by Paul Ormond
Mr. Mythic led his son away from the reporters. “Grab your bike and throw it in the back of the truck. We can’t have Kingsford’s biggest celebrity riding around on a bicycle,” he chuckled. Mitch rolled his eyes and went to fetch his bike. They rode home together mostly in silence.
“You know, we’re real proud of you,” Mitch’s father said, trying to break the quiet. “That was a brave thing that you did today. Owning up to your mistakes is the mark of a strong leader.” Mitch exhaled deeply as his father spoke. “You seem like something’s bothering you. You should be beaming right now. You’ve just been handed an amazing opportunity,” his father continued.
“I’m sorry dad. I’m just really tired right now,” Mitch said, while leaning his head against the passenger side window.
“I guess that’s understandable,” Mike Mythic said while pulling his truck into the driveway of the Mythic’s home. “We’re home now. Let’s get inside and get some rest. Tomorrow’s another big day.” Mitch sighed as he got out of the truck. He was terrified of what tomorrow would bring. So much had happened in the last 24 hours. He wasn’t sure if he could take any more excitement. He just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep until it was all over.
When he got inside, his mother stood waiting for him in the kitchen. “I’m so proud of you,” she said, as she threw her arms around him. “It was really brave what you did tonight. The team will be stronger now because of all this. Are you hungry? I could make you a sandwich,” she asked.
“It’s ok Mom,” Mitch said. “I’m exhausted and I think I just need to go to bed.”
“That seems like the right thing to do. We all need a good night sleep. Toby passed out in the car on the way home. He’s already in bed. Go get some sleep, Mitch. We love you so much and we are so proud of you,” she said while hugging him again.
“Thanks Mom. I love you too,” Mitch said and headed downstairs to his bedroom.
He quickly undressed, shut off the lights, and crawled under his blanket. So many thoughts and feelings were bouncing around in his head, but he was so exhausted that he fell asleep in a matter of moments.
He dreamed fitfully of encounters with strange people. Suddenly he was naked in front of a throng of people. They all looked at him amused. At the back of the room, someone was knocking on the door. The knocking continued so Mitch made his way through the crowd naked and approached the door. There wasn’t a handle on the door and it was locked. Mitch tried to find a way to open it, but he couldn’t. He called out, but whoever was behind the door wouldn’t answer.
He snapped out of sleep and wiped away the saliva that was dripping out of his mouth with his hand. It was still dark in his room. The ancient digital clock on his dresser read 1:07. Mitch could still hear a quiet knocking. It was coming from the window near his bed. Terrified, he leaned over cautiously to see what was at the window. He looked up and saw a hooded figure peering in on him.
“Mitch, get up. I need show you something,” Drak’s voice whispered through the window.
“Oh no,” Mitch whispered to himself. “What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night,” Mitch seethed through clenched teeth.
“This important. Come with me,” Drak whispered back.
“Dude, I just need some sleep,” Mitch said again. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”
“Can’t wait. Time short,” Drak said. “We need hurry. Dangerous time now.”
“This is insane. I’m not going out there with you,” Mitch whispered.
“You come now. I show you. If you want me go away after, I go, promise,” Drak said.
“You’ll stop bothering me anymore if I come with you now?” Mitch asked.
“Yes, you come now. I go away after, if you want,” Drak said flatly.
Mitch sighed to himself. “Fine, I’ll come with you now, as long as you promise to leave me alone,” Mitch said.
“Fine I promise. Just come now, after, you decide,” Drak said.
“Just hold on. I gotta put some clothes on,” Mitch said.
Mitch got out bed while shaking his head. What have I gotten myself into, he thought to himself as he slid on a pair of pants and a hoodie.
Mitch had snuck out of his bedroom many times before. It was easy to do since his room was in the basement. He unlatched his door and slithered out the window into his family’s backyard. He could see his mother’s garden gnomes peering at him through the darkness. Drak was nowhere to be seen. Mitch wondered if he had hallucinated everything or if he was still dreaming.
