The Candidate (The Viral Superhero Series Book 3)

by Bryan Cohen

  "I want to know more about this gatekeeper and about this Yoshi guy." Ted smiled at the samurai before turning back to the gang with a neutral look. "Can we trust him?"

  Erica looked surprised. "With our lives, Ted. He's been fighting for the cause a lot longer than you have."

  Ted looked back over at Yoshi and wondered if he'd had the same lack of choice in the matter. Ted furrowed his brow and tried to read the man's thoughts. For the first time since he'd learned about the power, he couldn't detect a single emotion, memory or short-term thought. The lack of information was unsettling.

  "I'm sure you're right." Ted put his arms around Dhiraj and Erica, trying to hide his line of conversation from the samurai. "I've just got a bad feeling about him. Let's hope I'm wrong."

  10

  Jennifer laid out her field hockey uniform on her bedspread. Unlike previous years, her top had a red C stitched on the front for captain. Natalie had quit the team to focus all her attention on basketball and recruiting. While Jennifer's skills paled in comparison to Natalie's, she was a senior, and Coach Fowler knew she'd do anything to win.

  She looked down at the outfit and thought about how little the captainship meant. How little the team meant. A dark soul that could cross between worlds had attacked the Sheriff's Department and put both her father and Dhiraj at risk. She sighed.

  And what was I doing? Running sprints?

  Later that morning, about halfway through the exhibition, Treasure High was up by two goals. Jeannie had scored one and assisted on the other. Jennifer couldn't believe how fast the girl could move. The only person she'd seen run that quickly on the field was Natalie. Maybe Jeannie would be the former captain's heir apparent.

  Jennifer was playing on the opposite side as Jeannie when the freshman got another breakaway. Her ponytail oscillated back and forth as she ran, with Jennifer doing her best to catch up to the action. Jennifer could feel her heart pounding. Jeannie had just one defender to beat and was about to juke her out. The defender took a frustrated swipe, slamming her stick directly into Jeannie's knee. The hotshot freshman fell face-first into the ground, a scream of pain filling the field. As the girl lifted her head, the onlookers could see a mouthful of blood from where her teeth had clamped down on her lip.

  Jennifer continued running despite dimly hearing the whistle blow. Even though she saw Jeannie writhing in pain before her, her mind had gone elsewhere.

  Natalie was on the ground in the middle of the caves. Jennifer could see her and Dhiraj beside the former team captain as blood poured out from her stab wound. She remembered Mr. Faraday with his arm around her neck, threatening to kill her and bring her back as a dark soul. Then Jennifer pictured herself pointing a gun at Daly just after she'd fired a round into his ear, the blood pooling on the off-white carpet.

  When she reached the spot of the foul, there was nothing left inside her but rage. Jennifer leapt off the ground and tackled the offending opponent to the ground. Amid the cries of pain from Jeannie to her left, the team captain took a swing and connected with the defender's cheek. She slammed a second fist into the girl's nose, causing a steady drip of blood to seep out. Jennifer felt nothing as she let a third and final blow rip, connecting with the girl's eye socket. She wasn't sure if the referee or a coach pulled her away, and she didn't know the source of the primal yell she let out, either. All she knew was that nobody was going to hurt her or her team ever again.

  11

  Natalie organized the college offer letters into her top 68 picks and seeded them based on stats like climate, academic reputation and number of NCAA championships. Over the next couple of hours, she held a tournament among the different schools to come up with her own "excellent eight" of places to visit. It took longer than she expected, but after debating the merits of all the universities, she was able to narrow them down. It took her a moment to realize that one of the schools, Southern Ohio, was where Ted's sister Christina had a scholarship to play softball. She made a mental note to room with her when she made her visit. After admiring her choices and tacking the letters to the wall, an alarm on Natalie's phone went off. A smile crept over her face as she silenced the ringer and threw on a hoodie.

