Diary of a Teenage Superhero
Page 41
Chapter Forty-One
“But you can’t just leave,” Mr. Jones tries to tell us.
We have found a campervan parked in one of the underground parking lots. It’s quite modern. Must be worth a fortune. Unlike the one we arrived in, this one has windows and bedding for everyone. This will be our home.
For now, anyway.
“Try and stop us,” Chad suggests.
After seeing us fight Twelve to a standstill, the idea obviously does not appeal to Mr. Jones.
While we’re talking, we’re packing our few belongings into the van. There’s precious little. The Agency took away our names, our homes, our families. Everything that identified us as who we were. The Agency took almost everything away from us.
All we have left now is each other.
“I’m not sanctioning what Twelve did,” Mr. Jones says. “I can’t sanction what he did. The other branches of The Agency are up in arms over it. They’re completely disavowing Twelve’s actions. It’s a complete betrayal of everything for which The Agency stands.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” I replied.
It’s hard to know what’s true and what’s a lie. Mr. Jones and some of the others at The Agency knew about The Alpha Project. Trying to prove it or track down all those in charge would be a pointless exercise. Doctor Richards destroyed all the records and the death of Twelve signaled the final end to the whole experiment.
Mr. Jones has already told us that a replacement is being brought in for Twelve. He has said there will be more accountability for projects within The Agency. Personally, I don’t care. I’m just glad we’re getting out of here.
We’re taking the campervan. Now we just want to be left alone to make our own place in the world. If we can.
Just before we start our journey, Mr. Jones makes one last attempt to stop us.
“I understand why you’re upset.” He tries to be conciliatory. “And the last thing I would ever want to do is threaten you –”
“Yes?”
“You may have forgotten those poisonous capsules we implanted in your bodies –”
I reach into my pocket. “Oh? You mean these?”
His jaw drops as I hand them to him.
“They were difficult to find,” I tell him. “But fortunately they’re made from metal and Dan has a special affinity for metallic substances.”
“You mean –”
“It was painful,” I tell Jones. “But he got them out.”
Mr. Jones makes one final attempt. “But we’ve invested an enormous amount in you –”
I climb into the driver’s seat and wind the window down. “And we’re going to pay you back. By not exposing you to the world and by not suing your organization through the International Court of Justice.”
“You can’t mean to –”
“Let’s see,” I begin. “Kidnapping, child endangerment, abuse, deprivation of liberty…”
“And that’s just for starters,” Chad climbs into the seat next to me. “I’ve got all these injuries that need fixing. I need compensation for my sore knee. My elbow…”
“I’m not saying you’ll never see us again,” I tell Mr. Jones. I’m thinking of Pegasus and what would have happened if we had not stopped Typhoid. The world needs super heroes. Even teenage superheroes like us. “If you ever need us, really need us, we’re prepared to help.”
Chad vigorously shakes his head. “Speak for yourself. I’m never coming back.”
I raise an eyebrow at Mr. Jones and shrug.
“Where will I find you?” he asks.
I look up the road. “Where does this lead?”
His eyes follow the road into the distance.
I nod. “That’s where you’ll find us.”
Epilogue
We have driven all through the day and all through the night. Putting as much distance between us and The Agency seems to be the only thing that makes sense. The others are asleep. Only I am awake as I maneuver the motor home across the desert. We’re passing through Monument Valley, one of the beautiful parts of the United States. We’re on our way to the Grand Canyon. I’ve never been there.
Or if I have, I don’t remember it.
Last night I had that dream again. It’s the one where I’m in a field of wheat. I’m running my hands through the tall grass and walking toward a farmhouse. There’s someone sitting on the step. It’s a boy.
I think it’s my brother.
Maybe he’s still alive. Maybe he’s waiting for me. Maybe my parents are still alive too. For all I know, there’s a family sitting around a dinner table awaiting my return.
I don’t believe anything Mr. Jones said. How can I? Solomon Wolff told us the Bakari are not the only aliens on Earth. There are others. Who knows what their agenda is?
My eyes scan past the ageless rock formations and I see the last stars are fading from the night sky. The horizon is growing lighter by the moment. Now the sun is about to crest the sky. Dawn is only a few minutes away. Soon it will be another day.
There is movement at my side and someone climbs into the seat next to me.
Brodie.
“Pull over for a moment,” she says. “It’s important.”
Who am I to deny a beautiful girl?
Bringing the vehicle over to the edge, we both climb out and look across the desert. It will be hot later and the air will swim with moisture, but for now it is cool and motionless. A quiet, peaceful place. Peaceful is good.
She pulls out a book. It’s the one Doctor Richards handed to me back in the hotel room. The book with all the blank pages. It seems like a million years since I last looked at it. I stare at it stupidly as she hands it to me.
“Open it,” she instructs.
I flip open to a page in the middle. It is as blank as any other. Now Brodie produces the strange device we found buried in the spine of the book.
“That Ferdy’s amazing,” she says. “He spent five minutes playing with this thing and had it all worked out.”
She grips the glass tightly, then suddenly seems to twist it in both directions at once. It clicks and a pale beam of light shines from it.
“How –” I begin.
“Don’t worry about how,” she advises. “Just look.”
I hold the glass over the page. Where I look through I can see words written on the paper. It’s like some sort of infrared light that makes the writing visible. I can see formula written on the pages. And addresses.
Addresses.
Our homes?
The homes of our family?
“What –” I begin. “How –”
I can’t speak and that becomes even more difficult as Brodie grabs the book from me and presses her lips against mine.
“Like I said,” Brodie draws back. “That Ferdy’s a bright kid.”
We kiss again as a gentle breeze tilts at the air. After a while, we return to the van and I start the engine. We’ve all been through so much. We’ve all come such a long way. I need to write all this down. I need to keep a diary. It’s not every teenager that becomes a super hero.
But first things first. My stomach rumbles. We’ll need to eat soon. That’s another crisis we need to sort out. I was able to convince Mr. Jones to supply us with some funds, but all that is now gone.
“We need money,” I tell Brodie as we drive through the desert. “We need to get some food.”
“Oh, we’ll be fine.”
“Yeah?”
She holds up a rose. A perfect rose in every way. I remember seeing Ebony with it the previous day at one of the rest stops. She was saying how lovely it would be to preserve it forever.
Now it is made from gold.
Solid gold.
“Money won’t be a problem,” Brodie says.
Laughing, we drive into the dawn.
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Greetings from Darrell Pitt
Hi there!
I hope you enjoyed reading Diary of a Teenage Superhero as much as I enjoyed writing it. It is the first book in The Teen Superheroes Series. The next two books in the series are:
The Doomsday Device (2)
The Battle for Earth (3)
I love to hear from my readers! Please email me at:
darrellpitt@gmail.com
I’m writing new adventure novels all the time. If you enjoy steampunk and mysteries you might enjoy another one of my books –
The Steampunk Detective.
And if you like horror/fantasy/suspense, you might also enjoy –
The Last Days of Earth.
You can find out what I’m working on by visiting me at:
https://www.darrellpitt.com
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Thanks again and keep reading!
Darrell