Spirit Hackers

Three

The cool night air on Ellis's face calmed him as he walked to his apartment. It would be a few hours until the sun started to rise over the skyscrapers and illuminate the city before him. Streets normally filled with honking taxis and bustling pedestrians were devoid of life at this early hour. A low rumble approached from behind and Ellis turned in time to see a Times delivery truck making its rounds. The blue van wove through the blocks as two men threw a stack of periodicals onto the curb in front of Ben's Deli. Aside from a few overnight workers, Manhattan nights were one of the few times the island fell silent.

Ellis set focus forward once more and kept walking. The city had become much safer throughout the past ten years, but standing at 5'9" and only weighing about 150, Ellis wasn't a force to be reckoned with. Anyone looking for trouble would mark him as an easy target. His recessed eyes gave him a permanent angry demeanor and he knew it wouldn't scare off any predators. Luckily, Ellis always had an ace up his sleeve.

He traversed a couple of intersections and passed a clinic. Ellis recalled the endless stream of doctors and battery of tests. It all lead to the same result: a sheet of paper ending with the word 'inconclusive'. After his parents were given the same outcome from the best doctors in California, who were the best in the country, it felt hopeless. The Ellis family didn't have endless supplies of money. Month after month brought losing battles with the insurance companies and eventually they decided to stop the financial bleeding. Ellis was beyond help. The memories made him squeeze his fists tightly, stopping the perpetual trembling of his hands. In seconds his hands warmed, relieving each finger if only for a few moments.

His thoughts drifted back to when Ellis hit seventeen. It was the moment things began to change. His days at Santa Monica North turned school hours into daily sessions of bullying and mental abuse. Ellis remained strong by counting down the handful of days left before he graduated. He kept himself in check by walking away from potential fights and keeping his grades up. It worked for a time, but fate had a different path for him.

On one day in particular the air was thick with humidity. Every student including Ellis wondered why their school lacked hallways that could've been air-conditioned. Instead, they all were forced into the sticky outside to transfer to the next classroom. Ellis moved through the cliques of seniors excitedly divulging plans for their upcoming graduation. Voices came and went as he passed through the groups hearing partial conversations about college admissions and parties. He approached his locker grabbed the heavy metal lock hanging off the door. A quick spin of the dial and his hands were free to get his stuff packed for the walk home.

Ellis caught sight of Tony Medona's muscles standing to his right. His thick arms preceded the 6'5" wrestler. The school had paired them up with adjacent lockers and schedules. This unfortunate circumstance forced them to jockey for position daily. The athlete took advantage of the situation like clockwork after 3rd and 6th periods, and now at the end of the day.

"You're in my way," the muscles barked.

Ellis remained silent and eyes locked ahead to his belongings. Ignoring the words didn't help. Medona leaned in, giving Ellis a whiff of his hamburger lunch.

"I said, you're in my way," he said. An arm shoved Ellis aside.

Evan caught himself an instant before he said something he'd regret. He knew better than to start a fight he couldn't win and turned to walk away.

Medona had other ideas. "Where do you think you're going?" he said. The wrestler spun Ellis to face him. Before Ellis could think, a fist was connecting with his face. This was a first for him and the pain was unbearable. It shot through his face like a thousand needles. Seconds later a wave pulsed down to the pit of Ellis's stomach and set off a feeling that he rarely knew. A rage began to flow through his entire body. The punch faded away. For the first time in his life he locked eyes with the student and acted on pure instinct.

"Back off. Now," Ellis said through gritted teeth.

His threat was met with laughter. Without thinking, Ellis raised his fists and began swinging.

The next few minutes were a blank, but when his memory resumed recording, Medona was laying on the ground. Ellis's hands were flat against the aggressor's chest. His hands trembled as fiercely as ever, and his fingertips burned like they were on fire. Three teachers and a security guard ran in and hauled him away by his armpits. Ellis's mind swam in a daze. He shot confused glances to anyone in order to gain clues as to what had just transpired. Medona's face didn't have a scratch on it; just a bloody nose. Ellis's eyes shifted down and he gasped at the scene. The athlete's green t-shirt was charred where Ellis's hands had been. He looked toward the man's muscles. Normally requiring their own zip code, they were much smaller, as if they had been deflated. The wrestler lay there with eyes open in horror. His jaw hung low like he was screaming in agony. But there was no sound. Tony Medona remained silent as teachers worked to figure out what had happened. Within a few seconds, they confirmed that the soon-to-be graduate was dead.

An hour later, Ellis sat in the principal's office after a thorough search of all his belongings. Two monitors flickered to life and began replaying the security footage. Ellis watched as choppy, grainy video showed the two boys struggling. He sat in shock having the gaps of his memory filled with what had happened. He saw himself swing a few punches at Medona's face and miss. He watched himself try to dodge a counter-punch and then rush headfirst into his Medona's midsection. Pinned to the ground, Ellis jumped on top and raised a fist into the air. Nobody could expect what happened next.

Ellis watched as his past self didn't throw a punch. The camera didn't record sound, but Ellis looked to be screaming. The normally slight tremble of his hands morphed into a blur like the wings of a dragonfly. Ellis now rubbed his hand trying to compute how it ever could move so fast. Then the video showed him slamming his hands down onto Medona's massive, chest and lock on. Medona's face filled with the most gut wrenching agony. Within seconds, the wrestler's body froze in a silent scream. Even with tape's poor quality Ellis could make out a smoke or haze forming around Medona's chest. He looked to the time-stamp of the video. He released his opponent after only five seconds. Moments later the teachers could be seen running up to assess the situation, as Ellis came to. The screens froze on his dazed face. The look of fear and confusion on his past was almost too much. He did everything he could not to throw up. Everyone in the silent room turned and looked at the teenager before them, baffled.

Days later as Ellis sat at home suspended, the official coroner's report was released. Medona had suffered from Sudden Death Incident or SDI. SDI was a rare medical condition that affected people in high stress situations. Medona's body contained lethal levels of adrenaline, causing him to go into cardiac arrest. He had died of natural causes and by nothing Ellis had done. Interestingly, there was no mention of the char on Medona's shirt. The school was unable to pin anything else on Ellis to keep their fears at bay and lifted the suspension the next day. Ellis returned to school to graduate.

Despite the findings of the report, it was difficult for Ellis to face a student body who now labeled him a freak. The next three weeks of school were filled with dirty looks and people who went out of their way to avoid being near him. By the time his diploma was handed over, Ellis had decided Santa Monica was not the place for him. He turned eighteen three days later, packed his belongings, and left home. He figured he would return once he knew what was wrong with him. He was mistaken.

Ellis crossed the last street to his apartment and reached the door with key in hand. It was barely dawn, but the city streets were beginning to come to life as the sun rose over the eastern horizon. He unlocked the lobby door and walked inside his building. Ellis never saw the pair of eyes peering down at him from his living room window.