by Sybil Nelson
I hopped up and swung my leg around in a roundhouse kick. But before it could make contact with his head, he ducked and kicked my standing leg out from under me. I landed on top of him, our noses nearly touching.
“Marco?” I asked, staring into his green eyes.
“Sorry, I was just trying to hug you and then you attacked me and I guess my instincts kicked in.”
Then there was a really weird moment where we just stared at each other. My heart raced. So did his. I thought he was going to kiss me or something. Then I thought about Kyle. What the heck was I doing lying on top of this boy I’d just met? I quickly rolled off of Marco.
“Yeah, uh, sorry about that,” I said, hopping to my feet.
I offered him my hand and helped him up. His white pajamas were covered in my blood. I looked over and saw the other Selliwood kids smiling and hugging each other. Their collars stopped glowing and I could actually see their powers returning. Two of the kids even started levitating. They could fly! Then one by one, they looked up into the sky. I followed their gazes and found what had captured their attention. It was a helicopter flying away from the ashes of the institute. Colonel Selliwood had escaped.
I could tell some of the kids wanted to go after him, but even though their powers had started to return, they weren’t strong enough to catch that helicopter and fight the other specimens that were possibly on board. So we all just stood there and watched, knowing that one day we’d meet again.
Chapter 30: Tai, the Perfect Sidekick
“That was the coolest thing ever!” Chester said when the Selliwood kids and I reached the jet. He ran and jumped into my arms. Charlie was only a couple of steps behind him and also tackled me with a hug.
Those idiot boys didn’t have the common sense to be terrified of the explosions that lit up the night sky. I knew their lack of fear would one day get them into loads of trouble. But, then again, I had to admit that what I’d just done was pretty cool. Unfortunately, the coolness of it quickly wore off as we stood around trying to figure out what to do next.
Mom and Dad were still unconscious. Josh held his head in his hands, too weak to walk or say more than three or four words at a time. I guessed the stunt with the guards took a lot of energy out of him.
“You okay, Josh?” I asked, rubbing his back.
He nodded. “Just … need … rest. Head … pain.”
I kissed him on the cheek and then went to check on my best friend. Tai sat on the ground hugging her knees and staring blankly into the sky. She was frozen with fear. She really needed her Rock Box. I had to think of something to get her to snap out of it. I tried to hug her and tell her everything was gonna be all right, but she just kept staring into space.
“Tai, you’re gonna make a horrible sidekick if you go all coma toast like this on me every time there’s a little bit of danger.”
Tai looked at me and said, “Do you mean comatose?”
“That’s what I said. Coma toast.”
She shook her head and then went back to staring at the sky.
Suddenly, I noticed all the Selliwood kids were looking at me, expecting me to give orders or say something smart or something.
“So, um, we should probably get out of here.” They just kept staring at me. “Right, so, why don’t we get in the jet?”
“You can fly the jet, Priss?” Charlie asked excitedly.
“That’s awesome. You’re the most awesome sister in the world, Priss,” Chester added.
“Where are we gonna go, Priss? Where? Can we take the pajama kids home with us?” Charlie jumped up and down in front of me, probably looking forward to having twelve new people to torment at our house.
I opened my mouth to tell them where I would be taking the Selliwood kids when I realized I had no idea. I couldn’t very well bring them to River’s Bend and claim they were my cousins or something. They were too quiet, well-behaved, and obedient. No one would ever believe they were related to a Sumner.
“May I make a suggestion?” Marco asked, noticing my confusion. I nodded. I was up for any ideas. “Your mother created a safe house where she takes all the escapees before transporting them to a permanent home. Specimen W is the caretaker.”
“Perfect. We’ll go there.”
“The only problem is, I am not sure of the location. She never told me, in case I was tortured into giving it away.”
“Great,” I threw my arms in the air theatrically. “I’ll just go get a phone book and look up Secret Selliwood Survivor Safe House. I’m sure we’ll find an address in no time.”
Then I heard Tai’s shaky voice say, “If Mrs. Sumner flew there, the coordinates should be in the jet’s navigational memory.”
“Do you think you could take a look at the computer system and try to find it?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think I can,” she said, a spark starting to return to her eye.
Tai sat in the pilot’s seat and started poking around the jet’s computer. Moments later, everything started shaking.
“I didn’t know Colorado had earthquakes,” I said.
“Neither did I.”
Tai and I gave each other a panicked look. A large rock hit the windshield of the jet. Tai screamed. I jumped up and ran outside as Tai’s fingers went back to working the computer.
Pieces of the mountain were crumbling. A huge boulder dislodged and started rolling to where my little brothers were thumb wrestling each other, completely oblivious to the danger around them. I ran to grab them, but Marco beat me to it.
“What’s going on?” I asked as he brought the boys to me.
“The explosions from the institute must have rocked the foundation of the mountain. I think it’s coming down.”
