by Pozel, Derek
Sage’s heavy eyelids narrowed. “You don’t remember the crime or the corruption in this city?”
“No,” Garrett said.
“You were still too young then,” Sage said. “He was the first one of us to stand up to it, in a tacky brown trench coat and goggles. He inspired the rest of us to step out of the shadows, to show our gifts to the world.”
“There were others before him,” Garrett said.
“Yes, it wasn’t long after Patriot burst onto the scene. He made the people of this city believe they could fight back and they did. They raised him up on their shoulders as their hero, their savior. It is what makes him a legend and more than a man with gifts and goggles.”
“You think too much of him,” Garrett said. “He drove the gangs, the dealers, the corrupt politicians deeper into hiding. I remember reading about the retaliation by the gangs.”
“You are correct,” Sage closed his eyes. “I stepped in and helped fight them off. He made me believe I could do much more with my gifts.”
“You closed the wound, but the infection is still there.” Garrett said in a distant tone. “Now you need a whole team of people to keep the peace.”
“Those Afflicted joined us because they wanted to help,” Sage said. “They wanted to control their gifts and we helped them. It is why we created the Assembly, to protect the innocent. Also, to lead the next generation of Afflicted to be even greater than we can ever hope to be.”
Garrett leaned forward and licked his lips. “Being a hero doesn’t give you a pass to do whatever you want, regardless if you’re in the Assembly or not. You have to be accountable for your actions. Even the legendary Patriot has committed crimes against the people of this city. Doing something good does not wipe the slate clean. The bad things are still there. It goes for all the members of the Assembly.”
Sage scowled and pointed at a picture on the wall of the current Assembly roster. “Those are true heroes. Your legacy will be a halfhearted attempt to topple the one institution everyone in this city is behind. It is a losing battle. You should know that by now. With your power you could do so much to help the world. There are people out there who cannot control their powers. They are a danger to themselves and others. They could use your help. But your vendetta has warped you. How long have you carried this grudge and how far will it go?”
“Too long,” Garrett lowered his head and found it hard to swallow. “I’ve devoted my life to this and I won’t stop until I bring Patriot to justice. He is not above the law. None of you are,” he shifted his eyes back to the hero. “Unlike you, my memories drive me. They didn’t turn me into a depressed drunk, sitting in the dark.”
“Is that how you perceive me?” Sage said. “I don’t have to defend myself to the likes of you. Since my Elizabeth died, I have lost interest in searching for the cause of the Afflicted and my other pursuits. Alcohol dulls my memories, both afflicted and human.”
Garrett stomach churned when he heard the pain in Sage’s words. They shared a common bond.
Sage wiped away a tear. “You know what it feels like, the pain.”
“I do,” Garrett said.
Sage cleared his throat. “We have so much power, yet human emotion still drives our actions.”
“At the end of the day, we’re still human,” Garrett said with a cold stare.
“For the most part, you’re right,” Sage said. “May I ask you another question?”
“You have asked me questions all night, what is it?” Garrett said.
“Would you want to be normal again? To give up your gifts?” Sage moved to the edge of his seat.
Garrett inhaled and his cheeks puffed out when he breathed out his mouth. “I look at being an Afflicted different than you do.”
“I used to be so proud of being an Afflicted,” Sage said. “Now, my memories haunt me every second of every single day. It is too much sometimes. There is a reason why humans don’t have a memory like this. It would eat away at them and drive them insane.”
“Didn’t you say we had gifts?” Garrett said.
“Some gifts are meant for others,” Sage’s head lowered and his shoulder slumped, “for the ones who are stronger.”
“What do you want from me?” Garrett said.
“How does it feel? Taking our powers away from us?” Sage asked.
Garrett’s fingers traced the along the cool metal of the gauntlet. “It’s not pleasant, but I’m getting used to it.”
