by Bryan Cohen
It was a full week after Natalie and Travis had full-on made out in the kitchen of the summer team camp. As much as she might deny it, she'd been thinking about having his hands all over her body ever since. This was the cult member who'd shot her with a rubber bullet. The douchebag football player who made the nerds and band geeks duck for cover in the hallway. All things being equal, she'd rather punch him in the face than have him anywhere near her. And yet….
Natalie was alone in the women's gymnasium. She dribbled the ball twice and put up another free throw. It swished with ease.
"That's 35."
A slow clap echoed through the gym. She turned toward it as she gathered the ball for her next shot. Sure enough, it was the blockhead who'd been running around her mind all week.
Travis had a look on his mug like he owned the place. "35 in a row. Every single one a swish. I think you have too much time on your hands."
Natalie lined up for the next shot. Her heart began to pound faster. "This from the guy who's been creepily staring at me from behind the bleachers. Now, if you don't mind–" Natalie swished number 36 "–I'm busy."
As she grabbed the ball once again, Travis nodded his approval. "I can see that. I just thought we could talk about last week."
Natalie palmed the ball and turned her full attention on Travis. He was chiseled, she'd give him that. His body was a far cry from the baby-fat love handles of Ted Finley. Natalie composed herself and glared. "I figure I should face you. That way you can't shoot me in the back with a rubber bullet."
Travis ignored the comment and began removing his shirt.
"What the hell are you doing?"
His six-pack abs looked like they'd been grown in a lab. No normal human being could be that defined.
Travis smirked. "Getting your attention. Take a break and come to center court so we can… have a conversation."
Natalie grunted. She tossed the ball with all her strength right at Travis.
He caught the ball with one hand. "Now you've gotta come over here if you want to keep playing."
Natalie stormed to mid court, where Travis had planted himself right in the center circle. He placed the ball in front of his stomach and Natalie attempted to wrench it away. The ball barely budged and Travis put his hands over hers.
She wanted to pull away, but the feeling of his skin on hers cemented her in place.
Natalie growled. "The kiss was a mistake. You're terrible and you should take a jog down the center of the freeway."
Travis moved his hands to Natalie's waist. Her heart jumped and she dropped the ball, which bounced to the sideline as he pulled her close.
Against her better judgment, she looked into his eyes. "I. Don't. Like. You."
She hoped like hell that he couldn't feel her racing heart.
He breathed heavily. "Prove it."
As he turned his head and moved toward her mouth, she didn't pull away. Natalie closed her eyes and parted her lips. His mouth pressed tightly against hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her so deeply and took the breath out of her lungs so completely that time became irrelevant. Half an hour later they remained in that center court circle when Travis finally pulled away.
Natalie reached for him. "Wait."
Travis took in a deep breath. "My lungs forgot how to work, Dormer. We've gotta stop if I'm gonna live through this."
Natalie moved closer. "Don't tempt me."
Travis laughed. "Look. I know you don't like me very much, but there's a whole month of summer left. This could be an ongoing thing."
Natalie considered her options. Dhiraj was spending all his time playing good little money husband with Jennifer. Ted was off saving the country from natural disasters. While training sessions with Erica were grueling, it wasn't like they were best friends or anything.
Natalie sighed. "Fine. It stays between you and me, though. I've got a reputation to uphold."
Travis grinned. "And what reputation is that?"
"Girl who doesn't hang out with douchebags. Now, are you gonna let me finish practicing?"
"I thought that's what we were doing."
Natalie unlocked the side door of the gym. Her footsteps echoed throughout the pitch-black room. She turned on the flashlight on her phone and walked behind the bleachers to flip on the lights.
With a loud thump, the overhead fluorescents came to life.
Natalie's heart trembled in her chest. "Travis? Are you in here?"
The echoes of her questions reverberated off the walls, but there was no response. As she walked around the bleachers, she saw someone standing motionless in the middle of the court. Travis was wearing a clean white t-shirt and facing away from her.
