Pretty Much Invincible

by Carey, Stephen

Shane held his hands up apologetically. “Sorry, William, I meant to come and talk to you about that.”

  “Did you?” William clearly did not believe that.

  “Yes!” Shane glanced at Lucy. “There is no reason why she can’t stay. Now that...”

  “I see,” William grunted, fury in his eyes. “Now that my son is gone! Now that Carla is gone!”

  “Well... yeah,” Shane said awkwardly.

  God damn this outsider! William grabbed Shane by the collar and violently shook him. “I am the leader!” he roared. “I decide who stays and who goes! You fucking hear me, asshole?”

  Shane pushed the old man away. “Calm down! I understand why you’re upset—I do. But I can’t let you—”

  “Let me? This is our home, we’re supposed to...” He was wasting his breath.

  “I’m sorry about your son,” Lucy said softly. “But you have to listen to reason.”

  “Reason?” William yelled. He looked at Shane. “Did this... fucker listen to reason? No! He just kicked my son out of his home... because he had a feeling!”

  “If you had seen him yourself...” Shane rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I’m not going to keep repeating myself.”

  Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat! It would never get into the old man’s thick head.

  He’s not making the right choices, Shane thought. He’s not fit to lead.

  Shane noticed a few people staring over. “Lucy stays,” Shane said firmly, locking eyes with the old man. “It makes sense. It is the right thing to do. I’m done talking about this. Go home, William.”

  That’s it, Shane, tell him! He’s just a bitter old fart who wants to punish you for doing the right thing—for doing what he could not.

  “You know what?” William said, gritting his teeth. “If it wasn’t for that freak show of a daughter... I would order everyone to rip you apart right here, right now.”

  Shane smirked. “Well, it’s a good thing my little girl, my superhuman little girl, is here to protect me.” Put this little man in his place. “You better watch your mouth, or I’ll get Sally to pick you up and kick you out of this neighbourhood.” More, Shane, keep going. “Or maybe I’ll get her to—”

  Lucy grabbed Shane by the arm. “That’s enough. Let’s all calm down.” They were all going to have to live together.

  Abruptly, William turned and stormed off.

  ---

  Sally had been going around the neighbourhood asking people if they wanted any help. As always, they just stared, fearfully, at the little girl who was stronger than ten men. Dejected, Sally made her way home. As she entered the living room, she saw Shane and Lucy sitting on the sofa. They both had a strange look in their eyes and their cheeks were bright red. Sally had a pretty good idea what was going on, she had seen it coming. She did not really know how to feel about it, so she decided to feel nothing.

  Shane cleared his throat. “Hey, Sally. You OK?”

  “I’m fine,” Sally replied dully. “I’m gonna hang out in my room for a bit.” She went to her room, hopped onto the bed, and sighed.

  One of these days, everyone would be glad to have Super Sally around.

  ---

  Sally was slouched on the sofa, staring at the goggles in her hands, wondering what she would do today. Shane and Lucy were having breakfast (more tinned beans) at the kitchen table, giving each other silly looks, smiling. Two love birds. Sally pretended not to notice. She thought about going over and closing the kitchen door, but that would just make things even more awkward. Again Sally wondered how she was supposed to feel about Lucy and her father. It has not been long since the death of her mother. Was this right, moving on so fast? Right or wrong, it was happening.

  Get up, Sally. Go put your costume on. Someone out there might need your help.

  ---

  Nothing but fear. Everyone so afraid. All Sally wanted to do was help, get a cat out of a tree—anything. But the people of this neighbourhood just wanted distance between them and this little freak.

  I’m not a freak! I’m... a superhero. I will protect you all. Just give me a damn chance. Let me help. I can do things that no one else can do—as far as I know—and no one wants me to help them.

  Be reasonable, Sally. You are a little kid with immense power. You forced your way in here and you could tear this place apart in a heartbeat. People are afraid to put a foot wrong—the consequences could be disastrous. But do not give up, show them that you are a light in the darkness.

  I am a light!

