Luke:
I had begun to relax. Sure, I was surrounded by weird people, but what else was new? I enjoyed a cold cola, sat next to a cute girl, and Linus was too preoccupied by other things to give me any grief. It was the largest gathering of our kind I had ever been in. We were free to talk about our powers, the way things were. It was liberating, and damn, it felt good. I had almost forgotten we could have been killed earlier, that was, until Larry fell to the ground.
“LARRY!” I shouted, my voice hopping up an octave like
some kind of prepubescent punk. I knelt
beside him and was relieved to find he was breathing. It was incredibly pansy of me, but I didn’t
care. Larry had been like a brother to
me.
“We need to get him inside,” Linus
said. Thank god Linus was with us. If anyone could help Larry, it was
Linus. Linus hollered to the others back
in the trailer. I looked up to the
stars. I lifted up Larry’s head, crying like a sissy. I didn’t mean to panic, but I had lost my dad
and my mom was what they called “bat shit” crazy. Larry and I didn’t always get along, but he
had always looked after me.
Cartouche made it outside and
picked Larry up as though he was nothing.
She hauled him into the trailer and placed him on the kitchen table. I followed Linus, I wasn’t thinking, I was
just reacting at that point. Reacting
and sobbing like some damn kid.
“Luke, get a grip.” Linus didn’t
raise his tone, but I felt the anger.
Linus had his hands on Larry’s head.
Linus breathed in and the air felt cool and fresh. Sonali reached over and grabbed my hand to
comfort me. At least someone still had a
heart. Linus was a healer, despite his
less than congenial personality. There
was a warm glow and a light fell over Larry.
After a few nerve-wrecking moments, Larry’s eyes fluttered open. He turned his head to Cartouche, grinned and
gave her a thumbs-up.
“Heeeeeyyyyy.” He smirked.
Cartouche rolled her eyes.
“He’s an idiot.”
“What happened Boss? I was talkin’ to you and then, suddenly,
everything went black.”
“The next time you get hit in the
head by anything, anything, you tell
me,” Linus said calmly, taking a seat.
“Boss,” I interjected, “Larry had
dried blood on his head, what did you think happened?” I realized Linus wasn’t the sort of man to
let a detail slip by. Linus was the meticulous, almost anal
retentive, type. Linus tried to feign
annoyance, but he seemed bothered by his own
lack of observational skills.
“So a healer, a techno-kinetic,
and,” Betty looked to me, “you.”
“He’s a thermodynamic,” Linus
responded. Everyone turned and looked to
me.
“What?”
“Hun, Thermodynamic is a mighty
fine skill to have. Why haven’t I seen
your fancy skills yet?” Betty brushed a
few strands of her dark purple hair out of her face. It was odd, the woman talked like a country
bumpkin but dressed like a washed-up Raver.
“Late manifestation,” Linus cut
in. I wanted to sink into the
floor. Sure, I allegedly had a nifty
power, but it controlled me more often than I controlled it.
“So…” Betty looked around and
turned to Cartouche. “The Elite, what
are they planning?”
“I… I don’t remember” Cartouche
struggled with the words; she was clearly unaccustomed to saying them. All eyes were on her.
“Great…” Linus muttered, pushing up
his glasses. “There is a way to get her
to remember.” As he said this Cartouche
turned to me and shook her head.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Fine?” Betty narrowed her eyes. Wagner’s flight of the Valkyries began to
play out of the thin air. I turned my
head briefly for the source and remembered this was Betty’s power. “FINE?”
The music increased in volume.
“Honey, I hope you do remember what a sick SOB that Gable is, and I’ve
heard rumors about the people he keeps in his circle.”
“I know,” Cartouche replied somberly. “But I believe we’d do more harm than good
seeing her.” She looked at me again, why
did she keep looking to me?
“Luke,” Linus turned to me. Why did they keep looking at me? “We need to
see your mom.” Linus turned back to
Cartouche. “They know you’re alive, so
they may be seeking her out anyhow. It’s
best to be safe.”
“What does my mom have to do with
any of this!?” I didn’t know how it
happened, but suddenly I was shouting at the others. Betty stopped playing the Wagner and turned
to Linus.
“Luke, let’s just go,
alright?” Larry urged; he was looking
like his normal self again. “I want to
see Aunt Vera.” I turned to him and
sighed. I wasn’t comfortable with the fact
everyone seemed to know something about my mom that I didn’t know.
