I Guess I'm a Hero

Suicide Mission

I wasn't wrong. Over the next few days, newspapers all over the country were running with stories about women who had special gifts. Investigative news programming, like Hard Copy – and some others – had "inside looks". Thankfully, some of them were vague. Some of the seers, and probably some of the men who were partnered with them, also saw the possible danger of giving too much information. But there were enough of them who didn't make the connection or who reveled in the spotlight to pretty much blow it all wide open. Details were given about the men. How they were very strong and very fast, but when following the directions of a woman...exponentially more so. Details were given about the women. How the visions weren't confined to a geographical location or their hometown. How when they had a vision and their partner responded, it didn't leave a lot of cushion time. He would arrive "just in time".

Also, there were stories, as I thought there would be, about seers who didn't have a hero partner. They would have their visions, and the man in them was not known to them, nor would they ever be. A lot of these women were in tears talking about it. Granted, at first, a huge majority of the women had a vision about a stranger. But they mostly found each other – on the street, in a diner, whatever. But as frustrating as it would be for a hero to know that at times he would be stronger and faster – that he would be sent on missions to save people and not just rely on blind luck or being in the right place at the right time to save people – it had to be terrifying for the seers who never found their partners. Imagine, over the course of a few months, having visions of death and destruction, almost daily – knowing in the end that they came true. That people died. A lot of these women, it was reported, were on medication for severe depression.

"I feel so sorry for those women," Peg said as we sat in the office after our shift at the restaurant. "Did you see the one last night? She was so broken up."

"I can't imagine what it would be like," I replied. "It's not enough to start having these visions in the first place. But then to find out they are coming true and not knowing who your partner is...it's just tragic."

"Well, I'm lucky. My partner is one of my best friends and we are so much closer because of it. Well, maybe that isn't the sole reason...I mean, you would have eventually asked me out anyhow, right?" Peg asked with a playful twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh, I am sure I would have gotten around to it sometime before the end of the universe," I smiled back. "I've always liked everything about you. Your mutant brain was just a bonus."

"Mutant brain?" she laughed.

We were enjoying the moment when her hand suddenly went to her temple. There were definitely a few more grey hairs showing up against the blonde in her hair. I wonder if it has anything to do with the visions and the stress they can cause.

"Bill, you need to go to Arkansas. Little Rock. Just outside town...south...Highway C. There is an SUV out of control. A family with a teenage daughter."

"OK. Be back soon. And then maybe we can continue our conversation."

"I'll be here," she said as she kissed me good-bye.

I left the restaurant and started running. I thought about how far we had come since this started. The way she nonchalantly gave me instructions with only a slight visible evidence of the discomfort the visions caused her. A long way from when the first vision had her on the floor, nearly screaming.

The terrain zoomed by as I picked up speed. I didn't think this would ever get old. I arrived in Little Rock and started to head out of town, following the signs to Highway C. I stopped at the bottom of a hill and looked around. Nothing. That was odd. Peg had never been wrong before. Did I have the wrong place? Was there more than one Highway C? I looked to the top of the hill and saw it.

A red Tahoe was swerving back-and-forth across the road and picking up speed as it headed down the hill. Obviously the brakes were out. I could see the silhouette of a man in the driver's seat frantically trying to wrest back control of the vehicle. I dashed up to meet the car, easily stopped it and moved it to the side of the road.

"Thank God you were here," said the man, visibly shaken. "My name is Jack and you just saved my family's lives."

"No problem, Jack. Glad I could help." I looked around inside the car. The woman next to Jack had a vise-grip on the dashboard and the girl in back, who looked oddly familiar, was nervous but also a little excited.

"Is everyone else OK?" I asked.

"One of you!" The girl exclaimed. "I never thought we would need saving. Not with my brother around."

"Your brother?"

"My name is Janet. My brother was on the news a couple weeks ago."

I knew then why she looked so familiar. "Jason? Jason from Arkansas in Oklahoma...with the tornado? That brother?"

"Yep," she smiled. "That's him. He is such a nerd sometimes. Trying to reverse the tornado like off that cartoon. Haha"

"I know," I said. "I was passing by after it happened. Where is he now?"

"Ontario. There is going to be an accident with a man working on a skyscraper."

I heard her father sigh and looked over to see him shake his head with what appeared to be a tolerant smile on his face. I think he was amused by the way she was talking so fast and the matter-of-fact way she described an accident on the high steel.

"Well, let's have a look here," I said, getting back to business. "Let's see if you need help getting back to town. What happened, Jack? It looked like your brakes were out."

"That's exactly it. I couldn't slow down and then sort of lost control."

I peered under the car by the tires. Yeah, I know I said I don't know much about cars, but I had to take a look. It's a guy thing. I did notice something loose. I felt around the inside of the wheel and it felt wet. Then I saw the fluid dripping out of the brake line. The nearly new brake line. It didn't appear rusted out or worn from a lot of use. It looked like a pretty clean break. It looked like the line had been cut. That concerned me.

"I think I see the problem, Jack," I called out from under the car. I didn't get to finish though, because I heard the wife scream.

"JACK! Look Out!"

I scrambled out from under the car, jumped to my feet and looked around. I saw two semi-trucks. One was coming down the hill and one was coming up...and both were closing in on us. I tried to push the Tahoe carrying Jack and his family away, but there was nowhere to go. I could probably stop one truck, but not both. I picked the one coming down the hill. I ran up, planted my feet and braced for impact. No matter how strong you are physics still wins. There was no way I could stop a truck, moving at speed, on a dime.

I was pushed backward. The truck swerved – moving towards the family car. I turned my head and saw the other truck turn towards the Tahoe as well. They were planning this? No way!

I jumped away just as both trucks hit the Tahoe. I didn't know if I could survive being sandwiched between two trucks trying to sandwich an SUV.

I tumbled the rest of the way down the hill (yeah, that whole inertia and physics thing again) and rolled to a stop a little dazed. I slowly got to my feet and looked up. Then my heart dropped. There was almost nothing left of the Tahoe. I ran to the mangled steel and pushed one of the semis away, but I knew what I would find. Jack and his family were dead.

Goddammit! NO!

I pulled the door off the truck I had moved away and saw that the driver of it was also dead – same thing for the other semi. A suicide mission? It had to be. But why? What did Jack ever do to them?

Then, I knew. Jack had two children. That was his crime – being a father to two gifted children. Two children... Oh, no! I went back to the family and carefully pried the car apart so I could remove them all from the wreckage. After laying them carefully at the side of the road I searched the car, finally finding the registration in the remains of the dashboard. There was the address. I hung my head. I did not look forward to telling Jason what had happened while he was away.

I got out my cell phone, dialed 911 and after placing an anonymous call about a bad accident on Highway C, started jogging towards Jason's house. This was not going to be my best day ever.