usually involved in anything rebellious. Nicole, on the other hand, had spent her time with the “in” crowd, but in comparison to the majority of the people who would be at the party, she really hadn’t done a lot of partying either. Over the last six months, she had spent four or five nights going out with Tracy and Heather. In this time, Nicole had discovered the façade that was the “in” crowd. In addition, she had a hard time being around Heather when she had been drinking. As rude and mean as she could be sober, her cruelty intensified two-fold when intoxicated. Heather seemed to live for the lifestyle, the attention, and the power that it brought to her. At the time, Nicole deemed it necessary to put up with all of it to be a part of her circle. In the end though, she had come to regret the time spent with Heather.

  Mark had his arm draped across the center console with his hand on Marcy’s thigh. She had been pretty quiet since they had hit the road. He knew she was still a little shaken by all that she had just been shown. All the same, he was glad that everyone had agreed to tell her. He couldn’t have kept that from her for long. It was just too big of a secret.

  “You doing okay?” asked Mark.

  With a slight nod, Marcy replied, sighing, “Yeah, I’m fine; just daydreaming.”

  “What about?” asked Mark, already knowing the answer.

  She turned to him, mildly irritated. The thoughts rolled around in her mind feverishly, and the complexity of them all prevented her from keeping them straight.

  “I’m having a hard time digesting all of this,” she replied, her voice shaking from the stress. “Seriously, this isn’t a comic book or a movie; he really has…powers.”

  “I know it’s a lot to wrap your head around, but you just need to relax, babe.” Mark put his hand on the back of her neck and gently massaged it. “The way I see it, there are only two things that you can do with what you know. Either you can let it eat at you, or you can accept it and let it be. What good is letting it eat at you? You know Test isn’t going to hurt you, right? He’s still the same guy. I was calling him names earlier. He didn’t throw me through a wall or anything.”

  The goofy grin on his face made her heart feel lighter. “I know. It’s just weird. I think my brain is just having a hard time grasping that its reality.”

  “Let’s get past this,” he said, patting her leg. “We’ll change the subject. Do you think there’ll be a lot of people at the party tonight?”

  Inhaling deeply, Marcy lifted her shoulders and patted a rhythm on the dash. “I think so. I’d guess fifty or so,” she replied, struggling to focus on the new line of conversation. “I heard there was a chance of thunderstorms tonight. What are we going to do if it starts raining?”

  “Well, we have the crew cab so we can sleep inside if we need to. I know it won’t be the most comfortable night’s sleep, but we’ll be together,” he replied, raising an eyebrow playfully, “And alone.”

  “Oh yeah, that sounds hot; two people humid, sweaty, and crammed into the cab of a truck! How romantic is that?” she replied as she poked at his ribs.

  ****

  The Barracuda didn’t have any air conditioning, and Nicole was trying to get used to rolling down the highway at sixty miles per hour with the windows down in a car as loud as the Barracuda. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Test had busted out one of his favorites, the ever-popular red and black flannel with the sleeves cut off, for this adventure. Nicole liked the look on him. It was color at least, a nice change from his normal black concert t-shirts.

  “Do you think Marcy’s okay?” asked Test, yelling over the noise.

  Leaning towards him and squinting from the glare of the sun, Nicole yelled, “What?”

  “Do you think that Marcy’s okay? You know, with everything.”

  “I think she was pretty weirded out, but I think she’ll be okay,” replied Nicole, unsure how she felt herself.

  “How about you, are you okay?” asked Test, looking straight ahead down the road.

  She sat up straight in the high back bucket seat and peered at the countryside out her window. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked.

  “The bottle cap deal,” he replied, wondering why he’d brought it up in the first place.

  Continuing to look out her window, she was slow and methodical in her reply. “I think I’ll be okay . . . but I’m a little mixed up right now, too.” She turned to look out the windshield but continued to avoid looking at him. “What was up with that though? It was like you were there . . . but you were gone,” she replied.

  He couldn’t help but feel like he’d damaged something between the two of them. Somberly, he replied, “I was just thinking too much. That’s probably one of my biggest faults. I generally end up thinking way too hard about the little things.”

  She turned in her seat and put her left leg under her right. She stared at him for a moment and remembered the feeling that surged through her when she would see him at school. It was still there, but different now. She reached out and touched his hair. His innocence, as wel
l as his pain, was painted on his face.

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Telling your best friend and his girlfriend about your gifts is hardly a tiny detail?”

