by Bryan Cohen
Ted was surprised when she spoke up. He couldn't tell if she was deeply sad or angry, but her lighter tone made him question his previous assumptions. Erica kicked off her heels and he followed his barefoot date down the back of his yard and into the pond area. A full moon spilled some light onto the sparsely wooded spot of nature. Several crickets sang their song as a twig snapped beneath Erica's feet. In an area typically undisturbed and natural, the small table with a bakery box on top looked out of place.
"What's this?" Ted peeked through the plastic top of the mostly brown paper box. It was a small, white frosted cake.
"Dessert." Erica gestured for Ted to sit at one of the two chairs.
As he did, Erica opened the box and cut off a piece for him, revealing the strip of raspberry jam on the inside. She placed a fork from inside the box beside a small plate and served him the treat.
"I'm actually pretty lucky that some woodland creature didn't try to take it." Erica cut off a piece for herself.
When Ted began to dig in, Erica went to one knee and started to take something out of her purse. Ted gave her a sideways glance.
"Erica, what–"
"Shhh," she said. "Ted, you've indulged me on all this superhero stuff, training hard and protecting your world. But you're more than I ever imagined you could be." Erica took out two tickets from her purse. "Ted Finley, will you go to prom with me?"
Ted covered his face and laughed. He and the old Erica had shared hundreds of hours by the pond. He'd loved her during all of them. Ted couldn't see his own face, but he imagined it was bright red and smiling wide.
"Yes." Ted felt a massive weight fall from his shoulders. "Oh man, yes." He imagined a limousine and Erica walking down the stairs in a beautiful dress. "It's going to be awe–"
Before Erica could get off her knee, the sound of an explosion blasted through the air. The smell of burnt carbon quickly wafted over from the Finley residence. The scent reminded Ted of the model rockets he and his father used to launch in the backyard.
Dad. Mom.
He dropped his fork and looked at Erica before running back up to his house.
"Ted, wait!"
The backyard light came on when Ted entered the automatic detection zone. The shining spotlight couldn't block out the flames engulfing his bedroom.
Erica caught up to him and took his hand. "I'll call 9-1-1."
They shared a moment before Ted leapt off the ground and smashed through his bedroom window.
PART THREE
Chapter 22
When Ted crashed through the window, he could tell that most of flames were coming from the upstairs hallway. That's when he heard the cries of his mother. She was saying his name over and over again, though her voice was much weaker than usual. Ted flung his door open wide with his mind and saw her lying in the middle of the fire, which had engulfed the doorframe to Ted's bedroom.
"Mom!"
Ted attempted to control the fire that was surrounding his mother and climbing up the hanging quilt in the hallway. Seeing her in pain sent his emotions off the chart. His efforts to move the fire only made it worse.
"Damn it!" He took off through the air and grabbed his mother out of the fire with the flames lapping at his clothes.
He ignored the heat and pain as he landed on the ground floor. She screamed as she dropped to the ground, rolling out the patches of fire on her pajamas. A hiss of air and foam zipped through the air and Ted turned to see his father using the extinguisher to get the last of the flames that were lapping at his wife.
"Dad." It was all Ted could get out when he looked at them.
"I was downstairs for a snack when I heard it." Ted's mother yelped as his dad tried to cradle her.
Ted used his powers to open the front door. "Take her. I'll–"
Mr. Finley put his hand on Ted's shoulder and handed him the extinguisher. He picked up Ted's mom and walked out the front door. While Ted had flown too fast for his clothes to catch fire, he noticed a deep, stinging sensation on the back of his hand. Ted shook off the burn and flew back upstairs. The fire had spread from the hallway to both his room and his parents' room. Ted released the contents of the extinguisher, which emitted a hissing sound and took out the fire with ease.
When all the flames were gone, Ted saw several pieces of metal lying just outside his room, indicating where a bomb had detonated. He kicked a hole through the wall before he noticed Erica standing at the top of the stairs.
