Pretty Much Invincible

by Carey, Stephen

  Marching forward, Sally said, “We’re coming in. Sorry.” Sally and her father were not going to wander around alone forever. God knew if they would ever find another group of people.

  On reflex, Carla raised her rifle. She then told herself that she could not shoot a child. Carla lowered her gun. “Turn back, kid!” she said forcefully.

  Sally leaped up into the air and landed down behind Carla. “I’ve got superpowers!” Sally said proudly. “You want me to be part of your group now?”

  Staring at Sally in disbelief, Carla said, “What the fuck are you?” Panicking, she quickly raised her rifle and took a shot at the little girl (she was no little girl).

  Sally felt the bullet bounce off her shoulder. Then, Super Sally dashed toward Carla and lunged at the woman. Carla was now on her back with the little girl mounted on top of her. Sally took the rifle and tossed it away—it landed near Shane’s car. Sally felt another bullet hit her in the ribs—it tickled. Up on the rooftop, a man with a rifle and scope. Sally jumped up to the rooftop, disarmed the terrified man, and tossed the gun out to her father. Then she rapidly went from rooftop to rooftop disarming all the gunmen, tossing their weapons away, being very careful not to knock anyone down to the ground below. The gunmen could not believe their eyes.

  Sally hopped down to the street as more men and women came running out of some houses—all of them armed. Sally counted at least ten people with guns. They all opened fire and Sally held her arms up to her face, mainly because she didn’t want her goggles to get damaged. Bullets tore through Sally’s clothes and cape. For nearly ten seconds, Sally stood there, twitching, as bullets bounced off her impenetrable skin.

  “Stop!” Sally yelled as she put out her hands. “Stop shooting, will ya!”

  Everyone suddenly stopped shooting. The crowd looked around at each other in confusion.

  “Great,” Sally moaned, looking at all the holes in her clothes. “Just great.” She then looked around at all the scared and bewildered faces. “We just want somewhere to stay. Please!”

  A sudden sound—behind Sally. She quickly turned to see a large man running toward her with...

  A damn chainsaw!

  Sally raised her arm as the man attempted to bring the chainsaw down on her head. The thing tore through her sleeve but it could not get through her unbreakable arm. Sally grabbed the chainsaw, threw it to the ground and then stomped all over it—smashing it to pieces. Sally glared at the large man and he slowly backed away.

  “Hand over all your guns. Now!” Sally said forcefully.

  Some people complied immediately, others were staring at the deformed bullets scattered all over the street. But everyone eventually dropped their weapons. Sally picked up gun after gun, throwing them out to her father.

  When it was all done, Shane exited the car, the ground around him covered in rifles, pistols, and shotguns. He smiled and nodded. “Good girl.”

  Sally went over to the line of cars and pushed the centre vehicle forward. Then she pushed it to the side, clearing a path for her father. She returned to Shane and they both loaded up the trunk of their car with the guns—nearly twenty of them in total.

  “Good work, kid,” Shane said as they got into the car.

  They drove into the neighbourhood, the crowd staring with their mouths wide open. Who the hell were these people forcing their way in? And what was this little girl? Clearly not human. Shane stopped the car in the middle of the street and a man in his late fifties, wearing a trench coat, approached. The man tried to put on a brave face, but he was clearly nervous (nervous to say the least). Shane rolled down his window.

  “My name is William Holloway,” the man said. “I’m the leader of this group.”

  “I’m Shane. Shane Rogers. This is my daughter, Sally.” He scanned the area. “Any of these houses available?”

  William glanced at the little girl (or whatever the hell she was) in the passenger seat. “No. All these houses are taken.” Beads of sweat formed on his brow.

  Shane’s eye’s narrowed. “You’re lying.” Of course he was lying. It was very unlikely that there were enough people here to fill all of these houses. “Me and my little girl just want somewhere to stay.”

  “We don’t want any trouble.”

  “There won’t be any if everyone cooperates.” He tried not to sound too threatening.

  William couldn’t help but blurt out what was on his mind. “What the fuck is she?”

  “She’s my little girl, asshole!”

  “She’s...” William couldn’t stop staring at Sally.

  “She’s what?”

  “Please, leave us in peace.”

  “We can help you people!” Shane exited the car so that everyone could hear him loud and clear. “You all saw what Sally can do! She’s special! She can do things no one else can! She can be a great benefit to this place. She can help you. She can protect you all! I promise you we’re not infected, you don’t have to worry about that. We just want a place to stay.”

  Nobody in the neighbourhood was comfortable with this girl staying here. Surely the darkness had made her! Only the darkness could make such a thing!

  ---

  Most of the houses in the neighbourhood were still in good shape, some had fallen apart. Shane parked the car in the driveway of a vacant house. He then walked up to the door where William was waiting.

  “This house used to belong to Zack,” William said, distraught. “He recently... left the group.”

  The one-armed man came into Shane’s mind. “He left, or he was banished?”

  “He...” William glanced at the house. “Anyway. This place is yours... for now.”

  Sally got out of the car, all eyes on her. She wasn’t quite sure if she liked all the attention or not. Outside a house across the street, she saw a scared little boy hug his mother. Sally smiled and waved, the boy and his mother turned and went inside.

