‘Tomay and Bax.’
Henry nodded. ‘Those government types wanted to question her first,’ he said. ‘But Louise wouldn’t open her mouth. We don’t get involved in politics. We don’t care what you’ve done, or what you’ve been involved in, we just wanted you here with us.’
I knew the politics he was referring to. I’d been jailed, and then on the run, for kidnapping the Russian President. That sort of thing gives you a reputation.
‘She finally got in and spoke to those aliens,’ Henry said. ‘She was scared, but she did it. I still thought she was crazy. I was sure you’d been killed in that accident with your parents.’
‘Somehow, I must have survived,’ I mused.
This created more questions than answered them. How did The Agency find me? Did they arrange the accident? Did they kill my parents so they could use me for their experiments?
‘That’s how much Louise wanted you home,’ Henry continued. ‘Now there’s something I want to say to you. Louise, your aunt, is still broken up about losing her sister and your dad. It affected her very badly. It might be best if you don’t ask too much about them.’
‘Okay.’ This was a shame because I wanted to ask her everything about them. ‘I’ll watch what I say.’
The ground was dry. We were coming into summer, and Henry thought it would be a hot one. He talked about planting crops, but my mind was a million miles away with Brodie and the others. What were they doing now?
We returned to the house, where Henry showed me through. We lingered in Louise’s painting room. She specialized in landscapes, scenes of farmhouses in lonely fields, and sunrises over haystacks. I felt another twinge of disquiet, but I didn’t know why.
‘We’ve got a surprise visitor arriving this afternoon,’ Henry said.
‘Who is it?’
‘It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.’ Henry was smiling, but he reddened. ‘It was Louise’s idea.’
He looked kind of embarrassed and wouldn’t say more. Henry turned the radio on in the kitchen, and the twangs of country music drifted through the home. I went to my bedroom to read for a while. In the back of my mind, I kept wondering about the surprise. There’d been surprises in the past—aliens, monsters, and supervillains. Whatever this was probably wasn’t in the same realm.
At some point in the afternoon, I fell asleep, waking a few hours later with my book plastered to my face. Wondering what had woken me, I heard the sound of an engine cutting out. It sounded like Louise was home.
Before I had a chance to climb out of bed, she appeared in the doorway. ‘Wake up, sleepyhead,’ she said. ‘There’s someone who wants to see you.’
‘Who is it?’
‘You’ll see.’ Louise lowered her voice. ‘She doesn’t know about your...you know.’
My powers.
Louise led me into the kitchen where Henry stood, making a coffee. Next to him stood a pixie-faced girl with red hair, a duffle bag at her side. Her face lighting up with excitement, she ran over and gave me a huge hug.
‘I didn’t believe it,’ she said, tears in her eyes. ‘Your aunt told me she found you, but I thought she was mistaken.’
I stared at her in complete confusion.
‘You really don’t know how I am?’ the girl said, her face falling.
‘I’m sorry. I don’t remember—’
‘I’m Quinn,’ she said. ‘I’m your girlfriend.’
Chapter Twenty-Two
I stared at her for what seemed like an eternity.
‘Did you hear me?’ she asked. ‘I’m Quinn. I’m—’
‘I heard you.’
Possibly the most disturbing part of this wasn’t her revelation that she was my girlfriend. It was that she looked so much like Brodie. Her hair was identical, face a similar shape, and she had the same athletic body. It was like looking at Brodie through a fractured lens.
I glanced over at Louise, whose smile had faded to dismay. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, nervously. ‘I thought it would be a pleasant surprise. That was foolish of me.’
‘Pleasant?’ I felt sick. ‘I feel like I’m in some kind of...freak show!’
Storming from the house, I somehow stopped myself from flying off into the sunset. That’s what I felt like doing. Flying away and never coming back. In frustration, I made for a hill further up the road. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps behind me as someone kept pace.
‘I’ve never had that reaction before,’ Quinn said from behind. ‘Usually, boys are pleased to see me.’
