The Last Hero (Book 1): Ultra

by Blake, Matt

  “Then do it. Ask her to the party. Go on. See, she’s over there now.”

  I turned around and saw Ellicia walking along with two of her friends, one of them Sally, who was at the game the other night. There were a few bruises on Ellicia’s head. She was smiling, but I could tell it was the kind of smile that wasn’t exactly beaming happiness.

  “You did good the other day. We all did good. We did something tougher than any asshole in this school’s had to do. So go up to her. Ask how the girl’s doin’, at least. Not heard of being gentlemanly?”

  Damon burped before I had a chance to answer. “No. I guess I’ll have to take lessons from you.”

  I didn’t want to go over to Ellicia. Truth was, even though I had ULTRA abilities, I was still the same nervous little loser of a human underneath them.

  But Damon was right. This was a chance to start a conversation with her. And I wouldn’t get a better chance than this.

  I tightened my fists and walked right over to her.

  She saw me when I got close to her. Her blue eyes met mine, glistened in the sunlight. She smiled, and it was the most natural smile I’d seen on her face.

  “Hey, Kyle,” she said.

  I scratched the back of my neck. Felt my cheeks heating up. “Um, hey. How’s… How’re you?”

  “I’m coping. Still… still scares me. You know. How close we came to…” She shook her head. Smiled again. “How’re you keeping?”

  I wanted to tell Ellicia the truth. That the attack we’d survived was the least of my concerns and attention right now. I didn’t want to lie to this girl. But I knew I had to do that to keep myself safe. To keep her safe. “I’m holding up,” I said.

  “You look… good.”

  My tongue felt heavy. I’d never been told that by a girl before. What the hell was I supposed to say in return? “Thanks,” I managed.

  There was silence between us for a few seconds, which dragged on, and I wondered whether thanking her for the compliment was the best way I could’ve gone about this when I had an urge to bring up the party. “Hey, I… After everything, it looks like I maybe might go maybe to the party maybe.”

  Ellicia’s smile widened. Maybe might go maybe maybe? What the hell was I thinking?

  “That’s good,” Ellicia said. “You know, I was thinking about not bothering. Might just kick back at home. Get a few pizzas. If you…”

  She didn’t say anything else. Just lowered her head. Looked at the ground. I sensed that she wanted me to ask her something, or say something, but the truth was I was still struggling to accept I’d just admitted I was going to the party. I didn’t know what to say. Not one bit. Just that I had to ask her. I had to ask her to come to the party with me.

  “Oh. Well, I, erm. Maybe I—”

  That was all I managed.

  I felt a nudge in my back.

  I was pleased for the interruption until I saw who it was.

  Mike Beacon towered over me. There was a different look in his eyes, though. He wasn’t looking at me like he usually did. Neither were his two friends behind him. He was looking at me with a flat smile. Nodding his head. “Hey, Kyle,” he said.

  I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard Mike Beacon ever say the words, “Hey, Kyle.” What a weird day this was turning out to be. “Um, hey,” I said.

  Mike Beacon scratched the back of his neck. “Listen, man. What happened. At the soccer stadium. That shit was rough.” He let that hang. “Guess I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re back.”

  Mike Beacon didn’t look me in the eyes, but I could feel myself smiling. Mike was actually drawing a line under the shit that’d happened between him and me. No, his bullying. That’s what it was, no matter how I dressed it up. Bullying.

  “That’s cool,” I said, pretending it wasn’t that big a deal to me. “Thanks. I guess.”

  Mike nodded. He went to turn around. And then he stopped. “Oh, there was somethin’, though.”

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Tapped on it a few times.

  And then he swung it right into my face so fast I had to step back to avoid it hitting my nose.

  “Looks like you’re famous again, shitty-ass!”

  I heard Mike and his friends laughing. But all I could see, all I could feel, was that video playing in front of me.

  It was footage on YouTube. Footage from the attack.

