The Accidental Superheroes

Jack

The image of the car flying through the air was replaying over and over again in my mind as I ran. I pictured the terrified faces of the people inside the car, the huge crash as it smashed into the house. I knew that the people in the house and in the car were dead, there was no doubt about it. I had just become a murderer. I don't think that I've ever been so scared in my entire life as I was that moment that the car cartwheeled over my head. I don't understand what happened. One moment I was just a normal guy, riding on his skateboard, trying to find his girlfriend and then BOOM! I'm flinging cars through the air like some kind of superhero

Oh. Crap. I came to a complete stop. The trials. Ben. Angie leaving school early. Ben's mom acting all crazy. It was all connected. Whatever happened to Ben, must be now happening to me, except the power is adapting differently to my body, giving me not superspeed, but superstrength. I gazed down at my fists. They didn't look any different, still fairly tanned, still big, still strong. But something felt different. It was like a strange tingling kind of feeling. I hadn't noticed it before, but I guess that I had been too freaked out to feel it. I clenched my fists together as the tingling traveled up my arms and down my back, filling my whole body with an odd burning sensation. It soon grew uncomfortably hot, and I winced as it burned in my stomach. Gradually though, the tingling and burning stopped. I stood up straight and looked around. I was in some kind of side track in a wood. I could just see the houses on the other side of the trees, and I could hear the wailing sirens of the fire brigade, police cars, and an ambulance. I could guess where they were going pretty easily.

I have no clue where to go from here. There was absolutely no way I could go back home. Someone was bound to have seen my little 'trick'. I guess I have no option but to keep on going forwards, deeper into the woods. Great. Camping and outdoorsy stuff had never really been my thing. No air-con, no proper bathrooms, no electricity. I just had to hope that I would come across some little gingerbread house or something, ya know? With a friendly old witch who lets me eat the whole house, but I still don't get fat... Oh what a life.

I glanced down at my jeans, looking for rips or tears. What? They were expensive jeans. Luckily for me, and my wallet, it was just fine. My shirt, on the other hand, was a whole nother story. A couple of the buttons had popped out, and there was a large tear going down the side. I wondered if I should just take it off and walk around with no shirt on, it's not like I can really see anyone complaining, or if I should keep it on in case it got cold later on. I figured that the best idea was probably to leave it on.

I kept trudging away through the forest. I would like to say some shit like: "Oh wow, the scenery here is so amazing, I'm so totally finding my zen, I think I might come and live here forever with my little turtle friend called Wyatt" Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very zen, and I don't have a turtle called Wyatt. I jumped a little every time a twig snapped, or a bird chirped, thinking that someone had found me, and now they were going to put me under arrest.  Yeah. I was freaking out a little.

Wait a second. What was that? I swear I just heard a person's voice. I stopped for a moment and listened closer. I couldn't make out any of the words which were being said, but I could make out a soft hum, coming from the left. I turned in the direction of the voice and started slowly padding across the forest floor. Getting closer, I could now hear that there wasn't just one voice, there had to be at least two; a boy's and a girl's. In fact, two girls. What, were they having a threesome out here or something? I ventured even closer, peering through the densely packed flora. And then I gasped. The boy and the two girls spun around to look at me. I didn't recognise the second girl, but I knew the other two well enough.

Ben and Angie.