“Ashton! Wait up!” Harvey yelled as he closed ground on his best friend.
Ash heard someone yell his name and stopped. He turned around and saw his closest friend, Harvey Kastala, running to catch up to him. Ash sat on a park bench and waited.
Slightly out of breath, Harvey sat down next to Ashton. “Hey, Ash.”
“Why are you here, Harvs? Shouldn’t you be in class right now?”
Harvey waved the hall pass in front of his friend. “I’m in the bathroom. Duh!”
Ash rolled his eyes. “Go back to school, Harvey. I’m fine.”
“What happened? I saw the vice-principal walk you off school property?”
“I’m not sure what happened. My desk fell apart, and the school blamed me. Destruction of school property. It’s been a weird day, Harvs.”
“I know. My dad’s unit is on high alert because of the meteors. They think there’s more to it than that.”
Ashton’s eyes grew wide. “Do you know what they think is going on? Are the meteors dangerous?”
“Ash, what are you not telling me? What happened at school?”
Ashton sighed. “You know me too well.”
“You’ve been my best friend since kindergarten. Now spill it!”
“Alright. Well, my strange day started before I got to school. I was passing by the antique store on Park Avenue. The store burned down in one of the fires last night. I stopped to check it out and noticed a bright blue rock in the antique store’s ashes. It was stunning, so I picked it up.” Ash pulled the rock out of his pocket and showed it to Harvey. “The damn thing started glowing and made my whole body feel weird. I’m not sure why I kept it.”
Harvey started to reach for it, but Ash pulled it back. “No! Please don’t touch it. At least not until I finish my story. Then you can decide for yourself.”
“It may be too late for that.” Harvey reached into his pocket and pulled out four small blue stones. “They’re a lot smaller than the one you have, but I felt the same energy pulses throughout my body that you described. So, please, I need to hear the rest of your story.”
Ash reached out, placed a hand on Harvey’s forearm, and stared deep into his bright blue eyes. “Oh, Harvs, what’s happening to us. I hope you don’t experience what I did today.”
“Just tell me, Ash. What happened?” Harvey asked.
Ashton relayed his story. He told Harvey about the floor tile, the pencil, and the desk falling apart. Ash explained that none of it was intentional. His body vibrated so fast that Ash could barely follow his movements, and he had no conscious control. “So, that’s my story. It can’t be a coincidence. It’s gotta be related to the stones, right?”
Harvey was about to respond when an older boy ran out of the park. Harvey thought he recognized him. Erik? Something like that. He thought the boy graduated with Gavin. “Dude, where’s the fire?” Harvey said as the boy ran over to where Harvey and Ashton sat.
“There’s not a fire, but two monsters are in the park, and I think they’re chasing me! We need to get out of here!”
“Whatever drugs you’re taking, you need to quit,” Ash said, then an arrow flew out of the trees and stuck in the bench right between him and Harvey.
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“Gav, I know we have to check in with Dad but promise me we will come back and look for Obie. I know he’s close. I can feel his presence with the feather.” Logan said as he reached for the car’s door handle.
“Ok, Logan, I promise. As long as Dad doesn’t say that we can’t, I’ll bring you back here.” Gavin started to go around the car to get into the driver’s side. Before he could get in the car, Gavin heard a loud yell. He looked to the side just in time to see a large shape hurtling toward the vehicle. “Logan! Get down!” Gavin yelled.
Logan looked around, and his eyes widened in shock and fear. He dove toward his brother, barely getting out of the way in time before something big crashed into the car. The windows shattered, and the vehicle was knocked onto its side. Logan rolled over and looked to see what hit the car. He couldn’t believe his own eyes. What Logan saw stood on two legs like a man, but the similarities ended there. Where the creature’s massive leg muscles burst through its jeans, long dark grey fur showed through the rips. The same hair covered the creature’s bare upper torso. The beast’s upper body was humanoid and just over six feet tall. The broad shoulders and heavily muscled arms ended in large hands. Logan could see the once human face was distorted and covered in the same grey fur. The creature’s ears were pointed and closer to the top of its head than human ears. Still, the most shocking feature was the set of enormous, curved ram’s horns protruding from the sides of the monster’s head.
“What are you?” Logan asked, his voice shaking with fear.
The beast turned toward Logan and snarled. “I am Aries the Ram, and you will give me the blue stones, or I will crush the life from you and take them.”
Gavin leaped in front of his brother and faced Aries. “Stay away from my brother, you freak. You’ll have to come through me to get to him.” Gavin turned his head to look at Logan. “Get behind the car, Logan. Hurry!” Logan scrambled backward and crouched behind the overturned car. Gavin set his feet and faced his foe.
