Jay Ess: An Unordinary Hero

Chapter 2 & 3

Chapter 2

It had been a couple of weeks since my temper tantrum and dalliances with this new power. Though I was intrigued by it and wanted to recreate the experience, I also had the attention span of a five year old. Back then my days were jam packed with playing with toys, annoying my sisters or playing outside with my best friend Brayden Lafountain. Brayden was six months younger than me and his family lived in an apartment at the end of the street. He was almost a foot shorter than me with hair the color of tar. His face was dotted with freckles that grew more prevalent during the summer months. He had bright blue eyes that hid the fact that behind them hid a great intellect. Crime was low back then and this street having no outlet only saw local traffic. Our moms would sit outside and talk while we ran around making fools of ourselves. It was late August and the daytime temperatures usually hovered in the eighties to nineties with a lot of humidity. It did not bother Brayden or me because when you're young you do not notice that kind of thing. Our mothers would complain all the time though.

On this day, Brayden and I were engaged in a duel with sticks as swords. We were facing off and with me being the taller of the two, I had the reach advantage. The loud crack, crack, crack of the stick on stick contact echoed off the buildings around us. We were at the end of the street where it the pavement formed a circle. On the right side of the road was the apartment house. It held six units in all, on two floors. On the outside ends of the building were single bedroom units with nothing above them. In the center were four two bedroom units, two on the first floor and two on the second. The white aluminum siding had faded and taken on a dull look. There were spots on the roof where shingles were missing but rumor was that the owner was too cheap to repair it.

On the left side of the street was a ranch style house. The front was half stone and half orange siding. There was a policeman that lived there, a state trooper. His name was Jerry and he was a favorite among the neighborhood kids. He would invite us all to sit on his lap and play with the lights and siren in his car.

At the top of the circle was another ranch, though this one was smaller. It was owned by the same people that owned the apartment house and was always in poor shape. For as long as I could remember at that stage of my life the house had been vacant with the exception of the old man living there now. No one ever saw him though, which was gossip fodder in the neighborhood. The house had brown siding on it with several pieces of in hanging down, held in place by a single nail now. Between the house and the apartment building was a small patch of woods which we all affectionately called Joe's woods. This moniker did not come from anyone we knew though as it had been called Joe's woods for as long as anyone could recall. It was from that patch of wood that Brayden and I had gotten our swords.

Clack, clack, snap. With a mighty swing my sword gave in and broke in two. Finding myself unarmed I took off towards the woods in order to seek out a more sturdy weapon. At first upon entering the shaded area I did not notice the man hiding next to a rather large oak tree and watching me. It was my keen sense of hearing that uncovered him as I could hear him breathing. My eyes found his, surprise filling his expression. I turned to run back to my mom and heard him move as well.

Fear kicked my adrenalin glands into overdrive and I found a speed I never knew I could achieve. I turned the corner on the apartment building and crashed into Brayden at a full run. We both went crashing to the ground but he bore the worst of it as his head smacked off the sidewalk. Our mothers came running over and scooped up their respective child. Brayden was wailing and holding his hand on his head where it had met the cement. There was a small amount of blood leaking out from around his fingers.

In spite of the fact that I had removed a decent piece of skin from my knee my main focus was over my left shoulder, watching the corner of the building in anticipation of the man coming to confront us. Mom made her apologies to Mrs. Lafountain and started to carry me towards home to bandage my knee. I kept my eyes on that spot the entire walk home, knowing I was being watched but not knowing why or by whom.