“I’m still in here,” he called back in a normal voice.
He heard more shuffling around and then a little grunt as Jason wiggled into the small space. A moment later he saw his face in the dim light.
“Hey, buddy,” he said with a weak smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I think so,” he answered. He realized that he felt more scared now. There was something he had to do—something for Jenny—but the other-him voice had not given any idea what it would be.
You’ll either know and do it, or you won’t and it won’t matter.
That did not make him feel any better and he worried he would let down Jason and Jenny and they would be hurt for good, maybe even die.
I’m just a kid.
Not anymore, Ranger. Be ready—when the time comes you’ll have to Power Up quickly.
“Okay,” he said aloud.
Jason wrapped his arms around Jenny’s waist, which was about as far into the little hole as he could reach without climbing up on top of both of them. He gently scooted her, a little at a time, off Nathan’s lap and out toward him. When she got closer to him, Jason wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her wet cheek. Nathan shuddered at the way her pasty white doll’s eyes stared over her shoulder back at him.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” Jason mumbled and he thought that he saw tears. Then Jason scooted Jenny out of the tight cave and Nathan followed quickly behind them. In the larger passageway, he stood up and stretched. His left arm felt all like bees from falling asleep under the weight of Jenny’s head and he shook it up and down and waited for the little sparks before it woke again.
“What are we gonna do?” he asked Jason.
Jason held Jenny awkwardly in his arms, his head hunched down, though he had plenty of space between him and the ceiling.
Nathan started to feel scared again. Jason was all grown-up. He was supposed to take care of things, right?
Not anymore. You are the Red Ranger now. Do you know what that means?
Nathan thought for a minute. On all the Power Ranger shows, the Red Ranger was always the leader and the best fighter.
Does it mean I’m in charge?
It means you have to lead your team. You have the most power, but you must all work together. Can you do that, Ranger?
“Yes, sir,” Nathan said and stood just a little straighter.
Jason looked at him funny for a minute and then seemed to understand. He nodded slightly and gave him a tight-lipped smile.
“Did he give you any answers?” he asked.
Nathan shook his head. “Not really,” he said. They looked at each other a moment and he saw a flicker of a scared little boy in his grown up friend. “I guess I thought you could do it for me, but you can’t.” Nathan said and looked at his feet.
“I failed at this once already, Nathan. You should know that.” Jason’s voice sounded strained, not just with the weight of Jenny, but with something else really bad. Nathan looked at him. He wanted his friend to feel better and to believe in him.
“You were alone then,” he said simply. “Now we have a team. Even Miss Jenny is part of the team—like the Pink or Yellow Ranger.” He didn’t tell Jason that he had to be the Red Ranger. He didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“Do you know what you have to do?” Jason asked nervously. “Do you know how to help Jenny?”
“No,” Nathan answered honestly, but he didn’t feel worried anymore. With Jason on his team he felt pretty sure he could do anything. “I’ll know when it’s time.”
“How?” Jason asked.
“I just will, I think. Or else the other-me voice will give me a hint, maybe.” He put his hand on Jason’s arm, not able to hold Jason’s hand because of Miss Jenny, and looked up at him. “I kind of wish you were my dad,” he said.
Jason’s eyes filled with tears but he smiled really big. “Me too, buddy. That’s the nicest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. How about we just be best friends instead?”
“Okay,” Nathan answered. That sounded good to him. “I think we need to head back to the big cave room.” He didn’t know why—he just felt it.
You’ll have more room there.
“Alright,” Jason said.
Together, his Power Ranger team maneuvered through the maze of cave blood. It had become impossible to miss all the puddles now, and occasionally his bare feet would touch one of the hot pools of purple and tingle for a few minutes. Sometimes the feeling spread a little way up his leg. He tried hard to stay beside Jason and to keep a hand on his arm, but Jason struggled under the dead weight of Miss Jenny. Sometimes Nathan would dart ahead a few feet so neither of them would have to step directly in the puddles.
“Tingly,” Jason said softly when his bare toes touched some of the purple goop.
“Yeah,” Nathan agreed. “Like when you sleep funny on your arm.”
The two of them continued up the rise to the crest. At the top, Nathan vaulted down the other side without hesitation, but it took Jason a moment to work his way down with the precious load he carried. While he waited, Nathan looked closely at the thin young man who lay sprawled on the dirt floor. He remained motionless except for his eyes, which danced madly under his closed lids. He wondered what the boy could see on the other side and what the creatures were doing to him, but decided it probably was better not knowing.
Jason came up beside him, his breathing fast and heavy.
“Now what?” Jason asked.
Nathan heard strain in Jason’s voice and for a moment it felt a little unfair that Nathan had to be the grown-up.
It’s not fair, but that’s how it is. You’re the Red Ranger. Lead your team. Jason will be there for you when you need him. You have the power, Nathan. It’s in you like how a flashlight holds the light until you click it on—and then it shines bright. Jason used to have it, but he’s too old now. He held it longer than most, still has some of it, but he is just too old.
Dreams are just like that, I guess.
