by Dee J. Stone
Kale places his hand on my arm. I barely feel it.
Clenching and unclenching my fists, I curse Vlayne and the Blades for causing this. They should be the ones lying in here, not my best friend.
I look at the plaque nailed onto the tombstone. Herein lies a hero fallen before his time. Stretch will always be remembered for his bravery, courage, and honesty.
He was never a brave guy—was scared of his own shadow. But that day in the dungeon, moments before his death, he was the bravest person I knew. He was willing to risk his life to save Samson, who was about to be assassinated.
“Do you feel him?” Kale asks.
I close my eyes as something blows around my head, through my mask. It’s only the wind. “No.”
A twig cracks, and Kale and I whirl around. The kids and teens from the park are staring at us. Kale waves them over. “Do you know who this is?”
Their faces are blank.
“He was our best friend,” Kale says. “His name was Stretch.” He tells them a few stories. How funny Stretch was, how his favorite hobby was eating, how he made weird shapes with his body.
“How did he die?” a little girl asks.
Kale hesitates, his head lowered. “Villains.” He motions for them to follow him as he shows them other heroes’ graves.
I bend down and run my fingers along Stretch’s grave. Let the tears roll over my mask, down my cheeks, and drip onto my uniform.
“This isn’t fair,” I whisper, lying down on the grave and spreading my arms over it. “You shouldn’t be down there. I should be.” Because it was my idea to escape. My stupid idea.
The wind blows at me, stronger this time. Maybe Kale’s right. Maybe I do feel him. If he’s sending me a message, it’s probably to tell me not to cry over him.
“I don’t care,” I mutter, not bothering to wipe my new tears. “I’m going to kill her for you. I promise. Just wish you can do this with Kale and me. I miss the three of us conspiring. Was fun.”
I remain slumped over his grave for a while. Then I walk down a narrow pathway to Glen’s grave. I drop down on that one, too. “I’ll kill her for you, Glen,” I whisper. “I’ll make sure she suffers.” Even though he died peacefully in his sleep, he didn’t live in peace. Those few months of not remembering what day it was, or what he thought about, or what visions he had—that was suffering. Many lives were lost because of that. Tragedies could have been prevented.
Damn, Vlayne. Damn her.
When I hear Kale and the kids returning, I raise my head and wipe my eyes.
Kale’s eyes are wide. Stealth sent me a message. The Nightmares called an emergency meeting.
I jump to my feet. Let’s go.
We wave to the kids, telling the teens to make sure they get the younger ones home safe, and leave. It’s a long bike ride home for us. I hope Stealth will be okay.
Can you contact her? I ask him.
She’s not answering.
My stomach twists. Something doesn’t feel right.
As we ride, I try to push the worry out of my head and focus on something else. My thoughts go to Stretch—to our friendship, the moment before, during, and after his death. I think about Glen and the close bond we formed. Shutting my eyes for a second, I try to push the thoughts away, too, but they’re stubborn.
Maybe we can do this again, Kale says. If you want.
I nod.
We enter the Tower. Lindsay’s in her room, clutching a stuffed animal. Stealth is standing at the window, her back facing us.
“What happened?” I ask.
She turns around and bites her lip. “Nothing good.”
Chapter Seventeen
I stare at her, waiting for her to talk. My heart pounds in my ears. Was she discovered?
Kale’s eyes are huge as he plops down on Lindsay’s bed. “Oh, man,” he breathes.
“What’s going on?” I ask. Lindsay looks as clueless as me.
“You’d better tell them, Stealth,” Kale says.
She faces the window again. I walk over to her and rest my hand on her arm. She turns to me, her eyes filled with sadness. She’s still wearing her mask. I place my thumbs on either side of her cheeks and slowly lift it up to her forehead. “What happened?” I ask softly.
