Earth Man (29 page)

             
Danny lay flat on his back on the bottom of the Skyfari car. It was more like a bucket, attached to a cable that travelled high above the Zoo. He’d spotted it before he blinded the Second and hid out of sight from it by flying in and lying down quickly. He was not sure how many minutes ticked by as he lay there, too scared to move. He slipped off the outer leather jacket and helmet and placed them on the seat next to him. Inside the suit he was soaked with sweat, while the outside was drenched with dirty pond water. If he closed his eyes he could use a variety of animal abilities and he knew the monster was flying around nearby, searching for him. Danny knew he couldn’t hide for much longer; if it did not find him it would move on to killing innocent people instead.

             
Too late for Danny, it had found him, crashing into the side of the car. It rocked from side to side and the creature climbed up on top of the cables, looking down at Danny cowering on the floor. It raised its long black claws but instead of attacking Danny it cut easily through the cable. There was a moment of weightlessness and then the bucket began to fall. All he could do was brace himself as it hit the ground hard. When the car fell over, Danny rolled out and began to run but his legs were numb from the crash impact. The pain was so intense his body would not respond. Danny stumbled over party hats and discarded garbage on the ground from an event that had been cancelled. Even though his life was at stake and his body battered, Danny couldn’t help but hope that it was an adult’s birthday that had been ruined by his battle with the alien. His thoughts turned to his own children, the different birthday parties over the years and how none of them were ever cancelled due to an alien invasion.

The Second flew
overhead and its claws tore along his back, easily cutting through his motorcycle suit. He headed straight ahead to the Reptile House and managed to get through the door. The sound of the alien’s feet on the roof echoed through the building. He entered the second set of doors and felt the warm tropical heat on his face. He could feel the blood pouring down his back, trailing a pool behind him as he went deeper into the warm, misty building.

Touching his back, his hand came away covered in dark blood. He s
at on a bench in front of a series of snake tanks and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, after the burning pain in his back had passed, he finally noticed the two teenagers hiding in the dark. The way they held each other did not show they were afraid, or at least they hadn’t been, instead it appeared as if they had come into the lizard exhibit for a quiet place to make out. Danny nodded to them and winced in pain as he breathed in. It was comical that with all that was going on outside, two sixteen year olds were more afraid they were going to get in trouble. The boy was tall, dark-haired and brown skinned, while the girl had hair just as black but skin as pale as ivory. Her nose was overly large but they were a good looking interracial couple. Danny hoped they’d been hiding because they were a bit secretive, not because they were hiding their relationship.

“
It’s alright, I won’t tell on you guys.” Danny said.

“
Is something going on out there?” The boy asked. He seemed to genuinely want to help but the girl held him close, not wanting to let go.

“
Some animals got out, it’s crazy out there. Stay here; wait for someone to come help you.”

“
Can’t you help us?” the girl asked.

“
Already doing my best, kid.” Danny said, giving her a smile. Somehow even smiling made his bruises ache and his cuts bleed. He regretted taking off the extra layers in the Skyfari but he’d been so hot he’d felt like he was on fire. Now he was cold and getting chills and he knew that was not a good sign. He looked around, admiring the modern look of the Zoo. There was a wall mural featuring many different kinds of lizards, snakes and frogs. Wiping the blood of his hands onto his pants, he forced himself up closer to the mural.

The young couple was talking quietly to each other and
Danny couldn’t help but smile when he heard the girl chastise her boyfriend.

“
This was a stupid idea. We should have just gone to my place to make out.” He remembered Helen and felt a deep, cold chill. He pushed the thoughts away and focused on the mural. He glanced at the entrance, knowing the monster could walk in at any moment, it had lived as a human for long enough that all it needed to do was remember the door and it could change its shape to enter. Danny leaned against a mural as the pain screamed through his back.

“
Son of a bitch. Of course,” Danny said through gritted teeth. He’d already regenerated once before, in the hospital when he borrowed the abilities of insects.

He pushed outward with his powers and borrowed the abilities of every reptile
in the building. The power naturally selected and used what he needed, including the regenerative abilities of the lizards. The wound on his back began to itch like mad, but he ignored it, pushing his knuckles into the wall to focus. It took only a few minutes for the wound to close. His bruises were still there and he still felt drained, but at least he wasn’t going to bleed out.

“
Find a staff room inside this place or a washroom and stay there, okay?” Danny ordered.

The two teens nodded and headed deep
er into the Reptile House, the boy wrapping his arm protectively over his girl. She looked over her shoulder and gave Danny a sad, weak smile of support, the best she could offer. More than enough, the simple act of compassion pushed Danny on.

Danny felt m
uch better with the new reptile abilities. Reptiles, perhaps more than any other species on the planet, had so many diverse and adaptive traits that Danny was able to find a variety of useful abilities he was eager to try out. His back still itched and he took a few seconds to rub it against the corner of the wall near the entrance.

