by David Bruno
“There. That’s it,” he said on his knees as he patted the soil down. “Oh, Jenn. I really screwed up. It’s my fault you’re here and not with us all these years. They say I’ll be seeing you soon. Please put in a good word for me up there. I’m so very sorry.” He placed his hands on the stone and looked at the inscriptions. His name had already been added to it. The only thing missing was the date. He knew it would be added soon, probably in just a few days.
JB stood up and wiped the moisture from his face. Gathering his composure, he walked by the other gentleman on his way to his car.
The man asked, “Are you okay, sir?”
“Rough couple days,” JB replied, not turning to address the man as he walked away.
*****
SPRING 2019: SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
Benny sat on the back patio of his inherited family house. The lawn was overgrown and splattered with weeds and empty beer bottles. He was alone and couldn’t bear to be in the company of anyone, even his best friend, Joe. He hoisted another beer to his mouth as he thought about the past year. The people he needed and loved the most were gone. His father and all three grandparents. The most recent, his Grandpa Dave, had been buried two weeks ago. All had succumbed to the same set of ailments brought on by radiation poisoning. Benny knew that if he hadn’t been kicked out of school, the family wouldn’t have spent as much time around that table and most of them might still be alive.
The loneliness and guilt were all-consuming. Sure, his great-uncle Adam and his extended family only lived a couple hours away. They visited once in a while and offered to help Benny any way they could. They’d lost family too. But Benny was closer to it all.
After his father’s passing, Benny had inherited a majority share in a company at which he had really never wanted to be employed in the first place. He chose to work as little as possible. The company was in good hands and really didn’t need him. Benny stood up and tilted the bottle up to empty the last drops into his mouth. When it was empty, he tossed the glass into the yard and wiped drops from his three-day-old stubble. The bottle shattered as it smashed into a pile of others. Benny walked into the house and locked the door behind him.
CH 13
DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES
SUMMER 2019: SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
Benny shook the hands of the board of directors of his former company. Plans were underway to transfer the money from the sale of Benny’s shares to his personal account. It was a relief. He wasn’t cut out to be a foundryman. Doing it without his father was impossible. He was now free to be his own man.
The words of his father haunted him—he needed a purpose.
“I’m very sorry that you’re leaving us, Benny,” said the chairman of the board. “JBMelting won’t be the same without the Brown family. You know you’re always welcome here. If you ever want to come back, call us. There’s always a place for you.”
“Thanks, Tom. I appreciate you understanding why I need to leave. You’ve all been very good to me and my family over the years. Take care of the good people who work here.”
Benny knew he wouldn’t be back. He needed to get away—to leave town.
*****
A FEW WEEKS LATER
“Benny, you know this is insane, right?” Joe said to his friend. He was overcome by the gesture from Benny. “You can’t just give me your house.”
“Of course I can. I don’t need it anymore. The mortgage is paid and all the paperwork is done. Is a dollar selling price too much?” Joe stood in stunned silence. “I’m gonna tour the country and maybe the world. I just don’t want to be here. You have to understand that. Too many memories. Just do whatever you want with the stuff in the house. My personal things are already packed in my RV, and I’m ready to leave.” Benny had used a portion of his sizeable inheritance from his family and the sale of the foundry to purchase a brand-new, top-of-the-line twenty-five-foot motor home. He wouldn’t exactly be roughing it on his adventure.
“I know, Benny. You’ve had a hard year and I want to be there for you. It would be great if I could go with you, at least for a while. We could have some fun and get into trouble.”
“I’d like that too, and I appreciate it. But you have a life and you’re engaged to Emily now. I need to find a life for myself. Some solitude and freedom might do me some good for a while.” Benny hugged his friend and handed him the keys to the house. Before long, he was in his new RV, pulling out of the driveway. He waved to Joe one final time and honked the horn as he pulled away from the house and disappeared into the distance.
Joe stood in the driveway in shock at the speed of the events that had led to Benny’s departure. He worried for his friend and knew there was so much more that Benny was keeping inside. Joe knew that Benny needed to get it out and wanted to be there to help him through it. But that wasn’t meant to be. Joe turned back toward his new house and said to himself, Oh, Benny. I really hope you find what you need. Come back soon, pal.
*****
A COUPLE HOURS LATER
Max had observed the events in Benny’s life over the past year. He knew that Benny was in a deep funk with no direction. If Benny left town, he couldn’t look after him as required by the Agency. Max was at odds with the Agency, though, and knew his days with them were numbered and perhaps his life was forfeit after his usefulness in recruiting Benny was over. He’d made a questionable deal that he knew would be broken, either by the Agency or by him. He was determined to control the terms of the break. Benny was worth saving, as much as his beloved daughter. He knew that now. The Agency must be destroyed if they were to be safe. Preservation of freedom worldwide was a secondary bonus to Max’s personal agenda. But Max knew he was not powerful enough to do it himself. With his lack of superpowers and bum knee, he needed help. Benny and Vanessa were certainly powerful individually. If only he could figure out how to get them to team up, they just might be able to defeat the Agency and secure freedom for themselves and everyone else. It would be a tall task for seasoned superheroes, perhaps unthinkable for rookies. But there were no other alternatives.
