Hunting Heroes: A Superhero Novel

by Pozel, Derek

  Garrett faked a gag. “I thought of Ethan in fishnets. Oh God, I can’t get it out of my head.”

  Denise and Ethan laughed out loud while Garrett shook his head to dispel the image he conjured.

  Ethan leaned in closer to Garrett. “Dream about it.”

  “You’re a sick man,” Garrett said.

  “It is a good idea,” Denise said, “except for the whole Ethan as a nurse thing. What do you think Ethan?”

  “Yeah, come on, it’ll be fun!” Garrett attempted to mimic Denise’s higher pitched voice. “I can go as a patient or something. Here comes a threesome costume.”

  Ethan sighed and exhaled before he answered. “I’ll do it as long as Garrett doesn’t go as a patient. I see enough of his butt when he’s passed out on the couch. I think it would be fun, if Denise is ok with it.”

  “Of course I am,” Denise said and smiled.

  “Fine, I’ll go as a monk or something,” Garrett said while he rubbed his hands together. “Or maybe a ninja, everyone loves ninjas. Garrett, the part time ninja, I like how that sounds and I do have a mask already.”

  Ethan and Denise shot each other a sideways glance and chuckled while Garrett rambled off his costume ideas.

  Garrett pushed himself off the counter. “I am going to grab lunch, plan some stuff out. Let Ethan know when and where.”

  “You got it,” Denise said. “You better find a good costume Garrett. Nothing disgusting, please do not embarrass me. I’m lucky I got these tickets.”

  Garrett feigned a sigh. “Fine, I’ll be boring. I will have to find something else to keep me entertained. Maybe I’ll find a nice girl to bring home to my mom and dad.”

  Denise laughed aloud. “Ethan, keep him in line for me.”

  Garrett shrugged with a mischievous grin on his face.

  “Easier said than done,” Ethan said with a smirk on his lips.

  “We’ll have fun,” Denise did not take her eyes off Ethan.

  Garrett turned his head to Ethan and gave him a wink. “I think I will too.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll keep Garrett in line,” Ethan said.

  “Ok boys, I have to get to work,” Denise waved and began to make her way to the front door.

  “Stop by after work, we’ll be up,” Ethan followed her to show her out.

  “Have fun at work,” Garrett said, and plopped down on the tan sofa in the living room. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted how their faces lit up when they were by each other. Garrett had a feeling he knew where their future headed and he could not help but smile.

  Ethan shut the door behind Denise and strolled back to the living room. “You can’t go after him during the party. There will be too many people around and you know it.”

  “We’ll see how the night goes,” Garrett’s eyebrows lowered along with his the voice. “You know I take this seriously. This is not a game to me. You are right, there will be too many women hanging on him. My biggest concern is you and Denise. If I put you guys in danger I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

  Ethan groaned and shook his head.

  Garrett bit his lip and raised his eyebrows. “Relax, find a good doctor costume and I’ll scope the place out and figure it out.”

  Ethan lowered his head. “If something happens to her,” Ethan’s voice trailed off.

  “You know I’ll be careful because she is there,” Garrett said. “You’re opening up a bit around her. Both of you drive me nuts. Stop the flirting and take a chance already.”

  “It’s hard too. She’s too good and too pretty for me,” Ethan said.

  “I can’t believe I’m going to say this. You’re a good looking guy and you’re a good man. Take the chance already, because she is not going to wait around. What’s the worst that can happen? It’s not like you’re stuck in a dark alley with an superhero who controls shadows.” Garrett raised his long legs to rest on the coffee table.

  Ethan rolled his eyes. “Thanks Garrett. But, I don’t think you’re the guy I’m going to take advice from when it comes to women, Afflicted yes, women definitely not. When was the last time you even went on a date? I know it has been years. You only focus on one thing. I worry about you.”

  “I know,” Garrett said. “At least one of us should have a semi-regular life.” Garrett flipped the channel to the history channel. “Don’t worry what happens down the road and try to plan everything, live for today.”