————————————————————————————————————
Caleb didn’t even bother knocking when he got to Christine’s house. He was too excited to see this boy she told him about. Caleb rushed into the kitchen and found his sister drinking tea at the table. “Where is he? You didn’t let him leave, did you?”
“No. Of course not. The boy is still here. He just woke up. He doesn’t remember what happened to him. I turned the TV on in the living room and made him some sandwiches. Take it slow, Caleb. That boy looks like he’s been through a lot.”
“What about the wounds on his back? You said his blood is blue and glowing?”
“Yes, and he’s healing remarkably fast. The cuts were open and raw last night. Now, they look like they’ve been healing for a week!”
“Amazing! Let me go talk to him.” Caleb said and rushed out of the room.
Caleb stopped just inside the doorway to the living room. His breath caught in his throat. At first glance, the view could have been mistaken for millions of similar scenes worldwide. A teenage boy was sprawled on the couch watching TV while practically inhaling sandwiches and potato chips. Then Caleb noticed the boy’s eyes. He had the brightest blue eyes that Caleb had ever seen, but that wasn’t what caught Caleb’s attention. The boy’s eyes weren’t exactly glowing, but they shone in the dim light. It reminded Caleb of how a cat’s eyes reflected low light, allowing them to see in the dark. The boy turned his head and looked directly at Caleb. A momentary jolt of fear shot through Caleb, but when the boy smiled, Caleb knew there was no evil in that boy. Caleb slowly moved further into the room. Not wanting to spook the boy, Caleb sat on the opposite end of the couch.
————————————————————————————————————
Harvey and Ashton both leaped off of the bench. “Dude! I thought you were joking. Who is chasing you?” Harvey asked.
“Yeah, I thought you said monsters, not crazy bow-wielding maniacs?” Ashton quipped.
“I did say monsters, and I meant it. One is a half-woman and half-horse creature from mythology. That monster is the one with the bow. The other is a guy who looks like he has a shell and a mutant claw for a hand! They’re not chasing me, but we need to get out of here! They’re in the middle of the park, terrorizing everyone in sight!” Erik replied, pacing back and forth.
“A centaur and a crab man? Are you trying to prank us? Where are the cameras?” Harvey said.
“Harvey, duck!” Ash yelled!
Harvey looked up and saw another arrow heading straight for him. Harvey didn’t even have time to react. Then something barreled into him, and Harvey landed on the ground on his back. The breath was knocked right out of his lungs. Harvey coughed and blinked and tried to roll out from under whatever landed on him, then he saw that it was Ash. “Ash? How? You were way over there.”
“I… I’m not sure.”
“I was looking right at you and didn’t see you move. You were next to me one second, and then there was a blur and a gust of wind, and you were on top of your friend.” Erik said.
“A lot of weird stuff has been happening today,” Ash said, getting off Harvey. “Maybe we should do as Erik said and get as far away from here as possible.”
Harvey leaped to his feet. “No! If they are hurting people, we need to try and help! I want to get a few pictures to send to my dad. These creatures may be the reason that his army unit was activated.”
“This idea is stupid, but I’ll show you where they are. You’ll change your mind and agree with me as soon as you see them.” Erik said in frustration, but he led the other two boys through the trees and into the picnic area in the park’s center.
“I thought you were exaggerating, but that does look just like a centaur,” Harvey said.
“She’s firing arrows right at that family. Harvey’s right. We have to at least try and help.” Ashton said and took a step forward, and then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
“Ash? Where’d ya go? Erik, what happened?” Harvey said, looking all around.
“It’s the same as when he tackled you. A gust of wind and Ash was gone. Wait. Isn’t that him over by the pond?”
“It can’t be. That’s over a hundred yards away. How could he….”
Erik heard a thump and turned to see why Harvey had stopped talking. When he turned, Erik first saw the mutant crab monster, but then he saw Harvey lying face-first on the ground at the creature’s feet. Erik clenched his fists. “Get away from my friend, you freak!” To Erik’s surprise, the monster took a step back. Then Erik felt a gust of wind, and Ashton appeared.
“Harvs!” Ashton yelled and knelt by his best friend. Ash looked up at Erik, and his eyes grew wide. “Erik! You’re on fire… and you’re… floating!”
Erik looked down at himself, and his eyes widened in shock and fear. Ashton was right. His entire body was floating a foot off the ground and was engulfed in flames.
————————————————————————————————————
“You are either brave or foolish,” Aries sneered.
“I will not let you hurt my brother,” Gavin stated, raising his fists.
