Earth Man (21 page)

Whereas the other images had all happened simultaneously, the fifth red streak headed straight for Danny
’s house came last, and he watched it unfold slowly and with great hope. Helen, Morgan and Raymond were playing X-Box together on the couch, laughing and complaining to each other over trivial challenges. Danny was suddenly overwhelmed with his love for them, even as they grimaced and kicked their feet over the virtual game prizes. The tears flowed freely down his face as he watched them from afar. Finally he had to let the image fade and for the second time that night, he wiped away his tears. The tears were the happy kind and he felt good, the energy still burned within him, pulsing with his heartbeat.

For the first time Danny could see Snowfall
’s mystical aura, a soft green color that seemed to be pulled away to some far point in the distance. Somehow Snowfall was still anchored to his own world by a sort of green umbilical cord stretching across dimensions.

Danny breathed out and let the energy fade, along with all the stress and emotion he
’d felt. A cloud of red smoke passed from his lips as he exhaled and he subconsciously wiped it away as it vanished.

There was a feeling of elation running through him, an exciting aftershock of the power he wielded. The tears in the corners of his eyes evaporated, burned off from the energy residue surging within him.

“
That was great.” Danny said.

“
Then my work here is done.” Snowfall said jokingly, spreading his arms out wide like a stage magician.

“
I don’t even know where to begin to thank you.” Danny said.

He wrapped his arm around Snowfall and hugged him. Snowfall placed his hands on Danny
’s shoulders and gently pushed him back.

“
I don’t envy you Danny. If people discover what you have become, they will be jealous. Resentful.”

Danny stepped back and looked toward the lights of town.

“You are alone; there are no others like you on this world. Only monsters, lurking in the shadows. I wish I could do more.” Snowfall said, his tone remorseful.

Danny could see the
sadness in the older man’s eyes and he realized what a burden the shaman must carry with him. All those secrets, carried between worlds like unwanted luggage. He hugged Snowfall again and they said nothing this time.

Snowfall was right of course; Danny ha
d given no thought to his identity at all. Neither Danny nor his family had really made a big deal about what was going on and he found that odd now. Up until that moment he’d been naïve, not concerned with how others would perceive him, or how the world would accept the changes he was just starting to accept himself. Naïve or not, he knew how dangerous people could be when near a little power or fame, he’d seen it firsthand growing up. Danny held his motorcycle helmet up in front of his face. He watched his reflection in the thick glossy shine, wondering if he looked the same as he did a year ago. As he turned the helmet to the left he saw his right hand again, the one that no longer had a scar. The thumb had remained attached only by a bit of muscle tissue and veins after the accident and now that whole hand was gone. In its place there was a whole new appendage. How casually he had accepted that, although he’d been frightened at the time. He’d grown a whole new limb and every day since he’d used it and never even given it a second thought. All the revulsion and fear, the trauma of losing it in the first place, all of that had simply been forgotten. Was it a fault of his, or was it simply human nature? Maybe that was how life was, you simply kept moving on, pushing forward. Either way, he knew he hadn’t been taking it seriously.

Danny
realized that if he could find the Growth fast enough and destroy them, he could return to his old, simpler life. Then none of it would matter anymore. He could keep his abilities a secret and perhaps, in time, they’d fade away. Once the Earth was saved from the alien threat, what more could anyone ask of him? Somehow though Danny knew it would not be that simple. He’d seen their planet, he’d seen the Growth spread across space, seen it all in his mind. All the horror and terror the Growth had spread across the universe was not simply going to go away, even if he purged it from his own planet, it would still be out there. It had been pure luck and chance that Danny had even found the other one; it had possessed Dr. Rue and simply shown up in his town. He needed to have hope and a plan, an idea of what the future had in store for him, something he could control.  Snowfall had shown him that he was no puppet, no mystically guided prophet or saviour. He was just a man, a man with access to the source of all life, but no more special or important than any of the other life on the planet.

             
Snowfall watched Danny stare off at the stars, knowing from experience the kinds of thoughts that might be running through the young man’s head. He removed his pipe from his cloak and began to pack more of his special weed into it. He could see Danny’s brow creasing with worry and concern and he felt somewhat guilty. He’d dropped in on the man and basically ruined his evening and so Snowfall felt the need to at least attempt to cheer him up. It surprised him when Danny suddenly turned, red light flashing in his eyes.

“
Why did you give me that Coke when we first met?” Danny asked.

Snowfall raised his eyebrows
and the pipe clenched in his teeth suddenly burst alight. Snowfall took a slow pull off the pipe and then exhaled out of the corner of his mouth.

“
You looked like you needed it.” Snowfall said. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly as he tried to conceal a smile.

“
You didn’t know I’d take it with me to face a bear, did you?”

Instead of answering Snowfall handed him the pipe, the trace of a smile still written on his face. Danny tucked his motorcycle helmet under his arm and took a few small quick puffs off the pipe. As he exhaled Danny felt as if his extremities were tingling.

