Super

by Haley

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Posted on April 2, 2015

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This story holds a special place in my little writer heart. This is a short story about a boy who's new move brings up some intresting secrets.

Enjoy!

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It was a nice sunny day. You wouldn’t have guessed I spent most of it moping. We drove through this small town with a name I couldn’t pronounce. My parents chatted excitedly in the front seat, pointing at random buildings. Probably talking about which ones they would absolutely love to visit. I sat in the back of our old beat up car, riding to my doom.

And by ‘doom’, I meant our new house.

I was reluctant about moving. I hated the whole stinking idea of it. But after the car accident I was in, the doctor said it was best that I moved to a new place. I know, it didn’t make sense, but my parents went with it anyway. The thing is, I don’t even remember the accident. I remember who I am and where I’m from and some memories of me being a kid, I just don’t remember getting into a car and wrecking. Doctors say the wreck messed with my memory, but I wasn’t so sure. I heard the accident was pretty rough, though. I was in a coma for about a month, and a lot of my bones were broken.  My left arm was still in a cast, which itched annoyingly in this hot summer sun.

“Look, George! There it is!” Mom chirped excitedly from the front. I peered out the window, curious as to which house Mom was talking about when the car lurched to a stop. My jaw dropped a little when I saw it. This house loomed over all the other houses, and it was this firetruck red color. The paint on the house was peeling though, and it looks like the windows or anything else hasn't been washed in a while. There was a dark eeriness about it that I couldn’t place my finger on. I stepped out of the car and stared at the house.

“Hey, buddy!” Dad said, grabbing my shoulder. “Why don’t you go check it out? You can even pick out which room is yours!” Dad gave me a smile before walking off to go help Mom with something, leaving me standing there. Go pick out which room was mine? How many rooms were there? I sighed, re-adjusted the backpack on my shoulder, and walked into the house.

Immediately, a cold draft was the first thing I noticed. It sent cold shivers down my spine but it was still too hot to wear a jacket. I glanced around the halls, which were also red, but more of a deep color of red. I didn’t know how to describe it other than the fact it was creepy. The house itself wasn’t empty; we’ve been moving into it for weeks now. It was just the first time I ever saw it. I set off down one of the hallways, looking in the random drawers and cabinets that were placed here and there. I found myself standing in front of a china cabinet, staring at one particular plate that had this cute little picture of some flower on it. I stepped up to get a closer look at it when something in me twitched and I was somewhere else. I was in a dark room, with no windows and no visible doors. The room was empty except one spotlight that shone like the sun against the black.

Mentally, I was there. Physically, I was not. I was some outside force, looking into this darkness. I had no idea where this room was located, but I knew it wasn’t my house. My attention suddenly jerked to this person stepping out of the shadows.  He was a tall guy with a small build and currently wore jeans and a hoodie that concealed a lot of his face. But I knew this person had shaggy brown hair, with a big nose and green eyes.

How did I know this? Because the person was me.

I watched in horror as Other Me jerked the hood off his head and slowly raised his hand. Something whizzed across the room and landed neatly in his palm. It was a plate. He smirked as he studied the plate, with a picture of a flower gleaming out of the darkness, before yanking his hood back up and walking off. Something in me twitched again and I was back in the house, holding a broken plate in my bloodied hands. I was breathing heavily. Was that actually me? Did I have telekinesis?

“George! There you are!” My dad’s voice called down the hall. I threw the plate into a random drawer and shoved my hands in my pocket. Dad came around the corner and smiled at me.

“Hey, bud! How you liking the house so far?” He had this huge grin on his face while he awaited my answer. I forced a weak smile onto mine.

“It’s… Um, bigger than our other one.” Dad smiled and nodded.

“Oh definitely. Have you found the room you wanted yet?”

“No. I was looking around down here first. Are the rooms…”

“Upstairs? Yes, go along now. Go pick a room. The movers need to move all your stuff.” Dad nodded and walked off. I pulled my injured hand out of my pocket and examined it. I only had a cut, nothing some bandages couldn’t cover. My thoughts went back to the plate and the memory, if you  want to call that a memory. There’s no way it could be real. I shook my head and headed upstairs, to where I was amazed by the size of the house once again. The color of the upstairs walls were the same crimson red as all the rest, but this part of the house had a little hall that overlooked the rest of the house. The hall split off into a different hall that had rooms down each side of it. I chose the last room on the left and swung the door open.

I walked into a pretty nice sized room. This room, unlike the rest of the house, was a green color. It had this huge window that overlooked some farm in the distance. I set my bag down and estimated how much my bed would take up. Man, I would have enough room to fit an actual desk in here! I opened my closet and stared at all the space I had. I shut the closet again and just stood in the room for a while.

