The Candidate (The Viral Superhero Series Book 3)

by Bryan Cohen

  Vott smiled and pointed at Ted as he came back in. "There he is! The man of the hour."

  Ted tried to build up his resolve. "I need to go back to Treasure."

  Vott's face went from happy to annoyed in a hurry. "As I told you last time, the only reason you can go is–"

  Ted pulled up the picture. "If my town comes under attack from otherworldly creatures?"

  Vott pulled the phone closer. "What is that thing? A freakin' dinosaur?"

  Harding piped up. "Can you forward me that picture? My niece would love that. She's really into science right now."

  Vott glared at his partner. "Ted, there are things left to figure out here. Relief efforts."

  Ted rubbed at his chin. "None of which you need me for."

  Vott took a step toward him. "We can't spare the resources to fly you–"

  "Not a problem. Just give me permission to go."

  Vott put his arm around Ted's shoulder and led him away from the other agents. "Ted, do you really want to fly up the entire East Coast? Just wait a day."

  Ted shook his head and stared right into Vott's eyes. "We had a deal."

  Vott flared his nostrils. "Fine. Take some goggles at least."

  Ted wrapped his arms around Vott for a hug. "Thanks, man. I mean, agent man."

  Vott laughed. "Don't mention it. Let us know when you get there."

  Ted let go of the hug and nodded. He waved to Harding, Allison and the other agents before speeding over to a supply closet for some goggles. He sent a group text to the gang and said he was on his way before opening a window and flying out. He hoped that Erica and the gang would be able to hold off the threat until he arrived.

  8

  Dhiraj felt significantly more tongue-tied than usual as he looked at the woman who'd just come through the portal. He prided himself on being able to talk his way out of any situation, but this might be the biggest challenge of his life. After all, he didn't even know what species she was.

  The woman reached back toward the portal and it closed behind her. "I imagine it's breathtaking to see a creature from another world in your presence, but there's really no time for delay. Hand over the sword and the books."

  Dhiraj looked over at the sheriff. He seemed to be as speechless as Dhiraj was. The sword in the sheriff's hands continued to drip the green blood of the fallen creature. The sheriff didn't seem to mind the putrid smell; his eyes were focused on the mysterious woman.

  "This is the property of the living soul." The sheriff took a step back. "Taking it could make him very angry."

  "Yeah!" Dhiraj felt the pit in his stomach grow. "You wouldn't like him when he's angry."

  The gatekeeper guffawed and held her belly as if it were about to burst. "Humans. Even before I saw the dark, I never understood why we valued you so much."

  The woman took a long metal staff out of a holster on her back. The weapon made a ringing sound as it emerged. Dhiraj noticed ancient writing from top to bottom of the staff. The sight of it didn't help to settle his stomach.

  "We're really good at talking things out." Dhiraj felt a buzz in his pocket. "In fact, why don't we just have a nice conversation over some delicious apple fritters?"

  The woman's smile turned sour. "You're stalling. I think I'll take the sword. And the pastries." With a swift motion, the woman swung the end of the staff into the ground. With that, a portal began to form underneath Dhiraj and the sheriff. Dhiraj looked down and watched as a blue dot the size of a pin swelled to the dimensions of a manhole and continued to expand. The portal was mesmerizing and terrifying all at the same time. It seemed to compel Dhiraj to keep his feet planted and let himself be sucked inside.

  The sheriff grabbed him by the waist and pulled him away from the opening. As they leaned up against the wall, the blue hole grew continued to expand, sucking in a wastebasket and a few papers that had fallen to the ground in the attack.

  The woman gestured to the portal, making it expand at double its rate.

  "You know, I've always had this power." The woman moved like water with each fluid step. "I can see between worlds. I can travel to any of the realms at any time. Before, I couldn't use that power for myself."

  Dhiraj and the sheriff continued to move along the wall, as the portal sucked in a small desk and the deceased creature's body. They reached a dead end next to a large metal storage cabinet.

  The woman's eyes looked as wide as the portal growing beside them. "Now that I'm free, there's nothing I can't do."

