by Lucas Flint
“Thanks,” I said. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Come on, Teresa. We have no time to lose.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Teresa’s truck was a lot faster than Nightbolt’s, but it was still slower than I liked. I drove it as fast as I could, but it seemed to take an eternity for us to get to Nightbolt’s house. It didn’t help that my body still ached from where I’d been shot twice. The spots didn’t hurt quite as badly as they had at first, but I knew I’d be feeling this in the morning … assuming I lived that long, that is.
Finally, Nightbolt’s house came into view. It looked ordinary from a distance, but as we got closer, I noticed more and more signs of a struggle. The front door stood open; the gate around the house had been knocked off its hinges; Camel’s car was parked at the gate, while Nightbolt’s truck stood where it always did. Even Spike’s doghouse had been knocked over, though Spike himself was nowhere to be seen.
As I killed the truck’s engine, I turned to Teresa and said, “Stay here. If you see Camel or someone else coming, just get out of here as fast as you can, okay?”
“But I want to come with you,” Teresa said. “If this Camel man is dangerous—”
“If Nightbolt hasn’t beaten him, you won’t stand a shadow of a chance against him,” I said bluntly. “Stay here, okay?”
Teresa bit her lower lip, but thankfully, she nodded. “Okay, Beams. I’ll wait for you to return, but please be safe, all right?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
But before I left the truck, Teresa did something unexpected: She hugged me, and tightly at that, for a moment before letting go of me. She looked a little embarrassed at doing that, while I just sat there and stared at her, surprised at her behavior.
“That was just a good luck hug,” said Teresa. “Don’t think too much about it or expect anything more than that.”
I nodded once and hopped out of the truck, but even as I ran to the house, I could still feel her arms around my body. It was kind of a nice feeling, though I had to remind myself that I already had a girlfriend and that Greta probably wouldn’t be happy if she knew about that.
Rushing past the fallen gate, I was about to make my way around the house to the Arena on the other side when I heard a small whining noise come from the open front door. It sounded like Spike and I hesitated for a split second, wondering whether I should go to the Arena, where Camel no doubt was, or if I should go check on Spike.
I decided it would not take long to check on Spike, so I bounded up the front porch and stood in the doorway of the house. I was surprised by what I saw.
The interior of the house was a mess. The TV had been busted in, one of the recliners had been flipped on its side, and the desk with Nightbolt’s letters and documents had been knocked over, scattering papers all over the floor. But my attention was drawn to the old man lying on the floor as still as a corpse.
It was Nightbolt. His eyes were closed and there was a bloody gash over his right eye. Spike—who didn’t appear injured—lay next to him, occasionally nudging him with his nose but otherwise not doing much. He looked at me when I entered and made another whining noise, like he was trying to tell me that Nightbolt was injured and needed help.
“Nightbolt?” I said, walking over to him. I bent down and began shaking Nightbolt. “Nightbolt, are you awake? Can you hear me? Hello?”
For a moment, I feared that Nightbolt really was dead, but then he groaned and his old eyes flickered open.
“Beams?” said Nightbolt in a weak voice. “Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me, Nightbolt,” I said. “How do you feel? Can you stand?”
“I feel like beating the crap out of Camel,” Nightbolt replied.
He tried to get up, but then he groaned in pain and lay back down.
“Nightbolt, you should stay where you are,” I said. “I’ll go stop Camel. Is he in the Basement?”
“P-Probably,” said Nightbolt with a small gasp. “He said he wanted to go into the Basement. I said no. We had a fight and—”
“I can see that,” I said. I rose to my feet. “I’ll go take him down. You just stay tight and try not to move too much, okay?”
Nightbolt suddenly grabbed my ankle and looked up at me with urgent eyes. “Don’t do it, boy. He’s stronger than he looks. I’m not even sure he’s human. He’ll tear you apart.”
