The Candidate (The Viral Superhero Series Book 3)

by Bryan Cohen

  "Sophie?!"

  He dove under the water. Ted looked in every direction but he couldn't see the girl. He felt his breath grow heavy. As Ted left the water, he saw something he never would've expected. In the middle of the crumbling building and the water, there was a blue portal hovering a few inches off the ground. Amidst the chaos, the shimmering light from whatever it was remained calm and steady. Sophie was right beside it, and though the water was up to her midsection, she waded toward the gateway.

  "Sophie, no!"

  Before Ted could stop her, the girl had disappeared through the blue portal. Ted ran toward the phenomenon, but it closed with a sound that reminded him of a classic video game. As he reached for where the portal had been, another series of beams fell to the ground and surrounded him.

  "Ted, are you out of the building?"

  Before Ted could respond, the rest of the hospital came down on top of him.

  5

  With Erica on the phone, Natalie turned on the flashlight app on her cell phone. She saw a green slithering tail in the distance. Natalie growled.

  Come to the cave, she said. It'll be fun, she said.

  Erica tucked the phone away and bent her elbow in a stretch. "The line went dead, but I got through to Daly."

  Natalie gave Erica a puzzled look. "And you asked for help, right?"

  Erica bent over and touched her toes.

  Natalie grabbed Erica by the shoulder. "Hey, Captain Flexibility. Did you ask for help?"

  Erica took Natalie's wrist and removed her hand. "What, you think we can't handle this ourselves?"

  Natalie threw her hands up in the air. "I guess we don't have much of a choice."

  Natalie and Erica both shined their lights ahead, only to catch the lizard creature running toward them at full speed.

  The beast swiped at them with its claws, but Natalie tucked and rolled out of the way. She looked back to see Erica finishing a backflip to avoid the attack.

  "Show off." Natalie tossed her flashlight phone to the ground, which skidded against the stone. She formed her hands into fists.

  The phone provided enough light to see the creature in its full form. Natalie figured it was about eight feet tall and wider than her and Erica put together.

  The creature's gurgling noise bounced against the walls as it came for Erica. When it reached for her again, the protector did a split underneath the lizard. With a powerful punch, she nailed the beast directly in the crotch.

  The creature howled in pain and fell backward onto the hard stone with a thump. Erica pushed herself up on the ground and joined Natalie by her side.

  Natalie smirked. "What's with you and groins?"

  Erica raised an eyebrow. "I was brainwashed and drunk. Are you ever gonna let that go?"

  Natalie eyed the lizard squirming on the ground. "Nope."

  Quicker than either of them expected, the creature sprung back to standing. He ran toward them so fast that Erica didn't have time to block the blow that sent her back-first into the wall. The lizard grabbed Natalie by the waist and lifted her into the air, ripping her shirt as its claws grasped her. When she squirmed to get herself free, the scent of half-digested insects blew out at her from his mouth.

  "From all that gurgling, I thought you'd be a mouthwash fan."

  When the creature gave Natalie a confused look, she reared back her fist and connected with one of its eyes. Her knuckles stung against the lizard's orbital bone as the creature released his grip to cover its bleeding eye. Natalie looked to Erica, but she was missing from her previous spot.

  As the stunned lizard tended to his sight, Erica ran and leapt from the other side of the room. She wrapped her legs around the creature's back and shot a blue wave of electricity between her hands. Erica moved her fingers to either side of the creature's head and let the lightning rip.

  Natalie watched as the lizard fell chest-first and lifeless to the ground. Erica flashed her perfect prom queen smile. Natalie was grateful enough not to hate it for the time being.

  "You couldn't have led with the brain zapping?" Natalie felt at the holes in her shirt.

  Erica crouched down beside the lizard. "And take away all that fun we just had?"

  "Your definition of fun is–"

  The lizard gurgled himself awake. Natalie ran in to deliver the final blow, but Erica held her back.

  "Just wait."

  As the lizard got back to a standing position, his disposition had changed completely. His snarling face had relaxed itself to a vacant stare. He almost looked human, aside from being green and scaly.