“This way,” a voice whispered in the dark. Mitch made his way towards Drak’s voice, careful not to trip the motion detector lights his father had installed to keep away any night prowlers. “We go not far,” Drak said while deftly hopping over the fence that lined the Mythic’s backyard. Mitch followed suit and they stealthily made their way to the path that led to the greenbelt near Mitch’s house. Once they were within the confines of the forest, they slowed their pace.
“What the hell are we doing out here in the middle of the night? This better be good,” Mitch said.
“We go in here,” Drak said as he approached a massive storm drain that was tucked into the side of the ravine.
“Into the sewer again? Are you nuts? That’s gross,” Mitch said with a look of disgust on his face.
“Before I told you. Many caves around here. Whole place connected underground,” Drak said.
“You wanna go crawl around in the old mining caves in the middle of the night? I don’t know man,” Mitch said.
“Don’t worry, I have plan,” Drak said.
“Yeah, you’ve always got a plan,” Mitch said.
“Trust me, you not be disappointed,” Drak said as he popped open the steel grate that blocked the entrance to the drain.
“Ughh man, what am I doing here?” Mitch said as he walked into the sewer. “And what is that smell?”
As they walked into the sewer, Drak produced a light of some kind from his pocket to guide the way. Mitch pulled out his phone and activated its flashlight. The drain was tall enough for them to walk upright and wide enough for them to walk side by side. It had been relatively dry in Kingsford for the past while and the drainage pipe was only slightly damp. There were a few puddles along the way but they were able to easily avoid them. After a few minutes, Drak stopped before a large metal door similar to the one under the school. “In here,” he said as he cranked the door open. Its rusty hinges creaked as it slowly swung open revealing a rocky tunnel that seemed to descend into the darkness.
“We’re going in here? Is this one of those old mining tunnels? They’re super dangerous. They’re all barricaded for a reason. Kids got hurt or vanished without a trace in these things,” Mitch said as he peered into the blackness of the tunnel.
“It fine. I’ve been here before, safe, for now,” Drak said with a grin.
“Ugh, what am I doing?” Mitch said as he followed Drak into the tunnel.
Mitch lost all sense of direction and time as they made their way through the inky blackness. Drak’s light lit up the tunnel quite well and the walking was surprisingly easy.
The air grew colder as they walked and Mitch felt a cool breeze on his face as they made their way forward. He could sense the ceiling rising above him and the air had changed considerably.
“We’re here,” Drak said as he stopped.
“What’s here?” Mitch asked as he looked around into the dark. Suddenly the space around him became fully illuminated and he looked around in awe as he saw that they stood in a massive cavern much larger than the one beneath the school. He looked back and saw that Drak had turned on his device and was using it to illuminate the space.
“Give me phone,” Drak said.
“What do you need my phone for? The last time I went along with something like this, you blew up my MindHIve account and dragged me into this mess. I’m not sure if I should just hand over my phone to you,” Mitch snapped.
“Don’t worry, this good. Y
ou like. I promise,” Drak said grinning. “You come this far. You ready for level up.”
“Level up? What are you talking about?” Mitch asked.
“Give me phone, I show you,” Drak said. Mitch thought for a moment and looked at his phone.
“Well, it’s already this messed up. I’m probably a wanted criminal anyway. Fine, take the phone,” Mitch said while handing it over.
Drak took the phone from Mitch and reached into his pocket and drew out the black cube he had shown Mitch earlier that day. “These two things very similar. Use same technology. Masters give their earth people information many years ago. They use this tech to make phones and many things. All part of plan. Same thing happen in my home. But, not so hard to make changes if know what to do,” Drak said while placing the two devices side by side on the ground.
“What are you going to do to my phone?” Mitch asked.
