by Bryan Cohen
The Rebellion
Bryan Cohen
Casey Lane
Contents
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Epilogue
Co-Authors’ Note
The story of every Chosen One begins with a choice…
And Ted Finley wasn't always the top pick for the job…
Discover the story BEFORE the story.
Click here and register on the next page to get the free prequel to The Viral Superhero Series.
Prologue
The General leaned back in his executive chair with a feeling that could only be described as victory. As he looked up at the computer monitors in front of him, watching a collection of world leaders whose motivations he completely controlled, he wasn't sure if there was any doubt left in his body. He only pretended to pay attention as the dark soul version of Britain's prime minister babbled on about something on the top left screen. He wasn't sure what there was left to conquer. The militaries in all nations where he'd assassinated the leaders had been changed into dark souls. While his breach of the treaty he'd forged with the living soul, Ted Finley, had stopped a percentage of the dead humans from turning into dark souls, the magic between the worlds involving a tattoo and some incantations worked just fine. Like a slow-moving virus, humanity was being replaced in the General's own image.
He smiled and nodded until he realized all of the leaders were staring at him. "Excuse me, if you just complimented me and were waiting for my response. My apologies for zoning out."
The fake prime minister cleared his throat. "I was asking if anything had been done to quell the resistance brought on by Dhiraj Patel. You do remember that, right, General?"
The de facto leader of the world narrowed his eyes, wishing he still had the power to kill a man with his mind. "I have not forgotten."
One of the biggest mistakes he'd made when he took over was not replacing every media figurehead with a dark soul before the summit began. It was true that the dark souls now owned almost every country worth owning, but that did not remove the possibility of insurrection.
The chancellor of Germany piped up in the bottom center of his screen. "After Dhiraj roused up the populace, did you realize that his episode on Rudy Bolger is now the most viewed social media video of all time?"
The General couldn't help it; a memory he'd stolen from Ted Finley popped into his head. The living soul who had brought ruin upon his world began his heroism with a viral video as well. The teenager who bore his exact resemblance had been a pain in his side ever since.
The General placed his heels firmly on the ground and sat up straight. "It would have been nice if we were able to take over undetected. I'm not going to lie and say I believe otherwise. But many humans are naturally skeptics and didn't believe anything so fantastical."
The prime minister let out a huff of air. "And the rest are either in internment camps that we have to pay for, or they're hiding in the shadows unable to contribute to the bottom line."
The General thought of several people who would make fine replacements for the fake British statesman. "Worry not, old chap. We'll take care of it in due time." He attempted to hide his frustration from having his buzz killed.
The Saudi Arabian king raised his hand as if he was in a classroom. "We appreciate all that you've done, of course. But it's still quite unsettling that there's a giant protective bubble over your biggest enemy and the town of Treasure, your highness."
Despite controlling nearly every military facility in the world, the General and his men had found nothing that would penetrate the barrier that the living soul had put up around the city. Even efforts to dig below the surface only resulted in broken equipment and more annoyance.
The General's voice barely reached above a whisper. "Enough."
The Saudi king didn't seem to hear the admonition. "Ted Finley is alive, General. That means all of us are vulnerable. I suggest—"
"This is not a democracy!" The General let the silence hang for a moment. "I am the one who chooses our plans, and I will not be talked to with such insolence. This meeting is adjourned until I say so."
With a slam of his fist on the keyboard, the image of the heads of state that he'd put in place disappeared.
The General stood up and turned toward the wall. He saw several patched-over holes through which he'd previously displayed his rage. He clenched his fists but kept the punch to himself.
"I have practically given them a world, and they want the one city they can't get their hands on." He snarled under his breath. "I need more control. I need something different."
The General stormed out of the room and down a historic hallway of the West Wing. In official terms, he was still listed as Ted Finley, part of the White House's special advisory board on interplanetary attacks. In reality, he wouldn't let the dark soul replacement of President Blake take a piss without him knowing about it first.
The General brought his hand down hard on his personal secretary's desk.
She looked up into his eyes, attempting to hide the fear. "Yes, Mr. Finley? Is there something I can get you?"
He breathed heavily. "I need the special prisoner in my office right now."
"Sir, don't we need the president to sign permission—"
With that, the General ripped the top of the desk in two. Splintered wood and office supplies crashed to the floor. "Is that enough permission for you?"
The secretary nodded and picked up the phone. "Yes, of course."
