Better to Die a Hero (26 page)

“You could get killed.”

“I’m not going to get killed and neither are you and neither is Bryan. We’re going to capture him alive and bring him here. Where going to need chains, paddle locks and baseball bats. Do you have them? We’ll need your uncle’s car. You are going to get your friend back.”

“We’ve got most the stuff and what we don’t have, we can get at a hardware store.” Steve reached out and held Nora’s hand. “How do you know we can do this?”

“I just know. You have to believe me. We are going to double team him, hog tie him and get him into your basement. We’ll keep him there until he returns to normal.”

“The kid is messed up, mutated big time and no sense of reality.” Steve rubbed his chin. “It’s a long way back to normal.”

“You’ve got to trust me on this. My Grandfather says there is a rhythm to life. A pattern. I know the rhythm we’re living out. I sense the flow, I feel the flow and I know where it is leading us. I knew it the second my Grandfather gave me the powder.”

“And your Grandfather is okay with you powering up and going after Bryan?”

“I didn’t actually tell him anything. When I went to him, I started by mentioning the powder and that’s when he gave me the stuff that was left over. Do you see how perfect that is, our secret is still safe?”

“That’s when he enlightened you about the rhythms of life?”

“No, he’s talked about that for years.”

“Isn’t he like ninety years old?”

“Yes he’s ninety. Look, I’m doing this with or without you. So you better take a dose so we can get started.”

Steve sighed, licked his finger and dipped into the powder. His heart raced as he ingested the magical substance. Ambivalence swarmed his mind. He would be strong soon, capable of superhuman leaps—a power he thought he would never experience again—and feelings of joy and excitement fought their way to the surface. At the same time, a hard shell of doom encompassed him. He wanted to share in Nora’s optimism, to believe her enhanced intuition bordered on clairvoyance. She had certainly proven to wield some type of psychic power, this déjà vu she experienced.

“Let’s get this thing done,” he said.

*          *          *

Steve set the windshield wipers to intermittent, squeezing the knob harder than needed. The plastic creaked and popped under the pressure. He eased up and the tension moved to his jaw and his teeth started to grind. This was Bryan’s job, to do the driving. He remembered Bryan driving in the rain. The kid could never leave the wiper settings alone for more than a minute. He would start on intermediate, then to fast, then to fastest and back down to intermediate. It seemed the correct setting for the particular rainfall always eluded his friend. Steve didn’t know what the big deal was, intermittent did just fine.

“Red light,” Nora said.

“Sorry.” Steve applied the brakes.

The two had gathered the chains, locks and baseball bats Nora deemed necessary to bring in Bryan and were in the Pierce family car driving the streets of Harlem. They had argued over the bringing of a pistol, one of the old revolvers in the collection, and Nora had gotten her way—no guns. In order to move forward with the rescue mission she had, however, compromised and allowed Steve to bring the sword. She commented that Bryan really liked the sword and the two agreed that it might be a reminder to their friend, a link to the past, before the powder ruined their lives.

“Car on your left,” Nora said.

“Thanks,” Steve replied, slowing down. He turned the wipers up a notch.

“I thought the powder gave you a heightened awareness of some kind?”
             
“It kind of does,” he answered, “but it doesn’t just happen. I have to relax and concentrate. It doesn’t come easy.”

“I hate to add to your worries, but I’ve been thinking about something. I forgot about the National Guard positioned on the buildings.”

“Welcome to the club,” he said, laughing nervously. “I’ve been through this before and this is exactly how it starts. You leave the house with this plan you think is perfect and you’re all optimistic and as the night goes on, all these things start popping up. Things that you didn’t think of, things that you didn’t consider.” Steve moved the wiper down a notch. “In spite of it all, I’m starting to feel better. I’ve been up against Bryan twice with no permanent damage. Maybe the two of us, with you able to see his moves ahead of time, can take him down.”

“Do you feel his presence at all?” she asked.

