Failing Test: Book One of The Shadow Series

by J. M. Pierce

  Test nodded, knowing that the old man had been eavesdropping on his thoughts.

  “Thank you for being there for me, my friend. You’ll never know what you mean to me. You are the closest thing to a father that I’ve ever had.”

  His voice cracking with emotion, Cliff replied, “Thank you, son. Our paths will cross again someday. You go do as you were born to. Go on.”

  Test reached out and gave the old man a hug. As he released and backed away, he watched Cliff massage his forehead with the tip of his thumb and index finger.

  Without a word, Test turned and ran out the door. With the first sting of a hail stone on his exposed skin, he looked ferociously to the sky and pulsed into the chaos.

  Cliff watched with mixed emotions as Test flew away.

  “Goodbye, son; best of luck to you.”

  Chapter 28

  Simple Sunsets

  Nicole, Marcy, and Mark were all huddled in a group within the mass of chairs on the auditorium floor. They were trying to be patient, but waiting for the ceremony to begin was agonizing in the steel-cupped chairs that were provided. They heard the thunder outside, but didn’t really give it much thought. Nebraska had never been short on storms in late spring and early summer.

  The excitement of the moment washed over Mark and Marcy, while Nicole remained disconnected. She hadn’t told them about seeing Test that morning, nor did she intend to. As far as she was concerned, there was no reason for her to stain their day with something that they had absolutely no control over.

  “Did your dad make it?” asked Marcy, attempting to fracture the depths of Nicole’s thoughts.

  Thankful for the interruption, Nicole turned to her pleasantly. “Yeah, he’s here. I think someone wanted to make sure that he was here today,” she replied pointing up, “because with the weather outside, he wouldn’t have been able to do much anyway,” she said with a forced giggle.

  Mark sat rigidly in his chair as the girls talked, scanning the crowd for no one in particular. There were several levels of seating surrounding the floor, and the seats were filled with family and friends of the graduating class. His rotating head brought his eyes to meet Nicole’s.

  “You okay, Mark?” she asked, worried by the blank expression on his face.

  He grinned casually, showing no teeth, and dipped his head in a polite fashion. “Yep, I’m fine,” he replied with a deep sigh.

  Marcy put her hand on his leg and gave him a gentle pat.

  Nicole stood to get a final stretch in, and as she did, a voice came over the speaker system.

  “Ladies and gentleman, we have just been informed that a tornado is in the immediate area, and we need everyone to move to the concourse in a timely and safe manner. I repeat, there is a tornado in the immediate area, and everyone needs to move to the concourse quickly and safely.”

  With the click of the sound system shutting off, there came clicking and creaking noises from the roof above. Nicole felt the concrete beneath her feet vibrate as she looked to the ceiling, watching dust that had been in the rafters for years begin to fall. As if made of paper, the roof flexed up and down. Waves flowed across the length of the ceiling like wake on the water. As the lights flickered, the auditorium erupted into chaos. Mark quickly grabbed Marcy and Nicole’s hands.

  “Come on!” he yelled forcefully.

  Mark went charging down the row, ramming anyone in his way with his rail-thin frame. With his beaten face, he looked like a painted soldier charging the enemy. As soon as they broke free of the mass of chairs, the auditorium went black.

  Swimming through the chaos blindly, Mark forced his way forward, seeing the emergency exit sign only a short distance away. Suddenly, he found himself off balance and falling forward. He had tripped over something or someone, sending all three of them sprawling to the ground.

  Nicole lay curled up and in pain. Her knee had popped as she fell. In an instant, she was being trampled under the stampeding feet of her peers. One by one, those trying to get out fell on top of her, their weight constricting her chest. She struggled for air.

  “Help!” she screamed, her voice melting with the pandemonium in the room. “Mark! Marcy! Someone help me!”

  There was no answer. Mark and Marcy had disappeared. She fought to get to her feet. As she struggled to one knee, she took a sudden impact to the side of her head, violently knocking her back to the ground. She fought for consciousness, and as she fell onto her back, she watched as the roof peeled away, revealing a lightning- and debris-filled sky.