  ---

  Shane was returning to his house with a big bucket of water in his hand (trying his best not to spill a drop). He entered the house and went into the living room. William was sitting on the sofa, revolver in his hand. The angry old man aimed the gun at Shane.

  Wide-eyed, Shane slowly placed the bucket onto the floor. “William? What are you doing?” he said shakily.

  “Sit down,” William demanded.

  “OK. Relax.” Shane sat on one of the small wooden chairs. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  William’s fear was now apparent. “Too late.”

  There was a long silence.

  “William, what the fuck are you doing?” Shane asked. “You’re not going to shoot me.”

  He won’t shoot. Doesn’t have the balls. Won’t! Bluffing! He’s afraid of your weapon!

  “I’m going to ask you one more time. Leave.”

  “No,” Shane said firmly. He was confident that the old man was too scared to pull that trigger.

  “Listen to me. I will give you supplies, lots of supplies. And weapons.”

  “No.”

  “What do you want? What will it take to get you to leave my neighbourhood?”

  “It is not your neighbourhood. Not anymore.” Shane smirked.

  “You have that girl of yours—she will keep you safe out there. You have a much better chance of survival than Danny does. I want him back where he belongs.”

  “We’re staying and there is not a fucking thing you can do about it!” That’s it, tell him. “I will be a better leader than you ever could.”

  William was a desperate man. “We have the woman.” His hands began to shake.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We have Lucy.”

  Shane scowled. “You stupid old bastard.”

  “She is welcome to stay here with us, if you and your girl leave. Lucy will not be harmed... if you agree to go.”

  “Where is she?” Shane yelled.

  “I promise you no harm will come to her if you go. She will be treated the same as everyone else around here.”

  William seemed to be sincere. But it made no difference, Shane and Sally were not going to be kicked out. Don’t let him push you around, Shane. Don’t let him make demands, not when you have all the power.

  “Well?” William said, his heart racing.

  Shane laughed. “Well... I think you are going to return Lucy, safe and sound, and then I might just forgive you.” Shane stood. “Do it, old man. Bring her back. Now.”

  “If you do not agree to this... I will...” Beads of sweat formed on William’s forehead.

  “You will what?” Shane bellowed. “Look at you! You’re shaking! You will not do a fucking thing because you know what will happen. Anything happens to me, to Lucy, Sally will destroy this place.”

  William stood, keeping his gun on Shane. “I know. But I don’t have much of a choice.” He looked Shane in the eyes. “What’s it going to be? Refuse, and Lucy dies. Agree, and she will stay here as one of us. I know how much you care about her. I just want you out and my son back—if he’s still alive. I want full control of this place again.”

  Shane laughed out loud. “You fool! Stupid bastard! You don’t have the balls to do anything. You’re bluffing, old man.” He took a few steps forward. “Go ahead... shoot me. Kill Lucy. See what happens.”

  “I’ll d-do it!” William said shakily. He put the gun to Shane’s forehead. “I’ll kill you both if I
have to!”

  He won’t do a thing, Shane, look at him. Silly old fool. He’s full of shit. He won’t do anything as long as you have the most powerful weapon in the world.

  “Sally,” Shane said, smirking. “She can not be stopped. She could wipe you all out in the blink of an eye. And then, who knows, maybe she’ll go find Danny and rip him apart—if he is still alive.”

  Trembling, William lowered his gun. “You son of a bitch,” he groaned.

  “Give me the gun.” Shane extended his hand. “Now!”

  The old man obeyed.

  “Now, take me to Lucy,” Shane demanded. He tucked the gun into his jeans. “Move!”

  That’s it, Shane, you are in control.

  They exited the house with William leading the way. Shane said, “If Lucy is hurt, in any way, you’re in big trouble.” He looked up to the sky and, as loud as he could, yelled, “Sally! Sally, come here, quick!”

  Within seconds, Sally appeared in the sky. She landed down hard near her father, cracking the road under her little feet. “What’s wrong, Dad?” Sally asked, worried.

  “They’ve taken Lucy,” Shane said. “We need to get her back.”

  “They took her?” Sally’s eyes widened with concern.