  “You know it’s not so easy, especially with what we’re doing,” Ethan said. “If anything happened to her…”

  Garrett flipped the remote onto the sofa and shifted his body to face his best friend. “We’ve talked about this. You can have a normal life. You deserve to have one. If by helping me, you can’t or you won’t, then I don’t want your help. I can move out and there will be no pressure on you.”

  Garrett placed his hands behind his head and leaned back on the couch. “Take a chance and don’t use me as an excuse. If you don’t, some guy like Granite is going to move in on her. She deserves a guy like you. Whatever happens, I will not let her get hurt because of what I’m doing, and me I promise. I’m not giving you a choice in this. I’ll force you if I have to.”

  “Ok, I hear you,” Ethan waved Garrett off. “I’ll try.”

  Garrett lifted himself off the couch. “Quit trying and do it already. You want anything from the deli by Millennium Park?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Ethan said and spun his head around. “Stay away from there. It’s too close to the new Assembly Park they are building.” Ethan watched Garrett slide his jacket back on.

  “I’ll be fine,” Garrett said. “They don’t know who I am. If they did, they would have come after me by now. I like going there. I can sense them close by. I’m telling you, they have a base around there somewhere.”

  “Are you sure it’s such a good idea to hunt him with all those people around?” Ethan said. “With Denise being there it would complicate things. You have to remember there will be a lot of people there and it’s a public place.”

  “Ethan, come on, I know. What’s the worst that can happen?” Garrett walked down the hallway and out the door.

  “You can get her or yourself killed,” Ethan said to the empty room.

  Chapter Six

  A hollow knock startled Garrett from his intense stare at the pictures on the screen of his tablet. He rubbed his dry eyes and glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand, which read 5:45 in bold red letters.

  “I still have two hours before we have to leave,” Garrett said.

  “I know, I need your opinion on something,” Ethan peeked his head into the room. “You clothed?”

  Garrett rolled his eyes and laid the tablet on his chest. “Yes, come in.”

  Ethan pushed the door open and walked into Garrett’s bedroom. He stopped in the middle of the room, his hands buried in the front pockets of the clean white lab coat.

  “What do you think?” Ethan raised his left eyebrow. “Pretty good, right?”

  Garrett placed his hands behind his head. “You look very doctor like. Denise will be impressed.”

  “I’m doing this because it was a good idea,” Ethan said and craned his head around the room.

  Garrett chuckled and shook his head. “I know why you’re really dressing as a doctor. You don’t have to do anything to impress her, ask her out, it’s all you have to do. I haven’t seen you like this since grade school when it comes to a girl.”

  “I get it already. What are you doing in here?” Ethan’s cheeks flushed.

  “I was trolling a kid on an Afflicted message board. His name was PatriotRoX, with an X. I couldn’t help it,” Garrett’s smirk darkened. “And I was looking at pictures of the club, getting ready for tonight.”

  “Seriously, you’re trolling a kid?” Ethan covered his eyes with a trembling hand. “You need to be focused.”

  “I’m ready,” Garrett picked up the tablet and flashed the screen. “I’ve been studying the pictures I took at the club
and all the info I have on Granite.”

  “That’s where you’ve been the past couple of weekends,” Ethan walked to the collage of pictures and notes taped to the wall at the foot of the end.

  “Knowledge is power and I’m not going in there unprepared,” Garrett heaved himself off the bed to stand next to Ethan.

  “Can you really be prepared for any of this?” Ethan said.

  “Not really, but it helped when I fought Shadow Guard.” Garrett’s voice grew distant and his eyes looked past Ethan at the picture of Shadow Guard. His pulse quickened, his ribs throbbed from the memory of his battle.

  “I haven’t been in here in a while.” Ethan leaned in to look at the pictures of the Assembly members on the wall.

  “It starts above my bed,” Garrett motioned to a picture of the Afflicted comet on the wall above his pillow. “I made a time line. It starts with the so called Afflicted comet, and then the first Afflicted sighting, Patriot coming out and so on, until today.”

  “This is pretty detailed,” Ethan let out a small whistle. “Like, you’re obsessed with them.”

