True Heroes (24 page)

              Caleb stumbled off the floor and found a seat and a napkin as fast as he could. The warm drip could already be felt running over his top lip as he lifted the thin coaster napkin to his nose. Sasha flew to his side with Alex soon after. “Are you okay?”

              “Yeah, someone just…elbowed me.” His naturally low voice didn’t mix well with the booming bass, the sound fading and blending greatly before it even reached his ears. Alex handed him a few more napkins, causing Caleb to just sigh in both thanks and regret. He looked back up to the floor, and almost instantly spotted Carol between a group of couples, her eyes closed and body a slave to the rhythm in the air. ‘At least I’m not ruining her time too.’

              Alex moved to his outside ear and must’ve emptied his lungs to get his quiet voice to project over the music. “She doesn’t seem to miss you much.”

              Caleb smiled under the soaked napkin. “I don’t want her to. I’d rather her have fun than watch me bleed into a napkin.”

              He moved back with a slight frown on his face while Sasha leaned in again. “Will you be all right without us?”

              Caleb’s laugh was lost completely. “You’re addicted to the dance now?”

              “It’s possible.”

              Caleb laughed once more. “Go, I’ll be fine.”

              His bouncy friend snatched Alex’s hand and they were back to the glass. They and Carol formed a group: a tri-force of fun, learning to have fun, and just pretending to have fun. Meanwhile, Caleb’s head leaned back and eyes closed. His headache was instantly stabbing his nerves. ‘C’mon blood stop flowing. I’ve got to get up there.’ His foot’s tapping to the thwomp of the bass soon lead to his headache bursting to the same beat.

              “Caleb, the Brainiac?” 

              His head rolled around and the napkin dropped from his hand, all in time to see the entire cheerleading squad staring at him. The lead, Dana, was the only one with an expression at all. ‘That smile could give me diabetes.’ He stood up and leaned in to hug the approaching cheerleader. The one-armed hug was short although they remained close to one another’s ear to attempt a conversation. “What brings you out here, Dana?”

              She flashed her doctored teeth. “You hear that? That’s why we’re here! That and we’re having a girl’s night before graduation. Are you here alone?”

              “No, my friends are up there. I just got elbowed,” he picked up the bloody napkins and crumpled them for the trashcan.

              “Oh, ew.”

              “Yeah, I agree. Very ‘ew.’”

              The second in command within the cheerleader army came up—‘Her heels: click-click-clicking even under the bass of this place,’—and whispered as best she could under the situation. Caleb regrouped a bit of his power and extended the few inches to hear her light voice. “He showed you his blood within five-seconds of seeing you: he’s a freak. C’mon, the girls wanna dance.”

              Something flew against Caleb’s left side and latched on quickly. “Hey, you coming back up, or are you going on the DL for a bloody nose?”

              Carol—‘Such a distinct voice,’—waited for his head to turn before planting a small kiss on his lips. ‘This must be the female version of a pissing contest.’ He just smiled and stared back, waiting for an answer to come out while trying to not glance over and see Dana’s reaction. The cheer-captain tugged on his shirt and shouted loudly enough for Carol to hear, “We’re gonna hit the floor,” something slid into his half-open hand, “let me know when you wanna join us.”

              ‘And the boxing match turns personal.’ As Dana walked away, she waggled her hips and buttocks as both shook under her mid-thigh red skirt. Caleb looked just long enough to notice before turning his whole body to Carol and lifting the hand with a card in it. “Would you hold on to this for me?”

              Her obviously pissed demeanor turned into a slight punch in Caleb’s gut and a snatching of the card from his hand. “I’ll give it to my paper-shredder to hold.” He smiled and kissed her cheek. “You’re more than welcome to go get a bimbo-sandwich….” 

              ‘Testing my loyalties, eh? All right, come here then young lady.’ They kissed again quickly before Caleb scooped his hands down and brought her entire body into his arms. She laughed as he carried her up to the floor, the patrons that saw them politely parting to give Caleb and his girl center stage. Once there, he let her legs drop but kept her torso in his arms and leaned her down, the entire club seemingly watching the swoon. Down to Caleb’s hip they dipped; their lips touched again, and a nearly-drunk cheer went up loud enough to get the DJ’s attention. The kiss broke and her curled arms pulled their foreheads together as her supported weight rose with Caleb’s stand. Once she was able to, Carol found her footing and kept their foreheads together as the DJ made an announcement suddenly, “All right, my man, you want romantic? Couples only on the floor. Here comes that beat that can’t be ignored!”

---

              Carol had to close her eyes as her head angled down. The slow song brought methodic movements within the red and pink lights coming from the floor. She found the warmth within the scene strange; her body moved closer to Caleb’s as their foreheads slid to the side. Even with the shift, her warmth only continued to grow. They had both danced like this before at proms and on the occasional surprise for one another, and this seemed no different. Yet, it was; her eyes wandered about the place as her and Caleb gently spun. Sasha and Alex came into view, dancing nearly the same way they were, all thanks to Caleb’s invitation. Another half turn brought them to the blonde bitch Dana, a half dozen hands on her back while she had both of hers over her eyes, delighting Carol with every sob, all because Caleb chose her. She stepped onto Caleb’s feet then, making her as tall as him, and smiled at the fake face of exertion he gave her before going back to her people-watching. She thought of them: the twenty or so other couples dancing around them, all moving slowly, compassionately because of the man carrying her now. ‘It’s all because of him you’re here in the first place.’

              The warmth flared into a fire. She suddenly pulled him into a strong hug and, before she could stop herself, said it. “I love you.”

              Caleb found her ear as she was still reeling from her own proclamation. “What’d you say?” The tone of his voice brought her anxiety under control and she noticed she’d said her forbidden secret into his shoulder. Her stutter only further confused her man until he leaned back in. “Just tell me later. I’m getting deaf in here.”

