by Dexx Peay
I flinched. “Sorry.” She glanced at her wrist and pulled her shirt down as if she was trying to hide something. She turned back around and tried to walk off again. “Wait,” I said. “I was just going to ask if I could get your number.”
“Why?”
“You’re cute, I’m handsome. You’re nice, I’m charming. You’re cool and you have no idea how cool I really am … c’mon…”
She smiled.
I had her hooked. This cool thing could really score me some points.
“Nobody is cool around me. But you’re cute, in a cool-dorky way.” She held out her hand, as I fumbled for my phone. I handed it to her and she handed it back with her number saved. She rushed off.
“Imani,” I said, looking down at the number on my phone.
“Who was that?” Marcus said from behind.
“I just met this girl. Imani. Damn. Imani.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Marcus said.
After we left the mall we all grabbed a bite to eat at the food court and went for a walk downtown.
“Two more weeks and I am leaving, you guys,” Diana said.
“Well that makes two of us,” Trey added.
“We’re all grown up now, ready to take on the world,” Diana said.
Marcus and I didn’t have any sappy words to say since we’d know at least one person in college.
“You guys will be fine, you shouldn’t worry about it. Trey, you’ll be hanging with the team so much you’ll have friends before the semester starts. And Diana, look at you. I'm sure you’ll have no trouble making friends or finding a boyfriend,” Marcus said.
“Damn right. One lick of these lips followed by a smooch will have any man under my spell. Even you.”
Marcus blushed.
As the weeks went on, our training got more intense. By that time Trey had already left for college and Diana had moved to Boston. As far as friends, Marcus and I were limited to each other.
Marcus and I were getting stronger and better with our training. With practice, I was able to shoot a beam of ice from my hands and even create objects out of ice. Even our aim got better with consistent target practice. Marcus bought some little green toy soldiers so we could improve our targeting skills. We’d sit them on the window seal and shoot them down with ice and fire. The goal: try to hit them without freezing or burning anything else but the toy. It worked eventually after Marcus almost burned down the west wing. The migraines still happened when I used my powers so I was constantly popping my migraine pills. It seemed that the more I used my powers, the longer I’d go without the headaches.
Even though today was a power-training day, we went to the track for stamina training before we got started. By the time I got there, Marcus was already at the track warming up. We did a few laps, followed by some push-ups and sit-ups. The conditioning came easy since we were both athletes.
“OK, two laps around the track, full sprint, as fast as you can. Loser buys lunch tomorrow,” Marcus said, gasping for breath.
I was pretty sure I had a good shot at winning and if I did, I was going to pick the most expensive place I thought he could afford.
“If that’s what you want, let’s go for it,” I said as we both walked to the start of the track.
“On your mark, get set, go!”
We took off like Olympians, and I was in the lead after lap one. The patting sound of his shoes hitting the ground warned me how far he was without looking. Halfway through the second lap I heard Marcus scream.
Thinking it was some sad attempt to distract me, I ignored him the first time until he screamed again.
I stopped and turned around and Marcus was hovering a few feet off the ground screaming and fighting himself.
His arms ignited.
The more he fought, the higher he went until his feet became flames that rapidly grew to his kneecap, and without warning he took off like a firecracker into the blackness of the night.
It was kind of cool watching him swirl around in the black starry sky like he was trying to spell his name in fire. I knew there was nothing I could do to help him so I sat down on the track and watched the fireworks.
After a few minutes he finally came crashing down and landed in a tree about a quarter of a mile away from me. I ran over to check to see if he was breathing and not bleeding out anywhere. Once I got to him, he was lying on his stomach, moaning. I walked to the tree and put my hand on the bark, putting out the flames that Marcus left.
“That looked like it hurt.” I stood over him.
“Urgh … bro, I can fly,” he chuckled. “I'm really like The Human Torch now.”
Using our powers led us to learn more about them, growing as we grew.
I was jealous that I couldn’t fly, but I guess Marcus could use that ability more than I could since I had a car.
“Still wanna train?” he asked.
“Do I still want to train? You’re the one who just fell from the sky into a tree and besides, you burnt up your shoes.”
He looked down and noticed he was missing his shoes. I gave him mine and I put on the ones that were in the car. I was a little relieved that my powers didn’t destroy my clothes every time I used them. Might get a little wet when the ice went away but that was nothing.
We got to the safe house and lit the torches followed by our warm-ups. We called it the safe house because it was a place where we could train alone and be our natural selves.
Whatever it is we are.
Safe house also sounded a whole lot better than the abandoned insane asylum.
I was in one of the rooms trying to form ice all around my body like Bobby Drake while Marcus was walking the halls juggling fireballs.
“What's it feel like?” I asked when he entered the room.
“What's what feel like?”
“When you touch fire? Anybody can touch ice and live to tell about it, but you walk around with half your body torched and you act like it’s nothing.”
“It, well … it sort of feels good. It’s a sensation I can’t explain and don’t want to end. Sort of like a massage,” he said. “What about you?”