“I haven’t felt a thing. He likes running Little Italy, Soho and Harlem. He’ll show up some time tonight. When he does, we’ll have to ditch the car fast. Get out and follow me. We’ll stay on the ground and run to the darkest spot around. If it goes anything like last time, Bryan will sense us and come running. I think he’ll really be pissed off this time.”

“You’re his best friend, I’m sure the connection is much stronger between you two. You’ll probably feel him long before I do, so I’ll just follow your lead.” Nora reached to the driver’s side and ran her fingers through Steve’s hair. She moved her lips to the boy’s face.

“What are you doing?” he said.

“I was just going to give you a kiss.”

“Not a chance, not when you’re on the powder.”

Nora jerked her hand back, slammed her arms cross and leaned to stare out the passenger window. “Fine, if that’s the way you feel.”

“Hey, when this is all over and the powder’s gone we can kiss all you want.”

The girl turned her neck sharply, “Hey, when this is all over you can kiss my ass.”

“Exactly.” Steve delivered the line as he’d remembered it from an Abbot and Costello routine. “The thing is I want to kiss you more than you will ever know, but later when you’re off the powder, you’re not going to want to kiss me.”

“That’s not true.” Her breath steamed the window.

“Yes it is and that’s okay. When the powder’s worn off, let’s just say I never want you to feel the way you did yesterday.”

             
Nora unfolded her arms and straightened in the seat. “A day after we bring Bryan home and the powder is totally out of our systems, I’m going to give you the best kiss you’ve ever had.”

“I don’t know, the best kiss I ever got was a dandy. Any woman on the planet would have trouble topping it.” Steve looked at Nora and at that moment loved her more than life itself.

“You better be talking about me mister,” she said, playfully pinching what was left of his love handle.

“Oh ,crap!” He jerked the wheel and the car swerved on the wet pavement.

“Sorry, sorry,” Nora said.

“That’s not it. I had him for a second.” The funnel that sprouted from his scalp pointed left. It collapsed within seconds. The teenage pushed the accelerator and took the next left. “Son of a Bitch, I lost him.”

“Go straight for a couple blocks and try to get on River Drive,” Nora said, “We can follow it down the entire length of Harlem. We’ll find him.”

“Good idea.” Steve twisted the wiper button to the fastest setting and followed the signs to Harlem River Drive. He merged minus the usual anxiety. The two sat silent as the rain thickened and the wipers worked at a feverish pace.

“Got him,” Steve said. A second funnel erupted and quickly collapsed. “Start watching for a bridge exit. That smart freak, he’s still in the Bronx.”

*          *          *

“Let’s take this top side,” Steve yelled over the pouring rain. The teenagers had parked in a deserted Bronx business district and were now running toward the nearest alley.

“I thought you wanted to do this on the ground,” Nora said.

“That was in Manhattan with God knows how many guardsmen scattered on the buildings. This rain is great too. There’s no one on the streets. You go first.” Steve slowed letting Nora pass. No psychic directional funnel meant Bryan was out of range and it was safe to let Nora take the lead. He loved watching her ascend. She zigzagged her way up two tall buildings, bouncing from wall to wall two stories at a time. She was half way to the top when Steve followed taking the same path.

Steve landed on the roof and shucked his backpack. “Take off your backpack and untie your bat.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“I got Bryan on the radar the second I landed. Damn sixth sense, I wonder if it’s altitude sensitive.” Steve fixed the scabbard and sword to his belt and rested the bat over his shoulder. “You lied about being able to sense him?”

“Yes, are you mad?”

“No, not unless he kills you and then I will be so mad at you, I will never forgive you.” Steve gestured to her to firm up the grip on her bat. “Listen, this thing hates me. When he’s coming at you it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen, so don’t hold back.”

“Is there anything else I should know?” she asked, wiping the rain from her face.

“Yeah, I can’t fight worth a shit.”

“Just go angry orangutan on him.”

“It’s getting strong.” Steve tugged at Nora’s jacket. “Into the center,” he said, directing her away from the ledge.

