People clapped. They were happy this possibly tragic scene had ended well, at least in the sense that there was still hope for this desperate soul. People came at the man and accepted him, thanked Tyrone, and organized a way for the man to rest and get help. Tyrone wasn't going to walk down and give a speech. He knew the cost of popularity, so he disappeared out the back door.
There is another story worth mentioning before expanding on the main crisis this hero found himself in, and that's a bank robbery.
It occurred on a Saturday afternoon. He was resting on a terrace, taking little sips while enjoying a cool glass of juice. The day was bright and warm. Nothing seemed to suggest the threatening scenarios the people in his close environment would soon be in.
Tyrone saw it all happening before it did, though. He anticipated the three gentlemen in suits, hiding their faces behind sneaky masks as they would barge into the bank on the other side of the street within minutes.
He would not let them.
This was his moment of bravery.
Out of the blue he stood up and walked towards the bank.
"Can I help you, sir?" somebody behind the counter asked.
"Ssshhh ..." Tyrone said, holding his finger in front of his mouth.
He hid behind a pillar of the expensive, glamorous interior of the company, waiting on the expected bad guys to go into the lobby. His forecasts were right. Pulling guns out of their bags, the trio announced their reason for interrupting.
Shooting in the air, they said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to take the money which is rightfully ours. Move and you die. Stay still, shut up, and you'll live. If we can just all comply, no one will get hurt.
The common thing that always happens was something Tyrone saw before it happened too.
"Hey, do not try to be a hero," one of the burglars would say, examining and seeing an employee reach for his cell phone.
Tagadagadack!
He would shoot the man in the chest with his machine gun.
It didn't actually happen, but it was going to happen. It wasn't too late yet. Tyrone knew it. Within a flash of a second, he turned around the durable column he was leaning his back against and elbowed the robber in his throat. The startled outlaw instantly dropped his weapon and fell over. The other two turned around, but it was far too late. Tyrone had already disappeared behind another wall.
"Where did he go?" one of them asked in a terrified voice.
"Are you playing games? Show yourself!" the other yelled.
Tyrone didn't need a mirror. He didn't need a reflecting surface or someone signaling him when it was safe to attack. He knew exactly when the two robbers would turn the other way, and he waited on the accurate moment to strike. After about 10 seconds, this is what occurred and with the back of their heads facing his direction, the way was free to grab their heads and slam them against one another.
Knockout.
All three of them.
The weapons were lying next to them on the floor, but none had the strength to reach for them, since their level of awareness was that of a sloth.
Before his applause, the hero leapt out of the door and disappeared out of sight.
Chapter 2: The Infamous Thing
Anybody who knows about Tyrone's superpower to anticipate the near future must be in shock when they hear that he leaves the honor he could have gotten by a pleased crowd. But experience has taught this young hero the harshness of reality and the spontaneous judgments of humans.
He has determined to keep himself away from the honor of the masses, since he understands how fleeting and unstable it is.
Tyrone gets back and laments the spontaneous propensity of these basic creatures to condemn and rebuke. He reviews a previous occurrence that ruined him financially. Whether his rightful money is in his pockets, he does not care. He just wished it would have been otherwise. Why do people always attempting to get things for free?
This is what occurred:
Someone found eventually that Tyrone could anticipate the future, at least in a minimal way. He found out by the little things, like when Tyrone played cards, caught a bottle falling on the ground, or avoided a harmful chauffeur when he was crossing the road. This malicious person did not care about making somebody suffer. He simply wanted cash ... as much as possible.
His name was Jake. He devised a little plan and fooled Tyrone into losing a suit. The dirty liar ... miserable that people get away with those deceitful kinds of strategies.
There they were, being in a court room, exchanging spiteful glares at one another. The room was primarily brown, embellished with easy patterns on the ceiling. Crowds of people were curious to see the outcome of this supernatural phenomenon Tyrone was implicated of having the ability to activate. There were at least 50 people in the court room, as well as several in the corridors who were awaiting the end results. The judge had a substantial hammer and pounded the pulpit as he pleased, happy to be in charge and having the ability to exercise his profession.
Tyrone's legal representative was as incompetent as a young kid, but Tyrone didn't have a lot, so trying to find a better one was out of the question.
" What do you have to say in your defense?" the judge asked Tyrone.
" Your honor, I never planned to split the system or to get money in a dishonest way," Tyrone said.
" But you know how and that's not fair!" Jake's lawyer blurted out as he got up.
" Mr. Tyrone," the judge continued, "Do you deny the power of predicting the near future?"
" I don't," Tyrone boldly announced.
" Then don't you think," the judge continued, "that it's possibly hazardous for you to get in the lottery, no matter how low the price of the tickets? If anybody else had this power, they could apply the same to easily win all the cash for themselves."
" But I didn't," Tyrone said.
" He's lying, your honor," Jake said.
" Order!" the judge shouted. "When I want your witness, I will enable you to come to the stand."
" I ask forgiveness, your honor," Jake said.
" Mr. Jake's attorney, your customer has made a dreadful accusation. Are you able to back this claim up?"
