Superhuman Nature

by Brandon Overall

  They reached the city of Atlanta, and Neil stopped them up above the skyline so Steele could get the full view. The city lights reflected off of his eyes as he stared into the core of the metropolis.

  “It’s incredible.”

  “It’s all mine.” Neil said. “Everything you see belongs to me. I could demolish every building here if I wanted, and I could build it back up again. I am the architect of transformation.”

  Neil could tell that he needed to demonstrate his point for Steele to fully grasp the concept, so he did.

  He flew them directly at the skyline, just a few hundred feet off the ground. They were headed straight for one of the taller buildings.

  “Neil. Neil! NEIL! STOP, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Steele screamed as they got closer.

  They crashed harmlessly through the building. They punctured through offices and walls and windows and appeared on the other side. Neil had protected them.

  Steele turned around to look at the damage, and he saw as the rubble reassembled itself back into its original shape. Time was rewinding, and the wound on the structure repaired itself like it had never been there.

  “Like I said, all mine. Everything is a part of me.”

  They continued to speed through the city, crashing through buildings and watching as the damage was undone. After a while, Steele no longer flinched as they approached a solid brick wall going hundreds of miles per hour.

  They eventually reached the other side of the city. The faint sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. Everyone must have been in a panic, but there was nothing to fear. No one was injured, and there was no damage left unrepaired.

  Steele looked back at the city and admired what Neil had shown him.

  “What are you?” Steele asked in disbelief.

  “I am everything. I am the earth, the air, the sky, the twisted metal that man has shaped into buildings, the cells that compose your body, and the atoms that hold everything together. I ceased existence as a man the instant I gained this ability. I became something greater.”

  He flew them back to the sky above the country bar from earlier and took him high enough that the clouds below them glowed blue in the moonlight. He looked at Steele and smiled.

  “This is my favorite part.”

  He released control.

  CHAPTER 19

  The wind rushed past them both as they plummeted towards the earth. Steele trusted him enough to avoid panicking completely, but he still looked uncomfortable as the air moved past and the ground came closer. Neil closed his eyes and let gravity control him. He didn’t need to see the ground coming. He could feel it.

  Neil slowed them to a stop just above the pavement in the parking lot, and released control over Steele just as their feet touched the ground.

  A crowd had gathered outside the bar. A news van could be seen parked a short distance away, and a reporter was interviewing patrons of the bar. A few of the people in the crowd turned to face them as they descended from the sky.

  “That’s him!”

  “It’s the flying man!”

  The crowd all turned their attention towards the duo and ran straight for them, shouting unintelligibly.

  “I think maybe we should get out of here.” Neil whispered.

  They hurried to the car and got inside.

  Before they could pull out of their parking space, the crowd gathered around the vehicle and blocked them in. Steele started up the engine and pushed through them. They stepped aside for fear of being run over.

  They finally pushed their way out of the parking lot and got on the main road that would take them back to Fort Gordon. Neil looked behind them and saw that the news van was hot on their tail. The van pulled right up to their bumper and began honking its horn.

  “Mind taking care of it?” Steele looked over and asked.

  Neil slammed on the brakes of the van and cut the engine. The van became small in the rear view mirror. They looked at each other and erupted in laughter.

  “Carl’s going to have a fit.” Neil said.

  “Let him.”

  Steele drove them back to the NSA building, and they returned to their living quarters for the evening.

  ---

  Neil ate breakfast in the conference room the next morning with Steele. Neither of them had seen Carl or Tanya since Neil returned from Korea the previous day. It was unusual, but Neil decided not to let it bother him. He had more important things to worry about.

  They finished eating and drove Steele’s rental car to the Augusta Regional Airport. Even with the private flight they would be taking out of Atlanta, their itinerary had them scheduled for a ten hour flight. Neil struggled to find the patience to travel the old fashioned way. He could have flown himself to Afghanistan in minutes.

  “God, I’m going to need a drink if I’m going to avoid the temptation of ‘helping’ the plane along.” Neil said, as they sat on a tan leather couch on the private plane the NSA had provided them.

  “A drink? It’s nine in the morning, and you’re in uniform. I think you’re becoming an alcoholic, Neil.” Steele said jokingly.

  He poured himself a glass of champagne as the flight attendant passed by with a bottle.

  “And what do you call that?” Neil asked, pointing to the drink.

  “This? Champagne doesn’t count as alcohol when you’re important. Everyone knows that.”

  Neil beckoned the flight attendant over and grabbed a full bottle.

  “Good.” He said after chugging half of it.

  “You know you probably just drank about $100 worth of champagne in one gulp.” Steele said, laughing.

  “They can bill me for it.”

  Neil took another sip.

  They spent the remainder of the flight talking about the early days of General Steele’s career, and watching the news on the large television set in their cabin. A reporter was talking about what happened at the country bar in Augusta the previous night. One camera had filmed Neil and Steele descending from the sky, but the zoomed in picture was too grainy to make out their faces very well.

  Several eyewitnesses from the bar gave their accounts of the story. Many embellished what they saw, and Neil couldn’t help but laugh at the level of excitement in their voices as they recounted their story in a thick Georgia accent.