“Upgrade,” Drak said while he extended both of his hands out over the devices. He opened his hands and raised them over his head. The orb appeared again but this time it was much smaller. Drak reached into the orb and made a gesture with his fingers. Suddenly, a long tentacle-like beam reached out of the orb and picked up Mitch’s phone.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Mitch half shouted.
“Like I said. Upgrade. We give your phone new powers. You need this when we fight Masters and their servants,” Drak said.
“I’m not fighting any masters,” Mitch snapped.
“Then you be slave,” Drak said. Mitch’s phone floated within the center of the orb. More blue tentacles wrapped around it and it was infused with light.
“Almost finished,” Drak said.
Mitch stared at the orb. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His phone was now fully encased in light. There was a brief flash and then the phone sat idly in the center of the orb. Drak reached in and grabbed it. He held it in his hand before Mitch.
“Upgrade complete, Mitch Mythic,” he said and smiled.
“What happened? What did you change?” Mitch asked. The phone looked the same as before.
“Everything. But nothing at same time. Like say, your phone have same tech from Masters. I add new abilities but it all based on same idea. Everything we see, touch, not what we think it is. Same with power, energy. Now your phone use energy differently. It work with energy field around you. Now you can do as I do. Here, see,” Drak said as he stepped back from Mitch. He placed the cube back into the pocket of his jacket and crossed his arms over his chest. Once again the blue glow appeared around him.
“You do same. It no problem,” Drak said while gesturing for Mitch to follow suit. “Just like me.” Drak crossed his arms over his chest again and the glow disappeared. “Copy me, Mitch,” he said.
“Oh, this is nuts,” Mitch said and took big breath. “Fine, let’s see what this is all about.” Mitch crossed his arms over his chest just as Drak had done. He stepped back aghast at what had happened. His whole body was glowing just as Drak’s was. “What the hell? What is this?” Mitch said, still in shock.
“Device make energy all around us work together. Your body not just what you see but whole energy field. All matter and energy same thing. Just vibrations. This technology allows you use matter like energy, and energy like matter,” Drak said as he waved his hand in front of his face. “Now, if you think it, you do it, like this,”
Drak said as he raised his hand. A blue sphere appeared in his hand. “This energy created when we push against dark matter. Thoughts are energy, too. If think it, my mind pushes against dark matter creating what I think. I can do many things with it. It weapon. It shield. Anything you think, it do,” Drak said as he played with the ball of light in his hand. “Learn to control it, you become powerful warrior, but great danger here. Like everything, it do good but it also do bad. Must be careful,” Drak said. Mitch watched the ball of energy pass back and forth between Drak’s hands.
“You must learn to use it. If you are to help me fight Masters,” Drak said. “Big fight coming. Must be ready.”
“How am I supposed to fight some alien Masters?” Mitch said. “What am I even doing here? This is crazy.”
“Yes, very crazy,” Drak said. “Come, follow me,” Drak said as he placed his hands by his side. He pushed down and he was immediately elevated off of the ground.
“What are you doing?” Mitch said.
“Don’t be scared,” Drak said. “It safe. You can use device to make light like this. He put his arms out straight and then bent it at the elbow and waved his hands across his body in one motion. The light around him intensified. “You do same, just like me,” he said and grinned again. Mitch copied Drak’s actions and he was surprised to see the light around him grow rapidly.
“Ok, now follow me,” Drak said as he crouched down and leaped up. He rocketed into the air and stopped about ten feet above Mitch. Mitch couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He made two fists by his side as Drak had and he felt himself pop off of the ground. He fell backwards as it happened. It felt like somebody had pulled the rug out from under his feet. As he got back up, Drak lowered himself down to the floor of the cavern.
“Take some getting used to, huh?” Drak said and flashed the same wicked grin Mitch was growing used to seeing. “Bend knees before start. You need balance just like anything. Try one more time. This time be ready.”
“What am I doing? I can’t believe this is happening,” Mitch said.
“Believe it. This real. This no joke. You think I joke?” Drak snapped at him. “Only thing that matters is what you believe in,” he said. “If you believe it, it possible. Bend knees, time to go,” Drak said.
