Last Hero

by Timothy D. McLendon

  Danny resumed his pace and thought about how he had lain in bed all night, with his hands clasped behind his head, while he stared at the white popcorn ceiling. He pictured each bump in the ceiling as the people he saw yesterday. There was Becky, Kevin, Marc, Ty, his parents, and two stars. How did they all fit together?

  And what about Becky? She had seemed upset when she left last night. He felt bad and wanted to apologize. He had seen her only hours ago and missed her already, missed the way she looked, the way she smiled, the way she made him feel like a better person. His stomach cramped in anger when he thought about it.

  Butterflies in my stomach? More like daggers!

  Danny stopped when he reached the city park and looked around in confusion. He must have been lost in thoughts because it seemed like he had just left from the house. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was 5:17 A.M. He tapped on the watch.

  Two miles in two minutes? Must be broken, he thought.

  Danny headed for one of the four racquetball courts. Each one was like a cement fortress, perfect for what he needed. He seized one of the city’s garbage cans in the park and toted it to the court. He unlatched the metal door to Court 3 and shoved the garbage can inside with him. Danny looked around to make sure no one was watching and closed the door behind him.

  He rolled the garbage can to the front wall and centered it. He walked back to the entrance door, jumped up and down, and stretched his arms and calves. He didn’t have a stringed racquet or hollow rubber ball, but all he needed for this were his hands.

  Danny stared at the garbage can like it was an enemy he had to destroy. He put one leg in front of the other and threw his hands out toward the can. He waited for a ball of energy to crush it.

  Nothing happened.

  Okay, he thought, I’ve got this.

  He jumped up and down a few more times then spread his legs in a sumo stance. He peeled his sweatshirt off so his arms were loose. He concentrated all of his energy on the can and threw out his hands again.

  Nothing happened.

  “Why isn’t this working?” He rubbed his head and paced the court. The answer came to him when he looked at the garbage can again. “Because you’re not a crazy person trying to kill me. You’re just a stupid garbage can.”

  He laughed and walked up to the can. He pushed it back toward the entrance but stopped. “The least I can do is kick you in the balls.” He kicked it right between its wheels.

  The can flew across the court and exploded against the entrance wall. Garbage shot out and rained on half the court.

  Danny stood there and stared at the garbage. He blinked and tried to figure out how any of this was possible. Just yesterday he hated taking out the trash because it was so heavy.

  Sunlight began to fill the court. Danny looked at his watch and saw that it was after 6 A.M. He wanted to get home before his parents knew he was out. He walked back to the entrance and opened the metal door.

  The dirty white van that had passed him earlier was parked parallel to the court, its engine choking and gurgling. The passenger door opened and a man in a black suit and shades stepped out. He looked to be thirty years old.

  “Danny Neumann?” the man said, walking toward him.

  Danny didn’t take his eyes off the man. He had no idea who the guy was. He felt an energy building inside him, the same energy he’d felt when Ty attacked him.

  The driver’s door opened and a large man appeared. He clasped his hands behind his back.

  “Don’t be afraid,” the man in the black suit said. He took off his shades and held his hands out. Both of his palms had a tattoo of a blue oval, like a saucer.

  “I don’t want any trouble,” Danny said. “Stay away from me.” He scanned the park for the quickest escape route. He could fight this man if he had to.

  The man put his shades back on. “It looks like we’re gonna have to do this the hard way.” He snapped his fingers.

  Danny caught a glimpse of the driver raising his hands over the hood. There was something in his hands. What is that? Is that a gun?

  Danny heard a puff then felt a sting in his neck. He grabbed his neck and pulled a dart from his skin. He tried to look at it, but the world was blurry. “What is this?”

  The man stepped toward him. “That’s enough tranquilizers to take out a team of horses.”

  Danny felt like the world was spinning. He wouldn’t be able to stand much longer. Why were they doing this to him?

  “Don’t worry, Danny boy,” the man said. “If I’m right about you, this will only knock you out for a few minutes.”

