Wanted: A Superhero to Save the World

  Chapter 13

  A Villain in a Chicken Suit?

  When the timer ticked down to two seconds, it stopped. A voice rode the darkness. “A most intriguing demonstration.”

  Chet Graham stepped out from under a cluster of trees with a huge eagle perched on his shoulder. He held a projector similar to mine, its lens pointing toward a hologram at his side — a human that moved at his pace — Mephisto. Wearing a hawk-like cowl mask, complete with a hooked beak and huge feathered wings on his back, he looked ready to take off and fly.

  Mephisto stood in a room with a window and grandfather clock against a wall behind him, and the entire room moved along with the hovering hologram. Several birds flitted about his head — parakeets, sparrows, and a crow, though he seemed to be ignoring them.

  When Graham stopped a few paces away, Mephisto bowed in a formal manner. “Greetings, Eddie and Samantha Hertz.”

  My stomach threatened to upchuck everything inside, but I steeled myself and forced a confident nod. “Mephisto.”

  He looked around. “Where is Damocles? I saw him a moment ago when he dispatched the ruffians who threatened you.”

  “He’s close by.” I had no clue what else to say. To Mephisto, it probably looked like Damocles turned tail and ran while leaving two kids by themselves in the Dead Zone. “He knows what’s going on.”

  “So he is employing children as his emissaries.” Mephisto laughed in a scornful way. “Is he afraid to face me?”

  I huffed. “Spoken by a hologram wearing a goofy chicken suit.”

  He laughed again. “Well struck, Eddie. It appears that I am dealing with a young man who possesses high intellect and a sharp wit.”

  “Don’t sweet talk me, Mephisto.” Hoping to keep my arms from shaking, I crossed them tightly over my chest. “Let’s get to business. What do you want?”

  “It’s quite simple. Deliver one billion dollars in cash, and I will hand over the earthquake mechanism. While on the Stellar rooftop, I gave Damocles three days, but his delays and cowardice have shortened the time. Now he has twelve hours.”

  I glanced at my watch — 4:01 a.m.

  “If he fails,” Mephisto continued, “as I warned earlier, I will destroy Nirvana and set my sights on leveling every major city in the world, and the price to stop me will be ten billion dollars.”

  I glared at Chet Graham, trying to ignore the huge predator on his shoulder. “So you’re working for Mephisto after all. You even have one of his birds as a playmate.”

  Graham batted at the eagle, making it hop to the ground in a flutter of its massive wings. Then, letting out an angry squawk, it flew back to his shoulder. “Mephisto sent this wretched eagle to keep an eye on me, and it insists on digging its claws into my skin to make sure I don’t step out of line.”

  I huffed. “And you expect me to believe that lie?”

  Graham shoved the eagle off again. This time it stayed on the ground. “Listen, Eddie, believe what you want; I’m just trying to keep Nirvana safe. I can’t stop Mephisto, so I’m trying to help him get in touch with Damocles. If you’ll deliver the message, tell him that I have contacts at banks, but they won’t listen to me if I’m alone. We have to collect the money together. It’s the only way.”

  I half closed an eye. “How much of the billion did Mephisto promise you?”

  “Eddie, I assure you —”

  “You cannot convince him, Mr. Graham,” Mephisto said. “The evidence is against you, and he knows it. But, being as smart as he is, he also knows he must go along with your appeal. At the very least, he will contact Damocles and relay my demands. Give him the address, and we will be on our way.”

  Graham pulled a business card from his shirt pocket and extended it. “All phone systems are down, so Damocles will have to meet me in person at this location.”

  I took the card. Keeping my stare fixed on him, I slid it into my pants pocket. “I’ll tell him.”

  “Thank you.” Graham squinted at my projector unit. “Why have you been hauling that thing all across Nirvana?”

  I picked it up and returned it to my backpack. “To keep criminals like you guessing.”

  “And what’s this?” He reached for my superhero device, but I grabbed it just in time.

