A Hero in the Dark: 2nd Edition

Chapter 87: Unlikey Hero

I walk home after I hand in my essay exam for English class. I think I did okay; I don't expect to get an A, but I'm hoping it's enough for a B. I should be able to smooth that over with dad.

I'm walking alone today—because I had no way of telling Pixie that I'll be home earlier than usual. My backpack weighs next to nothing, carrying only my copy of Moby Dick.

I take the path through the forest for a sheer change in scenery, listening to people talk in front and behind and not caring about what they say, until louder voices arise. People fan out, as if I've become some sort of disease. "Something wrong, freak?!" I hear a guy shout. "Too weak to stand up to yourself, Gordy?! Come on! Show us what you can do!"

Gordy? "Leave me alone." I see them now. Gordan—the kid from my gym class last sem.—is on his back before a tall blond. I have no idea who the blond is. "Go away."

There're at least thirty people around them. If it weren't for the incline, I'd probably have a hard time seeing them at all, but now that I do, my palms light up with a rage-inducing glow.

All of them, shouting, laughing, encouraging that guy's behaviour. How is that proper?! Suddenly, I wonder, is he the one that made fun of my best friend? Is he the reason why Jeffrey killed himself?!

Bystanders are as worse as bullies. I repeat this saying over and over in my head like a mantra of riled wind. I take a single step forward and that's all I need to make a ray of energy emit from my feet, rattling the surrounding trees. Everyone—at least everyone except the two—grow silent, and nervous, I think, and they have every right to be. Bystanders are as worse as bullies.

"Lukie?" a girl says in the circle, a blonde girl. Her eyes scan the trees uneasily; her fear radiating in her bones. "I think we should go."

Luke doesn't acknowledge the shake of the trees at all. He's focused on Gordan. "Not now," he says, taking a step towards him. "I wanna see what Gordy can do."

I aim a palm at his chest until a beam flies out, sending Luke sailing through the air until he collides with the trunk of a thin oak tree. Gasps filter through the crowd and the girl runs to him.

Everyone else turns to me. "Leave. Him. Alone," I spit, trying and failing to keep the flare out of my eyes. "Go home."

Luke stares at me with power in his eyes, looks to the others, then at Gordan. "Who's this Gordy? Your girlfriend come to fight your battles for you?"

Gordan doesn't move. This time, no one makes a sound, not for a while, until eventually, one of them slurs, another girl—a brunette, "Luke, don't be stupid! Don't you know who that is? Emily? Human Garde? Is any of this ringing a bell? Don't you know what she does?"

This is ridiculous. "You do know I can hear you, right?" I mutter. "She's right. I've fought before. You can't beat me."

"Yeah, I know who you are," Luke spits, rubbing his chest where I hit him. "The Freak. The biggest of them. Why're you even here? Shouldn't you be in California or some shit?"

He turns back to Gordan, and this time, I worry he won't stop, that Gordan will be the same, the same as Jeffrey—I can't that happen again.

I take another step and send out a wave, lifting him with telekinesis. I don't lift him high, nor do I hold him tight. I let his feet dangle and keep a mental clutch on his torso. "Hey—! What the fuck!"

He floats above their heads 'till I set him down at the edge of the path. There's a small creek beside him there; it wouldn't be hard to toss his ass in it—I badly want to, but I refrain.

I walk towards Gordan, keeping a keen eye on everyone else whilst trying to keep myself tame.

You okay? I think, but all he does is stare at me; they all do. I can't believe they haven't run yet.

Gordan nods, but his thoughts say otherwise: Ah! I can't move.

Suddenly, my mind whips to the crowd. They've closed in around us. They're watching—everyone, including Luke. "I thought I told you to go home," I spit, my voice cold.

No one moves. I match my bond. It's easier every time it's done. My vision flares and coats everything with a tinge of cobalt, and I roar, "GO! GET OUT OF HERE!" And instantly, I'm reminded of the day I said that to John. I can't believe I did that to him.

"I can't move," Gordan says once we're alone, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"I know," I say and swallow the blue spark.

"You know?"

"I can read minds," I explain. "Hold still."

I let my hands hover over his body, lit with my ergokinesis, but he catches my wrist before I do anything, panic marked across his face. "What're you doing?!"

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you," I assure him. "It's one of my Legacy's other uses." Again, he stares. "Breathe naturally," I tell him, moving my hands to his chest again. He doesn't move, but he does as I say. I let the glow of my Legacy engulf him and close my eyes to concentrate. "Your stomach's badly bruised," I report, "but it looks like most of your pain is coming from your ribs. I can heal them temporarily, but it won't last long."

"How long?"

"Until you get home."

He nods, and I take it that's my permission to do what I do. I pour the Legacy into his body, and with each second, Gordan starts to look better while I... I tire.

Eventually, he's able to stand and I hardly need to help him. Gordan thanks me, and I nod. "You live nearby?" I ask in a daze; I'm not keen on walking too far.

"Yeah. I—My place is a couple of blocks away." And he leads me that way.

***

I fish out my key, pet Pixie, and just as I unlock the door, something grazes me at the neck. I whirl around to see what the heck just happened, and on the ground beside me, is a silver dart. I pick it up. What? But the street... it's empty—

And that's when I see it: in the upstairs window of the house opposite to ours is the glint of a scope. I activate my ergokinesis a second too late before another dart seizes me in the arm, and almost suddenly, things are fuzzy before it's dark.