by N. Phillips
He dapped us using his left arm, with his right side being wrapped up from surgery. The visitor pass around my neck hit against my chest as I sat in the chair beside him.
“How you doin’?” I asked. “Recovery goin’ good?”
He avoided the question and looked at the TV hanging on the wall, his grin vanishing. “Aight now that y’all here, could somebody tell me what the hell goin’ on with Cable TV? Every channel is some old ass black-and-white show—even on the sports networks.”
“Yeah, we heard about that,” Tory acknowledged, standing near the end of the bed. “But speaking of strange stuff, we wanted to talk to you about somethin’.”
“I hope it’s about those damn powers y’all got.” Me and Tory glanced at each other with wide eyes before CJ continues, “Yeah, I know all ‘bout that. Social media might think it’s fake, but I was there. I know the truth, even if I was unconscious at the time.”
Speechless and stunned, it took Tory’s sudden grumble of, “What is this shit?” to snap my neck in his direction. He was staring intensely at his cell phone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Bro, read this garbage.” He passed me his phone. “Great, now my personal life is being affected by all this.”
I read the title of an article on the screen out loud, “Rising Afro-Dominican streamer, PlotArmor69, jumps on the current ‘fake fight’ trend to increase his following.”
“I ain’t gotta fake nothin’,” he complained. “My following was organic. Now I’m gonna have people in my streams claimin’ I’m desperate for clout and shit. Dammit.”
I handed the phone back to him and said, “At least they think it’s staged.” My attention then turned to CJ. “About the whole powers thing, though… Jasmine has them too, but she’s not the same person. She’s the complete opposite actually, and we were wondering if you knew anything about this change or any info we could use to help her get back to normal.”
He leaned his head back on the pillow and appeared concerned, staring up at the ceiling lights with a sigh. “I can’t help y’all. I’m sorry.”
There was another sudden outburst from Tory before he walked to the room door. “Brother’s callin’ me. I’ll take it outside.”
His exit left me to question CJ alone. “You gotta know somethin’. You two were together for a good while.”
“I know that, but she’s done with me and has every right to be. I fucked up, alright? My friends, my arm, my girl… I let this street shit get the better of me, and it took them away. Do you hear what I’m saying? I lost good people, and I might not be able to play Football ever again.”
Hearing those last words was alarming. Being on a pro Football team was all he ever wanted since junior high, and even back then when most of us wanted a future with wealth and fame, CJ never cared for materials and popularity. He genuinely just loved Football, and not even his asshole attitude could shadow his passion.
He turned to me and spoke again, “Bro listen, all I can tell you about Jasmine is that her parents are on her back twenty-four seven and keep her on her toes. They robotic as fuck—ain’t no room for error with them. She can’t have fun and be free like the rest of us because her folks think people like me and you are below them. Shit, they probably would’ve dismissed me a long time ago if I wasn’t a top prospect.”
Looks like Jasmine’s house was the next stop.
“Alright, cool. Rest easy, bro. Everything’s gonna be alright.”
I stood out of the chair and dapped CJ before making my way out of the room, but he called my name to turn me back around.
“Whether I make it out of here the same or not, take care of Jasmine for me. She’s special—ain’t like these other girls. I wanna know somebody’s lookin’ out for her whether I’m stuck in this place for a minute or headed off to college. Give me your word that you got her.”
I paused for a few seconds, taking in his seriousness before nodding and replying, “I got her.”
Departing with a smile, I navigated through the hall to reach an elevator when Ashanti’s call halted my progress.
“Hel—”
“Where are you guys?” she cut off my greeting. “What’s this I hear about you and Tory fightin’ Jasmine at the community college?”
“Damn, it’s out there?”
“Not a video, but word on social media is. Where y’all at? I’m about to leave my house.”
I had to question if that was a good idea, with her being on lockdown and all, but I decided to leave my thoughts in the wind and tell her where we were.
“The hospital, but we’ll meet you in the complex. It’s a lot of weird stuff goin’ on and I think we should all be together.”
“Alright. I got three hours before my mom gets-”
For some reason, the call was disrupted, and my phone completely shut down seconds later. It was strange, but I shrugged it off and entered an elevator—a shelter to ease my mind and take a deep breath. Things were quiet on the way down and brought a sense of peace—if just for a moment because reality was waiting to blow by and hit me with the obvious.
It was only the calm before the storm.
Me and Tory were making our way down the block to reach the complex when we spotted Jasmine carelessly skipping in the middle of the street. People driving by hollered in frustration with one even throwing their half-emptied drink at her.
It didn’t matter, though. She was in her own world, unaware and unbothered with a sadistic grin across her face.
“Let’s grab her now,” Tory said, pulling my arm. “Let’s do it before we lose track of her.”
“What about Ashanti?”
“Bro, we can get to her after we snatch Jasmine up. C’mon.”
She saw us approaching and started to run. We chased her all through the south side of the city, racing past a basketball court, a liquor store, a laundromat, and even a graveyard until she entered the Newburgh Library while giggling with uncanny excitement.
