Sarah pinched my arm and I flinched. “Yep,” she said. “Sorry to break it to you, but you’re not dreaming.”
“Hey!” I said. “Warn me next time so I can turn on my superpowers beforehand.”
“Has the last week really been that bad?” she asked as I parked the car. We slid on our backpacks and got out of the car. “I know it’s been crazy, but—I mean, you’ve got superpowers! You lifted a car above your head!”
“Yeah, I won’t lie, it’s pretty awesome. But at the same time I’m just so worried about being recognized as a freak, and then never getting to live a normal life.”
“You’re far too paranoid, Michael.”
“Totally! I am paranoid! You saw what happened to Ray, didn’t you?”
We both hushed just as none other than good ol’ Ray Simmons walked by us. The x-quarterback didn’t have his normal group of friends with him; he walked alone. Everyone stared at him as he passed, whispering accusations and suspicions with each other. He kept his head down as he walked, but then glanced at me. He gave me a scowl and then looked away.
“I did see what happened to Ray,” Sarah whispered. “I saw him being careless. You just need to be more careful.”
I looked back at her. “Hence the paranoia.”
“This should make things easier,” said a voice behind me. Sarah and I turned to see Zack approaching as we walked through the school plaza, a black motorcycle helmet in his hand “It was my dad’s,” Zack continued. “He gave me this one after he got a new one.”
He handed it to me and I inspected it. It had several scratches on it, but it seemed to be in good condition. The visor was tinted which was perfect for identity concealment. “Thanks Zack. This will definitely help, though I hope I won’t need to use it often.”
“Why’s that?” Zack furrowed his eyebrows and folded his arms. I think he was trying to stand tall and look intimidating, but it just didn’t work with his short frame and skinny limbs.
“Well,” I said. “I was planning on using my powers in public only if there is a catastrophe of some kind. You know, like a terrorist shooting, a huge car accident, or a natural disaster—like a tsunami or something.”
“A tsunami?” Sarah scoffed. “Michael, we live in Arizona! No beaches nearby!”
“I know, I know. But, tsunamis are just… scary. Have you seen the videos of them? Freaky.”
Zack shook his head and ran a freckled hand through his curly red hair. “Michael.” He stopped walking. “You are suffering from the Superman Syndrome.”
Sarah and I also stopped on the corner of the school plaza, out of earshot from passersby. “The what?” I asked.
“This might just reveal how much of a geek I am,” Zack said. “But, my geekiness might finally pay off now that we know super humans are real.” He hushed, waiting for a few girls to walk by, and then he continued. “The Superman Syndrome is where you simply wait for bad things to happen instead of preventing bad things from ever happening. That’s what Superman did; he didn’t put on his cape until there was ‘some catastrophe’—as you put it. In real life, a lot of people would hate Superman because he showed up only after the initial destruction was already over. Yes, he would save ten thousand people in the end, but he wouldn’t be there to save the first one thousand people.
“But Superman is fake. You’re real. Don’t wait for catastrophes to happen. You should be more proactive. Stop the bad guys before they get the chance to blow up a building, instead of just catching the building after it falls.”
Sarah put a hand on my shoulder. “Yeah. It’s like what dad said after you got in a fight with Ray. ‘Start the fight and finish the fight. This world needs more people who fight for what’s right before the wrong thing happens.’”
I was surprised she remembered and heard that, she wasn’t even at the table when Dad had said that. I nodded slowly, taking it all in. They made a good point. The whole superhero idea sounded like fun, but a big part of me was just… scared. I’ll admit it. I was scared: scared of jumping into danger, scared of someone identifying me as a superhuman, and scared of being responsible for other people’s lives. It all seemed so overwhelming.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I like the idea of being proactive, but I still don’t want to be a vigilante: be the judge, jury, and executioner all in one. Who am I to decide whether someone is a bad guy or not?”
“I thought you would bring that up again,” Zack said as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a paper with a picture on it. “Have you seen this picture around town?”