  And there I was. Standing still in the crowd.

  Bottom lip poking out, like a little baby.

  Tears rolling down my cheeks.

  “That look!” Mike said, laughing. “Just look at that little baby face there!”

  I listened to them laughing and felt the anger and the embarrassment building within.

  I looked past the video at Mike. I looked at his neck. I pictured myself tightening my grip around it. Pictured myself punching him. Hard.

  The video started to blur.

  The phone dropped from his hands.

  Smashed against the ground.

  He turned and looked at it, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to control my anger anymore.

  I felt the tingling take over my body and went to pull back my fist.

  “You evil shit!”

  It wasn’t me that said those words.

  It was Ellicia.

  She stepped around me. Slapped Mike Beacon across the face, silencing his laughing right away.

  “After everything we went through, after the things we saw… how dare you. How dare you.”

  Mike Beacon clutched his cheek. Ellicia disappeared back to her friends, tears in her eyes.

  “What?” Mike said, looking at me, red-faced.

  I wanted to tell him what. I wanted to show him what.

  But I knew I couldn’t.

  If Mike Beacon saw what I was capable of, my world would be over.

  If anyone saw what I was capable of, my world would be over.

  So I let Mike Beacon walk away. I held back, once again.

  But I could feel myself getting closer and closer to snapping.

  It wouldn’t be long until I did.

  It wouldn’t be long until I had to.

  15

  I wasn’t planning on playing around with my powers much after discovering I had them. Honestly.

  But for some reason, I found myself walking to Dad’s garage again later that night, the anger of the incident with Mike Beacon earlier welling up inside.

  It was dryer tonight at least, so Dad wouldn’t be down here checking on the dodgy roof at Peters’ Parts. I’d managed to work out that was why he went there in the first place. He said he was planning on heading back down here to sort the dodgy window out at some point, but he’d been very hush-hush about it all. Didn’t want to go into too much information. I knew I had to hurry. I didn’t have long to play with my powers.

  I’d got lucky in front of Dad once. Again? I’d been way too lucky overall lately. I wasn’t going to take any chances.

  I saw the garage up ahead and felt relief. I was a little bloated after just eating pizza back at home, and the taste of it kind of made me want to throw up when combined with the excitement I felt about trying out my powers again. It was strange, really. As much as I didn’t want to use my powers in public, I needed a release. Kind of like masturbation. I was just playing around. Bringing myself to the brink.

  And, well. Public masturbation was never a good idea. I might be pretty closeted from the naughtiness of the world, but I knew that much.

  Much to my parents’ relief, I gathered.

  Just a loser. Not a public jerk-off loser. The lesser of two evils.

  I crossed the road toward the garage and looked around. Pretty empty once again. In the distance, I could hear the sound of a boat blowing its horn, coming in from Manhattan. Over the sea on Manhattan, you could genuinely hear the chatter even though it was far away. It was like the city was alive. That’s one thing that made New York unlike any other city on earth. I supposed I should be grateful, but I was kinda glad to be growin
g up in the forgotten cousin area over the water.

  I was about to vault over the fence when I heard a scream to my right.

  “No, please! Please don’t—Please!”

  I saw the woman standing by the ATM. She was wearing a brown cashmere coat. Two masked men surrounded her. One of them was holding her back. The other was trying to snatch her leather handbag away from her.

  I felt the mixture of emotions build up inside as I witnessed this mugging. Part of me wanted to go over there. To help this woman. I had the power to do so, so what right did I have to just leave her to be robbed?

  But on the other hand, I was afraid.

  I was afraid that I’d be spotted. That my powers would be publicly known.

  More than anything, I was afraid that I’d been lucky up to now. That I’d been on a lucky streak with my powers, and it was only a matter of time before they got the better of me, failed me.

  “That—that necklace. My mom gave it me. Please… take everything. Just not… Just not…”

  I saw the man in front snatch the necklace from the woman’s neck. The man behind her laughed, then leaned in and kissed her.

