Break: An Urban Hero's Journey

by Wes Grant

  ELSEWHERE

  Nick was at the mall with Neil and Von. Neil said to Nick, “OK, we’re at the mall getting what now?” Nick said, “I need to get a small backpack to carry some things with me when I’m on the roof free-running.” Von said, “Like a fanny pack.” Nick said, “No, not like a fanny pack. Do they even make them anymore?” Neil said, “Hey, I hear they’re coming back, alongwith the murce.”

  Nick said, “First of all, you will never catch me with either of those, but for real guys, in that fight against that guy Shrink, I had to take a spare shirt from them along with the money because I wasn’t prepared for that trip I took with them. I’m not just fighting thugs anymore, if there are more people like Shrink or me with abilities, I gotta be ready for anything. I’m gonna need some sort of pack to carrysupplies.” Von said, “Like a Batman Utilitybelt?”Neil said, “I still think it’s funny you stole from crooks.” Von said, “Yeah, you robbed the robbers. Ha-ha.” Nick said, “I didn’t rob the robbers. I just borrowed a shirt and a couple of dollars to take a cab home.” Neil said, “Doesn’t borrowing mean you intend to give it back?” Nick said, “You know what, the both of you can kiss my… you know what, I had to get home and Idon’t have to defend myself. Now are you gonna help me find a backpack, or you gonna just crack on me all day?” Neil said, “Don’t worry, we can do both at the sametime, it’s called multitasking. Ha-ha. So let’s go.” Nick said, smiling, “I hate you guys so much,” and walked to the next store.

  Josh was at work gathering carts when his irritating younger manager Jim came outside. Jim said, “Come on, Josh, how long does it take to get carts? It’s not like it’s brain surgery. Any loser with a GED could do your job. Unless of course you never even got a GED. Josh, did you even go to school?” Josh looked at Jim with an angry gleam in his eyes and said, “I’m almost done, sir.” Jim said, “Yeah, well, make it quick. There’s something inside I need you to do. And it includes a mop and vomit. Haha.” A couple of hours later after taking care of the task Jim needed him to do, Josh saw an ex from a few years ago. When he saw her, he called out. She turned around confused, not recognizing him. He ran up to her and said, “Hey, Cassandra, remember me? It’s Josh.” She still looked confused. He then said, “Remember, we went out a few times.”

  She then said, “Oh sorry, I remember you now.” He replied, “Hey, how’ve you been? Long time no see. You wanna have dinner some time to catch up?” She then said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you knew. I only went out with you as a bet. I thought you knew and didn’t care because, you know, you got to be near me. You . . . you didn’t actually think you honestly had a chance with me in the real world, did you?” She laughed then got in her car and drove away. Completely crushed by the statement, Josh just stood there while she drove away. He clenched his fist and stood there silently as the rage built. He grabbed a cart and continued to work.

  It’s about 10:00 p.m. now. Nick was dropping off Von and Neil at their house. Neil got out of the car and said, “Aight catcha later, I gotta get started studying. I got abig test coming up.”

  Von said, “Yeah, me too, just call us if anything.” Nick said, “OK, I gotta get some rest too, it’s been slow in crime, so I think I’ll takeoff tonight and catch up on some of the shows I TiVo’d. See ya.”

  Nick was hungry, and he was craving a certain type of food; so he went out of his way to a place a couple of towns away. After he got his food, he realized that he was running low on gas, so he stopped off at a gas station. He turned off the car and told the man at the pump to fill it up. After the tank was filled, Nick handed the man the money and attempted to start the car. To his surprise, the car was dead. I mean not even a rattle when he turned the key. Nick turned the key over and over and said, “You can’t be serious. How do youjust die after I filled the tank?” After five minutes of trying, he got out and pushed the car away from the pump in shame while other people at the gas station looked at him in confusion, trying to hold in their laughter. He called Neil and asked him if he could come to pick him up, explaining that his car just died. Of course Neil agreed, came over, and picked him up. Nick also called the tow truck and had them drop the car off at the body shop near his house. Nick told Neil thanks, he appreciated the ride. Neil told him no problem and took Nick home.

