by Dee J. Stone
“Do you want to keep your family safe or not?”
“Of course I do. It just feels wrong.”
She sits on her bed and brings her knees to her chest. “It won’t feel wrong when your little sister might be in danger again.”
I sigh.
“Nick, I don’t like it, either. But we’re doing the right thing. You know we are. Don’t make me be the one to push us. Don’t make me the bad guy.”
I join her on the bed. “You’re not the bad guy. You’re anything but a bad guy.”
That gets a small smile out of her. “Thanks.”
I wrap my arm over her shoulder and hold her close. “Thanks, by the way. For all of this. I know I’ve said it million times, but I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I know. I was thinking that we should also put extra tracking devices on your parents’ and Matt’s phones. Just in case.”
I nod. “Good idea.”
She takes her phone out of her jeans pocket. “That’s easy to do. All we need to do is download an app on our phones, then do the same to theirs.”
“Won’t they see it?”
“Nope, that’s the beauty of it. This app hides behind other apps. Like let’s say Matt has Facebook, right? So the tracking device will hide in that app. He’ll never know it’s there.”
“And if that app is deleted?”
“It’ll go to another app.”
This is all too much for my tiny brain. “What app is that, anyway?”
“That company’s. I charged it to the CEO’s account, too.”
I can’t help myself, I laugh. “You really are something else, you crook.”
She sticks out her tongue. “Give me your phone.”
It’s an older one from a few years ago. My phone got lost when I was kidnapped, so I have no choice but to use this. I hand it to her, watching the way her fingers move. I’ve got no clue what she’s doing, but I’m guessing it has to do with all this tracking stuff.
After a bit, she says, “It’s all done. You should be able to see where your family members are at all times when you click on the app. Otherwise, their whereabouts will remain unknown. And listen carefully because this is important.” She stops and gives me a look.
“I’m listening,” I say.
“Don’t lose your phone. If it ends up in the wrong hands…”
I swallow. “I know.”
“I put a password on them, but you know that can always be cracked. Be careful, okay?”
I nod. This is my family we’re talking about. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure nothing happens to them.
“Can we go snooping around your mom’s things now?” I ask.
We get to our feet and manage to make it out her bedroom door when the outside door shuts and footsteps are heard downstairs. Aw, man. Her parents are home.
Maddie frowns. “She always has perfect timing,” she says sarcastically. “Any minute she’s going to call my name and start complaining about something or telling me to do something. Just watch.”
No more than ten seconds pass before I hear, “Maddie! Are you home?” from downstairs.
“See?” She bends over the railing. “Yeah, Mom?”
Her mother looks up and when she sees me, her expression changes. “Nick, hello.” Is she being all weird because she hasn’t seen me in a while or because of who—or what—I am?
“Hi, Mrs. Randall.” I’m trying to make my voice as charming and normal as usual, but it’s hard when I don’t trust her.
“Are you going to stay for dinner?”
Dinner at Maddie’s normally consists of cheap takeout because her mom doesn’t have enough time or energy to cook. And they’ve got no money.
“Uh…” I scratch my head. Maddie eye signals me to act like nothing’s changed. I never say no to food. “Sure, thanks.”
Maddie’s stepdad enters the living room, reading the paper, and peers up at me. “Oh, it’s you. Good job on everything.” He leaves the room. I catch a glimpse of what he’s reading. An article about the Blue Masked Hero. My picture is plastered right there. It’s practically larger than the whole paper.
I help Maddie set the table, then when the food comes, all four of us sit down to eat. It’s pizza tonight, one of my favorite foods.
Throughout the meal, I feel Maddie’s mom’s eyes on me. I avoid her gaze, stuffing my face with one bite of pizza after another. Why’s she staring at me? Is she thinking of a way to kidnap me? Well, I’m not going to let her. That’s why I’m not letting my guard down. Maddie’s picking at her food, her focus on her mom. She must also be extra vigilant tonight.
Did her mom call her peeps already? Are they on their way here?
“So, Nick,” Melissa says with a wide smile on her face. “How’s school?”
I dump more cheesy pizza into my mouth. “Fine.”
She nods slowly, with this weird look in her eyes. Kinda like she’s seeing through me. I gulp down some Coke. Seriously, I need to get out of here.
“It says here your sister was kidnapped,” Maddie’s stepdad, Ronald, says, his nose buried in the paper. “Is she okay?”
I steal a peek at Melissa, but she’s got no expression on her face.
“She’s fine.”
“Do the authorities know who took her?” Ronald asks.
I shake my head, once again looking at Melissa. Nothing. She’s hardly eating, though, so I wonder if she is involved somehow. Or does she not know about it?
Maddie throws down her napkin. “Can Nick and I be excused?”
Her mom scans her plate. “You’ve hardly eaten. Pizza is your favorite.”
Maddie mumbles, “Maybe I’m just not in the mood.” She gets up, grabs my arm, and pulls me out of the kitchen. I manage to snatch the last slice of pizza and shove it into my mouth. She takes me all the way up to her room.
Maddie frowns. “You pretty much ate the whole pie.”