“Dad! Dad, this is it! This is the room I want!” I yelled down the stairs. It was a minute or so before I heard Dad’s footsteps coming up the stairs. He smiled as he walked in, and then turned around and hollered at the movers that this is where my room was. I stepped out and walked back downstairs as the movers began hefting things up the stairs. I wondering around the house more, trying to make it look like I was exploring, but I was really trying to see if anything triggered those weird flashes of thoughts again. I still wasn’t convinced it was a memory. People just don't have super powers. My wondering led me to find Mom hanging out in the kitchen.

“Hi, George.” Mom smiled. “Do you want something to drink?” I shrugged.

“Not right now.” I answered. She nodded and went back to staring out the window. She was quieter than usual, and the thought unnerved me.

“Mom? Are you okay?” I asked. She looked at me for a bit before answering.

“I’m just not sure it was the right choice.” There was something in her eye, some sort of longing.

“You don’t think moving was a good choice?” I asked. I thought Mom was all for this ‘moving’ idea.

“I do, it’s just… Oh, George! What happened to your hand?” Mom grabbed where the plate cut my hand and examined it.

“Oh, I was looking at this plate and I dropped it and it broke and when I tried to clean it up I got cut.” I quickly said, hoping Mom wouldn’t catch my lie.

“Well, let’s clean it up. We wouldn’t want it getting infected.” Mom grabbed some medical supplies out of a bag and began cleaning and wrapping my hand. Afterwards, I followed Dad around the house and helped the movers move things here and there. By the time we were finished, Mom had found some food and began cooking. Our first dinner in the new house actually wasn’t bad. We joked and talked a bunch. After dinner, I showered and had Mom re-bandage my hand before I decided to  hit the hay. I wished my parents goodnight and headed up to my now fully furnished room. I sat down on my bed and smiled. Maybe the new house wouldn’t be so bad after all. I looked over to my dresser and saw my phone sitting there. The thoughts of earlier once again crept into my mind.

Sitting up, I concentrated on the phone. C’mon. All you have to do is move towards me. I kept staring at the phone. It wouldn’t budge. I sighed. Something didn’t feel right. Maybe I wasn’t doing something properly? I readjusted and went over the thought I had earlier. I walked in, wearing black, but I don’t see how that’s relevant. I held up my hand for the object to fly into it…

That was it. I didn’t hold up my hand.

Not really concentrating on the phone as much as I was just moving things in general, I held out my hand with my palm facing the dresser. The only thing on my mind was that I finally figured it out. I wanted something to move towards me. Without a warning, the whole darn dresser shot towards me, making a loud skidding noise across the floor. I jumped, which made me stop thinking about moving things, so everything stopped moving.

“George? Are you moving furniture up there?” My mother called up the stairs.

“Um, yeah! My phone fell behind the dresser and I was trying to grab it, but I got it now!” I yelled in return. That’s twice I lied to her within the last 24 hours. That’s like a new record. I went back to facing the dresser, which was scooted halfway across the room. But my phone was still sitting on top of it. I thought about my phone, nothing but my phone, and reached out with my hand again. This time, my phone slid neatly off my dresser and into my hand. I smiled, but then frowned. This meant I had telekinesis, which means what?

    The sound of glass breaking, followed by more crashing noises, interrupted my thought process. Quickly changing the concentration on what I was moving, I moved the dresser back into place. I cracked open my door and yelled, “Mom?” down the stairs. There was no reply. I swung my door open and curiously looked down the hall. It was dark, which was weird. If my parents were still up, I know they’d have the lights on. I took a deep breath in before heading down the stairs.

    Wait, what was I so scared for? There couldn’t be anything bad down there, could there? I straightened up and walked downstairs. The moment I took my first step into the darkness, I stubbed my toe on something. Attempting not to fall, I reached out and grabbed the table...which was positioned in front of the staircase? I slid out from behind the table, keeping my hand on it the entire time, until I found the wall. I patted the wall until my fingers brushed a light switch. Flipping it on, I turned around and gasped.

    The kitchen was completely destroyed. The cabinets were ripped off the hinges, plates and cups were broken and scattered everywhere. One of the tables was thrown against the wall. I ran into the living room just to find the couch flipped and the TV stand shattered. My heartbeat sped up as I ran around the house looking for my parents.

    “Mom? Dad?” I yelled, sprinting through the house and opening random doors. I found myself at the end of a hallway with neither of my parents located. The door at the end of the hall was swung open and partly off its hinges. I quickly sprinted out the door and into my backyard.

    “There you are.” A voice behind me boomed. I flipped around to see someone standing on the room of my house. It was a man wearing all black. He paced back and forth menacingly, staring down at me. There was a giant scar etched across his nose and cheeks. His black hair was tied neatly on a ponytail that flowed into the wind, along with his cape. Cape? Who wears a cape anymore?