  Meanwhile around the same time, Josh was getting home from work. His day had been horrible with his jackass of a boss and that heartless ex or non-ex of his. When he got in, he goes to the kitchen to get something to drink and was greeted by the shrieking voice of his mother. His mom yelled, “Did you get the bucket of cookies I told you to get?!” Josh said, “I’m sorry, Mom, I forgot. I had a really bad day.” His mom said, “I ask you to do one simple thing, and you can’t even do that. You’re so useless. No wonder your father beat you so much, you were too stupid to understand anything.” Josh looked at his mother with a gleam in his eyes and didn’t say a word. She continued to banter him. He then went over to her and said, “How come you can’t be a good mother and give a little support when your son is down?!” His mom said, “Because you’re a loser! Your father knew it, I know it, and everybody else knows it. You don’t deserve anybody’s respect.” Josh became filledwith such rage and anger that he grabbed his mother’s wrist. She looked at him and said, “Get your loser hands off me.”

  Josh closed his eyes and screamed, “Just shut up!” She began hitting him with her loose hand, so he grabbed the other arm and shook her. With tears coming from his eyes he dropped to his knees. When he opened his eyes, he saw his mom shaking. He asked her what’s wrong, but she didn’t reply. Then her skin blackened, and she began to smoke. When he realized it was him causing her pain he quickly let go of her, but it was too late. He looked at her wrist and saw the singe marks where his hands had been. He stepped back slowly and looked at his hands. Electricity started jumping from finger to finger. He stood there looking at his hands in disbelief. With tears filling in his eyes, he said to himself, “She’s dead… I killed her.” He put his arms over his head. He took a deep breath through his teeth, and repeated, “She’s dead… I killed her.” He gasps out the air he breathed in a chuckle and repeated it again, “She’s dead… I killed her,” but this time he began to laugh. The laughter got louder and louder until it got to the point of becoming sinister. He saw this ability as a gift for all he had to put up with throughout the years. He felt the electricity flowing through him. He put his hands in front of him and looked at the electricity sporadically jumping from finger to finger. He slowly clenched his fist and watched as his electricity turn into a steady flow of energy going up his entire arm to his entire body. He looked at the electricity pouring out of him. He talked to himself, “I have so much Juice in me,” he grind, “Juice, I like the sound of that.” He now had a name and the power to make people respect him, but first there were a couple of people he had to pay a visit to.

  Josh got up early, put on a hoodie, and stopped off at the Jim’s house. The boss had to be at work by 5:30 a.m., so he was up early. He went outside to start up the car. When he got in his car he saw in the rear view mirror Josh in the back seat, but it was too late. Josh put his hands over Jim’s mouth and began to electrocute him before he could utter a sound. Jim tried to scream and pull the hands from his face but the struggle quickly came to a stop as he began to smoke. Josh then said, “I don’t need a GED to know you ain’t makin’ it in to work today.” After Josh finished, he left Jim’s cooked body in the car and got out of there before anyone saw him. For the next couple of days, Josh after work tried to master his new abilities. After about a week, he went after his ex Cassandra. He took her out from a distance by hitting her car’s gas tank with a lightning bolt, causing it to explode with her and her boyfriend. Once he got his revenge, he set out to make a name for himself. He wanted to make everyone respect him. Make sure everyone would come to know and recognize the name Juice.

  Nick was at the auto shop where he took his car. Nick said to the shop assistant manager Tom, “So i
s everything good, my car ready now?” Tom said, “Yeah, you needed a new fuel pump and filter, a new battery, and a new module.” He handed the keys over to Nick and said take care.

  Nick started the car and drove off. While listening to the radio, the news came on talking about a string of small-time robberies over in the Teaneck area with the name Juice singed into the side of the robbery scenes. Nick heard that and chuckled. He then muttered to himself, “Juice, hmm, someone must be thirsty. Probably just some kids messing around.”

  It was twelve midnight, and Juice was getting ready to break into another building to rob it when out of the shadows, a welldressed man stepped out. He approached Juice and said, “Mr. Juice, I presume.”