My mind was such a jumble of emotions I couldn’t speak. A lump in my throat seemed so big it was ready to choke me. The road petered away, giving way to long grass as I started up the hill. Storming through it, I was breathing heavily by the time I reached the top. This was the highest ground for miles. Fields and wooded areas spread out on all sides. A town—presumably Halliford—lay a few miles to the north.
I wiped the sweat away from my brow as a cool breeze pulled at my hair. Once again, I wanted to fly away, but if I did that, I might never be able to return. Quinn could know everything about my superhero past, or nothing at all. I couldn’t risk blowing my cover before I’d even settled into this new life.
Quinn finally caught up to me. ‘Can you say something?’ she said. ‘I’m all out of words.’
An apology was in order. ‘I’m sorry I reacted like that,’ I said. ‘It was a shock.’
‘Louise should have told you,’ Quinn said, looking out at the view. ‘She thought seeing me like that might trigger some memories.’ Her eyes met mine. ‘Did it?’
Memories? No. What it was now triggering was the terrible realization that maybe the only reason I’d been in a relationship with Brodie was because she resembled Quinn. Maybe my amnesia riddled brain had transferred my affections from one girl to the other.
Had I ever been in love with Brodie? Or had I simply replaced Quinn with her?
‘I don’t remember you at all,’ I said. ‘I wish I did.’
Quinn’s face fell. ‘I know this must be really hard for you,’ she said. ‘It is for me too.’
We were almost face-to-face. I shot a look at her. Quinn was attractive, but I could see tears at the corner of her eyes.
‘Can you understand what it’s like for me?’ she asked. ‘I thought you were dead, washed away with your parents, and drowned. I went to a memorial service for you. I prayed over a grave with no body in it. You think that’s easy?’
I hadn’t really thought about this. My parents are buried somewhere. There was a memorial marker with my name on it too. Technically, I was both alive and dead at the same time. But that wasn’t the issue right now. People had mourned my loss. One of them was Quinn. It was strange to think of her crying her eyes out after losing me, and I didn’t remember her at all.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘This is more difficult than I expected.’
‘It’s not easy for me either. I came here because Louise told me I had to come. She said it was a matter of life and death.’
‘She didn’t tell you about me?’
‘She couldn’t, otherwise the authorities would know, and for some reason she wants to keep you quiet.’ Quinn frowned. ‘Anyway, I only found out an hour ago you were alive.’
‘Have you...moved on?’
‘Moved on? You make it sound like changing houses.’
‘I mean—’
‘I know what you mean.’ Quinn pouted, again eerily reminiscent of Brodie. ‘The answer is no.’
‘No?’
‘No, I don’t have a boyfriend.’
We stared out across the open fields. A farmer in the distance was driving a harvester, throwing dust and brown grass into the air. A hawk flew overhead, dived towards something in a field, and scooped it up. I watched until the bird was only a dot in the distance, and then nothing.
‘We should head back to the house,’ I said.
Quinn nodded.
Traipsing down the hill, I saw Louise and Henry’s home.
My home. Henry was at the side of the house, shading his eyes from the sun, watching us. He gave a single wave, and I waved back.
These people aren’t my enemies, I thought. So why am I treating them like they are?
‘How long are you staying?’ I asked.
‘I’m not sure. A week. Maybe more. I’ve got to get back to school soon.’
School. That’s right. Some kids still did that.
‘I’m staying at your place,’ Quinn continued. ‘Hopefully, we can hang out.’
‘Of course, we will.’
Quinn pursed her lips. ‘There’s still something I’ve got to know,’ she said hesitantly. ‘Louise explained about your amnesia and how you were taken in by some family. But, well, were you with someone else?’
‘There was someone,’ I said, slowly, ‘but that’s over now.’
‘What was her name?’
‘Brodie.’
‘Are you sure it’s over? Completely?’
‘One hundred percent.’
