Once I got that image planted firmly in my head, I opened my eyes, and blasted off through the sky. It felt like I was moving at… well, ridiculous speeds, I guess. Mach after mach blew behind me, and in something like seven seconds (6.92, actually), I was right in front of Sam’s house. The whole time, I saw exactly where I was going, swerved where I needed to not crash horrifically, and I slowed my self quickly yet smoothly enough to make it seemingly instant. It was pretty awesome.
What was not awesome, however, was seeing Malek standing outside, holding Sam by the back of his neck. Sam didn’t move, he didn’t twitch, he didn’t even blink. In fact, nothing did. The birds weren’t singing, No neighbors were screaming, and no cars wailed off in the distance. Sam’s face read some sudden shock, but otherwise, he hadn’t registered what was happening.
Because Malek had once again stopped time.
He looked at me, and nodded.
“Not bad,” he said. “Not bad at all.”
“Let him go,” I said, bringing the helmet away. “I made it. I beat you here before you could–! I did what you wanted… please leave him alone.”
I saw Sam’s eyes really, really slowly start to close– like, so slowly I could see one eye doing it slightly before the other one. I could have sworn I felt a bit of cool breeze dripping onto my face.
“Even I don’t hold the laws of time in my grasp,” Malek said, seeing my confusion. “Not entirely.”
“Malek, let him go!” I shouted. He just shook his head, and sighed.
“Acting like a child will get you nowhere, Jason Rhodes,” he said. He sounded so calm, that’s what I hated most. Like this had literally zero effect on him one way or the other whether or not my oldest friend was murdered. “Show me something.”
“What?” I asked. “Show you what!?”
“Something new,” he stressed. “Hit me with cosmic energy, move faster than I can. Stop me, before I break your friend’s neck.”
Malek held Sam out closer to me, and I could tell, he was about to apply some seriously hard pressure. I panicked again, and just held my hands out, hoping something would shoot toward him.
In a way, I guess it kind of did. All of a sudden, I felt this wave-like sensation pour from my hands, and as I looked up, and time slipped back into place, Malek and Sam lifted up into the air– Sam out of Malek’s grasp– and then flew into the front of his house like a magnet to a fridge. As did the bench in his front yard, the mulch, a lot of dirt, some flowers, a small tree, and a couple bushes.
So a few things, since that all happened real quick. One: the sensation; it was kind of like if you put your hand through a pool, and you feel that tugg against the water, but it was more pushing from my palms, rather than against it. I don’t know, weird feeling, we’ll get back to it in a minute.
Two: I realized if Sam saw my ugly mug with the Wanderer suit on, it would be not the most ideal situation– we already had a lot of difficult things to discuss– but my hands were both in use at the moment. Luckily, and inexplicably, the suit just sort of read my mind, and brought the headpiece back on, visor and all.
And three: Malek looked immediately and annoyedly pleased at what just happened, but I didn’t have a whole lot of time to bask in his wonder.
I burst over and caught Sam, keeping him from breaking his back against his own front door. I placed him down in the yard, and tried to attack Malek, who did actually slam into the wall, breaking some brick and… other, wall stuff behind him.
I flew up into the air with him, and managed to even get a punch in, but then he wrestled me off, and chucked me into a cloud. He flew into it, dispersing it entirely, and just floated before me as I regained my balance.
“What was that?” he asked, grinning somewhat. “A massive increase in power, and a new one, at that.”
“I…I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know what that was. Air, maybe?”
“No, not air,” Malek thought aloud. “It felt as though you redirected the gravity itself around us, turned it on a ninety degree angle.”
“Not to mention, I got a punch on you…” I muttered.
“You threw me off, I will give you that much praise,” he agreed. What a weird, borderline friendly moment we were having, for someone who just threatened to kill my best friend. “Perhaps I should perform more tests like these… utilizing your emotional outbursts as a means to extract more power.” There it was.
“You’d regret it,” I said, growing much more serious. He just looked up at me, smirked, and shrugged a little. The dude shrugged.
