Legacy of the Defender (The Defender Series Book 1)

by Jacob Spadt

  My feet sprang into action. Without even thinking, I was at full speed flying over bench length wise, and landed right near the edge of the curb. The car approached fast, and showed no signs of course correction to avoid the woman. Somehow, I cleared the stroller of another woman and was in the street before anyone realized what was going on. In one motion, I scooped the woman and child up and leapt straight up in the air. The car passed under me. Screams and gasps came from onlookers.

  Landing on the pavement, I stepped over to the bench and set the woman gently down making sure the baby did not slip from her grasp. Moving back, I knelt down. Comments came from all directions. I felt dizzy. My stomach turned. A small crowd gathered.

  More murmurs came from around me. The sound of a woman’s voice to my left; she was making a phone call on a rather large looking device with an antenna. My senses snapped back in place, and I looked over and saw a middle-aged woman with a younger woman and a carriage that had twins aboard. The older woman answered the dispatcher’s questions.

  “An accident. No, not another car. No, nobody is seriously hurt, but…” she was saying.

  I stood very still, not wanting to spook the crowd any more. I could hear folks saying, “She is breathing” and “Did he hurt the baby?” To my relief, the woman’s chest rose and fell normally. Someone said something that caught me by surprise. A woman off to my right walked right up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. I felt kindness radiate from her.

  “I saw what you did just now.”

  Like a scolded child, I froze. Guilt and fear flooded me. Had I mishandled the woman? Had I harmed the baby?

  “People don’t risk their lives anymore,” she said. “There aren’t any more heroes.”

  I stared at her.

  “Why did you do it?” she asked.

  I was looking at the road. I felt embarrassed and afraid. She stepped forward and knelt down looking me in the eyes. I looked at her. She was nodding, and I heard a faint whisper from her. “It’s okay. You saved them.”

  “That is not what I hear,” I finally choked out the words. My voice sounded like a hoarse whisper. I cleared my throat. “She fell backwards and hit her head. I was just trying to help.”

  I raised my head up, noticed another woman taking the child out of the fallen woman’s grasp, and checked the child over. The baby cried as she removed him from his mother’s hands. That was odd. The baby had not even cried out through the whole ordeal. It only began to make noise when removed from the warmth and security of the mother’s arms. This puzzled me greatly, and I began to analyze my actions.

  Sirens.

  I stood up and backed away while the other woman comforted the child. It struck me as odd that I had not even considered the baby in all of this. Failure set it. The woman calming the baby down turned and said something to the crowd now gathered. There were hushed conversations taking place all around. My feet slowly created distance.

  “I can’t believe what I am hearing from you people!” Began the woman, she turned and pointed at the woman on the bench. “He saved their lives, and all you can do is comments regarding his size or the fact that he jumped over a car.” More hushed words.

  She continued, “There is something really wrong here when someone who doesn’t feel like he fits in steps up and helps out and all you have to say is what a freak he is. You should all be ashamed.”

  My size became apparent as I rose.

  I noticed a vehicle approach, lights flashing, and more sirens in the distance. The crowd had an uneasy feel to it. More unease washed over the crowd. My voice found its volume button and spoke aloud before I could think.

  “I don’t know how I did it. Would you rather I had let them die?” The murmurs died down to silence in a matter of seconds. I looked around. “Well?”

  The ambulance had arrived. Two paramedics ran to the woman on the bench and began to check her for injuries. They both opened up emergency kits and started speaking to her, letting her know they were checking her over. One of them put something under her nose and she jolted awake and started to cry. Without looking at the crowd again, I melted away while their attention was on the woman. Perhaps leaving the house was a bad idea. That thought depressed me. My head hurt. I just wanted a quiet room to ponder what had happened. Part of me was mad that instincts reacted, but another part of me was still reeling from what I had done. It seemed surreal in so many ways; playing it back over and over would be part of my meditation today. The elements of what just happened started playing in my mind already. I shook my head and walked, muttering.

  “Where the hell did all that come from?” What was I saying? My whole life was a giant disbelief. How could any of this be happening? Within minutes, I was in front of the house and inside before I think I actually blinked.

  I just wanted darkness. Rage built inside of me. I wanted to kill something badly and did not know why.

  * * *

  My life was all about pondering these days. I always analyzed everything to try to solve the riddle of me. The events of the day weighed heavily. I questioned how the situation unfolded. Did I make the right decision? Was there another option? The answer always seemed to be that my presence caused the problem. I was the component that needed removing. The world was not ready for the new me.

  On the floor in my room was my spot to meditate. It gave me a good view of the back yard and the bird feeder outside the window. The living room had a nice view out the back, but I felt safer in my room. Perhaps it was the cell in the hospital, which afforded me this feeling of comfort. A presence approached the door, and then a key fumbled in the lock. Eryn tended to come home when the world was asleep, including me if I managed to sleep. The door creaked open. Rising from my spot, I walked into the front room to greet her. It was rather strange to feel people approach, but made sense when I knew it was she. The sight of her made me smile, but it soon faded. Something was not right. Her hair was a mess and I could smell the sweat as if she had been running a race.