The General sat in his office for what seemed like an eternity. In several hundred years of life, he'd always felt like he was going toward something greater. He knew the finish line wasn't far away, and there were only a few strides left to cover. Taking those last steps could be the difference between winning and dying.
A tired, gaunt teenager stepped into the General's doorway, his hands bound in a mostly symbolic gesture.
Despite his captivity, the somehow untouched Indian managed to smile. "Do I still have to call you Ted? Or is there some sexier term you've dreamed up for yourself?"
The General smiled and gestured to a seat. "It seemed like you had a lot of nicknames for your esteemed best friend."
Dhiraj Patel took the prescribed seat. "He earned them. Now how can I help you today, General?"
The leader of the dark souls tossed a weighty manila envelope onto his desk. "I have a little script for you, my millionaire-wannabe friend."
Dhiraj wrinkled his forehead. "A script?"
The General patted the top of the envelope twice. "Yes
, a script." His eyes zeroed in on Dhiraj. "And I'd like you to use it to go viral."
1
Ted Finley lay down on the grass that used to make up his backyard. He stared up into a translucent dome that allowed some of the clouds from above to show their white and puffy nature to the trapped town of Treasure. He'd erected the barrier using powers he didn't even know he had. The bubble had stopped bombs and gunfire and infiltration from the outside. It had been over a month since he'd erected the layer of protection, but ever since he'd left the bed in the makeshift hospital, this may have been the first time he'd had to think.
"I'd always thought Treasure could use a retractable dome."
With nobody around to hear his jokes, he thought about his friends. They'd be running around making preparations for the next step in the war he'd brought to a head. All except for Dhiraj, who could be a corpse, or worse, a dark soul himself. He thought of his parents who were still safely in the dome. He pictured his sister in the Midwest, though none of them were sure if she was still alive either. He sighed and continued to stare until he heard the loud rumble of a vehicle pull into the Finley driveway. With so few people left in town, the roar of the engine coming to a stop made a much larger impact than normal.
The lanky, frustrated Natalie Dorn stomped her way through the lawn. She didn't seem in the best mood for sky gazing.
"Dammit, Ted! What the hell are you doing taking a nap? You realize we're in the last couple hours of a countdown, right?"
Ted fought the instinct to look over at Natalie. He knew that if he looked toward her, he would only think of simpler times. Times where they could walk the streets of Treasure arm in arm. In the times before superpowers and resurrected cheerleaders. The times where she said she loved him, even if he never had a good response.
"It's kind of beautiful. The bubble, I mean."
Natalie glared down at the lounging superhero and pulled out a walkie-talkie. It was the only form of communication that seemed to work inside of the dome. "I found him. I think your ex has gone crazy."
After a few moments of static, Erica LaPlante’s voice buzzed through the air. "Good. And he was your ex first. Can you tell him that his parents are leaving?"
Ted sat up, the blood rushing to his head quickly. Despite him having erected the barrier weeks ago, keeping it up seemed to drain him of most of his facilities.
He wobbled a bit until grabbing Natalie's arm to stabilize himself. "I hear her. I'll be right there."
When he realized he was touching the warm, soft skin of a girl he still had feelings for, his face turned pink. "Sorry, I just didn't want to fall."
She looked down at his hands that were still gripping her arm and back up into his eyes. "Do what you've got to do. I'll probably be in deep crap if I accidentally let you pass out before we escape."
Ted nodded. "Do you want a lift?"
He removed his hands from her arms and used a wide stance to keep himself stable.
She shook her head. "Are you kidding me? I've only got a few hours left to listen to death metal on my own on an empty road. I'm not going to pass that up."
As Natalie turned and began walking, Ted tripped over his words to stop her in her tracks.
"Do— Do you— Do you think we should wait? I mean, if you need more time to—"
"Do I need more time to finish mourning after your evil doppelganger killed my boyfriend?" She put her hands on her hips. "No, Ted. The bodies and the feelings are buried." She moved a few strands of hair from her forehead. "But I appreciate it. The offer I mean."
He nodded as she turned back to the vehicle and her respite of angry music.
After a shaky start, his flight through the restricted air of the town landed him back in the parking lot of the new and soon-to-be-abandoned Treasure High School. Before him, he could see the shimmering blue portal with a destination for the safe space in the Realm of Souls. Erica had her hand pressed into the pages of a book that contained complementary powers to his. It had been quite the discovery when they realized the General had left the books behind. Ted had an inkling that Dhiraj had something to do with it.