  She would win them over. Soon.

  ---

  I swear to God, I used to know this place like the back of my hairy hand. Now, I can’t go from A to B without getting lost. I’m constantly fucking disorientated. It’s the darkness, you see. It’s doing it. It messes with everything—even your goddamn sense of direction.

  For a while... I couldn’t even remember what damn country I was in! Can you believe that?

  CHAPTER 11

  The big, bad monster stomped its way across the city, knocking down building after building. It seemed like there was no stopping this thing. Bullets... nothing. Rockets... nothing. It was a gargantuan, indestructible, furry beast, with one enormous red eye. And it would not cease.

  There was only one hope—Super Sally Rogers!

  Sally zoomed up into the sky, looked the furry giant in the eye, and raised her fists. The beast kept moving forward, Sally hovered backward to keep some distance between herself and the creature.

  “Stop!” Sally bellowed, with her hands on her hips. She wasn’t quite sure what she was expecting, but the thing kept moving slowly forward.

  Another building collapsed due to the beast. That was enough, this monster had to be put down. Sally flew at the beast, ready to—

  The beast swatted Sally like a fly—she rapidly spiralled toward the evacuated street below and crashed down hard. But it had done her no real harm. Her pride was dented. Stupid! Got hit by such a slow, clumsy creature! Dust yourself off and get back up there, hero!

  In no time, Super Sally was back in the air, her silver armour glistening in the sunlight. This time, the beast did not even see Sally coming.

  Pow! Right in the eye!

  Sally had hit with more force than a thousand rockets. The creature wobbled, then it fell over, taking one last building with it. When the dust settled, there was no sign of the humongous beast. Puzzled, Sally landed down for a closer look.

  After scanning the area, Sally spotted the thing, only it had shrunk to the size of a small child. Sally approached with caution.

  The beast sat up and rubb
ed its aching eye. “Thank you,” he said to Sally as she came closer.

  Confused, Sally tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “Thank me?”

  “You have stopped me from causing any more harm. Thank you!” Tears came out of its big eye. “It was so terrible, I couldn’t control myself. All that destruction...” The beast sprang to its feet and dashed at Sally—it wrapped its arms around her tightly. “I had no control over what I was doing, you have to believe me! You have to!”

  Gently, Sally rubbed the back of the creature’s furry head. “I... do. I do believe you.”

  “Thank you! I’m so sorry for all the harm I have done!”

  Before Sally could respond, the dream faded.

  ---

  There was not a whole lot in the house—barely anything. A table in the kitchen, couple of wooden chairs and a sofa in the living room. There were three bedrooms but only one of them had a bed. Shane slept on the sofa, it was warm enough to sleep without covers. Sally took the bed, but she struggled to get to sleep—too much on her mind. As always.

  The next morning, Sally hopped out of bed and quickly got dressed. So many holes in her clothes, she would have to get a new outfit soon. Her cape was on the floor in the corner of the room, it was also full of holes. Her yellow gloves lay next to the cape. The gloves were in no great condition, either. At the foot of the bed were her goggles—at least they were OK.

  Yeah, Sally would need a new costume. New clothes, new costume, new life.

  She made her way into the living room where her father was still sleeping on the sofa. Sally gave him a gentle nudge and whispered, “Dad.”

  He just mumbled something without opening his eyes. Best leave him a while longer. There was a knock on the front door. Sally opened the door to see William.

  “H-Hello,” William said nervously. “I... wanted to... speak with your father.”

  “Just a second.” Sally closed the door and approached Shane. “Dad,” she said, louder this time. “William is here to see you.” She shook him. “Dad! William is here!”

  Shane sat up abruptly. “Fuck!” he roared. Then, he realised he had been dreaming. “Sorry. Sorry, Sally. What is it?” He wiped the sweat from his face.

  “William is here. He wants to talk to you.”

  “OK.” Shane gathered his thoughts. “Go wait in the bedroom.”

  “Sure.” She reluctantly went back into her room.

  Shane opened the door and let William in. “Have a seat,” Shane said, gesturing to one of the small, wooden chairs.

  “Thank you,” William said as he took a seat. “How did you sleep?”

  “Like shit.” Shane returned to the sofa. “Bad dreams.”

  “Yeah, we all have them.”

  “What are your dreams about?”

  Nothing he was willing to discuss with this stranger. “Lots of things.”

  “Yeah...” Shane’s mind wandered.

  “Listen, em...” William nervously rubbed his hands together. “You can’t... you can’t stay here. I mean... not permanently.”

  “And why the hell not?” Shane took a deep breath.

  “I’m asking you... please... leave. A few days here, fine, but then...”

  “A few days, huh?” Shane scowled. “We’ll see.”

  “Damn it, you can’t just force your way in here—into our home—and, and...”

  Shane held up his hand to silence William. “Look, I understand...”

  “That girl of yours...”

  “What about her?”

  “What made her that way? Was she born like that?”

  Shane noticed the hint of disgust on William’s face. “No,” he said loudly. “At least, I don’t think so. Maybe she always had this inside her. But it was only recently we discovered... she was different.”