  Garrett ignored the comment. “This is my wall of the Assembly and their enemies.”

  “It’s pretty obvious what it is,” Ethan said over his shoulder and clenched his jaw. “I can’t believe a comet gave people superpowers.”

  Garrett shrugged his shoulders. “That’s what they tell us, a rock flying through space got hit with a solar flare.”

  “I know the story,” Ethan glanced to Garrett. “Still, what are the odds?”

  Garrett rubbed his jaw. “Next to impossible.”

  “It’s unbelievable how people embraced the Afflicted right away,” Ethan said. “You were crazy about them when we were kids.”

  “It happened at the right time,” Garrett said. “People rallied around them when they first started to come out. The world needed heroes.”

  “Remember when Patriot showed up?” Ethan said. “I swear, I thought your head was going to explode when you first saw him on the news.”

  Garrett blushed. “Shut up, you were just as excited as me. From hero to enemy in only a few short years.”

  Ethan leaned closer to the picture of Patriot and Coldfire next to him. Coldfire’s picture had a red X over it. “An accident?”

  “Hm?” Garrett could not make out Ethan’s words.

  “Nothing, it’s nothing,” Ethan said and followed the tree of Afflicted which branched out underneath the hero and villain.

  “From what I have found out, there are about nine active field members of the Afflicted,” Garrett poked at the picture of Patriot. “I bet they have some behind the scenes people also. I have it broken down by rank, Patriot’s the leader.” Garrett moved his hand down to the next level below Patriot. “Then there’s the other founders Sage and Bloodhound, and so on.”

  “This is really detailed,” Ethan whistled. “You even have their powers listed under their pictures.”

  “Uncle Jim always told me get as much information as possible. Have a plan, never go in blind,” Garrett pointed to the power information for Crimson. “See, invisibility and hand to hand combat. He likes to use two swords for some reason. He’s not a street level hero, they save him for the big stuff.”

  “How can you be sure this is what they really do?” Ethan asked.

  “It’s what the internet is for,” Garrett blurted out. “Only the Assembly are on the wall. I have notebooks under the bed with every other Afflicted that have been identified along with their powers. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid.”

  “You have a laptop and a tablet,” Ethan motioned with his head. “Why are you still using notebooks?”

  “Come on, you can’t hack a notebook,” Garrett threw himself back onto his bed and sprawled out across it. “If anything happens to me, burn them right away.”

  “Ok,” Ethan said.

  Garrett stared up at the ceiling which had a picture of Emma taped to it.

  Ethan glanced up and noticed the picture. “That’s pretty creepy Garrett.”

  Garrett closed his eyes tight. “It’s so I don’t forget what he did to her. Coldfire paid for his crimes, Patriot did not.”

  “Didn’t Coldfire commit suicide in prison?” Ethan said.

  Garrett bit his lip. “Yep, that’s the story. He was a weird Afflicted. He was a political activist turned terrorist. They never released what he was doing in the city. He blew something up before Patriot caught up to him.”

  Ethan’s shoulders slumped and he sat down on the bed next Garrett. Silence swallowed the room while Garrett’s mind drifted back to the past, to the day he last saw Coldfire. The stench of ash filled his nostrils, the screams echoed in his ears.

  “Garrett, you ok?” Ethan poked Garrett on the shoulder.

  Garrett blinked his eyes and refocused on the present. “Yeah, sorry.”

  “You worried about tonight?” Ethan sat back on his hands. “If you want to stay home it’s cool with me.”

  “No, I’m going,” Garrett’s eyes narrowed and his face grew stern to match his tone.

  “You should be,” Ethan crossed his legs and leaned back. “This is serious. People are going to be at this club tonight. Granite may seem like an ass, but he is part of the Assembly.”

  “Don’t care,” Garrett stared at the picture of Emma. “If I can take Shadow Guard, I can take Granite down.” Garrett shifted his eyes to Ethan. “I’m ready, I’ve done my research and if it’s too risky, I’ll bail.”

  Ethan exhaled and swore under his breath. “I’m nervous.”

