The Devil Within (The Viral Superhero Series Book 5)

by Bryan Cohen

As she walked out of the room, Blake felt like a thick, dark fog had lifted. He watched Ridley ignore the First Lady's sexual harassment as he joined Blake on the couch.

  President Blake exhaled softly. "I've got to keep telling myself. Just a few more days of that to cope with." He accepted a folder and began flipping through it. "Is everything going to plan so far?"

  Ridley cleared his throat. "We've found a workaround for the cameras issue. Those in security who are less in the know are insisting on keeping a close eye on things from afar." He grinned as much as his professionally stone-like face would allow. "So we're just going to make sure they don't work."

  President Blake flipped through the rest of the documents. Changing the world without anybody knowing about it certainly took a lot of organization.

  He shuffled the papers on the coffee table. "Seems like you've got everything worked out. Your contributions to this won't be forgotten. Any other concerns?"

  Ridley raised an eyebrow. "Just one, Mr. President." He shifted on the upholstery. "How do we know that we can trust Finley? Trusting a person from another world whose whole life is a lie may be… I don't want to say foolish, but–"

  President Blake leaned back and placed his arms behind his head. "No, no. Foolish could work. Risky might be better. Either way, you're right to bring it up. That's why I wanted to propose a backup plan."

  Ridley nodded. "Anything you want, sir."

  President Blake couldn't wait until that was the response he received to any and every worldwide request.

  "If things don't go as planned, I want you to paint the White House red with his blood."

  19

  Travis' arms and legs ached as the morning sun streamed through Natalie's blinds. When his eyes adjusted, he looked down at his bandaged hands. They'd started bleeding again while he slept, but Natalie had done a good enough job patching him up to keep him from the hospital. His girlfriend hadn't slept in the bed with him, opting to take the downstairs couch instead. She said it was to keep her parents from getting suspicious, but Travis had another explanation he hoped wasn't true.

  His shirt from the previous night remained balled up in the corner and caked with blood. He wore an extra-large t-shirt Natalie had found from one of her many basketball tournaments. As he sat up in bed, he heard the bathroom sink turn on and off in the hallway.

  The pit grew deeper in Travis' stomach. "This is where it all comes out."

  Natalie, who had apparently showered and prepped for school while he slept, opened and closed the door softly behind her. She barely even looked at him, but when she did, the contempt slapped him in the face.

  "So, I guess you didn't bleed out last night. What a pity."

  "I assume by your tone that I'm not invited to breakfast with the folks?"

  Natalie let her body collapse into a desk chair and spun it around to face Travis head on. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do about you."

  Travis smirked. "Love me and kiss me and we'll call it even?"

  She sunk deeper into the chair. "I may have some extra razor blades to throw in with your next change of bandages."

  Travis raised his chin and stared into her eyes. Did he already have the answers he was searching for?

  She turned away. "Damn it, Travis. I know you weren't drunk and you didn't get thrown out of a biker bar, so you might as well tell me the truth about last night."

  Travis pulled off the covers and let his sore legs hang over the side of the bed. He supposed his landing after scaling down the drainage pipe may not have been as graceful as he'd thought.

  "I followed Ted last night."

  Natalie's eyes darted back and forth. "What're you talking about?"

  "I parked my car across from his house. I watched him get into a black car, and I followed him to some building–"

  Natalie rubbed at her nose. "So you're saying he tossed you through a window? I'd probably do the same if you were following me."

  Travis pulled one of the pillows into his lap. "Ted didn't do this. It happened while I was trying to escape his goons."

  Natalie gave him the stink eye. "Ted doesn't have goons. Look, I'm gonna be late for school and–"

  "They were dark souls, Nat. I barely missed getting my stomach caved in."

  Natalie hopped up and grabbed her backpack. "You're insane. That's the only explanation. I'm leaving before I catch whatever you have."

  Travis grabbed hold of Natalie's arm before she could reach the doorknob.

  She tried to wrench it away. "Let me go or I'll mess up more than your hands."

