Sara Strong

Chapter 5

Wes stared intently at the back wall of his bedroom closet. After a moment of internal debate, his need to do something won out, like it always did, and reached out to remove the false back.

Inside was the same costume he donned every night. Dark kevlar and armour. At eye level was his helmet, the front of which ended in a downward point, almost like a bird's beak.

He hesitated for a moment. He thought about John, who was probably at this moment in the kitchen, trying his best to make them both a decent dinner, despite his utter uselessness in the kitchen.

Wes had told him before that he was perfectly fine eating out every day. Honestly, it would probably be better than undercooked potatoes and charred chicken, but John had insisted that it was his responsibility to make Wes eat real food at least once in a while.

John would be disappointed. But he wouldn't be surprised.

Once again, Wes thought about staying. He didn't have to go. Just one night he could stay in and have a nice dinner with the man who saved him from ending up in foster care.

He thought about his parents. And he reached for the costume.

---------------------------------------------------------
The whole day while at school Sara tried to concentrate on her classes, but she couldn't stop herself from wondering about the city's superhero.

What was he doing now? Was he hurt?

Did he know anyone else with powers? Or was he alone, like she was.

When she arrived at her home at the end of the day, it was clear she wasn't the only one who couldn't stop thinking about it. Her brother was still cheerfully spouting out speculation and name ideas.

Sara tried to muster the energy to match her younger brother's excitement, but while Alec still remained oblivious, her own excitement dimmed at her parent's obvious displeasure.

Throughout dinner, it was much of the same.

At one point her brother stopped saying anything, trying to discreetly look at his phone under the table. The rest of them pretended to ignore it.

'What!" Alec suddenly yelled. Sara jumped, startled.

"Oh my god," Alec continued shouting. Sara's mouth twisted into a slight grin. This kid really needed to learn how to read a room. "Jay just posted a picture Electricity Man on his twitter. He says he took it near his house like, five seconds ago."

Sara silently mouthed Electricity Man incredulously, unsure where that particular came from.

"You're on Twitter?" Her dad asked. "You are way too young." Sara was a little surprised her dad even knew what Twitter was.

"I'm twelve, dad," her brother said with a roll of his eyes. "That's old enough to have a Twitter. All my friends do; besides, that's not the point."

"If your friends told you to jump off a cliff, would you do it?"

Alec groaned dramatically, but Sara stopped listening.

Jay was Alec's best friend and she had fetched Alec from his house many times when he was ignoring his phone, which meant she knew exactly where he lived. It was close to her house. Only five blocks away, actually.

I'm full," Sara announced. Her mom looked over at her and spared a glance at her plate.

"Don't force yourself, dear," she said. "Put in a container and then put it in the fridge."

Sara nodded and did as her mother asked. She resisted the urge to run up the stairs, afraid it would give her way.

Once in her room, she reached for her Bluetooth headphones and shoved them in her ear. With her other hand, she opened her phone and made a call.