  “Are there more like her?”

  “I...” Were there? “I don’t think so. Not that I’ve seen.”

  “And you really have no idea what made her this way?”

  “I can’t explain it. One day she just... became what she is.”

  “No one can explain it,” William said grimly. “This thing that’s killing the planet, no one can explain it—no one. Your girl, you can’t explain her.” With his arms folded, William thought for a moment. “It has to be connected,” he finally said. “It can’t be a coincidence.”

  Shane considered that point for a moment. But he did not like the idea of Sally’s powers being connected with the darkness.

  “The second stage,” William mumbled to himself.

  “What?”

  “Just something some crazy old fool once said.” William decided to elaborate. “He said that there would be a second phase to all this. First, the darkness weakens us, then... something else. Something will come along to finish the job.”

  “What exactly are you trying to say?” Shane asked angrily.

  “Nothing!” William held up his hands apologetically. “As I said, it was the words of a crazy old man.”

  Shane rubbed his throbbing temple. “William, we’re staying here and that’s final. You’ll see, it’s the best thing for everyone. You should all be grateful me and Sally came along.”

  “Do you think people are going to accept you with open arms after—”

  “OK!” Shane roared. “Then tell me! Tell me what we can do to make everyone feel better? How can we help today?”

  Scratching his balding head, William thought about the various tasks that needed to be done. Maybe he could make use of this girl, until her and her father were convinced to leave. “There’s always something to do around here.” Then he thought about the guns. “Oh, you could start by giving everyone their weapons back. Nobody is comfortable these days without a gun on them.”

  “Fine, I’ll give everyone their guns back.”

  “Ammo. We’re running low on ammo. Especially after yesterday—people wasting their time and bullets shooting at your... girl.”

  “What do you want us to do about that?”

  “Maybe send the kid out to search for ammo?”

  Shane shrugged. “Just send her out and hope she finds ammunition lying around?”

  “Plenty of dead bodies out there with guns and ammo on them.”

  “Fine. I’ll send her out to see what she can find. What’s the food situation like around here?”

  “Not bad. For the moment.” William thought about Sally and her powers. “Your girl eat much? All those things she can do, must take up an awful lot of energy.”

  “She eats just the same as a normal little girl,” Shane said defensively.

  William nodded. “Right. Well, we got chickens, rats, and some goats.”

  Shane recalled his first time eating a rat. Rat sandwich. He had quickly gotten used to rat—no choice.

  “We got cats, dogs,” William continued.

  As far as he was aware, Shane has never eaten a dog—nor did he ever want to. But he would eat one if he really had to. “Water?” he asked.

  “Some. Hasn’t rained in quite a while, so, a little low.” William tapped his fingers together. Within the next two or three days, he would try again to convince Shane to leave the neighbourhood. For now, there were other things he had to attend to. “Well... I got plenty to be doing.”

  “Sure. Alright, then, I’ll send Sally out later today.”

  They both stood and Shane extended a hand. William reluctantly shook it.

  “If you want me, my house is only a few doors down,” William said. “The one with the chicken coop out front.”

  Sally had heard the whole conversation from her bedroom. Her hearing was clearly sharper than it had been before. Another superpower—slightly better hearing. After she heard William leave the house, Sally returned to the living room.

  “Did you hear much of that?” Shane asked.

  “All of it. Loud and clear.” She thought for a moment. “I don’t mind going out to collect supplies, but...”

  “What?”

 
; “I don’t want to leave you alone with these people. Not yet.”

  Shane had thought of that. “We’ll just have to tell them what will happen if they try anything.”

  “And what exactly will happen?” she asked, uneasy.

  “They’ll have to deal with you.” He smiled. “Anyway, they’ve probably already thought of that, so they likely won’t do shit.”

  “Language.”

  “Sorry.” Shane went to the window and looked out at the empty street. “They’re terrified of you.”

  “Can’t blame them. I’d be scared of me, too.”

  “They’ll behave themselves. It’ll take a while, but they’ll get used to us being here. And then things will be just like the way they were before.” Shane thought of Bruce. Bruce had been a great leader (bit of an asshole, but a great leader). Perhaps Shane could be a great leader, too.

  Yes. Perhaps. Lead them. Take charge. Lead them. Take charge. Take.

  CHAPTER 12

  After a pretty miserable breakfast, Sally and Shane stepped outside and looked around. There, a few houses away, the chicken coop. They made their way over to William’s house and knocked on his door.

  William opened the door and said, “Hello.” He faked a smile.

  “I’m sending Sally out now,” Shane said. “You need to make it clear to everyone... if they do anything to me while she’s gone, there will be trouble. Understand?”

  “Yes.” William glanced at the little girl, his heart began to beat faster. “Understood.”

  “OK, then.” It felt good, he had to admit, being the one who was feared. “I’ll get everyone around to my place and they can collect their guns.”

  She did not seem like a bad kid, William thought. But what if that changed? What if that power inside her began to corrupt her mind? If her power were related to the darkness somehow, it could start to warp her brain—just like the damn darkness had done with so many other people. So many of William’s people.

  Science would not be able to explain any of this. No, this was something that had been put into motion by a higher power.