Ted Saves the World

by Bryan Cohen

  Chapter 28

  An energy jolt shot through Erica in the middle of the night. Instinct made her throw off the covers and spring to her feet right in the middle of her bed. She imagined what an adversary would think about her pink pajama pants as the blood rushed to her brain. Nobody was there, and she hoped the power she'd felt course through her body was nothing more than a part of her dream. She hopped off her bed and sat back down on the edge. Her clock read 1:30 a.m. She could feel her pulse racing with the hint of battle.

  "There's no way I'm going back to sleep."

  Erica put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. She'd been dreaming of William and the days leading up to their wedding. As was the tradition, the two of them were kept mostly apart, but she snuck over to his house one night to get one last look at him. She remembered the cold stone pressing against the bottom of her bare feet when she was turned into a living soul. The blue energy that consumed her made her retch and collapse to the ground only a few houses away from her betrothed. She didn't know what was happening, but she could feel that she was no longer just a girl in a village. The next time she saw William, he would be something else, as well.

  The old Erica had snuck out of her room countless times, but she hadn't ever done it quite the way her new inhabitant planned. After donning a pair of gloves, she stood on the windowsill and leapt onto a tree branch that originally had held a tire swing when the LaPlantes first moved in. Erica balanced on the branch and shuffled to the trunk, which she used it like a fireman's pole to shimmy down.

  As a child, her former inhabitant had a habit of sneaking over to Ted's. It was easier when the two of them were next-door neighbors. As a second grader, Erica devised a way to not only get out of her house but to climb all the way up to the second floor and knock on her best friend's window. It took the two of them to lift the window open together from both sides.

  "Can you help me with this?" she asked, sporting a cartoon unicorn riding a rainbow.

  Erica remembered how Ted's hair seemed to go every way but straight.

  "Erica!" he said. "We're going to get in trouble."

  She started to sway back and forth.

  "It's getting really windy out here," she said. "I might fall down and die."

  Ted leapt out of bed and had his hands on the window in no time.

  "And if you come in, I'll be the one who's dead."

  The two of them pushed the window open and Ted offered Erica his hand. Before long, the two of them were giggling about something when Mrs. Finley caught them red-handed. Her parents didn't appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night. They were even more annoyed the second and the third time. By the fourth time Erica had broken into the Finley residence, they decided it could have been worse and arranged for her to have a key.

  "If you're going to break the rules, you might as well not break your neck," her mother had said.

  Now that Erica was across town from Ted, she decided to use her mother's near-silent hybrid to drive herself closer to the Finley residence. She knew the house's motion-detecting lights well enough to get herself right under Ted's window without a single light going on. Erica climbed the familiar footholds and gave her former inhabitant some credit for having made such a climb with human strength alone. This time around, Erica needed no help from her friend to hoist the window and the screen open.

  Ted slept straight on his back. As a child, she said he reminded her of a mummy, and the comparison remained apt. The last time Erica had hung out in Ted's room was at least four years ago, though little had changed in the meantime. Clothes still littered the floor, and as far as she could tell in the dark, the color scheme remained the same. It didn't take long for Erica to find the old clock radio she typically used to rouse Ted from his slumber. She turned the radio dial to 104.5, a golden oldies station that was just as likely to put her to sleep as it was to wake Ted up. She flipped the on switch and slowly turned the volume up.

  A slow and classic ballad began to fill the room. When the sultry singer held a long, deep note, Ted opened his eyes and sniffled.

  "Hello?" he asked.

  Erica half-considered trying to frighten her former friend, but with Ted's powers, the situation might not end well for either of them.

  "This is your late night DJ E.L. Funk, bringing you the best of the oldies."

  Ted attempted to straighten his hair.

  "Erica, what are you doing here?"

  It was a good question and one Erica had asked herself when she had reached the windowsill. If she was there to tell Ted about his destiny and who she really was, that was one thing, but she had no intention of clueing him in just yet. While the fate of the world held in the balance, she couldn't help but think of recreating the kiss the two of them had shared in the band room. A part of her wanted to tell the truth, but the other part hoped she could curl up next to him in the bed.

  "I was feeling nostalgic," she said. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

  Ted pulled off the covers and put his legs over the side. His short boxer briefs showed off his pale, skinny legs. When he noticed she was looking over at them, he pulled a sheet back over his bottom half.

  "My parents would kill me."

  Erica turned down the music. The tune switched to an upbeat ragtime song.

