by Bryan Cohen
Erica shook her head. "That idiot doesn't even realize what he's doing. We need to get to Redican."
Ted looked out at the crowd. They were mostly silent, but he imagined they'd make one heck of a ruckus if that's what Cobblestone wanted.
"I have Agent Vott's number."
Erica snorted. "We are not bringing the DHS into this. We can handle our own problems." Ted wasn't so sure. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "I thought you were supposed to be in prison."
The onlookers booed all around the limo.
Cobblestone was too far away for a clear picture, but it was easy to tell he was smiling on the other side of the megaphone. "Our sponsors have deep pockets, Ted. We're sorry we have to ruin your high school's little dance here... unless you leave town tonight." The word "tonight" got a big rise from the crowd. "We'd be happy to let the rest of your classmates enjoy themselves."
Ted and Erica ducked down into the limo. Winny and Rico continued to kiss as if nothing else could possibly be happening. Dhiraj looked through the sunroof as Erica, Ted and Jennifer plotted.
"He could make a temporary deal with DHS." Jennifer shifted her dress with her hands. "At least so we could get inside."
Erica looked like she wanted to punch somebody. "No deals. If he goes off to fight terrorists somewhere and we need him to handle something cosmic, the world could be totally screwed."
The group of protestors began to chant outside of the limo. The voices joined in unison, shouting "G. H. A.! G. H. A.!"
Ted pulled out his cell phone. "I'm calling Agent Vott. This is ridiculous."
Erica reached for the phone before he could dial. "It's not a good idea, Ted."
"Do you have a better one?"
Dhiraj bent back down into the limo. "Guys, you should get a look at this."
During the argument, Ted hadn't noticed that that the chanting came to a close. When he looked through the sunroof, the crowd had almost completely parted, leaving a limo-shaped opening for them to drive through.
"Back in the car." The limo driver said. "You've only got me for the hour."
Before Ted complied, he looked directly at Cobblestone. Like the other thousand people in attendance, he was staring straight ahead as if in a trance.
"This isn't good." Ted sat down next to Erica. "I think Redican knows we're coming. And he's got an army of brain-dead cultists behind him."
The limo driver pulled up to the front of the venue. As Jennifer rolled down the window, the four of them looked outside to get a better view.
Ted couldn't concentrate on the white and gold exterior of the massive event space, the expertly manicured garden of blue and yellow flowers or the red carpet that was rolled right up to the open glass doors. All he could see were his peers.
Just as the protestors had been staring straight ahead, so were his classmates, and all of them were looking right at the limo. Ted watched as their mouths opened at once and spoke.
"Hello, Mr. Finley."
40
Erica shivered when all the students spoke in unison. She pushed away Jennifer's shaking hand from the window control and rolled the window up herself. Even Winny and Rico had stopped making out.
"Why are we still in here?" Winny started to look for a door handle, as if she had just realized they weren't in some private make out room. She was about to open one of the doors, when Erica grabbed her hand.
"No!" She motioned to Ted. "Lock the doors."
With a slight twitch of his wrist, all the locks clicked down into place.
Erica released her friend. "We can't go out there yet."
Dhiraj looked through the tinted window as if he could see the onlookers. "At least they were polite."
"For now." Jennifer took his hand.
Ted and the rest of the passengers looked at Erica. She should have known there wouldn't be much surprise in their limo arrival, but she had no way of knowing Redican would be able to control so many minds at once.
Erica gave Ted a sharp look. "Could you move them?"
He took in a long breath. "I've shifted a crowd of 100 people before. Not a thousand. Besides, if I got them up, I'm not sure I could put them down safely."
Dhiraj laughed. "I'm sure nobody would mind if Cobblestone and the GHAers got a little roughed up."
Jennifer grabbed his shoulder. "No! It's not their fault they got mind-wiped." She looked at Ted. "They shouldn't get sent to the hospital for that."
Ted smirked. "Aw, your first lovers' quarrel."