Jason stared at him patiently. He seemed to get it, how the other-him could take a minute to understand sometimes. Nathan didn’t know what to do, but he felt a great big sense of “here it comes.” And he thought he could feel a bit of that light inside him.
“I hope I know how to turn on the switch,” he mumbled.
“Huh?” Nathan ignored Jason’s confused look and walked over by the wall. He stayed far away from where the guy had his brains bashed in, but everywhere streams of dark cave blood ran down the walls. He stepped out a few yards, aware of Jason’s curious gaze, and found a place without any puddles—easier to do in the big room with lots of space away from the walls.
“Do you want to set her down here? She looks heavy.” Nathan looked at Jason and his friend looked back.
Jason held on tightly to Jenny, not trusting the ooze on the wall wouldn’t reach her. “Can you tell me what is going to happen? How do you think we can save her?”
“I don’t know yet,” he answered. He could almost feel a buzzing, like the air vibrated gently in the room. “Maybe we have to kill the Lizard Men—I’m not sure.” He closed his eyes and tried to listen for them on the other side but heard nothing. “Something is going to happen now,” he said softly, his voice nearly a whisper. “We gotta be ready to Power Up.”
Nathan balled his fists up tight and stared down the long path he had journeyed into before. He wondered when he would have to know to go down there and how he would know and what he would find. He hardly noticed Jason’s hand on his tense shoulder.
“It’s going to happen right now.”
Then he nearly gagged as the horrible fart smell filled the room.
* * *
Mr. Clarke stood quietly against the wall and waited for his next drink. They had learned long ago that the best feed came if they let the victim slip away when needed and then brought them back up to another crescendo of fear and pain. It was the difference between eating a milkshake though a straw or with a spoon.
Two
doctors hovered around the body on the table. They would not need the nurse. She had become a luxury and her absence was only a minor inconvenience. He was nonetheless enraged that he could no longer get in her mind. The little sips of fear and pain had been most pleasant and his alone to enjoy. No matter.
He watched as they repositioned James on the table and prepared to take some skin from his left side. The boy’s belly still gaped open and only few wet blue towels and a large square of brown, transparent plastic kept the air from drying out his organs. They would take what he had left to give them over the next few hours and then it would be best to move on.
He felt the vibrations at the same time as he felt his partner’s clawed hand on his arm.
“The boy,” his partner hissed.
“Yes,” he answered in rage, “and the older boy too. We’ll stop them quickly and then come back.”
They could not hurt the younger boy. They could not even touch him if they wanted to remain well. But they could sure hurt the older boy now—his power was but a faint glow. And that would scare the powerful younger one off long enough to finish. It had worked before.
If that failed they still had one more plan to stop him.
The room shimmered and danced and then began to disappear.
* * *
Nathan felt the fear inside him, but in a far off sort of way that didn’t matter. The poop smell filled the room and he knew the Lizard Men would appear from down the passageway with the glowing light. He felt ready. He felt a power—the light the other-him told him about—grow from the center of his chest and his skin nearly tingled with it. Nathan shifted back and forth as much with excitement as fear.
A crisp, blue light exploded outward from the middle of a little ball of yellow and then the Lizard Men stared back at him from a few yards away, just inside the entrance to the passageway. He started to move toward them and the glowing light in the path behind them.
No—that’s for later, Ranger. You won’t need that now. They can’t hurt you, so don’t be afraid. Protect your friends, bring back Jenny, and get out of here for now.
Why not kill them?
You need to be alone so the others won’t get hurt. Save Jenny and Jason first.
The Lizard Men moved forward slowly toward him, their claws in front of them and their mouths split open over long and razor-sharp teeth. Nathan suddenly understood that they moved slowly not out of confidence, but out of fear.
Fear of me.
“Jesus Christ—Nathan, run! Let’s get out of here.”
“Stay still,” he commanded and his voice sounded old to him—like a real Ranger. He let the creatures get a little closer and then grabbed his right wrist with his left and pulled his arm back like a karate move. “Power Rangers,” he shouted at the ceiling—just like in the real TV show. “POWER UP! YEAH!”
He titled his head back and imagined his body flipped backward and that his red suit and helmet magically appeared over him.
He felt a tremendous heat spread out from the center of his chest in all directions, fast like lightening. He held his vibrating hands in front of him and watched as long pencils of light exploded from the tips of his fingers. He opened his mouth and howled brilliant white light out of his throat just as his vision changed, growing tinted with a harsh blue.
I found the switch for my flashlight.
Yes you did. Now make them leave.
Nathan felt only a vague awareness of Jason screaming behind him. His friend believed something terrible had happened to him; that the creatures were hurting him somehow. He had no time to explain.
He moved toward the Lizard Men in a way that felt like floating and he saw them cower as he approached. Occasionally, the light beams would dance across their skin and he could hear the hiss and pop like bacon frying on the stove. The smaller creature pulled back his reptilian head and let out a bellowing squeal. The taller creature moved suddenly to the right, and Nathan saw that he meant to get around him and get to Jenny and Jason.