  “It’s none of your business.”

  Mephisto narrowed his eyes. “Considering Damocles’s sudden disappearance, Mr. Graham, I am beginning to understand what’s going on here. Get that device for me.”

  Graham lunged for it, but Sam jumped in front of me and punched him in the stomach. He flew back ten feet and smacked his head on the sidewalk. His projector fell from his limp hands and blinked off.

  I ran to the projector, snatched it up, and hurried back to Sam. “Let’s grab everything and get out of here.”

  After we pushed the projectors and the superhero device into my overstuffed backpack, she mounted her bike, I climbed onto her shoulders, and we rode out of the Dead Zone. From the rear, Graham shouted, “Follow them!”

  I looked back. The shadow of an eagle closed in on us from above.

  “Faster,” I yelled. “To Magruder’s.”

  “I know the way.” Sam pumped her legs madly, making them blur. Like a two-wheeled rocket, we zipped along the sidewalk, again dodging holes and flying over ruts and ditches.

  I searched for the eagle. It now flew far behind us. In the sky, a new digital clock appeared and began counting down from “11:56:00.” A message below it read “Time until a quake comes that will destroy all of Nirvana. If Damocles isn’t a coward, he will do what is right to save the city.”

  Soon, Magruder’s came into sight, easily visible in the moon’s glow. The bike slowed. Sam labored at the pedals, coughing.

  I called out, “Stop!”

  She toppled to the side with me still on her shoulders. We crashed to the sidewalk and rolled into the bordering lawn. I scrambled to all fours, crawled to her, and helped her rise to her knees. She vomited, spewing half-digested meatball chunks and bread across the grass.

  I patted her back. “Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll help you get to Magruder’s. We’ll find some water there.”

  She collapsed and face planted in the turf.

  “Sam!” I pulled her limp body into my lap and cleared dirt from her mouth. She gasped shallow breaths, no sign of anything blocking her throat. As I stood, I lifted her and staggered toward Magruder’s.

  I sneaked a peek at the sky. The eagle flew in a circle about fifty feet overhead. By the time I closed in on the front door, my arms ached. I could barely walk. I probably looked like a kid zombie carrying an unconscious victim, ready to feast on her brains. But I didn’t care. I had to help Sam.

  The door flew open, and two men charged out. One took Sam and dashed into the restaurant, while the other held my arm, whispering, “Let’s get you inside.”

  Half dazed, I let him lead me through the door. He set me on a chair. Nearby, the first man laid Sam on the carpet, pushed a folded apron under her head, and elevated her legs over his, while the second man hurried toward the kitchen, calling, “I’ll get water, Doctor.”

  “Doctor?” I repeated to the first man. “Are you a doctor?”

  He nodded as he held Sam’s wrist and looked at his watch. Shaved bald and pale, his head looked like a misshapen cue ball. “I’m Doctor Ross. What’s your name?”

  “Eddie Hertz.”

  He blinked. “What hurts?”

  “My name is Hertz. But never mind about me. Is Sam all right?”

  “Sam? I thought she was a girl.” Dr. Ross shook his head. “Sometimes hard to tell these days, especially when they’re this young.”

  “She is a girl. Samantha Hertz.” My bladder sent a sudden all-full signal. The tension and running around had taken its toll. “Just check her out while I go to the bathroom, okay?”

 
“Of course.”

  I ran to the men’s room. The toilet in the stall had split in half, and water flooded the floor, though nothing spewed. The urinal on the wall, however, seemed fine. After relieving myself there, I dashed back to Sam and the doctor.

  “How is she?”

  “Heart rate and respiration are elevated. No fever.” Dr. Ross looked at me. “What happened? She’s as pale as a ghost.”

  “Just worn out, I think. We got chased by some guys in the Dead Zone.”

  He brushed dirt from Sam’s cheek with a napkin. “Scared half to death, I suppose. She might be in shock.”

