Inversion

by Christopher Young

  “You’re getting pretty good at that,'' Jacob said.

  “Thanks,” she blushed. She pressed herself tighter against him.

  “Ready,” she said tapping on his arm. They rapidly descended into the swirling cloud of ash. Carson lost track of them. He let go of his focus and allowed the ground to return to normal. He could hear shouts coming from somewhere in the flames. He hoped that they hadn’t already been found.

  “Kid,” the policeman yelled. Carson had forgotten that he was there.

  “Go before I make you.”

  Carson happily left.

  Water started to soak through Abigail’s shoes as soon as her feet touched the wet grass.

  “C’mon,” Jacob groaned, looking down at his muddy sneakers. “I just bought these.”

  Abigail shoved the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows. “Time for you to go. I can’t protect both of us from the smoke.”

  Jacob leaned in and kissed her. She kissed back.

  He smiled. She was quickly falling in love with his smile.

  “Be safe,” he said. “Signal for me when you’re ready.” He took off into the sky and disappeared from sight.

  Abigail created a bubble of air around her, blocking out the heavy smoke. She took a deep breath, relishing the crispness of the air. Bending over she pushed her arms into the pool of water that sat trapped in the grass. When she pulled them out the water stayed stuck to her arms. Abigail let out a giggle. The water felt funny on her bare arms. She ran to the nearest house that was on fire and flung her arms outward. The water sprung forward like the tentacles of an octopus reaching for its prey. The flames hissed the moment the water came into contact with it. Heavy grey smoke poured through the open windows and the holes in the walls that the flames had opened up. Abigail took a deep breath and exhaled. A gust of wind blew around her, clearing out the smoke. In the distance she could hear one of the firemen yell for the others to pull back.

  Abigail ran back and forth between the broken hydrant and the houses, each time refilling the sleeves of water that clung to her arms before returning to snuff out more flames. With her and the firefighters combined efforts the fires were quickly being put out.

  Just as she put out another house a fleeing shadow caught the corner of her eye.

  “Hello?” Abigail peered through the fog, looking for the strange light.

  “Hey!” The deep voice that called out from behind startled her. The water that she had been focused on controlling fell back to the ground with a splash. Abigail bolted, taking off around the house and running through its charred backyard. She could hear several people chasing after her, their heavy equipment bouncing against their bodies.

  Once Carson was out of sight of everyone else Jacob landed in front of him. They looked out at the smoldering homes. Most of the flames had already been put out.

  “That was amazing,'' Jacob said. He moved to wrap Carson in a hug but grabbed nothing but air. Carson took a step back.

  “What's wrong?”

  “I saw what you were doing with Abigail.'' Carson’s tone was dead.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t act stupid.”

  “I’m not! I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I saw you kiss her,” Carson said.

  Jacob froze. He hadn’t been expecting that.

  “Were you--were you spying on us?”

  “No,” Carson half-lied. “I got jumped by Matt and the others so I went to your house to hide out. That's when I saw you two on your porch.”

  Jacob didn’t say anything.

  “How could you do that to me? You know how I feel about her.”

  Jacob’s posture straightened. His previous excitement completely faded. He pushed a finger into Carson’s chest.

  “What about how I feel about her?”

  “What?”

  “You only care about your feelings, Carson. You’re only worried about what you can get and how you can get everyone around you to do what you want them to do. You’re such a selfish person.”

  Jacob tried to stop himself. He was afraid that what he was saying was going to ruin their friendship. A part of him didn’t care. It felt good to finally get it off his chest.

  “You say that you have all these feelings but you’re too scared to act on them. You won’t visit your father’s grave even though it's been years and now that school’s almost over you’re planning on running away without taking into consideration how anyone else feels about you leaving. You like Abigail but all you do is stare at her without making a move. You expect the entire world to stop moving forward just because you are too afraid to. I’ve been your friend for years and I’ve done nothing but wait for you to make the right choice over and over again. I’m done waiting for you.”

  “Then go,” Carson yelled. “All you have done lately is push me to do things that I don’t want to do. What kind of friend does that?”

  “I’m just trying to help you.”

  “I don’t need your help,” Carson yelled.

  “Stop while you’re ahead,” Jacob warned. “Don’t say something that you’re going to regret.”

  Carson ignored him. “I’m better off on my own. I don’t need your help.”

  In the distance a small red object shot up through the smoke.

  “Whatever. I have to go,'' Jacob said, taking off.

  Abigail pressed herself as tightly as she could to the side of the house. The heat from the remaining fires was making her sweat profusely. Even in her small protective bubble it was difficult to catch her breath. Using her powers was starting to take a heavy toll on her both physically and mentally. She tried to push the heat back but it just made the wind even hotter. She could hear the firefighters closing in on her. Abigail peered around the corner. She could just make out two figures off in the distance. Just as her eyes focused on them another firefighter came around behind her.

  “Don’t move,” he commanded.

  Abigail ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She jumped off the curb of the sidewalk and picked up a long piece of wood from the ground. Flames still clung to its sides. She snapped the stick in half and poured what little energy she had left into it. The protective bubble around her disappeared. The flames grew more intense, sparks popping off around her. Abigail threw one end of the stick straight up, blasting it out of her hand with a strong gust of wind. She held up the other piece as high as she could.