“We’ll see,” he said. “A good training session, Wanderer. We’ll do it again, soon.”
And like that, Malek the douchey took off into the skies, and disappeared up amongst the stars.
I only let my anxieties hit me for a solid moment or so before I remembered Sam was down just a ways below me, so I shot back toward his house.
The front yard was a mess, to say the least, and he just stood there, totally baffled. I didn’t blame him, things were hard for even me to follow right then.
“Hey, are–” I said, then coughing, trying to make my voice sound deeper. “Are– Are you alright, sir?”
“I… what happened?” Sam stammered. He looked at me, and took a step back in shock. “You…You’re that guy– the alien-thing in the suit!”
“Well, I’m not alien, but… yes, I am that guy,” I said. “You– Call me the Wanderer.”
“The Wanderer,” Sam repeated. That was pretty cool, I’ll be honest. Gave me a little chill, just hearing it. The neighbors were all pouring out of their houses now, hearing the commotion, and subsequently seeing me. “T-Thank you, Wanderer. I don’t know what just happened, but–”
“Y-You’re welcome,” I said, cutting him off unintentionally. The reality of talking to Sam again just hit me at a weird time, and I got very nervous all of a sudden. “And don’t worry, you’ll be safe now, I promise. Bad men have bad motives, but… I think this one knows better now than to try and hurt a random civilian like you.” Oh, I was on fire right now.
“Right…” Sam said, not getting my point at all. “Well look, do you think you could actually stay for a pic–”
“Ah, sorry, I– I’ve got a lot to do,” I said, floating up into the air. The whole damn neighborhood was about to close in on us, and I really didn’t feel like lying my way out of this one. “Just, do me a favor, alright?”
“Yeah, anything,” Sam said. “I owe you one.”
“That was a close call, right there. You should… Go and tell the people in your life you care about them, huh? Just…Just keep an open heart; you never know what could happen out there.”
“Oh, yeah… right,” Sam muttered, staring at me as I floated further into the sky, and inevitably took off amongst the clouds.
I flew way up, already way faster now than I was before, and died internally at how incredibly awkward and on the nose that just was.
“Nice going, dickass,” I scolded myself. “You really sold the ‘hero’ act to him. I bet he thinks you’re a goddamn lunatic, now– assuming he doesn’t just think you’re you…!”
“We do not imagine he knows anything,” the voice said again, though this time it was out loud.
I glanced over to my left, and saw some crazy, almost translucent freakazoid flying right next to me, staring at me the whole time. He didn’t sway against the wind or anything, he was just kind of… floating there.
So, naturally, I screamed at the top of my lungs, and fell back toward the earth.
8
I Get By
“W-Who the hell are you?” I asked, dragging myself out of the pond I crashed into, and onto dry (albeit muddy) land. I was in a swampy area, I think I recognized it– not too far from my house, I think.
The freakazoid was still right next to me, and he stood with his arms behind his back. There was a certain regalness to him, or at least the way he held himself. He was incredibly calm, almost monotonously so, and he was most
certainly a Lanteeyn, like Haltz.
Maroon skin, fairly smooth, but very rough in specific areas, sort of a hardened evolutionary pinpoint to protect weak spots. Two eyes that came out in little slits, with yellow irises, and blue pupils. Three very big nostrils, shaped kinda in a triangle. Two arms, his elbows pretty pronounced, and six-fingered hands. Two legs, pretty bog-standard, nothing special about them. Overall, he was built big, considerably larger than Haltz; maybe six foot two, six foot three. No hair, their kind were just skin and rougher skin and bone– and meat-stuff on the inside, but whatever.
He also had a suit on, not unlike mine, though his was simply silver all-around. No secondary color, no lights, no fine details. This guy must have been an old timer, for sure.
“We are the amalgamation of all 1,641 previous Wanderers,” he said. “Currently, we are in the form of Ox, the first Wanderer of our kind; the first Wanderer in recorded history.”