  A light breeze brushed against her face as she snuck out the back door of the house and eased herself through the gap in the fence. She looked across the street to see a pair of unlit but familiar headlights. Natalie had told him to keep his lights off because it would attract less attention. She looked both ways before crossing and walked around to the passenger side. Natalie entered and plopped down on the leather seat.

  "You're sure you weren't followed?"

  The driver was tall and muscular like Natalie. He gave his passenger a disapproving look. "Have I ever been?"

  Natalie ignored the insolence and leaned over to his seat. He met her halfway and they kissed deeply. Natalie took in his grungy aroma, which smelled like he'd been working on an engine all day. At first, it was a turnoff, but now it was all tied into the experience of being with him – an experience she found herself having more and more often. Natalie wanted to kiss every part of his body from head to toe.

  He pulled away from her kiss and put his hand on her shoulder. "I wanted to ask you something."

  She tried to move back toward him for a second round, but he kept her back with his hand. She grumbled. "Fine."

  He mimicked her grumble. "I know that telling people I'm dating you will kill my reputation."

  Natalie folded her arms. "Uh-huh."

  "But school's coming. It's gonna be tough seeing you unless this thing goes public."

  Natalie leaned back and opened the car door.

  He reached across the console and put his hand on her leg. When she turned back toward him, he had a massive grin on his face.

  "Come on. Do you really hate me that much?"

  Natalie moved her tongue around in her mouth. She wanted to taste his lips again, but she knew he'd be resistant unless she responded.

  "It's complicated."

  "It's complicated for me, too." He sighed and looked around as if someone was watching him. "I just want this, okay?"

  As much as it pained her, she wanted it, too.

  "Fine."

  He raised one eyebrow. "Really?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Really. Now shut up and kiss me."

  Natalie allowed him to do all the work reaching her this time.

  He smiled as he kissed her before resting his head on hers. "I think your friends'll be happy for you. Even Dhiraj."

  Natalie gave him a playful slap in the head. "Don't be an idiot, Travis. You tried to punch him in the face."

  12

  Kikuchiyo's body was in the midst of a ritual funeral when Erica had crossed over into it. The Academy understood the meaning of the young boy's resurrection immediately. It meant that something was coming and the boy was there to save their lives.

  The beauty of the small, isolated school amazed the new Kikuchiyo. Cherry blossom trees and buildings that had stood for hundreds of years dotted the mountainside. The protector felt like he'd been transported far into the past, and his heart ached for time gone by.

  After experiencing his vision and acclimating to his new body, Kikuchiyo failed in his first efforts to connect with Yoshi, the boy's best friend before Kikuchiyo's untimely passing. Yoshi cursed the light souls and said the one who died should have been him. It took weeks for Kikuchiyo to convince Yoshi that the boy's memories would always be a part of the protector for generations to come. As a result, Kikuchiyo would live longer than most of humanity.

  Yoshi warmed up to Kikuchiyo just in the nick of time. An ancient spirit older than the light and dark souls had targeted the school and its students. The embodiment of the evil spirit was eight feet tall and covered from head to toe in flames. After it slaughtered several of the elders, Kikuchiyo told the students to stand back. Only Yoshi stayed by his side.

  They flushed the spirit onto a narrow cliff, wielding weapons that had been charmed wit
h an incantation that made the blades colder than ice. The creature swung for Kikuchiyo. Even though he evaded direct contact, his neck had been singed, exposing burned flesh to the heavy wind of the mountaintop. Before the spirit could strike Kikuchiyo again, Yoshi seemed to fly through the air, slicing off its arm. The sound that left the spirit's mouth made their ears bleed as the appendage disappeared in a puff of smoke on the rocks.

  The creature became twice as determined and seemed to move faster despite the injury. A swift kick set Yoshi's clothing aflame while a painful slap left charred burns on Kikuchiyo's face. The creature laughed and seemed to grow taller and thicker with fire.

  Kikuchiyo watched his friend. He knew Yoshi would be willing to give his life to save the school and his friend. But Kikuchiyo was the one with lives to spare.