We pursued her down the stairs leading to the bottom floor, where she swiftly avoided our attempts to corner and capture her by navigating through the different sections of bookcases and dashing past multiple tables with computers stationed on top of them. Many startled and confused visitors and librarians looked on as security now joined the chase in a strong effort to apprehend us. Thankfully, we followed Jasmine out of the building and into an outside parking lot across the street before we were caught.
“She’s too damn fast,” I had to acknowledge out loud with heavy breaths. “Can’t you use that speed power to catch her?”
“I don’t know, bro. That was by complete luck when that happened yesterday. I still don’t know how all of this stuff works.”
I grumbled until the game of cat-and-mouse resumed. Jasmine mocked us with laughter before running inside an apartment building nearby for older folks. We entered and saw her sitting on the hallway staircase with a smile, gesturing her hand in a ‘hello’ motion.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Tory asked her.
Jasmine stood up and happily replied, “Catch me if you can.”
And just like that, she zipped up the stairs faster than I could blink. We climbed to the upper floors until we saw her standing in front of a window, her body swaying side to side with her hands behind her back.
“Jasmine, chill out and talk to us,” I pleaded. “Whatever is goin’ on is turning you into somethin’ you’re not.”
She giggled before it happened: she leaped out of the window with no hesitation. Me and Tory were so stunned that it took a few seconds for the realization to kick in before we could move and look out of the window.
She was gone. Completely gone. Only the shattered glass that had fallen to the ground below was evidence of her arrival. There was nothing Tory nor I could do to find her now.
“Bro…what the hell just happened?” he questioned while leaning against an apartment door.
I looked at him to answer and saw waves of dark energy circul
ating underneath the door. “Bro, watch out.”
After he stepped aside, we both stared at the dark aura leaking through the cracks of the apartment door. Something evil was on the other side.
“Whoa, so this is what you were talkin’ ‘bout,” Tory murmured, taken aback by the darkness. “What’s goin’ on in there?”
“I don’t know. Someone could be possessed though like the old guy at the supercenter. We gotta get in there and help.”
I knocked on the door a couple of times but didn’t get a response. Seeing the darkness pour out more, I wasn’t about to give up though, and neither was Tory, who came up with a reckless but effective idea.
“Aight, now watch this. Ain’t nobody else in the world can pull this off.”
He backed up and created a fireball in his hand before launching it toward the doorknob. The lock melted away, allowing him to open the door after a strong push.
“Bro, this is literally breaking and entering. You know that, right?”
“Don’t worry, I got us. All I gotta do is master the speed ability before the cops show up and we good. Cheat codes, baby.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Seriously?”
“Yup. C’mon, let’s go.”
Inside was a dark mist that would have turned the apartment pitch-black had the sun not been beaming through the curtains of the living room. Further in the floral decorated space was an elderly black woman in a wheelchair, who sat directly in front of an older model TV.
“I was not expecting visitors,” she said, her eyes glued to the black and white show being aired. “Welcome to my world.”
The purple aura swept over my feet and magically changed my Jordans into an old pair of brown leather Doc Martens shoes. The dark energy then shrouded the rest of my body, transforming the rest of my attire into a plaid vest and corduroys with a newsboy cap on top of my head.
“What the hell?” Tory exclaimed at the sight of his own clothing now changing. His tracksuit was altered into overalls and his sneakers were replaced with boots.
The bizarre scenario sparked a thought in my head, letting me put two and two together to form a solid accusation.
“Tory, it’s her. She’s the one changing current media and trends into vintage stuff and older content.”
My claim led to her finally facing us. The Shadow came out of hiding and placed its claws on the rear handles of the wheelchair. The demon’s position was like symbolism of its control over the woman.
“You are correct, young man. The filth you consume today do nothing but force agendas down the audience’s throats. Your media lacks an authentic moral compass, but your generation is too blinded and influenced to understand. Do not worry though, children, because I will replace your rubbish with quality gems—entertainment that is much more wholesome and honest.”
“Okay, boomer,” Tory took a shot. “Listen, you gotta move on and accept change. Like, for real. Your obsession with the past is toxic and creating bad energy. Literally.”
She simpered. “Oh dear. I should have expected this response. The awful media of today raised disrespectful, heartless teenagers like yourself. Perhaps it is time to be disciplined the right way.”
The aura now covered the entire apartment, swapping all color in the area with a sepia palette. A gust of ominous wind from seemingly nowhere then circulated before a pack of shadowy werewolf-like creatures appeared out of the dark corners of the room.
“I will make our world great again,” she declared just as I gulped from the presence of her ghastly beasts.
One of the demons viciously launched itself at us, but I managed to step out of the way and avoid its tearing strike. Digging into the pockets of my attire, the dreadful apprehension overtaking my mind and emotions worsened after realizing something was missing.
“Shit. Tory, our phones don’t exist in her world. I’m useless.”
Tory, panicking while being circled by three other demons, stuttered his reply. “I-I got us, bro. I-I can do this.”
