Red Shirt Kids (4 page)

“Sure. Let’s get his bike on the rack.” Laura put the SUV in park and opened her door.

“YOU THOUGHT THAT
medallion was a key?” Sam, Mike, and Amy stood before the large oak chest in the attic.

“Yeah,” said Sam. He bent down to inspect the gold lock with the lion’s head then yanked his medallion from underneath his shirt, comparing it to the lock. “Cool! It’s the same design!”

“So, let’s see it.” Mike couldn’t mask his impatience—he wanted to see what was in that chest.

Sam slowly pulled the chain over his head. He turned the thick gold medallion in his hand until it clicked. The shield split open, and the two sides folded down, exposing a gold key extending from its top. Sam inserted the key into the lion’s mouth on the gold lock. The key fit quickly into place inside the lock, the two pieces interlocking and becoming one. Sam, Mike, and Amy peered closely at the lock, waiting to see what would happen.

“Whoa.” Sam stood back, letting go of the chain as the lock and the medallion began to spin clockwise. There was another clicking sound, and the lock popped open.

“Okay, that was pretty cool,” Mike said as he removed the lock from the chest. Amy slowly lifted the heavy lid. A pale light glowed from inside the chest.

“What are those?” asked Mike, staring inside the chest.

“I don’t know, some pieces of fabric,” mused Amy.

“Why are they glowing?” Sam wondered.

Amy reached inside the chest and grabbed the fabric but jumped back with a yelp.

“Ow! It shocked me!”

“Are you okay?” Sam asked, concerned.

Mike managed a “you okay?” but couldn’t care less—he wanted to know what was inside the chest. “What? Come on, let me try.” Mike reached down into the chest. “Ow!” he jumped back as a strong electric shock jolted his body. “What just happened?”

Amy laughed, recovering from her own shock. “What? Does it hurt?” She mocked Mike.

Mike flicked his hand. The feeling was starting to come back. “Yeah, it did. What’s going on?”

Sam stood over the chest, staring inside. “Maybe it’s just static electricity.” He leaned closer and lowered his hand inside, inching it down carefully. He closed his hand around something soft that felt like silk and raised it up out of the chest.

Mike and Amy stared as Sam lifted out a peculiar red shirt. The shirt glimmered, as if lit from inside. It was shiny, silky, and smooth. Sam held it up to his torso. “Cool.”

Mike stared at the chest. “I want one.” He reached in and was immediately shocked. He recoiled in pain.

Amy snickered. “That will never get old. Why don’t you try again?”

“Shut up. You try,” said Mike.

Amy turned from Mike to Sam and then to the chest. She stepped slowly forward and reached inside, moving slowly like Sam, closing her eyes, expecting a shock. But it never came. She pulled out a red shirt similar to Sam’s but more her size. She held the shimmering shirt up, appraising it. “I like it.”

Mike eyed Amy jealously as she slid the shirt on over her T-shirt.

Mike’s eyes widened. “Wow!”

“What?” Sam asked.

Mike pointed at Amy. Amy stood back, and the shirt seemed to have disappeared. All Mike and Sam could see was her regular T-shirt.

Amy looked down at the shirt. “Wow. It seems to have been absorbed into my clothing. It’s shimmering—can you guys see it?”

“No,” said Mike as Sam shook his head.

“Let me try,” said Sam. He pulled his red shirt on, and Mike gasped as it disappeared into his clothing, as well.

Sam looked down. He could see the thin, shimmering outline of the red shirt over his clothing. He turned to Amy and could now see her red shirt. “Wow! I can see your shirt now, Amy! Wicked! Can you see my shirt?”

Amy squinted and could now see Sam’s red shirt. “Yeah, I can! It’s the same glimmering as mine. That’s so cool. How does this work? How is this possible?”

Mike looked at Sam, then at Amy.
He
couldn’t see them. “I want one.” He approached the chest carefully. “Maybe it’ll be okay this time,” he muttered. Amy could barely conceal the smile that crept over her lips as Mike reached inside the chest. But this time there was no shock, and he came up with another red shirt.

“Awesome!” Mike began to pull the shirt on.

Sam and Amy looked at each other, beaming. Mike could now join the Red Shirt Club, or whatever this was becoming. But their smiles quickly faded and were replaced with looks of confusion. Amy scrunched her nose. “Mike?”

“Yeah? Can you see my shirt?”

Sam’s mouth dropped. He was staring at the space where Mike had just been standing, the space from where the sound of Mike’s voice was coming. But Mike was gone. “Where are you?” Sam asked.

“I’m by the chest. Why? What’s wrong?” asked Mike.

Sam and Amy leaned in close to the space beside the chest.

“Mike, can you see us?” asked Amy.

“Of course I can see you. What’s going on?”

Amy turned to Sam. “Do you see him?”

“No.” Sam said, staring intently.

Amy stepped back, stumbling against a vase. Shocked. Stunned. How could this be? Did her brother just become invisible? “This is impossible,” she whispered.