“Gavin, come on! Let’s run!” Logan yelled from behind the overturned car.
“Too late for that, boy,” Aries said as he butted his horns against the car, pushing it further off the road.
“What do you want from us?” Gavin asked.
“The blue stones. Give them to me willingly, and I might let you live.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We don’t have any blue stones,” Gavin said, slowly backing away from Aries.
Aries sniffed the air. “I can smell them. You can’t lie to me, boy. I’ve had enough talk. Prepare to die.” Aries lowered his head and charged.
Gavin dropped to his knees and raised his arms to protect himself. Gavin gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and prepared for an impact that never came. Instead, Gavin heard what sounded like breaking glass, and a loud thump came from behind him. Gavin opened his eyes and looked warily around. Shards of ice were everywhere, and Aries was between Gavin and the car. Gavin couldn’t figure out what had happened but quickly jumped to his feet to place himself between Aries and Logan.
Aries’ eyes narrowed. “I knew I smelt the stones. You’ve been affected by them, so now you must die!” Aries charged at Gavin.
Gavin side-stepped the charge and swung his fist at Aries. Before his punch struck its target, Gavin felt an extreme coldness run through his body. A cocoon of ice formed around his fist just as the blow landed. The ram was nearly knocked off his feet and stumbled away from Gavin. Gavin looked down in awe at his ice-covered fist. He thought how cool it would be if his whole body were protected by the ice, and then it happened. Gavin was covered in icy armor from head to toe.
Aries watched as the ice formed around Gavin. Hoping to catch Gavin distracted, Aries lowered his head and charged. He hit Gavin full force in the mid-section with his horns. Gavin was thrown back and smashed against the car. He was unhurt, but the icy armor shattered into a million pieces. Gavin saw Aries closing in on him and tried to move away. Gavin was pinned against the car and couldn’t get away fast enough. He raised his arms in self-defense, wishing he had something to throw at Aries. Streams of ice shot out of Gavin’s fingers and struck Aries square in the chest, knocking him backward. Frost continued streaming from Gavin’s fingers until the ram’s legs were frozen.
Gavin leaped to his feet and rushed to the car’s other side. “Logan, come on! That probably won’t hold him for long. Let’s get out of here.”
Logan’s dark brown eyes were wide open and staring. “Gavin, you’re a superhero!” He ran over and hugged his brother.
“Whatever! This might make me believe your story about angels a little more. We can talk at home. Let’s get out of here before he breaks free,” The two boys turned and ran down the road as fast as possible, leaving Aries howling with rage.
————————————————————————————————————
“Hello. My name is Caleb.” Caleb motioned toward the kitchen, “My sister said you’ve been hurt. What is your name? Can you tell me what happened to you?”
“I…” The boy got a look of intense concentration on his face. “I think my name is Obadiah, but I am not sure. I can’t remember much of anything before last night.”
“That’s ok, Obadiah. Take it slow. How did you end up here at my sister’s house? Do you live nearby?”
“I woke up in the middle of a field. It was raining, and everything around me was burning. My back hurt. A lot. The only light that I saw led me here.”
“Can I see your back, Obadiah? I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Obadiah frowned but turned away from Caleb and gently lifted his shirt. Caleb’s eyes widened, and he nearly gasped. The wounds were still raw, but they looked like wounds that had been healing for days, not overnight. Glowing blue blood still oozed from several spots, but the lacerations mainly had scabbed over. Caleb sat back and looked intently at Obadiah.
“I know you don’t know me, and there’s no reason to trust me, but I would like you to stay with me at my laboratory. I’m a research scientist, and I can help you. They wouldn’t know what to do if you went to a regular hospital. They’d probably ship you off to the army base, and no one would ever see you again.”
“No! I won’t be locked away by the soldiers!” Obie looked directly into Caleb’s eyes. “I think I can trust you. I will go to your lab.”
“Do you remember anything before waking up in the field, Obadiah?”
Obie thought really hard. “I was falling. It felt like I fell forever. I think I was falling away from people who hurt me, but I was also falling toward someone. I think I was falling toward someone named Logan. I will go with you, Caleb, but only if you help me find Logan.”
Caleb nodded. “Of course I will. Maybe Logan will know more about you and where you come from.”
“Thank you.” Obadiah stood up. “I am ready to go with you now.”
Caleb said goodbye to his sister and led Obie out to his car. Caleb glanced at his phone and saw about a dozen missed calls and texts from Grace Santos. After listening to and reading the messages, he pulled his car onto the street and sped off toward Justyce Labs.
————————————————————————————————————
Erik screamed and started beating at his body with his hands to try and extinguish the bright yellow flames. “What the hell? Why am I on fire, and why am I floating?”