It was a long trip, whoever thought
an impromptu trip across several states was a great idea was crazy. Larry used one of his vans for the
occasion, since six people weren’t fitting in any sedan for longer than an
hour. Larry insisted on a stop at Black
Rook the moment we passed one in Utah.
Cartouche braved the unholy banquet of burger and, to my shock, was
unfazed. She was indeed strong.
Sonali
had not fared so well. Larry convinced
her to try Black Rook. She refused a
burger, something about "Hindu guilt" but she did try a chicken
slider. We were mopping her off the
floor of a bathroom an hour or two later.
Betty gave Larry grief for taking advantage of a girl who had no
recollection of how dangerous Black Rook is.
The upside of the trip was Betty’s music. Betty somehow appeased the clashing tastes of
all the people in the car. She
introduced me to Dub-step, but kept it light.
She had all the best hits of the 80s for Larry. By Colorado we were all singing along to the
Culture Club… well, everyone but Linus.
For Linus she had some classical music which could only be described as
“dirge-tastic”.
It was back in Utah, a few hours
before sunrise, when I got a chance to speak to Linus. You’ve probably wondered why Larry and I put
up with Linus aside from the fact the man is a walking Band-Aid. Larry, despite his appearance, was above
average in school, and I wasn’t so bad myself.
Linus, however, made us look like two idiots from the country. We had tried to be careful about our
identities, but we were lost and inexperienced.
Linus found us.
Larry had always kept quiet about
his ability. He had only told one
person, my dad. Larry was never close to
his parents, his mama was never sober long enough to be there for him. His dad, wanting a better life for Larry,
sent him to live with me and my folks when Larry was 12. I had always wanted a big brother. I never knew Larry had a secret. When I manifested my powers for the first
time, Larry was there. I had caused
every can in the house to burst open from the pressure and the heat; the place
was a disaster. I was freaked out, and
that was when Larry opened up and told me what he could do.
Shortly after that day, we got it
into our heads to play heroes. We were
two otherwise average guys from the Midwest.
And let’s face it, with all the shit on the news we wanted to make a
difference. America was sinking deeper
into the Recession, people were getting desperate; we wanted to help. Larry could fix the cars of stranded motorists;
it wasn’t fighting Lex Luthor, but it was incredibly helpful. Myself, well, sometimes I managed to help.
One day two years back, we helped
this man stranded in the middle of nowhere.
That man was Linus. Linus figured
out immediately that there was no way Larry could have had the necessary part
to fix his car. Linus then explained to
us what he knew. At first we were
skeptical, but the next thing we knew, he was our Boss and we were two goons
following his orders. Larry had thick
skin; Linus never bothered him. Me, on
the other hand, I didn’t like the idea of Linus talking to my already-fragile
mother.
“Boss,” I braved, “Why are we going
to see my mom, what does she have to do with this?”
“Luke… Did you ever notice how you
and Larry are cousins and you both have abilities?”
“Yeah, I’m guessin’ it’s genetic?”
“Yes,” Linus took a deep breath,
“Mental illness does run in your family, that is unfortunately true. Your Aunt took up drinking to cover up her
pain. Your mom, however, was strong. I
wouldn’t expect any less from a Psychic.”
“Psychic, Mom?”
“There is much debate about the
nature of memory. Your mom has the
ability to help people recall memories, as though they were fresh. At least, she
had the power until she met… him.” He
emphasized the word with venom.
“Hiiiimmmmm?” I echoed
flippantly. Linus reached back to smack
me.
“What?” I asked lightly. Linus only stared at me, he was dead serious.
“Who is him?”
“Gable and the Elite, they are all
exceptional, even amongst our kind.
Gable is evil, I don’t use the word lightly, but he is not the worst of
that group.”
“I don’t understand Boss.”
“Have you ever had a nightmare
Luke?”
“Yeah?”
“I think you misunderstand what I
am saying. Have you ever had a
nightmare, the sort in which you realize midway through that you are dreaming? The sort of dream from which you try to wake,
but you can’t seem to make it end. Have
you ever felt as though the pains and sorrows which visit you in your slumber
were an infestation of maggots burrowing in your mind? That the horror you feel could only be
likened to staring into the eyes of the devil himself, feeling that you cannot
breathe and soon, very soon, hell will swallow you up; have you ever had a
nightmare?” As Linus spoke, like some
scared kid around a campfire, I felt goose bumps form on my skin.