  Travis held strong. "Look at me."

  She wouldn't. "Let me go!"

  "Nat, look at me."

  When she did, Travis could see everything. She was in pain. Not just because of the hallucinations or his late-night medical emergency. Talking about Ted around him brought something unfamiliar to the surface.

  Travis could feel Natalie's pulse jump through his bandages.

  Her voice was soft. "What is your problem?"

  Travis wished her eyes were wrong. "I know, Nat. I know there's something going on between you two. But this just got a whole lot more complicated."

  Natalie finally got her arm free. Her face reddened. "Fine. We're hooking up. I cheated on you and I'm a terrible person."

  Travis thought that hearing the truth might make him feel better. That it would stop the wondering and picturing the worst. He was wrong. He was empty.

  His heart somehow continued to beat. The words caught in his throat. "I didn't say you were a bad per–"

  "But he's not involved in some kind of conspiracy. It was probably Secret Service people or some–"

  "He was broadcasting a video in secret. I didn't make it up."

  They stood there in silence for a few moments. The air was so heavy, Travis thought he'd be flattened if he stayed there much longer.

  He broke the standoff, his voice dropping low. "He came back different."

  "So did I!" Natalie's face turned a deeper shade of red. "Ted and I went through the same stuff over there. He doesn't look at me like I'm broken. He's not evil, Travis. Maybe he's just messed up like I am."

  Travis felt the pressure rise inside. "He could've gotten me killed, and he's a cheater. Sounds pretty evil to me."

  Natalie punched her hand into the wall. The plaster cracked where she'd made contact. One of her knuckles started to bleed. "Damn it, Travis. Look what you're doing. I can't go to school like this!"

  "You're not taking this seriously." Travis shook his head slightly. "You're seeing things, but he's doing things, Nat. You've got to believe–"

  "I want you to go."

  Travis took one last look at the girl he loved.

  "Fine. Do whatever you want. But I hope you think about what you've done. About how you chose to hurt me. About how you lost me."

  Even in the heat of battle, he'd never seen her so emotional. Somehow, a tear had made it out of her eyes and rolled down her cheek.

  She sounded different. Travis had never heard her afraid.

  "But I don't want to lose you."

  He turned away and walked toward the window. Travis pulled up the blinds and lifted up the glass and the screen.

  Natalie raised her voice. "I said, I don't want to lose you!"

  Travis glanced over his shoulder. "You can't have everything you want."

  With that, the linebacker straddled the windowsill and used the siding to bring him down to the lawn. He didn't look up at the window, but he could feel Natalie staring down at him as he walked away.

  Travis' phone buzzed in his pocket. He didn't even flinch. He wasn't sure how long he'd walked when he settled beside a pond. There, he let himself collapse on the cold, hard ground. He stared at the motionless water and began to cry.

  20

  The General walked the familiar path of the secret tunnels for the third time in two days. He spoke only briefly to the ancient guard before he returned to Razellia's cell. The General watched her as she slep
t for a few minutes. Part of him wanted to place a pillow over her face and choke the life out of her. The other part wished she didn't look quite so frail. It was that latter part that staged the fake hanging that was so real, even Pluric would believe she was dead. It was that latter part that brought him back to the dingy, odorous cell.

  Razellia must have felt his eyes on her, because she woke and looked back into them. After months of captivity, she remained as determined as any person he'd ever seen.

  She almost smiled. "Aren't you afraid you're going to get tired of seeing me?"

  The General placed his hands on the bars. "I'm still not sure why I haven't killed you yet."

  Razellia rubbed her bloodshot eyes. "You better decide soon. Nobody likes being in limbo between two lives."

  The General wanted to turn back. It would be easy for him to tell the old guard to poison her food and have her rot far beneath the castle. But he knew it was far too late for that.

  "I have a surprise for you." He waved his hand, and tiny feet slapped against the ground in rapid succession.

  Vella appeared from around the bend and ran straight for her mother's cell. "Mommy!"