  ****

  He could see the storm ahead of him. Test pulsed harder and faster than he had ever attempted before. He saw the tornado in front of him with debris swirling around the massive base. He flew over what used to be buildings and neighborhoods. As he looked down, he realized that he was over the trailer park where his house used to be. Now, nothing but dirt and concrete littered with wood and aluminum siding remained.

  He landed at the entrance to the trailer park, staring in disbelief at the destruction surrounding him. He could see for what seemed like miles, nothing in either direction but rubble. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning erupted several feet to his right. The blast sent him sideways through the air, landing painfully on the remains of a chain-link fence. Stunned, he picked himself up and stood, hunching over in pain.

  No more, he thought.

  He would not allow the possibility of failure to enter his mind. With a burst, his body exploded into color. He turned to the vortex and, with a single powerful blast, rocketed into the air. Within seconds, he realized that he had just passed the convention center where the graduation was to be held. His throat tightened.

  He immediately threw his legs in front of him and faced his palms forward. He let out a large pulse, slamming his body into reverse and dropping like a rock from the sky. As the earth rushed up to meet him, he pulsed when only a couple of feet from the ground, sending an explosion of dirt in all directions. As the last clod of dirt fell around him, he stepped from the center of the crater that he had created.

  He scanned the area and before him stood nothing but heaps of steel and concrete. Injured people everywhere lay in every manner of positions; some walked around in a daze. Overwhelmed at the sight, he stood motionless, soaked to the bone with red pulses traveling down his arms. His torso shone bright blue and red against the dark and stormy backdrop, his wet clothing clinging tightly to his skin. Screams came from within the rubble, muffled and inaudible through the layers of debris. The fear built amid the desire to find her. As he walked around the perimeter of the building, he pulsed into the air and landed amid the ruins.

  “Nicole!” he screamed.

  There was no answer. He looked all around him and suddenly realized that he could hear sirens in the distance. He didn’t care. The only thing that mattered now was finding Nicole. Unsure of where to start, he pulsed to where the entrance used to stand. Surprisingly, it still had a sense of structure to it. The glass door still stood miraculously intact while all of the brick that surrounded it had fallen. He walked over top of the pile of bricks, and stopped when he heard an authoritative voice.

  “Mr. Davis. I have to ask you to stop!”

  He turned and saw a young police officer standing stiffly with a gun pointed at him. The pistol shook violently in the officer’s hands.

  “Mr. Davis, I know that I can’t make you stop, but I’m asking you, please end this.”

  “I can’t stop, officer. There are people in there that need help. I can help,” replied Test. His face wore his exhaustion as droplets of water trickled from his hair. “I suggest that you move back and make sure no one is in the way.”

  “I can help you, son.”

  Test closed his eyes and tried to determine if he had actually heard the voice or not.

  “That’s impossible,” he said loudly with his face to the sky.

  The passenger door to the patrol car opened and out stepped a female officer. She walked to the rear passenger door and lifte
d the handle. As the door opened, out stepped a frail old black man from the back seat.

  “What . . . how . . .” Test stuttered.

  Cliff looked at him with his classic smile. “I called them from the bar. You need my help. If you move the wrong thing, you could hurt someone in trying to help them. I can tell you where folks are. Let me help you, son.” He spoke with a voice that had become strong, youthful, and full of determination.

  The two officers stepped aside and let the old man walk towards Test.

  “Are you ready?” he paused. “Understand that there is no way for this to end happy for everybody.”

  Test nodded. “She’s going to be okay, Cliff. I can feel it. She has to be.”

  The officers stared at Test. His red palms glowed gently with his arms pulsing at his side. The blue on the back of his hands looked like patrol car lights. The officers watched as Test turned away from them and lifted his arms. Immediately the ground shook. His torso became more and more brilliant. The pulses running down his arms came faster and faster, and with more intensity each time. The old man closed his eyes and pointed. Slowly, masses of debris rose off the ground.