             
Once he was sure the teenagers were out of sight he used the chameleon’s abilities of camouflage. At first he thought perhaps it would not work, he could not imagine a way his clothes could actually change color. Then his skin began to flash red and he realized that his power did not give him the animals traits, it simply created an energy equivalent. He did not, for example, gain a dog nose; his powers simply changed the flow of energy so he could duplicate the nose of a dog. A red bubble of light formed around him and then in the blink of an eye he was gone. The air around him vibrated as he blended in completely with the objects behind him. The bubble replicated the skin of a chameleon and as long as he moved slowly enough, he could not be seen. Danny slipped out of the building and stood very still, looking up toward the roof of the building for the Second. The bubble bent the light around him and from above he was just a heat shimmer off the cement. Moving slowly, however, was difficult for him. His body was wounded and full of adrenaline but he took his time, gently placing one foot in front of the other.

             
Danny caught the scent of the creature as it tentatively stepped over the roof edge into view. The alien skittered off the roof and landed on the ground softly. It knew he was there but not being able to see him confused it. Pulling as much power as he could into himself, Danny let it build like an electrical current. The alien whipped from side to side, trying to pinpoint his location. When it finally caught his scent it looked right at him and through him at the same time; it knew he was there even if it could not see him. The camouflage was not going to hold up so Danny let the bubble burst and as the creature roared he released the power he’d been building up in him, letting it flow through his hands and out into the monster. Following up with a right hook, he caught the creature in the ribs and its spider legs went limp. Then it seemed to come at him with an all new determination and Danny stood his ground. Like ancient gladiators they stood toe to toe, knowing this was to be their final battle.

              Helen felt miserable and she could not think of a single reason why. Both her kids were safe at school, as safe as they could be anywhere. Finally she had the peace and quiet she’d been wanting for months. With the money they had and Danny’s new determination, she should have felt better than she had in years. With the sudden wealth and all the crazy things that had happened they’d all pretty much forgotten Christmas, even though the country was covered in snow and the lights were up everywhere. Somehow the entire holiday had snuck right up on them while Danny had been fighting monsters. Helen headed to the computer and pulled up a playlist of Christmas songs she had filed away from last year. She’d always been a huge fan of the holiday season and she was determined to lift herself out of the funk she felt stuck in. The crooning voice of Bing Crosby helped a little, but even the Christmas carols couldn’t cover up the feeling of anger welling up inside her. That she did not want to face, because she could not handle where it was coming from. That anger was directed at Danny and if she opened that door, a thousand more doors would fly open in a rage.

             
After Danny’s explanation of events, Helen hadn’t even tried to understand what had been happening the last few months. How could she begin to fathom a living planet? For her it was all distant worries, things that didn’t affect her everyday life. She spent her days taking care of bills and kids and groceries, she didn’t even have time for church anymore, never mind trying to wrap her head around the New Age, Wiccan type of stuff Danny seemed to have experienced. The monsters weren’t real enough to her. They hadn’t touched her yet, she hadn’t seen them with her own eyes. Like sharks present in the water, she knew danger was all around her, she could feel the weight of it in her stomach. Even though she hadn’t been to church since before the children were born, she found herself thinking more and more about God. She had prayed for her husband more times since his accident than she ever had in her life. Not the devout prayers, on her knees like when she was a little girl, talking to God before going to bed. Her prayers were the desperate ones she said to herself, inside her head, pleading with whatever cosmic force might listen to keep Danny and her children safe and healthy.

She called Danny
’s cell phone again and it was still off, so she tossed the phone aside in frustration. He could fly back and forth to the United States but somehow he couldn’t find time to answer the phone. She was about to dial again but she put the phone back down instead. She dumped out her coffee and swore out her frustration. The coffee had been making her jittery and her mood was not improving, so she made up her mind it was time for her to make some changes. It was time for something more drastic, more therapeutic. Helen was a woman who liked to make things, to build things with her hands. If needed, she was also quite good at taking things apart. Grabbing the keys to the car, she headed for the door. It was time to go Christmas shopping. Helen had never frivolously shopped in her entire life, but she couldn’t sit at home with the nagging worry in her gut either. She was worried about Danny and until she knew he was safe, the worry wasn’t going to pass. The worry felt deeper, darker and Helen knew if she dwelt on it too long it was going to pull her in. As the door shut behind her, she said the last prayer she would ever say; asking the Lord to bring Danny home safe.

              Using his feet and his flying ability, Danny had managed to keep the creature at bay. He flew at it foot first, sending the monster backwards as he landed softly on the ground. The waves of red energy poured up and over him, cascading out from around his head. As the massive monster righted itself, Danny borrowed and duplicated as much armour as he could think of. The tough leathery skin of elephants and rhinos, turtle shells, the bumpy hide of alligators and crocodiles, whatever he could think of Danny duplicated and created a new variation of armour composed of all of them. Inside it he glowed like a red lamp. The Second pressed down on him but this time Danny pushed back. He caught the creature’s arms and flung them backwards. Then he surprised it with punches in the abdomen, the part of the where the human body merged with the insect-like legs. As it pulled away in pain, Danny grabbed one of the large legs with both arms. Bending the leg he suddenly stomped down on it while yanking with his arms, tearing the limb completely off. The creature kicked at him with its other legs but he covered his face and let the armour protect and shield him.

“
Piece by piece if I have to!” Danny shouted at the Second.

The alien managed to stand on three legs and balance awkwardly. It swung its claws at Danny but he blocked it with his forearms. The alien began to retreat back but Danny pressed on, swinging back at it
.