Failing Test: Book One of The Shadow Series

by J. M. Pierce

  “Hey, Justin, you ready to throw or what?” said Chad, continuing to shoot Heather dirty looks.

  Not wanting to let Tracy go, Justin stammered, “Uh . . . uh . . .”

  “Okay, let me rephrase that,” Chad barked sharply. “Let’s go throw . . . NOW!”

  Tracy looked back at Justin. He shrugged with a confused look on his face. In disgust, she rolled her eyes at him. She got frustrated at how he did anything Chad asked. She didn’t realize that her relationship with Heather was exactly the same.

  Heather stood up from her chair and dropped the bottle of wine on the ground. As she took off her sunglasses, she walked away from the camp.

  “Come on, Tracy, let’s take a walk since the guys have to play,” she ordered in belittling tone.

  “Whatever. You two behave yourselves,” replied Chad, glaring at Heather.

  “When don’t I behave myself?” she asked.

  “Uh huh; don’t do anything yet,” he replied.

  ****

  Test had just watched the last glimmer of daylight fade, and the sky was now filled with stars. Far off in the west, he could see faint flashes of lightning. As he sat in his chair next to Nicole, he marveled at how perfect the night had become. A gentle breeze blew that helped to keep the insects away, and the temperature was perfect. The sound of the leaves rustling in the trees behind them was therapeutic.

  Other than the incident with Mark, the topic of his powers hadn’t come up once since they had arrived. He was relieved. He’d already changed his plan to be dry tonight. Having the one beer helped him relax, but now he was fighting with himself to resist having another.

  “Hey, Mark, you want to throw me another beer?” asked Test hesitantly from his chair.

  Feeling the six-pack that he’d already downed, Mark clumsily reached into the cooler and then replied in a mildly slurred voice, “Hell yeah, you can have another one!” He tossed the beer to Test and then leaned over Marcy with his elbows digging into her thigh. “T.D. is in the game, ladies.”

  Quick to correct him, Test leaned forward in his chair. “No, no, no. Not in the game, just hanging on the sidelines looking at the playbook.”

  “Ah, whatever, man. I’m in!” replied Mark.

  Once more, he reached for the cooler, and losing his balance, he and the chair both fell over sideways.

  The camp erupted in laughter. Marcy tried without any luck to pull him back up from her seated position.

  “Nice, Mark; you are so graceful!” said Nicole, laughing heartily.

  “Oh, baby. You okay?” asked Marcy tenderly. She was feeling her drinks as well.

  As he climbed to one knee and set his chair to its original position, Mark was red-faced with embarrassment.

  Suddenly a voice came from the darkness. “Oh that’s classic. What a cozy little group you have here, Nicole. It’s very quaint.”

  The hair stood up on the back of Test’s neck. He knew it was Heather. Both he and Nicole quickly turned to face her. There, standing just at the edge of the fire’s light, were Heather and Tracy.

  “Oh, and that’s a good look, Nicole,” said Heather sarcastically, noticing her black hair.

  “What do you want, Heather? There isn’t anyone here that cares about what you have to say, so why don’t you just save it and keep walking?” stated Nicole firmly.

  Heather laughed artificially. “But Nicole, the funny thing is that I don’t care if you or any of your . . .” she waved her hands in the air, “friends care or not. You know I’ll always speak my mind.”

  Heather then looked to Test. “How are you, Test? I’m sure you’re proud of your catch. Speaking of catches, I heard that she had to come to your rescue this morning? Pretty sad when Nicole has to save you from Chad.” She giggled.

  Nicole stood up and walked toward Heather. Test quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Don’t. Just let her talk. Trust me. I’m not worried,” said Test as he looked into Heather’s sinister eyes.

  Acting surprised, Heather replied, “Oh, tough talk from Mr. Davis! Its funny how you can talk tough to me, but when a real man’s around, you need your girlfriend to bail you out. I’m thinking that when I tell Chad about how you just talked to me,” she spoke pointing to him and then herself, “he may have something to say to you.”

