First Superhero 1: The Second Super (5 page)

One thing that shocked me as I searched the crowd was how calm everybody was. I was expecting there to be a ton of commotion, unrest,
something.
Instead, everyone sat around in silence, a palpable sense of fear lingering in the air. It was the not knowing that scared them the most. Not knowing why Richter came to Ebon—which I myself wondered—or who I was, and whether or not I was bad. If only they knew that the man that was on the minds of every person in the world was just a few feet away from them. How would they react?

Alright, stop thinking about that,
I told myself.
Find Macy.

“Kane, what the hell!” I heard Drew whisper to my right.

I turned and saw him walking toward me, with Michael towering by his side. “Hey, guys,” I said as I held out my hand and offered a fist bump. They gave me one, but then Drew proceeded to scold me.

“Where have you been?” he all but shouted. “I’ve been calling, texting, everything! I even sent you an email, for chrissake.
An. Email.
You know what it’s like traveling back to 2008? It’s not fun.”

Michael and I both laughed at Drew. “Sorry, man,” I said. “I didn’t have a phone signal out on the farm. Besides, I was glued to the television.”

“Yeah, me too,” Michael said. “I didn’t even realize Drew was trying to get ahold of me until nine last night.”

“I shouldn’t of had to!” Drew shouted, flailing his hands in the air. People turned to look at us, and Drew shrunk down a bit and whispered. “I shouldn’t of had to,” he repeated. “Did you not notice a certain redhead being thrown through the air on live television?”

My mind swirled. What was I going to tell Drew? I should’ve gone and checked on Macy, and I felt bad for not doing so. Still, I was a little distracted. Besides I was the one that saved her, so I was pretty sure she was alright. Still, nobody else knew that. I’d only had my secret identity for less than twenty-four hours, and already I was about to blow my cover.

“I was out of town at my grandparents. I didn’t get back until this morning. I sent her a text, though,” Michael explained.

Drew nodded, satisfied with Michael’s answer. He turned to me, and I dreaded every second of it. “What about you, Kane?”

“I just forgot to.”
Shit
. I mentally gave myself one of my signature uppercuts. That was an awful answer.
REALLY SCREWED THE POOCH THERE, HUH, KANE?
I shouted in my head, scolding myself.

Michael and Drew looked at me with blank faces.

“Well, I mean…” I needed to think of something fast. “I think I can get a free pass on this one, right? I mean, it’s been less then forty-eight hours since my house was broken into and my parents almost killed right before my eyes, so I—”

“WAIT. WHAT THE HELL?!” Drew shouted, eliciting nasty looks from bystanders.

“ALRIGHT, start from the beginning right now,” Michael said.

I looked at the two of them, confused, before I realized that the whole “becoming a superhuman” thing happened before I got the chance to tell either of them. Yet another thing that slipped my mind.

I filled the two of them in on the whole story, but when I got to the part where I used my superpowers for the first time without even realizing it at the moment, I just told them that Dad and I got the jump on the intruders. Had I told them that I did it myself, they wouldn’t have believed me, even if I did explain the whole adrenaline theory I originally believed. They knew me too well.

“Holy shit,” Drew breathed once I finished my story.

“Yeah, bro, seriously, holy shit,” Michael agreed. “That’s insane. How are you doing? Holding up alright?”

I nodded my head. “This has just been a crazy past couple of days. But I really wanna check up on Macy—explain myself and everything.”

Drew nodded his head. “Yeah, of course. She’s not staying here anymore, though.”

“Her and her sister got put up in the Ilan downtown,” Michael said. He practically bounced on his feet, he was so excited.

The Ilan was a five-star hotel we had in Ebon, and it was quite the anomaly. There’s a few blocks of office buildings in downtown, but nothing huge. Definitely not skyscrapers by any stretch of the imagination. Then there was the Ilan, a tall hotel that towered above the rest. It was like a resort, which was strange, because Ebon’s just a town of, like, 100,000 tops. There’s really no reason why you’d want to go to a resort in the middle of small-town Indiana. Especially not when Indianapolis was nearby. Or an airport to take you someplace other than Indiana—because literally anywhere would be a better place to go on a vacation than here.

