Chapter 33.
Field Trip.
Damien Reyes.
Time/Area: July 31st, 2013. NYC
I yawned, smiling as I felt the Friday sunlight on my face.
I sat up on my bed, moving the white silk sheets off my legs before standing up. The carpet was cold underneath my bare feet, but the sensation helped cast away the remaining dreariness in my eyes.
I glanced to my right, noticing that Jason was still very much asleep.
Remembering something, I quietly made my way over to the full body mirror beside my closet. I took off my shirt, tracing a line down the scar that outlined my stab wound.
Despite yesterday’s drama, I was still very eager to try out what me and Terry had discussed. I let my finger drop to my side,
“Here goes nothing,” I thought.
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes while trying to find that familiar feeling from last night. I couldn’t help but feel a little stupid while doing it, but opening my eyes proved to set that aside. All real objects faded away into black around me, an audible hum that I didn't notice before wrapping around my ears as I felt my eyes glow. It felt like two warm light bulbs were blasting from my eyelids. There was something else too…something calm about it. Something… more like me.
“This is so cool,” I thought, looking at my outline in the mirror. I knew it was a ‘reflection’ of myself, but without being able to actually see the mirror itself, it felt like I was just watching a clone.
“Wait.” I squinted at myself, “Yellow?”
It was true; for the most part, my silhouette was composed of bright yellow wisps of lights. Aside from its golden tint, particles of red encircled my form. Terry’s words echoes in my head,
“Think of the red red as excess energy.”
That must’ve been how much ‘excess’ I had left.
“Wonder what I can do with it..” I thought, several superpowered ideas coming to mind.
I smiled, forgetting how it felt to feel excited. Has it really become so foreign to think like this? To explore the parts of me that were still human?
But, like I said, the thoughts were foreign. They didn’t belong here anymore. No matter what, I was still choosing to harbor my family’s killer inside me. Or, at least, choosing to be okay with it.
Damien…
I frowned, closing my eyes once more.
All at once, I felt the warmth and comfort around me dissipate, opening my eyes to find the reflection of the sun on my mirror and the world back to normal. I stared into those eyes, wondering exactly who was staring back at me. His eyes had a glaze over them, like he wasn’t all there. That guy had a sinister look; like he was completely ready to kill us all.
He smiled.
I backed away, turning away from the mirror while willing myself to stop.
I had superpowers for crying out loud. I should be happy. Let’s be happy.
I grabbed a bathrobe and a bottle of shampoo from my closet before leaving the massive room, tip-toeing into the bathroom to avoid waking Jason. I took my phone with me. Touching the device seemed to send a shiver down my spine, and it turned on without my intervention. Or…maybe I was just looking for an excuse to have a superpower.
I decided to use the hot tub again instead of the showers right next to it.
Since the hot tub was basically just an excuse to have a small pool, it took a bit for the water to reach chest level.
Once it had reached the right temperature and I had poured some soap into the water, I let my body sink into the water. I started swishing my finger through the foamy liquid, wondering if I had some kind of water powers as the bubbles swirled around my finger nail.
After a couple of minutes of that, I took my hands out, grabbing my phone from the tub ledge and checking for messages.
Like always, I checked the ‘Family’ chat for any texts from Mom or Sarah…
Oh…haha..how silly.
I tried to ignore the sweat leaking from my neck, pushing my thumb against the group chat until my phone buzzed the message:
Delete ‘Family’ group chat?
I stared at the question, tilting my head in slight horror:
You have ‘canceled’ your action.
I switched to my contacts tab, pressing Selina’s ID.
As it rang, I tried to still my hand shaking. I suddenly longed for my eyes to be glowing again. To feel that comfort.
…
…
“Ugh…” Selina sounded tired, “it’s like…eight in the morning. Go to bed.”
I chuckled a little, “I uh, wanted to talk about my..uh..”
“Superman complex?” Selina pitched, “What about it?”
I sighed, kicking my feet in the water as I leaned backwards,
“It’s just that..you handled it like..very well..”
I heard her cough, “Well, we are kids,” She reasoned,
“We’re way better at handling the crazy stuff than adults in my opinion. Plus, it’s still sinking in.”