  "Great." Natalie folded her arms. "Now we have a lizard zombie. Just what I always wanted."

  Erica rolled her eyes. "Hey buddy, can you help us get outta here?"

  The lizard nodded and began walking toward the cave entrance. As the two of them followed, Erica tried her cell phone again.

  "Damn."

  Natalie gave Erica a sideways glance. "Calling animal control?"

  Erica sighed. "I doubt our friend here is the only one in town."

  As they reached the pile of rocks that blocked the entrance, the lizard started moving the rubble to the side.

  Natalie scratched her head. "Why don't you ask him?"

  Erica smiled. "Good idea. Hey lizard-breath, what's the grand plan?"

  The creature began gurgling with a series of indiscernible grunts.

  Erica cleared her throat. "In English, if it's not too much trouble."

  The creature mimicked Erica's throat-clearing and began speaking with some difficulty. "The books. The sword. Gatekeeper."

  As astounded as Natalie had been to see a giant lizard in the first place, she was even more impressed it could speak English.

  "It can talk?"

  "Draconfolk usually know multiple languages." Erica seemed preoccupied. "What did you mean by gatekeeper?"

  The lizard continued to push the rocks out of the way as a sliver of light cut in from the outside world.

  "Gatekeeper. Dark soul."

  Erica joined in beside the lizard and started moving the stone away as well. "No, no, no, no, no."

  Natalie did her best to help beside Erica. "What is it?"

  "It's impossible."

  "What's impossible?"

  Erica ran her hands through her hair, causing small pebbles lodged in her curls to drop to the ground. "Gatekeepers control the flow of people between worlds. Their locations are secret and hidden. If one was turned into a dark soul, all the worlds could be in deep trouble."

  "What're we going to do?"

  Erica and the lizard cleared a large enough hole for the three of them to escape the cave. She took Natalie by the shoulder.

  "We kill her before she can do any damage. We need to get to the sheriff's right away."

  Natalie felt the brightness of the sun burn her eyes after they'd spent so much time in the cave. They crawled out and walked to Natalie's car. The lizard followed closely behind Erica like a lost duckling.

  Natalie gestured in the creature's direction. "What are we gonna do with him? No way he's gonna fit in my car."

  Erica paused her momentary panic for a wide grin. "I think I've got an idea." She looked at Natalie. "You ever learn to ride a horse?"

  6

  Dhiraj watched the top hinge of the door to the Sheriff's Department snap clean off and clank on the ground. He felt his heart skip a beat. Dhiraj looked over at the sheriff, who seemed to have forgotten about hating him for the time being.

  He gestured to the hinge. "That does not inspire confidence."

  The sheriff nodded. "Backup should be here any second."

  As if on cue, a set of sirens blared through the parking lot. The sheriff got on the radio to the cars outside while Dhiraj scampered over to a window to watch.

  "The creature at the door is extremely dangerous." The sheriff attempted to sound as assuring as he could. "You have a green light to fire. I repeat, a green light."

  Dhiraj could see a few vehicles block off
the entrance to the lot. Several deputies and officers came out with their guns drawn. While Dhiraj couldn't watch the creature from his vantage point, the terrified looks on the officers' faces clued him in that the lizard had turned his attention toward them.

  "Fire!"

  The sheriff's command roused the officers who began taking shots at the lizard. Dhiraj covered his ears from the noise and backed away from the window. He could feel his pulse racing as fast as the officers fired. While the first couple of shots elicited groans from the creature, the next set seemed to ricochet off him, like he'd toughened up his scales into armor. With bullets no longer working, they tossed two canisters of tear gas in the lizard's direction. A thick cloud of smoke blocked Dhiraj's vision. The sounds of gunfire and screaming had given way to silence. Several long beats of nothingness went by.

  "I need a visual on the creature." Sheriff Norris had a growl to his voice. "Can someone give me eyes on that thing?"

  An officer with a shaky voice replied. "That's a negative. Wait a second, I see something."