She swallows. “I check my phone every so often. When I checked an hour ago, I saw I had a text from the Nightmares, telling me to come over. I rushed back here, threw on my uniform, told Lindsay and Kale where I was going, and went to them.” She swallows again. Hard this time. “A ShadowBlade was there.”
My stomach muscles twist.
“He came a day early. To surprise them, I guess.”
I nod, waiting for her to continue. Kale and Lindsay stare at her, their hands intertwined.
“They showed me off,” she says. “The Blade seemed impressed enough.”
Good. That’s good. I’m not sure why Stealth’s forehead is furrowed.
“He told us there’s a test we need to pass before we can be initiated into the ShadowBlades.”
“What kind of test?” Lindsay asks.
Stealth lowers her gaze to the floor before moving it to Lindsay, Kale, and me. “There’s going to be a huge picnic in a park in Manhattan on the Fourth of July. Lots of people.” She hesitates. “The Blades want us to kill as many people as possible. The more we kill, the higher we score, the greater our chance is of joining them.”
The room grows silent. A chill runs down my body. Something catches in my lungs and it’s difficult to breathe.
The Blades want to kill hundreds of people. They want the Nightmares to carry it out. They want Stealth to murder innocent men, women, and children.
I go over to the wall and ram my fist against it. Haven’t they killed enough? What do they gain by destroying the lives of these people? They did nothing wrong to them. Nothing.
Stealth grabs my hand, stopping my fist from going for round two. She rubs her fingers over my knuckles. “It’s okay,” she murmurs.
“No,” I say. “I’m not letting those people die.”
“Then what do we do?” Lindsay asks.
Taking in a deep breath, I stare at the floor. I’ve got no clue. None whatsoever. By the look of the three of them, they have no ideas, either.
I lower myself onto the floor, grab a notebook and poise my pen to write. It’s impossible to save lives without revealing Stealth’s true identity. If only there was a way to…
I sit up sharply. “I’ve got it.”
They look at me. “Stealth,” I say and begin writing in my notebook. “I need you to pretend to kill people, when in reality you’re saving their lives.”
All three lift their eyebrows. I scribble some more before closing my notebook and getting to my feet. I walk to the window, to my dresser, to the door, and back to the window. I’m running the idea through my head, thinking of different possibilities. The others don’t say a word as they watch me.
Finally, after everything clears in my mind, I look at them. Kale must have not read me or he doesn’t understand, because his eyebrows are scrunched.
I sit on the floor and push my legs to my chest. I turn to Stealth, who’s sitting near me. “You’ll be misting all over the place, killing people—or so the Nightmares think. Instead of killing them, you’ll bring them to safety.”
They all start talking at once. Lindsay’s complaining this won’t save all lives. Kale’s repeating my words, trying to understand them. Stealth isn’t sure the Nightmares won’t catch on.
As they talk, I gaze at the carpet, resting my chin on my knees. “The League will come quickly. They’ll stop the villains.”
“Do you have any idea how many people could die by then?” Lindsay says.
“None,” I say. “Because Stealth will make sure no lives are lost. When she sees a villain going after someone, she’ll turn invisible and save them.” I pause. “The Nightmares don’t know Stealth’s second ability. They won’t suspect her. All they’ll see is her zooming around in her m
ist form, ‘killing people.’ They will be confused when their victims disappear, but they’ll assume the League is saving them. Not Stealth.”
It’s quiet before Kale says, “But…how are we so sure Stealth will be fast enough?” He looks at her. “It’s going to be crazy out there.”
She nods. “It will be. But I can do it. I’m fast.”
Lindsay shakes her head. “I still think we should tell Samson and Cindy.”
“We will,” I say. “The Nightmares will tell Stealth the time they plan to attack. When she receives that information, she’ll send a telepathic message to Kale, and one of us will call the League to tip them off. That way by the time the Nightmares reach the location, the League will already be there. They’ll stop them before they can kill anyone.”
“But won’t the Nightmares or Blades suspect Stealth of being a rat?” Kale asks.