Without hesitation, they responded in unison. "Shut up." Then Jennifer and Dhiraj smiled at each other.
Erica bent over and racked her brain.
"If we could just distract most of the students, I could get inside and find Redican."
Winny made a scoffing sound that made the others turn in her direction. "If they're here to get you, you're the only one who's gonna be able to distract 'em, you idiot."
Rico was the only one who laughed, eliciting a kiss from his date.
Erica felt an idea forming in her head. "Winny, you're a genius."
Winny blushed. "Aw, thanks. I have my moments."
Erica looked at Ted and hoped. She hoped that he wouldn't turn out like Adam. She hoped that she wouldn't have to kill a person she loved, as she had done with William. She also hoped that having Ted tap into his powers didn't kill him in the first place.
"Alright, Ted." She took his hand. "I'm going to give you a crash course in controlling people's minds."
Ted raised his eyebrows. "I thought you were worried that would make me go crazy and try to end humanity."
She nodded. "Yup. That could happen."
Erica heard all the students move toward the limo with a coordinated footstep forward. Even if they took their time, the limo would be completely surrounded within the next minute.
Redican must be getting bored.
"Guys." Dhiraj pointed toward the window. "I don't think we have much choice."
Ted's fingers tapped on the leather seats.
Erica took his hand to stop the movement. "I'm not going to let you go crazy. I'm here to protect you."
Ted looked into Erica's eyes and swallowed hard. "I trust you."
"Good." She looked deep into his eyes. "Before I tell you how to do this, you need to promise me something. You need to promise you'll never change anybody's mind for good. If you abuse this power even once, you'll give yourself the permission to do it over and over again. Promise me you won't do that."
"Of course."
"You'll be tempted." Erica took his face in her hands. "Just promise, OK?"
Ted nodded. "Alright. I promise I won't abuse it. If I can do it in the first place."
"You can. You will." Erica filled her lungs with air and began. "You know how you can move objects around? You can do the same with memories. You have the ability to make the mind see things that aren't really there."
Erica recognized the face Ted made. It was the same bewildered look he gave her when she tried to explain who she was and where she'd come from.
"How?" he asked.
Erica heard the mob outside take another step toward the limo. "It's like when you asked for me to be fixed, and suddenly I was. You were in my head and saw what was wrong. Try asking for something else."
Ted looked around the limo and focused on Winny and Rico. Erica watched him close his eyes and squint. His body started to shake as he held his breath. When he let out the air with a big huff, everybody in the limo except for Winny looked like a carbon copy of Rico.
"What the heck?!" Winny's head darted around like a puppy's. "There are five Ricos!" She licked her lips. "Not that I'm complaining."
Jennifer and Dhiraj, both of whom looked like Rico from top to bottom, touched each others faces. Jennifer moved her hand down to Dhiraj's arm.
"Nice biceps." She squeezed his arm.
Dhiraj touched her face, which sported a goatee like the rest of the Ricos. "Nice stubble."
The Rico to Winny's left g
rasped her hand. "Rico is one of a kind, baby."
They kissed, and the other Ricos turned away. Erica watched the Rico to her side, Ted, slump over from fatigue.
She picked him back up. "Now change them back."
Ted breathed heavily and nodded. He squinted again and it took only a moment for the image of the fake Ricos to disappear.
Erica put her arm around Ted. "Was it easier the second time? Changing them back?" She could feel Ted's speedy heartbeat through his back.
"Um." He tried to catch his breath. "Sure."
Jennifer laughed and looked at her date. "You were pretty manly-looking, Dhiraj."
"You, too." Dhiraj was about to laugh, but he heard a tapping on the door. It was the sound of dozens of fingers rapping on the windows.
Erica tried to ignore the sound, which now came from all around the limo. "Looks like the crash course is over. Now you just need to do it for a thousand people."
Ted eyes darted from side to side. "Great. Because doing it for six wasn't hard enough."
"We believe in you, Ted." Jennifer forced a compassionate grin. "Always have."