“You’re scaring me.”

“Be scared. Be scared shitless.”

“You’re swearing a lot.”

“Sorry.”

“How close?”

“Thirty seconds maybe, I thought we’d have more time.” Steve pushed at her shoulder. “Spread out and stay to his back. As I fight his face, keep to his back and swing that bat on him like you want to kill him.”

“
Okay
,” she yelled, stepping back. She spread her legs shoulder width apart lowering her center of gravity, and then swung the bat through the rain.

Steve spotted the impressive and frightening Troll two buildings away. It bounded in their direction with the speed of a charging water buffalo. “Hey, stupid question for you. Did you have an orgasm when we were together?”

“No,” she answered, breathing heavily, “You gave me several orgasms, you just weren’t there for any of them.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, as Troll landed on the roof. The vibrations tickled the bottom of her feet.

Troll walked at Steve removing the long coat that now looked too small in the shoulders. “Here’s your coat you backstabber.” The monster tossed it.

Steve slapped the drenched item away. “Hey buddy, guess who’s coming home tonight?”

“He’s swinging,” Nora yelled.

The hulking figure blurred forward. Steve ducked a muscular arm and swung the bat sinking it into his opponents abdominal. The teenager spun low to the monster’s outside and swung a second time. It smacked the back of the monster’s leg with a sickening whack. Steve popped up and back peddled.

“Over here!” he yelled. Troll turned to face him.

“Betrayer,” Troll said, one hand rubbing his stomach, the other rubbing his aching hamstring, “you’re breaking up the team.”

“Again,” the girl yelled.

Steve hesitated at first then swung hard at the baldhead racing at him. The head slipped past and the teens hands smacked the hard skull almost jarring the bat loose. Troll tackled him at the mid section taking him up and then down to the wet surface. Steve winced as he landed flat on his back, the bat ripped from his hands.

“Yaaagh!” Steve screamed not out of pain but from digging down into his soul, into his very being, bringing out a part of himself never seen before. He threw his legs over his shoulders sending his mutated friend through the air. He rolled over to his feet and charged. “You’re coming home!” he yelled, sending a barrage of wild swings at Bryan’s head. Steve pushed forward in a superhuman flurry of fists, landing one out of every five. Bryan dodged backward weaving, sometimes stumbling, but avoiding most of Steve’s swings.

Steve tripped over a pipe and threw his hands out to stop his fall. Bryan found his balance and jump forward with his own barrage of punches. Steve refused to retreat. He suffered a few glancing blows then turned into a crazed berserker flinging fists wildly.

The two super beings entangled in ferocious battle bounced off large air-conditioning units and other metal objects like a living pinball machine, swinging on each other with little grace or forethought. Nora tried keeping to Bryan’s back but could not. The action, so fast, her psychic ability to see just ahead proved useless. Too scared to hit Bryan with her bat, she leaped to a ladder leading up a water tower and watched the chaos below.

The frenzy halted with Bryan landing a fist across Steve’s jaw. He spun, stumbling across the roof on all fours attempting to get back on his feet. Bryan chased after throwing fist after fist, pummeling Steve’s back until Steve collapsed. Bryan pounced and then flipped him over, pinning him down by the arms. The monster cocked back an arm then drove his fist into Steve’s face. He raised this fist high then looked over to a sound beside him. Wood splinters exploded into the night as Nora’s bat broke across Bryan’s brow.

Bryan stepped back, dazed, clutching his head. “You… are... out of the club.”

Nora charged the over developed mutation. She threw alternating punches into Bryan’s stomach following the form her Grandfather and Father had taught over the years. Drilling her strikes as deep as possible, she pushed forward, one-step for every two punches. Bryan doubled over, his head within the girls reach. She ignored the precognition that showed her retreating and fired off four swift punches to the monsters face. The skin tore from her knuckles and she screamed. It amused her at how visually accurate the precognition was and how it had not given the slightest hint of the pain shooting through her hands.