I looked at the ground and saw a crack develop between my feet. We didn’t have much time.
“Everyone on the jet, now!” I yelled. I looked around, making sure everyone was getting on board. “Josh!” I yelled noticing he was still on the ground, clutching his head.
“I’ll get him,” Katya said, coming out of nowhere and sweeping Josh up into her arms. Wow. She was strong. She carried him like a baby into the jet, the whole time not taking her eyes off his face. Huh ...
After everyone was in their seats, I dashed to the cockpit.
“Find anything?” I asked Tai as I picked her up and placed her in the copilot seat. I didn’t wait for her response as I initiated the take-off sequence.
Tai buckled her safety belt. “Yeah, the coordinates that are logged in the most, besides the woods near River’s Bend, are found in Kansas. I think that’s where it must be. I already programmed them into the navigational system.”
“Good work, Tai.”
She took a deep breath and smiled. Maybe she will be the perfect sidekick after all.
Chapter 31: The Good-bye Girl
Josh recovered from the draining use of his powers in a matter of hours. Dad woke up next. Though he still had the broken leg I’d given him earlier, plus several new broken bones in his face, hands, and ribs, he was still better off than Mom. She kept going in and out of consciousness, mumbling things like, “Don’t touch my children,” and “Kill me if you have to.”
Thankfully, since the entire town was at the River Day Dance the night of the phony arrest, we didn’t have to explain the whole “taken at gunpoint” thing to anyone. The only person who saw anything was our neighbor, Mr. Grayson, and his credibility was shot since he often got too drunk to find a bathroom and used the nearest lamppost as a substitute. A few people did wonder about the helicopter in the sky that night, but Tai took care of that. She took the holographic game of Tetris from the jet, made a few adjustments, and then went on Channel 2 News with Stacy Marguilles again. She convinced everyone that the helicopter was part of her science fair project in holographic technology. She was even able to recreate the helicopter, complete with sound effects. Like I said, perfect sidekick.
“Once again, Taiana, you amaze me. You are sure to win the science fair this year,”
Stacy Marguilles said after Tai’s demonstration. “And now back to Tom with a report on Colorado’s most powerful earthquake in over one hundred years.”
I thought having everything logically explained to the people of River’s Bend would be enough. I thought we’d be able to slip back into our normal routine and pretend the Selliwood Institute had never existed. Deep down I knew that wasn’t going to happen. Dr. Witherall and Colonel Selliwood knew where we lived. They’d already found us twice. They were both still alive and well, and at any moment, they could come after us again. After being back for only two days, Dad decided it’d be best if we left Pennsylvania.
“You know, you really should be coming with us,” I told Tai as she helped me pack the last few things in my room. Once Dad decided we were moving, Josh and I stayed home from school and worked on packing up the house round the clock. By Wednesday afternoon, we were ready to go. “They know who you are. What if they come after you?”
Tai shook her head. “What could they possibly want with me? Besides, I can’t leave my parents. They’re the only family I’ve ever known. They’re all I have.”
“I can be your family. We are family. You’re the closest thing I have to a sister.”
Tai dropped the blanket she was folding and crossed the room to hug me. We both broke into tears.
“I made you something,” she said after a few minutes of crying. She wiped the tears from her eyes and then went to grab her purse off of the window seat. “Here you go,” she said, handing me a huge metal hairbrush that she’d pulled out of her purse. “I didn’t have time to wrap it. It took me hours to get it working properly.”
I took the metal monstrosity into my hands, turning it over and over. Why in the world would she make me a hairbrush? A butt-ugly hairbrush at that.
“Um, thanks?”
“I know it’s not much to look at, but it’s completely functional.”
Wow, a functional hairbrush as a going away present from my best friend of four years. This was possibly the worst gift ever, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I put it to my head and tried to use it.
“Ow!” Not only was it totally ugly, but it was ridiculously painful.
“What are you doing?” Tai asked, staring at me like I was some sort of moron.
“I’m trying to use your gift.”
“Well, that’s not how you use it.”
I stared at the brush again. What was I missing?
“Priss, it’s not really a hairbrush. Do you really think I’d give you an ugly hairbrush as a gift? Please. What kind of friend do you take me for?” She snatched the brush out of my hands and pushed a button on the end of it. Immediately, her purse started ringing. “See! It’s a communication device. A little rudimentary, but it was all I could do in such little time.” She opened her purse and pulled out a black compact. “You can only call this compact, but at least we can keep in touch. The range is a little over two thousand miles, so hopefully you won’t move farther away than that. I made it in the shape of a brush because I knew your dad would never let you have a real cell phone, but how could he possibly object to you having a hairbrush? Every girl needs a hairbrush. What do you think?”
“Wow, Tai, this is like beyond genius,” I said, looking at the brush phone in a new light.
“I’m glad you like it.” Tai smiled, completely pleased with herself.
