Maximus Thatcher

by Robert Miller

  Max lowered his head and kept walking, trying not to notice that everywhere were happy, laughing faces.

  As he passed a dark alleyway, he heard sounds coming from the far end. In the darkness, he couldn’t see in detail what was happening, but as he looked closer he could make out a bunch of guys cornering another group.

  The ground was wet and the streetlight flickered, casting jumping shadows every few seconds. There were tall buildings to his left and right as he walked down the alley to a dead end.

  Steel ladders climbed the buildings, leading to the different levels of the apartment blocks. Max walked as softly as he could, trying to avoid stepping on the broken glass that littered the alleyway, attempting to get a better look at the thugs.

  As scary as the situation appeared, Max felt no fear; the situation he was about to get himself into seemed the only thing to do. By the time he was halfway in, he had nevertheless scanned his surroundings, checking for escape routes, just in case.

  As he drew close to the bunch of guys, he could see the faces of the cornered boys and quickly realised that it was Deon and his school friends.

  “Turn around!” yelled Deon in a panicked voice, drawing the attention of the bullies to Max.

  “Ah! Another one to add to our list,” said the man standing before him. Max stood, motionless, not letting a single sound leave his mouth.

  “Beat it, punk, if you know what’s good for you,” said a second man from beside his shoulder. Max observed the three men and couldn’t help but grin. He could see that his grin darkened all their faces and they tightened their fists in preparation.

  “You think something’s funny, boy?”

  Max could see that Deon and his friends looked terrified. The last thing they wanted was for Max to worsen their situation.

  “I just think it’s funny that the bullies are getting bullied,” replied Max.

  “Do you now? Well, you can just join your buddies.”

  “I don’t think so,” smiled Max.

  The man on the left stepped forward and punched Max in the face. He could have easily dodged the blow, but he wanted to feel what it was like to be in power. He stood as still as he could, idly rubbing the spot where he was hit.

  “Was that it? I give you a free shot and you can’t even ground me?”

  The thugs looked stunned. Not only did this boy seek out trouble, but he also mocked them.

  “How dare you!”

  The men were infuriated and now surrounded Max.

  “You stand no chance against all of us.”

  The first man threw a punch, but swung too hard and missed his mark. Max caught his punch, clenching his hand around his fist. The thug tried to break free of Max’s grip but it was useless.

  Max could tell that the man behind him had begun to close in and he pulled his victim close, using his elbow to deal a knockout blow to the man’s forehead. A beat passed and, with perfect timing, Max dodged the approaching fist that threatened to connect with the back of his head.

  The second man’s hand rested on Max’s left shoulder and he quickly spun around, driving a fist into the man’s lungs, dropping him with a squeal.

  The third man quickly came to his friends’ defence. Unfortunately for him, he swung with the same style as his friends, reckless and with no sort of calculation to his striking. Max made quick work of him, pulling his arm over and around his neck, choking him very effectively.

  He had taken out all three of them without breaking a sweat and Deon and his friends gaped at him, speechless. Max could feel the man struggling in his grip, frantically tapping on his hand for release. Max let go and the man crumpled to the ground.

  “Get these two imbeciles out of here.”

  The man nodded, limping over to the two men on the ground and after hauling one to his feet, he carried the other with his arm around his shoulders. They all retreated from the alley as quickly as possible. The flickering light partly illuminated Max as he turned back to Deon and his friends.

  “Are you crazy, man?” squeaked Deon, finally finding the courage to talk.

  “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t do the same to you,” replied Max.

  The tension remained, but the group inched closer to Max.

  “What’s the matter, Nate? Don’t you remember what happened in the park?” he asked, looking down at the boy, anger swirling in the pit of his stomach.

  “What of it?” barked Nate.

  “Put your differences aside, lads. We have bigger fish to fry,” said Deon, the only one who seemed to be clued in to the situation.

  “What do we do now?” asked John, looking paranoid. So much sweat rolled down his face that it looked as though it was raining and he wiped his face with his sleeve. His paranoia made the alleyway seem smaller. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, his breathing hard and fast.

  “Relax, John! Take deep breaths,” bellowed Nate, rushing to his side. At that point, things got worse when Max saw two vans pull up at the end of the alleyway.

  Max nodded as he stood in front of the boys. He could see much more clearly now that the moon had risen above the buildings and was shining straight down into the alleyway, reflecting in the puddles at his feet.

  Ten men jumped from the van wielding baseball bats, pointing at Max and smiling in a very unfriendly fashion.

  “Guys, we have a problem!” yelled Deon. He watched as Max began to stride towards the vehicles, portraying a confidence that Max himself didn’t know he had.

  The men drew closer, some slapping their bats against their palms, still smiling.

  The same helplessness that had left Max unconscious on the dojo grounds now spiralled around him once again. Never again did he want to feel lonely; never again did he want to be in a bad situation he could have prevented.

  His scar grew hot and his power sky-rocketed, his anger beginning to mushroom. He howled at the sky and shot out a burst of lightning that bounced off both buildings, missing the men by inches.