Natalie slowly walked toward him. "I'm sorry. I don't know how else to say it."
Travis remained silent.
"I should've told you right away. I'm completely ashamed. You're allowed to be mad at me forever if you want."
Natalie reached the edge of the mid court circle. "But I don't want you to be."
Travis remained motionless and quiet.
Natalie put her hand on his shoulder. "The silent treatment isn't helping anyone."
As she turned him toward her, it all became clear. The vacant eyes. The cold of his skin. The thick red circle in the middle of his abdomen. The body of Travis Conner collapsed, and Natalie caught it before it hit the ground.
Her body shook as she looked at Travis' face. "Travis? Travis?!"
He was cold. He was gone.
Natalie screamed. Her voice echoed loudly throughout the empty room as tears flowed from her eyes. "No, no, no, no, no! Travis, please!"
Natalie crumpled to the ground in a sitting position, her boyfriend's body slumped into her lap.
She waited for what she hoped was a vision to disappear. Natalie's diaphragm heaved as she looked in all directions, attempting to find reality again.
"It can't be real." She shut her eyes tight. "Please don't let it be real."
Seconds passed. Then minutes. The dread settled in deep.
"Please."
There was nothing left for her to do. She placed her head on his chest and silently wept into his shirt.
27
Erica knew this day would come, but that didn't make it any easier. Ever since Ted made the deal that spared the lives of her and Natalie, she'd been waiting for the dark souls to make their move. What she didn't expect is that the General would be able to communicate with his soldiers.
"He's rallying them." She paced back and forth in the empty lair. "He must have another gatekeeper. Or some way to get a signal across. If we could only cut it off–"
The buzz of the front gate turned Erica's attention toward the camera monitor. Jennifer stood there with her arms crossed. Erica ignored the shiver of nervousness and pressed the entry button.
Her estranged friend took a few steps inside and stopped as soon as she saw the lair's lone inhabitant. The gate clicked shut and locked behind her.
Several seconds of silence passed between them. Without words, Erica jogged up the stairs and wrapped Jennifer in the largest hug she could muster. Jennifer's body relaxed into hers.
Erica squeezed tighter. "I'm sorry I went to him behind your back. I should've cleared it with you first."
Jennifer nodded, her chin tapping lightly against Erica's shoulder. "I overreacted. About everything, it seems. At least now we know the bad guys' evil plan." She pulled back and looked into Erica's eyes. "That means we can stop it, right?"
Erica tried to look assertive and confident. It didn't work, given how quickly Jennifer's shoulders slumped.
"We always come up with a plan. When Ted gets here, we'll figure it out."
Jennifer glanced at the digital red clock that featured prominently on the wall. "You'd think the guy who can fly would get here first."
Another buzz brought their eyes to the camera once again. Ted and Dhiraj stood outside.
Erica's eyebrows danced. "If it isn't our difficul
t boyfriends."
Jennifer sighed and walked down the stairs to press the entry button. Ted and Dhiraj gave a casual greeting before strolling all the way in. Ted gave Erica a peck on the cheek, but Dhiraj walked by Jennifer like she didn't exist.
Erica decided to save her scowl for a more appropriate time. "Do you guys know where Nat and Travis are?"
Ted rolled his eyes. "No, but I'm pretty sure it rhymes with 'fake-up hex.'"
Erica punched him in the arm and brushed past him. "You're an idiot." She sat down in one of the plush executive chairs in front of a high-tech computer screen. "Shall we get down to business?"
Ted nodded and sat across from her. Dhiraj didn't move a muscle until Ted got comfortable. There was something off about him, but Erica assumed it had to do with the lover's quarrel. This wasn't the time to bring up petty squabbles.
"Sheriff Norris says the big play for the dark souls is the Summit. Seems like they plan to slap a few tattoos on all the world leaders behind closed doors and take over their bodies."