  Test stood silent and rigid. Every ounce of his body was on fire. “Sit down, Nicole,” he said forcefully, not taking his eyes off Heather.

  Nicole looked at him in shock. She didn’t like him this way. The look on his face was that of pure rage. His eyes were opened wide, and his teeth were clenched.

  “Maybe you need to sit down?” she replied.

  “Well, while you two are busy resolving your little lovers quarrel, we’ll be on our way. No worries though, I’m sure that we’ll see each other again very soon,” said Heather with a grin.

  Heather and Tracy turned into the darkness and disappeared. Test stood, watching as they faded into shadows. He wanted to do something. He wanted to do something in the worst way.

  “Test, please sit down,” said Nicole as she tugged at his flannel shirt. “We knew it was coming. It’s over for now, just try to relax and forget about them.”

  Test turned and looked at the threesome sitting around the fire. Mark and Marcy sat in stunned silence not knowing what to say. Nicole didn’t want to look Test in the eye. She had grown fearful of his anger. Test, still standing with clenched teeth, looked into the fire. With his arms at his side, he felt the rage swell inside. Suddenly out of the fire, a burning log arose. Gasping, Mark, Marcy, and Nicole jumped up.

  “Test, what are you doing?” asked Nicole in a quiet, yet urgent voice, trying not to draw any attention.

  He didn’t answer. He just held the burning log, slowly rotating it as it hung suspended in the air. It was a strange thing to him. He hadn’t ever imagined this; the ability to handle things with his powers that he couldn’t touch with his bare hands. A devilish smile appeared on his face.

  “Seriously, knock it off!” said Nicole even more forceful than before.

  He looked at her and smiled. “What’s the matter? You were so concerned with how I was going to handle this on the way here. Well, now here we are. I’d say I’m doing just fine. Wouldn’t you?”

  Nicole sat down and leaned back in her chair. Framing her face with her hands, she replied timidly, “You’re scaring me.”

  “Why would you be scared? I’m just,” he paused to consider his words, “finding constructive ways to use my powers in a non-violent manner.”

  “Please just put it down before someone sees you,” replied Nicole with her hands now covering her eyes.

  Test dropped the log, with a burst of embers and a thud, back down into the pile of burning logs. He was still very upset. He needed someone or something to calm him down. He wanted Nicole to run her fingers through his hair, but he knew that was probably out of the question. Instead, he barked to Mark with his hand outstretched. “Beer.”

  Quickly pulling her hands to her lap, Nicole looked to him. “What?” she asked.

  “Mark, I need another beer!” yelled Test.

  Nicole interrupted and took his hand firmly. “Let’s go for a walk,” she said as she pulled him away from the camp. Looking back over her shoulder, she quickly said goodbye to Mark and Marcy. “We’ll be back in a little bit, guys.”

  “Be careful, you two. Okay?” replied Marcy.

  “Yeah, don’t be gone too long or go too far. I want to be able to get there if you need me,” said Mark proudly, feeling like Superman compliments of the alcohol.

  “Don’t worry, we won’t be long,” replied Nicole

  She quickly dragged Test away from the camp and out into the pasture. After a couple of minutes, she stopped and turned to him. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I don’t know. I’m pissed!” he replied. “What’s your problem? I didn’t hurt anyone.”

  “Somebody could have seen you with the fire. Is that what you want?” s
he asked, wondering if in fact that maybe it was.

  “I don’t know, so what if it is? What could anyone do about it anyway?”

  His mind was out of control, flooded with emotion. He couldn’t steer his feelings, and at this point, didn’t care who felt his pain.

  “You’re acting like a jerk, Test. I have to tell you, it’s a turnoff,” replied Nicole with tears of anger welling in her eyes.

  As the words rolled off her lips, his last rational thought had disappeared. As the two stood face-to-face in the darkness, he grew quiet and still. With a deep breath, he looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry that I let you down. I didn’t mean to.”