  Dhiraj looked down into the portal. Through the glowing blue, he could see down for what seemed like miles. There was no telling what was at the end of that tunnel, or if he and the sheriff would survive the trip.

  Just then, something caught Dhiraj's eye on the other side of the room.

  He tossed a smile in the woman's direction. "I can think of one thing you don't have."

  The woman wrinkled her forehead. "What's that, mortal?"

  "Eyes in the back of your head."

  With a gurgling battle cry, another eight-foot-tall lizard creature came dashing into the office. It was on a collision course with the woman in the center of the room. Dhiraj watched as Natalie and Erica dove off the beast and rolled to the side. The creature lowered its head and rammed right into the woman's midsection. As she flew through the air, the staff bounced out of her hands and the portal beside Dhiraj closed in an instant.

  He smirked at the sheriff. "Remind me never to go cliff diving."

  The sheriff nodded his head before pulling Dhiraj toward Erica and Natalie.

  "You guys okay?" Erica trained her eyes on the woman across the room.

  "Sure." Dhiraj felt his heart rate come down slightly. "Every day I don't fall into a blue death hole is a miracle." Dhiraj noticed that Natalie's hand was tinted green. "You teach that lizard to play nice?"

  Natalie gave Dhiraj the stink-eye. "You know I have a way with animals. Who's the chick?"

  The woman stood up. She looked as if she'd almost enjoyed being slammed into by a giant lizard. She then looked Erica square in the eyes.

  "Protector. You shouldn't have come."

  Erica put her hands on her hips. "What? And miss this inter-dimensional party?"

  The lizard had been catching its breath in the corner, but after a full recovery, it made another charge at the woman. All in one sweeping motion, she accelerated rapidly across the room, rolled over to her fallen metal staff and slammed the end on the ground. Another portal opened up in mid-air, and the lizard ran right into it. With another tap of the staff, the portal and the creature were gone.

  Dhiraj's shoulders slumped. "Never send a lizard to do a man's–"

  Before he could finish, Erica had rushed over to the woman and kicked her in the back. When the woman turned and swung her staff, Erica roundhouse kicked it out of her hands. It clanged against the ground.

  "Protector. You have no idea what's coming."

  Erica tossed her hair. "Gatekeeper. Shut up and fight."

  The woman grinned at the barb and started to swing her fists at Erica. Erica blocked the first two blows easily, but a third one surprised her with a whap to the side of the head. Erica shook it off and went on the offensive with three punches of her own, one of which landed in the gatekeeper's gut. As the gatekeeper started another volley of blows, Dhiraj watched as the fight moved away from the metal staff.

  "We've got to keep that from the crazy woman."

  Natalie nodded. "I'm on it."

  As the athlete ran toward the staff, the gatekeeper sent Erica smashing into the wall with a powerful kick. Before Natalie could reach the weapon, the gatekeeper moved so fast that Dhiraj lost track of her for a split second.

  The woman grabbed one end of the staff while Natalie gripped the other. She yanked hard, but Natalie wouldn't give up her position.

  Sela scowled. "Kids shouldn't play with toys that don't belong to them."

  Natalie returned the look. "You should learn how to share."

  The tug of war
ended when the gatekeeper lowered her shoulder and slammed into Natalie's chest. Natalie flew backward and landed hard on the ground.

  The gatekeeper took the staff back in two hands and held it above her head.

  "You made a valiant effort. For your troubles, I'll try to send you somewhere nice."

  The gatekeeper slammed the staff back into the ground and opened up a wide portal on the wall nearest Natalie. Dhiraj held his breath, and the power in the building went out. As the room became dim, the portal continued to cast a pale blue light in the area around it. Dhiraj could see the woman's blue-tinted face smiling.

  "Too bad I'm not afraid of the dark. Show yourself!"

  Something sent the gatekeeper to the ground with a "thwap." She grunted with pain, but before she could get up, the figure behind her sent a series of kicks into her body. The attacker was silent and continued to pepper the gatekeeper with punches and kicks on the ground. Dhiraj took the opportunity to run over to Natalie's side.

  "Are you alright?"

  Dhiraj could barely detect Natalie's nod in the dark. "Is that Ted?"