I slowly nodded, “Yea..” I agreed, “But are you sure there’s nothing else?”
She sighed, “Are you?”
I blinked, “What do you mean?”
“Dami.. Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something about your powers? A-and it’s not like you’ve actually…like…shot lasers out your eyes or something.”
“Umm,” I struggled, “I-I thought you said you didn’t want to ruin all my secrets..”
She laughed, “Low blow.” She breathed,
“But you better not be watching Batman right now.”
I was confused, “Uh…why?”
She made her voice gruff, “I shall not inform my girlfriend of my activities in order to PROTECT herrr.”
I grinned, staring at the wavy reflection in the water reluctantly.
There he is again…
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how Batman sounds.” I sighed, looking away.
Selina scoffed, “Totally not the point.”
I thought for a moment, pondering that idea.
I really wasn’t hiding it to protect her.
I was doing it because of her opinion of me. I didn’t know if that was selfish, but I just couldn’t take the risk. I didn’t want her to see that guy.
Not now anyway,
“No I’m not doing anything” I lied, “Y-you know, if I was even hiding anything at all.”
“Hmm,” She muttered, obviously not buying it,
“Well whatever, just don’t die and let me sleep.”
She hung up.
I let out a breath of relief, placing my phone back on the ledge before pouring some more soap into the water.
“Wonder if Jason’s up.” I thought, not being able to hear as well over the Tub Jets.
While I spread the soap throughout the water, I realized something,
“Wait..hearing shouldn’t be a problem for me, right?”
I smirked a little, closing my eyes and trying to listen.
Maybe I would hear-
I froze, feeling the deep burn in my ears and temples before the ring of one million sounds was instantly focused.
"Yea, what a bunch of wimps."
I blinked.
That was Henry Mores’ voice: the infamous, stereotypical school bully that was two years older than us and had somehow made it into high school.
Was he outside our house?
Why?
I listened harder…if that even made sense, the burning sensation in my ears magnifying itself as I winced from slight pain.
Did you see his face on the news? Ha! Hilarious!
Another voice came,
“Yea dude- and I think his sidekick’s parents died too and now he lives with him.”
Henry laughed again, “Really? What a bunch of losers. Acting all sad when they literally live in a mansion. How did they die?”
The other explained, “They died trying to get people out of their burning apartment..My dad said that they should’ve just left it to the police.”
Henry cackled, “You think? Eh, now they’re both rich so I bet they’re just pretending to be sad for everyone to see.”
I willed my heightened hearing away, my brain a storm as I tried to calm the emotions inside me.
ZTZT
The overhead lights flickered.
How did they know where I lived now?
Was it those annoying reporters?
I was pretty sure there were some of them hanging outside Jason’s house when I was helping him move his stuff a couple weeks ago.
Those…idiots.
Why did these imbeciles outside even care?! AND WHAT WAS AN ACT?!
Damien…let’s calm down.
Right…right.
They weren’t worth the effort, and we wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
Not ever.
Just then, I heard faint shuffling from behind the bathroom door.
I took a deep breath, turning on my Fear Sight to look through the wall whilst feeling the strange security wash over me.
Jason’s dim red outline was up and heading towards me.
I shook my glowing eyes away as Jason entered the bathroom, laughing when he saw me in the pool sized tub,
“Are you gonna use that like..every day?” He asked, heading to the sink to brush his teeth, “I never get to use this as much because of you..”
I shook my head,
“Of course not..” I lied, “Henry is outside by the way…”
Jason blinked, turning around,
“Henry Mores?” He quizzed, “He beat me up in third grade..”
I nodded, “Yea, I remember..”
Jason looked back at me, squinting, “Wait, how do you know he’s outside? And are you sure you don’t have superstrength?”
I groaned, “I heard him making fun of us outside.”
Jason blinked, “Super hearing..nice. What did he say?”
I shook my head, “Not important. Guess what I found out last night?!”
Jason turned back to me,
“What?” He asked, squirting some toothpaste on his green brush.