  I felt it inside me right then. Felt that spark, right up my spine, up the back of my neck.

  This woman. I couldn’t just leave her to be robbed. I couldn’t let these men take something precious away from her.

  So I pulled my black hood up. Pulled it right over my eyes.

  I felt all the anger I’d ever felt inside. I felt all the pain tingling in my body.

  And then I hurtled down the street towards the scene of the robbery.

  The angrier I got, the more scared and uncertain I got of what I was doing, the faster I seemed to be moving. My legs were so fast that they were a blur. Within seconds, I was right next to the robbers, to the woman.

  One of the robbers—the one who’d been holding the woman by her neck—looked at me. “What—”

  I smashed my fist into his jaw.

  I couldn’t believe the force I’d caused with my bare hand. The man’s jaw cracked out of its socket. His head went flying to one side. His entire body smashed into the wall that the ATM was built into. He fell to the ground and went still.

  I breathed heavily. I was still stunned at what I’d done. I’d punched a man with the force to knock a wall down… and my knuckles weren’t even hurting.

  I looked up. Saw the woman staring at me, mouth wide.

  And then I saw the second attacker running away, the woman’s necklace and bag in his hand.

  “Please. I—”

  “Don’t worry,” I said, suddenly aware of just how undisguised I was, how exposed I was. I adjusted my hood. Made sure it was completely covering my face. “I’ll get your things back.”

  I forced that anger and upset from my past to resurface and then I ran after the second assailant.

  I could feel the power in every single step as I rushed towards the man. I felt myself getting to grips with the powers. Scarier than anything, I could feel myself getting more comfortable with them. I was an ULTRA. There was no denying that. And no ULTRA should be getting comfortable with their powers. Not in this world.

  But I was doing a good thing.

  I was using my powers for good. To help a woman in the street.

  And more than that—I, Kyle Peters, was using myself for good. I was doing something brave. Something batshit crazy.

  When could I ever say I’d done a thing like this in my life before?

  I smacked into the second robber’s back. It didn’t take much to knock him down. I twisted him around with my mind. Pulled back my fist.

  “Please!” the robber said. He held up his hands. Blood trickled from his lips. “Just—just take ’em. Take ’em!”

  He held the bag and the necklace in my direction. His face mask had ripped so I could see that he was just a person. Just a terrified human being who’d done a bad thing.

  “Don’t ever let me see you around here again,” I said. My voice sounded deeper. More assertive. Damn, I actually sounded cool.

  “I won’t,” the man said. “Don’t you worry about that.”

  I lowered my fist and I stood. The man got up soon after, and he limped off down the quiet street, looking over his shoulder to check I wasn’t chasing.

  I waited ’til he was out of sight, then I picked up the handbag and the necklace.

  I ran back to the woman’s side. Held the handbag and the necklace out to her.

  “My necklace,” she said. She was half smiling, half sad. “It’s… He broke it.”

  I wanted to put it back together. I knew I could. I had the ability to do it if I tried really hard.

  But I couldn’t make myself look any more ULTRA. I couldn’t make this woman suspicious.

  “Thank you,” she said. She looked me in my eyes. “Thank you so much. What’s your…”

  Before she could finish the question, I was already halfway down the street.

  I couldn’t deny I felt good. I couldn’t deny I’d done something amazing. Something more amazing than I’d done in my entire life.

  If only I knew right then that I’d made my first major error.

  16

  The following day, I couldn’t help walking through school with a spring in my step.

  It started when we were in history class. The sun shone brightly through the window, making it warm and stuffy inside. The smell of sweat from my fellow students was strong. It was usually a smell that made me feel ill. A smell combined with the hunger as lunchtime approached that tipped me over the threshold into nauseousness.

  But not today.

