True Heroes (45 page)

              “Good,” she said with an involuntary giggle behind it. They turned opposite ways at symmetrical times and adjusted their minds to the now, despite how great the now was only moments ago. Caleb unhitched his mind and let it wander the corral for nearly an hour as he walked, arriving near the square again by some inert directional desire. The large television screen attached to the top of a low building flashed him the time. ‘Moving fast relative to us. Are you going to that group again?’

              “Gotta do something to keep myself awake,” Caleb whispered.

              ‘You’re nearly through day two. I’m nearly impressed. Only two more months and you can sleep soundly again. Can you make it?’

              “If I have to,” he weakly whispered.

              “Glowstick glowing again like a barrel fire. How are ya, kid? C’mon over here so Specs can get a look at you again.”

              Caleb looked right and saw the homeless man walking towards him on a curved path. “You never told me your name was Specs.”

              “I ain’t never told ya about how my old lady used to run me dry neither, but that don’t mean it didn’t happen.”

              Hoots sounded from behind him. ‘The filth is multiplying.’ “I guess so. How’s business today, fellas?”

              “Be a little better if you’d contribute a couple hundred dollar bills, mister,” a tiny man beside a trashcan said.

              “No you shut your dirty mouth, Craig. He’s a friend. He ain’t gotta give to no cause if he don’t want to.” He turned back towards Caleb. “I kinda told them I knew you back in the day, and that you was rich back then.”

              “Heh, well I’m certainly not now.”

              “Hey man, you’re preaching to the choir around here. Let us do the singing.” He laughed at his own joke a bit. “Why’d you run off the other day man?”

              “I saw someone that I thought was like me.”

              “You saw another glowstick? Wasn’t sure what that was when we saw that the other day.”

              “Maybe not another one of me, but someone was glowing bright green; it was weird.”

              “You see all kinds of weird stuff with your eyes closed.”

              “Seems that way.”

              “Either ways, here we are. What’d you find with the light?”

              “A dancing carrot….”

              “Oh! I knows that crazy cat. She always dances around with me and the boys…not no club dancing or anything, naw, we got the respect. We’ll just all be jumping around and having on while she sings us a song or two.”

              “Are you sure? She seemed pretty shy when I met her.”

              “She was wide open with us, smiling and carrying on while we all threw coupons in the air and danced like crazy kids. I don’t remember her glowing.”

              “I guess we saw different girls then.”

              “Hahaha, Glowstick, I likes you, you know that, right?”

              He flung his arm around Caleb’s shoulder. ‘Get him off you.’

              ‘Why? He’s not going to do anything.’

              ‘You’re comfortable with this?’

              ‘He’s a friend, not a crackpot.’ “Yeah, I do now.”

              “Hey boys! Remember that carrot we’d dance with all the time? Wasn’t she the nicest?”

              One rolled up into a sitting position from beneath a pile of paper. “Oh yeah, the tiny girl. She’d pudump my kraggy like crazy!”

              Raucous laughter lifted from beside the cans and containers. His embraced friend snapped his fingers towards the rolling man. “She ain’t do nothing like that. Touching a crusty thing like you…. See though? She was happy-slappy around us.”

              “Hmm, she’s defensive around me.”

              ‘Like he even knows what that means.’

              “Who can be defensive around you, Glowstick? You’s a puppy-dog to look at I bet.” More laughter rang out before a bottle broke near-by. “These here rowdies I bet they’d agree if they was sober enough to.”

              A group of three shambles wandered across the alley to Caleb’s back, drawing his power’s attention. Another bottle was thrown, barely missing his head and smashing against a wall. “You keep them quiet. They got no right to scream when we’re trying to sleep over here!”

              Caleb turned slowly. “Why me?”

              A smaller one with grease pouring from his teenage face stepped forward. “Just do it, city-boy, or my dad is bound to get pissed off.”

              “Good for him. They’re having a good time. There’s plenty of other alleys, or even beds, to sleep in.”

              The older man stepped forward—‘Is he attempting to look menacing? He resembles that old sailor from your memory…Popeye that’s him…how meager of a threat.’—and into Caleb’s face. “You making fun of us now, little boy?”

              “Nope, just pointing out the obvious. This is an alley; there are many like it and just as many without you causing a problem. The idea of other people having fun when they’re as far in the dumps as you are is probably insulting, but get over it. You don’t like something? Change it.”

              The father stepped back gradually with the other two a half-step behind him at all times. Without violence, they continued to backtrack into their piles of supplies, gathered what they could, and quickly worked further into the catacombs of the inner city. The trace amount of energy he’d deployed retracted, and Caleb’s hands were suddenly unstable and began to shake. “Glowstick! You’re a war hero now! We’ve been against them forever now. You’s throwing daggers from your lips.”

              They all laughed while standing up and patting Caleb on his arms and chest with fingerless gloves and weakened hands. Caleb took it all with a half-smile and constant nod, letting the mixture of aromas wash over him in a pungent and unsettling way, ‘I don’t enjoy this.’

              ‘If I had smell, I wouldn’t either.’

              ‘No, it’s not that.’

              Caleb backed out of the appreciative group. “It was nothing. Just told the guy the truth.” He gripped hard his hand to stop the incessant shaking. “I’ve gotta go grab a bite to eat.”

              They all waved as he quickly backpedaled and found the cool breeze of the open street comforting. He looked towards the massive billboard again, ‘Crap it’s late. We’ll have to grab a sandwich to go somewhere.’ A sandwich shop across the street quickly caught his eye.

