CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

Not Two Weeks Ago

Jason sat in front of the old TV set Jack and Randolph had in the living room. It wasn't much. This place was not big enough for three. They could not stay here. Somehow, that was made evident that fateful day when DarkFlood saved the kid from the fire. Since then, Dr. Randolph had been checking up on him and made friends with the boy’s father, Lazarus, the cab driver.

Jack, on the other hand, had gotten into the habit of hanging out in the bodega across the street with Jason. They both hung out with Moses.

Days after the fire, Jason would ask Moses, "Hey, what's your last name?"

"Stonethrower."

Jason's jaw dropped. Jack remembered that specifically.

"It sounds like some cartoon character." the boy laughed.

Jack slapped him over the back of the head.

"Ow! What'd ya do that for?"

"That was incredibly disrespectful.” Jack paused to whisper, “Even if it's true." You see, their plan all along was to get out into the local community and make sure no signs or rumors were being pointed at them about DarkFlood. They were covering their tracks, watching those witnesses from the fire as best they can.

But right now, they were all in the apartment. Dr. Randolph at his desk running some scans; Jack and Jason watching TV. Jack sat behind Jason on the couch. "I think it's another one."

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"Yes! We got one!"

From the boob-tube…

"This is Channel 1 with breaking new," Dave Atkins the anchorman interrupted.

"There has been yet another video today," Yolanda Waters, the co-anchor continued, "Of a masked avenger appearing out of thin air with a boy in his hands."

"Moments later, as you can see by this cellphone camera footage, the man disappears not to be seen again."

"Presumably back into the fire to save anyone else trapped."

"This all happened in our very own Chinatown."

"It seems that super heroes are no longer just in the movies anymore, Dave."

"There are only a couple of reports taken from the fire, none of which were able to witness the caped crusader."

"Only the owner of the cellphone video could lend a hand to the mystery.”

Audio from the video being played on the newscast: "He said his name was DarkFlood."

The news report ended, and Jason turned to see Jack reactions to hearing his name on TV. He looked pissed off. This was a slippery slope, that much he knew. He also knew one other thing, "The hillbilly was the leak."

"How do you know?"

"He's the only one I gave my name to."

Now Jack was officially out there, out there in the known public, in society. Soon they would track him down and eventually they would find his family. Jack looked over at Randolph who was standing up from his desk and staring at the TV with his glasses off.

His attempts to go back to his past could no longer be ignored. Either way, their safety and well-being were at stake. It did not matter if he was Philip or Jack now. One thing was for certain though.

"We have to go back to Oklahoma."