  Razellia's shoulders shook as she reached through the bars and took her daughter's hands. "Vella! Oh, my Vella." She tightened her grip as best as she could through the metal.

  The General fought back any hint of emotion and crossed his arms to keep it from getting in.

  Vella took on an authoritarian tone. "I knew you weren't dead. They tried to trick me, but a daughter always knows."

  The General flashed to a memory that shouldn't have been his. He saw himself flying into Ted Finley's house. Smoke spread from room to room and the heat already felt like too much. The fire illuminated the second floor of the house, and something told him his mother was there. He used his powers to propel himself through the skin-charring fire and picked her up before bringing her to safety. As he brought her to the paramedics, Ted could see the look in his mother's eyes. Of course, she was scared and in great pain. But she was proud. It was the kind of pride someone can only feel for their own son.

  He couldn't hold the pain back any longer. Fat, salty tears streamed down his face as he crumpled to his knees.

  Vella squinted in the darkness. "Mommy, why is he crying?"

  Razellia pulled her daughter close once more. "Because he finally realizes who he is."

  Ted Finley puked at the end of the hallway. Everything the torturer had inserted in his mind to block his identity was undone at once. Ted remembered the fateful peace treaty and Pluric's hands on his head. As the real and false memories attempted to rectify themselves, Ted threw up again.

  He placed his hand on the wall to steady himself.

  Vella stepped away from her mother's cell and gave the vomit a wide birth. "Are you okay, General Ted?"

  He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His insides felt emptied out. "I don't know. I don't know if I'll ever be okay."

  Vella offered her hand, which Ted accepted. She led him back over to the cell.

  Her smile was comforting. "Don't worry. My mom always knows how to fix things. She's got a gift for solving other people's problems."

  Ted looked up into Razellia's eyes, and for a second, he thought maybe Vella was right. Processing the early days of his three-month identity crisis told him otherwise. "I killed the other villagers."

  Razellia looked solemn. "I know."

  Ted pressed himself into the bars. "I should be the one in this cell. Or at the end of a rope."

  Razellia's breaths were evenly measured. "Whether or not that's the case, you're too important to die." She looked down at her daughter and her face softened. "Besides, they tried to make you into a monster. They failed."

  "Are you sure about that?"

  "My daughter and I are still alive. You wouldn't let them change you. Not completely."

  Ted felt the cold metal against his burning forehead. "I killed innocent people. How am I supposed to live with that?"

  Razellia put her hand on Ted's cheek. It wasn't his mother's fingers touching him, but it may as well have been. "First, you save the world. Then you worry about the consequences."

  Ted nodded. He put his hand on Razellia's and grasped her fingers. "Thank you."

  "Don't mention it. Now, if you don't mind me making an addendum, I think you should let us out before you play hero."

  "Of course."

  Ted took a step back and brought his fingers close together. As he separated his hands, each of the bars ripped from the gate and fell to the floor with a clang. Razellia took a confident step from the cell and swooped up her daughter in her arms.

  Vella beamed before looking back in Ted's direction. "Does this mean I shouldn't call you General Ted anymore?"

  Ted rolled one of the bars with his feet. "I have no idea. I'm not sure if I even exist anymore."

  Vella motioned for Ted to come closer. "Psst. I have something to tell you."

  Ted crouched until he was a few inches away from Vella's face. Before she could whisper anything, she whipped her arm back and slapped him right in the cheek. It stung more than he expected.

  "Would Erica want to hear you talk like that? Would Natalie?" Vella's face looked as stern as any teacher's.

  Ted looked down. "No. They would knock me out cold."

  Razellia cinched her daughter up tight. "What I think Vella was trying to convey with her assault is that they forced you to do what you did. Don't let it change who you are."

  "Okay." Ted centered himself and breathed. "Okay."

  Vella tapped Razellia on the shoulder. "So, Mommy, how are we gonna get out of here?"