  Danny tried to throw his hands out and attack the man, but he couldn’t move. “If you’re right? What if you’re wrong?”

  “I sure hope not, Danny boy.” He slapped Danny’s face. “If I’m wrong then you’re about to die.”

  CHAPTER 7

  SUIT MAN WEARS DIRTY SOCKS

  DANNY TRIED to move his hands, but they were behind his back and bound with duct tape. His entire body felt exhausted. “What do you want with me?”

  The man in the black suit stared straight ahead. “Don’t bother. Your hands are secured for our protection.”

  Danny observed cars passing by from the passenger window to this right, and knew the men had trapped him in the backseat of the dirty white van. He searched for a street sign or business, any kind of landmark. He realized they were still on Main Street, driving at a crawl. “Where are you taking me?”

  The man turned and faced Danny. “You don’t get to ask questions. One more word and I’ll take my sock off and stuff it down your throat. Got it?”

  The driver pulled to a side street that led to the city landfill. Instinctively, Danny knew they were going to bury him alive. He concentrated on his hands and tried to generate some kind of energy from them. Now would be a good time for his power to work.

  The van stopped when they reached the landfill entrance. No one was around except for the vultures eating rotten food for breakfast. The driver took his key out of the ignition and turned to face the man in the suit.

  “You wore the same socks yesterday,” the driver said. “Disgusting.”

  “Shut up, Al,” the man in the suit said.

  Al held up his hands. “Hey! No names!”

  Suit Man brushed him off and stared at Danny. “You’re going to do something for us.”

  Danny felt energy building up inside of him that needed to be released. Instead of fear, he felt anger. “Let me go, and I won’t hurt you.”

  Al banged his fist on the steering wheel. “I told you this wouldn’t work.”

  “Shut up, Al,” Suit Man said. He redirected his attention to Danny and held out a file folder. “Your mom seems like a nice old lady. Goes to work every morning at 7:30. She takes the scenic route to her job at a flower shop. Your old man leaves an hour later to volunteer at the Veteran’s Hospital.” He paused and shook his head. “These are good people. I’d hate to see anything bad happen to them.”

  Danny struggled to break loose. “I’ll kill you if you touch them.” How long had these men been watching his family? And why?

  Suit Man closed his eyes and shook his head. “Danny boy, I don’t think you could hurt a fly. But I think you better learn how to real quick.” He put a hand on Danny’s shoulder. “You’re going to bring us the head of the cosmic master.”

  Danny somehow knew who Suit Man was talking about. “Ty,” he whispered.

  Suit man smiled and nodded. “Smart kid.”

  Danny’s head swam in confusion. He still didn’t know who Ty was and now these men wanted him dead. Wait, he didn’t even know who these men were. “You’re going to answer some questions first.”

  “He’s got balls,” the driver said.

  Suit Man glared at the driver. “Shut up and start driving.” The driver sighed, cranked the van on, and turned the white heap of junk around.

  “Two questions,” Suit Man said.

  Danny’s min
d raced. He had a million questions. He tried to think of the two that would help make the most sense out of this. “Who are you?”

  Suit Man leaned back. “We belong to a society that protects the world from destruction by extraterrestrial intelligences.”

  Danny couldn’t breathe. This could be the key to finding his purpose and making sense of last night. All he had to do was ask who he was.

  “One more question,” Suit Man reminded him.

  Danny wanted to ask about his origins, but he knew the question he had to ask to save his parents. “How do I find Ty?”

  Suit man smirked. “You surprise me, Danny boy. As for Ty, he’ll find you.”

  The van slowed to a stop. Danny looked out his widow and saw that his house was across the street. Suit Man opened the van door and reached for Danny’s shoulders.

  “Don’t get any bright ideas,” Suit Man said. “If you tell anyone about us, I’ll kill your parents. If you don’t bring us Ty’s head, I’ll kill your parents. Just act like everything’s normal and have fun today.” He cut the duct tape from Danny’s hands and tossed him out of the van. “We’ll be watching you.”