We walked through the gates of the farm. The smell of cooking food wafted from the house. It smelt like stewing meat. Climbing the front steps, I gazed out across the fields. The sun was low in the sky. Another day was drawing to a close. In the last couple of days, I had lost one family and gained another.
We stopped at the door.
‘You know,’ Quinn said. ‘I’m not sure that love ever dies.’
‘I said that was all over with Brodie.’
Quinn’s eyes met mine. ‘I wasn’t talking about Brodie.’
Chapter Twenty-Three
‘Adam?’ The voice came from a million miles away. ‘Wake up.’
I blearily opened my eyes. Who’s Adam? I wondered. Then I remembered. I’m Adam. The overhead light in my room was off, but my bedside lamp showed Louise, dressed in pajamas and a dressing gown. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was just after midnight.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
‘There’s been an accident,’ she said. ‘On the interstate about ten miles from here.’
‘Oh?’ I sat up, rubbing my eyes. ‘What happened?’
‘It was on the radio. There was a bad fog. A petrol tanker jackknifed. There’s a fire. The fire department’s trying to put it out, but it’s chaos over there.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘At first, I didn’t think anything of it,’ Louise said, her face haunted. ‘But then I thought about you and your powers. The things you can do.’
‘That’s finished now.’
She nodded. ‘That’s what I thought too,’ she said. ‘But isn’t it wrong to let someone needlessly suffer?’
I couldn’t argue with that. ‘But if I’m seen—’
‘Get your clothing on,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a covering for your head.’
Within minutes, I was dressed, and Louise had found a balaclava for me to wear. I thought it made me look like a bank robber. Reaching the back porch, I saw a red glow on the horizon.
‘That looks bad,’ I said.
‘Be careful,’ Louise said, grabbing my arm. ‘If anything were to happen to you—’
‘I’ll be fine.’
I leaped into the night. The air was full of smoke and fuel, even from this distance. Putting on a burst of speed, I was over the accident in minutes. It wasn’t hard to work out how it happened. The fog had reduced visibility to only a few feet. A car had clipped a petrol tanker coming in the opposite direction. The tanker had slid onto its side. It hadn’t exploded, but another vehicle was on fire with a dozen others in a multi-car pileup. An ambulance was there, but the fire brigade was nowhere to be seen.
I landed next to an ambulance driver working on a patient on the road. It looked bad.
‘Where’s the fire brigade?’ I asked.
The man looked at me in astonishment for a second. Recovering, he said, ‘There’s a big fire over in Tyson,’ he said. ‘A dozen brigades. They’re trying to get an engine over here, but—’
Ka-boom!
There was a flash of light, followed by a wall of heat. I threw up a barrier as the petrol tanker exploded, and the blast hit us. Protecting the driver and his patient from the worst of it, I used my powers to divert the path of the shrapnel. If I’d been an instant slower, the debris would have sliced us to pieces.
The explosion had thrown a dozen vehicles about like toys. Flames a hundred feet high were shooting into the air. Smoke was everywhere. I bent close to the ambulance driver.
‘Can you move him?’ I asked.
‘We’ll have to.’
Using my powers to levitate the three of us into the air, I floated us a few hundred feet away and settled them onto the ground. The driver continued to work on his patient as I flew back to the heart of the devastation. The remains of the tanker were burning out of control. Fortunately, fire needed air to breathe, and the air was something I could control.
Flying straight up, I focused on removing all the air from the scene of the blast. Within a minute, the blaze was extinguished, although there were still spot fires around the cars. Turning my attention to the victims, I immediately found a person trapped under a vehicle. Lifting the car away, I discovered he was already beyond help.
I should have been faster.
But I had to push the tragedy from my mind. I began searching the other vehicles. A woman had taken refuge on the floor of her car. I used my powers to expand the air between the doors hinges and pulled it off. She ran for her life. A family of three had also taken refuge. The father had broken his arm in the blast. Once again, the doors were jammed shut, so I broke them off, allowing them to escape.