    “Who are you? Where are my parents?” I yelled. His laugh echoed into the darkness.

“Silly boy! Your own life is in danger and you’re worried about your parents? Whatever. Guys, you know what to do.” He nodded into the darkness, which rippled with movement. About ten people jumped out, circling me and staring me down. I sized them all up. At least half of those people were bigger than I was. Everyone else I could take down physically. I looked at my surroundings and found my yard also in ruins, with patio furniture and lawn ornaments strewn about.

Wait, I could use this to my advantage. Concentrating, I reached out my hand to a table, which flew at me with incredible speed. It took out a couple of the people standing in front of me. “Whoa!” one of them yelled, backing away. One of them jumped at me from behind. I quickly flipped them off me and sent them flying. I sprinted over to the more empty part of my lawn to face whoever was remaining. They were starting to circle me faster than before, and it took a lot more concentrating to keep track of them all. I quickly levitated two tables, preparing to throw them at whoever came at me. I didn’t know how all this was coming so natural to me, but it was.

“So you know what you’re capable of…” The man from before said. This triggered something within me and I was thrown into another memory.

I was again, outside looking in as I watched myself send random objects across the room. I looked to be about five. Another memory flashed by and it was me, at thirteen, sending a football across a field without lifting a finger. Then the next memory made my heart stop. It was me, just a couple months ago, getting out of a car and fighting something off. I couldn’t see what it was due to the fact that it was dark, but it brutally had beaten me up. My car was smashed in the distance. I shook my head and was back in my yard, staring up at the man. I still had both tables spiraling in a circle around me, and no one tried to attack.

“Why am I remembering this? What does this all mean?” I yelled. The man stared at me for a minute before nodding to the people around me.

“Alright, guys. Let your guard down, he remembers.” Everyone sighed and quit moving. Some of them sat down, others went and helped the people I took out with the table. I just stood there, confused. The man on the roof jumped and landed perfectly in front of me. Up close, I could see his scar more clear. His dark eyes seemed to lighten a little when he met my gaze.

“And let his parents go too.” He said, not breaking eye contact. Mom and Dad walked out of the forest, alive and unharmed.

“Mom? Dad? Where were you? I’ve--”

“George, let Mr. Hortwilk explain.” Dad said, calmly. Mom gave me a weak smile. I turned back and faced the man, who I guessed was Mr. Hortwilk.

“George. I must say, very impressive. You broke into your memories much faster than any other Super has before. Not than many other Supers have been in an accident quite like yours, which brings us back to the impressive part. Not only did you quickly regained your memories, you also remembered how to use your powers. Most Supers take forever to remember who they are and what they did and everything like that.”

“What do you mean? And who are these ‘Supers’ you’re talking about?” I interrupted.

“You, George. I’m talking about you. You’re a Super. You fought off a villain, which put you in a crucial accident. I was surprised you made it out alive really. But you regained your senses quickly.”

“So I do have powers then?” I asked, looking at my hands.

“Yes. The only one so far who has telekinesis. But I’m sure you’re wondering, ‘Why are you here, Mr. Hortwilk? What does this all mean?’ Well, I’ll tell you. I’m gathering a league, kid. All these other people around you? They’re Supers too. We’re fighting against evil. The accident you were in was too close of a call of showing people what lurks out there. It took a lot to make it look like a car wreck and not that some villain-made creature smashed the hood of your car in. So I’m trying to recruit all the former Supers I can. Unfortunately, the Villains are doing a good job of wiping you guys out or having Supers switch sides. So I came here, but I had to make sure you knew who you were, or at least what your powers were. Fortunately for me, you did. But there is one question I have to ask you, George. Would you be willing to train and fight against evil? I can assure you it won’t be easy.” I glanced back at Mom and Dad.

“What about them? Will I see them again?” Mom, Dad, and Mr. Hortwilk laughed.

“Why do you think we had you guys move? We moved you guys here to be closer to Base. Of course, Base will look like an ordinary school, but where you will train to be one of the greatest Supers around.”

“And you won’t be alone.” Mom cut in. “I’ll be going with you.” I gave Mom a confused glance, but before I could ask, she answered.

“I’m a Super myself, dear.” She vanished in thin air. I took a step back just as Mom reappeared again.

“Whoa.” Was all I could could say.

“Yes, your mother will make a lovely teacher. So what do you say, George?” Mr. Hortwilk asked. I looked at Mom and Dad, who smiled. I looked at the kids around me, who seemed to be waiting for my answer. I took a deep breath in and smiled.

“I’m in.”

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