Radium Halos: Part 2

by May, W. J.

  I held my hand out and his gripped my wrist.

  He pulled himself to a sitting position and looked around the room. “Insolent bastard!”

  “Who?”

  Dad pounded the desk with his fist. “I don’t know. What a mess!” He picked his briefcase up. “Bastard stole my money!”

  “Who?” I repeated. I lowered my voice. “They could still be here.” I glanced around the room, ready to go out in the hall and check every room with my ability. “Who did this?”

  “I have no clue.” He pinched his nose and swore. “I came in here to use the safe and found the room like this. Some guy must have been hiding behind the door and hit me from behind. I never saw who it was.” He flicked is wrist, trying to shake the blood off his hand. “Son of a bitch!” He grabbed his ribs and seemed to be trying hold or apply pressure against them.

  “Are you okay?” I kept my arms at my sides, not comfortable touching him now that I knew he was alive and all right.

  “I’m fine.” With his free arm, he reached for his phone he always kept in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. He came out empty-handed. “He stole my bloody phone!”

  “I’ve got mine.” I reached for it and then remembered I’d dropped it by the door. I went to get it and could hear Zoe’s voice calling from it.

  “Brent! Brent! Can you hear me? Brent!”

  I picked it up. “I’m here. I’m okay. My dad’s hurt, but I think he’s okay.”

  “I heard. Do you need me to call the police?”

  “No. My dad’s going to. He needs my phone.”

  She paused. “You sure you’re all right?”

  I smiled at the concern in her voice. “Yeah. I’ll call you later, ‘kay?”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  My dad cautiously bent over and grabbed his briefcase. He started gathering papers off the desk and couple off the floor before giving up.

  “I’ll get that.” I walked over and set the phone on the desk before reaching for the loose sheets on the ground.

  Dad picked up an overturned chair and set it upright. He sat down gingerly, his eyebrows mashed together as he glared at the room.

  “Do you want to call the cops?” I stacked the papers in a pile and set them on top of his briefcase.

  He waved his hand. “No. I’ll take care of this myself. Police aren’t going to be able to do anything. I’ll also have to get someone in here tomorrow to clean the place up.” He pulled his jacket off and wiped his nose with his sleeve. “Dammit!”

  I stood there, unsure of what to say.

  Dad sighed. “Well, they got what they came for.”

  “How do you know?” What was going on?

  “I had ten thousand dollars cash in my briefcase.”

  Seriously? Who carried that kind of money? And in cash? I squinted, trying to see if he’d banged his head too hard. Something wasn’t adding up, but I had no intention of asking him about it.

  He grimaced as he stood. He slowly headed toward the door. “I’m going to shower and clean up.”

  “Shouldn’t I take you to the hospital first?”

  “I’m not going to the hospital.”

  Why did I have to have the most stubborn father in the world? “Maybe you bruised a rib.” The words sounded lame, even to me.

  “I’ll be fine. If I go to the hospital, then they’ll call the cops.”

  “Which is what we should be doing right now. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

  He closed his eyes and took a breath and exhaled it. “Brent, just leave it alone. It was more like a couple thousand. I was just exaggerating.”

  I shrugged. He was hiding something and had no intention of saying any more. Maybe he knew who had done this? I swallowed. Or could he be trying to protect me? The argument with Seth echoed inside my head. Nahhh, Seth wouldn’t… would he? We’d all changed since the storm, I just wondered how much.

  My silence let Dad think I agreed with him. “Good.”

  I walked toward where he stood by the door. “I’m going to check the rest of the place. Make sure no one’s here.”

  “They got what they came for.”

  What if whoever it was came back? “Did the guy have a weapon? What if he’s in the house? Mom’s going to be home any moment!”

  “The alarm’s on. Nobody can get in.”

  “It’s off. I went inside when I got home from school.”

  “Why didn’t you put it on when you left the house?”

  “’Cause I was walking over here!”