“Relaxing. Just picture last year’s brutal summer.” I looked at him. He stood there looking back with his dark eyes and darker circles underneath. “Go’head, close your eyes.”
He sucked his teeth and closed his eyes.
“Now, last summer’s heat blazing down and crisping up your skin. We’re at Trey’s house and our clothes are flooded in sweat. We strip down to our trunks and jump into the cold water and that moment when your body first makes contact. That moment intensified non-stop is what it feels like when I use my powers.”
He opened his eyes, cracked out half a smile and nodded.
I continued trying to ice my body while Marcus was looking out the window like he wanted to jump from the fourth story.
“I wonder how I can make myself fly whenever I want?”
“You shouldn’t want to fly, Marc. Looks like you’ll be spending a lot of money on shoes if you do.”
“There you go again, Dylan, won’t let me have my shine will you?”
“Ugh! Marc I'm not going to fight with you every time we train, it’s starting to get old.”
Marcus began to walk slowly in circles around me with this mischievous look on his face. He almost looked possessed with his bulging red eyes and crooked smile. “You want to really train? Well … let’s fight each other,” he said still circling around me.
“Marc, for real, you’re starting to scare me a little bit,” I stuttered.
“The famous Dylan Perry shows fear.” He tossed a fireball in the air and caught it.
He quickly threw the ball at me and I iced my fist over and punched it as it came hurling at me. “Quick on your feet. I like that,” he said.
“OK, Marc, but just remember, you asked for this.” I raised my tension-filled hand and Marcus went straight up for the ceiling but not before he could throw another fireball at me.
I rolled
, dodged the ball, then suddenly Marcus hit the floor face first. I was surprised that I somehow summoned my telekinesis without a headache, although I knew the more we fought one would eventually hit me.
I wanted to have the element of surprise so I shot ice at all the torches. I got to the last one and right when I stuck my hand out to freeze it, Marcus shot a stream of fire in my path to intercept my beam.
He walked towards me and I walked back.
The room was almost dark besides the light from the one tiki torch that stood to the right of me.
“Good training today. Let’s go,” I laughed.
“We’ve barely done any training today, so quit being scared.”
I kept walking back, and he kept getting closer. “What was that?” I said as something moved swiftly in the hallway in front of me. The lighting made it so I could only see a shadow. I didn’t even hear whatever it was.
“Stop trying to trick me, Dylan.”
Seconds later the flame on the last tiki torch went out. “How did you do that without using your powers?” Marcus turned his head to face the torch.
“T-th-that wasn’t me,” I whispered. A feeling of uncertainty hit me in the gut.
The lights in the building started to flicker on and off.
Eerie.
“I thought these lights didn’t work,” Marcus yelled.
The silhouette of a man appeared behind Marcus down the hall facing us. Marcus started to wrinkle up and pain took over him. “Stop … stop, Dylan, turn it off,” he struggled.
He shivered. I was sure cold weather didn’t affect him.
The lights continued to go on and off and the silhouette got closer with each flicker. Marcus was now on the floor almost lifeless and in pain, struggling to say something. It was too much going on at the moment, and it was all happening way too fast for me to keep track. The silhouette at the end of the hall distracted me and the lights flickering confused me. I had to put all that in the back of my head and tend to Marcus.
“Da-Da-Dyl…” I reached down and picked up Marcus who was starting to turn blue. He managed to get one word out before he passed out.
Run.
I put his arm around my shoulder, turned around and started for the door but there was somebody standing before me. I could only see his face when the light flickered on.
He was African-American with blue eyes.
If I had to bet my money on it I would say that’s the guy Marcus fought the day of graduation. Behind him, the shadowy figure walked up with strings of lighting whisking around his body, giving life to the broken lights. The ice guy shoved both hands into my chest and knocked Marcus and me onto the floor. It was two against one with fear beating against my chest.
The ice guy waved his hands around, ice magically appearing between them.
I jumped up.
I grunted, pushing air between my teeth then snapped my hand away. He flew down the hall. I figured it wouldn’t hold him down that long so I had to get Marcus up and heated. The lightning guy sprinted down the hall in my direction with electrical currents flashing from his body. He didn’t give me much time to think so I dodged left and flicked my hand in the same direction. Marcus’ body flew off the floor and crashed right into the chest of the lightning guy.
Marcus pulsated like a defibrillator machine to the chest. Marcus slowly got up but was a little disoriented. He pulled it together and lit his hands on fire but was shot out the window by a bolt of lightning. The lightning guy flew right past me and out the window after him. I turned back around to the ice guy but he was no longer on the floor.
“You are like me,” he said from behind me. “You wield the power of ice.”
I turned around and he punched me in the face. I instantly felt the blood swish around in my mouth. I fell to my knees and past him flashed fire and lighting through the big hole in the side of the building. It looked like a very expensive light show, but it was more like death and destruction going on out there.
“You don’t deserve your power.” His hollow voice spooked me.
“What?” I whispered.