  I glanced around. The restaurant was nearly empty — just one waitress mopping spills and the two guys who helped us. Candles burned at some of the tables, casting undulating light across the dim room.

  “I’m back.” The other man returned with a glass of water. He looked familiar, maybe Victor, the manager Mom mentioned so many times. “Doctor Ross, this boy’s mother is one of the waitresses here. She went out looking for these two kids a while ago.”

  “Mom went by herself?” I asked. “But the city’s getting more dangerous every minute.”

  Victor shook his head. “A man went with her. He seemed like a tough guy, and she knew him, so I thought she’d be all right.”

  A shudder ran up my spine. “Was the guy’s name Milligan?”

  “I don’t know. He said something about seeing you two near the Stellar. They’re heading that way.” Victor crouched near Sam with the glass in hand. “Sorry it took so long. We don’t have any water pressure, so I melted some ice over a candle. Burned my hand while doing it.”

  While Dr. Ross held Sam’s head up, Victor set the glass at her lips and helped her drink. She slurped and swallowed, apparently awake enough to handle it.

  “What happened to all the people who were here before?” I asked.

  Victor nodded toward the ceiling. “The message in the sky says less than twelve hours to the big one, so people took off, trying to get out of town. With all the streets looking like a war zone, it could take a long time to leave, if it’s even possible. Besides, the last quake split my restaurant’s foundation and collapsed half of the roof. This place wouldn’t last through a blow from the big bad wolf, much less another earthquake.”

  “Is it safe to stay here for a while?”

  “For the moment. But we’d better be long gone when the next quake comes.”

  “She’s had enough.” Dr. Ross took the water glass and set it on the floor. “Could she have touched a downed power line?”

  I shook my head. “Like I said, I think it’s just exhaustion. And she threw up.”

  “Not good. Not good at all.” Dr. Ross patted Sam’s cheek. “Samantha, can you hear me?”

  Her eyes fluttered open. They flared in fear until she caught sight of me. “Eddie? Where are we?”

  I knelt next to her. “At Magruder’s.”

  Her eyes darted. “Where’s Mom?”

  “She went looking for us.”

  Her cheeks flushed red. “We have to find her before Milligan makes her die of heartache!”

  Dr. Ross squinted at me. “Is she prone to vivid dreams? Hallucinations?”

  “Uh … yeah. She believes in fairies.”

  Sam gave me a death stare. “Eddie, you heard what Milligan said.”

  “Sure, Sam. We’ll find her.” I detached the flashlight from my belt. “Victor, do you have fresh batteries around? My flashlight’s dead.”

  “Yep.” He shot to his feet and hurried toward the kitchen again.

  “If you’re heading out to look for your mom,” Dr. Ross said, “we’ll take good care of Samantha.”

  Sam grabbed my wrist tightly. “You can’t go without me. You know that.”

  I gazed into her determined eyes. Of course she meant that I needed her as Princess Queenie, but I couldn’t risk her getting even sicker. I had to figure out a way to keep her here. “Dr. Ross, would you check Sam’s ankles? She fell a couple of times.”

  “Of course.” He reached for a nearby candle and set it close on the floor, then slid her pant legs up and ran gentle fingers along her skin. The bruises were still there, though they had faded quite a bit. “Could be a hairline compression fracture.”

  “So should she try to walk?”

  He shook his head. “She should rest until we have a chance to X-ray both legs.”

  “Then there’s no way she can go with me, right?”

  He laughed under his breath. “If it were up to me, she would be at the emergency room. But we don’t even have a working triage station anymore. The last shake knocked everything down. I was about to head over there to help the workers set it back up when you came.”

  Sam crossed her arms. “Then go help them. I’m going with Eddie.”

  “No, young lady. If you try to walk —”

  “Got ’em Eddie,” Victor said as he hustled back. He handed me four batteries. “Will that be enough?”