  Without warning, he looked up and launched into the night sky. The moment took Nicole’s breath away. It was the last thing she had expected him to do. Part of her forgot that he was capable, and the other part never thought that he would do it to begin with. She looked in every direction, attempting to see where he may have landed. She could see nothing but the star-freckled sky above her and the steady flicker of campfires.

  She realized the level of anger that had built within her. As she tucked her hair behind her ears, she walked. She wasn’t angry with Test, though she was upset with him. She was focused on Heather. If it weren’t for her, Nicole would still be sitting by the fire with Test, enjoying a perfect evening. In the distance, she could see the glow of the football flying through the air. She knew that where there was football, Chad wouldn’t be far away; and wherever Chad was, Heather wouldn’t be too far behind.

  ****

  Test had landed among the stand of trees behind the line of cars. It was the farthest that he had ever flown before; the distance came as somewhat of a surprise to him. The trees were thick with leaves, but the ground was free of brush due to everyone scavenging for firewood. Trying to catch his breath, he stood tense and hot. He was still angry with himself at how quickly he’d lost control.

  “Why am I so stupid?” he whispered to himself.

  Filled with regret and the desire to fix the unfixable, he looked back through the trees for Nicole. The trees, while not overly thick, seemed to be strategically placed, and formed a wall that blocked his line of sight. Quickly he moved forward, towards the sounds of music and conversation. After only a couple of steps, he could see the line of cars only twenty feet or so away, and resumed his search for Nicole. He would never have seen her if it wasn’t for the headlights of a late-arriving car driving down to the end of the row. She was walking further away from the camp. Concerned, he shadowed her, weaving through the trees to stay out of sight.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about the look on her face. He couldn’t blame her for being mad. He had acted like a five year old having a temper tantrum. The swiftness with which he could screw things up never failed to amaze him.

  After navigating the trees for a short distance, he noticed the glow-in-the-dark football flying through the air.

  “What is she doing?” he asked himself aloud as he unconsciously walked out from the tree line.

  As he watched her walk, she turned to his direction, and instantly he realized where he was standing. Immediately, he dropped to the ground. Slowly, on his hands and knees, he backed up into the tree line and tried to stay in the shadows.

  ****

  Nicole saw Heather and Tracy sitting by a fire and grew angrier with every step. From the darkness, to her left, came a loud yell. “Hey Heather, I think your party just arrived!”

  Nicole turned sharply to see Chad standing with the glowing football flipping hand to hand. She turned back to Heather and walked boldly into their camp. Heather quickly stood, while Tracy sat with her eyes focused on the fire, not once looking at Nicole.

  “Where’s your boyfriend at? He sure is a prize. I wouldn’t think that you’d want to leave him alone, some girl might come and try to steal him from you,” said Heather maliciously.

  Nicole stopped inches from Heather’s face.

  “What the hell is your problem?”

  As Chad and Justin walked into the camp behind Nicole, the smile disappeared from Heather’s face and was replaced by a tight-lipped, scornful stare.

  “You’re my problem,” she replied.

  “What did I do to you? Tell me!” Nicole demanded.

  “You showed your true colors is all; I thought you were someone, and then you proved me wrong,” replied Heather, matter-of-factly.

  Nicole was as angry as she’d ever been. Heather’s logic was anything but logical, to her. In a rapid and continual motion, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. That’s when she saw an enormous shadow walk around her right side.

  “You owe us some cash, too, Nicole. Don’t forget about that bullshit deal you pulled the other night,” bellowed Chad, pushing Heather out of the way and stepping in front of Nicole.

  Determined to be strong, Nicole looked at Chad and replied, smirking, “I don’t owe you anything! I can’t help it you can’t get your beer to your mouth.”

  Chad grabbed her arms just above the elbow and clenched his teeth in anger. “I seriously think that I’m about ready to forget that you are female,” he said slowly and deliberately.

  Instantly, Nicole realized that she had made a terrible mistake. Chad stared down upon her, squeezing her arms to the point of pain. She was powerless in his grip.

  “Let me go, Chad! Right now, let me go!” she screamed, wincing in pain.