He picked me up off the floor and tossed me through across the room.
He stuck his hand out and shot out a beam of ice. I tried to block it back telekinetically. A migraine hit along with blood trickling from my nose. I thought for a split second that it was broken but it wasn’t. I couldn’t hold on any longer and my force field failed me. I was hit and fell flat on my back.
When I opened my eyes, something was different. It was like I didn’t have any control over myself. I pounded my fist twice on the floor, inhaling some of the dust that flew up from it. I stood to my feet, waved my hand, and blasted him out the window. I knew what I was doing but I didn’t have any control. It felt like I was watching myself from the outside. I walked over to the window and looked out to see Marcus and the other guy still fighting.
Suddenly, I had control again.
I ran outside and shot an ice beam at the lightning guy to slow him down. The ice guy was on the floor and I kicked him in the face as I walked by to help Marcus who threw a few fireballs at the ice guy to get revenge for almost freezing him to death. We fled the scene before the got up.
When I woke up, I was again in Marcus’ room. I’d been asleep for 14 hours this time.
“Marc, what happened this time?” I pulled the blanket off me. He got off the floor and sat on Elias’ bed.
“I’m afraid that ice guy is going to keep coming after me, Dylan.” His eyes focused on the floor. “And what if he keeps bringing more people until I am dead?”
“That’s not going to happen, Marc.” I tried to sound as convincing as possible when in reality I had no idea what was going on.
“But you don’t know that, Dylan. What if he finds out where I live and tries to hurt my family?”
“Bro, I’m not going to let anybody hurt you. Plus, you’re really good at that whole fire thing you got going on. I think you can protect yourself. As long as we stick together, nobody is going to kill us.”
So far I have met one other person besides me who can control ice, there’s Marcus who can control fire, and now one who can generate electricity. I didn’t know what kind of dream this was, but I was ready to wake up now. I didn’t want the powers if the price was a death threat.
“Another thing,” I said. “That ice guy told me the same thing when I fought him. He told me that I didn’t deserve my powers. Marcus…”
“Yeah?”
“Who are we?”
“Not sure yet, bro.” he said. “Not sure if I really want to know that answer either.”
The remainder of the summer flew right by. We didn’t see the two guys again and we never did go back to the safe house — figuring the safe house wasn’t too safe these days. We did continue to work out and build our physical strength and Marcus ended the summer finally with a body. He even started to grow a little fuzz on that baby face of his. I continued to talk to Imani through calls and text messages and it was a coincidence that she would be a freshman at NYU with Marcus and me.
Today was the big day. We were moving into our dorms today. Mom and Elias were in one car while the Petersons drove their truck and Marcus rode with me. Dad hugged me and gave me a $50 bill followed by some cheesy advice about being a man before we left. I gave the money to Dalton since mom said she would put money in my account weekly.
The drive to the university was a short drive, which I loved. When we got there we both couldn’t believe that we’d be living in New York City. I was ready to be immersed in diversity.
When we pulled up, the streets of the campus were filled with freshmen and their parents moving in. We handled the basic stuff first — making sure our rooms were reserved and classes were paid for. Once we got our keys, we helped each other move in.
First we went over to Goddard dormitories on Washington Square where Marcus was staying. We didn’t have much so getting everything up to the fourth floor only took one trip. His roommate
was already moving in when we got there. He was a thick guy with a harsh New England accent and when he breathed, it sounded like he was eating a double cheeseburger with the works.
“Sup. Char-Lee,” he greeted. He went around and was eager to shake everyone’s hand. His father was there with him and just as friendly.
“Marcus. I’ll be your roommate this year. Nice to meet you, man,” Marcus said smoothly. “This is my friend, Dylan. He goes here too.”
“Dill, what’s popping, son?” he said while trying to do some fancy handshake with me.
“I'm good. Son,” I laughed, attempting the handshake.
We set up Marcus’ room before we headed over to my dorm. The walk to Founders on East Twelfth Street was about a mile away from Goddard. Our parents drove the cars and we walked to get a feel for the campus. My room was on the sixteenth floor. The building had a massive twenty-six floors and I would hate to have to walk up there if the elevator ever broke. We took my things up the elevator, which was a drag when hundreds of other kids were moving in. When I got there, half of the room was already set up but no one was there. The spacious room had a huge window with beds on either side. Since I stayed in a suite, I had two suitemates who were already there.
One guy was from Texas, majoring in education. He wore a flannel plaid button-up shirt that was rolled to the elbows and jeans — both fitted to show how buff he was. His get up was topped off with a straw hat tipped to the front and cowboy boots. His roommate was the complete opposite. He was from Vermont and at NYU on a full academic scholarship. His stature was sickly skinny like he was going to die if he didn’t eat soon … very soon.
“Howdy, the name is Nathaniel — Nathaniel Gunner but folks call me Nate or Gunner,” the buff one said. “And this here is my new friend Chris Fields.”
“Uhhh…” I laughed, “I'm Dylan. People normally call me Dylan.”