  Cliff turned to the officers and screamed, “There, go there! He can hold it! Get those folks out!”

  The officers ran to the area. Several people screamed for help, and dozens more were unconscious. Test lifted the debris over top of his head and gently set it down in the middle of the street on the far side of the patrol car.

  “Is she in there, Cliff?” he asked, desperate.

  Cliff closed his eyes for a matter of seconds and then reopened them. “No, son. I don’t see her,” he replied. “We have to keep moving. There are more people in there, Test.”

  Cliff closed his eyes and pointed once again, this time to an area back into the center of the building. Test raised his arms, and once again a pile of rubble rose into the air. This time, the majority of the people walked out on their own. Amid the sea of people evacuating from the exit he had provided, Test heard a familiar voice echo through the anarchy. With his focus and concentration holding firmly on the rubble hanging in the air, he again placed it in the street behind them. As he turned, his eyes caught Mark standing next to Marcy some twenty feet away, his broken face staring in disbelief. With one quick pulse, he landed directly in front of the couple.

  “Are you guys okay?” he asked frantically.

  Stunned by his appearance, the two stood paralyzed. Test reached out and grabbed Mark by the shoulders. “Where is she, Mark? Where’s Nicole?”

  Mark was speechless, watching the glow from Test’s chest send pulses down his arms and into his hands. He could feel an increase in pressure on his shoulders with each pulse.

  “Damn it, Mark! Wake up!”

  Mark attempted to break away from Test’s grip, but it was too strong. His knees became weak as he cowered to Test’s unbelievable power. “I don’t know! I DON’T KNOW! WE LOST HER!” he exclaimed, his head frantically snapping back and forth.

  Incensed, Test’s torso flashed brilliantly, temporarily blinding the eyes of all watching. “You lost her!” he screamed, looking into his eyes vengefully. “How could you lose her?”

  “Test, stop it!” yelled Cliff as he put a hand on Test’s shoulder.

  In a mindless rage, Test turned and grabbed the old man’s shirt with both hands, knocking his glasses from his face. He held Cliff without effort firmly in the air, only his toes touching the ground.

  Cliff looked at him and calmly said, “I found her.”

  Test looked at him, his eyes wild with emotion. Slowly he lowered Cliff until he was able to stand flat footed on the ground.

  “Where? Tell me,” he asked in a labored voice.

  Cliff pointed to an area behind the spot from where Mark and Marcy had just come. Test ran to it and moved pieces of wall and sections of steel beam from the rafters. After moving several large pieces of debris, he saw a graduation gown with a familiar gray dress underneath it. He knew it well.

  Nicole’s body was under a piece of handrail that had a steel beam lying across the top of it. The upper part of her body was hidden from view by pieces of sheet rock and foam insulation. Fearful if he moved the beam that something else might fall on her, he laid his hands directly on the beam. He closed his eyes, and the crowd watched as his hands became as bright as the sun. The beam vibrated, resonating like a guitar string being plucked. In a sudden burst, the beam exploded into dust. Test opened his eyes and lifted the insulation and sheet-rock off the handrail. There she lay with her hair over her face. He slowly reached in past the handrail and brushed her hair away, revealing a large cut over her left eye. The hair on the back of her head was matted with blood, and a small pool coagulated on the concrete beneath her. He laid his hands on the handrail, and like the beam, it vibrated and then shattered into dust. Quickly, he knelt by her side.

  “Nicole?” He spoke to her with tears in his eyes. “Nicole. Talk to me.”

  She didn’t move, and her eyes remained closed. Test couldn’t breathe. He touched his hand to her neck to feel for a pulse. He couldn’t feel anything. Dropping his head, chin to chest, he rocked back and forth, the rage within him boiling over. He clenched his fists and stared at her lifeless body. Then he felt a gentle hand on his back. He looked over his shoulder with tears streaming down his face, and standing behind him was Mark.

  “I’m so sorry, Test,” said Mark with tears of his own. “I wish I could have done more.”