"The ambulance is here for your mom."
Ted was about to fly down and out the front door when he saw Erica's outstretched arms. He stopped and let himself melt into them for a few seconds. He knew he'd be in front of television cameras soon, but this was a place where he could show his true emotions.
Erica ran her hand down Ted's back. "It's gonna be OK."
Ted nodded against Erica's shoulder. "You'll tell Dhiraj?"
Erica put on her best possible smile given the situation and nodded. Ted gave her one last look and bolted for the ambulance.
Ted and his father rode to the hospital. The EMTs had given Ted's mother something for the pain, and she was breathing calmly. The medics said the burns weren't life-threatening, but the wounds Ted could see on his mother's arms and torso looked ghastly.
"They were trying to get me." Ted looked at his father. "They saw my car in the driveway and tried to kill me in my sleep."
His father's face told Ted he didn't want to believe what his son was saying. "We don't know that for sure."
"Dad. This wouldn't have happened if I–"
Ted's father took his hand. "We love you, Ted."
He gripped his dad's hand and let his eyes well up with tears.
The EMTs were right about his mother's burns, and it didn't take long for the doctors to tell Ted and his father that she'd heal with very little scarring. As Ted had the small burn on his hand examined, Sheriff Norris came walking up with a grim look on his face. Erica had seen him enter from the waiting area and followed close behind.
"You alright, Ted?"
Ted did his best to look strong. He'd been practicing the face during the many photographs and videos the media had taken of him in the last half hour.
"I'll survive. My mom will survive. It could've been worse."
The sheriff crinkled a document in his hands. "There's... We've got a lead on the bomb."
Erica asked the nurse to excuse them. Ted shifted on the hospital bed and the paper beneath him noisily moved to accommodate.
"You don't look happy about it." Erica put her hands on her hips.
Erica was right: the sheriff looked downright uncomfortable.
"Natalie Dormer's phone was found at your house. Prints on the phone match the ones on the bomb."
Ted pounded his fist on the bed and the curtains that surrounded them fluttered upward as if a gust of wind had gone by.
"I knew it. There's no way she would've hung out with those GHA dicks unless she was brainwashed like Beth."
Ted expected to see the same look of realization on Erica's face. Instead, she looked embarrassed.
"Actually…."
"Actually what?" Ted asked.
"I kinda, sorta... sent Natalie undercover to infiltrate the GHA."
Ted laid his head back onto the bed and groaned. "We just had a whole conversation about you being more honest with me!" Ted sat up and scowled at Erica. "You give me a cake, you ask me to go to prom–"
"Did he say yes?" Sheriff Norris asked.
Erica nodded.
"Oh, congratulations."
"Thanks." Erica let a momentary smile escape before turning back to Ted.
"Ugh. Where's Natalie now?" Ted was hoping for a more positive look from the sheriff.
"She didn't come home after school. There was a GHA meeting tonight, but they're denying that she was there."
Ted thought for a moment. He'd resigned himself to the belief that Natalie was so mad at him, she'd joined the other side. He also had to admit that if he'd k
nown the plan all along, he likely would've screwed it up. He was no actor.
"Ted, I'm sorry about Natalie." Erica touched the side of the bed. "We're going to find her."
Ted caught the sheriff's eye. "I want to see him."
The sheriff folded the document and put it in his pocket. "I don't think that's such a good idea."
Ted scooted himself to the edge of the bed. "I want to see Cobblestone and I want to see him now."
Chapter 23
Dhiraj was halfway to the first part of "early to bed, early to rise" when he received word about the bombing via a text message from Erica. He took the neatly folded clothes sitting on the top of the dresser and changed into them without a second thought. Dhiraj switched off the loudest alarm clock in the country and remade his bed, dollar-bill comforter and all. He had a nervous feeling in his stomach.
There'll be no sleep tonight.