After I had explained everything that Terry had told me from within our common space, Jason hummed,
“SowuhaIt’slikebikeforlife?” Jason mumbled, toothbrush still in his mouth.
I blinked, “ ‘Gibberish Decoder’ isn’t one of my abilities, Jay.”
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Jason spat, “Oh, whoops,” He said, wiping his mouth off before turning back to me, “So it’s like Fight4Life?”
I shrugged, “Terry would deny it but…Yeah...basically.”
Jason gasped, “Wait, maybe that should be your super name!”
I coughed, “Umm, I don’t follow..”
Jason rolled his eyes, “DJDemon!”
I laughed for a solid five minutes, nearly choking when I was able to stop,
“No.” I stated simply.
Jason frowned, obviously hurt, “So…have you told Selina?”
I shook my head, “No…keeping cover I guess..”
Jason tilted his head, “Do you even need to do that during an apocalypse?”
I shook my head, “Technically it’s still pre apocalypse, right?”
Jason grinned, “You’re avoiding the question, and I bet Paris begs to differ.”
I didn’t answer, the word Paris effectively switching my mindset.
Jason noticed this, his voice stuttering like it did every time he tried to cheer me up, “W-well, get out of there… what are we gonna do today?”
I didn’t really want to do anything but stay in the hot tub, “Ughhh, do we have to do something?”
Jason groaned, “Uhh yea, or else auntie will make us do something...now get out, bubbleman.”
I shook my head, “Think of a different name please...and give me my robe.”
Jason tossed me the gray garment, “Bubbleman is good though, and auntie probably wants us out doing something while the exterminator is here.”
I coughed, “Exterminator?”
He laughed, “You haven’t noticed the spiders? They’re like…everywhere.”
I shivered. I hated spiders.
I slipped into the robe as I drained the water in the tub, “No, not really... and Bubbleman sounds like a crappy kids show.”
I stepped out, Jason glaring at me as I did,
“Then don’t complain when I call you superboy.”
Fair enough.
Once we exited the bathroom, I noticed Jason’s laptop on my bed,
“Wachu doing?” I asked, getting on my knees and checking the screen.
He was apparently looking at emails.
One in particular caught my eye: It was from Mr.Fencer, our math teacher.
Jason pushed me aside, “Away from my laptop!”
“What did Mr.Fencer say?” I laughed, standing up and heading towards my closet, “And get your stuff off my bed.”
I stepped inside to change.
“Uh, there’s this optional field trip thingy we can go to...like..for fun.” Jason explained.
I blinked, pulling on some jeans before stepping back into J’s line of view. I turned around to face my mirror, “Mr.Fencer...fun? The words don’t mix.”
Jason laughed in agreement, “It’s supposed to be a stress reliever from all the monster stuff.”
Suddenly, Jason paused in his speech,
“Dude..I-I think something’s on your back!”
I winced a little,
“Wait, you see something?” I asked.
I felt a pillow hit the back of my head,
“I missed…I think it’s a spider.” Jason said, “It’s pretty big actually...you see why we need an exterminator?”
I yelped as a loud pop echoed through the room, a flash of blinding light running up through my upper body as the sound faded. I watched my eyes widen in the mirror as the glazed brown of my irises burned a brilliant red. Every drop of water that lingered on my chest and back from the tub had incinerated, leaving a trail of water vapor in the air whilst fogging up the mirror. My jaw dropped as my eyes dimmed back to their normal color.
I whipped around to find a spider crumpled up on the carpet next to my foot, a small smoke trail elongating from the arachnid. It was about three inches wide, which almost scared me more than whatever the heck I just did.
Jason sprung up from my bed, slowly walking towards me as he tossed his laptop onto his mattress,
“Did you just...can you..?” He mumbled.
I wasn’t quite sure what had just happened, but the room’s light bulb was now flickering endlessly.
I too was at a loss for words, “Can I like...emit an electrical current or something?”
I remembered the feeling I had when I touched my phone,
“Maybe it was a superpower.”
Jason shrugged, “Maybe...h-how does that even work?”
I shared the gesture, “How the heck should I know?”
We both sighed, giving up. The light bulb stopped flickering.