  Ted lifted his hand and a small blue ring appeared beneath it. "Don't worry. I've got you two covered." He flicked his fingers and the circle expanded into a shimmering gateway. "This'll take you just outside your village. Unless there's somewhere else–"

  "No. At this point, anywhere but here would be a blessing."

  The three of them hugged.

  Vella squeezed Ted extra-tight. "I'm sorry I slapped you, but you needed it."

  "I did. And I'll miss you and your slaps."

  "Tell Natalie and Erica I said hi."

  Ted choked back some tears and waved. "Of course. Good luck."

  Razellia smiled, took Vella's hand, and walked through the portal. Ted used his powers to close it behind them.

  He brought his hands together and conjured up another portal. He felt stronger than before, as if his powers had leveled up several times since he'd been in captivity.

  He pressed his fingers out and watched a new gateway form.

  "Home, Jeeves."

  Ted took two steps toward the portal before a ripping pain tore into his back. He felt his flesh tear away as he turned toward the source. A chain dangled from Pluric's weapon, dripping with Ted Finley's blood.

  "I'm sorry, living soul, but I'm afraid you won't be leaving here alive."

  21

  Dhiraj's chest was tight as he knocked on the Finleys' front door. Despite all his best efforts to get a full breath into his lungs, it'd been impossible since Jennifer had walked away. All attempts to contact her via Facebook, text, and phone hadn't been answered or returned. He pulled back what must've been the third set of tears when Mrs. Finley opened the door.

  Her smile lit up upon seeing him, though it dimmed when she took in his full appearance. "It's a girl, isn't it?"

  Dhiraj's lips almost curled into a smirk before receding back to neutral. "Mrs. F, has anyone every told you that you should be a shrink?"

  Mrs. Finley gestured inside and Dhiraj followed instructions.

  "Between you, Ted, and the rest of the superhero squad, I've got enough psychological problems to analyze without seeing patients."

  Dhiraj let out a muted chuckle. "Too true. Too true." He suppressed a sigh. "Is the squad leader here?"

  Mrs. Finley nodded and gave a sigh of her own. "Sure. Though I wouldn't say his manners and kindness are. Those have been in
short supply ever since he got back." She lowered her voice. "Something isn't right, Dhiraj. And mothers are usually only equipped to deal with Earth problems. Can you talk to him?"

  Dhiraj nodded. "Of course, Mrs. F. Anything for my Caucasian maternal influence."

  Mrs. Finley laughed. "I appreciate that. And don't worry about Jennifer. Keep your mind right and your emotions in check. It takes two people to start a fight, but usually only one patient person to end it."

  Dhiraj's chest began to loosen. He wondered if Ted knew how lucky he had it. Dhiraj gave a small bow and padded up the stairs.

  Try as he might, it took only a second for Jennifer and feelings of regret to cloud his mind once again. It had been less than a year ago that his number one goal was impressing Jennifer. She was his everything, but for some reason, it wasn't enough just to have her around anymore.

  Am I getting complacent or do I just not love…

  He stopped himself from completing the thought and knocked on Ted's door.

  "Come on in, Goose."

  The room was meticulous and neat. Everything was in its place, which sent an uneasy feeling through his body. Certain things were supposed to be constants in Dhiraj's life. His best friend's train wreck of a room was supposed to be one of them. He ignored the shiver of anxiety.

  "Doing some winter cleaning?"

  Ted looked up from a tablet on his bed. "It was time for a change. Got my speech?"

  Dhiraj pulled off his backpack and fished through until he recovered a blue folder. He handed it over.

  Ted began to skim it. "You still love her. You've been crazy about her forever."

  Dhiraj wrinkled his nose. "Stop reading my thoughts."

  "Stop thinking so loudly." Ted flipped the page. "This is good. The Summit's gonna love it."

  As Ted kept his head down, Dhiraj pulled himself up to a sitting position on his friend's now-immaculate desk. He knew something was wrong here, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.

  "I don't understand why the Summit is so important to you, especially after Erica said you shouldn't trust Blake. Hell, I don't think you should trust him, either."