By the time he turned on the TV, they were already pegging Natalie as a potential suspect. He tried to get in touch with her via phone and social media, but there was complete radio silence. He hadn't known that Natalie was spying on the GHA, but Erica's revelation didn't surprise him all that much. He knew there was no way she'd ever turn on her friends. Dhiraj wondered if maybe she'd missed out on her true skill set of espionage by becoming a state champion basketballer.
After his text conversation with Erica, the first person Dhiraj called was Jennifer. She told him she could give him a lift to the hospital, and he was happy to take the ride, given his current level of sleepiness. Thinking about his dear "Mrs. F" laid up in a hospital bed and covered with burns was beyond upsetting. He came close to tears as he packed a bag full of essentials to bring for Ted's overnight stay. Dhiraj began to run some numbers in his head about whether or not private security would be the best option going forward. They couldn't continue to leave themselves vulnerable to the GHA and everyone else who might be trying to kill them, could they?
Dhiraj told his father where he was going and lugged his stuff downstairs. He opened the front door just as Jennifer was about to come in. The two of them hugged for a full minute.
"I'm sorry, Dhiraj." She was breathing heavier than he expected. "She's going to be OK."
Dhiraj hated the fact that the comforting from Jennifer made him feel aroused. He decided to blame it on teenage hormones instead of a sick mind.
"Thanks. I know she will."
They packed Dhiraj's stuff into the car. He noticed a large cooler in the back. "What's with the cooler?"
Jennifer fidgeted with the car keys and almost dropped them before she responded. "In case the hospital food is terrible, I brought a few meals."
Dhiraj could tell Jennifer was uneasy.
Did the bombing really make her that nervous?
The first thing Dhiraj noticed about Jennifer's car was the clutter. A few folders and school assignments, as well as a field hockey stick, littered the back. The vehicle smelled like a concentrated burst of the Norris household, which made Dhiraj's heart race.
As Jennifer pulled out of Dhiraj's neighborhood, she put on a classical station and drove on the empty road.
"Are you alright, Jen? Between the other day and now, you seem a little on edge."
Jennifer let out a quiet laugh. "I've been out of it lately. Still trying to get my head on straight after Erica... and Ted…."
Dhiraj put his hand on Jennifer's shoulder. "I totally understand."
Jennifer let out a deep breath. "I think I'm moving toward a solution, though."
Dhiraj yawned. His typical sleeping plan tended to take a hit during these late night encounters.
"Excuse me." Dhiraj rubbed his eyes. "That's good. You know, you can always talk to me."
"Thanks, Dhiraj."
Dhiraj yawned again. "Except for right now. Do you mind if I take a little catnap?"
Jennifer chuckled. "Not at all. I'll let you know when we're there."
Dhiraj leaned back against the comfortable seat and let sleep wash over him.
When he woke up, the faint hint of light left in the sky was gone. Dhiraj could swear he saw a sign for a town in New Jersey. When he glanced over at Jennifer, she stared straight ahead with a slight lean forward. It was as if everything in her mind and body had focused on what was coming.
"I think you missed the turn."
Jennifer didn't even look over at him. "I know exactly where we're going."
Dhiraj felt himself go from sleepy to alert in the course of a few seconds. The same Jennifer who wanted to skip school and make out with him on a whim was driving them to an unknown destination.
"We need to see Ted's mom and how everybody's doing."
Jennifer gave a quick glance over to Dhiraj and then back to the road. "We've got something more important to do."
Jennifer's tone had more bite to it than Dhiraj had ever heard escape her mouth.
"And what's that?"
Jennifer moved her neck to the side. Dhiraj could hear the joint crack to relieve some tension.
"Retribution," she said.
Chapter 24
Natalie woke up the next morning on the cold, hard bed she'd curled up on the previous night. There was a wool sheet on top of her that made her body warm enough to sleep. It also caused her to itch like crazy, but contracting something from a communal blanket was the least of her worries.