" Yes, your honor. Exhibit A here shows that Tyrone has purchased a lottery ticket, fully familiar with which numbers would make him win."
Putting the lottery game ticket on the table, he smirked and kicked back in his chair.
" You know I purchased that ticket for you!" Tyrone shouts. "How dare you use this against me, you double-crossing weasel?!”
" Order, order," the judge says.
The whole thing blew up. There was mayhem in the courtroom. People were mad, guards were contacted to relax the circumstances. And to make a long story short, the end result was that while Jake got a truckload of money for winning the case, Tyrone had to pay a big charge and was forbidden to ever participate in the lotto, and mixed emotions existed among the populace.
Tyrone hasn't done much after that to use his anticipating power. He has kept a low profile. He doesn't rely on the common citizen as much as he used to. Just like any celeb or somebody in the spotlight, there is always danger hiding beneath the surface triggered by those who abuse the system and the wicked opportunities laid out for them by life.
Chapter 3: The Life
Tyrone wakes up. He finds himself panting just because of a nightmare he does not remember. All he understands, is that it has left him anxious and sweaty, even minutes after his awakening. It must have been dreadful dreaming about this.
He sits up for a minute or more, then gets up and gets a cup of chocolate milk. Back to reality. He stares at the pigeons outside. One of them is silly enough to fly into the glass window.
BANG!
The fat bird slides down after somewhat splitting the glass. Ridiculous pigeon. Why would you fly against the window like that? Didn't he see it? Oh well ...
Tyrone resides in an apartment, not too far away from his mom and dad, who live about 6 blocks away from hi
m. Tyrone's apartment is small and basic, but he loves it.
He enjoys his own space, with the freedom to do whatever he wants. Every other day, though, he visits his parents to see if they are doing all right.
This day is no different than any other day, or so it appears to be initially. Tyrone's superpower is limited to the nearby future, but rarely extends into the foreknowledge of things to come hours or days ahead of him. He does not mind. All he wants is to be happy and if anything comes his way, he will stand ready to assist.
Ultimately, this day is different than the other days. He feels it. He just doesn't know what is wrong, or what is going to be wrong. In any case, he makes himself hurry to his mom and dad place this time, as his hunch is stronger than ever before.
" Knock knock!" he says as he opens the door.
Empty.
The house is empty.
" Mom! Father!" he screams, expecting an answer.
" Are you here? Remember I was going to come by today?"
No response.
He walks through the living-room. Every little thing is in its place. Nothing has been moved. The neat little room is neat as ever. He opens the door to the bed room.
What an important difference! What a mess!
Things are turned upside down in the bedroom. The sheets are off the beds, the dresser has fallen on the floor, and even the mirror has broken into a thousand pieces. This is not like them. Something took place here.
Chapter 4: Speeding
Tyrone fears for his father's and mother's lives. The tough job ahead of him has now become some kind of detective assignment to solve the puzzle and figure out what happened to them.
Before calling the cops, Tyrone searches for tracks, anything the abductors left. Through the piles of clothes, the broken furnishings, and the ripped matrass, he searches and searches till ...
" Hey, what's that?" he asks aloud to no one in specific.
It's sculpted sandstone.
Tyrone bends over and rubs the stuff between his fingers.
" I know where this is originating from," he says. "There is only one place outside the city where you can find ripped sandstone: the Rocky Caves. Perhaps these little grains of sand were in the bad guy's pocket when he took my mom and dad."
He prowls into some other objects but couldn't find anything particular.
" To the Rocky Caves it is," he says.
Tyrone heads back to his condo. He goes through the busy city streets, crosses the crosswalk without waiting on it to become green, and maneuvers his way through the crowds. When he enters his place, he puts on his mask and his superhero clothing.
He takes a look at his old pre-owned bicycle. It's a superannuated piece of scrap that he just uses to save himself some gas. But this circumstance needs more extreme measures. Forget the bicycle. There is something better in the garage.
" How's it going friend?" he says to another vehicle standing in the corner. Raising the sheet, which is covering it, he thinks about the last time he used this fantastic speed devil.
" Time for a ride," he says in a low voice as he hops on his precious, glimmering motorbike. "This is going to be awesome."
The motorcycle is crimson red. Its shiny surface area depicts flames and small patterns unnoticeable to the naked eye, unless a person comes closer and shows some appreciative respect to it. Its engine is effective and makes its rider go superfast. Tyrone enjoys this thing. It feels like a dream riding it. It's just more expensive and vulnerable, which is why he only uses it to get out of the city.
" Prepared to go, bikey?" he says as if talking with an actual person.
He sits down, kicks the engine on, and prepares to speed out the garage door.
VROOOOOOOM!
He races through the city and feels alive. Only a couple hours till he gets to the Rocky Caves. This is going to be ...
Tyrone was going to say "fun," but he gets held up by traffic. Great another red light. And another, and another. It just happens to be rush hour and Tyrone is stuck in a traffic jam with his bike, feeling that the potential of this fast beast of a vehicle gets untapped.