  "While I've heard that excuse plenty of times, they haven't killed you yet," she said, moving onto the edge of the bed. "Besides, you're a superhero now. You can say that you were out saving a burning orphanage or something."

  Erica's teenage brain conjured images of her sidling up next to him and pulling the sheets over top as they held each other and kissed. She smoothed out the bedspread and tried to push the thoughts away.

  "I don't know," he said.

  "I'm not taking no for an answer."

  Ted's sigh caught in his throat.

  "Fine, but can a guy put some pants on first?"

  A few moments later, the two of them stood by the open window looking out into the night.

  "How do you want to do this?" he asked.

  "Like this," she said, putting her arms around Ted's waist and gripping him tightly. "Float us down and I'll make sure not to let go."

  When Ted lifted them out the window and into the air, she could feel gravity take hold. She pulled herself closer to Ted and locked her hands together. Erica could smell the familiar Finley laundry detergent on his clothes as the weight of her body began to lighten.

  "Sorry, I haven't really done this with a passenger," he said.

  She put her head on Ted's chest and looked into his eyes.

  "Practice makes perfect," she said.

  She felt Ted's chest move up and down as he lowered the two of them to the ground. She placed her feet on the lawn and watched Ted use his powers to close the windows.

  "You're getting pretty good," she said.

  Ted smiled and let a yawn escape.

  "Thanks. Let's go before my parents see us."

  The two of them walked down the decline of the Finleys yard and into the small wooded area. As children, they'd spent hours attempting to catch whatever living creatures they could in the nearby pond. Erica remembered it being bigger.

  When neither of them talked for the first minute of the stroll, Erica took Ted's hand and interlocked their fingers. She could feel his pulse quicken against her wrist.

  "Great job on the interview," she said. "You really freaked out that reporter."

  Ted chuckled.

  "I probably shouldn't have done that. I'm sure the 'Go Home Alien' tweets doubled the rest of the night."

  Erica had seen the online backlash as well. She knew it was a small minority of loud, angry internet people, but hate can hurt even if it's semi-anonymous.

  "They don't know what you're here to do," she said.

  "I don't, either."

  You should tell him, she thought. If something happens and he's not ready, it could be you against an army.

  Erica looked up at him. She didn't want to train
him and fight alongside him in a never-ending conflict. All she wanted to do was look into those eyes and touch his lips with hers.

  "You're here to save the world, Ted," she said. "And I think you're going to succeed, too."

  Erica took Ted's other hand and pulled him toward her. She guided his hands around her midsection. His touch around her waist was as gentle as his kiss had been earlier that day. She placed her arms over his shoulders and touched the back of his neck with her hands.

  "And if I don't?" he asked.

  Erica could hear Ted swallow as she pulled his face toward hers.

  "Then at least we'll have tonight."

  Ted bent down toward Erica and their lips met. She felt more pressure around her waist as Ted pressed his body against hers. Erica's thoughts jumbled with past lives and current missions. She let it all slip away as she massaged Ted's mouth with her own. She wasn't sure how much time flew by as they held each other, but she wished the embrace would never end.

  When it did, the two of them walked back toward Ted's house and she helped him avoid the motion sensors. It felt like it was too soon when they found themselves underneath Ted's window again.

  "You know, for the longest time I thought you'd be my first kiss," he said.

  Erica rubbed Ted's hand.

  "And it's my fault I wasn't," she said. "I hope I'm doing an OK job of making up for lost time."

  Ted nodded and looked down.

  "You are. I just hope I can trust you."

  Erica felt the words bounce around in her stomach.

  Don't worry, Ted, she thought. I'm only lying to you about who I am and what you mean to me.

  She let go of Ted's hand and touched his face. A slight hint of stubble brushed against her palm.

  "If you can't, I'm sure I won't be the only girl looking for a hero."

  Ted raised his eyebrows.

  "I better get some sleep," he said. "I'm glad you came over."

  "Me, too," she said.

  Ted leaned down for one more kiss, a quick one that meant something different than the one by the pond. Only Erica wasn't sure what that meaning was. Ted stepped away from Erica and floated up toward his room. He waved down to her and shut the window.

  When Erica returned home and pulled up the covers, she wondered how she would go about telling Ted the truth. She figured no matter what she did, it would have to end better than the situation with William had. She'd had to kill William on their wedding day, after all.

  Erica's phone buzzed on her end table. She reached for it and saw a text from Sheriff Norris.

  "Breakout at the prison. Nigel and the others escaped. Three dead."

  She took a deep breath.

  "Tomorrow," she said. "I'll have to tell him tomorrow. Or we're all doomed."