“Yeah…” That was all I could say.
“Your mom, she met him, and then…
then she lost her mind.” Linus said
calmly, turning his eyes to the window.
“How long have you known
this?” I was pissed Linus knew more
about my mom than I did. Had I not been
so tired, I may have thrown a fit.
“Since I met you.” Linus added softly, “I didn’t want to drag
you into this.”
“Can you heal her?” I had never thought of it. Linus could heal people’s physical
afflictions; perhaps he had a cure for the mind.
“No. I wish I could.” Linus was sincere. He looked back to Sonali, who was now
sleeping against the window. I couldn’t
help but remember what it was like when Mom had her big break down. I had come home that day; she was sitting in
the kitchen. From the moment I looked at
her I noticed something was off in her gaze.
I said hello, and then she looked at me like I was a stranger. She grabbed one of the knives she used to
cook with, and she screamed at me to get back.
She looked at me like I was a stranger, my own mother…
I woke up several hours later. Large oak trees framed the cheerful building
which housed so much unrest. “Sunny Morning Hospital” was written on the sign
at the entrance. It had been about three
weeks since I’d last been to visit Mom.
Linus had us patrolling as far as Nevada, so we were gone for days on
end visiting other states. My legs were
spent the moment I hopped out of the van.
Cartouche had to pick me up by the scruff of my neck and set me on the
asphalt.
“Let’s go see Aunt Vera,” Larry said, slapping me hard on the back. I was less than thrilled. Linus knew so much about Mom, all this time I thought he only knew the things I had told him. If Mom had lost her mind, how was Linus going to get any information out of her? What was he going to do?
I don’t know how it happened, but the next thing I knew, Betty was gently nudging me up to the reception desk. A woman with the most obnoxious “perky” voice greeted me, I asked for the paperwork to see Mom. The receptionist leaned over and glanced to my group. Cartouche was still dressed like a cocktail waitress. Sonali smiled politely to the receptionist.
“Vera Marconi, room 411” The receptionist gestured as she handed out the visitor passes. We were escorted by a man in scrubs. Anxiety didn’t begin to describe it. I felt like there was a rubber band across my heart and lungs. The door was open. Mom was sitting in a chair. She was only 58, but she looked closer to 70. Her eyes stared vacantly at the television. Even though it was turned off, she was yelling at Alex Trebek.
“Hi Mom,” I said meekly. I hated having an audience, but thankfully, no one else spoke just yet. She turned to me and looked at me as she had done for the last several years. On some level I had gotten used to it, but on another it still hurt like hell. She gave a polite smile; it was the kind of smile she gave to a friendly checker at the grocery store. When I was little her face would radiate unadulterated joy whenever she saw me. I hated to admit it, being thirty years old, but deep down inside, I wanted to see that look again.
“Hi, how are you?” She looked to the group half-heartedly. Larry patted my shoulder and entered the room. He was the first to approach her. He offered her a hug. “Oh, you’re awful friendly.”
“Hi Aunt Vera,” Larry said, giving her a peck on the cheek. I braved my way into the room and pulled up a chair.
“We should close the door,” her smile was fading into concern, “I don’t want them to get in.”
“I’m sorry, it’s regulations; we can’t close the door,” the man in scrubs replied. “I’ll be across the hall if you need anything Mrs. Marconi.” The man added before walking away. Mom only nodded with a look of growing anxiety. The moment I feared happened; Linus made his way to my mom.
“Vera Marconi, my name is Dr. Linus Williams and I’m here to help protect you from the Bunnies.” Linus turned to Sonali. “Sonali, would you please take my hand?”
“Why?” Sonali looked hesitant. She seemed uneasy around Linus. Yup, she was as smart as she was beautiful. Cartouche stepped forward at this time.
“You can trust him,” Cartouche said, “this time” she quickly added. Sonali glanced from Cartouche to Linus and then grasped Linus’s hand. Linus placed his free hand on my mother’s forehead. Larry grabbed my arm before I could move.
“I cannot make this permanent, but for now…” Linus said softly, “Welcome back Vera.” He moved his hand from Mom. Mom turned and looked to me. My heart pounded in my chest and somehow I knew. She was crying, but smiling through her tears.
“Luke.” We both stood up and before I knew what was happening I was hugging her tightly, sobbing hysterically.
“Mama I missed you.” There I was, a little kid again, holding onto my mommy after waking up from a scary dream.