“You’re getting stronger then,” Sage said. “Newly afflicted people don’t realize it’s difficult at first. The more we use it the stronger we get. It becomes easier to use our abilities over time. Sometimes new powers even manifest after extensive use of the current abilities.”
Garrett felt the color from his face drain and his mouth fell open.
“I can assume it is difficult to hear you’re getting stronger,” Sage said. “Are you afraid of becoming more powerful because you hate what you are?”
Garrett rose to his feet and stood before the dying embers in the fireplace. His long shadow stretched across the room. “No.”
“There will always be more,” Sage said. “Whatever gave us our powers is still out there and it is spreading to others.”
“You’re kidding right? It’s spreading like a disease?” Garrett rubbed the side of his face. “The Afflicted is a fitting name then.”
“We were lead to believe it was a comet which was hit with a solar flare as it passed the Earth,” Sage said. “If it truly was such a incredible cosmic coincidence, it left it’s mark on the world. I cannot disprove it and I have tried. I can’t explain us. We are, what we are and we’re not going away.”
Garrett covered his eyes with his hand.
“I’m sorry, but it is a fight you can never win,” Sage said. “I don’t know how it’s spreading. There are more Afflicted now then there were when I gained my powers. The world needs the Assembly, as protectors and as teachers to the new Afflicted. We could use an Afflicted like you.”
“How come none of this information is out there?” Garrett said.
“You know why,” Sage said. “The government doesn’t want the countries of the world stockpiling Afflicted like weapons. Unfortunately, it already has started.”
Garrett began to muster something to say and found his throat dry. He balled his hands into tight fists when he thought of the new Afflicted around the world. There would be more Emma incidents all over the world and he could do nothing to stop it.
Garrett’s arms fell to his sides. “I’ll worry about the others after Patriot. My problem is with him now, not the others. You’re going to tell him everything aren’t you?”
Sage coughed into his glass and cleared his throat. “Of course I am. He is still one of my closest friends and always will be. Even if lately, we don’t see eye to eye on the direction of the Assembly. He is worried about the new Afflicted Investigation Agency; the announcement is coming in the next few days. Your fight is going to be much harder when you’re public enemy #1 to the whole world.”
“I’ll deal with it if it happens,” Garrett said through clenched teeth.
Sage leaned back in the leather chair and took one final swing of the glass in his hand. The liquid emptied down his throat and his eyes began to tear up.
“Now for my request,” Sage said. “I would like for you to take my powers. I am giving them to you willingly and completely.” Sage slowly exhaled when he finally let his decision out of his mouth.
Garrett shook his head and found it hard to breathe. “You want me to take your powers, without a fight?” Garrett said with a cough.
“Yes, you are correct,” Sage said. “My time in the Assembly is over. It is time to step aside and make room for the next generation. Will you please help me?”
Garrett’s eyes fixated on Sage. Out of the corner of his eyes a picture of Sage and his wife caught his attention. He picked the picture up and studied it. It was easy to see how happy and in love Sage and his wife were in this mo
ment in time. This memory, like many others, was crushed under the weight of her death.
Garrett returned his attention back to Sage and saw the tears in his eyes. “I will, because I know what it feels like to have those memories,” he pointed to the picture, “you go numb from being buried underneath the pain.”
“You understand,” Sage whispered and closed his eyes. “I’m ready when you are. I want to keep remembering those perfect times we shared together. Her death overshadows all those precious milestones. I want to always remember how she smelled like sweet summer flowers in the morning when I curled up next to her. How she always hummed and had this enormous smile on her face when she worked in her garden. We shared many little moments. I want to keep those close to me forever.”
With heavy feet, Garrett stepped to Sage and placed his right gloved hand on his head. He focused on the sensation around his right hand and called to the power inside of Sage. The power was gentle this time when it answered. It flowed inside of him without the surge like the other times. Garrett did not feel the pain he had come to expect from taking the power of another Afflicted.
Garrett stepped back, saw the smile on Sage’s face and matched it with one of his own. “What was the last thing you thought about?”
