Infinite Heroes

Chapter 2

The Next Day...

Beep! Beep! Beep! I heard my alarm go off, same time every day, and rolled over to hit the snooze button. "Another morning, another day filled with Luke's endless taunts," I groaned, sitting up. 

My chest ached, so I decided to take a cold shower to numb the pain. I stepped into the bathroom, turned on the shower and took off my shirt. I looked into the mirror, expecting to see bumps and bruises, but I saw a strange symbol that seemed burned onto my chest. 

"What the..." I decided to get a closer look and stepped closer to the mirror. Upon closer inspection, I realized the alien had not only granted me the power to fly but also gave me sick abs. "It wasn't a dream," I whispered. "It wasn't a dream!!!" 

Suddenly, I heard a knock on my bathroom door, startling me. "Bryan Wilkins! What in God's name are you doing in there?!" my mother yelled.

I tripped over myself and reached out for a handhold, grabbing onto the shower curtain and pulling it down with me. "N-nothing! Everything's good in here! Just taking a shower!" I quickly stripped off the rest of my clothes and jumped into the shower.

"Well, hurry up! Your bus is almost here!"

I finished my shower and pulled on jeans. But before putting on my shirt, I decided to continue examining the strange symbol on my chest. "Weird," I said, tracing the faint black lines. I had never seen the symbol before, a mask that seemed to be in the process of being devoured by flames.

"BRYAN! The bus is here!" my mother yelled. I quickly pulled on my shirt and grabbed my backpack. 

"Bye! Love you!" I yelled, running out the door. I sprinted towards the bus stop, located at the end of my street. "I can make it!" I thought, blowing past numerous houses. I saw a pothole in the middle of the sidewalk, one that I pass every day. "No time to go around.... Guess I'll JUMP!" At the last word, I leaped and soared into the sky. 

"NOOOO!!!!" I screamed, turning head over heels. "I'm going to DIE!!!" I flailed my arms in hopes of turning right side up but it seemed hopeless. Suddenly, I felt something grab my legs and hold me still. "W-what...? Who...?" I looked at the direction my feet were pointed to see Fohst's red eyes looking back at me. 

"I sensed you were in danger. What is the problem?" he asked, almost sounding bored. 

I couldn't believe my ears. "How could you sound so bored?! I almost died!" 

Fohst sighed and let go of my feet. "Wha..? NOOOO!" I screamed, as I started falling towards the ground, no longer soaring to the sky. "I never thought it would end like this," I thought sadly. "I ever even got a chance to get a girlfriend." I closed my eyes before I hit the ground, saying silent farewells to my parents and the few friends I had.

I heard and felt a huge impact, but when I tentatively opened my eyes, I was still alive!

"I-I'm alive!" I cried, looking at my hands. "But...how?" I watched as Fohst gently floated down onto the ground. 

"You humans truly are ignorant. Of course, I had thought of the fact that you wouldn't know how to land. So I also gave your body the ability to call upon a protective exoskeleton," Fohst replied. "You will soon learn to control these abilities with my help and training."

I nodded. "Yeah, but now I've got to get to school... And how're you gonna help me with that?"

Fohst simply raised a three-fingered hand to my chest and pushed me gently. "There. That will get you to the institution in where you gain more knowledge. We will speak soon." 

I started to float up towards the sky again, but this time gently, not rapidly and violently as I did before. "Uh, well thanks, I guess," I mumbled. "But how can I get in touch with you?!" 

The alien put a single clawed finger to his head. "Look into your mind, and you will find the answer you seek." He slowly disappeared as I started to ascend into the clouds. 

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!" I yelled.

---

Sure enough, I arrived at school on time. "I am never taking the bus again," I thought, walking into the school's rotunda. 

"Hey! Bryan!"

I turned to see my best friend, Shaun, running towards me. "Hey dude," I replied. 

Shaun came to a stop in front of me and grinned. "Where were you? You weren't on the bus."  Shaun was a tall guy, 5 feet, and 10 inches. He was also skinny, mostly from all his running with the track team. He was also popular, well, more popular than I was at least.

"I kinda caught a ride this morning," I said, getting nervous. "Do we have any tests today?" 

Shaun raised an eyebrow. I was worried because he always seemed to have an uncanny ability to detect when I was lying or trying to change the subject. It was a while before Shaun replied again. "Not really," he finally said. "I did hear some people talking about a pop quiz in Us History though." 

I breathed a breath of relief. "Alright. Good thing I studied." Suddenly, something out of the corner of my vision caught my eye. I watched as Susan Perth, the girl of my dreams walked with her friends, laughing at some unheard joke.

Shaun lightly slapped my shoulder. "Dude, go talk to her. Valentine's Day is coming up anyway." I nodded and continued to stare. "Come on, let's get to first period," Shaun encouraged. 

I snapped out of it and shouldered my backpack. "Alright. I'll see about doing it..." I said absentmindedly. 

I then saw Luke saunter into the rotunda, followed closely by his goons, probably laughing at me again. "They still bothering you?" asked Shaun, pointing. I shook my head and started off towards class. Shaun shrugged his shoulders and followed. "Alright then."

We then shuffled off to class, each caught up in our own thoughts.