  Dhiraj looked back at the window and saw the green creature emerging from the smoke. The roar it gave was so intense, one of the officers collapsed to the ground in fear. Dhiraj's nervous system considered forcing him to do the same. He gripped the windowsill and watched the creature approach the officers. The lizard put his claws underneath the front of one car and promptly flipped it over. It landed with a crash as glass scattered on the pavement.

  The sheriff looked over at Dhiraj. "Alright, kidnapper, got any bright ideas?"

  Dhiraj turned away from the mayhem in the parking lot. He glanced at the box of apple fritters. An idea began to form in his head.

  "You guys ever have to do any trapping in the woods?"

  The sheriff caught Dhiraj's drift immediately and barked out orders to Doris, one of the only people in the office not cowering behind a desk.

  "What else do you need?"

  Dhiraj tried to visualize his plan as he looked around, ignoring the sounds of roaring and breaking glass from outside. "I need the books. And the sword."

  The sheriff nodded and went into his office. When Dhiraj followed, he watched the man remove a family portrait from the wall and open a safe behind it. Inside, Dhiraj could see the five books encased in clear plastic, as well as the sword.

  He took a deep breath. "Let's hope this goes better than my plan to start a women's fashion line."

  A few minutes later, Dhiraj watched from behind a desk as the creature busted his way into the office. The wooden door scraped across the linoleum tiles and came to a stop in front of the service desk. While the office looked abandoned from the lizard's point of view, most of the men and women present were lying in wait as a backup plan if Dhiraj's idea failed.

  It won't come to that. It's gonna work.

  As the creature entered the room, Dhiraj could see it begin to sniff around. Up close, the monster looked like it'd jumped straight out of a comic book or the Cretaceous period. It was literally the color of money and it was terrifying. Dhiraj did what he could to slow and quiet his breathing as he watched the lizard move. It looked left and right before settling on the bait. In the center of the room was an apple fritter in the jaws of a bear trap. While the creature seemed to want to resist, it couldn't help but examine the prize. When it reached to grab the fritter, the trap sprung and clamped down on the creature's arm.

  The scream mixed with a gurgle filled the building as the beast attempted to shake the trap off its arm. The sound was like nothing Dhiraj had ever heard, and he couldn't help but cover his ears. He looked over at Sheriff Norris.

  From across the room, the sheriff cued Dhiraj for his part of the plan.

  Dhiraj handled the special edition of The Sound and the Fury with care. He knew what happened to Ted when he'd grasped its cover at the Treasure Public Library. He hoped the same thing occurred with giant lizards. Dhiraj had put on a pair of black leather gloves to unwrap the book without damaging himself. When he was ready, he steeled his nerves and ran toward the creature.

  "You wanted the book? Time to pay the price."

  As the creature lunged at Dhiraj with his free hand, the teen tossed it directly into the beast's chest. When the book connected with the lizard, Dhiraj saw the magic in action.

  The lights flickered as the creature flew backward into the nearest wall. Dhiraj could smell the aroma of powdered drywall wafting through the room after the beast left a lizard-shaped indentation in the wall. The impact seemed to have damaged one of the creature's legs, which now bent at an unnatural angle.

  Dhiraj lifted his chin and looked over at the sheriff. "See, now that's what happens when two great friends put their minds–"

  The creature sprung off the ground and gurgled loudly. Dhiraj froze and held his breath. Even though the beast only had one good leg, it was still agile enough to reach for Dhiraj. The creature snarled and made one last swipe before the sheriff used the sword to stab the lizard through the back.

  Green blood pooled on the linoleum, and the creature collapsed. Steam rose up from where the sword had penetrated, and a foul odor emanated from the wound.

  "You saved me from a dinosaur." Dhiraj tried to breathe out some of his adrenaline. "I owe you one."

  The sheriff looked up at the ceiling and then back at Dhiraj. He sighed. "We're even, Dhiraj. About everything."

  Dhiraj ran over and hugged the sheriff. "That makes me happier than a dead lizard."

  The sheriff laughed. "Good. I don't understand why he didn't disappear like Nigel and his cronies, though."