“Vanessa!” he shouted. His daughter was always busy doing something. She was still living at home while she worked to rebuild her life. The incident at college seemed forgotten. As long as she didn’t flaunt her powers or interfere in Agency business, it seemed she would be left alone. She had a good job, starting from the bottom and slowly working her way up. Friends called on her regularly, and she always had social obligations. Better still, she seemed happy.
“What, Dad?” she shouted from her upstairs bedroom.
“Come down here. We need to talk.”
“What’s wrong, Dad?” She looked outside through the front window as she came downstairs. In the driveway was a used motor home. “Whose RV is that?”
“Nothing’s wrong, dear. We need to pack up. I want you to come with me. I found someone like you while at a photo shoot some time ago. I’ve seen him use his powers and he’s the real deal. We need to meet him. He’s leaving town today and we need to track him down.” This was the best half-truth he could come up with. The Agency had provided the funds for the used RV in which they would follow Benny wherever he roamed until Max figured out how to recruit him for his own small team of superheroes. The Agency knew from Max’s reports that Benny was now ready to be recruited. The command had been for Max to surrender Benny as soon as possible. The Agency had plans for him. But Max had other plans. On the surface, he would play along with Dr. Doe. When his team was ready, he would strike.
“No way, Dad! I have a life here. Besides, that sounds like stalking,” protested Vanessa. Her life finally had some stability after the debacle at college.
“Listen, Vanessa. It’s temporary, just a couple weeks. He’s a nice guy and you might like him. I think he may be a product of the Agency, much like you. He’s been through a very bad time and needs our help. We’ll be back afterward.”
“Seriously? I thought you left all that Agency stuff behin
d. Doesn’t he have family to help him? What good will I be?”
“His family is dead. All of them. He’s lost and lonely. Don’t make me beg. You have powers and he may listen to you. You’ve shown that you are a protector, an aegis for those who cannot protect themselves. You’ll be a good example for Benny. He knows his powers, but not how to use them the right way. You do. I need you for this.” He smiled at his daughter and held out his hand to take hers. “Please.”
*****
DAY ONE OF THE TRIP, WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
Benny drove, unaware of the tracker app on his cell phone. He took his vehicle onto the PA Turnpike and headed west through the tunnels, past Pittsburgh and into Ohio. The satellite radio provided his only company aside from his thoughts. Memories of the past year never left his mind and haunted him when no other sounds could drown them out. He tapped his hands on the wheel as he listened to the preprogrammed playlist of hair metal. It reminded him of his father and happier days. The roads were dark, cool and quiet. His mood darkened like the roads as evening approached.
Benny sighed as the day turned to night. This isn’t right. What am I doing? There’s nothing out here for me. I can’t do this. He pulled the vehicle over at a pull-off area along the highway and shut off the engine. He put his head down on the steering wheel for a moment before heading toward the bedroom area. Traffic continued to pass by as he pulled the shades down tightly. Benny reached for a box in a drawer under his bed. Within that box was his .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol and a box of hollow-point rounds. He slowly and methodically loaded a single round into the chamber and sat on the bed.
How has it come to this? he thought as he looked around the RV. This is all I have and all I am. My mother was stolen from me before I was born by some government experiment. It left me with incredible abilities but cost me my family. I don’t belong here. I don’t want to be here. Benny looked upward as if asking for divine intervention and put the firearm against his temple. He sat motionless for several minutes, which felt like eternity as he wrestled with the decision to be made. Off in the distance, a church bell tolled, breaking the silence of the evening. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He knew the pain was about to end.
“Forgive me. Please, let there be peace for me. My time has come. The bell tolls for me.” Without further hesitation, he closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger. The pin struck the primer and ignited the powder. Instantly, the projectile accelerated from the barrel and smashed into Benny. The hollow point expanded and flattened on the pink skin on the side of his head. Benny’s head was flung to the side as his brain tried to remain stationary. He fell quiet and motionless onto the bed. The pistol fell to the floor with a hint of smoke still rising from the warm barrel. Its work was done. Benny rested in peace.
*****
“I don’t think the fish are biting today, Benny.” The sun shone brightly on the lake. Snowcapped mountains stretched majestically off in the distance. Benny sat in a small fishing boat. Next to him was a familiar person—his father, JB. There were no other boats on the lake. “Are you paying attention?”
“What? How? You’re dead,” Benny stuttered in amazement.
“Dead? Do I look dead to you? Just cast your line.” Benny looked to his side and found the rod he’d purchased several years ago. He’d had big plans to go fishing with his dad until he realized what had to be done after the fish was caught. He didn’t like the idea of gutting the fish, so the rod and lures that he had once treasured sat unused in the garage. If he remembered correctly, though, they’d been sold at a yard sale a couple years ago. How could they be in the boat?
“This isn’t real.” Benny smiled as he cast his line into the water. It didn’t feel like a dream. There was no floating sensation that usually accompanied his dreams. The details were far too accurate and real. The lake was calm and motionless except for the tiny waves around his bobber. “I’m dead, right? This is heaven and we get to fish from now until eternity. Somehow, I expected heaven to be a little more fun. Maybe this is hell—I did just shoot myself.” Benny amused himself at the thought and even laughed. It was probably the first laugh he’d had in a year. “What now?”