I had. It was a picture of a missing person: a dark-haired girl named Mary Sanchez, 16 years old, green eyes, five foot seven inches, went missing a few days ago. I didn’t know her, but she probably went to Sahuaro High School. I thought I remembered her from my math class. There was a $5000 reward.
“Would it be against the law if you used your superpowers to find her?”
I thought about it. “No, but finding her is the trick. Even with superpowers, I don’t know if I could.”
“You don’t need superpowers,” Zack responded as he pulled out another paper from his backpack. This one was a blog article. “You just need determination… and a search engine. It’s about a gang right here in Tucson called the Scorpions. The author of this blog claimed to see a black-haired, teenage girl with the Scorpions. And this was posted just yesterday.”
“So you’re saying that if I can find the Scorpions, I’ll find this missing girl?”
He nodded. “And I already know where you can find them. I was told by a reliable source that they hang out at the Trotting Park.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Oh, isn’t that the abandoned horse racing track near I-10?” Sarah chimed in. “Mom pointed it out to me once when we drove by it. It’s pretty big.”
“That’s it,” Zack confirmed. “Michael, you should go check it out tonight.”
“Tonight?” I started to feel nervous. “I don’t know…”
“That girl is missing!” Sarah said. “If the Scorpions have her, then who knows what horrible things they’ve done to her! She needs someone like you to find her and save her!”
I stewed over it for a while. Sarah and Zack watched me with anticipation. I couldn’t help but feel impressed with how much work Zack had put into convincing me to be a superhero. Maybe they were right. Maybe I could have it all: be a superhero, maintain the law, keep my identity a secret, and still become a doctor one day. I glanced at Mary Sanchez’s picture again. “Okay, okay,” I said. “You win. I’ll go check it out tonight.”
Zack did a fist pump. “Yes! Finally!” Sarah was beaming.
“Alright,” Zack said, getting down to business. “Let’s meet at my house tonight at seven.”
Chapter 19
Ray
The crowd roared to life all around me. Everyone stood on their feet, shouting at the top of their lungs. My mom stood to the left of me, Britney to my right, and Sam right behind me. “Touchdown!” shouted the announcer. Doug Cooper just caught a touchdown pass to put our team in the lead. Everyone was elated, cheering for our team… except for me.
I remained sitting on the bleachers with a hoodie over my head—even though it was a warm Arizona evening—hoping nobody would recognize me. Sam convinced me to come to the football game so I could keep my mind fresh for next football season, but I wish I would’ve been more stubborn and refused to come. It was gut wrenching to watch my team play from the stands. I thought it would hurt to watch them lose without me, but it was even worse to see them winning without me. It was like… they didn’t really need me after all. Ryan Creighton, the backup quarter back, was doing a decent job. He’d tossed some crappy throws at first, but then he just threw three touchdowns in a row. Score was now 21-14 us.
My phone buzzed while the crowd sat down. Sam slapped me on the back before I could look at it. “Were you watching that Ray? That was an awesome play! Go Cougars!”
I scowled at him,
but he wasn’t looking. My mom—ever the observant one—wrapped an arm around my back. “Sorry you can’t be out on the field son. You still have your senior year ahead of you. I’m sure you’ll get your chance to be under the Friday night lights again.”
As comforting as her words were meant to be, they only depressed me more. I knew there was a very small chance that I could play football again. Not now that I’m a…
I glanced over at Britney. She was more focused on her phone than on the football game.
I looked at my phone and saw that I got a text from Mark. Training begins tonight. Meet me at the pinned location in 10 minutes. I know you’ve got nothing better to do.
“Ray Simmons! Ray Simmons!” I looked up as soon as I finished reading the text. The voice came from a guy I didn’t recognize. He had a clean shaven face, wore glasses, and had a perfect comb over. He had pushed his way to the bleacher in front of me and held his phone up as if he were ready to record audio. “Hi Ray, you’re a tough guy to find. I’m Steve Henderson, journalist from Channel 9 News. Can you tell me what happened last night with your neighbor’s fence?”