“Wow, the Ilan. That’s pretty cool!” I said.

Drew nodded. “Yeah, for sure. We’re about to head to the hospital to help her pack and get her stuff moved over to the hotel.”

“Sweet. Let’s go,” I said.

The three of us turned around and walked out the high school doors, and for some reason, my stomach twisted.

A SURPRISE VISIT

F
ROM
M
ACY’S WINDOW
, I looked upon the horde of news crews that were camped in front of the hospital. They were desperate to get any morsel of information from Macy. Even though she’d said she doesn’t remember much, and most of what she did was just her fearing for her life. Still, the reporters wanted more. There were multiple guards stationed at her door and at other places around the hospital, as reporters were desperate and would do whatever it took to get a few seconds alone with Macy. If only they knew that both Macy
and
the superhuman that saved her were standing in the same room together. There’s no telling what they’d do to get the scoop on
that
story.

“I’m really sorry about all you had to go through,” Macy said from behind me.

I turned from the window to face her. She was sitting up in bed on top of the covers, while Drew and Michael were sitting down in two chairs next to the bed. “It’s fine,” I said as I went and sat down on the foot of her bed. “Really. You’ve been through a lot, too.”

She chuckled and brushed some strands of hair behind her ear. “I guess we can just call it even.”

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, even.”

From the corner of my vision I could see Michael elbowing Drew, who was in the middle of an overdramatic eye roll.

“So, when are you getting out?” I asked.

“Well, I could leave today if I wanted. I’ve had lots of hotels and apartment complexes offer me to stay there for free for the publicity. The hospital director told me I could stay here until they needed my room, since all the people at the hospital makes it a safer place and less of a target.”

I tried to hide my wincing at hearing her describe herself as a “target.” It just didn’t seem right.

“But Madeline hates staying here, so I think we’ll take one of those apartment complexes up on their offer this weekend.”

“You’re so lucky,” Michael said. “Getting a kickass apartment and not having to pay any rent? That’s so nice.”

Macy nodded her head. “I’m definitely not complaining.”

“You gotta let us come over and check it out,” Drew said.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, you’re all big and famous now. We just don’t want you to forget about us little people is all,” Michael said.

I chuckled, but not at Michael’s joke. Just at the fact that one of the most famous people on the planet was sitting right across from him, and he had no idea.

“It’s so crazy though, isn’t it?” Michael said.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” Drew said with a scoff. There were way too many crazy things happening to choose from.

“Just like…why here, you know? Like, why Ebon of all places? It’s just crazy.”

I zoned out for a moment as I thought about it. I guess it really was weird that Richter came to
Ebon
of all places, and it just happened to be the place where I was living. It all seemed so strange.

Before I could question it further, the door opened, bringing me back to the present. We all turned to see who it was. In walked Madeline, Macy’s older sister, and the only family she had. Madeline smiled at us as she walked in. Bags were under her dark brown eyes, and her brunette hair was in a messy bun, with strands hanging down around her face. Madeline was twenty-four years old, and worked as a graphic designer in Indianapolis while also taking care of Macy. Not that Macy needed someone to take care of her, but still, Madeline was there to support her when she needed it.

“How are you boys doing?” she asked. She walked over to the table that was next to the bed and set her purse down on it.

“
Men
,” Drew corrected her with a smile. “And we’re doing good.”

“
Well
.” This time it was Madeline’s turn to correct him. “You’re doing well, Michael.”

“Actually, I’m Michael,” Michael said as he raised his hand. “He’s Drew.”

Madeline laughed. “My apologies. All I know for sure is that he’s Kane,” Madeline said, pointing toward me.

I looked at Macy, whose eyes met mine. Her face blushed, and she quickly turned her attention to Madeline, shooting her a dirty look.

Madeline gave her a teasing smile, then sat down next to her on the bed. “Oh, there’s someone else coming up here. Another one of your friends. I can’t remember his name, though, but I see him hanging out with you all the time.”

I knew exactly who it was, but before I could ask to be certain, the door opened, and in he walked.

It was Brian, the guy in love with Macy, who’d hated me my entire life, but even more now that Macy liked me instead of him. Well,
allegedly
liked me.

