OWW…If this is what death feels like, then I’m not ready to die…I hurt so bad, Troy though to himself as the tremendous, painful pressure began to finish what a life of smoking, drinking, and living on the edge never had. Not much longer now, Troy though, I’m running out of air.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry I was a bad person. I’m sorry that your first date with me sucked Samantha…I’m sorry to everybody else I screwed over too…except for Jimmy Anderson in the third grade; he had it coming.

Troy’s mind drifted on the farthest region of consciousness. He knew he was dying, but he only felt a detached sort of calm. It was the same way he had felt when he was seven and had been pulled out to sea by an undertow. He remembered the water rushing over him, sucking him down, farther and farther, away from his family, away from the lifeguard, away from life. But strangely, he could care less. It felt more like he was coming home, with all that water rushing over him, penetrating every pore, the very soul of his being.

God, leave it to me to die with a full bladder, I really gotta pee…

The water memory had given Troy back some of his conscious thought. He was more aware of the pain now, and the pressure on his kidneys from the need to answer nature’s call. He could also feel his limbs barely moving beneath the pressure. Was he this wet before, or was that just because of the monster’s stomach acid? Huh, maybe I pissed myself…

Troy went back to him mental “could’ve, should’ve, would’ve” list. He could’ve kicked Austin in the nuts last week in gym. He should’ve made Sam go to a rave at least once. He would’ve told Amanda that she had been a good friend and a real bitch. He wanted to tell Samantha how much he loved her.

Wait a minute.

He’d only known the girl for a month, tops. Sam had never even introduced them until three months ago, and Troy had had a girlfriend back then. And compared to some of the sweethearts Troy had dated…Why should he spend his dying love wish on a girl who barely said more that three syllables every time they met?

I can’t die now, Troy thought with a sudden urgency, I haven’t got my wish yet; I haven’t found true love.

That does it; I’m out this bitch…

Troy felt a current of energy flow through him. It was so strong that he could almost taste it, like fresh ocean water, raging in a tempest.

WHHHSSSHHH---POP!

With a burst like the popping of a hot air balloon, Troy felt the area around him expand, then disappear as if he were falling out into open air.

Now if this is dying, I don’t mind the thrill…

Troy felt the hard pavement of the parking lot impact on his elbow and knee on his left side. Water still flowed over his head like a faucet, but it gradually began to ebb off.

That was so cool, he thought, struggling to get to his feet. A blast of heat whisked past his head. Troy ducked and rolled, feeling the scathing heat rush past him. The pool of water he found himself sprawled in evaporated in the blink of an eye, burning his skin as it rushed upwards. Steam made the air thick and painful to breathe. The intense steam temporarily blinded Troy, stinging his eyes and all of the pores on his face. There was a loud roar, a tremor that pressed Troy into the ground and then all was still.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Troy rolled onto his back and coughed a smoker’s hack. Yup, he was still alive. Soaking wet, too, but a little less so after the heat blast.

“Troy! Hey, Troy?”

Now Troy did try to sit up, even as something came barreling past him. It was hard to see through the misty steam, but the lumbering figure stood arms length away and a little in front of Troy.

“Yeah?” Troy called to it.

The figure turned in his general direction and began to move forward, “Where the hell-” He tripped right over Troy “-OH!” Austin landed right on top of Troy, knocking all the air back out of Troy’s lungs. “You scurvy bastard! I though you were dead. Don’t ever scare me like that again!” Austin scraped Troy off the ground and began smacking him.

“That’s a fine way to treat someone who could be critically injured,” Kaine said, striding up to the pair, the steam parting away from him like the Red Sea.

“You! -This is all your fault!” Troy yelled, lunging at Kaine.

Kaine quickly dodged and said to Austin, “Never mind, you can beat him up all you like.”

“What did you do to that thing?” Daniel asked, groping his way towards them.

“Me?” Kaine said, “I did nothing. Troy filled it with water and popped it, while Austin flash-fried it. Congrats, you just took the first step to being far more alienated than any other ostracized, awkward adolescent.”

“Huh?” Austin said.

“We killed that thing,” Daniel supplied.

“Oh. Kaine, talk English, would ya?” Austin scolded.

“Well, the killing part isn’t what I meant,” Kaine said.

“What is it, then? I’m tired of this crap,” Austin said, struggling to hold Troy but not choke him.

“You boys just tapped into the deepest part of your being,” Kaine said, slipping into his Freudian lecture tone.

“Uhh…” Austin said.

“You just came out,” Kaine simplified.

There was a long pause, then Daniel asked in a trembling voice, “Does…that mean we can never…never….”

“Oh, we’re not gay, for Christ’s sake,” Austin hollered. He paused, looking uncertainly at Kaine. “At least I’m not!” They all glanced pointedly at the way Austin was holding Troy. Abruptly, Austin dropped him and took two steps back, shuddering.

“Of course you’re not gay,” Kaine said, “I was just saying that now you guys can use what it is that you’ve got inside you. Everyone has some great power locked away inside of them; it just never gets tapped into. Well, sometimes it comes and goes like during an emotional trauma. I just kind of nudged your inner balance of emotion and rationale that night at the park. That way, you reacted more intensely and tapped into the well of energy more easily.”

“What are you talking about?” Troy shouted, outraged. “We don’t need assistance in being more moody!”

“Well, I hardly think you would have gotten the opportunity to die in such a way that triggered such a strong reaction in Austin. I’ve seen the way you drive, Troy; a car wreck is just waiting to happen. But being swallowed by something that Austin had the ability to retaliate against… Well, that’s just too good an opportunity to pass up,” Kaine seemed pleased.

“Aww, Austin, I didn’t know you cared,” Troy cooed. Truly, he was baffled at what Kaine was saying. He deliberately set them up to be killed? That didn’t make sense.

“Then how come Daniel could do all that stuff so easily before we could?” asked Austin, ignoring Troy.

“Oh, please, the boy is a raging volcano of emotions,” Kaine said. Daniel beamed.

“So, what now?” Austin asked. He was also at a loss for how to behave towards Kaine.

“First we find the girls, change clothes and order some pizza, because I’m starving,” Kaine turned and marched back toward the theater, the white hair and robes blurring and fading back to the pothead teenager guise.

“Great, now I’ve got to go get swallowed by something else for the benefit of Amanda and Crystal,” Troy grumbled.

“I don’t think so,” Austin said “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from hanging around those two it’s that the last thing some women need is help.”