BIRTH OF G-MAN

RISK

The next night after another full day of primary school, Gaurav’s light ocean-blue eyes popped wide open, and as Gaurav stared into the darkness, suddenly, his awareness started to go crazy, which he had never felt before.

He thought it must be his mind playing games with him, but his heart pounded as fast as when he raced around the yard or in the park. One question filled his mind. “Why am I feeling that something bad will happen tonight?”

Before he went to bed, he fought with Henna over watching news about Superman. It didn’t seem fair. Chandni got to choose what they watched on television. It was an Indian-language cartoon for babies. Henna said, “Gov, you always want to watch Superman. Chandni doesn’t want to.”

Mom agreed. Gaurav changed the channel and saw Superman use his X-ray vision to see inside a crashed car where people were trapped inside. Mom changed the channel back and told off Gaurav. “Be good to your baby sister,” she said.

Now, in the darkness, he wanted to see through the wall to ensure his family and his farm animals were safe and secure.

Gaurav knew he could see his father's stallion inside the stable with the other horses. He threw off the covers and got out of bed.  Usually, he went out to sprint across the cornfield, but not this night. This night was quite different from others. He wanted a reason why his senses were out of control. He glanced at his sisters, who were snug in their bunk beds, asleep. Gaurav felt his heart pounding in his chest.

He whooshed out his bedroom, stirring up wind and making the papers on their desks fly up toward the ceiling and slowly float down to the floor. The rustling of papers accidentally awakened his elder sister,

"Gov?!" Henna opened her eyes and pulled down the covers to glare at her brother. However, he wasn't there. "Out running around again. I told him not to make noises, to think of Chandni and mother and father." She lay back down, annoyed with Gaurav, and closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep.   

*

Meanwhile, Gaurav super-sprinted through the darkened passageway to the landing, whooshed down the stairs, and approached the darkened entrance to the kitchen.

"Who are you? Leave my home, or there will be trouble," he said in a low voice, trying to sound adult and like a superhero.

His heart did somersaults. An intruder, a new rival, roamed through the kitchen.

A mystic black fog covered the gas cookstove, billowing out of the pipe where the gas came from, swirling around from side to side several times. Gaurav whizzed over and touched the stove. Not hot at all. Mom hadn’t left the stove on.

But enormous jets of fire whooshed up out of the smoke and licked toward the window, the smoke trailing out of the slightly open window. The super little boy bounced around in shock and fright as the yellow fire spread throughout the kitchen.

Gaurav zoomed out of the kitchen and, with his superspeed ability, whooshed up the stairs and entered his bedroom. He roared, panicked and not knocking how to put out the blaze, "Fire! Fire! Fire!" 

The fire alarm went off. Immediately, Henna and Chandni leapt out of their bunkbeds at super quick speed and looked at their brother, stunned and worried, their eyes were wide awake.

"Fire?"  Heena questioned

Gaurav tried to be calm, his brown eyes glowing. His sisters’ identical eyes also glowed. "Yes!”

"Let's wake up mum and dad!" Henna rushed out of the bedroom with her siblings in pursuit. They flew across the hall through the drifting black smoke, which couldn’t catch them. They yanked open their parents’ closed bedroom door, barged inside and hollered, at the same time, "FIRE!!!"