“Sorry. Couldn’t help it.” I swallow. “Did you see the way she was looking at me?”
Maddie nods, her lips pressed in a tight line. “She’s acting very weird. It’s so unlike her.”
“I’m waiting for the others to show up.”
“Others? Oh, you mean the kidnappers.”
“Yeah. I mean, she kind of asked me to stay for dinner. She’s probably got ulterior motives.”
“She always asks you to stay for dinner.”
Hmm. She has a point there. “Maybe we’re thinking too much into this. Maybe we’re being paranoid. But how can we not be? She’s involved somehow.” I cross my arms over my chest. “And now that she’s home, we can’t snoop around.”
Maddie thinks for a bit. “We can follow her around. Or…” She lowers her voice. “We can track her.”
Tracking her seems like a good idea, but maybe that’s not enough. “Yeah, we should, but we should follow her, too. Just in case. You know I can’t be out so late, but you can. You can fly, too, so maybe…” I frown. “But you can’t go invisible. She’ll see you.”
“I can be careful.”
Panic overtakes me. “What if you get caught?”
“I can handle myself.”
“I know that. How about you put a communication device into your mask so we can keep in contact? The second you need help, I’ll be right over.”
She nods. “Okay, but I don’t think she’ll go anywhere. She never does. It’s always home or work.”
“Things might be different now. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
“Okay.”
We just stand there.
“So, uh…” I say.
“You should go home before your mom freaks out.”
I shove my hands into my pockets. “She’s gotten really overprotective after the whole Kaylee thing. Do you know she doesn’t want me being a hero?”
Maddie shakes her head.
“But it’s not like I can stop. It’s part of me.”
“I know. She’ll come around.”
Maybe.
“I need to focus on bringing up my grades and being good. Then maybe she’ll let me. It really sucks to be limited because of my mom. You don’t see Superman or Spiderman not being a hero because his mommy doesn’t let him.”
Maddie claps me on the back. “Be a good boy and go home and do your homework.”
“Very funny. Good night, Mads.” I bend forward and kiss her. She’s kisses me back, then freezes.
“Wait a sec. You can’t leave,” she says. “You need to put the tracking devices on each member of your family.”
“Huh?”
She rummages through the box and pulls out a sheet with those clear stickers on them. Right. I almost forgot about them. There are six stickers on each sheet.
“Put one on the back of each member of your family’s necks.” She scans the tiny pamphlet that came with them. “You need to press it down on their necks with two fingers. Leave it there for a bit, rub it, then it should work.”
“How the heck am I going to do that without them noticing?”
She throws her hands up. “Figure it out.”
I take the sheet from her and stare at it like it’s some foreign object that’s going to explode in my hands. “You’re gonna put them on your mom and Ronald?”
“Yep. I’m not letting them out of my sight. For all we know, my stepdad could be involved, too.”
I didn’t think about that. “Is that why he was talking about Kaylee’s disappearance?”
“Maybe. I don’t trust anyone and neither should you.”
I nod. It sucks that she can’t trust her own mom. Not that she’s her real mom, anyway.
“What do I do with the extra?” I ask. “I only need four. Are we going to put stickers on ourselves, too?”
She shakes her head. “Too risky. If the wrong people get their hands on our phones and track us…”
“Good idea.”
“We’ll stay in contact. Remember, our masks have GPS on them.”
“Okay.”
She smiles encouragingly. “Good luck.”
My shoulders slump. “Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”
Chapter Six
As soon as I walk through the door, I’m bombarded with Mom, who’s standing there with her hands on her hips.
“Where have you been?”
I falter back. “At Maddie’s. Her mom invited me for dinner.”
I expect her face to calm down, but she’s madder and it’s redder. “What did I tell you? You are to go to school and come straight home. You’re not to leave this house until your homework is done.”
Homework. With all this tracking stuff, I totally forgot about it.
“Mom, you have to understand—”
“What I need to understand is that this superhero obsession is over. Is that understood? I don’t want to see or hear anything about the Blue Masked Hero.”
“But Mom—”
“No buts.”
Man. She doesn’t understand that someone—or someones—is after me. She doesn’t understand that I’m trying to keep them all safe.
“I’m going to my room,” I mutter.
I have to pass her on my way and she pulls me into her arms. I kind of don’t want to be here right now. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” she says. “But you have no idea what I’ve been through. The thought of losing my babies…” Her chest heaves.
I get it. I do. I just wish she’d understand that nothing is going to happen to me. Maddie and I are going to uncover the secret about that organization. We’re going to put a stop to it. Plus, we’re doing everything we can to keep our families safe.
“It’s okay, Mom. I’m sorry I put you through that. From now on I’ll tell you where I am and where I’m going.” At least I’ll try to.
She kisses my cheek. “Thank you and I’m sorry for being so harsh with you.”
I wave my hand. “School is important, not playing superhero.” Except she doesn’t understand how important this is to me. It’s like I was born for it, which is strange since I was “made” into a superhero. Either way, it’s my destiny.
I’ll pull up my grades, be a hero, and put an end to those who wish to harm me and those I care about.