  Dad blew a breath out. “When you walked here, did you see anyone?”

  I shook my head.

  “They’re gone.” He seemed quite sure of himself. “I’m going to shower.” He walked out of the room.

  “I’m still checking the house.” Dad had no idea what I could do with my hands. It wouldn’t take long. If someone was there, I’d call the cops.

  “Whatever,” he called from the hallway.

  I glanced around the room. It looked like a tornado had hit the place. I knew by tomorrow after school there would be no sign of the struggle. No one would ever know. Well, I would and Zoe would kind of know as well. I planned on telling the others and looking Seth straight in the eye as I did.

  “Brent!” Dad hollered from the hallway. “What the hell have you done to my gym?”

  I rolled my eyes. Here we go.

  Chapter 12

  I ignored Dad’s annoyed call from the gym and slipped out to check the house. It took me barely any time to check the large house. As I walked down the winding staircase, I wished I’d timed it. I’d make an awesome detective with this skill. Mom came in so I helped her carry dinner and groceries into the kitchen. Dad came in shortly after. He had cleaned up, and when Mom saw the shiner starting to show, he brushed it off blaming it on a wild ball from playing racquetball after work. He told the story so well, I almost believed him.

  I excused myself after dinner, lying that I had a lot of homework. I stayed up in my room and chilled.

  All night my thoughts kept coming back to Seth and how he could have easily gotten into the gym, turned the alarm off, or just waited till my dad was there and snuck in. The guy probably had the ability to taste money now, and got greedy – then went a step too far.

  In between the bouts of frustration and anger, I thought about Zoe. I was kidding myself if I believed I really stood a chance. I’d waiting too long before making my move. Now Kieran liked her and the feeling seemed mutual. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Well, except for Rylee. She still hadn’t clued in.

  The next morning, after a long night of little sleep, I sent the gang a message: Meet me at PHP after school at 4:00pm.

  I decided to skip school, faking a bad headache to Mom, and couldn’t help but be relieved when Dad told her to let me sleep in. He never agreed to missing class, so she didn’t argue. I went back to my bedroom and worked on fine tuning my touch-seeing sense.

  Mom brought me a bowl of homemade soup for lunch and a nasty looking vegetable shake. “It’ll help flush the bad toxins out of your body and get rid of your headache. It’s better than any aspirin or ibuprofen.”

  “I’m not drinking that.”

  She crossed her arms and stared down at me sitting on my bed. I felt six years old suddenly. “I am not leaving until you drink the entire glass. If you think it tastes bad now, wait till you try drinking it warm.”

  I sipped and gagged. “I can’t drink this!”

  She laughed. “Don’t be such a wimp.”

  Seriously? My mom just called me a wimp? I gulped it down and shuddered. Twice. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and gave her the glass.

  “That’s a good boy.” She kissed my forehead. “Now eat your soup and try to get some rest.”

  My throat reflex had a mind of its own. I swallowed hard and mentally told my stomach to cool. “Thanks, Mom.”

  She left the room and I sighed. The awful taste in my mouth needed
to be eliminated so I went straight for the chicken noodle soup. It killed the thick taste of spinach and every other dark and disgusting garden vegetable mixed in. Mom made the best soup. I enjoyed every bite and set the empty bowl on my desk.

  My phone’s red light flashed from its location charging on my desk.

  Zoe had messaged: Everything all right?

  I replied: I’m good. Just chilling. Taking a personal day. I’ll see you at PHP after school?

  I crawled back to bed. The headache I faked ended up as bad karma and showed up. I wanted to blame it on the horrible drink, but crawling under the covers and hiding in the dark seemed all the thought process my brain could handle. Images flashed through my head when I shut my eyes tight. I clenched my hands and toes as the agony turned into a migraine.

  I don’t know when, but I managed to fall asleep or pass out into oblivion.