  He smiled. "Go for the head."

  "What?! He's too fast."

  "Goodbye, my friend."

  With that, Kikuchiyo ran at full speed for the belly of the beast. He dodged the spirit's attempts to grab him and ran his sword through its stomach. The beast howled again and wrapped its flame-coated arms around the protector. Yoshi screamed as pain exploded in every cell in Kikuchiyo's body. He was halfway to death when Yoshi swung his blade into the neck of the occupied spirit. The head slid off its body and exploded on the rocks. The flames surrounding Kikuchiyo disappeared, along with the spirit itself.

  Kikuchiyo crumpled to the ground, his body burned on every visible inch. He did his best to remain conscious as the agony coursed through him.

  Yoshi seemed to be doing everything he could to remain stoic. He ran his hands through his friend's hair. "I don't want to lose you again. It's more painful the second time."

  Kikuchiyo forced a smile through his charred face. "I'll never be lost, my friend. I... I'll return in another form."

  Despite the heat that had worked its way through his body, Kikuchiyo began to feel cold and weak.

  Yoshi nodded. "I will find you. I will be chosen and together we'll save the world."

  Kikuchiyo felt the life draining out of him. "We already have."

  Erica had her arm around Ted's waist as they walked by the pond behind Ted’s house. The trail went for several miles behind a few housing developments, and they'd already made a full loop of walking and talking.

  After Ted launched into a conversation about Sophie Kent and Erica countered with her adventures in Japan, they both opted to discuss only positive things for the rest of the walk.

  "So, you and Natalie are BFFs now?"

  Erica could see through Ted's nonchalance. "Yes. And we talked about you the whole time."

  Ted let out a grunt and kissed Erica on the neck. A faint hint of stubble tickled her skin and sent a shiver through her body. She let out a girlish yelp.

  Ted laughed. "That's not what I meant. I'm just glad you two are getting along."

  Erica tightened her grip around Ted. "She loves to win. She also likes keeping her secrets."

  Ted's tongue slid along his upper lip. "What do you know?"

  Erica tousled the back of his hair. "We're BFFs now. I couldn't possibly divulge that information."

  Ted spun around and caught Erica by the waist. "I swear, I'll kiss you until you tell me everything."

  Erica could feel the anticipation grow in her chest. She couldn't believe how great it was to have him back. She put on a fake stern look. "I will never submit."

  With that, Ted used his grip to roll Erica onto the grass beside the pond. She squealed and pretended to fight back against his hold. If she'd really wanted to escape, a few well-placed blows to the stomach and groin would get her out in an instant – but there was nothing she wanted to do less. After a few rotations, Ted lay on top of Erica and pressed his lips onto her cheek and neck. The tickling layer of hair on his face forced the laughter right out of her.

  He pulled away for a split second. "Tell me!"

  She could barely speak through her heaving belly laughs. "Holy crap. You... need a shave... so bad."

  Ted went back to his kissing game and Erica's chest burned from too much laughter. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so happy, in this life or any of the others.

  Ted rested his hips on hers and straightened his arms beside her to look straight down into her eyes. "This is your last warning. If you don't tell me all the rumors, I'm going to kiss you on the lips."

  Erica felt twitchy with sensitivity, as if any part of his skin touching her would send her into another giggle attack. She took in a deep breath and let it out with a half-chuckle. "Do your worst."

  As he pressed his lips into hers, Erica let everything go. Thoughts about training Ted, killing the gatekeeper and thwarting evil with Yoshi all fluttered away. There was only Ted and his mouth against hers. Erica closed her eyes and kissed him deeper. For all she cared, they could've been the only two people in the world as the sun began to set.

  The sky was much darker an hour later when they lay beside each other and looked toward the stars. Erica felt light inside, as if the only things tethering her to the ground were her fingers intertwined with Ted's.

  Ted broke the endless silence. "If I weren't a hero, would it be like this all the time?"

  Erica almost couldn't bear Ted's cuteness. "A few things might be different."