  Suddenly, glass and metal exploded, sending a shockwave through the ground. The camp erupted into chaos, and everyone who had been sitting was now running scared from the camp. Forcefully throwing her to the ground, Chad disposed of Nicole and followed the others into the darkness.

  In pain and confused, Nicole looked up to see the tailgate of Justin’s truck coming into view through a cloud of dust. The tailgate rhythmically bounced, steadily slowing until coming to a complete stop. She wiped her eyes and choked on the particles in the air; and then she saw him. Atop what was once the cab of a truck, Test perched on one knee, staring motionless into the black as if he were possessed. His eyes were opened wide and blazing white. The light of the fire reflected in them as though it were inside him.

  Methodically and silently, Test stood and jumped to the ground. He scanned the darkness for one person and one person only, but before he could achieve his goal, a voice came from the black.

  “What the hell?” Chad stormed back into the firelight. “That’s it, Davis, I am gonna stomp your ass into the ground!”

  Chad ran towards Test with Justin right beside him. Test patiently watched them take two steps and then raised his hands, pinning their arms to their sides and stopping them dead in their tracks.

  A look of horror overtook Justin’s face. “What’s going on?” he cried.

  “What are you guys waiting on? Go kick his ass!” yelled Heather from the edge of camp.

  “I can’t move. I can’t move!” yelled Chad. “Something is squeezing me!”

  Test stood like a statue, his straight face void of emotion, and held his invisible grip on the two would-be punishers.

  “What’s the matter, Cooper?” asked Test sarcastically. “You feeling a bit constricted?”

  Looking up in horror, Nicole yelled to him. “Test, what are you doing?”

  “Nobody touches you, Nicole. Nobody,” yelled Test, his gaze locked on Chad. “I am tired of this game, Cooper. Keep your bitch of a girlfriend away from Nicole, or you will have some serious issues far more drastic than what you consider issues now.”

  Test raised his hand higher ever so slightly, lifting both Chad and Justin off the ground. “Am I making myself clear?” he asked.

  “I’m clear! I mean, yep, you’re clear! I get it, I get it! Just let me go please!” replied Justin, in a suffocated voice struggling for air.

  Chad looked at Justin as if to say “you puss.” He then looked to Test and replied defiantly, “Up yours, Test!”

  Test laughed. He looked at Justin and released his grip, dropping him to the ground, and
watched him hurriedly back away to Tracy. Continuing his grip on Chad, Test looked to the fire. His audience watched as a burning log, dripping with ashes and hot embers, rose from the campfire. He slowly and deliberately brought the blazing log closer to Chad.

  “Test, stop it. Stop it!” yelled Nicole.

  He couldn’t hear her screaming at him. His world had become a pinpoint. The log, now a foot away from Chad’s face, hovered burning hot and bright. The heat forced Chad to lean his head away from the flame. His eyes grew larger, and the fear on his face was now clearly visible.

  Test walked closer to Chad and said very calmly, “I’m going to tell you one last time. Keep Heather away from Nicole, or else. Am I clear?”

  Chad nodded, his words trapped in his throat by fear.

  Test brought the log back to himself, and positioned it directly under his left hand. He then seemingly stared through Chad and into the darkness behind him. As the crowd looked on in horror, the burning log dripped and pooled on the ground until there was nothing left. After the last bit of the log was gone, Test released his grip on Chad, allowing him to fall limply to the ground. For the first time, Test looked to Nicole. With his eyes still wild, he walked to her. Slowly and gracefully, he held out his hand to help her up. She took it and stood beside him. In the dim light, he saw tears running down her cheeks.

  “What have you done?” she whispered.

  He looked at her and wiped her tears. “Run back to Mark and tell them it’s time for you guys to go. I love you, Nicole,” he replied with tears welling in his own eyes. He leaned into her, kissed her softly on the cheek, and whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry.”

  He backed up a couple of steps from her, and as suddenly as he’d arrived, launched himself into the night sky, leaving everyone behind in a state of shock and disbelief.

  Alone in the fire’s light, Nicole whispered, “I love you, too.”