Sam couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. Nothing in his life had prepared him to watch a kid become invisible. He stared straight ahead where Mike
should
be standing. Suddenly Sam got worried. “Does it hurt?” he asked Mike.

“Does what hurt?” Mike asked. “What’s wrong with you two? What’s the big deal?”

Amy looked around and spotted a medium-sized antique mirror. She lifted it off the ground and brought it over to where Mike’s voice was coming from. “Here,” she said, holding the mirror out. The mirror floated away from Amy as Mike took hold of it. “Got it?” Amy asked.

“Yeah, I got it,” said Mike’s voice. The mirror turned in the air. It then rose up and floated in place for a moment. “Holy crap!” The mirror dropped to the ground and smashed into pieces. Mike’s feet, then legs, then torso, and finally head came into view as he ripped the shirt off.

Amy was silent. Her tongue played over her teeth, deep in thought. Sam just stared.

“Put it back on,” said Sam.

Amy nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, we probably just imagined it.”

Mike was breathing heavily. His eyes widened, and a small smile began to creep over his lips. He slid the shirt back on and disappeared.

Sam and Amy looked at each other. “It really does make him invisible,” whispered Sam.

“Mike!” Amy exclaimed. “Mike, do you feel different?”

“No. Well, kind of. I mean, I’m invisible!” said Mike.

Sam looked down at his shimmering red shirt and pulled on it. “Wait, what does mine do?”

“I don’t know,” said Amy. “This doesn’t make sense. It’s … impossible.”

“What a jip!” complained Sam.

Mike took his red shirt off, again becoming visible.

“What are you doing?” asked Amy.

“Hold on. I have an idea.” Mike pulled the polo shirt he was wearing off. He then slid the red shirt on. He disappeared from view. His polo shirt floated in midair for a few moments. Then Mike came back into view as he pulled his regular polo shirt on over his red shirt. “Can you see me?” he asked Sam and Amy.

“Yes,” replied Sam.

“Cool!” Mike was excited. “When I wear clothes over the red shirt, the powers get deactivated or something.”

Amy glanced at her shirt. “Okay, but then why aren’t we invisible?”

“Maybe yours don’t work,” said Mike.

“That’s unlikely,” said Amy.

Mike looked back into the chest. “Hey, there’s another shirt in here!” He reached in to grab it, and it shocked him. He jumped back.

Amy snorted. “The shirt might make you invisible, but it didn’t make you any smarter.”

“Shut up,” said Mike, rubbing his hand.

“I think we should close it,” said Sam.

“The chest?” asked Amy.

“Yeah. Put the shirts back and close it up,” said Sam, his voice growing louder.

Mike shook his head. “No way. This is too cool to just lock away.”

“But it could be dangerous!” Sam practically yelled.

“You’re just jealous because your shirt doesn’t do anything,” said Mike.

“Am not.”

Amy looked at Sam and Mike. She leaned against a huge armoire to think about the situation.

“Look out!” shouted Sam, staring at Amy. He lunged in her direction and caught a large brass pot just before it hit Amy on the head.

Amy jumped back as Sam lowered the pot to the ground.

“Thanks, Sam,” Amy smiled at him.

Sam blushed.

Mike tilted his head slightly and looked at the pot. “Wait a minute.” He gripped the pot with both hand and tried to lift it. It was too heavy. “Amy, try and lift this.”

Amy shrugged and tried to lift the pot with one hand, but it was way too heavy. She tried with two hands. Nothing.

“Sam, you lift it,” said Mike.

Sam leaned down and lifted the pot with two hands.

“Now try one hand,” said Mike.

Sam lifted the pot easily with one hand, as if with superhuman strength.

“You still want to put the shirts back?” asked Mike.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so.” Sam stared down at his hands, now stronger than any kid in the sixth grade. He saw a face in his mind’s eye and felt a flash of anger as he recalled the day’s events. Then his eyes filled with excitement.

Sam felt his bicep, grinning like a fool.

Amy looked down at her red shirt again, frowning. “Don’t worry, Aim, we’ll figure out what yours does,” Mike said.

“I guess,” Amy replied.

Sam picked up the lock and removed his key from it. The medallion automatically closed shut, and Sam hung it around his neck, placing it underneath his shirt.

“What are you doing?” asked Mike.

Sam then shut the chest and put the lock back on. “It’s my key.”

“Yeah, all right,” said Mike.

“We have to make some rules,” said Amy.

“Rules?” Mike asked.

Amy nodded. “Yes, I’m the oldest—”

“That’s so lame. You can’t even do anything,” Mike whined at Amy.

Amy hung her head, and Mike felt a rush of shame. “Come on, I didn’t mean it,” he said.