  “I seent it clear as day!” One man declared. “That big fella in the bar fired his gun, and it bounced off that young kid’s forehead like it weren’t nothin’! The big fella nearly pissed himself and ran out the bar.”

  “I saw ‘em come down from the sky later on too! I coulda swore I was lookin’ at angels comin’ down from heaven.” A woman beside the other man announced.

  Neil suspected she was his wife.

  The news story went on to claim there was some kind of link between the flying man and the recent events in Pakistan and North Korea. It sounded like the crazy ramblings of a conspiracy theorist, but it was actually the truth.

  The rest of the flight went on mostly in silence. Neil caught himself falling asleep several times, and Steele was crashed out completely. Neil had finally gained more direct control over his body when he was unconscious, and he no longer lifted off the ground the moment he fell asleep unless he wished to do so. It was a much more comfortable way to sleep, but the attention was not exactly desirable on a plane with people who didn’t know who he was.

  Neil studied the landscape below him as they made their final approach over Afghanistan. Looking at the painted scenery through an airplane window felt foreign to him after experiencing it through self-propelled flight. The beauty of the mountainous geography was lessened, and it seemed more like he was watching something through a television or a photograph rather than viewing it first-hand.

  As the plane closed in on its final destination, the nose angled downward quickly and they dropped altitude. Neil could feel himself lifting out of his chair.

  “Combat landing.” Steele said. “They do it in theater to avoid getting shot down. It�
�s not really necessary anymore – I think they’re doing it more for show.”

  The ground was rushing up to meet them, and Neil waited for the nose of the plane to tilt back up. He began to worry when the plane was still in freefall even after he could clearly see the trees and the large rocks below them. Finally, at the last possible moment, the nose of the plane tilted up, and they touched down seconds later. They taxied to an open area of the runway to disembark.

  “Welcome to Bagram Army Airfield, Afghanistan.” The pilot announced.

  Neil grabbed his ruck sack and readjusted his side arm as he stood up to disembark. He put on his Kevlar vest and helmet to maintain appearances, but they were just dead weight to him.

  A welcoming party stood outside in front of a cheap looking bus when they stepped off the plane. They were there for General Steele, not the lowly Second Lieutenant.

  When Neil descended the staircase from the white private jet, he took in a large breath of dusty Afghanistan air. Breathing was difficult. The base was the size of a small city, and the horizon on all sides was filled with brown, jagged mountains. The air was so thick that he could hardly see the mountains through the haze, despite them only being a few miles away.

  “Sir, welcome to Bagram. We were informed you would be flying in, so we have prepared a VIP transient room for you. Unfortunately, there was only one room available. Your aide will be in a building nearby with regular rooms.”

  A Major saluted and shook the hand of General Steele. Neil shared a glance with his ‘boss’, and they both appreciated the irony of the situation.

  “That’s unacceptable. My aide will have a room directly next to mine. Kick someone out if you have to.” Steele said.

  “Yes...yes, Sir. I’ll see what I can do, Sir.” The Major stammered, after pausing to give a look of confusion.

  They boarded the bus and rode it to the building where they would be staying. Driving through the streets reminded Neil of the videos he had seen of crowded cities in third world countries. He had a hard time comprehending the fact that he was on a Forward Operating Base in a warzone.

  People darted out across the street, some wearing uniforms, and some of them in civilian clothes. There were local nationals as well as well-paid DOD contractors mixed in with the Soldiers. Keeping a place like Bagram up and running required an army of its own.

  They drove through the dusty streets for fifteen minutes before arriving at their destination. The complete lack of traffic laws had made their trip longer than it should have been. Constantly stopping and waiting for other vehicles or pedestrians to pass was a constant nuisance on the FOB.

  When they arrived, Neil saw that the ‘VIP room’ they would be staying in was little more than a wooden shack. He tried to imagine how much worse the regular rooms would have been.

  Fortunately, the inside looked a little bit nicer than the outside. The walls were painted white, and the floor had fur rugs scattered about, made by the locals. There was also a square walled off area that Neil discovered was a latrine upon investigation. A desk with computers and phones was set up against the wall, complemented by a worn down office chair missing a wheel.

  “Trust me, Hitchens, this is what luxury looks like in Afghanistan.” Steele said.

  He hadn’t been called ‘Hitchens’ in a while, but he guessed Steele was trying to putting on an act for the company that was escorting them.

  Steele was escorted to his room next door, and Neil heard a muffled conversation through the walls that lasted several minutes. Steele knocked on his door shortly after the Major left, and Neil opened it while lounging on his bed across the room.

  “The Major gave me some contact information. I’m going over there to meet with them and find out more about this attack we’re expecting. They won’t let you in the meeting, unfortunately.”

  “It’s ok. I’m going to go explore.”

  “Here, take this radio in case I need to reach you for anything. Don’t lose it – it’s got crypto loaded up.”

  Steele handed him a large black radio the size of a brick with an antenna that was at least two feet long.