              ‘Why are we rushing?’

              ‘It’s the second day; I don’t want to be rude quite yet.’

              ‘You wish to delay the realization of your rude nature?’

              He walked in the door. ‘No, that’s not what I meant.’

              ‘That’s what you said.’

              He placed his hands on the counter. ‘It’s not what I meant, though.’

              ‘What did you mean?’

              ‘I meant that I’m not rude, and that being late would give the false connotation that I have rude tendencies, which would therefore be a lie and would not fall in line with the nature of my being.’ “Yeah let me get a number four.” ‘Deep enough for you?’

              “What kind of drink?” The woman behind the register asked. ‘I knew sleep wasn’t affecting your mind quite yet.’

              ‘Sorry to disappoint.’ “Just a water, please.”

              ‘My guess is that it’s adrenaline. You’ll be falling asleep half-way through this little group session, mark my words.’

              He took his bag with a smile. ‘Marked and signed.’

              The water was nearly gone as he quickly weaved and crested to the gym. ‘No one’s here yet.’

              ‘Yes I’m sure the ten blocks was exhausting for you and all, but quit complaining that I’m trying to make things better.’

              ‘That’s against my nature.’

              ‘You don’t have a nature.’

              His power went silent. Caleb pitched the small cup and calmly walked behind the beat-up red truck that stopped in front of the door. David came out of the cab with Alice behind the wheel. “Evening, Caleb. Wanna give me a hand here?”

              Caleb smiled at her in the rearview and helped David unfasten the tailgate. ‘And now you’re helping him?’

              ‘Yeah, apparently so.’

              ‘You disappoint me.’ David hopped into the bed and carelessly pushed the large chair towards the edge. Caleb lifted under the sturdy side and grabbed around the back as best he could, hoisting it with his natural strength easily enough and bending it to the ground.

              From above, David made an impressed noise. “A little strong are we?”

              Caleb smiled upwards as he grabbed his bag. “Strong enough I suppose.”

              He gingerly jumped down using the bed as a stabilizing guide and waved at Alice, who promptly drove the truck away and into a parking spot. “Good to see you back after yesterday’s shortened session.”

              “Yeah, I was curious about that.”

              “Well, we have a special arrangement with the electric company and town hall. They get to write this off as a charitable organization and we get a little discount on electricity and anonymity, which is good for publicly shy people.”

              “Shyness would seem to prohibit certain activities, such as playing softball.”

              “Their world has to be stretched somewhat for them to fit in. They are only anonymous as long as they seem to be without anomalies.”

              “Anonymity is quite an asset.” ‘Alice seems to waver between shy and open….’

              “Speaking of which, I called a few well-placed colleagues about you, and, not surprisingly, there’s a great deal of Caleb’s in the system,” he trailed.

              “Then I’ll remain anonymous for a little bit longer I suppose.”

              “Heh, yeah I guess, but it is a rite of passage that you tell the group where you came from, what’s shaped you, et cetera at some point. The sooner the better, obviously.”

              “Probably not in this case….”

              Alice came up gently and seemed to unleash a previously bound smile. “Hey,” her eyes entranced by his again, “not sore are ya?”

              David turned his head to her as Caleb spoke. “No, thankfully I walked it off.”

              “I invited him to the dojo today,” she said without severing iris-to-iris contact with Caleb. “You look tired, and your arms are shaking. Tired or methed up?”

              Caleb smiled at her talents. “No track marks, or sleep for the past two days. No food for that long either, so I’m trying to catch up.”

              “That’s not healthy….”

              ‘She’s concerned about you.’ “I’ve had more important things to do lately.”

              ‘I’ve noticed.’ “Well, you’ll have to tell us about it. We’ll be alone for another half an hour.”

              ‘Good thing we’re early….’

              Caleb grinned at his power’s impatience while opening the door for the tiny couple. David avoided eye contact while Alice didn’t seem to possess the same ability; her head turned back as she passed by him, his buttocks quickly leaving the door to walk beside her. ‘Why’d I do that?’ They walked across the floor until they were roughly along the same circle as before; Alice setting up her station while David handed Caleb a chair. ‘He almost let it fall in my hand. He’s jealous.’

              They all took seats together, David opening a small binder while Alice remained focused with her eyes and wound tighter her small smile. “Would you mind telling us a little about yourself? We didn’t really get into it last night.”

              ‘Time to lie.’

              Caleb felt his gut go to knots. ‘I don’t want to lie.’

              ‘Who cares? You cannot tell the truth here. You must be able to lie.’

              ‘I am able to lie, it’s just wrong to.’

              ‘If you tell the truth, we’re done with this.’

              ‘No we’re not.’ Caleb cleared his throat. ‘I make the rules for now, not you.’ “My last name is Whitmor.” Both listeners leaned forward to catch his whispers. “I used to live outside of New York city until I was about nineteen, then I moved a little further in-state to be with…a loved one in a psychiatric hospital for twenty years.”

              “Which one was that?”

              He looked at David and smiled. “You won’t get any of them to talk about me.” Alice cocked her head. “I was admitted voluntarily and left unofficially. I wasn’t diagnosed or ever medicated, so I didn’t exist there. Like I said, I was there for someone.”

              “What about their name?”

              “That’s none of your bui—” ‘Lie, boy, lie. Protect yourself. Keep everything bottled up.’