“Look, this is insane and crazy and beyond belief, but we just found shirts that apparently make you go invisible and make Sam super strong!” exclaimed Amy. “This isn’t a casual thing. We have to be smart about this.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Amy walked over to Mike, standing so close they could see into each other’s pupils. “My shirt doesn’t seem to give me any special talent. But I’ve seen what you can do. That makes me a part of this. Plus, I do have a shirt. Even if it doesn’t work, I’m in the group.”

“She’s right,” said Sam.

“You’re on her side?” Mike frowned.

“I’m on
our
side,” said Sam. “And she’s right. We need to be careful.”

Mike relented. “Okay, fine. What kind of rules?”

“First, we can’t tell anyone about this.”

“Duh,” said Mike.

“I’m serious. You might be tempted to brag or even show off, but don’t do it. This has to be a secret between the three of us. If anyone heard about this, they’d think we were crazy. But if they
saw
what you could do with the shirts—well, I don’t know what would happen, but it wouldn’t be good. They’d probably take you to NASA and run experiments on you.”

Sam shuddered. “I even hate going to the doctor. I agree.”

“Fine, whatever,” said Mike. He didn’t really care; he just wanted to agree so he could go use
his
shirt however he wanted.

“Second, Mike can’t be invisible, and Sam can’t use his strength unless we all agree in advance.”

“No way,” said Mike. “That sucks.”

“Those are the rules. If you can’t agree to them, then I’ll tell Mom and Dad all about it. Would you rather have their rules, or mine?” asked Amy.

Sam’s face clouded. “These are really cool,” he said. “Why can’t we use them when we want?”

“Aim, you’re being a control freak,” Mike sighed and rolled his eyes.

“I just think these rules will protect your gifts—you know, allow you to use them for a long time,” said Amy.

“I guess I can do it,” said Sam slowly.

“Thanks,” Amy smiled at Sam.

“Fine. I agree. Just don’t tell Mom and Dad,” Mike huffed.

“I won’t, if you keep the rules.”

“Should we take them off? I mean, can we wear them around?” Sam wondered.

“I’m not sure,” said Amy. “Hold on.” Amy pulled her red shirt up and over her head. Once the shirt was off her body, it became completely visible again. Amy turned to look at Sam and Mike. She could no longer see their shirts glimmering. “I can’t see your shirts shimmering, anymore.”

“Yeah, remember I couldn’t see yours before I got my shirt?” Mike asked.

“So, only people with red shirts on can see other people wearing red shirts?” asked Sam.

Mike and Amy stared at Sam. “Well, I think it only applies to
these
red shirts,” replied Amy. Mike laughed.

Sam nodded. “That’s what I meant. Cool.”

“I think it’s okay to wear them. I’m going to wear mine,” said Amy.

“Why?” Mike asked.

Amy smiled. “I find it hard to believe that these shirts only work for the two of you and not me.”

“I hope you find a power,” said Sam.

“Thanks, Sam.”

Amy led the way as the three kids headed for the stairs.

Mike paused and looked back at the chest. There
was
another shirt inside, and he wondered just who it might be for.

MIKE AND AMY
dug into a green bean casserole while David read a file at the table. The usual family dinner, meat loaf and mashed potatoes, was in full force.

Amy tugged at her red shirt, wishing that it did something for her like Mike’s did. She wondered how long she should keep wearing it if it didn’t do anything.

Mike looked over at Amy and saw her pulling on her shirt and frowning. For once he could do something that Amy couldn’t. For once
he
had the talent. He knew it probably wasn’t right, but it made him happy.

Laura sat down and made sure that each plate was filled with food. “I heard some more about those lights being stolen all over town,” she said.

David put down his file. “It’s all they’re talking about at the office. A client said they got the movie lights.”

“Really?” Amy asked. “Who are they?” It was rare that Amy ever cared what her parents were talking about, but she wanted to know more about the missing lights.

“Nobody knows,” said Laura. “It started this summer.”

“At school they had a moment of silence for a brother and sister who are missing. They went missing in the summer,” said Mike.

Laura lowered her fork. She looked at David. He nodded. “We heard about that. We didn’t know how to tell you about it.”

Amy rolled her eyes. Why did her mom treat her like she was five?

“Sam said they’re like his cousins or something,” said Mike. “He said he’s related to pretty much everybody in town.”

“Who are they?” David asked.

“Diane and Darren Miller,” said Amy. “They were at this carnival they have around here. There was a huge search.”

Laura looked at Mike and Amy. “Kids, you have to always be with someone. Promise me.”

“But weren’t they together?” Amy asked.

Laura thought about this. “Yes, but you still have to be careful. Okay? Don’t talk to strangers—”

“Look both ways, stay in the neighborhood …” Amy interrupted.

“It’s not a joke, Amy,” said David.

Amy nodded. “I know, I know. We’ll be careful.”

David nodded, and Laura closed her eyes and breathed out a sigh.

Mike could see how worried his parents were. He thought about Darren and Diane Miller. He wondered how their parents felt right then. And he wondered where Darren and Diane were at that exact moment. He hoped they were okay.