  “Yeah.” Shane turned to William. “But he’s going to show us where she is.”

  “I don’t understand?” Sally said. “What’s going on?”

  “You just make sure nobody does anything stupid.” Shane pushed William. “Get moving, old man!”

  William took Shane and Sally down the street, to the house where Lucy was being held. A man with a rifle was guarding the front door. The rifleman was shaking with nerves as Shane marched up to him. Shane kneed the rifleman in the balls and took his gun. The front door was locked, Shane pounded it with his fist. “Open this door!” he yelled.

  “Do it,” William said, despair in his eyes. “Open it.”

  A scared young man with a pistol opened the door. “William...?”

  Shane shoved the young man aside and entered the house. “Lucy?” he yelled.

  William entered the house and said, “She’s upstairs.” He looked up to the ceiling and shouted, “Bob, bring her down!”

  “You better not have hurt her,” Shane said to William. “I’m telling you!”

  Moments later, young, chubby Bob came down the stairs holding a pistol to Lucy’s head.

  “Drop the gun!” Shane demanded. “Now!”

  Bob glanced at William.

  “Do it,” William said.

  Bob had a tight grip on Lucy’s arm. “We should just kill them,” Bob said angrily. “Right here, right now!”

  “No!” William said. “We can’t. This was a mistake. Let the woman go.”

  Bob looked like he might just do something stupid. Sally took a few steps forward. “Let her go,” Sally said calmly.

  “Fuck!” Bob yelled. “This is our home, William!”

  “I know,” William said. “But we have to do as they say.”

  Reluctantly, Bob released his grip on Lucy’s arm and lowered his gun.

  Lucy ran over to Shane. “You OK?” Shane asked, rubbing her shoulder.

  “I’m fine,” Lucy replied, her heart pounding.

  No! Bob could not stand it! His blood began to boil. Suddenly, he raised his gun, aiming it at Shane. “Fuck you!” he yelled.

  On reflex, Sally struck Bob in the chest with her palm—he flew through the air, smashed through the kitchen door, and bashed his head off the sink. He was out cold.

  “Good girl, Sally,” Shane said. He took a deep breath, then stormed over to William. “You stupid asshole!” He punched the old man in the stomach, William dropped to his knees. “You need to keep your people in line!” Shane kicked the old man in the mouth, loosening some teeth. “Well... they’re my people now! And they will do as I say!”

  “Shane, that’s enough,” Lucy said.

  Her soft voice calmed him somewhat. Shane composed himself. “You are not fit to lead. From now on, I am in charge. Completely!”

  “Dad?” Sally said. She was kneeling on the kitchen floor.

  “Yeah?” Shane said, keeping his eyes on William.

  “Could you... come here... please?”

  “What is it?”

  “Could you... come here?”

  “Coming.” Shane walked into the kitchen and immediately noticed blood—a lot of blood. Bob’s blood, pouring out of the back of his head.

  Sally was on her knees, staring with big, wide eyes. “Is... he... OK?” she asked, fearing the worst. “Will you... see if he’s OK.”

  All that blood, of course he was not OK. “Sally...” Shane said softly.

  She quickly put her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. “No!” She did not want to hear it.

  Shane knelt down beside Sally and gently rubbed her back. “Sally...”

  William entered the kitchen and then froze in horror. “Bobby?” He moved closer to the body, slipped on blood, and crawled over to his dead friend. William checked Bob’s pulse to confirm the obvious. Dead. “No,” he whimpered. “B-Bobby.”

  “No!” Sally screamed as she jumped to her feet and ran out of the house.

  “Sally?” Shane yelled. “Come back!” He got to his feet and glared at William. “This is all your fault.”

  Shane left the house as William mourned over his dead friend. There was no sign of Sally outside. Out on the street, Shane roared, “Hey! Everybody! Come out and listen! Come on, get out here!”

  Everyone in the nearby houses came out of their homes to hear what Shane had to say.