Cancer sneered and stepped closer to Ash and Harvey. “While your fiery friend is beating himself up, I’ll take care of the two of you. I can sense the blue stones. Give them to me, or the consequences will be severe.”
Ashton pulled Harvey’s unconscious body away from the crab creature and then stood between his friend and the terrifying monster. “You’re not getting the stones, and you’re not getting to my friends without a fight!”
“Ash! Duck!” Erik yelled.
Ash looked behind him and saw Erik with his arms out and intense concentration on his face. Ash didn’t hesitate. He dove on Harvey to protect him from whatever was about to happen. Just as Ash dove, he felt a searing heat above him. Ashton saw yellow fire emitting from Erik’s hands, striking Cancer directly in the chest.
Cancer ripped his burned shirt off when the flames stopped and threw it on the ground. “That hurt, boy, but I’m still standing. What else you got?” Cancer said, taking a step toward Erik.
“Damn! Those flames were hot, but they were too light and airy. I wonder if I can adjust the heat levels?” Erik mumbled to himself. He kept an eye on the advancing crab creature and tried to take a step backward. Erik was still floating and had lost his sense of balance. Erik did a summersault in mid-air as he stepped back before regaining control. Once upright, Erik threw another stream of fire at Cancer.
The crab slowed his advance. “That’s annoying, boy, but you’ll have to do better.”
Erik clenched his fists and closed his eyes in concentration. He pictured himself creating a massive ball of fire to throw at Cancer. Erik felt himself fall, and his feet hit the ground. Erik stumbled, but he stayed upright. When Erik opened his eyes, the flames covering his body had changed from a bright yellow to a dark orange. Also, he was holding a giant ball of fire. Erik threw the fireball as hard as he could. It hit Cancer with a thud, knocking him off his feet and sending him twenty feet backward.
Erik glanced over at Ashton. “Get Harvey out of here and help the others in the park. I got this.”
Harvey was awake but dizzy. Ash helped Harvey to stand, and the two friends disappeared into the trees, heading toward the park’s central section.
When Ash and Harvey cleared the tree line and looked down into the park, the centaur still fired arrows at people as they tried to run away. Ashton put a hand on Harvey’s arm. “I’ll be right back. Let me go and help these people.”
“I can help. Just let me clear my head. I’m still a bit dizzy.”
“Sit down, Harvs. I’ll be right back.” Ashton said and was gone in the blink of an eye. Harvey spotted Ash fifty yards away, knocking an arrow out of mid-air and helping a lady escape into the trees. Harvey couldn’t believe what he was seeing. His best friend was a bona fide superhero! He took out his cell phone and started taking pics and videos of the action.
Cancer got up and charged at Erik. Erik tried to form another fireball, but the crab was on top of him before he could get one ready. Before Cancer reached him, Erik tried to float but couldn’t get off the ground. Cancer struck Erik right in the midsection, and the two tumbled to the ground. Cancer knelt on Erik’s chest and raised his claw above his head, ready to strike. Erik raised both hands and shot a small fireball into the crab’s face. Cancer rolled off Erik, and Erik leaped to his feet. He willed his flames to get hotter again. Erik’s whole body glowed with yellow fire, and he rose into the air. That was the key. The orange and red fire was heavier and better used for fireballs, and the yellow fire was hotter, lighter, and perfect for flight. Erik was starting to figure out his power. He wondered what else he could do. He’d have to experiment when he wasn’t fighting for his life!
Finally gaining a little control over his new power, Erik fired shots of the yellow fire at Cancer, making the crab yelp in pain and roar in anger. Erik knew he couldn’t defeat the monster this way, but he tried to lure the creature away from his friends and the innocent bystanders in the park. Erik led Cancer to the east, away from the high school and toward the docks.
Ashton was busy dodging arrows and carrying people out of harm’s way. His confidence grew with each person he saved. Unfortunately, with overconfidence comes complacency. Ash failed to notice Sagittarius leap on top of the boathouse to gain a broader range for her arrows. Ash set a small boy down inside the tree line and turned back toward the lake. Before he could move out of the way, Ash was struck in the left shoulder with an arrow. The force of the blow caused him to stumble, and then another arrow embedded itself into his right thigh. Ash fell, moaning in pain.
Harvey saw the scene unfolding right in front of him, but he couldn’t do anything to stop it. Harvey yelled for Ash to turn around, but his friend was too far away and couldn’t hear him. Harvey stood up, slid his phone into his pocket, and ran as fast as possible across the park. Harvey reached Ashton’s side just as the other boy fell. Harvey looked up at the centaur, standing on top of the boathouse. “Leave my friend alone! What do you want? Why are you doing this?” Harvey barely noticed that his entire body felt tingly, and blue electric sparks ran back and forth between his fingertips.