  Test stood with his fists clenched, his arms tensed and flexed at his side. From deep within him began a growl, growing louder and louder until, with great violence, he erupted into a roar. Instantly, a wave of energy shot from every inch of his body, knocking Mark and anyone within thirty feet of him backwards to the ground. Seething through his teeth, he turned to see Cliff struggling to lift himself from the earth. Painfully, he asked, “Is she gone?”

  Unable to make eye contact, Cliff stood silently.

  “Answer me!” yelled Test.

  As he yelled, the red and blue glow coming from his body flashed brilliantly with each syllable.

  Cliff looked up and nodded. “She’s gone, son. There is nothing that you could have done.”

  Test fell limp over Nicole’s lifeless body. It just couldn’t be. She couldn’t be gone. The events of the last couple of weeks flashed through his mind. Every moment that he had spent with her, ranked as the best moments of his life. With his fists clenched tightly, the growl returned from deep within him.

  “No,” he spoke in a possessed tone. “I won’t let it be.” He chanted it several times. As he spoke, he pushed up to his knees and put his right hand over her heart.

  Mark crawled along the ground and knelt beside him. He took Nicole’s wrist into his hand and felt for a pulse, but felt nothing. With sweat dripping off his nose, he spoke with a trembling voice. “It’s too late. She’s gone.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Mark felt a pulse. He looked over to Test. For each pulse of light that carried down his arm, he could feel Nicole’s heart pump blood through her veins.

  Test breathed deeply through his nose and then lowered his head. He placed his left hand over Nicole’s battered head. From beneath his open hand, a glow cast light onto her face and forehead. The intensity of the light increased until Nicole’s lifeless body twitched. With a sudden gasp, she inhaled deeply and then let out a prolonged moan.

  Mark fell over backwards, startled by her sudden and unexpected return to the world of the living.

  Test pulled his hands away from Nicole’s body and looked into her eyes.

  “Nicole,” he whispered softly.

  With blood now streaming from the cut over her eye, she squinted to see who was kneeling over her. Slowly the image came into focus. No words could come to her. She reached her arms around Test’s neck and held him tight as she struggled to control her emotions.

  “It’s all over, Nicole,” said Test as he ran his hands up and down her back. “You’re going to
be fine.”

  She released her grip on him and lay back down, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths. With a tiny smile on her lips, she opened her eyes and stared weakly into Test’s eyes.

  Suddenly, Test once again felt a hand on his shoulder, only this time it was the officer who had initially tried to stop him.

  “She needs medical attention, Mr. Davis. Please step back and let us get the medical crew in,” pleaded the officer. “We’ve got a stretcher on the way, sir. She’ll get the best care possible.”

  Test stared at him in disbelief. He could see in the officer’s eyes that he was being sincere. It was the first time that he had been made to feel human in a very long time. The light emanating from his body dimmed as he stood and faced the officer.

  “Thank you,” he said simply.

  “You’re welcome, sir,” replied the officer, offering his hand.

  Test reached out and gripped the officer’s hand, shaking it firmly. He turned to walk away, but before he could release his hand, the officer’s grip tightened. Defensively, Test turned back to him.

  “Mr. Davis, I have witnessed who you are as a person. My mind knows that I can’t detain you; my morals say that I shouldn’t. But my duty says that I must.”

  The two stared at each other intently. Test knew that he could burst away and he was tired of running.

  “What are you saying?” asked Test.

  The officer swallowed nervously and, as he released his grip, replied, “I’m saying that I will speak highly of you, and I will defend you if necessary.”

  Suddenly there were dozens of voices from every direction, each of them uttering the same phrase.

  “So will I.”

  For the first time, Test realized that there were hundreds of people who had gathered around him, watching the events that had just occurred. He looked around at all of them, some he knew well and some he had never seen. Feeling very small all of the sudden, he didn’t know what to say.

  “See,” said Marcy as she walked to Mark’s side. “You’re still just Test.” She had a cut on her lip, and a small stream of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. With a painful smile, she continued. “Stop running, please? Look at all of the people that will support you now.”