Acceleration

Chapter 1: Freshly Fast

Erin dove to the floor as fast as he could. A crimson rubber blur shot past his ear—traveling at whatever speed a linebacker could throw. The screeching of sneakers on hardwood echoed through the gym.

"DUDE, GET UP!" Tom yelled. Erin's best friend grabbed his hoodie and yanked him to his feet.

"I really don't need your help, man."

Tommy lowered his voice to a whisper. "Just because you move really fast doesn't mean I can!"

Erin slapped a hand over his mouth, glancing around nervously.

"I told you not to talk about it at school!" he hissed.

Tom dropped to the floor just as another dodgeball soared past Erin's head.

Whenever Coach Sheen didn't feel like working, he rolled out a bin of dodgeballs and let the students go wild. Unfortunately for Erin, that usually meant he ended up as target practice. Today, Charles—the school's largest linebacker—had it out for him more than usual.

Tom clung to Erin's arm, practically sobbing. "PLEASE, man, our whole team is out!"

Erin looked around. Sure enough, they were the last two standing.

"All you have to do is speed up a teensy bit."

Erin sighed. "One, that's cheating. Two, stop bringing it up at school!"

"HEY, EVIDRONE! YOUR NEW HAIR COLOR SUCKS!" Charles bellowed as he readied another throw. "MAYBE A LITTLE RED WILL HELP!"

Erin glanced back at Tom.

"He insulted the hair. I'm doing it."

Tom's eyes lit up. Erin turned toward the incoming ball and took a deep breath. The blood in his veins surged. Electric currents sparked across his arms, making the hairs on his skin stand. In an instant, the ball froze mid-air inches from his face. Time slowed. Blue sparks jumped from his shirt and skin. A haze clouded the edges of his vision.

Erin calmly reached out and caught the ball, sinking his fingers into the rubber. He took another breath, easing his body back to normal speed.

Time resumed.

Gasps echoed across the gym. In one motion, Erin hurled the dodgeball at Charles. It slammed into his eye and bounced off three more teammates like a pinball. Four more throws followed—lightning-quick, accurate, devastating. Four whistles blew. Four outs.

Tom jumped up and hugged Erin.

"I knew you could do it!"

Erin pushed him back by the face. "Quit it. That's the last time I use my powers in front of you if you're gonna cry every time."

The bell rang. Kids filtered toward the locker rooms, but Erin and Tom grabbed their bags and walked out—neither of them ever changed at school.

They stepped into the parking lot as the crowd of teens dispersed.

"So... are you doing it today?" Tom asked, snapping Erin from his thoughts.

Erin shrugged. "Pretty sure Elizabeth doesn't know I exist. I'm not gonna ask her—"

"No, you idiot," Tommy interrupted. "I mean, are you gonna go..." He checked around them. "Fight crime?"

Erin groaned and facepalmed. "Not in school!"

Three weeks ago, Erin had been a mess—depressed, angry, miserable. Everything changed the day lightning struck him. It was like his pain had been split in two, burned out of his body. What remained was... clarity. Speed. Power. He could now move faster than anything he'd ever imagined. Only two people knew: his aunt and Tommy. And Tommy? Was terrible at keeping secrets.

"Hey, dumbasses," a voice called.

Speak of the devil.

Lisa Thompson strolled toward them. Level-headed, sarcastic, and the most grounded member of their friend group. Beside her walked Marlin Zeke, the self-proclaimed "jock" whose only varsity letter came from the table tennis team.

"How was dodgeball?" Marlin asked.

Tom lit up. "DUDE! It was insane! Erin kicked ass. You should've seen him."

Lisa jerked her thumb behind her. "That why Charlie's in a mood?"

"Since when do you call him Charlie?" Erin raised a brow.

Lisa shrugged. "Since he started crushing on me and begged me to."

The group paused.

"Is that like... a kink thing or a football player thing?" Marlin asked.

"Marlin, how would that be a football player thing?" Tom muttered.

"Dude, I don't know. Football players are weird," he shuddered. "I saw them all slap Terry's bare ass in the locker room."

"Literally no one asked for that visual," Lisa said, gagging. "Erin, do you—oh boy. He's daydreaming again."

Erin was smiling like an idiot. His eyes were locked on Elizabeth as she walked out of her last class. Her purple hair shimmered in the sunlight. She tossed her bag into the trunk and turned toward the group—for a moment, their eyes met.

Snap.

Lisa's fingers were in front of his face.

"Loverboy. Lock in."

Erin blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Lisa nodded toward Elizabeth. "Girls find it creepy when you stare from across the parking lot instead of talking to them."

"She doesn't even know I exist," Erin muttered. A loud honk behind him made him jump. His aunt's company van idled at the curb.

"Oop, look at the time. Gotta run!" He bolted into the van.

"He's never going to talk to a girl, is he?" Tommy asked.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "I'm shocked he can talk to me."

Inside the van, Erin hugged his Aunt Jess and buckled in.

"Are we going to the lab today?" he asked, brimming with excitement.

"Your mom wants you home for dinner, but if you just want to check progress on your track suit—we can swing by."

"YES!"

***

Aunt Jess had refused to make Erin a superhero suit. According to her, superheroes were for children. She'd outright forbidden him from fighting crime. But she had agreed to make him a track suit for training purposes.

It currently consisted of: a blue jacket with a white shirt underneath, a yellow lightning bolt logo, some goggles, and a helmet with tiny wings.

Erin stretched out on the circular track in the lab.

"Auntie, is there any way I could get a more comfortable suit?"

"Nope," Jess said flatly, arms crossed.

"I don't mean a superhero suit, just—"

"Erin," she snapped. Her sudden tone startled him. "You're seventeen. You shouldn't be thinking about saving the world. You should be thinking about college."

His shoulders slumped.

Jess removed her glasses and set them on the table. "We're not doing tests today."

Erin blinked. "Wait, why?"

"I know this is hard. Having a gift like this—it's a miracle. But you're still a kid. We don't know how your body even works yet. I just... I want to keep you safe."

"Whatever," he muttered, removing his helmet and heading for the door.

As he passed her desk, his eyes drifted to a framed photo: Aunt Jess and his dad, both beaming with pride. His father's light hair caught the sun in the image.

Erin paused, hand on the doorframe.

"You and my dad used to do everything you could to help people..." he said quietly, glancing back. "What changed?"