While Erica's portals weren't quite as stable as his, he was in no condition to be doing anything but flying and keeping them safe under the dome.
He spied his parents standing by the opening to another world. He wasn't sure how, but his mother was passing out cookies to the last remaining residents of the city. She also had tears trickling down her face. Ted landed just a few feet away from them.
He chewed at his cheek. "I always said you guys should retire somewhere more tropical."
His father rolled his eyes. "I have a feeling you didn't mean the desert on another planet." Mr. Finley took his son by the hand and brought him into a hug. "You're going to save the world. I always somehow knew that."
Ted squeezed his dad. "I appreciate your confidence."
His father patted him on the back a couple of times and relinquished his grip so that Mrs. Finley could come dashing in. Within moments of the new hug beginning, he could feel the moisture from her eyes settle on his shoulder.
"Ted, can't we stay with you? We'll stay out of the way of you hunting bad guys and all of that."
Her tears made Ted want to cry as well. "If I could let you guys stay, I would. But it's going to be much safer there under the watch of the light souls. Besides, you'll see me again really soon."
His mother pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Does that mean Erica knows what's going to happen when you let the bubble go away?"
Truth be told, because no living soul had ever created something like this, Ted wasn't sure if dropping the barrier would make him feel better or if it would somehow kill him. But those weren't the kinds of thoughts you shared with your mother.
"I'm going to be fine, and I'm going to see you soon. And I'm sure by then you will have made new friends and shared baby pictures with all of the other moms on the planet."
She sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve before laying a big fat kiss on his cheek. "You better be there soon."
Mrs. Finley stepped away and into the arms of his father. He gave a light wave before their bodies disappeared through the gateway.
Ted walked over to Erica, who seemed very focused on keeping the portal intact.
He raised an eyebrow. "See, not as easy as it looks."
She shook her head. "Shut up. I just need to keep this up long enough to get Jennifer, her fake dad, and whoever else is here out."
"Do you think letting down the bubble is going to kill me?"
She gave the slightest hint of a shrug. "When you create brand new frickin' powers and leave them going for over a month, we're getting into new territory I've never been through. But I certainly hope not, because your whole plan will be screwed if it does."
Ted looked to his side and saw Jennifer, the dark soul version of Sheriff Norris, and Winny arrive in a familiar Jeep. "I'm surrounded by women who tell it like it is."
"Trust me, you wouldn't like the alternative."
Shortly after Jennifer arrived, Natalie reached the parking lot, her death metal still blaring through closed windows.
Jennifer, the sheriff, and Winny approached Ted and Erica in a united front. They were silent for a few moments, but Ted could tell they had something on their minds. Something the living soul and his protector weren't going to like one bit.
Erica shook her head. "You guys don't want to come. I can tell."
Jennifer looked down and crushed an imaginary bug with her foot. "It's not that we don't want to come. We can't."
Ted laughed. "And you're waiting until the last second to tell us. Bold move. Why can't you come?"
Sheriff Norris crossed his arms. "We just got a message that's worth checking out first hand."
Erica looked into her friend's eyes as Jennifer glanced up from the ground. "Whatever it is, it's not a good idea. You three belong in the Realm of Souls with everyone from Treasure where you can be safe. This isn't your world any
more. It's a battleground filled with enemies."
Jennifer blurted the words out louder than she wanted to. "Dhiraj is still alive."
The silence was deafening and the arrival of Natalie's voice carried through the emptiness. "Are we getting the hell out of Dodge or what?"
Ted gulped. "Apparently, we got a message that Dhiraj is still alive."
Natalie raised her eyebrows. "Huh. That would be some welcome happiness in the middle of all this tragedy."
Erica slammed the book shut, and the portal to the Realm of Souls closed along with it. "I can see that crazy in your eyes, Jen. You're not going to let me convince you otherwise, so where do you, your fake dad, and Tweedledum want to go?"
Winny tsked. "And to think I'm the one who got you your first fake ID. Friendship over."
Sheriff Norris took out an old-fashioned paper map and placed his finger upon a point in the Washington DC area. "We have a lead on someone who can help while you guys are busy with plan A. This should put us in the vicinity of a settlement with the resources to help us get Dhiraj from the White House."
Ted sighed and turned away. "You guys want to go into the White House? You do realize that's where the General is, right? And you think you can free Dhiraj without our help?"
Jennifer placed her hand on Ted's collarbone. "You need to save the world. We just want to save one person in danger."