  "I know." Ted bit his lip. "You wouldn't be here. I might still be a dork."

  Erica tickled Ted's thigh. "You are still a dork."

  Ted re-gripped her hand. "I'm just staying, sometimes I wish... we could have fewer nights training and fighting evil, and more like this."

  Erica shifted onto her side to face Ted and he did the same toward her. She spied the pain in Ted's eyes and locked his other hand in hers.

  "You're back. That's what's important. I'm going to teach you your other powers. If the gatekeeper comes back, we'll find a way to stop her together." Erica leaned her neck in and kissed Ted on the cheek. "And after we do, we can celebrate with another night like this."

  Most of the pain left Ted's look as he reached around Erica and pulled her close. Erica didn't want to tell him, but she wished she could take a break, too. Feeling his warm body pressed against hers almost made her forget they were in the middle of a war.

  The pair walked back to Ted's house, arm-in-arm. The motion-sensing lights kicked in, which brought a black SUV into view in the Finley's driveway.

  Erica's lightness gave way to a sense of dread. Her stomach squeezed. "Your friends are here."

  Ted let out a deep breath. "I guess the government doesn't call ahead."

  As they approached the vehicle, the door closest to them opened up. Erica recognized Vott and Harding right away.

  "You two should come with us." Vott motioned the two of them forward. "We think we may be able to predict the next attack."

  13

  As Senator Kable got in his car to drive home from a campaign meeting, he noticed a shimmer of blue in the backseat. By the time he glanced in his rear-view mirror, a pale woman with jet-black hair appeared and stared right back into his eyes. The gatekeeper looked sullen.

  "Sela, my dear." Kable started the car and pulled out onto the road. "We'll have to make this quick – my wife is expecting me any minute."

  Kable watched as Sela nursed a wound on her shoulder.

  "I wasn't able to get the sword. Or the books."

  Kable's loud laugh startled Sela, causing her to jump a few inches in her seat.

  "My poor gatekeeper. It was never my intention for you to succeed."

  Sela's confusion amused Kable. It was almost as fun as hearing about his rising poll numbers.

  "You wanted me to fail."

  "It's all part of the plan. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

  Sela seethed with anger. He watched as her chest began to heave faster and faster.

  "Do you know how easy it would be to put a portal right under your car? I could send you to a world that's deeper and darker than anything you've ever seen. You would burn. Forever.
"

  Kable liked the confrontation. It allowed him to feel something he hadn't felt for quite a while: the hint of a real battle.

  "Sela, you can't know every part of the plan. It's just how it is. You'll still have the role we discussed when everything falls into place."

  The statement seemed to pacify the backseat passenger for a moment. She dragged her nails across the leather. "I don't see why we can't just lead an army in and take the place over."

  Kable nodded. "I know it seems like that would be the best plan, but there's an easier way. If we go about it diplomatically, we may be able to take this world without losing a single soldier."

  Sela laughed. Kable found the sound creepy coming from such a serious warrior.

  "I wasn't aware of your deep desire to preserve life."

  Kable pulled into his driveway and parked the car. He turned around to view the gatekeeper head on.

  "Just our own lives, Ms. Fortbright. Just our own. I'll contact you soon about the next step. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner date."

  Sela assented and disappeared from the back in a flash of blue light.

  The aroma of savory meat and spices hit Kable as soon as he walked in. He glanced the delicious-looking spread on the table and noticed two open bottles of wine on the kitchen counter. In the midst of it all was his wife. Her long black hair couldn't have been more different-looking from when he'd met her, and she also wore makeup that made her look more mature than her actual age. Her hair and makeup weren't what caught the bulk of his attention, though. The low-cut black dress with an apron tied around the waist made him feel like he'd just walked into heaven.

  "Honey, I'm home."

  Mrs. Kable moved across the room as if she were gliding. She wrapped her hands around his midsection and kissed him on the lips.

  "I can see that." She gestured back to the food and wine. "What do you think of this spread?"