The rage that grew inside him felt like hunger and his light got brighter. He rose off the floor and looked down on the large creatures from well above. He shot a hand out at the taller one, who moved with incredible speed toward Jason, one huge-clawed hand raised to strike. The beams of light organized somehow, and wrapped around the creature’s arms and shoulders like thick neon ropes. Smoke rose from the greenish-grey skin where the light-rope ensnared him and Nathan heard a blood-curdling scream of raw agony as the creature arched its back in pain.
The claw had lost its momentum, but still struck Jason high on the forehead, causing him to stumble backward. Jenny’s inert body flew from Jason’s arms.
Nathan tightened his finger lights. The sizzling sound got louder, and more animal screams came from the Lizard Man. He opened his mouth again and shouted out another, thicker beam of light that struck the creature on the side of the face and knocked him to the ground.
Nathan looked over his shoulder and saw that the shorter lizard man had retreated into the passageway. Then he turned his gaze back to the creature on the floor whose eyes had paled to a dull orange. For a moment, he thought the creature would rise and try to strike again, and he could feel more power vibrate inside of his own chest at the thought, but instead the Lizard Man screeched one more loud protest and then, in a flash of blue light, disappeared. The blue light crackled like a live power line and followed after the creature. A dull, burned-oil smell joined the nasty fart smell.
Barely noticing in his relief, Nathan tumbled roughly to the dirt floor several feet below with a thud and a moan as the air was forced from his lungs. He sat up and looked over at Jason who sat beside Jenny, a hand on her shoulder.
“My God, Nathan. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?”
Nathan started to answer, but he didn’t want to lose the ebbing power before he could use it again. He got up and shuffled over to Jenny, then knelt in the dirt beside her. He looked at Jason, trying to communicate reassurance, then lightly placed his hand on her head. He saw his hand start to glow, pulsing like a heartbeat. He closed his eyes and went into her mind.
At first he saw only darkness and he called to her. Her voice answered back from far away. She sounded like a very little girl.
Chapter
25
She floated in the dark, warm pool and felt neither fear nor relief. She simply existed in the blackness and though a part of her mind knew just what it escaped from, most of her couldn’t possibly care less. She thought for a moment that it must be like this in the womb, dark and warm and safe.
She felt a tug of sadness at what must be left behind and she saw fleeting images in the dark—her parents, her brother in his cap and gown, Jason looking down from on top of her, Nathan—but those things had to be left to escape the bad things that she chose not to remember. It would be best for her to stay here—to keep the images safe from the dark creatures and their poisonous thoughts. She had floated here long enough now that the good and bad things started to feel abstract and she thought maybe she would just let herself dissolve in the darkness…dissolve completely and go away forever.
Then she heard the little boy’s voice that seemed familiar.
Jenny? Jenny, answer me please. It’s Nathan. I need to find you before it’s too late.
Both the name and the voice felt important in a way that ached, but she just didn’t have any energy left. She had decided to go and should finish her journey.
Jenny, please. Jason and I need you so bad. Please answer me.
Another name that felt important and she matched it to the picture of Jason smiling down at her in her bed.
“Jason?”
It’s Nathan. Let me help you find the light and come home.
“Nathan? Where are you?” Her own voice sounded like a child’s to her.
I’m in here with you. I brought some light. Can you see it? Come to it, Jenny.
She did see the light. At first it looked like a tiny pinpoint that grew into a b
obbing flashlight. She floated toward it and the blackness faded to a soft grey. She willed herself to float on, to head toward the glowing ball of light. As she approached, it got brighter, almost blinding, and then she saw that a boy stood in the middle of the light. The light emanated from him.
“Nathan?”
It’s me, Jenny. If you take my hand we can go back. Jason is waiting for you.
She reached out a tentative hand and felt the soft hand in hers. A warm vibration spread out from her hand, chased quickly up her arm and then out into her whole body. It felt a lot like an orgasm, only better.
“Oh my” she whispered.
And then she felt as if she were pulled to light speed and accelerated out of the darkness.
Still holding Nathan’s warm hand, she flew out of her mind. She closed her eyes tightly, not in pain or fear, but to try and hold onto the light for just a moment more.
She opened her eyes slowly and looked up into two faces looking back at her. Nathan looked like the little boy she had always known and Jason looked like her future.
“Hi,” she said and smiled.
* * *
Jason cradled Jenny and felt a flood of relief that she hugged him back. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he kissed her dirty hair. Then he reached up and pulled Nathan over into their embrace.
“Thank you, Nathan. I don’t know what the hell you did, but thank you so much.”
Nathan beamed back at him, all little boy again. For a moment Jason saw the terrifying image of the thing Nathan had become—the blindingly bright light creature that had shot energy beams, or whatever they were, and defeated the Lizard Men. He could almost still hear the shrill sound when he had opened his glowing mouth and screamed out the energy that had chased the beasts away. It seemed unbelievable that now he just looked like Nathan.
“You’re welcome,” Nathan said with a shrug. “I just want us to all be okay.”
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