  The firefighters were relentless, still chasing her, their footfalls loud on the asphalt. Their angry shouts filled the air behind her. Without warning Abigail felt herself lift high into the sky. As her feet left the ground she let her makeshift flare fall back to the earth.

  Jacob searched for Carson as he flew, finding him walking down an empty street alone. They landed behind him.

  “We did it,” Abigail shouted at him in disbelief. Carson ignored her and kept walking.

  “Did you hear me? We did it!” Abigail started after him but Jacob stopped her, grabbing her arm. She gave him a confused look.

  “He saw us kissing.”

  “So?” She still didn’t understand.

  “He likes you,” Jacob admitted.

  Abigail looked back at Carson. “He does? Why didn’t he say anything?”

  “Because that’s how Carson operates. He expects us all to be mind readers.”

  Carson overheard him. With heavy steps he walked back to where they were standing and got close to Jacob’s face.

  “What the hell is your problem? Why do you keep butting into my life?”

  Jacob didn’t back down. He bumped Carson’s chest with his own. “Back off before I wreck you.”

  Carson laughed. “Try it.”

  The ground beneath them started to lightly shake.

  Abigail grabbed Carson’s shoulder in a feeble attempt to calm him down. He threw her hand back.

  “Don’t touch her,” Jacob yelled. He g
rabbed Carson by the shirt and balled up a fist. Just as Jacob was about to throw the first punch the lights around them shut off. The constant and familiar hum of electricity disappeared, leaving behind an uncomfortable silence. The Dark Hours had finally started. Carson pulled back, stretching his shirt in the process. He threw up his hands in mock surrender. The shaking around them stopped.

  “You know what, you guys go ahead and do whatever you want. I’m out of here soon anyways.”

  Abigail stepped after him. “Carson, wait.”

  “You guys enjoy each other and leave me out of it.”

  “Real nice,'' Jacob said. “You know, ever since you got your powers you’ve acted like a spoiled brat.”

  Carson laughed, walking away. “That’s so rich coming from you.”

  “Don’t come crying to me when you need help,” Jacob shouted after him.

  “Don’t worry about it,'' Carson said with a wave. “I don’t need either one of you.”

  A wave of vertigo passed through all three of them, turning their stomachs in on themselves. They stumbled forward as if they were hit by something heavy.

  “What was that,” Abigail asked.

  A blood curdling scream ripped through the air in response.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  |||||

  “THAT SOUNDED LIKE IT came from the school,'' Jacob said. The terror was visible on his face.

  “We should go see what it is,'' Abigail suggested. Jacob nodded and launched in the direction the scream came from.

  “Please come with me,'' Abigail said to Carson. “I don’t want to go alone.”

  With a roll of his eyes he joined her, both of them following Jacob.

  When they finally caught up to him Jacob was standing at the edge of the woods, staring out towards the field. His head moved slowly, his eyes scanning for anything out of the ordinary.

  “Did you see what it was,'' Abigail asked.

  Jacob shook his head. “I just did a quick fly-by. I thought it would be smart to wait for you guys.”

  Carson sneered. “You’re scared.”

  “Absolutely not. I didn’t think that-”.

  “Exactly. You never think.”

  Another scream pierced the night.

  “Can we argue about this later,” Abigail asked.

  They ran around the school, using the screams to guide them.

  “Look,” Jacob said, pointing. “Over there.”

  Carson followed his finger. Someone was lying sprawled out in the grass. Another person, this one in a hoodie from what Carson could tell, crouched over him.

  “I got this,” Jacob said.

  “So much for keeping our powers a secret,” Carson mumbled.

  Jacob shouted as he flew. The hooded figure looked up to see Jacob rocketing towards him. He reached out to grab the attacker. As soon as his fingers touched the soft fabric of the hoodie a blue light erupted in between them. Jacob was thrown through the air and landed hard on the field. Carson and Abigail ran over to him.

  “Are you ok,” Abigail asked, helping him to his feet.

  Jacob groaned. “What even was that?” Every muscle in his body was tense with pain.

  “That? That was payback.” The hooded figure was only a few yards away. Blue lights danced from underneath his hood.

  Jacob got back up with the others' help. “What do you mean payback?”

  The figure pulled down his hood. Patches of black covered parts of his face.

  Carson couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He saw Nick fall into the basement where he was surely killed. How could Nick still be alive?

  Abigail and Jacob wore similar expressions of shock.

  “How,” was all Carson could say. His heart beat wildly in his chest. Guilt filled the pit of his stomach as he remembered what he had done that day at the museum. He knew what Nick meant when he said that it was payback.

  Carson took a step forward.

  “Careful,” Jacob said, grabbing him by the shoulder.

  Carson brushed his hand away and took another step forward, trying to get a better look at the person sprawled out on the ground.

  “Matt?”

  Matt looked up at him. Blood was smeared across his face and tears filled up his swollen eyes. Carson couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. A chunk of metal lay on the ground next to him, cold and dead.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “What is it,'' Carson asked.