  “Listen up!” Shane yelled. “Me and my daughter are here to stay! You can not get rid of us! From now on... I am in charge! You do as I say or you can get the fuck out of here!” Shane couldn’t help but enjoy the fearful look in everyone’s eyes. “If you fall in line, we will help you. We will run things better than William ever could!”

  You a big man now, Shane? Big man with big balls?

  Shut the fuck up, Bruce!

  Covered in Bob’s blood, William staggered out of the house.

  Shane pointed at William. “This man did something stupid to try and get rid of me and Sally. As punishment, he is banned from this neighbourhood.” Yes, make an example out of him. “Tomorrow, old man. I want you out of here tomorrow.”

  Staring at his bloody hands, William was trying to process everything that had just happened.

  CHAPTER 18

  Blood. All that blood. All because of her. Heroes don’t kill! Ever. Never kill. Never ever. Never again will Bobby smile, wave to a neighbour, tell a loved one how he felt. Never skip, never dance, never pull up his underpants. Gone—for good.

  Bye, bye, Bobby—please wave down from Heaven... or scream up from Hell. Wherever you are, you can never return. Hope it’s comfortable in Heaven or Hell—or even, maybe, Purgatory.

  Bloody Bobby’s bashed-in brains. That image refused to fade. That image would not be going anywhere any time soon.

  Accident! Did not mean to! Did not! Didn’t you? No!!

  Sally was sitting on the floor, crying her eyes out, with her back to her bedroom door. Her costume had been ripped apart and left at the end of the bed. No more playing hero. Heroes don’t kill!

  Villains do! No! I’m not a villain! But I wanted them to fear me, yes? I... did... sometimes. I enjoyed the power! The control! Yes, but... only a little.

  Be honest, little mouse, you enjoyed killing him!

  No! I didn’t!

  Her father has killed people. Why was it OK for him?

  That’s different!

  Sally thought about all of the comic books she had read. It was OK for normal people to use weapons to kill people if they had to. But for superheroes it was different—they had all that power, they had to be better.

  I wanted to be better! I wanted to be a hero! Now I don’t want any of it! I’m not a villain! I do not use my powers to kill! Not a villain! Not!! Take it away! Take it all a
way! Take me away! Mommy! I want Mommy! He’s gone and he’s not coming back, all because of me! Take it away!

  A gentle knock on the door. Sally ignored it.

  “Sally?” Shane said from the other side of the door.

  “Please go away,” Sally whimpered.

  Shane tried to push the door open, but it would not budge. “Let me in,” he said softly. “Talk to me.”

  Dead Bob in a puddle of blood. “I... k-killed him.”

  “It was an accident, Sally. You know that.”

  No more Bobby. “Heroes don’t kill!” she screamed.

  “Please, let me in.”

  “Leave me alone.” She brought her knees close to her chest and lowered her head.

  There was a silence for a moment as Shane considered what to say. “You were protecting me. He was going to shoot me. If you didn’t act, I’d probably be dead by now.” Another moment of silence. “You saved me. Super Sally saved me.”

  “But he didn’t have to die,” she said, before going into a coughing fit. “He...” She couldn’t catch her breath. “H-He...”

  “You OK?”

  The coughing stopped. “I just want to be left alone. Please.”

  Without saying another word, Shane left.

  No, no, no! Shane, do not let your weapon be so soft!

  ---

  A gentle knock on the door woke Sally, but she remained still—face down on her stained pillow. Shane entered the bedroom, sat on the bed, and rubbed Sally’s back.

  “Sally... you can’t beat yourself up about this. Sometimes people get hurt, you know that, you’ve seen it—plenty of times. Sometimes, to survive, we have to... do...”

  Sally rolled onto her back and looked her father in the eyes. She had gotten a terrible night’s sleep and it showed. “I wanted to be like the heroes... in the comic books. They never use their powers to kill. They’re supposed to—”

  “Sally.” Shane rolled his eyes. “That’s not the real world.”

  “I know, but...”

  “We have to do what we have to do. This world is a shithole.”

  This time, Sally didn’t even think to correct her father’s bad language.

  “We need to be tough,” Shane continued. “The people in this place need to see how tough we can be—otherwise...”