  “Are you serious? How old is this thing? Is that the same radio Washington had when he crossed the Delaware?”

  Neil rotated the radio around, examining it.

  “Quit complaining. It’s state of the art – only 15 years old.”

  Steele left the room and shut the door.

  Neil sat in silence on his bed as he scanned the entire base for all objects in his influence. He could feel all of the people, the buildings, the weapons, and the vehicles contained on the FOB. It was difficult for him to concentrate on everything because there was so much activity. The longer he studied it, the better he understood it.

  He worked out the shapes of people’s faces, and separated the locals from the Soldiers from the contractors. He could feel their emotions by observing their body language. Some were tense and had a sense of urgency about them. Others walked leisurely along with relaxed posture.

  There was one individual Neil felt that was acting differently from everyone else. He was sitting along the side of the road in a vehicle and sweating profusely, despite the fact that the air conditioning switch was turned on. His heart was beating like someone running on a treadmill. Neil could almost feel the fear in his shaking hands. He could feel the man’s mouth moving, muttering to himself.

  The man had gotten Neil’s attention. He was incredibly nervous about something, and it didn’t feel right to Neil. The car was parked next to a crowded bazaar. Soldiers and civilians alike were inside shopping for bootlegged DVDs and hand-crafted goods.

  A hundred yards behind the car was a convoy of highly armored vehicles called MRAPs. While the vehicles slowly rolled closer along the road next to the parked car, Neil put the pieces together. The parked car was heavier than it should have been, and the trunk and back seats were filled with some kind of compound. A wire ran from the material to a trigger that the driver held.

  Before Neil had time to fully comprehend the situation, the MRAPs drove up alongside the parked car. The man squeezed the detonator. Neil was too late to stop the explosion.

  Neil could feel the car turn from one piece into thousands instantaneously. He couldn’t stop the explosion, but he could contain it. He created a shield of dense air around the blast, and no debris or shockwave was allowed to penetrate it.

  The explosion subsided, and Neil had successfully protected everyone in the area from the harmful blast. The vehicles next to what remained of the parked car all slammed on their brakes in reflex, and the people shopping in the bazaar who were close to the explosion all dove to the ground.

  The people cautiously stood back up on their feet. Neil could tell there was a mutual feeling of confusion amongst the witnesses of the blast. By not allowing the air to move around the outside of the explosion, he had stopped all sound and eliminated any vibrations that an explosion would normally cause. The witnesses would have seen the fireball, but not have experienced the threat with any of their other senses. Neil observed the pandemonium that ensued for a few minutes, until he heard a voice over a loudspeaker.

  “Attention on the FOB, attention on the FOB. A vehicle borne IED has been detonated in Zone 1. I repeat, a vehicle borne IED has been detonated in Zone 1. Don protective gear, find a bunker, and await the all clear.” The voice announced.

  Neil felt a surge of activity on the base. People left their desks and put on protective vests and helmets. The cement bunkers scattered around outside quickly filled with people.

  “-eil…N---…a-- you there?”

  Neil heard a voice from the radio stuffed in his cargo pocket. He pulled out the radio and pushed the button to reply.

  “I’m here. Steele?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. I know this is probably a stupid question, but are you safe?”

  “I’m fine. I found the bomber before he blew up. I couldn’t stop him, but I contained the blast. No one was hurt”

  �
��You really did that? You could have saved a dozen lives, Neil. Thank you for that. According to the people here, this is the third VBIED that has detonated inside the base since you killed al-Zawahiri. They’re getting ballsy. Anyways, stay inside the room. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  Neil laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. He scanned the base to pass the time, waiting for Steele to return. The FOB was eerily silent while people waited in the bunkers for the all clear to sound. The streets that were filled with people and busses earlier were now empty.

  He searched out past the walls of the base to the villages in the surrounding fields. Children were playing, men and women were working, and animals were scurrying about. Life outside the FOB seemed untouched by the military presence. To them, seeing a convoy of armored vehicles roll out of the gate was an everyday occurrence, but it didn’t impact their day to day lives.

  Neil spent a while observing the people within his influence. Eventually he reached out to the mountains that could be seen several miles away. Life was scarce up there, but it still existed. Lizards and other reptiles ran from shade to shade under the blistering sun. Goats hopped across the mountain slopes. The human presence was minimal. Neil stopped and focused on a group of people that he found on top of a small flat region on the mountainside.

  There were 5 men who had set up a camp site. Neil saw that they all had AK-47s, and there were several mortar rounds stashed inside the tent. On the edge of the flat terrace was a man looking through a high powered scope on top of a tripod. The man held a notepad in his hands and was writing something while glancing back and forth through the scope.

  The men were obviously up to no good. Neil saw an opportunity, and he knew he was the only one that could take advantage of it. He got up off his bed and stepped outside into the sun. In an instant, he projected himself several thousand feet in the air and was heading towards the men.

  He impacted the ground next to them with such a force that a plume of dirt sprouted up around him. When the dust settled, five Afghani men were staring directly at him with blank looks on their faces. One began to reach for his weapon, but stopped when Neil spoke.