  Max could see real fear in the men’s eyes as they struggled to come to terms with his power. The men didn’t risk stepping out into the electrified puddles: Max could see them staring in awe at the puddles as if they had never seen one; a puddle so charged with electricity that it bolted from one side to the other.

  “Go,” one of the men nudged.

  Max lifted his hand and gathered energy into his fingertip, shooting a beam of lightning straight at the group. Before the beam actually hit them, however, it stopped dead and Max realised a force field had been set up around the men.

  Max held his energy, concentrating hard on not breaking the flow of lightning that spurted from his finger. He pushed with all his inner strength, shattering the force field, the lightning beam splitting in two.

  The men bore witness to the bolts of lightning scattering to either side, fading into the distance and, as if as one, they dropped their bats and quickly jumped into the van, which screeched away around the corner.

  It was dead silent. All the boys could hear was the crackling of the electricity remaining from Max’s attack.

  “I think you boys should get going,” said Max, his back turned to them. They didn’t need to be told twice and they nodded in respect as they passed him and left the dark alleyway. Max stood there in silence, lifting his gaze towards the rooftops.

  “You can show yourself now,” called Max, his voice echoing off the tall buildings.

  The silhouette of a man appeared on the rooftop and he began making his way down the flight of steel stairs.

  “That was very impressive,” said the man, his heels ringing on the steps as he descended.

  “You didn’t have to put up that barrier. I wasn’t going to hurt them,” Max explained, watching as the man jumped from a few feet up and landing gracefully on the ground.

  “Anger is a funny emotion. You can never be too careful,” the man replied.

  “Anger can be controlled,” said Max, strongly.

  “Yes, it can, a
nd so can power.”

  “Why am I running into so many powers?”

  “A questioned well asked. If I put you in a room with swordsmen and told you to spot the swords, what would you see?” asked the man.

  “Swords,” Max replied.

  “Exactly. So, you are the one looking for the powers.”

  “ You’re making no sense!” Max laughed.

  There was a second of silence as Max tried to get a good angle on the man, but found it difficult. He seemed wise and patient. The name Uncle Jade popped into his head as he considered the man’s evident personality traits.

  “Who are you?” asked Max, curious about this latest of several contacts in only a few weeks.

  “I’m Alexander the Third,” the man replied, shaking Max’s hand.

  “Okay, Alex, and what could you possibly want from me?” he asked, sarcastically, still unsure of his present situation.

  “Show respect!” barked Alexander.

  “Why?”

  “Because I am the Head Master of Elementrix.”

  Max’s eyebrows rose: that had grabbed his attention.

  “A school?”

  “A place for boys and girls with gifts like yours; a place where you don’t have to run and hide, a place to call home,” said Alexander.

  Excitement formed in the pit of Max’s stomach. So many questions had been answered in the space of this short conversation. It explained Hilary’s uniform; it explained why he never saw anyone with powers when he was a Non.

  “A school for Power Users,” Max echoed, trying to convince himself it was real.

  “Will I be accepted?” Max asked.

  “Your bloodline has been attending the school for decades,” Alexander replied.

  Max’s eyes widened as even more of his questions were answered. Now he wanted to understand how he had become the last of his bloodline.

  “Maximus, I have a place in the school for you. I will not force you, however it is in your best interests to attend.”

  Max paused for only a second, then: “Okay, yes,” he agreed.

  “Good. That settles it. We’d better get you to your new home as the night is growing shorter. If you could please stand right next to me, we shall be off.”

  Max stood quietly beside him as Alex pulled out an earphone, which he placed into his right ear, calling the flow network. After a moment he heard a weird popping sound coming from just beside them.

  “Splendid,” said Alexander as a small, young man arrived at their side.

  “Where would you like to go, Sir?” asked the young man.

  “To Elementrix Pillar, please,” nodded the Head Master.

  The young man grabbed onto each of their arms, preparing for the jump. The next second, Max felt a weird sensation, as if his body were travelling at the speed of light through what appeared to be different dimensions. Cities and towns came as short glimpses, skipping past with frightening speed.

  Very soon, he spied their destination in a flash of bright light. All the muscles in Max’s body tightened, a crushing feeling settling upon him.

  “Relax,” said the young man, who was still in front, gripping onto him. Max struggled for a few seconds but finally let go. The tightness flowed through him and out of his body and then the light consumed him.

  Chapter 7

  Expectations

  The teacher and his followers arrived with a puff of dust and Max fell to his knees after the sheer speed of the journey. His head had begun to throb and his stomach churned as if he were going to throw up.

  “You all right there, boy?” enquired Alexander, casually taking in the fresh air of the cliff side.

  Max wiped his eyes and made a feeble attempt to get up. He gripped the boy’s proffered hand and stood up with his hands over his head, trying to blink away the dizziness.

  “Not the best I’ve felt, but I’ll live.” He was dazzled by the sunlight hitting his face and suddenly realised that he was only inches away from the cliff’s edge. Taking a hasty step back, he gazed from cliff side to cliff side and, after looking around for a moment, focused on the large pillar in the middle of the canyon.