For the first time since I’d known him, I heard real fear in Nightbolt’s voice. I wondered just how vicious Camel was if he could inspire that sort of fear in Nightbolt, who had faced countless supervillains of various threat levels during his long superhero career. Camel hadn’t seemed particularly tough the few times I’d met him, but maybe that was all an act to hide his real nature.
Nonetheless, I said to Nightbolt, “I don’t care. Someone has to stop him, and I have to do it.”
I yanked my foot out of his weak grip and rushed out the back door. I heard Nightbolt calling me to come back, but I ignored him as I slammed the door open and rushed out into the backyard and toward the Arena.
The Arena’s doors were both thrown open. When I reached the doorway, I saw that the gun cabinet had also been opened and the button to the Basement pushed. The Basement itself stood open and I had no idea if Camel was still down there or not. Given how I’d seen his car parked out in front of the gate, I assumed that Camel was still down there. That meant he had either not found the Rubber Ball yet or he was taking his smooth time; after all, as far as he knew, Nightbolt was crippled while Jake was taking care of me, which meant he had as much time to look for the Rubber Ball as he wanted. Too bad he was about to find out he was wrong.
I sprinted down the stairs and into the Basement. Reaching the bottom of the steps, I jumped out into the Basement itself and shouted, “Camel, you bastard! Show yourself!”
That was when I saw Camel himself. He stood halfway in the middle of the main aisle and was looking at me in surprise. He looked much the same as he always had, except for the fact that he now carried the Rubber Ball under his right arm like a basketball. It didn’t move under his arm, but I could sense its frustration, as if it knew I was here to stop it from leaving the Basement.
Camel readjusted his sunglasses; there was a layer of sweat on his forehead, probably due to the heat of the Basement. “Ah, Lasers, right?”
“It’s Beams,” I said.
“Right, right, whatever,” said Camel. “I can’t keep track of you superheroes. You’re all the same to me.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. I pointed at Camel. “Put the Rubber Ball back or else.”
Camel smirked. “So you beat Jake, huh? I have to admit I’m surprised. Jake is the strongest guy I know. Doesn’t have powers, of course, but he’s dealt with more than a few of you empowered humans over his career. I thought he wouldn’t have any trouble with a scrawny brat like yourself.”
“He underestimated me,” I said. “And you’re going to join him if you don’t put that Rubber Ball back where you found it.”
“This?” said Camel, nodding at the Rubber Ball. “Yeah, I don’t think so. It’s clearly an alien object made of some substance not found on Earth. According to the relevant laws, that means that I am at perfect freedom to confiscate it in the name of the government.”
“I don’t care what the law says,” I said. “If you take that thing out of here, you’ll doom not just America, but every country on the planet to an alien invasion.”
Camel raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Quite the imagination you have there, kid. But you can’t fool me. Nightbolt deliberately hid this object from the US government. That’s a felony, and just because he used to be a famous superhero when he was younger doesn’t mean he won’t spend the rest of his short life behind bars in a federal prison somewhere. I’ve heard Guantanamo Bay is nice this time of year.”
“I won’t let you leave this place with the Rubber Ball in your hands,” I said. I spread my arms. “If I have to beat you to do it, then I will.”
“Ah, I see
,” said Camel. “You want to go to jail with the old man, too, keep him company, perhaps. Or maybe protect him from the other prisoners; I’ve heard that ex-superheroes are very popular in prison, albeit not in the good way, if you catch my drift.”
“You still have no idea what you’re doing,” I said. “I don’t care about prison. I care about saving the world.”
“I care about protecting the government,” said Camel. “This ‘Rubber Ball,’ as you call it, is a threat to the government’s power and authority. And as long as you prevent me from taking it out of here, then you’re a threat to the government as well, which means I have to eliminate you.”
“You can try, but you won’t succeed,” I said. “If I beat Jake and he was stronger than you, then beating you should be a piece of cake.”
Camel chuckled again, although this time more harshly than before. “Physical strength isn’t all that matters in a fight, kid. Sometimes, it isn’t the strongest who wins, but the most ruthless. And when I was in the CIA’s academy, I was known as the most ruthless of them all.”