  “Don’t be,” Garrett picked up the tablet and handed it to Ethan. “I have been casing the club for the past three weeks. I know every nook and cranny. I have talked to the bartenders, bouncers and wait staff. I have a plan. I’m not going in there blind.”

  “You did with Shadow Guard,” Ethan said.

  Garrett furrowed his brow. “No, I did not. It took weeks to figure out his patrol route. I watched and read about every fight. I had an idea of what he could do.”

  Ethan flipped through the pictures and rested the tablet back on the bed. Garrett noticed Ethan’s hands trembling. Sweat began to glisten on his best friend’s forehead and he wiped his own. He found it dry and he checked his own hands, they were calm and steady.

  “This is all moving so fast,” Ethan lowered his head into his hands. “I mean you talked about doing this for so long. Now, we’re in the middle of this and it’s hard to comprehend.”

  “The middle?” Garrett frowned. “This is still the beginning.”

  “That’s why I’m nervous,” Ethan sighed when he lifted himself off the bed. “This is really happening.”

  “Whatever it takes to get justice,” Garrett said. “I’m ready for the consequences. Shadow Guard was just a test. This is now the real deal. I am not going to hold back. I don’t have to be afraid of my powers. I know what I can do.”

  A groan escaped Ethan’s lips and he narrowed his eyes. “You think you know what you can do. Shadow Guard could have been a fluke. Don’t get cocky.”

  Garrett raised himself off the bed and rested on his elbows. “Fluke or not, I stopped a member of the Assembly with my bare hands. Not many people can say they have.”

  “Be smart about tonight, please, for me,” Ethan said.

  “I will be,” Garrett said. “When I tell you I’m not feeling well and I’m going to leave, it will mean the plan is in motion. I’d leave if I were you.”

  The color drained from Ethan’s face. “Why I am letting you do this?”

  “You’re not letting me do anything,” Garrett picked at the comforter on his bed. “You can’t stop me either.”

  Ethan pressed his fingertips into his eyes. “Ok, be ready to leave in a little bit.”

  “Ethan, calm down.” Garrett said.

  “How can you be so calm?” Ethan raised his voice.

  “I just am. The Afflicted don’t really scare me for some reason,” Garrett sat up on his bed
. “Think of Denise and how excited she was earlier today. Don’t think about what I’m doing.”

  Ethan covered his eyes. “How can I not think about how my best friend is trying to attack a freaking superhero in a night club?”

  “This is for her,” Garrett pointed upward. “Not for me, not for you, this is for Emma.”

  “She was my sister,” Ethan’s eyes followed Garrett’s finger. “I know who this is for.”

  “Good, now don’t forget it,” Garrett said. “Now, go sit down and relax. I have to get ready.”

  “Fine,” Ethan said through his teeth. “Remember, if anything happens to Denise.”

  “You’ll hunt me down,” Garrett flashed a empty smile. “Ethan, I would never do anything to hurt either of you.”

  Ethan turned to walk away. “I want to believe that. I really do. It’s not you I’m worried about.”

  “It’s true,” Garrett flopped back onto the bed. His head hit the pillow when Ethan left the room. His eyes met the picture of Emma on the ceiling.

  “Please, Emma watch over him,” Garrett whispered. “Don’t let me hurt him like I know the Afflicted can.”

  “And God, if you’re listening, stay out of this,” Garrett said with a wicked grin across his lips. “This is between me and them.”

  Chapter 7

  The fog from the dry ice snaked across the wooden dance floor, bouncing to the beat of the electronic dance music. Fake cobwebs, paper ghosts and plastic skeletons hung from the lights above everyone’s heads. Even cardboard cutouts of the various Assembly members found a home along the back wall of the club. The dance club was in full motion.

  The bass vibrated the dance floor underneath the anxious club goers. The crowd of people waited for the one person to let the music overtake them, to have the courage to step out on the dance floor.

  People gathered around the “L” shaped bar which was strewn with rubber body parts and poured various alcoholic drinks down their throats. The men hungrily eyed the scantily clad women in their Halloween costumes. The fun was about to begin for everyone.