  I locked eyes with her. Facial features betrayed her unhappiness. The blonde locks of hair were lightly hanging in her right eye. I moved to her the best I could while avoiding the low ceiling by the door and took her bag from her. Without a word, my hand brushed the hair out of her eyes. “Rough shift at the hospital?” I asked with a slight grin creeping across my face. She clearly did not appreciate the humor. The slight glare made me step back.

  She looked at me for about five seconds before her posture changed. She just pointed finger at me and said, “How could you?” I was a little confused. I had not done anything that I knew of that cold have possibly have left her mad at me.

  “I do not follow, Eryn? Did I make a mistake?” I turned and set her bag down on the table and turned back to her. She was smiling and had a slight grin but was shaking her head now.

  “The next time you see fit to be a hero, call me, or come to work and tell me.” I was confused for a second then remembered why I sat at home all day; the woman that hit her head ended up at the hospital where Eryn worked. As I looked at her, a stirring in my soul arose from her beauty alone; something in my soul cried out for her. I wanted to reach out and hold her close. That might make the situation worse so my hands stayed away.

  I stood there not quite sure what to say. The events were still a blur. I knew what had happened. How the situation ended up where it did was the confusion. Sure, I was strong and fast but where the burst of speed came from that launched me over a bench and a carriage was still the mystery. The image played in my mind. No words came. She folded her arms and looked at me squarely. The smile was more of a smirk, but none the less lethal, as the previous one was. She was not happy.

  “I’m waiting? Well?” Her weight shifted suddenly and she moved in and gave me a big hug. My eyes closed and focused on that feeling of the warmth her embrace gave. Her face pressed against me, revealing she was smiling. I did not know why she was irritated to start with. Before I could even form a sentence, she sighed.
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  “I had a whole host of reporters waiting for me after work. They followed me to my car. I was unable to get in for several minutes. They wanted to know where you were. Apparently, someone leaked it that you are staying here. I told them I did not know where you were. They seemed rather interested in the large man that jumped a car.” She raised her eyebrows. I noticed the last part of that was a question.

  I stepped back. To look her in the eye without my heart racing was impossible. This time was different. She was very serious through her faint smile. How could it be explained what was not understood myself? She went to her bag behind me. My hand found my chin and mouth and a dozen ways to try to begin this story came to mind.

  I heard her rummaging, then silence. I was about to turn to face her when her hand touched my back and something felt strange.

  “Wait,” she said.

  My shirt was far too small to cover me to my waistline and the shorts were so baggy two smaller belts strung together held them up. They hung rather low but still covered me. I could feel her other hand was now touching the beltline right above my right cheek like it was tracing something. It rather tickled and I laughed.

  “When did you get this?”

  “Get what? A bruise or something?

  “No, this tattoo.”

  “What tattoo? I do not have any.”

  There was silence for a moment. “The one I am touching. It feels really weird.”

  All I could feel was the warmth of her fingers tracing and following the same pattern repeatedly to the point it started to form an image in my head. I could see a vertical line that went up then turned back on itself snaking back and forth across the original straight line. Each sequence or pass got bigger. It looked a little like a pyramid, but the passes were not straight lines but curved like the infinity symbol I remembered from school. I felt something inside me stir at the recognition of it.

  Eryn stopped tracing it. Her hand went to the other side to check. Her fingers touching something on the other side and the image that had just started to fade reappeared in my mind stronger. I started to shake a little.

  “Let me look. Hold still.” She pulled harder on the belt strap and I felt my shorts ride a little lower. It was not as if she had not seen me before being my nurse in the hospital. I felt self-conscious. No one had ever really seen me naked besides the staff. My head tingled at the touch of her hand. I could smell her scent as if it were on a cloth in front of my nose.

  “Okay, this is really weird. You have matching, mirrored tattoos on you. Now you jumped a car to save a woman. What are you going to do next? Fly?” she said.

  Her big beautiful brown eyes greeted me with a smile as I turned. My hand went out and caressed her cheek. Her soul reached up to me through her smile. Something tingled under my skin and ran to my finger tops. It felt charged like feeling a battery touched to your tongue as a child. Was this her chi? Jason spoke of in the past. Was it what the Kung Fu movies referred to when they spoke of tapping into their own energy? It had to be along those lines. I would focus on this feeling when meditating next.

  “If I can, one day, you will be my first passenger,” I said as I let my hand fall to my side. She leaned up and kissed me. That is all I needed to see to make this day better already.

  My size was already a problem. Now weird looking marks like tattoos adorned my waistline. Could this make my feeling of being a freak any less? A monster that looked like a Greek statue had come alive to eat the children of the world now roamed the street. I might as well be a zombie. I could see the headlines now. Me, some god awful picture showing me baring my teeth or something...in hand cuffs or chains getting hauled away into some full service freak show so the world scientist could study me some more. The best and the brightest had their chance to study me and failed.