I wished Brodie and the team were here. Many hands really do make light work. A police car arrived, and the officers leaped into action, and soon after, another ambulance. The paramedics started lifting someone free from a damaged car.
Reaching a wrecked vehicle, I found a woman not moving. I checked her pulse. No breath either. Easing her onto the road, I started CPR, compressing her chest, breathing into her mouth to force the most vital necessity of life—air—into her lungs. Rechecking her pulse, I found nothing, but I persevered.
Another minute passed. Ready to give up, I was surprised to notice her face had regained some of its color.
Keep going, I told myself.
Back at The Agency, a time that seemed a million years in the past, we’d all been trained in first aid. I knew life could be restored if oxygen and blood flow were restored in time. After that, brain damage and, finally, death would occur.
By now, sweat was pouring off me. CPR was tough business. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep this up. Then the woman coughed, her eyes fluttering open.
‘Where...what happened?’ she groaned.
‘There was an accident,’ I said. ‘A tanker exploded.’
‘Who are you?’
I realized I was still wearing the balaclava. ‘A friend,’ I said. ‘You were in a bad way.’
More ambulances were arriving. Fire engines were finally on the scene. An ambulance woman knelt next to me, giving me an odd look.
‘Are you injured?’ she asked.
‘No, I was just passing by.’ She was staring at my disguise. ‘I don’t always dress like this.’
‘I’m sure.’
I leaped into the sky, leaving her and the chaos behind. In seconds I was among the clouds. I had missed this, the freedom of flight.
How could I ever give this up?
For the next hour, I coasted over the countryside, watching the dark world beneath. The fires were soon extinguished, and the emergency vehicles headed off into the night. Soon I was floating above the earth, not asleep, not awake.
Finally, I flew back towards the farm. It wasn’t hard to find. Every other property was in darkness. Ours was the only home with a light on the back porch. Gliding into land, I found Louise on the step. She raced over and hugged me tight.
‘I was worried,’ she said.
‘I’m okay.’ We went into t
he kitchen. The house was quiet after the chaos on the road. ‘I just needed some time to think.’
‘Were you all right with helping out?’
‘Of course,’ I said. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
Louise nodded thoughtfully. ‘I thought you would be,’ she said. ‘I’m glad you are.’
I peered at her curiously. ‘Why? What do you mean?’
‘Now isn’t the time to talk,’ she said. ‘We’ll speak in the morning.’
I pressed her, but she wouldn’t say anything more. Climbing into bed, I expected to stay awake, but I was asleep within seconds.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I awoke to the rattle of running water.
Blinking, I climbed out of bed. Someone was showering. A radio played an old country song. The smell of cooked food wafted through the house. Making my way to the kitchen, I found Louise making bacon and eggs.
‘You’re up,’ she said, smiling. ‘I’m glad you slept in.’
‘Who’s in the bathroom?’ I asked.
‘Quinn. Henry’s gone into Halliford to buy supplies.’
Scratching my head and yawning, I offered to help, but Louise waved me away. ‘I’ve made breakfast a million times,’ she said. ‘It’ll only take a minute.’
Settling into the breakfast nook, I looked through the window at the fields beyond. The day before, I had thought them uninviting. Now, after helping out the previous night, I wondered if there might be a way I could have the best of both worlds.
‘What did you mean last night?’ I asked Louise. ‘When you said about me helping out?’
She dished food onto a plate. ‘We won’t talk yet,’ she said. ‘Henry’s due back soon. He’s taking Quinn into town so she can buy some clothing. She came over here so quickly she didn’t bring much of a wardrobe.’ Pouring coffee, Louise sat down. ‘We’ll go into town with them. There’s a nice cafe where we can chat.’
By the time I finished breakfast, Quinn was washed and dressed. She looked lovely, dressed in a blue and white striped dress, reminiscent of Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. Henry arrived home, and we all piled into the car with him.
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