  Danny stood there as the van peeled down the road. “Wait,” he shouted. “Who am I?”

  CHAPTER 8

  MOVING ON

  THE FRONT door to his parents’ house opened before Danny could turn the knob. His mom stood there with her hair hanging low and frazzled.

  “Danny,” she said. “Thank God.” She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in. “Don’t ever run off like that again.” She stuck her head out the door and surveyed the neighborhood before shutting the door back and locking it.

  Danny couldn’t help but feel lost in the empty living room. Boxes were lined up against the walls. The furniture was pushed away. It looked like someone was either moving in or moving out.

  “What’s going on?” Danny asked.

  His dad stepped into the room with his arms full of boxes. “Get your stuff together,” he said. “We’re leaving in three hours.”

  Danny couldn’t move. They couldn’t leave—not before he could deal with Ty. His parents had no idea how much trouble they would be in if they left, and Danny couldn’t tell them.

  “Wait a minute,” Danny said. He rubbed his chin and held a hand out for his parents to stop what they were doing. “We’re not going anywhere.”

  His dad dropped the boxes in his arms. “Do what we say, Danny. We know what’s best.”

  “Do you?” Danny said, standing in front of his dad now. He had a mental flash of the newspaper article his mom had given him last night. He didn’t notice it at the time, but the article was written in Fort Lewis, Washington. That’s where he was born, though his birth certificate said otherwise. His parents had hidden him and run away to Cooper City. Now they wanted to run away again.

  He turned and faced his mom. “It doesn’t matter where we go. Ty will find me.” Danny realized that Ty would never stop until Danny was dead. Somehow Ty could sense him. Running away wouldn’t do any good…it never did.

  “We have to try,” his mom said. “It’s our job to protect you.”

  Danny shook his head. “Not anymore.” His mom looked as defeated as she had been when she told him who he was. Her hair was oily, and wrinkles crowded her eyes. “It’s my job to protect you now.”

  “You don’t have to do this, Danny,” she said, standing by his side. “Your dad and I talked about it. We can start over somewhere else.”

  He shook his head. “Whatever’s happening to me has already happened.” He put his hands in front of him and stared at his palms. “I need you to trust me. I can’t explain it, but I know I’ll be okay.”

  “We know you will,” his dad said. He stood on Danny’s other side and put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve always been okay. You’re not like everyone else. You’ve never had a broken bone. You’ve never even had a cold or the flu.”

  Danny had never thought about it. His whole life he had watched his friends and family get sick, but he had never had a sniffle or needed medicine. He only went to the doctor for checkups.

  “We can’t let him go,” his mom said. “It’s too dangerous.”

  Danny knew it was only dangerous if he didn’t take any action. “I’ve been running away from things my entire life. I can’t run anymore.”

  His dad nodded. “He’s going to be okay, Mary. Thomas Helen knew it, and we know it, too.”

  His mom stood back and put a hand on her forehead. “You don’t know that for sure. What about that man? He’s trying to hurt Danny for some reason.”

  Danny stood in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. He had to convince her to let him go today. “He can’t hurt me. He said something about rules.”

  His mom turned and looked at him with tears in her eyes. “We can’t lose you, Danny. You’re our world.”

  Danny felt like his heart was being ripped out. He believed that Ty couldn’t hurt him, but he also knew what Suit Man had demanded. Danny couldn’t imagine killing another man, but he also couldn’t imagine a man not fighting back. None of that mattered. He would save his parents.

  “Let him go,” his dad said. He winked at Danny. “We believe in you.”

  Danny nodded at him.

  His mom threw up her arms. “There’s no way you’ll make it to school on time by foot. I’ll drive you.”

  Danny scratched his neck. “I’m pretty sure I can make it in plenty of time.”