Camel raised a hand. I thought he had a gun at first, but then I noticed he didn’t have anything in his hand. I wondered why he had raised his hand toward me until I suddenly flew up toward the ceiling without warning. I struck the ceiling hard enough to make my head spin before I fell to the floor with a crash, where I lay stunned and confused.
“What … what was that?” I said, propping myself up on my elbows and shaking my head. I looked at Camel. “Was that you?”
“Did you really think you’re the only empowered human around here?” said Camel. His smile was vicious, more like a wolf than a human now. “The federal government wouldn’t have sent me out here without making sure I could defend myself, you know.”
“What’s your power, exactly?” I said as I slowly rose back to my feet.
“Gravity manipulation,” said Camel. “It’s pretty neat. I can increase or decrease the gravity around anyone or anything I like. Ask Jake how I use that to annoy him sometimes. You don’t know fun until you’ve stuck your coworker’s favorite pen to the ceiling by decreasing its gravity, and then decreasing his gravity when he asks you to give it back to him. Good times.”
I now understood why Jake didn’t seem to like Camel that much.
Nonetheless, I stepped toward Camel and said, “I don’t care what kind of powers you’ve got. I’m going to stop you whether you like it or—”
Camel waved his hand at me again and I was smashed to the floor like an invisible hand had slapped me down. I gasped for breath and tried to push myself up, but it felt like someone had put two tons of concrete on my back.
“Ah, ah, ah,” said Camel, waving a finger at me like I was a naughty child. “Unlike the jaywalkers and druggies you deal with back in your city, I’m not interested in trying to take you down in a fair fight. I’ll just crush you here and then leave. I don’t like fighting anyway, though I’m pretty good at it. Just ask Nightbolt. He can tell you all about my fighting skills.”
I growled and tried to get up, but the gravity around me was too heavy. I could barely even move my head, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t force myself up. It seemed like Camel’s power was every bit as real he made it out to be. I could feel the pressure increasing on me, slowly crushing my body under the increased gravity. If I didn’t do something quick, I’d be smashed into human paste.
Biting my lip, I looked up at Camel. He was too far away for me to touch; besides, the increased gravity meant that I couldn’t touch him even if I wanted. I thought about shooting him, but my aim would be off and I might end up damaging one of Nightbolt’s trophies instead. But I didn’t have much time left to figure out a plan.
That was when I heard a loud bark behind me and Spike leaped over me toward Camel. Spike rushed toward Camel surprisingly quickly, his limp forgotten, and he sank his teeth into Camel’s outstretched arm.
Camel screamed in pain and yanked his arm out of Spike’s mouth. At the same time, the sudden intense gravity vanished. I gasped for breath, but didn’t take any time to think. I just rose to my feet and, closing my eyes, fired my lasers at my eyelids. The lasers bounced off my eyelids and into my brain, just like in training, and soon I felt a powerful boost of energy flow through me.
My eyes flying open, I saw Camel walking backwards away from Spike, who kept snapping and snarling at him with his sharp teeth. Camel’s arm was bloody, his sleeve torn from where Spike had ripped into his suit, but he still hadn’t dropped the Rubber Ball. He did, however, point his hand at Spike, probably intending to take him out with his gravity powers.
I leaped through the air toward him, my energy boost giving my legs enough strength to send me flying. I flew toward him so fast that Camel didn’t even see me coming until my foot rushed toward his face. He had just enough time to look at me in surprise before my boot slammed into his jaw. He spun around and fell with a crash onto the floor, dropping the Rubber Ball, which rolled uselessly away from him.
Landing on the floor, I looked down at Camel. Like Jake, Camel was knocked out cold. A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth, while his bloody arm lay by his side. He looked like he wouldn’t be getting back up for a long time, if ever.
I felt a nose nudge my hand and I looked down to see Spike. He was panting hard and looking up at me as if wanting to know if he was a good dog or not.