At first I was taken by surprise and was about to answer, but then I thought the wiser and just glared at the guy. I knew better than to say anything anymore. They had already twisted so many things on the news. Well… some things they actually got right, but I didn’t want them to know that.
Steve pressed further. “Your neighbor, Mr. Mortenson, claims that you knocked it over with your superpowers. Is that true?”
Britney looked up from her phone and at me with a raised eyebrow.
My mom leaned in to make sure her voice was getting recorded. “Sorry, mister, you’ve got it all wrong. My son was sleeping when this happened. We all were. We woke up to see the wreckage in the morning and have absolutely no idea how it happened. My guess is that Mr. Mortenson did it himself just so he could frame Ray.”
Several people in the crowd turned their attention to us. Some were curious, most were annoyed. “But, Mr. Mortenson is an old man,” Steve stated. “And there was no evidence of explosives. How could an old man do something like that with his bare hands?”
My mom was about to answer, but Steve turned back to me. “Mr. Mortenson says that he will press charges against you, Ray. The Tucson Sheriff’s Office is considering your arrest at this very moment. What do you think about that?”
I didn’t answer. A few tense seconds of silence passed by. He kept his posture, with his phone directed at my face. I kept glaring at him. He smiled back. This was going nowhere. I’m so sick of this.
His smile disappeared when he saw my eyes glow. I reached my fingers around his phone, and squeezed. It crumpled between my fingers as easily as an empty soda can. Steve, my mom, Britney, Sam, and all the other onlookers were speechless.
I stood up and said, “I’m out of here.” I walked casually down the stands. Nobody tried to stop me.
Chapter 20
Michael
“Not much farther,” Zack’s voice said through my headphones. “Look for the big abandoned horse racing track off the side of the road.”
“All its lights are off, so it might be hard to find,” Sarah’s voice added.
“Fortunately,” I said. “I can see in the dark now.” Even though I had Zack’s motorcycle helmet on with the tinted visor down, the world still seemed just as bright to me as a cloudy day. I glanced down at the GPS on my phone, following its directions while I ran through the city. I tried to take a roundabout way in order to avoid busy roads. It was shocking to see how fast I was moving on the GPS. I had to zoom way out on the map so I could keep track of my position.
Zack had envisioned this as some kind of undercover rescue mission and wanted it to be done with invisible earpieces, high tech computers that could hack into anything, and dart guns. Unfortunately for him, the best we could do with our limited resources was communicate through cell phones. He and Sarah listened in on the other line with Zack’s phone on speakerphone, while I wore my headphones—with microphone—under my helmet.
“I think I found it,” I said. A tall, futuristic building loomed before me. It looked too big to be a racetrack, but I could tell by how it slanted on one side that it was built to support large crowds. No glass remained on the building, just dark, gaping holes that used to be windows. From the outside, it definitely looked abandoned, like its only inhabitants were ghosts. “This place gives me the creeps,” I muttered. “You’re sure the Scorpions live here?”
“Hang out there,” Zack corrected. “Nobody’s dumb enough to live there.”
“How are you so sure the gang is there, Zack?” Sarah asked. “Who is your reliable source you mentioned earlier?”
“It’s uh… one of my cousins”
“We are your cousins.”
“A cousin from my dad’s side, the Larson side, not the Stone side. He used to be in the Scorpion gang and he told me all about it. Gave me nightmares.”
“That’s comforting,” I said. “Remind me, why are we on the phone again? If you wanted to communicate just so you could give me emotional support, then you’re failing miserably.”
“I’ll help you find your way around the building,” Zack answered.
“And how are you going to do that?” Sarah asked. “We don’t have any schematics of the building.”
“I’ve been there before,” Zack said.
The line was silent for a while.
“My cousin showed me their hideout once, okay? It was freaky.”