His– or their, I don’t know– voice fit the whole royalty thing on the head. Deep, strong, direct. Seemed like a wise old sage that you didn’t want to piss off. That said, I was still a little riled up myself from the rude introduction, so I got a little pushy.
“Ox…” I repeated. “Why did you just appear like that? Out of nowhere? How did you even do that?”
“The suit,” Ox said, pointing at my chestplate, “keeps record of all previous Wanderers. After we die, our essences– our souls, if you would prefer– become a part of it, just as it is a part of us in life. You will be there too, one day.”
Okay, well that was the basis for a major existential crisis if ever I’d heard one, but let’s try to move past that, shall we?
“Okay, but why did you come out now? Unprovoked?” I asked. “Wait– were you the voice in my head? The one telling me to focus?”
“We were,” he nodded. “The previous Wanderers may serve as a sort of tutoring system for the current holder of the title, if they so prefer. We arrived in physical form because you heeded our advice, and just experienced a rather traumatic event with Malek, the weaver.”
“Okay…” I groaned standing up. I held my arm out so Ox could give me a little assist, but he just stood there, watching me. “Right.”
“We are not actually here, Jason Rhodes. We are merely a fabrication; a hologram visualized by the suits many capabilities. Would you like to learn more about them?”
“For the moment, I’m good,” I said. I did my best to wiped the mud off the suit, but I wasn’t having very much luck. “You know what? Hold on a second.”
I flew up into the air, and dove back into the pond, I thrashed about for a couple seconds, and then took back off into the sky. I soared high above the clouds, and made my way high up through the atmosphere, until eventually I stopped, and Ox reappeared right next to me.
“Alright, so anyways…” I continued. “You showed up because of Malek?”
“You were afraid, and he was nearby,” Ox explained. “We thought it best to intervene, and help aid you in your imperative and sudden boost in power.”
“So did you guys not have other powers?” I asked. “No cosmic whatever, no gravity manipulation?”
“We did not,” Ox said. “Flight, a high tolerance to physical and mental damage, and varying levels of increased strength, yes, but the rest is new. It would appear to be… human. Or at least, some variation in species; though we theorize it may also be based on the individual.”
“You guys fought Malek?” I asked. “All of you?” Ox nodded, and his already stoic face seemed to grow even grimmer. “You all lost?”
“Malek, for as little as we know of him and the others, is the youngest of his siblings,” Ox summarized. “He is a weaver, and incredibly powerful. He seeks a sort of power-match– an equal.”
“Yeah, he told me as much,” I said. “Why though? I mean… he seems like a dick, but I don’t know that I’d call him evil, you know? Is he just that lonely?”
“We are unsure,” Ox said, “but it would seem that, without sufficient power in oneself, and no sibling or equal to share that power with, the weavers grow unstable. Malek is eons old, and with every passing generation of the Wanderer, his lust for partnership seems only to increase in ferocity, and decrease in allotted time.”
“Well, that sucks to hear.”
“It is certainly not a comfort.”
“Well I mean, can he be beaten?” I asked. “It’s not like he’s immortal or anything, right? I know you– we, I don’t know– haven’t beaten a weaver before, but it’s not like their gods or anything, right?”
“We–” Ox began, then stopping. I felt the suit vibrate near my leg, and he paused, then staring at me. “Jules, my wife, is calling you.”
Okay, so one, that was Julia’s choice to put as a contact name, but two that was hilarious, and were we not just having a very serious conversation, I definitely would have laughed hearing that come out of such a stern and serious Lanteeyn. I did snort a little.
“Yeah, uh… how do I accept it?” I asked. Then I guess the suit just kind of hear me or something, because it stopped buzzing.
“Mr. Rhodes?” Julia said.
“Mrs… Julia?” I replied.
“Ah, I’m glad you’re available. I know you’ve had a lot of meetings with law enforcement as of late,” she said. What a little jokester, this one.
“Yes, I’ve got another call with the chief of police at 3:30, so please, make it quick,” I added. She chuckled, dropping the official tone.
“We were thinking of going out to the city tonight, getting dinner somewhere; we haven’t all done something together in weeks.”