“Good boy,” I said, rubbing the top of his head. “I didn’t expect you to come to my rescue like that. I see why Nightbolt likes you so much.”
Spike wagged his tail happily, but I could tell he was just as tired as I was after the events of the day. Or maybe the heat of the Basement was making him too hot; not that I could blame him, given how hot it was down here.
“All right, boy,” I said. “Let’s get the Rubber Ball back to where it belongs and take this guy out of here. We’ll also need to take Nightbolt to the hospital to make sure he was okay.”
I knew that Spike couldn’t understand a word I said, but I felt the need to say that aloud anyway. It helped make everything clearer for me.
That was when I heard a voice in my head, one I had never heard before: Save me.
All of a sudden, Camel’s eyes popped open. But they were no longer green; instead, they were the same blue-and-white colors of the Rubber Ball. Spike began barking loudly, but before we could do anything, Camel pointed a finger at us and flicked it.
Both Spike and I flew up toward the ceiling. I managed to protect Spike with my body, but when we hit the ceiling, it still hurt quite a bit. Underneath us, Camel scooped up the Rubber Ball into his good arm and rushed toward the exit. I tried to shoot him with my lasers, but Camel dodged them with surprising ease. He dashed up the stairs. As soon as he left my view, Spike and I fell. We managed to land on our feet and, without waiting, I ran after Camel, with Spike running by my side.
When we emerged from the Basement into the Arena, we were right behind Camel, who was about to make it out through the open doors. I didn’t even stop to think. Though most of my energy boost had gone away by now, I still had enough energy to launch myself from the ground and tackle Camel from behind.
The two of us hit the ground and went rolling out of the Arena. The Rubber Ball flew out of Camel’s arms and rolled across the ground, where it came to a stop as Spike ran around us barking.
But I paid no attention to that. I was busy forcing Camel down, who was struggling to throw me off him. He was snarling and growling, trying to punch me, but I punched him in the face and grabbed him by his collar and shook him hard.
“Snap out of it, Camel!” I said. “The Rubber Ball is controlling you! You’re not thinking.”
Camel growled and said, in a voice very much unlike his own, “Get off me, you dirty human! I will rise again and you will not be able to stop me!”
That voice in which Camel spoke sounded exactly like the voice of the Rubber Ball. It sounded completely inhuman, but I didn’t let him go. I just held on mo
re tightly to his shirt and slapped him in the face again.
“Sorry, but your plans to escape from Nightbolt are over,” I said. “You’re not going to get a new body. You’re going back into your display case. Your plan is over.”
Camel snarled like a beast, but then his scowl vanished, replaced by a disturbingly happy smile. “I would not speak so quickly, human.”
Puzzled, I was about to ask what he meant by that when a giant shadow appeared over us. I looked up and my heart failed me at what I saw:
Hovering above us as silently as a cloud was the ring-shaped alien spaceship. And before either Camel or I could react, a bright light flashed over us and the Rubber Ball; and when it faded, we were no longer on Earth anymore.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
One moment, Camel and I were struggling on the ground outside the Arena under the hot West Texas sun; the next, we found ourselves in an entirely new environment which looked unlike anywhere I’d been before.
It was some kind of raised platform, I think, glowing a sickening green color. Although it appeared to be made out of metal, it also felt soft like flesh. There were no lights on the ceiling; the only lighting came from the platform underneath us. It was enough, however, for me to see the test tubes filled with strange red liquid standing around us, as well as what might have been computer monitors displaying numbers and letters in a language I couldn’t read. It was also eerily silent; aside from my own breath, I heard no other sounds.
I heard a groan beneath me and looked down at Camel. His eyes had returned to their normal green color now. He looked like he had awakened from a deep sleep, blinking rapidly as he looked around in confusion.
“Eh?” said Camel. “Where am I?” He looked up at me suddenly. “And why are you on top of me?”
I let go of his collar and stood up. Camel sat up and began dusting off his jacket, though it seemed like a pointless gesture to me, given how dusty his clothes were.