  Test looked at her with a grin and replied, “You don’t think so?”

  She desperately wanted to change the subject. They were, after all, going to a party, and the mood was far too dark. Without filtering her thoughts, she opened her mouth. “So did you see Chad any more today after this morning?” She cringed as the question came out and, in disbelief, placed a hand on her forehead.

  The smile on Test’s face disappeared. “I saw him from a distance a couple of times.”

  “You didn’t talk to him though?” asked Nicole hesitantly.

  Test’s face contorted in discomfort. His jaws clinched tight, and with a scowl, he looked to her and asked, “Why would I?”

  “I don’t know. Have you thought about what you’ll do if they’re here tonight?” Nicole wanted to stop herself, but she had a genuine concern.

  Test gripped the steering wheel tightly and pushed a little farther down on the accelerator.

  “You know good and well they’ll be here tonight, and besides that, why would I need to do anything?” he replied angrily.

  “Never mind, we’ll deal with it as it comes,” said Nicole bitterly as she turned to her window to avoid looking at him.

  Test looked over to her. He realized that he was being short with her, but he honestly didn’t know how to take her line of questioning. He put his hand on her knee and looked at her intently. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I guess I don’t care if Chad and Justin are going to be here at all. I just want to spend the night with you. That’s it.”

  At his touch, Nicole turned back to him. “I’m sorry, too. Sometimes I’m not the most sensitive person on the planet. Sometimes I think and analyze things too much, too. I don’t know if that makes us a good pair or if it’s a recipe for excessive drama.”

  “Let’s just have fun, okay?” replied Test as he patted her thigh. “I’ve waited all of my life for you. Tonight is the first night of a new life for me, and I’m not going to let anything mess it up.”

  Nicole was even more attracted by the confidence in his voice.

  Test glanced up the road and realized that they were only a mile from their turn.

  “Wow! That was fast.”

  “What, what’s wrong?” replied Nicole, sitting up in her seat.

  “Nothing, we’re already here,” he said calmly.

  Nicole glanced at her watch and realized that they had been on the road for over a half an hour. I guess time flies when you’re having fun and difficult conversation, she thought, smirking. Suddenly overcome with a much-needed sense of calm, she ran her fingers through Test’s hair.

  “I’m happy to be with you, Test.”

  Test looked at her and smiled without a reply.

  Continuing to follow Mark, they got off the highway and turned down a rutted and bumpy dirt road. After traveling about a quarter of a mile, they came across a simple, white poster board sign with black lettering that read “PARTY THIS WAY!” The arrow drawn below the lettering pointed to a small clearing in the trees. As Test turned in and drove past the sign, he noticed that this had to be the only way in or out of the pasture. As he pulled through the tiny ‘driveway,’ the trees scraped on the sides of the car.

  “God, I hope there isn’t a fire or anything tonight. There wouldn’t be any getting out of this place in a hurry,” he mumbled.

  As he pulled out of the trees, the pasture unfolded in subtly rolling hills and tall prairie grass. Vegetation dragged on the bottom of the car and he started to question how wise it was to bring the Barracuda out here. Maybe we should have just ridden in the truck with Mark and Marcy? It was too late now to worry about it. As he followed Mark, the path curved. Once the truck wasn’t directly in front of him, he could see about thirty or so cars, mostly pickups, about one hundred yards away.

  With a burst of energy, Nicole yelled loudly, “We made it!” She hung her head and shoulders out the window and let out a yell. “AUOOO!”

  In front of the Barracuda, Marcy stuck her head out of the window and yelled back, “AUOOO!”

  As they reached the line of vehicles, they continued down until the end and then turned in to park. In the excitement of the moment, no one had noticed Chad and Heather sitting on the tailgate of Justin’s 4x4 Chevy down on the opposite end of the line. Chad and Heather, however, noticed them.

  Mark and Test pulled in side by side and turned off their ignitions. The girls got out of the vehicles and, giddy with excitement, began chatting. With the sun beginning to set, Mark and Test’s primary goal was to get a fire going, and quickly.

  “Hey buddy, how about a hand with the wood. You know . . .” said Mark, gesturing oddly with his hands.

  Test snapped and got into Mark’s face. “Shut up! Don’t mention it again, Mark. I’m telling you.”

  Things were starting to eat on him. Being pressured into telling Marcy, Nicole asking about how to deal with Chad, and now Mark wanting him to use his powers on any trivial thing with a crowd in every direction; all of it was beginning to take its toll.