“No because at the end of the day, she would have ‘killed’ many people. That’s what’s important to them.”
They’re quiet. Then Lindsay says, “These people Stealth saves. What happens to them? I mean, the world has to think these people died, so they can’t return home.”
I hadn’t thought about that. Stealth saving lives is important, but what next? If she saves these people—and no one ‘dies’—the Blades will suspect her. They might kill her.
I look at all three of them. “I’m not…I don’t know. Locking them up somewhere isn’t an option.”
“No way,” Lindsay says.
I’m clueless. Time’s running out. The Fourth of July is in a few days. We need to think of something. Quick.
The room gets silent. I stare at the carpet. Nothing enters my head. I’m stuck.
“Samson and Cindy?” Lindsay asks.
Kale and I exchange a glance. He raises an eyebrow. Remember what my dad told us after Stretch died?
I do. We tried to talk to Samson about Lightning being a spy and the plot to assassinate him, but he didn’t believe us. He promised he’d listen to us the next time.
This is growing to be something much bigger than the four of us imagined. Human lives are at stake.
“Lindsay’s right,” I say. “We need to tell Samson and Cindy.”
Kale says, “I agree. Let me ask my parents if they’re free to talk to us.” He closes his eyes and communicates telepathically with them.
***
The four of us are in Samson’s office. He and Cindy are seated across from us at his desk. Before coming here, Stealth changed out of her villain uniform and mask. We don’t want them to jump to conclusions before we have a chance to explain.
I look at Kale. He takes in a deep breath and starts from the beginning. Talks about us hunting that night and finding the Black Nightmares. Of the Blade showing up and demanding they find a super villain to join their team. My idea to send Stealth. When he hears this, Samson’s face gets white as though he’s going to pass out. Cindy looks like she’s about to have a heart attack.
“You sent one of our kids to run around with villains?” Cindy scolds.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” Samson says.
“Yes, we do,” I answer. “But it was the best decision we made.”
“She’s close, Dad,” Kale says. “So close. All she’s gotta do is pass this test that—”
“This ends now.” His face has gotten paler.
“We can’t,” I say. He and Cindy look at me. “Stealth’s a member of the group. She’s on the Blades’ radar. If we pull her out, they’ll be suspicious.”
They move their gazes from me to Stealth. “You agreed to this?” Cindy asks. “Why?”
She bites her lip. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. I say, “Does it matter why? She’s too deep in this and can’t get out. We only came to you because we need your help.”
Samson shoots to his feet so sharply the furniture begins to move, due to his telekinesis. He’s mad at us.
“The ultimate goal is to take down the Blades,” I say. “To make this world a safer place for everyone. The Blades are the driving force, the inspiration behind all villains. Some risks need to be taken in order to achieve our goal. Villains will tremble once the Keepers of Justice eliminate the Blades—for real this time. We’ll make sure there are no successors. Every one will die.”
Samson clenches his jaw as he sits down.
“Why didn’t you come to us from the start?” Cindy asks. “Before putting Stealth’s life at risk, you should have talked it over with us.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Would you have agreed to send her?”
“Absolutely not.”
“And that’s why we didn’t come to you. You wouldn’t have let us and we wouldn’t have a way to track the Blades.”
Samson rests his hand on my arm. “Avenging Stretch’s death is eating away at you, but you can’t put other people’s lives at risk. How would you feel if Stealth would have been killed? How would you live with the guilt?”
My heart clenches. I feel her eyes on me, but I avoid them. I don’t know what I’d do if something were to happen to her.
“Stealth,” he continues. “You’re brave to agree to this. But it’s wrong.”
“Dad, you haven’t seen her. She’s badass.” Kale beams at her. “Bad-ass.”
“Language, Kale.”
“She knows how to handle the villains,” Kale continues. “Do you have any idea how powerful she is?”
Samson doesn’t say anything. He must know.