“Hey, Macy,” he said. He gave Drew, Michael, and myself a disgusted look. “I didn’t realize you had company.”

“Hello, Brian. Yes, I do. Is there anything I can do for you?” Macy said with a cold tone in her voice.

Brian pulled one of his hands from behind his back and revealed a bouquet of flowers. “I just wanted to bring you these, and see how you were doing.”

I exchanged a look with Drew and Michael. It was clear we were all taken aback by Brian’s uncharacteristically kind gesture, and I wondered what it was he had up his sleeve. Brian always had ulterior motives. He never did something just from the kindness of his heart, but always because there was something for him to gain from his actions.

“Can I have a moment?” he asked. He looked at me, anger flashing in his eyes. “Alone.”

Macy thought about it for a moment before coming to a decision. “Well, you did bring me some flowers. You can have your moment, but I’d like for my sister to stay in the room if that’s okay with you,” she said.

Brian nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

Macy turned to us. “This shouldn’t take long.”

I gave her a look that showed my disapproval. I stood up from my seat on her bed, as did Michael and Drew. We walked to the door, and before I closed it, I turned to Macy. “If you need us, we’ll be right outside.”

She smiled. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.” She bit her lip and held back a laugh, causing my heart to skip and a huge smile to break out across my face. Brian stood there, quietly fuming, trying his best to contain his temper.

Drew, Michael, and myself stood outside the hospital room, trying to stand as close as we could to try and hear what was going on inside. We couldn't stand too close, however, since two police officers stood on either side of the door.

We gave up on eavesdropping, and did our best to stay out of the way in the hospital hallway, which was easy to do, since it was very wide. A few doctors and nurses walked by occasionally, but for the most part it stayed pretty quiet. Macy was staying in the part of the hospital that wasn't very busy, since obviously the busy parts were taken by people who actually needed medical attention.

“So what are you gonna do about your competition?” Drew asked, elbowing me.

I gave him a glare. “Brian isn't competition. He's just being a dick and using her situation for his own gain.”

“Maybe so, but still, you gotta admit that the flowers were a nice touch.”

“Yeah, Kane,” Michael chimed in. “I didn't see you bring her anything.”

“Well it's not like I had the time to or anything,” I said, defending myself.
Plus, I'm the one who saved her life, so there's that too,
I thought to myself. I think that's worth more than a couple of plants that'll die in a few weeks.

I heard a door behind me open, and I turned around as fast as I could. Brian exited Macy's hospital room and slammed the door behind him. The two police officers went on alert, their hands lingering around their Tasers.

“I'm sorry, I didn't realize how light the door was,” Brian said in a rush.

“Either way, the exit's that way, son,” one of the officers told Brian. He raised a finger and pointed down the hallway past my group.

“Yeah, alright,” he mumbled.

Brian's eyes bored into mine the entire time he walked toward us. I stared right back into his, not afraid for a second.

“You're gonna regret thinking you’re better than me, Kane,” Brian said as he walked by, making sure to stay quiet so the officers didn't hear him.

“And you're gonna regret thinking you were good enough for Macy,” I spat back at him.

“The hell you say?” he all but shouted at me, stopping in his tracks. His chest was puffed and arms flexed, ready for a fight.

“Hey!” the officers shouted as they walked over to us. They grabbed Brian by the arms. “Let's go, punk.” And with that, they escorted Brian out of the hospital.

I made sure to give a little wave to him before he disappeared around the corner. It wouldn't be long until Brian Turner would no longer be a problem.

A HAPPY ACCIDENT

I
WALKED
out of the Burger Shack, a sack full of food in one hand, and a holder of drinks in the other. I walked down the street just a few blocks away from the hospital, breathing in the fresh summer air. I needed to cool down after my confrontation with Brian, so I volunteered to go get burgers for everybody while the rest of the guys helped Macy pack. The streets were unusually quiet for the summertime in Ebon, but that was becoming more and more the norm thanks to Richter. Me, on the other hand, I walked with a little extra skip in my step, enjoying the beautiful day. I looked forward to seeing Macy again, even though I’d only been away from her for half an hour.