After a short stretching routine and a few dozen pushups, she walked over to the tiny view through the locked door into the room. There were two new guards stationed outside, each of them brandishing batons and pistols. Last night, she'd done everything she could to plead with them. She said she didn't even want to get out. She just wanted to know if Ted was OK. Aside from the plate of food they'd tossed in when she'd dozed off, they'd completely stonewalled her.
"Good morning, sheep." Natalie made the tiniest of waves when one of the guards looked through the window.
She'd gotten all the begging out of her system the previous night. If the damage had already been done, she knew it was just a matter of time before they set her free or killed her. Natalie refused to go down whiny.
She stalked around the room for what felt like the millionth time as she looked for potential ways to escape her prison cell. A rusty grate in the corner of the room was more likely to give her tetanus than it was to budge. A few kicks into a crack in the wall yielded nothing but a sore hamstring. The room was bare except for one hopeless escape route: the door to the hallway.
Natalie had been given the grand tour during the previous GHA meeting, and since her captivity she'd deconstructed exactly how she'd escape. If she could just get into the hallway.
As she stood at the opposite end of the room, a guard unlatched the lock and slid in a tray of food. Before Natalie could even plant her feet for a mad dash, the door was already closed and locked. The apple and buttered toast didn't interest her nearly as much as the newspaper on the other side of the tray. She took the items back to her bed and chomped on the apple as she scanned the front page. It didn't take long for her to lose her appetite. The Treasure Tribune, a paper that had listed her accolades since middle school, now cited her as the primary suspect in the bombing. The article sported a picture of Ted's house on fire and described the injuries of his mother. Natalie's muscles tensed and her brain told her it was time to punch somebody.
That's exactly what they want. No more getting jerked around with.
Natalie thought about her call to Erica, asking to be of some assistance to the cause.
"You've been distant." Erica sounded mad over the line. "I bet the kids at school think you hate him right about now."
Hearing Erica's voice say "kids" made Natalie think about just how many lifetimes the girl had led.
"I'm sorry." Natalie had known it was a bad idea to call.
"No." Erica's tone brightened. "It's perfect actually. Would you mind having people hate you for a little while?"
Natalie smiled. "I always play better in away games. I love it when they bo
o."
The girlish laugh on the other end made Natalie hopeful.
The prisoner didn't expect she'd be this hated, though. She could picture the town dividing into two. On one side, there would be the teammates, coaches and friends who knew the real Natalie. On the other would be the GHAers and people who believed everything they read or heard online. She hoped the one side would be louder than the other, but just in case it wasn't….
Natalie took out the paper's advertising section. She tested the hard, sharp edge of the paper before she used it to slice open her palms. It took a few tries, but before long, she had a faint trickle of blood running down to her wrists. Natalie had learned not to let pain get to her during years of knee-to-knee collisions and semi-intentional eye gouges. As she squeezed her hands, she watched the blood rush through the small lacerations.
"This oughta get their attention."
Natalie crept up to the door, staying low enough to avoid the guards' gaze. When she'd pushed enough blood out of her cuts, she rubbed it all over the window. Natalie wiped the rest on her shirt and screamed the highest pitch sound she could muster.
One of the guards spied the blood and opened the door. As soon as his leg crossed the entrance, Natalie kicked with all her might. His leg made a cracking sound as the heavy door smashed into his knee. He shrieked with pain.
"Your scream is way better than mine." Natalie kicked the door again in rapid succession until the guard had collapsed and wedged the door open.
With a running leap, Natalie sprung out of the room and into the other guard before he could draw his weapon. Both of them toppled to the ground and Natalie could hear an alarm sound. She looked up at a flashing red light.
"No time for finesse."
Before the guard could fully recover, Natalie kicked him squarely in the crotch and ran for the exit. She didn't even look back to see him crumple to the ground as she pushed her way through a door and out of the hallway. She ignored a cramp in her side as she used memory and instinct to move her from one room to the next.