Rico gave Ted and Erica the thumbs-up and Dhiraj showed his flashy smile.
Winny rolled her eyes. "You're a dork. But you're the best chance we've got."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." His voice shook. "If I can get into their heads, what should I do? Make everybody normal again?"
Erica shook her head. "Redican'll change them right back. And until you're practiced at this, he's going to be stronger than you."
"What're you gonna do?" Dhiraj started to back away from the windows. "Make them all think we're naked or something."
Erica looked at Dhiraj with a grin. "No, I've got something much better in mind."
41
"I don't know if I like this plan." Dhiraj looked to Jennifer for support.
She gave him a half-smile that seemed to say she didn't have any better ideas.
"I thought you liked being bait." Ted glanced at him before grimacing at the tapping sounds that were growing louder and louder.
"It's different when it's one vs. a hundred."
"More like a thousand." Winny looked pleased by her insight.
Dhiraj glared at her and then turned his attention toward Erica. The plan was a simple bait-and-switch. Ted would find his way into the minds of all the protestors and students long enough to make them believe that Dhiraj was actually Ted. Dhiraj would draw as many people as possible away from the dance, which would give the others the opportunity to get to Redican.
"What if the mob gets to me before you get to Redican?" Dhiraj felt the dread grow to the size of a watermelon in his stomach.
Erica looked back and forth between Dhiraj and Ted. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen. Ted, if you don't start now–"
"Wait!"
All the passengers, Dhiraj included, looked over at Jennifer. She'd been silent since Erica brought up the plan. "If you're going to make them really believe it...." Jennifer gripped Dhiraj's hand. "He's gonna need an Erica with him. Change me, too."
Dhiraj pulled Jennifer toward him, attempting to whisper quietly enough to not be heard. "No, Jen. You shouldn't–"
"I'm your date, remember?" She adjusted the boutonnière on Dhiraj's lapel. "Where you go, I go."
Dhiraj felt some of the dread dissipate. He didn't want to put her in any kind of danger, but two people might have better odds than one.
"Guys?" Erica moved away from the door as the tapping began to turn into a pounding.
"Both of us." Jennifer put on her game face.
Dhiraj clenched her hand tightly. "Do it."
"I'll try my best." Ted looked at the two of them one last time before shutting his eyes.
Dhiraj watched as Ted scrunched up his face. The pounding got more forceful as Ted started to shake.
"Owww." Ted gripped Erica's hand. "My head is–"
Erica shouted at Ted like a drill sergeant. "Keep going! Just a little bit longer!"
Ted gritted his teeth and let out an anguished noise as if it was the hardest thing he'd ever done. Dhiraj could feel himself changing, even though he knew it was only an optical illusion. He looked at his hands as the color faded from brown to a pale peach. The cracking sound of a breaking window startled Dhiraj and he turned toward Jennifer. Her dark hair was changing to a shade of dirty blond, and her dress changed to black and purple to match Erica's. As another window started to crack on the other side of the car, Dhiraj and Jennifer's transformation was complete. They looked exactly like Ted and Erica.
Ted opened his eyes and let out a hard, exasperated breath, like he'd just run a mile-long sprint. "It's done." He shook his head from left to right as if to rouse himself. "My brain feels like a puddle."
Dhiraj grinned and suddenly felt self-conscious of what his grin looked like with another person's face. "What's next?"
Dhiraj gripped Jennifer's now very Erica-like hand. He thought back to a few months earlier when the recently possessed Erica gave him a kiss on the cheek. He couldn't help but blush at the memory and turned back toward Erica and Ted.
"Your dad's office building–" Ted paused to catch his breath. "It's not too far from here. I can fly you there – far enough that you can get inside and lead the mob there."
Dhiraj wanted to comment that Ted looked about as capable of flying them as he was of winning a bench press competition, but he figured that wouldn't inspire much confidence. "You sure you can do it?"
A hand came smashing through the window closest to Winny and Rico. The brainwashed classmate grabbed at Winny's dress, threatening to rip it from her shoulders. Her shriek was so loud and high-pitched, Dhiraj thought it might break the other windows all on its own.