Forcing his fears aside, he activated his ability and started using karate moves from a character in a fighting video game. His martial arts was impressive, giving him the power to fight against the demons and prevent them from ripping me to shreds. He even incorporated another video game character in his arsenal by jumping in the air and stomping on a demon’s head after it lunged at him. The landing flattened its murky body temporarily before the fiend reconstructed itself back to normal.
And that was the problem: these things were invincible. Tory could hold them back well enough, but he couldn’t do any real damage, and the elderly woman must’ve taken notice of our predicament because she started to spout her master plain in a demonic voice before the war was won.
Typical villain shit.
“I will destroy this current era of media, starting with television. The needless reboots, the pointless remakes, all of it. There is no originality, no discovery. You whiny brats get everything handed to you and choose what you want. You will never experience the joy and wonder of flicking through channels and investing into a show after catching it in the middle of the episode.”
Okay, I would call this woman psycho if it weren’t for the Shadow amplifying her thoughts and emotions. Since we’re on the topic of TV, this level of demonic possession was far scarier than any horror show or movie I’d ever seen. Shit like this should not be real.
“Why do you children even care, anyway?” she shouted over the howling winds now storming through the window. The whole apartment even began to shake with shelves falling and house items flying in the air. “Boys and girls your age don’t watch TV. You don’t even go outside and play real games because you’re all addicted to your computers and screaming services.”
“It’s streaming,” Tory hollered to correct her after pushing back a demon attacking us. “Streaming, you crazy old lady.”
“Your power is already affecting those services as well,” I informed her. “Look, you need to fight your demons and make peace with yourself on this matter. Older people like you talk about our generation being influenced and addicted to technology, but maybe if reality wasn’t so hard and depressing, we wouldn’t have to be. We do it to escape the world that past generations created. Your generation. Blame yourself for how things are and accept the facts of life.”
My conviction seemed to have caused a disturbance to the Shadow’s manipulation, because it started to freak out with bizarre contortions of its body. The other demons vanished into thin air, and I couldn’t help but to think that their disappearance was due to the Shadow losing power over the woman.
“Tory, hit the Shadow. It’s weakened.”
“Bro, say less.”
With speed and strength, he delivered a straight punch to the Shadow’s gnarly face, knocking it off balance. The woman’s screech shifted from a demented tone to a humane voice as the television screen flashed between black and white to color.
After her piercing cry, the woman passed out in the wheelchair and both the room and our clothes returned to normal. The Shadow reformed the structure of its body but fled the scene in black smoke. Somehow, someway, we survived an encounter with literal demons.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said to Tory.
We excited the woman’s apartment and took a breather in the hallway. Tory was drained, and so was I, even though I didn’t contribute to the actual fight.
“Man, that was insane,” he uttered with an exhausted smile. “I don’t get it, though. If these demons can make anyone’s wish come true, why didn’t the old lady want to be young again or somethin’? That would be a better and more logical aspiration to me.”
I leaned against the guardrail of the stairs and answered, “Because it wasn’t what she truly wanted. Think about it, bro. No one knows about these Shadows and what they can do, so people are not going to be longing for an over-the-top wish they believe will never happen. That woman probably came to peace with her age a long time ago. All she needed in her l
ast days was the comfort of familiarity, which is possible in a normal sense.”
“Right. I got’chu.” He took a deep breath and started walking down the stairs. “On the real though, you were good with your words back there. You could probably stop demons with a long ass speech of positivity.”
I followed behind, saying, “Nah, but it would be crazy if someone was out there doin’ that. I can’t picture it.”
“Me neither. But whatever, let’s go get’cha girl and deal with Jasmine.”
I chuckled as we walked out of the apartment building, but what we were getting into was no laughing matter. This Jasmine situation was so intense and mysterious that at any moment it could become life or death.
We were not ready to make that choice.
CHAPTER 9
Tory and I met up with Ashanti before the three of us hopped in a cab. We informed her of what happened with the elderly woman in the apartment building as the driver drove in the direction of Jasmine’s place.
“So that explains why my apps weren’t workin’,” she said, sitting in between me and Tory in the backseat. “You think what’s goin’ on is givin’ people whatever they want?”
“Not sure,” I replied. “But I hope we never have to see another demon wolf again.”
The cab had passed a health center and a local diner before heading under a bridge and through the freeway. It then turned right into a nice neighborhood where every house looked almost the same—grassy front lawns, brick roofs, and cream-colored exteriors with driveways. Tory whistled beside me, nodding at the people who walked along the sidewalk with their dogs. “Man, this how Jasmine’s livin’?” he questioned with excitement.
The cab dropped us off at a house with a red Kia Soul parked out front. The welcome mat on the ground read, ‘Please wipe your feet upon entry’.
“Upon?” Tory mocked. “What is this, Shakespeare?”
“Shh, quiet,” Ashanti hissed, elbowing him.
I rang the doorbell—a light ‘ding-dong’ started to play until someone opened the door. “You kids selling chocolate or something?” An older, ebony-skinned man asked. He was wearing wire-rimmed glasses that sat on his bulbous nose and a button-up shirt that was tucked in his pants. The gold Rolex on his left wrist was glistening.