Gauntlet

Clearing The Air

Lost in thought, Carmen straightened her upper body, the way she used to do before launching herself into the sky. She absent-mindedly bent her right leg into take-off position, putting her off balance. She caught her mistake at the very last moment, sparing herself yet another embarrassing tumble. At least nobody else would have been around to see it, this time.

Carmen slouched against the rear wall of Callaghan's Ale House. A faint odor seeped out from the dumpster, filling the alley with the scent of meat waste. She brought the e-cigarette cartridge to her lips. The mentholated vapor puffed out from her mouth, filling the air with a vague cotton candy scent before it was overpowered by the dumpster stench.

The alarm on her smartphone beeped. That breaktime just flew right by! She briefly considered ignoring it, but she didn't want to leave Aidan at the mercy of the happy hour regulars.

The crowd dwindled as the evening wore on. Eventually, Carmen spotted a familiar face sitting at the bar.

"Carmen Alvarenga, right here in West Hook!" said Rosh Pandey. He curled his pointer and middle fingers, raising a mock gang sign.

"I can't believe you're back again," said the pudgy man in sweat-stained office clothes. "You look like shit though."

"Really, Rosh?" she said, deadpan. "I never would have guessed."

He observed her pouring tonic water into a highball glass with ice. Then she carefully drizzled vodka infused with red Skittles. She gave the mixture one final stir before handing over the drink.

"Well, one thing hasn't changed," he said, taking a hearty sip. "You still make a damn great Sputnik Sweetheart."

"Thank you," she said. "And I mean that. Really."

"Does Old Man Callaghan know you fraternize with guests while you're on the clock?" asked Rosh.

The tattooed redhead at the sales register responded. "Well, Miss Callaghan runs the operations these days. And I'm perfectly satisfied with letting Carmen reconnect with old friends on the job."

For the first time in several days, a genuine smile formed on Carmen's face.

"But hey, if you're so concerned about her productivity, I can get her to cover for me."

"No, Ma'am!" said Rosh.

"So, uh, I noticed the store, and ..." said Carmen, her words trailing off.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't really the same place. Nobody buys comics as single issues anymore. Not on paper anyway," said Rosh, with the barest hint of bitterness in his voice. "By the time Jacob pulled out, we were stocking board games, tabletop RPGs, Magic cards. I swear, it was so demoralizing to know that Funko Pop toy sales were the only thing that kept the business running." He took a deep sigh. "But hey, it's probably nothing compared to what you've been through."

"Whatever," said Carmen. "I'm over it."

Rosh looked at her with sincere concern. "Really now?"

"I mean, what can I do, right? As it is, the only reason I can walk normally is because of experimental nanobots holding my spine together. It feels more than a little ungrateful to be grieving the loss of my powers."

Rosh couldn't restrain a grin. "So you finally decided to call them 'powers', huh?"

"It's just a convenient term," she said. "Superpower. Gift. Ability... What does it matter now?"

She picked up Rosh's empty glass and began wiping it aggressively. "Look, I still consider what I had a blessing from Dios El Padre. But I'll just have to accept that it wasn't part of His plan for me to keep them, okay?"