  CHAPTER 9

  PLAYING DEAD

  DANNY STOOD in front of Cooper City Performing Arts High School and watched the teenagers gathered in cliques outside getting ready for the day. They weren’t any different than the cliques at public schools. He still remembered his initial resistance to starting his high school years here. Most of his friends from middle school had gone to the public high school. But now he realized this was the right place for him. The school’s purpose was to guide students on their own journey of discovery.

  Marc waved at Danny from the crowd. “Hi, Lover Boy,” he shouted.

  Danny felt his face turning red. He put his head down and marched toward Marc. “Look,” he said when he got close to Marc, “I need you to—”

  Someone shoved Marc to the ground. Danny saw that it was Joe, the biggest kid at school. He was built like a brick fortress. Everyone knew he was on steroids.

  “What’s up, faggot?” Joe hovered over Marc.

  Danny stood in front of Joe. “Back off, Joe. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Joe stared at Danny with raised eyebrows. He seemed confused, but then he laughed. “I should have known. You’re a faggot too, aren’t you?” He shoved Danny down right next to Marc.

  “Stay down,” Marc whispered. His eyes were closed. “Just play dead. He can’t hurt us if we’re dead.”

  Danny looked up at the steroid freak. The kid’s face was covered with acne scars and the armpits of his shirt were stained with sweat. Danny wondered how he could beat Ty if he couldn’t beat the high school bully.

  A crowd gathered around them. “Fight!” one kid shouted.

  “Leave them alone,” someone said from behind Danny. He turned and saw that it was Kevin.

  Joe rubbed his head like he was confused. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Leave them alone or you are going to have a problem.” He cracked his neck.

  Joe beat his hands on his forehead when the In School Suspension (ISS) teacher Ms. Spin walked through the crowd.

  “Come with me, Mr. Jones.”

  Joe beat his fists together and pointed at Kevin. “You called the Five-0 on me? I won’t forget this.” He shoved students out of the way and followed Ms. Spin inside the school.

  Danny felt like his head was swirling. He couldn’t understand why Kevin had helped him, when he probably wanted to beat him up himself.

  Kevin reached a hand down to help Danny up. He had a wide smile on his face that Danny knew wasn’t genuine. It was an expression Kevin h
ad mastered in his acting classes here. Danny stood without Kevin’s assistance and helped Marc up.

  “Thank you, both,” Marc said. “My butt feels bruised but nothing a spa day won’t fix.” He smiled when Becky joined Kevin’s side.

  ”Are you okay?” she asked Danny and Marc, her eyes moving back and forth. She kissed Kevin’s cheek.

  Danny nodded. He couldn’t look at her. Marc seemed to notice and said, “A grass stain is better than a blood stain. Thank goodness Danny was here.” He patted Danny’s back and headed inside the school. He pumped his fist in the air and shouted, “Spa day coming up!”

  Danny turned to follow Marc. He didn’t trust Kevin. He couldn’t understand why Becky was with him. “See you inside.”

  “Danny, wait,” Becky said. She grasped his shoulder and tugged on it. “I need to talk to you.”

  Danny sighed. He couldn’t talk to Becky with Kevin by her side flashing that fake smile. “Class is about to start.”

  “Danny,” Kevin said, “I owe you an apology. You’ve always been a good friend to me, but I haven’t been a good one to you.”

  Danny tried his hardest not to laugh. He recognized that line from a TV movie he’d seen before. Now he knew for sure Kevin was blowing smoke.

  “Remember how we used to play video games at my house after school?” Kevin asked. “I’ve got this great new racing game we can play.” He flashed his smile again. “You should come over this afternoon.”

  “No thanks,” Danny said. “I’ve got other plans.”

  “Danny, please,” Becky said. “Can’t you see that Kevin’s sorry? I just want the two of you to work things out.”

  Danny wished Becky could see Kevin the same way that he saw him. Who knew how many lies Kevin had told her? Danny felt sick thinking about how Becky loved Kevin.

  “He doesn’t love you,” Danny said. I do.