  An annoying beep-beep-beep sound woke me. Some truck must be backing up. Probably a dump truck or cleaning vehicle for dad’s conference office. I bolted upright and checked my clock radio for the time. Almost three. School would be out in ten minutes.

  I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. My migraine had disappeared. I felt good – fantastic, actually. Maybe the migraine had shown up from the toxins in my system spilling into my blood or brain or some kind of scientific explanation Heidi would know. Mom’s disgusting veggie drink actually cleaned my system. Whatever. I felt better.

  I hopped off the bed and dropped to do a set of push-ups. As I pumped my arms up and down, I looked through the floor with my hands. I blinked in surprise. The room below was dark but I could see clearer than normal, almost like a pair of night vision goggles – but not that good. I’d have to ask Mom to make me the veggie drink again.

  My watched beeped, reminding me of the time. I needed to shower and jet. Fifteen minutes later I jogged down the stairs and grabbed a banana from the kitchen. Mom was reading by the window.

  “Feeling better?” she asked.

  “Loads. I might even ask you to make me that drink again.”

  She laughed. “I will. Be good to have one before bed tonight. You’ll sleep like a baby tonight and back to normal tomorrow.”

  I nearly choked on my banana. She knew nothing of what normal was for me anymore. “I’m heading down to PHP to meet the gang.”

  “Don’t eat anything greasy.”

  “Pardon?”

  “Stay away from French fries or their onion rings. The grease will clog your system and ruin everything the drink just cleared.”

  I saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She grabbed a napkin, balled it up, and threw it at me. “Get going, silly. I’m glad you feel better.”

  I walked around the counter and hugged her. “Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you, too, Sweetie.”

  The drive to PHP took another ten minutes. Kieran’s bike and Seth’s truck were already there, but I didn’t see the Bug. I pressed my hand against the building and pretended to fix my shoe as a couple walked by. Heidi, Rylee, Seth, and Kieran were all sitting in our usual spot.

  I went in to meet them. “Where’s Zoe?”

  Rylee, sitting close to Kieran, looked up. “Hi to you, too. She said she had to go home to change. She’ll be here in a moment. So, I ordered our outfits.”

  Seth sat beside Heidi wearing a leather jacket I’d never seen before. I glanced down his arm and noticed new watch. Something big and expensive.

  What the hell? I unfortunately ignored Rylee’s chatter and cut her off. “Been shopping, Seth?”

  He grinned and pulled the sleeve up on his jacket, showing off the watch.

  Seriously? The guy robbed and beat up my father, and now had the balls to show it off? Screw him!

  Rylee, the queen of fashion, leaned forward. “Wow, that’s very nice.”

  “Thanks. I just got it.” Seth shoved his arm closer to Rylee’s face.

  “I thought you were broke.” I couldn’t believe it. The guy had the balls to show it off in front of me. Some friend. We’d been buds since kindergarten. Scratch that. I hated him now. I clenched my fists, trying to keep things in check in front of everyone. This was not the place to break his jaw.

  “I am.” Seth shot me a weird look. “My dad found an awesome deal and decided to get me it as an early grad gift.”

  I grabbed a chair from the table beside and flipped it around so I sat on it backwards. I rested my arms on the back and leaned forward, faking interest. “Why didn’t he save it for grad then?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it was an early birthday present.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t paying attention to the whys.”

  I pulled my phone out. “Why don’t I give him a shout and ask him? I wouldn’t mind one myself.”

  “Wha’?” He pulled his coat over the watch. “No! Don’t call him.”

  Heidi glanced at me, then Seth, and then back at me. “What’s going on?”

  “Ohhh…” Rylee glared at Seth. “It’s you.” She pointed an accusing finger at him.

  Seth pushed her hand away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Kieran and I looked at each other. I had a feeling he knew what Seth had done.

  Rylee crossed her arms. She hissed at him, “You’re not the only one who watches the news or reads the paper! You bastard! How did you think we wouldn’t figure it out? It’s been you robbing those shops and stealing stuff.”