  Juice turned around startled and asked “Who the hell are you!” The man said, “I’m just a messenger.” Juice said, “Why the hell shouldn’t I kill you now since you’ve seen my face?” The man said, “My boss recognized you as a very talented person and would like to hire you for a job.” Juice said, “Why should I believe you? You could be some undercover cop or something.”

  The man said, “Rest assured, if I was a cop, you would have been surrounded by now with the whole police force.” Juice looked around frantically. The man then said, “But don’t worry, this isn’t a trick. Why rob these small-time buildings when you could get in one shot ten times the amount you’ve gotten from all the places you’ve robbed so far. And who knows, if you do good, then maybe we could keep you on the payroll.” Juice asked, “Who’s your boss?” The man walked over to Juice and said, “Never mind who I work for, just know that if you get the job done, then this is what you will receive.” Then he handed a piece of paper over to Juice and started walking away.

  Juice looked at the paper with the amount of money and answered quickly, “I’ll do it?” The man said, “Just take care of a little pest named Spear.” Juice looked at the guy with electricity flowing through his pupils and stated, “When I’m done with him, there won’t be a spare left. I’m going for a strike.” The man looking confused mutters, “I don’t get the gesture.” Juice replies, “Spear… like in bowling. Go for a strike. You know what, never mind.”

  A week later Spear was doing his normal runs in Jersey City when all of a sudden he saw electricity sparkling at a nearby building. He then got that same strange feeling he got before when he first met Shrink. Spear jumped down to the roof of the building to check it out. When he got closer, he saw that the person causing all the commotion was a guy in a long red T-shirt and a bad haircut. When the man stepped out in the open, Spear said, “Before I take you down and call the police, who are you supposed to be?” The guy turned and said, “They call me Juice.” Spear laughed and said, “No, seriously, what’s your name?” Juice said, “I’m not joking. My name is Juice. What’s so funny?”

  Spear asked, “Seriously, Juice, are you sure you’re not sponsored by Kool-Aid? You got the whole red thing going for you. You must really be a fan of the big guy?” Juice snapped, “Shut up, Juice as in electricity juice.” Then he shot a lightning bolt at Spear. Spear jumped out of the way and said, “Whoa, watch where you're aiming that thing, KoolAid.” Juice screamed, “That’s not my name! The name is Ju—” But before he could finish his sentence, Spear punched him in the face sending him flying, but at the same time, he took a feedback shock and was sent flying in the opposite direction slamming into a parked car. Spear shook it off and said, “That’s one heck of a static shock. He must have been running on rugs all day,” he shook his head, “Well, that’s enough resting, gotta take him out quick then.” Spear rushed over to the direction he had knocked Juice in. He saw a hole in the wall of the building and Juice was lying still on the floor. Spear got closer to see if Juice was still alive, after all he did just go through a wall. When he got close enough, he said, “Kool-Aid, you alive?” Juice grabbed his leg and said, “That’s not my name,” then began to electrocute him. Spear fell to one knee, and with his last ounce of strength, he punched Juice causing him to let go of his leg. He then fell to his back, drained from the shock. Juice got up and said, “Not talking much now, are you?” He then began to form a lightning ball when the soundsof police sirens got louder. He stopped and said to Spear, “If you want to finish this, meet me at the pipe factory in Secaucus tomorrow at midnight.” He then jumped out the window in the back and ran off. Spear shrank back to normal. With the sirens getting louder fast, Spear had little time left. He jumped out the back and looked for a way out. He couldn’t make a run for it; he couldn’t jump to the roof because he was too weak to jump that high. So he looked and saw a fire escape. He used whatever strength he had just to jump onto the fire escape ladder. He then began to climb up slowly until he got to the roof. It was still too unsafe to rest, but he knew he had to get out of there. He couldn’t stay on the building roof because he ran the risk of the police finding him up there. The next roof was too high to jump and the fire escape was on the other side of the building so Spear had to come up with something. He reached in his backpack and pulled out a homemade grappling hook with strong cable wires. He started swinging the hook around a few times and threw it to the top of the next building. Luckily it caught on the first try. He then began to run and jump off the roof at an angle. He ran along the side of the building and jumped off swinging around to the side with the fire escape. Once he made it to the roof, he took a quick rest to recharge. After his quick rest, he peeked over the edge and saw the police scattered all around the building. Spear snapped back to size then ran across the roofs to get back to where he had parked his car. He was done for the night.