While Mom and I are hugging, I slip my hand into the back pocket of my jeans and pull out the stickers. It’s not so easy doing this blindly. I manage to peel off one of the stickers and slowly, carefully, press it to the back of Mom’s neck. She flinches for a second, then hugs me closer, whispering how much I mean to her. I rub the sticker a few times, hoping it’ll do the trick.
One down, three more to go.
Mom pats my back, kisses me another time, then orders me to do my homework. I salute and climb the stairs to my room. As I pass Kaylee’s, I find her on the floor, playing with her dolls. She doesn’t seem like a sad kid, but she looks lonely.
I look toward my room, knowing I should obey my mom and do my homework. But I can’t leave my little sis like this. I also need to get that tracking device on her.
Leaning against the open door, I knock on it. “Hey, kid.”
Her head springs up and eyes shine when she takes me in. “Nick!” She leaps toward me and I lift her in my arms.
Man, she’s getting heavy. I’d use my telekinesis to help support the weight, but I kind of don’t want to use it right now.
I bounce her in my arms. “What’re you up to, Kayls?”
“Playing with my dollies. Mommy was too busy today to…” She continues to talk about her day, and I concentrate on getting the sticker on her without her noticing. She’s in the middle of talking about the doll she wanted today when Mom took her out, but Mom didn’t let her have it.
“And I was so mad,” she says. “Mommy never wants to get me anything.”
“Kaylee,” I say as I rub the sticker onto her neck. “Mommy always gets you what you want. She must have felt like you have enough dolls.”
She tilts her head to the side. “Okay. She did get me ice cream!”
I smile. Then I lower her to the floor. “You’re getting a little too big, kid.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “Matt can hold me for hours.” Yeah, well I don’t exactly have my bro’s muscles.
“Why don’t you use your powers to keep me up?” she asks.
“Because I don’t want to be this empty vessel that needs his powers to survive.”
Her forehead furrows. “Huh?”
I bend down on my knees and pull her to me. “Because I sometimes want to be normal.”
“Oh. Okay. Wanna play with me?”
“As much as I’d love to, I have homework. You’re going to school tomorrow, right?”
She kicks the floor.
I gently pinch her cheek. “It’ll be okay.”
I head toward my room and get started on my homework. It’s not so bad, but I get interrupted every five seconds. Kaylee demands piggyback rides, Dad wants to know if I want to hang out with him on Friday. I tell him I’m not sure yet. Mom comes inside to put some laundry away and doesn’t leave until she’s sure I’m actually doing the work. Matt leans against my door, enlightening me about how good it felt to put his ex-friend in his place today.
Knowing I have to get that tracking device on him, I slap him on the back and pull him in for a man hug. He’s thrown off at first, then accepts the hug. I quickly press the sticker to his neck.
His hand springs to it. “What the hell?”
My stomach drops to my toes. Didn’t Maddie tell me he shouldn’t be able to feel it once it’s on? Aw, man. Did I do it all wrong?
With a puzzled look on his face, Matt brings his hand forward and peers at this fingers. I sigh when nothing’s on his hand. “I could have sworn something bit me,” he says.
I shrug. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He nods unsurely and leaves the room. I have one last person to put a sticker on. Dad. Normally I wouldn’t mind, it’s just that he’s been on my case lately, about sports and Maddie. Now that we’re together, he might even have
more “talks” with me. No, thanks.
I find him watching TV in the living room. He’s sprawled on the couch with a bag of chips on his stomach. The news is on, talking about Kaylee’s disappearance and how she was magically returned home.
That’s why Dad’s got all this junk food. He eats when he’s nervous or stressed. Even though Kaylee’s fine, it must still worry him that she was taken in the first place.
I step into the room. “Hey, Dad.”
His smile is strained as he motions for me to sit. I drop down beside him. He offers me some chips and I chomp down a few.
“You okay?” I ask.
He nods with a hollow look on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
Still in whatever daze he’s in, he shakes his head. “I just can’t figure out what happened. Where she could have possibly wandered off to.”
“You don’t think Kaylee was kidnapped?”
He rubs the spot between his eyes. “That’s what the cops think, but I’m not so sure. My theory is that she ran away and someone must have picked her up and dropped her off at our place.” He turns to me. “Someone we know. Kaylee wouldn’t know our address.”
I don’t say anything. It’s on the tip of my tongue to blurt the whole thing out, but I can’t. It will only make everything worse.
I rest my hand on his arm. “I know you and Mom are going to worry like crazy, but maybe we should enjoy the time we have. I mean, we won’t enjoy ourselves if we keep wondering what happened.”
“You’re right, I just can’t help it.”
“If you don’t think she was taken, then you don’t have to worry.” I can do all the worrying for us.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know what to think. All of this baffles me.”
I stretch my hand over his shoulder and casually stick the sticker on the back of his neck. It doesn’t go as smoothly as I hoped, but luckily he’s too caught up in his own thoughts to notice.
“Hey, Dad? We’re still on for Friday, right?”
His hollow looked is replaced with a pleased one. “Really? When I asked you earlier you said you weren’t sure.”
“I am now.” I didn’t know spending time with my dad means that much to him. “We can watch a movie and maybe get something to eat.”