“I’m here for the blue stones and will kill anyone with them. I will also kill anyone who stands in my way. That means your friend must die, and you too, by the looks of things.” The centaur said as she notched another arrow into her bow.
“I won’t let you kill him,” Harvey said. As Harvey’s anger rose, the electrical sparks multiplied and arced in the air around him. Harvey looked at himself in wonder, not understanding what was happening. Harvey didn’t even notice that Sagittarius had let loose the arrow and let it fly directly at his chest.
————————————————————————————————————
Gavin slammed the front door shut and locked it. He turned to his brother, “Logan, go to the family room. Stay away from the windows. We don’t know if that thing followed us. It might be able to track us!”
“That was scary, Gav, but you were awesome!” Logan said as he hurried into the family room.
“I… I’m not sure what I was or what happened.” He looked down at his hands, still covered with a light frost. Gavin wiped his hands on his jeans to try and dry them off. He sat on the couch and picked up the remote. “Let’s watch the news and see if there are any reports of other creatures like the one we saw.”
“Wow,” Logan said in awe as they watched short homemade video clips play on the television. “If we didn’t see what we saw, I’d think the footage of that minotaur was fake news!”
“Looks like the army is setting up checkpoints all over town. We should try to contact Dad and find out what’s up.”
“Ok. You text Dad, and I’ll text Harvs. If the high school hasn’t closed yet, it will soon.”
Logan wandered into the kitchen, looking for his brother. “Gav, Harvey still isn’t answering texts. I even tried calling, but it went to voicemail.”
Gavin gulped down the rest of his Mountain Dew and frowned. “I saw on the news that the high school closed and sent everyone home. He should be here by now.”
“Any news from dad?”
“Yes, but just vague stuff. ‘I won’t be home tonight. Don’t worry. Don’t leave the house unless absolutely necessary.’” Gavin shrugged. “He’s probably not saying anything specific in case anyone monitors his phone.”
“Should we be worried about Harvey?”
“We will look for him if he’s not home in another half hour. In the meantime, keep texting him. Hopefully, he’ll answer soon.”
“Got it.” Logan wandered back into the family room to watch the news for more updates about the strange events all over town. At the same time, he continued to text his younger brother.
————————————————————————————————————
Carl Chambers pulled the black van into the Newville Community Credit Union’s rear parking lot. He parked far away from the other cars. Carl shook his head, his golden mane flying wildly around his face, and glanced into the rearview mirror at Danielle Gordon. Dani was sprawled out on the middle seat of the van. “That was interesting. Even everyday things like driving will take some getting used to with our new bodies.”
“Yeah. We’ll have to customize everything. I can’t even sit properly with this tail. Some of us won’t be able to move around in public without attracting attention.”
Carl looked thoughtful. “You’re right. Especially once we begin our plans, we must find a new headquarters. Somewhere secret. They would find us at the union hall. We’ll move the meteorite and anything else important tonight.”
“You ready for this, Carl? We’ve mugged people, robbed gas stations, and other small stuff, but this is big.” Dani pointed at the bank.
“I’ve been ready for this for years. Let our reign of terror begin.” Carl threw his head back and roared.
The lion and the scorpion walked through the credit union’s front doors, and everyone stopped and stared. One of the security guards sauntered over with a smirk on his face. “Y’all can’t come into a bank wearing those silly costumes. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Dani sneered at the guard. “Silly costumes? How dare you address the Zodiac Club in such a bold manner!” Dani’s tail swung around and hit the guard square in the chest, sending him flying backward and out of the front window. He landed on the sidewalk in a shower of broken glass. The second guard barely had a chance to move before Carl grabbed him and threw him through the window to join his partner on the sidewalk.
Carl looked around the bank. He pointed at the customers with one big furry paw. “All of you get on the floor facedown, and you might live to see another day.”
As the customers obeyed Carl, Dani walked up to the closest bank teller and set a pile of bags on the counter. “Hello. My name is Scorpia. My friend Leo and I represent the Zodiac Club and would like to withdraw from your bank today. Fill up all these bags, and don’t try anything heroic. I don’t want to kill you, but I will.” Scorpia smashed her tail onto a nearby desk to emphasize her point, splintering it into kindling. The bank tellers quickly got to work filling the bags.
Coming Soon: Episode 4 – A Firefly and a Pocket Watch
Ken_W_Writer’s Stories and Poems 