We got so involved in playing with the brush phone and planning times to talk to each other that neither one of us noticed when the doorbell rang.
“Someone’s at the door for you,” Chester said, bursting into my room unannounced.
“Yeah, someone’s at the door,” Charlie repeated, adding kissing noises, which could only mean it was Kyle. Once things calmed down a little after the Selliwood situation, I had to explain that I’d snuck out of the house to meet Kyle the night everyone was captured. So, in Charlie and Chester’s little minds, he was my boyfriend. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly true. Since I hadn’t been in school all week, I hadn’t spoken to him since the night I ditched him at the gazebo. He probably hated me.
“So, it’s true? You’re really moving away?” Kyle said, turning around and around my empty living room. “There was a rumor at school, but I didn’t think you’d really leave without saying good-bye to me.” He looked really hurt. I didn’t know what to say.
“I’m sorry, Kyle. My dad just decided a couple of days ago and—”
“Is it because of me? You hate me, don’t you? Is it because I told everyone in school I was going to kiss you before I told you? That was dumb. I know. I’m sorry. I probably freaked you out. Is that why you ditched me at the gazebo?”
“No, Kyle, this has nothing to do with you.”
“Please don’t move, Priss. You’re my best friend. Who else am I gonna ride bikes with or share my comic book collection with? And you’re the only girl I’ve ever wanted to kiss.”
I felt more tears coming. I didn’t want to cry in front of Kyle, though. So, instead, I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his chest. This was gonna be harder than I expected. I’d already had the three-hour screaming match with my father telling him how unfair it was we were moving. But he told me to just accept it. It was for the best. How would I feel if next time Kyle was kidnapped instead of Tai and I wasn’t able to save him? It’s pretty depressing to know that your simple existence put everyone you loved in danger.
Even though I’d spent two days mentally preparing myself for leaving Kyle, right now, wrapped in his arms, I didn’t know if I could do it. I’d spent the weekend defeating genetically enhanced assassins and maniacal villains, yet I wasn’t strong enough to let go of a crush. I was pathetic.
Seconds later, Josh entered the living room carrying a large box. “Priss, Dad says we’re getting on the road in ten minutes,” he said before going outside to put the box in the U-Haul trailer. Tai was right behind him, loading the last box from my room. Kyle and I were still locked in a bear hug. Neither one of us wanted to let go first.
Finally, I said, “I gotta go, Kyle,” and pushed away. Hand in hand, we walked out of the front door, onto my porch. Charlie and Chester were already buckled into their booster seats in the Escalade. Mom was asleep in the front passenger seat. The plan was Dad would drive the Escalade with a U-Haul trailer attached, Josh would drive his truck with another U-Haul attached to it, and I would follow from above in the jet.
“Do you at least know your new address so we can keep in touch?”
“I don’t even know what state we’re moving to.” Dad wouldn’t tell me for fear that in a moment of weakness, I’d tell Kyle or Tai. He’d flip if he knew about the brush phone.
“Well, I guess this is it then. I might never see you again.”
“Don’t worry, Kyle. I have a feeling River’s Bend hasn’t seen the last of me. I’ll be back.”
Chapter 32: Super Mom
My mom no longer had her powers. That’s what the machine she was attached to at Selliwood had done to her. It was an experimental procedure that stripped the genetic mutations off of her DNA, causing excruciating amounts of pain. Apparently, my mother was the guinea pig for the procedure. I wonder if they had planned to use it on the kids later.
My mother hoped her body would revert to its natural state, thus returning her powers, but until then, she was adjusting to life as a normal person. Josh and Dad took care of the farm we lived on in Missouri that happened to be only about thirty minutes away from the safe house in Kansas. Farmer Dad was pretty comical. He took the farming thing so seriously. Did he really need a 9 mm to blow a hole in the earth before dropping in a watermelon seed? Probably not. But what else was he going to do with his gun collection.
Anyway, while Josh and Dad turned into farmers, Mom turned into super housewife. Every day we woke up to homemade biscuits and gravy or pancakes and sausage. She turned the living room into a classroom and became our daily teacher since Dad wouldn’t let us go to public school. She even invited the S
elliwood kids over once a week and cooked a big family dinner.
It seemed like Mom really enjoyed her new role as full-time mother and wife. And while it was nice to have her around all the time, I had to admit, I kinda missed the superhero.
My thirteenth birthday caught me by surprise. I mean, once you discover you can shoot fire out of your fingers, fly a jet, and save your family from evil villains, being able to get into PG-13 movies sort of loses its luster. Thankfully, Mom was paying more attention to things than I was. She planned a big bash for me, invited some of the Selliwood kids, and quarantined Charlie and Chester so they wouldn’t ruin things and embarrass me. Even though it was the middle of December, I got to have a pool party. Given my abilities, the pool turned into more of a hot tub.