“Alright, I should be able to do that,” I said, looking at Ox for confirmation. I shrugged, and he just stared right back at me, noe expression at all. This guy was fun, I could already tell. “What time were you thinking?”
“Probably like, 4:00 train, eat at 5:30, leave when the city kicks us out?” she scheduled. Julia was always the planner of the group. I appreciated it, God knew I had no skill doing anything like that.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said. “Everyone else going?”
“So far. I uh… I haven’t asked Sam yet; he can come, right? I mean that’s not a problem?”
I paused, and stared down at the ground far, far below. I wanted him there– of course I did, we all did– but things could get so damn weird…
Plus, I mean, the guy did just go through seriously traumatic experience just a few minutes ago; he might not be in tip-top shape to go out with anybody. My point being, if Julia did ask him, I’d say there was a pretty solid chance Sam wouldn’t go anyway, so what was the harm in letting her try?
“Yeah, that’s cool,” I said. “Totally uh… totally cool, that’s fine with me. Absolutely cool.”
“Okay, are you cool with it, though?” she asked. I chuckled, and and she did the same. “Great. I’ll see you in a little bit, okay J? Don’t be late for the train!”
“I won’t! Why do you always think I’m going to be late to stuff?”
“Do you really want me to pull evidence from my notes? It’s a long list, we don’t have all day.”
“Fair enough. I won’t be late, I promise,” I said.
“You better not be!” Julia said. “See you then, Jason. Love you!”
“Yeah, love you too…” I muttered; she already hung up. Girl moved quick.
I looked back over to Ox, and he just looked at me, with such a cold, calculating, unmoving face. I had no idea what he and the other thousand-plus Wanderers were thinking, and I hated it.
“You hear all that?” I asked, pointing to my ear. He nodded. “Okay… Do you, like, know who all these people in my life are? You said the suit was a part of me, and your a part of the suit, so… do you know what I’m thinking? What I feel?”
“Yes,” he said. Very blunt, but whatever. “You care deeply for your friends; it is an honorable trait, but it is also a danger. You must recognize this, Jason Rhodes.”
“Jason i
s fine,” I said. “And also, why?”
“Jason, your powers are clearly swayed by your emotions. In the past, we have found focus– a clear and calculated mind– also hones in one’s abilities to great measures, but emotions open the way for impulse. Impulse, rash decision-making, and an unstable grasp on your powers– which for you, is even more potentially detrimental– is a poor way to fight for justice.”
“Nobody said anything about justice, to be fair,” I said. “I get that you guys had a mantra: defender, protector, good-samaritan–”
“Guardian,” Ox corrected.
“Whatever,” I waved off, “but I’m not doing that. I don’t want to travel the galaxy fighting bad guys. I get that it’s noble and everything, but most of the bad guys are coming to me anyway, and I’ve got a life here, you know?”
“What you choose to do with the title of the Wanderer is entirely up to you, Haltz made that much clear,” Ox said. “Whatever you do with it– whoever you choose to be– you simply must be wary of your emotions. Find a better grasp on them, and you will be able to be whatever kind of a… man, you want to be.”
“Had to search for the right jargon there huh?” I asked, smirking.
“Yes, well, we have not had much experience with the English, Earth-based language until you appeared,” Ox said.
“Ooh, so he does get defensive,” I chided. He just stared at me. This dude had a seriously good poker face, I’m telling you. “Alright, well we can continue this later, I need to go get ready for a night out. Need to buy a train ticket too, good lord…”
I took off, and made my way back home. Ox just sort of disappeared, I guess because he knew that I knew we were good for the time being. I snagged ol’ Vinny’s debit card, and like that: cha-ching. Guess who got a round-trip ticket to the city that never smells good?
I changed, took a little extra pocket money for dinner, and flew about for a while to kill time. And yeah, maybe I was like ten minutes late, but I did make the train. Granted, I was all the way at the other end of said train, and the others were all at the front, but whatever, we were both there.
The Wanderer (Book 1): The Wanderer Page 10