Just then, our door creaked open, both of us swinging towards the intruder with a nervous posture.
“Boys?” Mrs.M quizzed, walking into our room.
She froze when she saw us.
“Uhm..Damien?” She tilted her head, looking at me, “Shirt?”
I coughed, looking down, “O-Oh right, sorry Mrs.M,”
I found a blue long sleeve and tugged it on.
“Jason?” Mrs.M turned her attention towards him, “I thought I heard a noise.”
Jason just shrugged, “Me too..”
I resisted the urge to laugh as Jason stepped on the spider for good measure,
“Well, what are you two going to do today?” Mrs.M asked, leaning against our door frame. She noticed the dead spider, “The exterminator will be here in a couple of hours.”
Jason spoke up first, “We’re going to our bus stop for a field trip our math teacher is hosting.”
I blinked, “We are?”
Jason elbowed me, which didn’t feel like anything but I got the jist,
“I-I mean we are!”
This made Mrs.M smile brightly, “That’s good!” She said, “You two need to get out more..”
Her voice went to a whisper, “It’ll be good for you,”
Me and Jason looked at each other,
“I hope she’s okay..” I thought.
“Me too,” Jason thought back.
Ztztz.
Wait.
The heck?!
Both our eyes widened, but before we could say anything, Mrs.M coughed,
“Well, I’ll be on a phone meeting with Tony Floyd trying to keep Cole Industries going, so feel free to leave whenever.”
Jason nodded, “O-Okay…w-when’s uncle getting back?”
He was referring to Mrs.Mabel’s husband, not Mr.Floyd.
She sighed, “Don’t worry about it, honey..” She said softly, not wasting another second before shutting the door.
When it closed, Jason grabbed my shoulders and began shaking me wildly,
“WE CAN...YOU CAN? WHAT????” He shouted, his emerald colored eyes shining brightly with excitement.
I laughed, both of us pushing away from each other before hopping right back into conversation,
“Can I read minds?” I asked, sitting up, “How does that work..?”
Jason shrugged, falling onto my bed in amusement, “I don’t know but you can!”
Suddenly, I felt a warm feeling run through my back. Terry.
That is absurd Damien. You cannot read every mind.
I blinked, rubbing my temples as I felt Terry’s voice in my head.
You must’ve created a connection with..Jason..by accident due to you two’s..family complex.
“Uhhh, thanks Terry..” I muttered, causing Jason to choke,
“Terry’s talking to you?!” He asked.
I nodded, “He does that sometimes when I’m awake. Sorry…we usually have these conversations in our head.”
Jason fell back on the sheets, “ ‘We’...’our’ ,” He shook his head, evidently still coping with my condition, “O-okay… what did he say?”
“Umm, I can only read your mind..apparently..or like..people I know really well?”
Jason groaned, “Well that’s kind of boring...wanna go now?”
I rolled my eyes, both of us getting up, “It’s far from boring in my opinion..” I muttered, "Plus this technically means you kind of have a superpower too."
Jason laughed as we walked into the hallway. He grabbed his trench coat on our way downstairs, “Yea, I’m joking...but uh, how do we turn it on and off?”
I shrugged, “No idea.”
Once we were down the stairs and out the door, Jason paused, breathing in the morning air while kicking his legs out.
“Wanna race to the Intersection?” He asked, pulling on his trench coat, “I bet I could beat you now that I’m older than you.”
I laughed, “Literally by one month...” I shook my head, bolting down the sidewalk before waiting for Jay’s remark.
Jason was right behind me, both of us laughing as we ran across Draxon. I tried to push myself to run even faster. To leave all my problems and thoughts behind me. Maybe I didn’t have to be a monster right now. Maybe I was running towards Sarah. The thought didn’t have to be absurd right now. Maybe she was…right over here.
I felt butterflies stir in my stomach as the rest of the world melted away. I almost grinned,
“Sarah..”
I was about to reach the end of the street, when suddenly, my field of vision began to grow a hazy red color, that same stirring feeling beginning to grow into a sort of infestation as a loud boom echoed from behind me.
“What the what?” I thought, skidding to a stop as I was flung back into reality.
