Capes 1: Charge

Epilogue

"Hey, buddy. . ." Lockey muttered. "How long has it been since I visited you? I'm sorry if I haven't done it. Life got in the way. Just so you know, I've got this superhuman ability now. I run fast and I can just throw lightning whenever I want. My friends started calling me Charge as my moniker or what they usually called an alias for a superhero name."

He chuckled remembering their reason for calling me Charge.

"They said it took me a while to get my ability. They thought I was charging like a gadget or something else that needed electricity. When I got the energy I needed, I felt this energy within me that I'd never felt before. I guess they were right. I wish you had seen me. I'm sorry if, at that moment, I didn't have any idea what I was capable of. If I just knew I had it, I could've saved you."

He took a deep breath and slowly let it go.

"If there would be a chance to get back to the time when you were still here, I would do it. . . I've done it. . . Maybe I could do it?"

"Lockey. . ." Nang may tumawag sa kanya ay nakita naman niya ang nanay nitong papalapit sa kanya. Nang makalapit ito ay humawak ito sa braso ng kanyang anak at ipinatong ang ulo sa balikat nito. "I wished I met Keith. . . If he was still here, I'm sure he would be proud of you. That he had a friend like you."

"Yeah. . . I hope wherever he is now. . . He is happy."

"I'm sure he is, darling. . . Shall we go now? Amora's waiting for us. . ."

Lockey looked at Keith's tombstone for one last time before he turned around and walked with his mom heading out of the cemetery. Nang makarating sila sa sasakyan ay tumabi si Lockey sa kanyang tita na niyakap siya ng mahigpit.

Hindi pa rin makapaniwala si Amora na si Gage ang dahilan kung bakit namatay ang kaibigan ni Lockey kaya napagdesisyonan nitong umalis ng Summit City upang hanapin ang sarili at magkaroon ng peace of mind. Tinanggap naman ni Lockey ang nangyari at hindi sinisisi ang kanyang tita sa pagpasok ni Gage sa buhay nila dahil alam na ni Gage ang lahat bago pa man iyon mangyari, pero hindi maialis ni Amora na siya ang naging dahilan kaya minabuti na lamang nitong magpakalayo-layo muna.

Nang makabalik sila sa kanilang tahanan, dumiretsyo si Lockey sa kanyang kwarto at napaupo na lamang sa dulo ng kanyang kama habang nililingon ang paligid. Matagal din siyang nawala at sa mga panahong hinahanap niya ang kanyang naturang abilidad ay maraming buhay ang naging kapalit. Ngayon, sinusubukan ni Lockey na maibalik ang dating gawi, ngunit sa kanyang isip-isip ay bumalik sa panahong kasama pa nito  ang kanyang kaibigan.

Pumanik si Lockey sa ibabang palapag nang kanilang bahay ng tawagin ito ng kanyang magulang. Hudyat na iyon na magpapaalam na si Amora. Muling hinagkan ng binata ang kanyang tita hangga't sa kunin nito ang mga gamit at lumabas ng pinto. Lockey turned and face his mother, it was like there was this whole plan inside his head and he wasn't sure if he would do it.

Ngumiti ang nanay nito sa kanya at saka lumapit para yakapin siya. 

"I want to do something. . ."

Umangat ang tingin ng magulang nito sa kanya. "Ano naman ang naiisip mo?"

Humugot ito nang malalim na hininga. "Something I think I shouldn't do, but probably be the best thing to do. . ."

"What is it, dear?"

He looked at the face of his mom. He hadn't seen her for a really long time and he had lived in the past years surviving alone with his aunt. Through those years, he believed she was gone and had left him knowing that the man he married was an abomination. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He knew he wanted to make this time special as it was the moment for them to catch up and make new memories together. But for Lockey, something was missing.

His mother is alive and there for him all through this time, but it wasn't enough for him. 

"You know you could tell me what is going in on your head," she said, holding his face. "From now on, I won't leave your side and I will always be right there for you. Whatever you are planning right now, if it's for the better, I'll support you. . ."

Tumangi na lamang si Lockey. "I think it would be best for me and for everyone. . ."

"Do what you believe is right. . ."

Lockey pressed his lips together and put a smile on his face. He nodded once more to affirm his decision. "I will. . . I love you, mom. . . I'll see you again. . ."

Lockey found his way out of their house and started running in the city and heading out of Summit. Mayor Nicholson was still on the loose. He still has the power to control the government and put the chaos back in Summit City. He saw many people who had gone back to their normal lives, especially those who had been through worse at the hands of the government. Somehow, they believed they won against them. They believed that at this moment, the freedom they were having would last forever, but Lockey doesn't believe it.

A lot of chaos is still coming and he wouldn't be satisfied because the people who wanted to kill them are still on the loom. He was determined to make a change. Something this world would never know. Only Lockey.

He ran, and with all the energy he had, he focused his mind, imagining a place where he could be. He saw specks of dust forming into a cloud circling in one motion with lightning coming out of it. It turned a yellow wormhole. He took a deep breath, and a smirk planted on his face, and there, at that moment, Lockey entered the wormhole traversing through time and space, into the wild unknown—where everything had just begun.

"Keith, buddy. I'm coming to save you. . ."

THE END
end of 1st installment of the CAPES series

***