  Afraid and repentant, Mark replied, “Easy, buddy. I was just joking.”

  “Well, don’t,” said Test, taking a step back.

  “What’s up with you, man? You seem tense as hell. Are you going to be okay?” asked Mark holding out a bottle to his friend. “Here. Have a beer and relax a little bit.”

  “Thanks, but I’m going dry tonight,” replied Test, his words pointed and cold.

  “One isn’t going to kill you. It will help you relax a little bit,” said Mark.

  “How’s it going, boys?”

  The two turned to see Nicole and Marcy walking up the side of the truck. Always quick with the wit, Mark spoke as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “It’s goin’ great. Test was just cracking a beer, and then we’re ready to get the fire going!” said Mark, still holding the bottle out to Test.

  Test stood silently, looking at Mark, fighting to turn off his mood. Both Nicole and Marcy could feel the tension in the air. Hastily, Test took the bottle from Mark.

  “Yeah, enough talk. Let’s get the fire going,” he replied as he jumped into the bed of the truck and recklessly threw wood out the back.

  Full of guilt, Mark watched Test as he piled the wood. He wasn’t the same Test, though Mark wanted desperately to convince himself that he was. He pulled out a bottle of lighter fluid from the cab of the truck and soaked the pile of wood generously. With the strike of a match, the fire was burning with a deep red and orange flame.

  The girls set up the lawn chairs around the fire and began to ready the hot dogs and marshmallows. Test placed the cooler next to them, and as he did, he realized that Mark was right; the beer had settled him down some. He caught himself taking a deep breath and letting his muscles relax. Mark was standing at the front of the car, staring into a line of trees. Test knew that he had to say something, or this night was going to be a long one. Humbly, he approached Mark.

  “Hey, sorry about before; I’ve just had a little to deal with here lately and I . . . well . . . sometimes things set me off. I’ll try to be a little more level.”

  Mark turned to his friend. “No worries, man. I started thinking about things from your point of view, and to be honest, I don’t know how you do it.”

  “Thanks. Like I said, I’ll try to keep it level.”

  “What do you say we go sit with our girls by the fire and chill out? The sun is setting, and the breeze is feeling pretty good. What more do we need?” asked Mark with his hand on Test’s shoulder.

  Finally settled down, Test replied, “That’s the best plan I’ve heard in a long time.”

  With the sun now gone behind the horizon, the fraction of light that was left painted the sky in oranges and pinks. The moment was full of freedom and content. They sat quietly by the campfire, the calls of crickets and f
rogs filling the air, and soaked it all in.

  Chapter 10

  Short Fuse

  Heather sat in a chair and gazed down the line of cars, trying to see where the Barracuda was parked. She had cultivated a great deal of hostility toward the couple without fully knowing why. She felt betrayed. In her eyes, she had done a lot for Nicole, and her choice of Test was far from what Heather considered acceptable boyfriend material. It portrayed the wrong image. The reality was that Heather hadn’t really ever given Test much thought until she discovered that Nicole was interested in him. It no longer mattered. The seed had been planted, and tonight she was going to harvest some of the misguided anger and give it to the happy couple.

  “Chad, why don’t you and Justin go down there and have a chat with Test?” asked Heather.

  “Why? We’re getting ready to bust out the glow-in-the-dark football,” replied Chad, petulantly.

  “You can do that later. I’m asking you to do this!” she commanded as she stood, raising her voice.

  Annoyed, Chad slammed the driver’s door of the truck and leaned over the bed. “You know what? I thought our plan was to wait until later in the night when it was dark and people were winding down?” he replied.

  Hunching down in her chair, she crossed her arms and pouted as she said, “I don’t know if I can wait that long and still have any sort of fun!”

  “Oh, will you just relax. We have all night. We just lost the sun and the beer . . .” He stopped and put his hand over his mouth in a very girly manner. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot, you’re too good for beer,” said Chad as he rolled his eyes. “Please excuse me, your highness, your wine is cold.” He walked hastily to the ice chest and pulled out a cold bottle of wine. With bottle in hand, he leaned over and into Heather’s face. “Now why don’t you sit down and relax!”

  Justin stood behind Tracy with his arms around her waist. They had been standing across from the live action drama that had overtaken their camp. The crackle from the fire did little to drown out Heather’s overbearing personality and Chad’s hair-trigger temper.