Spark in the Night | A Far From Home Story

Spark in the Night

I clicked the pen repeatedly, spinning around aimlessly in my desk chair, which was probably too small for me at this point. I'd never really given any thought to what I would do once everything was back to normal. I never thought it would all be back to normal, in all honesty. I had lost faith that it was ever going to be normal... And now it was.

My phone began to vibrate. I quickly dismissed any chance it might be someone calling me. The only person who would call me was Alice, and I knew she was studying the same as I was. I picked it up and switched off the alarm. At least my study time was done. I closed the open textbooks on my desk. Grade 10 level maths. I'd always pictured myself as a pretty smart kid. I managed to design taser gloves at age fourteen after all. So being nineteen years old and still failing at tenth grade maths was more then humiliating. At least I was doing it all from home, and didn't have to actually go into a physical school. Alice had managed to find some website for kids like us who made it through The Blip without going through propped education.

Thats what people were calling it now. The Blip. I stood up and grabbed the keys to the wrecked Bentley. It seemed a pretty insignificant name for something that almost ended the world. It kind of got under my skin, how simply everyone seemed to dismiss it. I flicked through my wardrobe for a jacket. The plated metal gauntlets shone up at me from the floor of the cupboard, calling for me to put them back on. To do... Something. To get back our there. Not that I could. The world was fixed, and I didn't seem to have a part in it now. At least not the same one I'd been playing for the last five years. I jogged down the stairs, slipping on my jacket as I made my way to the car, bumping into Judy in the hallway.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Hi."

She continued walking past, but stopped. "Listen, Neil." I stopped, the door halfway open. "I know we didn't get along too well before... You know. And I know its kinda weird cause we're practically the same age now, cause of the Blip and stuff, and I just thought..." She paused. "I thought maybe we should catch up some time." Judy said. "You know maybe you and that girl you're always with can come out with me and my friends sometime?"

I tossed the keys in my hand. "I uh... I don't know. I haven't really gotten used to crowds just yet."

She nodded. "Well how about just us then? How about we get coffee? Do you drink coffee now?"

I laughed. "Yeah. Yeah I drink coffee now. We can grab coffee sometime."

She smirked. "Cool, cool."

I nodded. "Cool. I'll see you later, I'm meeting Alice to study."

"Mm. Study."

"Shut up." I muttered, ducking out the front door and onto the street.

The Bentley was parked in the small alley beside the house that lead to our minuscule backyard. Mom and Mike didn't like it staying out on the street. They said it attracted too much attention, and to be honest it probably did. I'd managed to scrape together enough money from my savings before the Blip to replace the shattered windows, but the scratched paint, dented frame and bullet hole ridden doors still drew some odd glances on the roads.

I yanked the blue tarp off the car, and ran my fingers across the roof as I clambered inside. The engine revved into life, the car humming around me as I pulled out of the driveway onto the street. It was one of the few places I actually felt relaxed. A place that actually felt like home. I switched on the radio, and let the music wash over me as I headed through the city.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel as I cruised through traffic. It was a little different now, with more cars on the road, but I was getting used to it. I could hear police sirens outside, and a few moments later saw the flashing red and blue lights in the rear view mirror, approaching closer and closer through the traffic. I wondered what was going on a for a moment, until it finally clicked. They were following me.