“Wonderful,” I murmured. “Alright, tell me where to go.”
“Jump the fence and go through the side door on the left. If you hear a generator running, then you know they’re there.”
I did as he said. Jumping the fence was easy with superpowers. I noticed the door was unlocked. I opened it and stuck my head inside. I couldn’t see any lights. There was a faint mechanic rumbling coming from deeper in the building. “I think I hear the generator.”
“Good,” Zack said. “The rest of the way is dark; you might need to use your phone’s flashlight.”
“No, I think I can see just fine.” I entered the building and started walking toward the sound of the generator. It was noticeably darker in the building than outside. But, there were enough holes and glassless windows in the building to allow the moonlight to enter. Just enough light for my extra-sensitive eyes to pick up.
“Better to go without a flashlight,” Zack said. “They won’t see you coming. Make sure you keep to the left.”
I followed Zack’s instructions as he led me closer to the sound of the generator. I went around a few dark corridors, the walls made of cold concrete, and then I entered a big open area. The ground was simply dirt; the ceiling was built at a slant. I was underneath the stadium, near the spot where the stands met ground level. It was darker here, but a few beams of moonlight gave me enough light to see. Junk, trash, and scrap metal littered the ground. Graffiti was on every wall. I could see a bright light on the far side of the open area.
“I think I found them,” I said. “There’s a light in the distance.”
“Okay. Be stealthy,” Zack instructed. “They’ve got guns.”
“Guns?” Sarah stammered. “Can Michael handle guns?”
“I don’t know,” Zack and I said simultaneously.
I surged my power, feeling its tingling strength flow through my body. “I guess we’ll find out,” I said, trying to sound confident as I moved quietly toward the light on the other side of the stadium.
Graffiti decorated almost every wall. The most frequent symbol was a capital S with a stinger coming out of the top arch, and claws protruding out of the bottom. A scorpion in the shape of an S. The symbol of the Scorpion gang. Something seemed familiar about it. Where had I seen it before? It gave me chills. Wasn’t it a scorpion that had killed Orion?
I could hear laughter up ahead. It was hard to hear over the sound of the generator. I crept closer and peered around a concrete wall.
>
Four men were sitting on a sofa playing a first-person shooter videogame, their backs to me. All the electronics were powered by the generator: the TV and videogame console, a few camping lights attached to the slanted ceiling, a mini fridge, a microwave, and even a lava lamp. Their hideout was surprisingly homey, if you ignored the dirt floor, the cold concrete, and the dark spooky surroundings. They had several torn couches, a couple beds, and two tables. Pizza boxes, water bottles, and beer cans littered the floor.
“Wow,” I whispered into the microphone in my helmet. “You’re sure they don’t live here?”
“You found the hideout?” Zack asked.
“Yep. And four Scorpions playing videogames.”
“Do you see the missing girl?”
I scanned the makeshift living space. A human-sized lump was under the covers on one of the beds, a hand reaching out from under the covers with something metal attached to it. “I think she’s handcuffed to one of the beds.”
I quietly rushed over to the bed, trying not to alert the gangsters.
“Be careful…” Sarah pled.
I approached the dusty bed where the handcuff was attached to the headboard. The person under the covers was sound asleep. The hand within the handcuffs looked feminine. This had to be her. “I’m going to break the handcuff,” I whispered.
I glanced at the Scorpions. They were entranced in their game, smack talking and threatening to kill each other. I grabbed the chain, surged my powers, and pulled. The chain broke apart as easily as yarn. The girl stirred; the movement had awoken her. She pulled off her blanket and looked up at me groggily. It was her! Mary Sanchez! Her hair was a mess and she had a few scratches on her face, but I recognized her from her picture. I smiled reassuringly and was about to say, “I’m here to rescue you.” But before I could, she jumped away from me and screamed bloody murder.
“Oh crap….” I ducked behind the headboard, out of view from the Scorpions, my heart thumping.
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