“Shut up and listen, Benny!” his father shouted angrily. It was not common for his father to raise his voice with Benny. When he did, Benny paid attention. “What’s wrong with you? This is not who you are! Why did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Don’t play dumb. I know what you did. You sold the company. Fine. I get that. It was never what you wanted. But then you left behind everything you know. Goofy Joe is now sleeping in my bedroom. Did you know that? Good grief. Sanitize that place the next time you go there or you may get some kind of disease. Now this. You try to kill yourself!”
“What do you mean ‘the next time I go there’?” Benny fixated on that comment above the others, as it seemed to be an indication that he wasn’t dead after all.
“Benny.” JB’s voice softened. “I don’t care about the house, the company, or what Joe is doing. I care about you. I want you to be happy. Your life is a blessing. It sure was to your mother and me. Treat it that way. You’re not going to be happy if you can’t get over us and try to have a life.”
“How can I do that? It’s only been a few months since Grandpa Dave died. A little over a year for you. What am I supposed to do?”
JB turned to his son while still holding his fishing rod. “Remember what I told you: find your purpose.” He turned his attention back to fishing. “Oooh, I got something! Help me reel it in.” Eventually they reeled in a large rainbow trout. “It’s a beauty, isn’t it? We’ll have it for dinner tonight, Benny. Put it in the cooler and let’s go back to shore.”
Benny did as his father asked and started the motor.
As the boat approached the shore, a third figure came into focus. The closer they got, the more the figure looked like a woman. This person began calling to them. “Benny! JB! I have some lemonade for you guys.” The woman held up two glasses of the sweet yellow beverage. Benny could see a smile on her face. She was familiar. A face he had seen in pictures and old videos.
“Mom?”
*****
Benny’s seemingly lifeless body jolted back to consciousness. The bullet fell to the floor. “Mom! Mom!” he shouted. He frantically looked across the motor home from his bed as his eyes tried to adjust to the darkness. His mother wasn’t there. Had it been a dream? Had he been dead and come back? Was it merely the hallucination of a man who’d just shot himself in the head? No matter. It felt real on all levels. Whether the events he’d seen were real or not, his feelings were undoubtedly real—shame. It was the soul-crushing shame of knowing that you have done something so horrifying that the only thing to do is to beg for mercy. To make it worse, with this kind of shame there was no way he felt deserving of mercy. He fell to his knees and sobbed.
The physical pain set in to compliment the emotional distress. His head screamed with unthinkable agony. The dull, deep-seated pain emanated from the center of his brain. No doubt he had a concussion. That realization was confirmed as he accidentally placed his hand in a pile of vomit on his sheets. He curled his nose. “Ugh. That’s nasty.” Benny unsteadily walked to his bathroom sink to wash his hands. With his freshly clean hands, he felt the side of his head where the bullet had impacted, inspecting it in the mirror. There was nothing. No bump, no blood, nothing. He looked normal except for the unusual deep pink, almost red tone to his skin. Power coursed through his veins, unlike anything he’d felt before. His muscles throbbed with pent-up energy like a fully compressed spring. He needed to release energy—now! Benny grabbed his shoes and sprinted out of his RV.
Benny left the door open behind him and ran into a copse of trees that were still covered with morning dew. Those driving by may have mistaken his haste for the need to relieve himself. They would have been correct but this was different. Benny needed relief from his excess energy. He came to a spot out of sight of drivers and unleashed his fu
ry on an innocent midsized tree, easily knocking it to the ground. He repeatedly picked it up and smashed it into the other trees until nothing was left but a pile of splinters. Benny gasped for air and dropped the remaining wood fibers as he slowly returned to normal. Normal, for Benny after the use of his powers, included ravenous hunger.
Back in the motor home, Benny hurriedly assembled a pair of sandwiches to satisfy the ache in his stomach. They were consumed with unusual zeal in a matter of seconds. Sanity and reason slowly returned to Benny as his blood-sugar levels rose back to normal. His powers had saved his life. Only gifted people could do what he had done and live to try to be a better person afterward. No matter how he’d gotten his powers, he needed to find a reason for them. The reminder from his father had been necessary; he needed a purpose.
*****
Over the next couple weeks with his life renewed, Benny decided to wallow in misery no longer. Life was too short and he had a responsibility. While he still preferred solitude, he found he needed to be around people at times. Maybe he could do some good. So he took on temporary employment at various places even though he didn’t need the money. Working allowed him some contact with other people, something he’d thought he wanted to avoid. He was still a transient and never got close to anyone. He worked as a dishwasher, janitor, and landscaper—never staying more than a few days. His powers were safely tucked away. Still, they needed to come out, occasionally. Without them, he was only half the man he knew he could be.
Outside of Minneapolis, Benny came upon an advertisement for security guards for a local bank. This was it, he thought. He could protect something or someone. If bad guys tried to rob the place, he could stop them. Benny was hired on the spot but not permitted to be armed. That didn’t matter to Benny. He was the weapon.