  I heard the three girls chatting about him first. The “mystery hero” who rescued a woman at a cashpoint last night. I heard one of the girls—Kayla Welsh, a pretty and moderately popular blonde—giggling. I heard a couple of the others say the guy looked “hot.”

  One of the ones saying the guy was hot? No other than Ellicia.

  And now I was outside, walking past the field with Damon. He was saying things to me. Going on about some video game or other. But I wasn’t really taking it in. I wasn’t really listening. I was just thinking about Ellicia and whether she meant what she said about me. Of course, nobody knew it was me. Fortunately, the hood blocked my face, and I’d been wearing pretty neutral clothing—natural for me. I’d also been moving pretty quick. Mainly, though, I was surprised just how human I’d seemed in that footage. I was worried I’d be exposed as an ULTRA all night.

  But there was nothing to indicate it was me. Nothing.

  At least, it didn’t seem that way.

  “Besides, I really like the donut place,” Damon muttered, halfway through a bagel. “Don’t see why they have to go closing it. Whaddya think? Kyle? Are you even listening?”

  I wasn’t. I found myself stopping. Standing and staring over at the field. Mike Beacon and his friends were playing football there. It looked a very private, exclusive affair, cool kids only. A few pretty girls were watching, and Mike was giving them that look he always did.

  “Kyle? Umm.. you having nasty flashbacks or something, man? ’Cause the game’s all done with now. You’re not fake-shitting yourself anymore. Come on, let’s get outta here.”

  But I didn’t want to. I felt the anger building up inside. The anger I’d felt towards Mike when he’d mocked the footage of me in the midst of a gunman attack. The anger I’d felt when he mocked me for the shit incident, and the anger I’d felt for all the bullying over the last few years.

  I felt the tingling up the back of my neck and an urge built within.

  Could I?

  It was dangerous. It was reckless. But…

  “Hold this,” I said.

  I handed my rucksack to Damon and ran across the yard towards the field. I didn’t even think about what I was doing. If I took a moment to think, I knew I’d probably legitimately shit myself.

  “Kyle!” Damon shouted. “You got a death wish or something? You take a knock to the head?”

/>   “Something like that,” I muttered under my breath.

  But nothing was stopping me. I kept on running in the direction of the field, in the direction of Mike Beacon’s football game.

  I saw a few of the players glance around at me as I approached. A few of the girls watching the game pointed and laughed. Mike Beacon hadn’t seen me, though. He was running around with the ball in his hands, trying to get someone to catch him, but they just couldn’t.

  Eventually, he threw the ball. Not quite in my direction, but close enough for what I was about to do next.

  I felt the anger inside me.

  Felt the tingling fill my body.

  And I hurtled towards the ball.

  In a split second, I felt the ball land in my hands. I suddenly became aware of myself—Kyle, not the ULTRA Kyle—and I asked the same question in my mind that Mike Beacon asked when he finally turned and saw me holding onto the ball.

  “What the hell you think you’re doin’, squirt?”

  I stood there and felt my legs begin to shake. Mike stared intently into my eyes. He’d looked at me that way so many times before, and when he had, it was always when he was preparing to do something to torment me, to intimidate me.

  But that wasn’t happening again. I wasn’t allowing it to happen again.

  “You want the ball?”

  Mike narrowed his eyes some more. I could feel the whispers surrounding me, the warmth of the sun burning my skin.

  “Unless you want me to come get it,” Mike said.

  I saw a few smiles then. And I knew what Mike friends thought. I was just gonna give in. I was gonna give the ball back. They saw me for who I really was.

  Only they didn’t know who I really was. Not anymore.

  I swallowed a lump in my throat and I held the ball tighter. “Come on then,” I said. “Come get it.”

  I heard some whoops. Saw some claps. Mike Beacon smiled, but I could see his cheeks were red.

  “Suit yourself, kiddo,” he said.

  He started to walk in my direction. Towering above me. Muscles twice my size.

  I waited for Mike to step within a meter of me before I held the ball out.

  Mike reached out for it.