I got up anyway, putting my hand in a puddle of ketchup as I pushed off.
He drew his right hand back and took a step forward. “Don’t you listen?”
“He’s got a learning disability,” Cassie said.
She stood in the aisle between the freezers and the end of the shelving unit, sword in her right hand.
Continue reading King of Storms: Part 4
“Here’s my idea,” Cassie whispered to Haley, “you find the hostages while Nick and I attack the guys in front. If you can free them, get them out. If you can’t, at least you’ll probably get a chance to surprise the guy watching them.”
Haley nodded, transforming her hands and feet to grayish claws with long, sharp nails.
I found myself a little curious if her teeth had transformed into fangs as well, but it didn’t seem like the time to ask. She seemed a little sensitive about that.
Continue reading King of Storms: Part 3
We arrived while the ambulances were still there. I flew in in the full Rocket suit. Haley drove her grandfather’s car.
We met up across the street in the parking lot of a brick, two story office building of an oddly modern design that housed a couple dentists’ offices. The walls had been shaped to resemble waves, inspired no doubt by the name “Grand Lake Dentistry.”
Continue reading King of Storms: Part 2
Solar Flare didn’t stop burning when he landed. White and yellow flames covered his body.
I checked him for any hint that he might have calmed down since crashing the McAllister’s Christmas party. His face was immobile. His lips were a thin line.
It felt like the wrong kind of calm.
Continue reading Rattling Cages: Part 17
Circling around, I tried to think of the next step. If they had equipment in the SUV, I didn’t want them to have access to it, so I dipped back into the roadway, firing at the SUV’s cargo area and hoping I’d destroy anything that mattered inside.
When I started firing, Ray and the other guy were already moving. By the time the laser had melted a few holes in the vehicle’s side, they’d already run to the edge of the woods and started to return fire.
I angled myself upwards, over the trees, and out of their sight.
Continue reading Rattling Cages: Part 15
The police came twenty minutes later. Haley had to knock the guy out three more times while we were waiting for them. We’d moved him back into his room to keep him warm while we waited — not that it made the room much warmer. I’d broken his window when he jumped me.
We had to deal with predictable issues in the meantime. The man with the camera wouldn’t leave us alone. He hung around and asked questions until the police arrived.
Continue reading Aftermath: Part 5
I’d never have looked at him twice normally.
The man behind the door had longish hair, wore jeans and a Chicago Cubs sweatshirt and seemed to be in his late 20’s or early 30’s. If I’d passed him in the street, I might have noticed that he seemed more fit than the average guy, but I might not.
At this moment, the main thing I noticed was that he was holding a metal flask in his hand. He placed it somewhere off to the left of the door as he opened it.
Continue reading Aftermath: Part 4
She called me on Thursday night at 10:07 PM. I’d just finished the last of my homework, and was sitting at my desk in my bedroom thinking about what to do before going to bed.
“Nick, I know where he is.”
“He?” I said.
Continue reading Aftermath: Part 3
“Nick,” Isaac said, “I’ve got two more things for you. First of all, I’ve arranged training on how to fly the jet for any of you that want it. I’ll send you the information on that along with the evasive driving I mentioned before. Second, I need you to let me know if you’ve got any hint that Magnus or any of the Cabal’s people are in Grand Lake. Some of my people think they might drop by to remove any evidence they can from the Mayor’s house.”
“I thought you got basically everything,” I said.
Continue reading Aftermath: Part 2
Unfortunately, if he didn’t do anything about it, who would? No one, unless Romy found the guys soon.
He could just wait, but who knew when Romy would be back. He could try to talk some sense into the kid, but it hadn’t worked so far. At this point, Joe figured the best thing he could do would be damaging the kid’s suit enough that he couldn’t fight.
Down below, Man-machine raised his gun arm and began to fire. None of the shots hit, but Joe cursed himself and started moving, thinking how much of an idiot he had to be to hover when his opponent had high powered weaponry.
Continue reading 1953: Part 8