  “Eh? What’s that?” said Max, trying to get a closer look at the building on top of the pillar.

  “It’s the place where you will be staying during your time here,” replied the head teacher. He smiled at Max, knowing exactly what he was thinking: How on earth were they going to get over there?

  “Looks great, but what are we doing all the way out here?” he questioned.

  “Ah, you see, funny you mentioned that, because here is where your journey begins.”

  Max raised his left eyebrow and looked at both Alex and the young man standing beside him.

  “I love this part!” crowed the young man, making his way over to Max and shaking his hand. He slipped his card into Max’s hand and whispered in his ear, “If you ever need to go anywhere in a hurry, just speak the inscription on the bottom of the card and I will come to your aid. It was a pleasure meeting you, Maximus.” The young man let go of Max’s hand and made his way back over to where Alex was standing.

  “Right, shall we start? You will be given certain tasks that each student must complete in order to progress with their education. Some will be pointless and others not. All tasks are for the benefit of the students and the school. Are you following me with this?”

  Max just stood there and nodded, indicating that he understood what he was being told.

  “Since you understand, I can now give you your first task to complete. Every student has gone through it and so must you. Make your way up to the school before sunset.”

  A silence fell between the three of them and the only thing Max could see was the big grin on the young man’s face.

  “Okay, is that it?” replied Max looking directly into Alex’s eyes.

  “Indeed it is. Let’s begin, shall we?”

  As soon as Alex had finished speaking, he lifted his hand and blasted an invisible force into the centre of Max’s chest. Max felt himself lifted off the ground and within seconds could see the cliff side right in front of his eyes. The wind rushed past him as he fell. Fear blossomed in his chest and he began to panic. Faster and faster he sped and the rock beside him blurred.

  For the first time since Max had got his powers, he felt completely helpless.

  Turning his head, he saw the sandy surface of the canyon bottom fast approaching and all he could do was close his eyes.

  A few seconds passed and Max grew confused: surely he should have hit the bottom by now? He was too afraid to open his eyes and check, but gradually gained enough courage to slowly open his left eye and have a look.

  His body hovered over the sand and was stock still. He tried to move and twist over, but as soon as he did, his body dropped and he landed on his back, looking up at the sky.

  “Oh, very mature!” yelled Max, picking himself up off the sandy surface and wiping at his shirt in an attempt to brush the sand off his back.

  He turned his head to observe the pillar and could only think of one way of getting up there; to climb. He began walking towards the pillar and estimated that it would take him forty minutes and, judging by the placement of the sun, it would take him around four hours to climb the pillar itself.

  He started walking the hot and sticky trail, watching the pillar come closer and closer with each step. When he arrived at the pillar, the sun had disappeared from the rocky surface that now lay beneath Max’s hand. He tilted his head at a ninety-degree angle in an effort to glimpse the top and sighed when he failed to do so.

  Extending his right arm, he grabbed onto a rock just above his head then, by placing his toes into the rocky surface, was able to pull himself up to grip the next rock with his left hand. He continued this process, hauling himself over awkward angles and small rocks.

  He climbed to a small shelf in the pillar’s surface. It was clearly the halfway point and Max could feel his arms and legs start to stiffen. The sun was only h
alf an hour away from setting and yet Max felt drained, his vision beginning to blur.

  “If I could just have an hour’s sleep, that would do the trick,” he mumbled to himself as he curled up and drifted off.

  He awoke to a dark sky and fumbled to the edge of the shelf to check the sun’s position.

  “Oh, hell! I overslept.”

  He swung his body to the right of the shelf and quickened his pace, trying to regain the lost time.

  He finally made it to the top and when he pulled himself, panting, onto the flat ground he could see a man in a white dress robe approaching him.

  “Well done, young master. The teacher insists that you clean up for supper and join him and the rest of the students in the hall,” said one of the many servants who lived on the grounds, with an accent that reminded Max of a humble man he once met.

  “Sure thing, thanks,” replied Max still trying to regain his breath.

  “This way,” said the servant, dashing off with surprising speed. Max scrambled to his feet and found himself pushing an uncomfortable speed just to maintain his position beside the servant.

  He was shown the bathroom and was left a set of white school robes to wear. He cleaned himself up and emerged wearing the white robes of the student.

  The same man escorted Max through a couple of hallways, on the walls of which hung paintings of the school’s previous Head Masters.

  “Here we go, young master. Make your way to the main table over there.”

  Max followed the man’s pointing finger and then turned back to thank him, but the servant had already made his way to the end of the corridor and was now out of sight. Max couldn’t suppress a smile as he made his way over to the main table. He looked around at the lines of tables that were filled with students and teachers and felt himself blush under the pairs of watching eyes.

  Alex stood up and made his way over to Max. “Well, that’s a first, sleeping at the halfway point,” said the teacher, laughing and patting him on the back.

  “Yeah about that…”