Ted hit the controls for the sunroof. "We're about to find out."
Erica took Jennifer's hand for a moment. "Good luck."
"You too." Jennifer took hold of Dhiraj's waist.
Before Dhiraj could take one more breath, he felt himself jerk into the air, through the sunroof and about five feet above the top of the limo. There was a moment of silence as Dhiraj looked down at the hundreds of pursuers. He felt Jennifer pinch his side.
"Say something."
Dhiraj was surprised to hear Erica's voice come out of Jen's mouth. He wondered if Ted's voice would be likewise transplanted.
"Hello, boys." Dhiraj assumptions were right. No matter what he said, Ted's voice would come out of his mouth. "If you want me, come and get me!"
With that, Dhiraj and Jennifer started to fly through the air. He felt the wind whipping against his cheeks as his partner in flight pulled herself even closer to him. There was a weightless freedom inside he'd never before experienced. He'd planned on showing Jen a good time, but even he couldn't have expected anything as exhilarating as this.
"This is incredible." Jennifer looked back toward the limo. "It looks like they're coming."
Sure enough, when Dhiraj turned back, he saw the mob pursuing them on foot. When he turned back, Dhiraj and Jennifer were headed straight for the windows of an office building.
"Holy crap!" Dhiraj shielded his eyes with his free arm. The two of them banked at the last second and zipped around the building.
Jennifer laughed loud enough for Dhiraj to hear it over the air blowing by them.
He caught her eye. "I think you've somehow gone crazier."
As they began to descend, Jennifer pulled herself close to Dhiraj's ear. "You wouldn't want it any other way."
He smiled as their feet hit the ground.
It took Dhiraj a second to get his bearings. Once he did, he realized they were just a block away from his dad's office. In the distance, he could hear the sound of dress shoes hitting pavement, like the most formal marathon of all time.
"They're coming." Any trace of Jennifer's previous daredevil joy had gone out of her.
Dhiraj took her hand, wondering if their disguised appearance would change how fast they c
ould run. "This way."
While Treasure was by no means a major city, this street nearly gave the town a skyline. Dhiraj typically walked into his father's office with dreams of owning the block. Now he just wanted to stay alive. When they got to the front door of the tallest building in Treasure, Dhiraj waved a keycard in front of a grey control pad. A light turned from red to green, causing a massive glass door to swing open.
"Do you think they can stop him in time?" Jennifer asked.
Dhiraj looked back, spying the fastest runner in the pack running straight for the building. "I know they will."
Dhiraj shut the door behind them, making a loud clicking sound. He took Jennifer's hand and prayed the door would hold.
42
Ted watched through one of the holes in the window as Dhiraj and Jennifer drew the onlookers away. Occupying the minds of a thousand people made him feel heavy, like wearing a coat of steel armor. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to do that and fly his friends safely, but aside from almost ramming them into a building, he was impressed with his mental multi-tasking. Ted felt them land on the ground and released his control of their movements.
"That was amazing, Ted!" Erica kissed him on the lips, though his senses seemed more deadened than usual.
He figured that had something to do with being tapped into the senses of so many minds at once.
"Thanks." Ted heard a noise in the front of the limo. With the path of kids cleared, the driver slammed the door behind him as he ran off in the opposite direction. "I guess we get to keep the limo."
Winny opened the door that faced the parking lot. "He's got the right idea." She looked toward Rico and then Erica. "You're a hero now, aren't you?"
Ted knew that Erica had kept her identity secret from everybody but the main gang. He supposed it was impossible to keep secrets from your friends forever.
"I can explain–"
Winny stopped Erica's sentence with a sharp hug. Ted watched Erica sink into it.
"No need." Winny kissed her friend on the cheek. "Text me and Beth about it later."
Erica nodded. Rico scooted around his date and led her out of the limo. When the door closed behind him, it was just Ted and Erica left inside.