Sage opened his tear soaked eyes. “Her last smile is the one memory I always want to keep. It was a smile of relief and peace. Thank you.” A tear managed to escape from his eyes and it rolled down his round cheek.
Garrett gritted his teeth and found he was at loss for words.
“This feels strange,” Sage rubbed his temples. “The formulas, schematics and statistics are fading away faster than I can think of them. I hope that my memories of my Elizabeth stay intact. I can actually feel the Afflicted source is now gone, it’s strange.”
“Good for you,” Garrett looked away. His body grew heavy with the new burden he placed upon himself.
“One day, I hope you can step over the line to the other side,” Sage said. “You showed me, there is goodness within you.” Sage rose from his seat and stood before Garrett. He extended his right hand to show his gratitude.
Garrett shook Sage’s hand. “I’m not that good. Either way, you would have lost your powers tonight.”
“You may be right,” Sage said. “I hope you can see you can help others. Please, remember, you can use your powers for good and not for revenge. It’s not too late to turn back.”
“Yes, it is. Tell Patriot, I’m still coming for him,” Garrett turned away and walked back through the house. His body emanated a faint white glow when he strolled outside. With his hands in his pockets, he faced the darkness outside and the doubts within his heart.
Chapter Eleven
Sunlight filtered through the blinds of the frost covered windows into a small second story bedroom. Garrett lay with his eyes open, glued to the white ceiling of his childhood room. For countless nights, he stared at the same ceiling and wondered if Emma liked him. He wished to be an Afflicted on those nights, and he wanted to meet Patriot. He got everything he asked for in a single day. Afterward he prayed for Emma to come back to him and he cursed Patriot for what he had done to her. It was 13 years ago in this same bed when he decided he would do whatever it took to bring Emma’s killer to justice.
Today, the same ceiling was a window, which showed the guilt he felt and the doubt that ran amuck in his mind. Sage’s power still coursed through his body from the previous night, a bitter reminder of everything he had done.
The plan was simple when he was a teenager. All he had to do was touch Patriot and take away his power. It seemed simple to his young mind. He never realized the work he would have to do and the pain he would have to inflict on himself and on the ones he loved the most.
A knock at the door brought Garrett back to reality.
“Your mother made breakfast, get your half-Polish dupa out of bed,” his father said through the door. “You have five minutes or I’m eating all the bacon and my doctor told me I had to cut down.”
Garrett could not help but smile. “It’s nice to be home,” Garrett said and rolled off his old bed onto his feet. He stared at his hands and let the power from last night flare to life. A dim white glow wrapped around his hands, it shimmered when it slid up to his forearms.
Well this will be easier to explain, Garrett thought when he rose from the bed. His eyes drifted through his room to the memories he left behind. He made his way to the door when he spotted a small picture Emma drew for him, tucked away behind a picture frame of the trio of friends. He grabbed it carefully and unfolded it. His heart sank when he saw her wavy signature and the number six next to it. Emma would never know she drew a picture of the man who killed her and gave it to the boy who would seek to avenge her.
“God, I miss you Emma,” he said and refolded the picture and placed it in his back pocket. When he walked down the hall to the stairway, he stopped at every picture and let the happy moments in his life sink in. His parents almost matching feathered hair in the 80’s, his birth, his first birthday and so on. It only took one incident to push him onto the path he was on today.
“Morning, honey,” Garrett’s mother greeted him with her contagious smile. His mother’s honey colored hair was pulled in a ponytail while she cooked breakfast for her two men. It reminded Garrett of how things used to be, happy and carefree.
Garrett’s father sat at the kitchen table with his tablet in hand checking the news. The resemblance between Garrett and Victor was uncanny. Both were tall, lean and had thick black hair. The blue eyes were from his mother’s side. Garrett’s were a darker version of his mother’s light blue eyes.