“There’s no point in arguing about this,” Stealth says. “I’m in. We need to move on.”
Samson and Cindy look at one another for a bit, most probably having a telepathic conversation.
Lindsay tugs on Kale’s arm. “You always get into trouble,” she whispers, poking him in the ribs.
He smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, I’m probably giving them gray hair.”
Samson looks away from Cindy and clasps his hands together. “From now on you involve us in your plans. Is that understood?”
Kale nods. I do, too, reluctantly.
“We need your help,” Kale says. He tells them about the Fourth of July attack. They inhale sharply. I inform them of our plan to have Stealth “kill people.”
“The only problem is that we don’t know what to do with the people who supposedly die,” Lindsay finishes for me.
Samson and Cindy are quiet for a bit. Samson sighs. “You four mean well,” he says, sighs again, then returns to thinking. A few seconds pass before he continues. “Yes, we’ll follow through with your plan. The League will be ready to fight off these villains, before they have a chance to kill innocent people.”
Cindy looks at Stealth. “I’m not okay with the fact that you will be in danger. But this is the situation we face and there isn’t much we can do.”
“We’ll have Elite members watching over you,” Samson says.
Stealth shrugs. “I can do it. I’m not scared and I don’t need anyone watching over me. You guys should focus on attacking the Nightmares and saving lives. Let me do what I need to do.”
Cindy shakes her head. “No.”
“I can do it,” Stealth says. “Trust me.”
“We’ll have Elites members watching over you,” Cindy says in a tone which means the discussion is over.
Stealth slinks down in her chair.
“Kale,” Cindy says. “I’ll help you fortify your block on Stealth’s mind. She’ll need extra protection when she joins the ShadowBlades.”
“Yep. Thanks, Mom. You, too, Dad.”
Samson’s eyes narrow. “I want you to know that I don’t condone your behavior. But you’ve left us with no other choice.”
Kale lowers his gaze to his knees. “Sorry.”
“We did the best we could,” I say.
Samson nods, but still looks upset. “Remember, we’ll work as a team. Stealth updates all of us. We plan together. No more sneaking around.”
Maybe they’re right. Maybe having them in on this
is smart. I don’t want Stealth or anyone else to get hurt.
“So,” Lindsay says. “What happens to the people Stealth saves?”
“We’ll have to hire people to pretend to get killed,” Cindy answers.
Kale lifts an eyebrow. “Hire?”
“We have many resources,” Samson explains. “Old acquaintances, consultants, agents that work for us. League members who will go undercover. We’ll hire fake families who will be at the picnic. Stealth will focus on saving humans as well as the hired help. Some of these hired individuals will be housed in a facility where we will care for them, since they need to stay hidden. Others—like our fellow League members—will return to their regular lives, since no one knows their true identities. This way the villains won’t suspect a thing.”
He stops talking as he looks at us. Then he continues, “We don’t want to cause anyone too much heartache by believing all these people are dead. We’ll tell them that since so many people are missing, they must have been taken as hostages by the villains. We will ensure the public that we will do everything in our power to get them back safe and sound. Hopefully, Stealth will join the ShadowBlades and we will destroy them as fast as possible. We’ll ‘free’ the hostages then.” He looks at Stealth. “The focus is the humans. Stick to Ray’s plan. When you see someone in danger, go invisible and save them.”
She nods. “I can do it.”
Kale raises a finger. “But there are six villains. I mean, they’ll probably kill some normies. Mistress of Death can’t be the only one killing people. The Nightmares and Blades will be suspicious.”
“Of course they’ll try to kill,” Samson says. “But that’s our job as the Keepers of Justice to prevent that from happening, as we do with any villain battle. We’ll be sharp and quick. I don’t plan on any lives being lost.”
Neither do I. It’s a solid plan, but so many things could go wrong.
“We’ll make the proper arrangements,” Samson says. “And we’ll discuss this further. But for now, the four of you are dismissed.”