  He couldn't tell, but whatever it was, it now had the gatekeeper above its head. The woman let out a primal yell as the figure tossed the gatekeeper, staff and all, into the blue portal on the wall. As the echo of screams stopped, the portal closed up completely.

  Dhiraj fumbled for his cell phone to turn on the flashlight feature. He expected to see a big smile from his superhero best friend Ted Finley. Instead, he saw a person he didn't recognize in the slightest. A Japanese man in his early 40s walked over to help Erica to her feet. While the man looked straight out of an old samurai movie, he spoke perfect English.

  "Hello, my old friend."

  Her pained expression turned into one of recognition. "Yoshi?!"

  9

  A wave of emotions hit Ted as he grew tired in the last half hour of flying. Between moving two-dozen people through the sky in a protective bubble and trying to get to Treasure in record time, his lack of endurance was beginning to get to him. Through his pounding heart, he wondered if he'd made a mistake choosing the government over a summer of training with Erica. He'd saved people's lives throughout the U.S., but that would mean nothing to him if his friends were lost in the process.

  They attacked because I wasn't there. I let her down.

  From takeoff to landing, it took Ted exactly 32 minutes to plant his feet on the front steps of the Sheriff's Department. As his body readjusted to being on the ground, he could feel just how fast his heart was going. Part of him wondered if it would burst. Ted shook off the worry, clenched his fists and walked into the building.

  The doors were marred, battered and lying on the ground. There were multiple cracks in the walls from bodily impact. Ted also spied a puddle of green blood before Dhiraj came running up to greet him.

  "Ted! You just missed the party."

  The others in the room – Sherriff Norris, Natalie, Erica and someone he didn't recognize – all perked up at the mention of his name. Ted felt the room begin to spin. He steadied himself on Dhiraj's shoulder.

  "Thanks, I–"

  The spinning grew faster and faster until Ted felt himself slip away from consciousness. A wave of darkness came over him. Images flashed before him from his last year as a hero. He saw himself in the Treasure High gym while the dark soul version of Sandra threatened him and Dhiraj. He watched as he and Natalie ran from the terror of former substitute teacher and brainwasher Mr. Redican. He saw the night of the prom and his slow dance with Erica LaPlante. Ted felt a mix of peace and anxiety as the images left him, replaced by what he saw when his eyelids fluttered open.

  For the first time in three months, Erica's face was before him. There was no laptop or tablet screen distorting the image, nor were there thousands of miles between them. It was her, and despite everything that had happened, all Ted wanted to do in the world was kiss her.

  "Hey."

  Erica took his hand and smiled. "Hey. You sure know how to make an entrance."

  Ted's eyes adjusted to the light in the room as he got his bearings. The dark, gray walls clued him in that they were inside a vacant cell in the Sheriff's Department building. Scratched into the walls were poorly thought out sentences and crude drawings. Erica's minty shampoo was almost overcome by the scent of mildew. She knelt on the ground beside the uncomfortable prison bed.

  Ted laughed, which sent a sharp pain through his ribs. He figured he must have landed right on them when he collapsed. "I flew here from Florida in half an hour."

  Erica pursed her lips and nodded. "I'd be more impressed if you hadn't passed out right after."

  Ted lifted his hand to Erica's face. Her skin was smooth and warm. He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. She moved her face toward his.

  "I missed you, Ted Finley."

  Ted felt the warmth from her touch radiate down his arm and spread through his chest.

  "The feeling is mutual."

  Erica leaned down and placed her lips on his. Ted kissed back and let the magic of her taste bring him back to all the time they'd spent together. Holding each other, training and saving the world. It was all in that kiss. Erica leaned against him and Ted put his arms around her. He couldn't resist the impulse to smile as he kissed her. His heart was filled with pure joy. From the relaxed look on Erica's face, Ted imagined she felt the same way.

  Erica laughed and wiped one of her eyes. "I know the light souls didn't choose you because you were a good kisser. But they really could have."

  Erica lay down on the prison bed beside him and intertwined their legs. They shared another short kiss before she touched her nose to his.

