Jackson Humes is Not a Superhero

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The giant tarantula jumped onto the small stage that had been set up on the field. A man I recognized as the councilman foolishly tried to reason with it. The spider jumped on top of him and pinned him to the ground. MaryAnn screamed and jumped off of the stage. The principal and vice principal grabbed their folding chairs and hit the spider, but the spider used one of its many arms to knock the chairs away while it simultaneously clamped its giant pincers on the councilman's head and squeezed. An explosion of blood shot out in all directions. I almost threw up right there and then.

A yellow blur leapt through the air and collided into the spider, sending the two of them crashing off of the stage. I flew towards them, unsure of how I could help. The mountain lion and tarantula rolled over one another, trying to pin each other down. Marv's powerful jaws clamped down on one of the spider's legs, and he furiously shook his head side to side. The spider emitted a terrifying sound.

There was a whole new round of terrified screaming. Dozens of people were slowly rising off of the ground. Their limbs flailed wildly as they tried to find something to grab, but there was nothing around them but air. They stopped rising for a brief moment and then they shot straight up at an alarming speed.

"Please help me," someone cried out. It was a voice I recognized.

I found the person whose legs weren't moving and flew towards him. I wrapped my arms around Caleb's waist and tried to fly him to safety, but his body wouldn't budge. I yanked on him harder, but his body was locked in place.

"I'm going to figure something out," I said, trying to assure him. "Just try to stay calm."

"Jackson," he asked panicked, "is that you?"

Why hadn't I attempted to disguise my voice? "Just hang tight," I said, feeling useless. It was a poor choice of words.

A helicopter was making its way toward the field. I couldn't even begin to imagine what the pilot was making of everything he was seeing. It probably appeared like the end of the world.

Below me, the strongman was making his way over to where mountain lion and the spider were fighting on the ground. I called out to Marv to warn him, but there was no way he was going to hear me over all the noise. The strongman grabbed Marv and tried to toss him in the air again, but the mountain lion was ready for him this time and dug his claws deep into the man's chest.

The spider tried to scurry away, but Marv had caused it major damage because its movement was erratic and drunkenly. I flew downward at a steep angle with the knife held directly in front of me. The setting orange sun betrayed my position because the tarantula noticed my long shadow on the ground. It spun around and lifted his body ready to fight me off. The pincers snapped at my head, but I knocked them away with my arm. I was slightly aware of the skin on my forearm tearing open and my arm becoming instantly warm with moisture, but it was not high on my list of priorities.

The razor sharp blade slid all the way to the hilt into his exposed underbelly. The force knocked the spider on its back. It let out a piercing shriek that no human would have been capable of making. I flipped over his body like a gymnast and landed on my feet. I had no clue about the anatomy of a spider, but it didn't stop me from repeatedly stabbing it over and over again. Pools of blood began to trickle out of every new cut I made. It tried to fight me off, but it was growing weaker and weaker. I aimed for one of its many eyes and was about to stab it when it suddenly transformed back into a naked tattooed man. He was dead. I dropped the knife and recoiled in horror. I had just killed a human being.

Everything around me slowed down. The helicopter was hovering a safe distance away from all the airborne people. Marv the mountain lion was lying motionless on the grass about fifty feet away. People were still trying to climb down from the bleachers. Some were clearly hurt. Some had gone into shock. A few had their cell phones out and were recording the whole thing. Doctor Norman was nowhere in sight. The strongman had deep slashes all over his body and was covered in blood, but he didn't seem fazed by it. He was heading directly for me. Murder was written in his eyes.