I turned around to face Jason, but he wasn’t there.
“Uhh, Jason?” I whispered, looking around.
“Wait a second..” I thought, “I’m not..at Draxon anymore..”
I was at the bus stop already… which was a thirty minute walk from Draxon.
What was that red color?
I looked down at my palms just in time to see sparks of red static dissipate into the air.
I gasped, wiggling my finger as if to try and summon the sparks once more, “Is this stuff really Excess?”
My shocked face was soon replaced with one of Joy as I looked around some more. No one was around, and everyone that would be coming was probably still walking here...
Did I have..superspeed?
“Ohhhhh I’m awesome…” I muttered, noticing wisps of smoke on my clothes as the very prospect of having such a power danced within my brain.
But again, this presented an issue.
Assuming this really was superspeed, how would I control how fast I moved?
“Uhhh Terry?” I asked, feeling dumb as I spoke into nothingness,
“Got anything for me?”
No response. It seemed like he always talked when I didn’t want to listen.
I narrowed my eyes at the sidewalk I had run from. The threat of an apocalypse had evidently taken its hold on Manhattan, but distant honks of car horns and some tens of people could still be heard and seen around me. In comparison to other places, it would’ve felt crowded, but in this city it just felt lonely. Despite that, no one seemed to bat an eye at me as they walked past the bus stop. No cars or taxis stopped their mad rush down these infinite roads and not one of the usual beggars in these alleys looked at me differently.
“Should I try it again?” I wondered, crouching down into a running position. Maybe I was just going too fast for them to notice.
When I ran the first time, how did I turn corners?
Was it a subconscious reflex?
It must’ve been, since I’ve walked this way forever.
I shook my thoughts away, closing my eyes and concentrating.
If this was an…’Excess Energy’ thing... all I had to do was think about the red stuff to use it, right?
But what...specifically should I think about?
The Flash?!
I groaned, standing back up when nothing happened.
Either I was doing something wrong, or I was out of juice.
I sighed, feeling my phone buzz from within my jeans pocket.
I took it out, coughing when I saw Jason’s ID on the screen.
I clicked ‘Answer’.
“Hey.” I answered, rubbing the sleeve of my shirt.
For it to be almost August, it was pretty cold.
“UHH, DID YOU JUST DO WHAT I THOUGHT YOU JUST DID!?”
I laughed, not expecting powers to be this exciting, “I think I uh…may have superspeed.”
I heard Jason whoop, “YOU ARE SUPERMAN!!!”
I rolled my eyes, “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.”
“ Wait, doesn’t this mean we have problems?”
I blinked, “The only problem is that I think I used all of my red stuff. I hope it doesn't run out this quickly always.”
Jason coughed, “No, I mean, can’t other monsters do whatever you can?”
I tilted my head, “Not everything, but I guess some could be really fast?”
“Yeah. I don’t really know how this works, but just saying…”
I brushed it off, “Well, Terry said that he was the most powerful, so don’t worry..”
Jason sighed, “Well how much does Terry actually know..?”
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Jason had a point. Terry had only been an individual for a little bit, so it would stand to reason that he was just going off of his huge ego when it came to talking about other monsters.
“Umm, I’ll ask him later I guess.” I breathed, “See, now you’ve ruined the mood.”
Jason laughed, “Okay okay sorry…I’ll be there in like..fifteen minutes.”
He hung up.
Within those next fifteen minutes, a surprising amount of kids came to the bus stop.
Jason was among the first to arrive, and was now standing next to me, while other kids littered the sidewalk. I tried to find Selina among the group, but she wasn’t here.
“So, I have a question,” Jason started, looking at me.
“Shoot.” I responded.
“If you can only see things that are scared, can you not see me now?”
“Good question,” I murmured, turning on my Fear Sight. I was getting quite good at this.
I could see everyone here. They were all outlined in dim red strands, which meant my meter was still full.
Jason yelped, his glow increasing in brightness temporarily, “Dude...your eyes glow red, turn it off!”
I quickly obeyed, looking around in case anyone had seen as the world was rebuilt from darkness.