  The next day Nick went to Neil’s house. Neil opened the door and said, “Damn, Nick, you look like crap.” Nick walked in and said, “You don’t know the half of it.” Since Neil attended nursing school, Nick figured he’d have him look at his injuries. While Neil treated Nick’s injuries, he told him everything that happened last night. After Neil finished treating Nick, he said, “So you gonna actually fight him again.” Nick said, “I have to, I can’t back down from a fight, and besides, I don’t think he’s gonna let me do my job in peace if I don’t fight him.” Neil said, “But he almost killed you. You’re not scared at all?” Nick said, “It doesn’t matter if I am or not. It’s something I have to do. If I don’t, who else is will? But anyways, I gotta go. I gotta think of a way to beat him.” Nick was about to walk out Neil’s room when he saw a pack of cigarettes. Nick then said, “I thought you quit.” Neil answered, saying, “I did. I just found that in a drawer.” Nick said, “So you won’t mind me taking them and throwing them out, right?” He then took the pack and put it in his pocket. Neil said, “Right, catcha later.”

  Later that night, Spear showed up at the pipe factory. He checked out the area to see if anyone else was there. The coast was clear. Just then Juice walked out into the open. Spear said, “So, KoolAid, you recharged your batteries.” Juice said, “I’ve got more than enough juice to take you out.”

  Spears replies, “Take me out, and this is where you choos e for our first date.” Juice then replies, “I gotta give it to you, you’ve got guts. Coming here after almost getting killed by me . . . And what are those, rubber gloves? Haha, that’s your plan to beat me, rubber gloves, not to mention the fact that your whole upper body is exposed with a vest and you’ve got like two lightning rods on your back? Ha, and people say I’m stupid.” Spear said, “Hey, Kool-Aid, I could be butt naked for all I care and I’d still kick your butt.” Juice yells, “The name is JUICE! And you will respect me!” Spear said, “Respect you, I don’t even know you. Why are you even fighting me?” Juice said, “There’s somebody that really wants you off the street and is willing to pay a lot of money to get that done.” Spear said, “What’s his or her name?”Juice said, “Idon’t know and Idon’t care, as long as I get paid, I’m good. And besides that, you’ve made a little name for yourself out there. When I kill you, I’ll be known as the guy who killed Spear.” Spear used that moment of Juice talking to sneak attack. This ti
me Juice was ready and jumped out the way and ran inside the factory. As he ran, he said, “You’re not gonna catch me with that again. What’s that saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice—” Spear cuts him off, “You’re an idiot?” When Juice gets in the factory, he called out, “Why don’t you come in here and see who’s the idiot?” Spear took out the two rods from his back and said, “Let’s get started,” then looked at the two metal rods in his hands and muttered, “Yeah, I shoulda thought this through a little more.” He slowly crept into the factory, making sure to look all around, ready to fight. A lightning bolt came out of nowhere, and Spear jumped out the way. He then ran over to where it came from, but when he got there, it was empty. Juice jumped out and shot electricity from his hands toward Spear. He dodged out of the way, but the electricity curved and struck the two rods in Spear’s hands. With the gloves on, the electricity didn’t hurt him, but then the electricity traveledfrom the rods to Spear’s body and stunned him, causing him to drop them. Juice then used this moment to run over to Spear. He balled up his fist and drew electricity into them. He began to unleash a barrage of punches filled with electricity. Every punch felt like a Taser to the body and they hurt, especially the ones to the head. Spear took a hard hit to the face and slid across the floor, slamming into a wall next to an open janitor’s closet. He looked in and saw a bucket with water in it. He got an idea. He stayed on the floor until Juice got closer. When Juice got within reach, he threw the bucket of water on Juice… Nothing happened.