  Now my actions force me to hide like a child.

  Something told me the world was not ready for what I was to offer or become from one bad experience. Even with my upbringing, negativity was not my outlook. I was not negative. It was fear of the future. Fate had extended its hand to me and slapped me religiously upside the head. Why? I was not sure I cared either.

  I looked back at Eryn as she moved to the kitchen and began to pull out food in preparation for dinner. My stomach panged for a moment. Food was a good idea.

  Walking over to the small wall that separated the kitchen from the dining area, I did not have to try hard to peer at what she was pulling out of the fridge. A couple of steaks sounded good. She tossed them into the sink after unwrapping them and turned on the water. As the blood began to flow in spirals down the drain, I found myself drawn to its pattern. Slowly the room began to spin. My nose caught the scent of blood.

  It was not originating from the beef. It smelled acidic and foul. My heart began to race, and I felt my breath quicken as if running. The desire to cut into something overwhelmed me. Something appeared in my hands. The coldness of steel sent comforting chills up my arms. I needed to find an enemy and destroy it. My eyes went blurry.

  Last thing I heard was Eryn calling to me. Then silence.

  XXX

  Confusion

  It felt good. Saving a life made me feel like I had something to offer; I no longer feared being a drain on society. After lying in bed for so many years, with others tending and caring for me, it was time to give back. I thought about looking for a job in security, perhaps bouncing at a local club or working as a bodyguard would be my meal ticket.

  I decided to visit a few local establishments at night. I had no decent clothing that fit. Canvas shorts would have to do. I did manage to find one 5XL shirt, but even that was a bit tight. I was bald, so hair was no issue.

  The sun was setting and cast a brilliant yellow glow on the neighborhood where Eryn lived. Her house was on a hill overlooking the Puget Sound, right outside of Everett. Seeing the light dancing on the water always made me wish I could travel and visit mystical lands overseas. I imagined what it would be like to be a sailor in ancient times, braving the unknown. I would lose myself for hours in such times, deep in thought.

  I knelt and let the sunlight hit my face; taking in its glorious rays and feeling my skin come alive. Tranquility washed over me for a moment, elevating the stress from the events passed over the last few months. It felt as if a slight weight lifted from me, chasing some of the shadows away that had been hiding my soul from the light in the universe. A smile crept across my face and a deep breath followed. It was unimaginable to imagine the horrors that had befallen me in those months. Peace calmed the stormy seas inside.

  As light found its way back into my now open eyes, a silhouette stood in front of me. A funny, macho pose greeted my eyes as they focused on the same bad suit as last seen on the Sergeant. He had his hand on his hip, pulling his jacket back to reveal his badge and nine millimeter holstered on his cheap leather belt. It had the same scent to it which told me he had not cleaned it in the time frame which I had last seen him. He did not smoke but the company he kept obviously did. I could smell the stale stench with a hint of scotch.

  “Sergeant Rick.”

  “Tathlyn, good evening,” he said as he turned stepping to the side, seeing he was standing in my light. “Going out for a stroll?”

  “Of sorts. Was there something that you needed or is this actually a visit?” I asked.

  He paused, muttering something about my size under his breath, so I stood up.

  I might as well have the upper hand, especially if it unnerves him. Taking a deep breath letting and it out as though it was a growl, my eyes locked on his. It kind of pleased me that I could sense discomfort on him when he was near me. It was probably not a very Zen thing to feel, but a number of issues he caused me became problematic even though it was all under the guise of helping. Perhaps the irritation that he punched me in the nose, even if he did break his wrist in doing so, was still lingering. There was a slight bulge on his right arm underneath his sleeve where his cast was still prominent. I decided to be cor
dial.

  “How is the wrist?” I asked, trying to sound genuinely concerned. There was no reason for me to care, because of the way he treated me. But being the better man…

  “It is healing thank you. You know I learned a lesson that day,” he said.

  “Oh do tell!” I tried to not sound too curious.

  “I should have just shot you. There would have been less paperwork, less follow up, and way fewer unanswered questions.”

  “I can only imagine your frustration,” I said, unsympathetically.

  “Not to mention the Ire of a certain nurse.” I smiled at that knowing she gave him grief.

  There was a long pause as he stood there looking out over the water. I am sure the same tranquility that calmed me stirred him on some level, even if he dressed badly. Rather than wait for him to speak, I decided to fill that gap. “I can only imagine the questions you must have that I am both unable and incapable of providing you answers to.”

  “You have no idea how hard it is to know there is something wrong going on right under my nose and I have nothing to tie it to. Not you, not anyone,” he said.

  “Why do you think I am responsible? My file is open to you. I was in a coma, remember?” My response came before his last word trailed off in his throat.

  “You did not have to go through any physical therapy. You grew over two feet in nearly two months, and you were found in an area where you did not belong and is where the corpse of the priest that tried to kill you was found this morning in a refrigerator.” He was very heated now, and after hearing what he just said, I could not blame him.