Ted squinted. "I don't get it. The White House is gonna be completely secure. Even if they overran the place, most of them would be killed before they reached the main–"
Jennifer cleared her throat. "We don't know how many they've already got on the inside, Ted. One Secret Serviceman who was part of your special deal could be enough to pull the whole thing off."
Ted put up one hand. "Fine, then I'll stop it from happening."
Erica gripped her armrests so tightly, she thought they might tear off. "You're not getting it. They need to cancel the Summit. All those world leaders in one place–"
"The President isn't gonna go for that. Most of the leaders are already in tow–"
"Why are you pushing back on this?" Erica dug her fingernails into the leather. "We're talking about the end of the world, here. You started it, and now we're going to finish it."
Ted stood up and used his powers to knock over his chair. As it skidded across the ground, he turned away from them. "That's what this is all about. I chose to save you and Natalie. I took the only deal I could."
Erica wrenched her hands outward, tearing off both armrests at once. "No. You could've sacrificed two people to save two billion."
Dhiraj spoke in a measured tone. "As soon as he breaks the deal, he won't be able to send any more over."
Jennifer pounded her fist on a nearby table. "It won't matter! If we don't stop them here, they're going to win."
As Jennifer stared icicles into Dhiraj and Ted pouted at his lack of control, Erica was the first to notice the red light of the perimeter alarm. The indicator sound came next as the four of them all looked toward the front camera monitor. A pack of two dozen strangers was beating down the nondescript door that usually hid their lair. The secret was out.
"Battle stations, everybody!" Erica cringed at the sound of collapsing metal that came from the front gate. "Jen and Dhiraj, the stun guns. Ted?"
He nodded. "Hide and havoc. Got it."
Ted flew across the room and opened a chamber behind a one-way window. Jennifer opened a compartment between two computer monitors and pulled out several dart guns. Erica watched as she handed one to Dhiraj. He didn't even look at her as he took it.
The sound of crashing metal grew louder and a different alarm sounded with Dhiraj's pre-programmed voice.
"Perimeter breach! Perimeter breach!"
Erica ran across the room at top speed to a data pad on the wall behind a rack of dumbbells. By the time she saw the first dark soul reach the stairwell, Erica had her hand around the hilt of the ancient sword.
"It's showtime."
The first wave of intruders received a series of tranq darts. A man in his 40s took one straight to the neck and went face-first down the stairs. A grandmother in what had to be a nightgown was hit in the arm and collapsed in the doorway, only to be trampled by her fellow attackers. When the darts missed their mark, Ted used his protected vantage point to make sure they hit home. In a single wave of three missed darts, Ted's powers sent them right into the backs of the next three dark souls. They collapsed on top of one another in a heap. Before long, and before Erica even needed one swipe of the sword, they'd almost completely blocked the front door with the unconscious bodies of dark souls.
Ted's voice came over the speakers. "Wouldn't want to be here when they wake up."
Erica tightened her grip on the sword. "I don't plan to be." She looked over at Dhiraj and Jennifer, who were reloading their guns. "You guys ready for the next wave?"
Dhiraj nodded and raised his gun. "Locked." With a quick turn of his wrist, Dhiraj shot a dart straight toward Jennifer's ribs. "And loaded."
Jennifer shrieked as the dart pierced her shirt and injected its contents. She collapsed to the ground.
Erica's eyes grew wide as Dhiraj shot another dart in her direction. She easily sliced it in two before she was in any real danger. The disembodied needle cracked harmlessly against the ground.
"You're a dark soul." She looked toward the one-way window. "Ted, you need to put him down!"
Dhiraj fired off several more shots as he walked in her direction. She dispensed with each one and tried to ignore the shifting pile of bodies by the front door. The second wave was coming.
"Ted! I could use some help here!"
The intercom was silent, and Dhiraj continued to approach. Even at point blank range, Erica was able to knock the darts away. When he got too close, Erica halved the gun with ease.