  A blue portal appeared near the wall, similar to the gateway Dhiraj had seen the lizard come out of. A white electric current seemed to run around the outside of the circle.

  A woman who somehow looked even stronger than Natalie exited the portal. She was stout and pale with an outfit that seemed to decry style for functional killing. At least, that's what Dhiraj assumed it was for, given the murderous look on the woman's face.

  "Now, give me the sword or I'll flay the skin off your disgusting human bodies."

  7

  Ted looked up at the rubble above him. He was surprised he could see any of it until he noticed an emergency light built into his boots. Despite the weight of the building crashing down upon him, he'd been able to create a perfect protective dome around himself. If he hadn't done so, he would've been crushed for sure. In each direction he looked, all he could see was the remnants of the hospital.

  "Ted! Are you still in there, Ted?"

  Agent Vott's voice brought Ted out of his thoughts. "I'm here. As soon as I can figure out how to leave without crushing myself, I'll meet you at the rendezvous."

  Vott breathed a sigh of relief. "And the girl?"

  Ted saw the portal again in his mind. He'd seen some odd stuff, but never anything as strange as the girl walking into the otherworldly portal. Ted didn't know how to explain it, so he opted to leave a few items out. "I lost track of her. I'm not sure she made it."

  "I'm sorry."

  "Me too. I'll see you guys in a little bit."

  Ted lifted off the ground and moved the pocket up as he pushed his way through the rubble. He could hear the sounds of broken wood and metal clearing his way as he moved through what used to be a building. After a minute of pushing, he found he way to the surface, where the Hurricane Winston continued to rage. He blasted through the air and made it to the rendezvous point within minutes.

  Ted tapped his foot on the ground at a rapid clip. Nobody seemed to notice his anxiety as the rest of the agents focused on Vott. Ted had changed out of his wet clothes, and he'd been given a few minutes to recover before being pulled back into bureaucracy. Every mission he'd gone on that summer was immediately followed by a debriefing session. Ted dreaded them all and wished he could simply do the hero work and then take a well-deserved nap.

  As Ted's mind wandered away from the discussion, all he could think about was the portal and Sophie. A tap on the shoulder extracted Ted from hi
s guilt and confusion.

  Ted looked over at the tapper to see a female agent in her early 20s. The blond beauty must've been straight out of college, because Ted wouldn't have been too surprised to see her roaming the hallways of Treasure High.

  "Hey, you did great out there."

  The agent's soothing voice may have been exactly what Ted needed.

  He nodded. "Thanks, agent–"

  "Just call me Allison."

  Ted extended his hand. "Ted."

  She giggled. "As if anyone in the world doesn't know your name by now."

  Ted gripped Allison's hand. "For better or worse."

  Agent Vott cleared his throat and stared right at the two of them. When Allison rolled her eyes, Ted laughed for the first time in a long while.

  "Lastly," Vott said, "we need to thank Ted Finley for his service on this mission. He saved more than two dozen people and we're all thankful for his efforts."

  Allison and the rest of the agents turned toward Ted and began clapping. He scanned their minds as they looked his way. Their thoughts of praise matched their applause for the most part, and he welcomed the positivity. When the meeting concluded, Ted made sure he was the first one out of the room.

  As he walked through the hall, Ted tried to find an area with a phone signal. He passed by a TV that displayed a report of Ted's heroics, along with an image of Sophie's parents crying when they heard the news. Ted wasn't sure where the portal led, but he had to hold onto some hope that the girl was still alive. Otherwise, he'd lose it right then and there.

  After a few seconds, Ted found the signal he needed to get a call through. Before he could dial Erica's number, he received a series of text messages.

  The first came from Dhiraj, telling him that the Sheriff's Department was under attack. The next one was from Erica, describing a similar situation at the caves. The third came from Natalie, and it displayed an image that looked Photoshopped. It was a selfie, with Natalie and Erica riding on the back of what looked like a miniature Godzilla.

  "What in the hell?"

  Ted passed the TV one more time and went back into the room where Vott, Harding and several others were discussing the day's mission.