“
I swear I’ve never smoked anything that good in my life.” Danny said as he coughed slightly.

Danny held it out with one hand while covering his mouth with the other
, Snowfall only nodded and took back his pipe.

“
Are you planning on returning home now?” Snowfall asked. The question was asked in a way that Danny knew meant Snowfall had to go.

“
Yeah. I guess tomorrow I start looking for those stupid aliens and end all this. Will I see you around?”

Danny could see a scowl cross Snowfall
’s face, once again the weight of all his secrets was pressing down on the shaman.

“
Yes,” he replied, “but it won’t be the same. It won’t be like this.”

Danny refused to let Snowfall
’s sudden sour mood bring him down, he was feeling too energized and motivated. He wrapped his arm around the shaman’s shoulder playfully. Danny finally felt as if he had a grasp on his future. Even if he was wrong, if everything went wrong and there was only darkness and pain in store for him, at the very least he could enjoy the present.

“
Show me a trick then, before you go.” Danny asked jovially, hugging the shaman .

“
Come on!” He squeezed the older man’s shoulders and Snowfall gave him a serious look. “You showed me what I could do. Now show me a little of what YOU can do!”

Like the sun brea
king out of the clouds Snowfall gave Danny a huge smile and stepped directly in front of him.

“
So be it.” The shaman said.

Standing face to face, Snowfall began to puff on the pipe. The cloud of smoke began to gather around their heads and faces, making
Danny’s eyes burn slightly. Snowfall blew smoke out his nose and the corners of his mouth simultaneously between each breath of air. The smoke began to swirl around them, touching the ground at their feet. Danny could no longer see and the smoke was thick enough that it was obscuring Snowfall right in front of him.

How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!

Danny waved his hand
back and forth to disperse the smoke and as it parted he realized Snowfall had vanished. Where he had stood was a tiny plant that Danny had not seen before, pushing up out of the soil as if spring was right around the corner instead of winter.

“
Nice move.” Danny said, smiling.

He slipped his helmet on and lifted himself off the ground, his power working without any mental effort at all.

The smoke trailed after him as he flew off, spiralling into its own little cloud under his feet. Flying home with a new determination, Danny was looking forward to seeing his family. Although he did not feel afraid or worried about his mission to save the Earth, he did realize the potential for disaster. Danny had been taught when he was a little boy that fear was a weakness, something to be concealed and ashamed of. Growing up the son of a stunt driver made it hard for him to express himself or his fears. Now with his new role of protector of the Earth, Danny had no healthy way to express what he was feeling, so he pushed it down and pushed forward. Being responsible for every living thing on the planet was more stress than any one person could cope with.

Danny
was all that stood between humanity and an alien race of conquerors. All his worry and stress about why he was chosen had been wasted and in the end was irrelevant. There were no answers to the questions he had. There was no one to give him a reason why he was who he was, or what he was, or why it was his life that had been turned upside down. The choices he had open to him were the same ones he’d had before that night in the forest; whether or not he could be a good husband and father. All the other questions that were buzzing around his mind would simply have to be filed alongside the rest of the mysteries of the universe, the kind most people never find answers to.

Whether it was the drugs, magic or just being a friend, Snowfall has released the pr
essure Danny had felt building up inside. Danny had never been the kind of person to worry about day to day concerns, it was why he’d found it so hard to commit to anything long term. Finally he’d found a purpose, a huge reason to live beyond the labour force and bills and family issues and that put him ahead of most of the people he knew.

People had tried to figure him out growing up, tried to figure out what drove him and why he could not conform to the standards everyone else seemed to accept so easily.
It was as if he had been on a different road all along that just now began to reveal itself. He’d never wanted things to live for; he’d wanted something worth dying for. His family had given him that, they had directed him and stabilized him, but it had still not been enough. Finally he’d found a cause worth the fight and the sacrifice, something bigger than himself that he could take pride in.             

As he flew back a pair of
sparrows took up a position on either side of him and he spread his arms out like wings to greet them. They flew just under his outspread hands, their heads turned toward him curiously. They stayed with him until he reached his home and he could hear his children laughing even before he reached the door. The two little birds landed in a nearby tree, eager for sleep. Stepping through the front door of his house, he reached back with his powers and connected to the sparrows. As he closed his eyes he could see through their eyes as they scoured the tree for a nice safe branch to sleep. It was a strange feeling but Danny liked knowing there was a bit of security outside. Leaving the birds, he let all remaining traces of his abilities dissipate from his body as he removed his coat and boots. Like the little sparrows, all he wanted was a safe cozy place to rest for the night.

He
’d never held a steady job for long, never really had any success at any of his numerous hobbies or start-up ventures. Secretly he’d always envied soldiers and police, men who had knew where they stood and what they needed to do. Finally he felt as if he’d found that part of himself that would guide him to his future. All he had to do was save the Earth. Yet first came his family, greeted him with loving smiles as he entered the living room. One more night with them, giving them all his attention, was the least he could do for them.