She brought the blade up to his throat. "I'm sorry, Dhiraj."
His eyes looked right through her, as she prepared to end her friend's life. She pushed the blade forward. At least, she planned to. In reality, her hands and the sword failed to move. She tried again, but she remained motionless.
"Ted, Let me do this. I'm putting him out of his misery."
Her hands were no longer in her control and they began to tilt the blade back toward her. Erica's fingers shook as the sharp point redirected itself to her own throat.
"What are you doing? Stop!"
The tip lightly grazed her neck, sending a thin line of blood trickling down to her collarbone. Tears formed in her eyes.
"Ted?"
Laughter echoed throughout the room. Ted Finley exited his chamber. He looked taller somehow. More confident. Erica cursed herself for not seeing it earlier… for not allowing herself to see it.
Her voice turned cold. "The books should've killed you."
The General's smile was so bright she could barely turn away. "I was surprised too, but I had to give it a shot anyway. Pretending to be a powerless living soul was getting on my nerves. Sherriff Norris?"
Around the pile of bodies crept another unknown traitor. The dark soul who looked like Jennifer's dad came into full view.
Erica would've shook her head if she had any control of motor skills. "Your daughter would be really proud if she wasn't lying unconscious on the floor."
The sheriff kept his head down.
The General gestured in Jennifer's direction. "Sheriff, would you be a dear and grab your daughter's gun? Thanks." He placed his hand on Dhiraj's shoulder. "You know, I should thank you, Erica. I'm pretty sure that our encounter long ago made me strong enough to handle your boyfriend's power. As much as you blame Ted for the end of the world, it's really all your fault."
Erica knew there was only one thing she could do. She had to get reinforcements from the other side. With all her might, she tried to force the blade through her own throat.
As soon as she made the effort, the sword clattered to the ground, and her neck remained relatively unscathed.
The General smiled. "No, no, no. You don't get a homecoming party. I want you to stick around. Now give your lover a kiss and mean it."
Erica tried to shut her eyes, but she had no control left. The General moved her body for her, and placed her lips on his. Inside, she wanted to tear his body apart. On the outside, it looked like the only way for her to get oxygen would be through the Gen
eral's mouth. Tears joined the drying trail of blood down her neck.
The General pulled away and let out a happy sigh. "Ah, young love. You may now shoot her, Sheriff."
Three darts ripped into Erica's right shoulder. With the taste of The General's mouth still on her lips, she fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
28
Ted's mouth curled into a smile as he watched the gaping mouths of the crowd before him. The familiar power surged through his body, and he felt the sense that he could control anything that came his way. It buzzed throughout his nervous system at twice the strength he remembered from his first encounter with the power in a greasy spoon diner a world away.
In the silence, Ted concentrated on the rope fibers holding the noose in place. As he pictured them tearing, the constraint around his neck complied and fell harmlessly to the dirt below. He remained stationary a dozen feet above the ground.
Ted shut his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Much better. Should we continue with the trial?"
Several guards broke ranks from the base of the gallows and pulled out their laser weapons. They fired without command and aimed at Ted's face. As quickly as the beams danced across the open space, Ted repelled them back to their source. The weapons exploded, blasting the guards backward into the crowd with a deafening crack.
One scream turned into many, and the non-military spectators ran away from Ted in a panic. Another squad of guards attempted to set up in the insanity, without much success. Those who aimed and fired their weapons were surprised to see Ted redirect the projectiles past his body and into the gallows behind him. His smile widened when he heard the executioner bellow and crash to the ground.
"You know what they say… no noose is good noose." Ted watched the soldiers line up for another crack at him. "What? You're mad that I stole that line from Mel Brooks? Fine. You're grounded."
As the guards were about to pull their triggers, Ted used his powers to force the weapons straight down. With a burst of dirt, explosions, and yelps of pain, the assailants blasted themselves in every direction. Not one of the laser blasts came close to the still-hovering Ted.