Mitch did as Drak had instructed and bent his knees with his hands at his side. He made a fist and felt himself being raised off the ground. He wobbled for a moment and then was able to relax. “Hey, ok, I think I can do this,” he said as he tested his balance.
“Start small. Make small movement. See how it feel, like this” Drak said as he moved his legs back and forth. He was able to easily move from side to side and back and forth.
It seemed like he was skating. Mitch copied what he was doing and found himself gliding across the cavern. He pushed back and went the other way.
“Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of this,” he said as he came to a stop in front of Drak.
“Maybe, now we need go up,” Drak said. “Don’t worry it same as down here, just high up,” he said and he grinned again. “Here, crouch down like this and push. Up you go,” he said as he rocketed up into the air. Mitch waited for a second and took a big breath.
“This is nuts,” he said as he crouched down. He pushed off and felt himself launch into the air. His legs came out from behind him and he found himself upside down facing Drak who hovered a few feet away. Drak was trying not to laugh.
“I told you. Need balance, control,” Drak said while he deftly moved over to Mitch. He grabbed Mitch’s leg and righted him. “You must think it and then do it. See what you do in mind and everything follow,” Drak said. “You in control. You must believe it. Everything in mind. Copy my motion and do as I do like this. He turned so he was in profile to Mitch and crouched like he was ready to dive into a pool. He leapt forward and he moved through the air easily. “Do like this Mitch. It no problem,” Drak said from a distance. Mitch crouched over and pushed off against the air. He felt himself rapidly accelerate.
“Now think stop and make self stop,”Drak yelled. Mitch imagined himself stopping on his hockey skates and he turned sideways and kicked his feet. He abruptly stopped in mid-air and hung motionless for a moment.
“See, you do it. Just think it. If only you see look on your face now. This first time I see you happy,” Drak said.
It was true Mitch was actually smiling. It had been a long time since he felt that good. He leaped up and felt himself rocket upward. He freaked out because he realized that he was heading straight into the stalactites that hung from the ceiling of the cavern. He pushed his hands ou
t and he came to a stop again. He looked down and he could see Drak watching him. He also realized just how high up he was. Drak pushed off and joined him where he was.
“Ok, you ready? Follow me. Don’t worry, I go slow at first.” Drak shoved off horizontally and shot out across the cavern. Mitch breathed in deeply and followed after him. The exhilaration Mitch felt as he shot through the air was unexplainable. He had never felt this way before. Every single worry, thought, or problem he had been undergoing melted away as he rocketed through the air. Drak was able to maneuver at will by pushing off with his feet and his hands. Mitch copied his movements and was surprised that he could move with agility and speed. It was true what Drak had said. If he imagined himself doing it, he was able to. Drak stopped ahead of him and waited for Mitch to come near.
“This place where I come into this world,” Drak said as he looked out at the massive cavern. “Everything dark in the cave and I can’t see anything. At first I think I make mistake. No people, no nothing, just blackness and rock. I stay here for some time. Get used to air and gravity. When I ok, I start to look around. Find way out. Slowly move further. Careful not to be seen. Find town and more people. I make up name for myself, new identity, but I never forget this place here,” Drak said, feeling whimsical.
“Wait a minute. Your real name isn’t Drakon Trendago?” Mitch asked.
“Well, my real name little hard to pronounce so It better I make up new one,” Drak said. He let a short series of grunts and clicks that made Mitch jump back in Horror.
“What was that?” Mitch asked in shock.
“That my real name. Told you it difficult for people to pronounce,” Drak said as he grinned again.
“You got that right,” Mitch said as he laughed out loud. “How did you get in here? Is there a gateway or something?”
“No gateway here, just place,” Drak said as he sat down on a ledge at the top of the cavern. “Wormhole spit me out here, but can’t open it. Need big machine to open gateway,” Drak said softly.