  "I heard you fought a hurricane."

  Ted tried not to think about the portal and Sophie Kent.

  He scrunched his nose. "I heard you rode a dinosaur."

  Erica laughed. "We have a lot to catch up on. With business–" she locked her fingers in his, "–and pleasure."

  The sound of a throat clearing outside the cell startled both of them. Erica sat up and scooted away from Ted as if her parents had caught them making out in the basement. Ted looked up at the Japanese man he hadn't recognized earlier. The man wore tight-fitting athletic clothes. He might be as old as 40, though he appeared to be in the shape of a 20-year-old. The veins popping out of his muscles made Ted jealous.

  "Ted. My name is Yoshi, and it's an honor to meet the living soul."

  Ted looked over at Erica before accepting the man's hand. Even the media didn't know him by that term. From his experience, the only ones who knew what "living soul" meant were his closest friends or his greatest enemies.

  "Good to meet you, Yoshi." Ted took the man's hand and felt the squeeze of immense wrist strength. "Nice, firm grip."

  Yoshi nodded. "Grip is very helpful in battle. That's one of the many things the elders taught us in the Academy."

  Ted nodded.

  Elders? Academy? Who is this guy?

  While Ted was the one with the ability to read thoughts, Erica seemed to pull all the questions from his mind.

  "Yoshi is one of the grand masters from the Academy, a school in Japan that trains warriors to fight against the dark souls."

  Ted recalled Erica mentioning the facility as a place where they train potential living souls. Ted could see why the light souls might consider Yoshi a strong candidate.

  He got off the bed. Yoshi was taller and his eye contact was as firm as his handshake had been.

  Ted tried to step out of the samurai's gaze. "That's cool. I'll have to go there sometime. What brings you here?"

  Yoshi's mouth nearly formed a smile. "The elders sent me here to help you and the protector."

  Erica put her hand on Yoshi's shoulder. "Just in the nick of time, too. He saved us from the gatekeeper."

  A pang of nervousness went through Ted's chest when Erica touched Yoshi's shoulder. He shook it off and looked at Erica. "Gatekeeper?"

  Erica took her hand off Yoshi and locked arms
with Ted. "There's a lot to explain. Yoshi, if you'll excuse us."

  Yoshi bowed and moved away.

  Ted and Erica walked down the hallway of cells together, the mildew stench now overpowering any other scent.

  Ted pulled his arm around Erica's more tightly. "You know that guy. From before. Don't you?"

  Erica kept her eyes straight ahead. "In another life, we were good friends. I was in the body of a student at the Academy."

  Ted narrowed his eyes. "So girls and boys both train there?"

  "No."

  Before Ted could let that answer sink in, the two of them had moved back into the main lobby.

  Now that Ted wasn't about to pass out, he could see the disaster the Sheriff Department lobby had become. One officer had a mop and a water bucket and tried his best to soak up the green pool of blood. Another swept up bits of drywall from the multiple structural collisions.

  Natalie was the first to see Ted. For some reason, he flashed back to the dance they shared at prom.

  "Hey." Natalie wrapped her arms around him. "I'll try not to hug you so hard that you pass out again."

  Ted hugged her back. It felt so good to hear Natalie's voice again, too.

  "I'm going to get made fun of a lot for this, aren't I?"

  Dhiraj ran over and patted Ted on the back.

  "Well, if it isn't our little southern belle." He mimed the action of waving a fan in front of his face and did his best southern accent. "I do declare, I was so overwhelmed by seeing my best friend Dhiraj that I up and lost consciousness."

  Ted made sure to return the back slap with twice as much force. "Good to see you, too, Dhiraj. Where's Jen?"

  Ted knew his friend well enough that it wouldn't be hard to get the subject changed from his fainting spell.

  "Field hockey camp. Can you believe they start two weeks before school? Although, it does give me the chance to give more foot rubs."

  Ted felt his strength start to return as he surrounded himself with friends. Sheriff Norris gave a nod from the other side of the room as he took care of the business of cleaning up the department. Ted noticed Yoshi sitting far across from them and out of earshot. He was watching the four of them interact.