" What a waste," he says. "It is just like I could arrive faster on foot. If only I had known about this earlier, I could have avoided the rush hour. Now everybody is just going to work at the exact same time. Ughh ..."
The long, hard struggle to get out of the city is taking a lot longer now. After about 5 hours of sighing and complaining, the rush is finally over.
" Woohoo!" Tyrone cheers as he takes off and hits a constant typical speed of circa 80 miles per hour on the freeway leading out of his home town, heading for the rocky range of mountains. What he will find there, will stun him, to say the least.
Chapter 5: Impending Doom
This is it, the Rocky Caves. His parents must be over here somewhere. It appears so easy, and yet it is not. Why? Because there are miles and miles of mountains here, all containing the sculpted sandstone he found in his father's and mother's bed room.
His persistence has limitations, but his sense of futuristic events helps him find a distinct area on instinct. Tyrone searches and searches, and then senses something happening in one of the mountain caves near him. After about an hour of looking around, he finds the deserted cave.
Tyrone pulls over, puts his motorbike against a rock, and slips into the cavern. He has to be prepared for anything, he thinks.
" No, I need a different one! Hand me the spruce leaves and the allium!" he hears a voice yell.
" Okay, boss," an apparently less intelligent voice answers.
As Tyrone approaches the light originating from the hollow opening in the cavern, he observes 5 guys, each of them armed to the teeth. He can only guess how much the arms and pistols cost that they are holding and keeping in their pockets and holsters.
One of the men appears like he supervises, giving him the impression of a laboratory rat, with a white coat and a pair of glasses.
" I need uncommon fern, magenta wool, poppies, and some of that sculpted sandstone from the rocks. That will be the correct mix, trust me," the man in the white coat says.
" Hey Schmear, where do you want this stuff?"
" In the corner," the professorsays.
These combos sound dangerous, and they are, seeing that this mean man is adding them into a tube next to an immense rocket.
Tyrone looks around. He evaluates the situation. The rocket (what is that for?), the Professoror whatever he calls himself, and the 4 armed men. Then there is the ... hey... those are his mom and dad!
On the right side of the cave, his parents are bound and gagged. They can't see Tyrone, but Tyrone can see them. Nobody has seen him so far actually, a practical benefit he is more than ready to use.
" Ha-ha-hah!" the person with the glasses exclaims. "This is it. Let's check it on our guinea pigs."
He walks over to Tyrone's father and mother and disposes the stuff into their mouths.
" Nooooo!" Tyrone shouts, but it is too late. Why he didn't see this coming, he does not know. His powers left him alone. He couldn't forecast it. And now this bad guy poured some who-knows-what into his parents' mouths.
" Who goes there?" one of the thugs asks after hearing Tyrone's cry.
" Do not bother," professor Schmear says. "These two will be prepared within seconds."
Tyrone keeps hiding. But as he looks above the rim of the rock he is hiding behind, he sees his two father and mother turn into something ... well, something different. Their eyes redden, their mouths start foaming, and their sense of reality appears to disappear as they transform into some monstrous sort of zombies. Needless to say, this brand-new poison they have taken in has a trigger effect on their aggressiveness.
" Stand back. Let's see what they will do," the Professorsays. "Hey, little hero! If you're still there, just come out wherever you are! We will not shoot you!”
For some reason, Tyrone trusts his words and leaves his hiding place.
" What did you do to the
m?" he asks in anger.
" You'll find out quickly enough, as all of us will," Schmear says laughingly.
Tyrone's mother and father break their bonds and roar loudly.
" Aaaarrgghh!”
After this expression, they storm at Tyrone and jump at him, pulling him to the ground and standing prepared to put their teeth into him.
" M-mom. Dad. It's me!" Tyrone says. "Snap out of it. Please!”
But it is without results. They have been transformed. They do not have any memory, compassion, or emotions whatsoever; just a blood thirst and a craving for human flesh.
Tyrone dodges their attacks and punches one of the punks in his face before getting his gun.
" St-stand back," he stammers. "I don't want to kill you."
His mother and father aren't listening. They are only driven by their desire to kill. Ignoring Tyrone's remarks completely, they start another attack and run at their child.
BAM! BAM!
What just occurred ...?
It is as if time stands still for a moment. Adrenaline is flowing through Tyrone's blood. His heart pumps much faster than an ADD boy on the drums. He holds his breath. Fumes ascend from his hot rifle.
He just killed his mother and father.
A sense of loss and unhappiness hurries through his extremely soul. He still can't really believe what happened.
" Hahahah!" the wicked professor laughs. "It works. All set to load, boys!”
With no regard for Tyrone and his dead dad and mother, the man in the white coat puts a mixture in the rocket, all set to launch the thing. The Professor pushes the button and launches the rocket.
" There it goes! Hahahahahah!”
Chapter 6: Trouble Came
" What did you do?!" Tyrone cries out. "You have turned my parents into monsters! I had no choice but to shoot them!"
" Not just your mom and dad, boy," the wicked professor says, "But the entire city! Hahah!"
Anthology of Horror Stories Page 3