“You surprised us last night,” Sophie said over her shoulder and flipped the bacon. “I thought your father was going to beat you with your old baseball bat he has hidden under the bed.” “You’re damn right I was,” Victor said with a wide grin. “What brings you home anyway? You and Ethan get into a fight again.”
“Oh, you leave him alone today Vic,” Sophie said. “We haven’t seen him in almost a month. Let’s at least have a nice breakfast together.”
“It’s not that dad,” Garrett said.
Sophie scooped the last of the bacon onto a plate. “Breakfast is served boys.”
Garrett reached for a cup of coffee, which sat on the counter and plopped down in his usual seat across from his dad. “I needed a night away from the city.” Garrett raised his eyebrows and glanced to the front door. His father gave him a shrug and went back to his news.
“Good, you should visit us more often. I miss you,” Sophie placed a plate in front of Garrett and his father. “So does your dad, he won’t admit it. He’s mister tough guy.” She sat down at the head of the table, right in between her men.
“I only miss him when I need a hand with something,” his father reached for a piece of bacon on Garrett’s plate. Sophie slapped his hand away.
“You need to watch your cholesterol Vic,” she scooted closer to the table shaking her head. Garrett watched his parents and felt at home, he missed this. He never realized how much he cherished these little moments with his parents, and it terrified him how easily he could lose them.
“Garrett, tell us what is new with you?” Sophie asked. “Girlfriend? Maybe a new job? Your dad’s firm is hiring again for an office assistant. You might not be able to be an architect, but I think your father can find something for you to do.” Sophie smeared butter over her toast and watched her son out of the corner of her eye.
Garrett sat back in his chair and found he was not hungry. “Nothing, no work, no woman, and no to working with dad,” Garrett crossed his arms over his chest. “This guys a slave driver.”
Victor pointed his fork at his son. “I know you try Garrett. I can never say my son doesn’t give it his all when he puts his mind to something. You’ll find a new job, at the firm with me, teaching again, or whatever else you decide to do. It’ll happen when you’re ready for it to happen. Sooner or later you’ll meet someone, and find som
ething like your mother and I have.”
“Give me grandchildren honey,” Sophie added with a smile. “I want grandchildren while I can still enjoy them.”
“Maybe someday mom,” Garrett said, “not anytime soon, unless it’s an accident.” Garrett peered out the window to his right at the snowy backyard he used to play in when he was a kid. He remembered the spot Ethan, Emma and he built the world’s best snow fort. It lasted a whole day before it caved in.
Sophie crinkled her noise. “Don’t even joke like that, no accidents. Do it in the right order like your father and I did.”
“What’s bothering you Garrett, you don’t seem like yourself,” Victor put the fork down, and sat up straight. “What is it? Do you need money?”
Garrett jerked back in his chair. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Garrett, what is it?” Sophie said in a stern tone only a mother can invoke.
Garrett placed his head into his hands. “I can’t…”
Sophie shifted her eyes between her son and her husband. “What is it?” She placed a hand on her son’s head. “What’s bothering you?”
Garrett lifted his head. His eyes never left the table. “Dad, remember when I told you I was an Afflicted?”
“You what…” Sophie jerked back in her chair. “You’re what—“
Victor placed his hands on the table and exhaled through his teeth. “You are one of them aren’t you?”
Garrett drew his lips tight. “Yes, I am.”
Sophie covered her mouth. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Victor stood from his seat and stepped over to his wife. He placed his strong hands on her shoulders. “Our son is an Afflicted.” He swallowed and tightened his lips.
“I don’t understand how this is possible,” Sophie said. “How is this possible?”
Garrett shrugged his shoulders. “It just is, mom. I told dad when I was 15 and I wasn’t sure back then. Remember the fight I got into my senior year? It’s when I found out I really was one of the Afflicted.” Garrett let his hands glow for a couple of second to show his parents. He saw the color drain from their faces and his mother gasped. It broke his heart, because he knew he had broken theirs.