  “My salvation,” Nick said. He picked up the God Complex so that he could admire it.

  “You all left me to die. I’m alive thanks to this thing.”

  “T-that’s not true,” Carson stammered. “I tried to save you.”

  “No! You saved him.” Nick pointed a finger at Jacob.

  “I didn’t have a choice,” Carson said.

  Nick let out a shriek and another blast of energy knocked them back. As the wave of energy washed over the God Complex it briefly powered on, its rings opening and spinning around each other.

  “Stop lying,'' he yelled. “You chose to save him.”

  “Did you see that,” Jacob asked, talking about the God Complex Nick was holding. They both had and they knew exactly what it was.

  “He brought that damn thing with him,'' Jacob said.

  “We need to get it away from him before it goes off again,'' Abigail said.

  “We got this if you want to go,” Jacob teased Carson.

  He turned to him, angry. “Really? You think now is the time to do this?”

  Nick ran at them, leaving Matt and the God Complex behind. Abigail grabbed onto the boys’ shirts and pulled them back.

  Nick yelled as he ran. “I had nothing in my life! Nothing but my future, the future that I worked so hard for! You took that from me!”

  Nick lifted an arm up, a sphere of energy forming in the center of his palm.

  “Now I’m going to take everything from you.”

  The sphere popped like a bubble. A shockwave of violent energy erupted from its center. Abigail tried to pull the others to the ground but was too slow. All three of them were hit and thrown backwards.

  “All of you lowlifes in this stupid town have been so obsessed with your perfect little lives to see whats been going on with me.”

  Jacob was the first to recover from the blast. He kicked off the ground and slammed his shoulder into Nick’s gut. The blow sent him spiraling. With Nick distracted Carson ran over to make sure that Abigail was ok. Her head had hit the concrete when they were blasted back. Carson carefully helped her sit up. Warm, sticky blood matted her hair against her head. Black spots clouded her vision.

  “You’re bleeding.”

  “Really? I didn’t notice.” Abigail felt the cut that had opened up on the top of her head. She winced as her fingers brushed over the fresh wound.

  Carson helped Abigail get to her feet. Once she was up he grabbed her hand and turned to run.

  “What are you doing,” she asked, staying firmly in place.

  “We have to get out of here,” Carson said.

  “Are you kidding?” She pointed to where Nick and Jacob were still fighting. “We have to help him.”

  “What are we going to do'', Carson asked incredulously. “Everytime we get close to him he just blasts us away.Besides, you’re already hurt.”

  Abigail forcefully pulled her hand away from him.

  “No. I need to help.”

  In the distance Jacob continued to spar with Nick, flashes of blue illuminating the night.

  “Whatever, coward,” Abigail spat. Carson recoiled at the insult. “At least get Matt out of here before you go.”

  Carson ran across the field, heading straight for Matt. Abigail quickly caught up with Jacob and joined the fight. Static filled the air, heavy clouds filling the sky above them.

  Carson knelt down beside Matt. He was a mess. Carson was afraid to touch Matt because of the many burns covering hi
s arms.

  “Are you alive,” Carson asked.

  “I think so,” Matt croaked.

  “Can you walk?”

  Matt shook his head and motioned to his leg. It was bent at an odd angle and looked broken at the very least. Carson grabbed onto Matt and pulled him up, slinging his arm over his shoulder. Matt cried out in pain.

  “How was he doing that,” Matt asked as they made their way to the forest.

  “I don’t know,'' Carson said, half dragging Matt across the field.

  “That blue light, man. It felt like hot ice. I couldn’t move. Why couldn’t I move?”

  “Calm down,'' Carson said. He didn’t need Matt to start being hysterical. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Matt looked back which slowed Carson down even more. He watched in awe as Jacob and Abigail fought Nick, all of their powers on full display.

  At the edge of the forest Carson let go of Matt and let him drop onto the ground.

  “I’ll explain everything later but for right now you need to get away from here.”

  Matt’s eyes were glued to the fight. Streaks of blue and white illuminated his face.

  “Now Matt,” Carson commanded.

  Matt looked away from the fight and into Carson’s eyes. He had never seen fear in someone like that before, least of all Matt.

  “Be careful,” Matt finally said.

  Carson nodded before taking off to join the others.

  Jacob lunged at Nick, trying to grab for the baggy parts of his hoodie. Nick easily sidestepped him and let off another energy blast. Pain coursed through Jacob. It felt like he was being electrocuted and burned at the same time. With Jacob out of the way Nick shifted his attention to Abigail. He was more intrigued with her powers. Flying was nothing compared to what he and Abigail could do. Nick let out a small burst of energy which was tightly contained in a short, thick beam. Without missing a beat Abigail lifted her hands and brought them down again. A bolt of lightning appeared, stopping the blue light from reaching her. Thunder split the air.

  Carson reached out with his mind as he ran towards them. He searched the ground for any loose rocks that he could lift. With a smooth swing of his arm several rocks flew into the air. They shot forward in unison, slamming into the side of Nick’s head. It did little more than annoy him. Abigail used the small diversion to blast Nick back with a gust of wind.