  Seth straightened. “What the hell?”

  Chapter 13

  Zoe

  “Zoe, I’d like to talk to you a moment.” Dad stood in Mom’s kitchen, his doctor’s face on.

  “Can it wait? I’m supposed to be at PHP with the gang.” I checked my watch. They’d already be there. I tilted my head and listened to Dad’s body. His heart rate was elevated and his breathing was off. “Where’s Mom?” Panic inched into my veins.

  “She’s at work.”

  I puffed out a breath. “Does she know you’re here?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t want to get her worried.” He rubbed his eye. “I ran a million tests on your blood work. Yours and Kieran’s.”

  The anxiety wanted to return but I forced it to stay dormant. I leaned against the counter, trying to look casual but needing it for support. “A million? Sounds like you’re trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

  “No. It’s the opposite actually.” He set the folder he was holding onto the counter and spread the pages out. “These are yours.” He pointed to graphs and charts and all these other medical things and then pointed to three other pages. “Those are Kieran’s.”

  Everything sort of pointed to what the gang and I already knew; Kieran didn’t have a super-sense. I played dumb. “What’s the big deal?”

  “Some of your readings are off the charts.” He leaned in and I could clearly hear the excitement in his voice. “I was originally so worried about the possibility of radiation in your system. Neither you nor Kieran have any. Remember I took your blood right after the night in the mine?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “There was radium in your system. Trace amounts, possibly, but my notes showed a lot more. I don’t know what happened, but your bodies turned it into something else. DNA binding agents have morphed the radiation.” He pulled a coloured printed page of some kind of strand of puzzle. “This is your DNA from the other day.”

  I started at him, not getting what he was trying to show me. “What am I looking at?”

  “Right there, see?” He tapped several places in the strand.

  I squinted and tried to see something out of the ordinary. “Dad, I have no clue what I’m looking for. Am I supposed to find something that doesn’t follow a pattern?”

  He grinned and pulled a pencil out of his pocket. “Look right there.” He circled something. “What do you see?”

  I picked up the page and stared. “Some kind of fuzzy circle or ring?”

  “It’s a halo.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Like something an angel
has?”

  He laughed. “Not quite. It’s more like a nimbus or aurora. It’s surrounded itself around a molecule of radium which attached to your DNA.”

  “Say what?”

  “I’m calling it a radium halo. You’ve got these radium halos everywhere.” He began pacing. “These halos surrounded the radium in your body and protected you. It’s scientifically impossible, but with the things I’ve been experimenting with, I’m starting to question the impossible.”

  Should I tell him about my sonar hearing? I swallowed, not sure what to do. “If there’s radiation in my body, shouldn’t I be sick? Or dying?” It seemed surreal to even say it out loud.

  “Yes!” he shouted.

  “Uh, I don’t think you should sound so excited.” I knew I wasn’t sick, the whole gang knew.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… it’s just… mind-blowing! You aren’t sick. Your blood work,” he grabbed another sheet from the pile, “is perfectly normal. Better than normal. No red flags for danger.”

  “That’s cool.”

  He glanced over the charts. “This is between you and me.” He met my gaze, his face serious.

  I suddenly had the feeling he wasn’t looking at me like his little girl, but as someone older.

  “I haven’t told anyone. Not your mom or any of the doctors I work with. I have an intern who actually found the marker. He has no idea whose DNA or blood work he’s working on.” Dad pointed to the halo again. “This is just between you and me. Till we can figure it out.” He stared intently at me. “Have you noticed any particular changes since the storm?”

  Here was my chance. I could say something and maybe regret it or regret not saying anything. “A few things seem different.”

  He leaned forward. “Like what?”

  Where to start or how much did I tell him? I decided baby steps would be the best way to start. “My balance seems easier.”

  He nodded. “Yes and you’ve leaned out. Your mother called me, worried about your weight, but I wasn’t too worried.”