              She managed to minimize her sigh of relief to its lightest degree. “We can leave after this song, if you’d like.”

              “And we can stay forever, if
you’d
like.”

              Her fingers wove into the hair at the base of his skull as she grinned widely. “We will come back during the summer.”

              The song ended on cue and after grabbing Sasha and Alex, they all exited together. Smiles and laughter rang out all through the parking lot, especially from their cube of communication, right up until Carol looked towards the car. Her smile disappeared. Caleb followed her line of sight, and the newly noticeable horrid screeching, and saw her ex, Ric: the former-future husband of Carol. Her stomach warped and her grip on Caleb’s hand tightened considerably. They had been together for half of school until he decided to become more like her father than she was comfortable with. His subsequent break-down in baseball and life infused the idea that she was the gallon of gas that made his engine go into his being. As they approached, the screeching sound increased and the boy was totally oblivious to his four new shadows. Caleb tried to spring forward but her soft hand on his arm kept him at bay for now. “Ric, what the hell are you doing to Caleb’s car?”

              The boy turned around quickly as if caught with his hand sneaking out the last cookie. His right hand had the obvious glint of a knife shining from between his fingers, causing both of Carol’s hands to tighten on Caleb’s arm. “Carol, baby, I saw you inside and spotted this jack-asses car in the lot. How could you do this to me? I thought we were destined to be together?”

              “Listen Ric, we broke up three years ago. There will never be an ‘us’ again, and you’re making me regret that there ever was. Why don’t you put the knife away so we can talk?”

              Ric, in a sudden moment of speed, brought the knife up and rested it on her left shoulder, causing Caleb’s hand to come up a hair quicker. “No!” Caleb’s fist stopped about half an inch from the boy’s face. “Be calm.”

              He immediately obeyed, but as the hair on her face blew, she noticed the lack of sensation from the breeze, knowing then that she was protected by his power should the worst be attempted. She didn’t know if it was her overwhelming faith in Caleb’s ability to protect her, but she was emboldened. “We both know you’re not going to hurt me, Ric. I’m the whole reason you’re out here, and now I’ll be the reason you’ll put down the knife and walk away. I’m sorry we didn’t work out, but you’re not going to get anyone else if you follow them around with knives. Be civil, be smart, and walk away in one piece.”

              Her momentary bravery fell back to fear as the answer to her offer remained ambiguous. The strange man slowly ran the knife down her arm, not realizing her protective shield that kept the threat from being anything other than an empty gesture, and slowly clipped the knife back into itself. The boy turned and waddled deeper into the parking lot as Caleb and the others quickly got to their doors. Caleb mumbled “Tried to unlock the doors with a knife,” as she read the phrase carved into the hood in her mind. ‘She’s MY future.’

                            -                            -                            -                           

              The night was a stranger to the people; the few wandering souls on the streets left no impression on the starry ceiling and barely gave a nod from beneath their popped collars and hats to the night that was merely passing through. Caleb was no different. After leaving his car for Carol’s use in the morning, the night and Caleb walked along with one another for a time. There was no need for conversation as the night was an invasive being. It surely saw the swift memories in his head and how they affected him, saw the ocean that constantly crashed waves against his emotional self become ruffles of fog in their serenity. The blackened night was surely indifferent to something he cherished more than the cool night’s air. Night veiled no jealous sentiment, even if Caleb was, for the first time since his mother’s death, totally clear.

              A crashing sound broke his stride with night. He’d been taking the back alleys down Flax and was in the back of Burger King, across the street from the business strip. He wandered past the dumpster and peeked out onto the street, at first seeing no signs of life. The well lit street still held shadows, which a small group of five or six was using as cover. Their van, the only car on the street, was at the far end of the block while their sleuthing took place in front of the bank. One of them had the glass broken and was working through the alarm system, but Caleb’s focus was taken. The boundless peace inside his mind suddenly came straight to Earth and a single memory blasted the glass: tall, green and yellow, short-sleeved stripped shirt, long blue jeans, dress shoes, short hair, and a tattoo of a dragon down his forearm all crashed together in one of the figures walking through the broken doors. ‘It’s him.’

              His mother’s killer sparked a flash-fire inside his body. Caleb rubbed his eyes and face while trying to contain himself. The anger forced his mind to race to a solution. ‘Need a disguise. Anything.’ Racing back to the dumpster, he tried to remain quiet as he dug through the trash bags for anything to cover his face.

              “Hey, it’s the guy I can see again. Whatcha doing in the dumpster, kid?”

              Caleb flew back against a wall and shushed the homeless man. “I’m trying to stop those guys, if you don’t give me away first!” He calmly came off the wall, and noticed quickly the full-faced ski mask on the ground next to the mangy man. “Let me borrow this.”

              He reached down and snatched it up before waiting for his response. “I don’t mind, but you better be careful.”

              “You don’t have to worry about me. They can’t hurt me.”

              “I ain’t worrying about them hurting you. I’d be more worried about you hurting you.”

              Caleb paused with the dirty hood on the crown of his head. “What are you talking about?”

              “I mean you should just go home, kid. Let them go about their business before that glow of yours gets you into trouble, Glowstick.”

              “How exactly is it going to get me into trouble?”

              The man rearranged his newspaper dressings and held up his hands. “I ain’t got no insight into that glow of yours, but I do know I’d be going in there for the wrong reasons. Only reason I’d ever go savin’ the day is for all that fame, all them girls, and especially that flashy green stuff. But I guess that’s ‘cause I ain’t no hero. Heroes ain’t supposed to want any of that at all. A hero goes through with something like this without burnin’ like a hot poker. You can’t pretend to be no hero, Glowstick.”