It didn’t look like anyone had noticed,
“Whoops,” I apologized, “Well yeah, I can still see people.”
Jason looked confused, “So everyone here is scared?”
I thought for a moment, “Well… I guess that everyone is technically afraid of something.”
Jason blinked, “How poetic.”
Just then, a white school bus with the initials “S.O.S” painted onto its back pulled up next to the bus stop, the doors sliding open to reveal Mr.Fencer,
“Hello Fencer’s class, all periods!” He greeted everyone. Mr.Fencer was dressed in a plain, ‘I love Math’ shirt, with gray cargo shorts and black tennis shoes.
It was weird seeing my teacher dress in something so casual. The only teacher I was used to being around outside the school was Mrs.Rodriguez, and she was just a distant family friend.
This was a mix of all of Mr.Fencer’s classes, so mostly everyone here was older than us.
“We will be rock hunting today! Exciting, eh!?”
What?
Everyone cheered, while I turned to leave.
Jason grabbed my sleeve, “Oh c'mon,” He whispered, “It’ll be fun.”
I rolled my eyes, obliging, “No, it won’t...”
“Mr.Fencer, what if a monster eats us!??!” A random kid yelled from within the crowd.
The remark was quickly met with a surge of laughter from everyone; a surge that was just as swiftly stomped out by Mr.Fencer’s piercing gaze. The guy was a nice teacher, but cargo shorts did nothing to temper his strict tone,
“I do not want to hear about this monster nonsense during the trip, do I make myself clear?” He ordered, eyeing our crowd suspiciously.
I guess it would make sense for all the teachers to deny the truth, which made me wonder why not even one picture of a monster had been captured successfully yet. I mean, I would’ve questioned their existence too if I hadn’t received confirmation from my sister. Or if...you know… I wasn’t already one of them. Yet with countless sightings being reported all over the city; not one picture? How long would everyone be stuck in this middle ground. And when it was over, how ready would everyone be to accept it?
Everyone echoed murmurs of obedience towards Mr.Fencer, still snickering under their breath as he stepped onto the bus.
The chatter went up again as the bus driver started waving us into the vehicle, conversations ranging from what people were doing for the quote unquote ‘apocalypse’ break, to Mr.Fencer’s attire.
Just then, a heavy burning sensation flooded up my back, causing me to stagger on the sidewalk. It seemed like a ramped up version of what I felt when walking to Jason’s house weeks ago.
Jason narrowed his eyes at me, stepping out of the way for others to board while lowering his voice, “Wh-what’s wrong Damien? Do you..need to feed?”
I shook my head, my head beginning to clear as I felt the sensation fade, “I-It’s my back. It usually burns when...something bad is about to happen..”
Jason narrowed his eyes, “So your ‘Spider Sense’ is tingling?”
I sighed, both of us getting on the bus and instinctively sitting in the back,
“N-no I don’t think so. I don’t really know what it means, but I just know that it’s bad.”
Jason gulped, “Uhm..that’s kind of scary dude.”
I scratched my head, absently using my other hand to feel my back. It was completely cool. I had almost started to believe that the burning had something to do with Terry, or that it was just a side effect of being…us, but now I wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t like this was the first time it had happened either. Could it really have been something as simple as a ‘danger sense’? Come to think of it, I had been getting those burning sensations before I was infected. Like…right before. It was almost like it was tel-
My ears suddenly rang,
“My folks made me come on this dumb trip.”
“Yeah, same dude.”
“Yeah same, but it’s whatever.”
I ceased all my thoughts as my abilities brought word of an issue.
I elbowed Jason, turning to tell him who was here.
I stopped when I noticed his glare towards the front of the bus,
“I know,” Jason sighed, sagging back into the seat, “I know.”
I matched Jason’s gaze, regretfully looking down the aisle.
I could see the guy’s dark blonde hair from here, his annoying blue eyes meeting mine for a split second before he sat down somewhere by the door.
I fell back into the bus cushions with Jason, now beginning to wonder if this was even a good idea.
Henry Mores, the stereotypical school bully, had signed up to go rock hunting.
This would be one heck of a field trip.