  “Perfect.” I popped two into the flashlight and slid the other pair into my pocket. “I’m going to take a quick look outside. See if my mom’s around.”

  As I straightened, Sam’s eyes widened again. “Eddie, you can’t talk to Damocles without me!”

  “Damocles?” Dr. Ross laid a hand on her forehead. “Maybe she’s feverish after all.”

  Sam’s cheeks flushed even redder. “Let me up. I want to get up right now.”

  Dr. Ross and Victor helped her to a booth seat. When she sat, she looked at me with imploring eyes. “I can go with you if you’ll get me a wheelchair. You don’t even have to push me. I’ll wheel it myself.”

  “I can get you a wheelchair,” Dr. Ross said, “but you’re staying here.”

  Sam’s bottom lip quivered. “Eddie. Don’t leave me behind. We’re a team. Remember?”

  My own words came back to haunt me. I had said that. And it was true. She had been amazingly brave and smart. “You’re right, Sam.” I turned to Dr. Ross. “Do you mind getting the wheelchair?”

  “Not at all. I’ll pick up a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff, and I’ll bring a nurse, too. We’ll check her more thoroughly.” He turned and headed for the door.

  With Victor looking on, I grasped Sam’s hand. “I’ll go outside for a few minutes and check the area. See if Mom’s nearby. I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

  “Just long enough to talk to Damocles, right?”

  I glanced at Victor and gave him a wink to avoid explaining what she meant. “Right. No longer than that. I won’t go anywhere else without you.”

  Victor patted me on the back. “No worries, Eddie. We’ll take good care of Sam.”

  “Thanks.” With my backpack on and my flashlight in hand, I marched toward the restaurant exit.

  “I’m trusting you, Eddie,” Sam called with a plaintive voice. “We’re a team.”

  “I know” was all I could say as I hurried out the door.

  Chapter 14

  When Two Holograms Argue,

  Is It Really an Argument?

  Once I arrived in the restaurant’s parking lot, I flicked on the flashlight and aimed the beam toward the collapsed triage area. At least a dozen people scurried about hammering tent pegs into the ground, dragging generators from one spot to another, and putting up light standards, but Mom was nowhere in sight.

  I walked to the rear of the restaurant, slid my backpack to the ground, and sat against a brick wall near a head-high dumpster. With the top lid open, it smelled like rotten eggs and sour milk, but at least no one was around, not even Graham’s eagle.

  Breathing through my mouth to avoid the stench, I withdrew the projector and put the two extra batteries into it. I aimed the lens away from the wall and turned the unit on. Within seconds, Damocles appeared. When he saw me, he removed his mask and sat in front of me,
his dreadlocks swaying around his concerned face. “Where are we, Eddie?”

  I touched the wall. “Behind Magruder’s restaurant, where my mom works.”

  “Where’s Sam?”

  “Inside with the manager. A doctor went to get some stuff so he can examine her. She got sick.”

  “I assume she’s reacting to getting supercharged with your invention again.”

  Averting my eyes, I nodded.

  “How many times have you charged her up?”

  “Three.”

  “Is this the sickest she’s been?”

  “I think so. She heaved her guts this time.” I gave him a quick summary of Mephisto’s latest demands and a few details about our escape, including the fact that I was able to take Graham’s hologram projector.

  Damocles looked at the countdown timer in the sky. “Is his projector combined with a computer, like yours?

  “I think so.” I fished it out of the backpack and looked it over. It appeared to be similar to mine, a newer model that combined the computer and projector into an interlocked unit. “I’ll turn it on.”

  I flipped the switch. A new hologram took shape next to Damocles — Mephisto in his winged-chicken-thing costume, standing near the grandfather clock in the same room as before. A canary flew past from right to left, then a green parrot in the opposite direction. When he saw me, he scowled and looked around. Then he turned toward Damocles. His eyes widened, and he backed up a step.

  I glanced at the two computers. Their cameras rotated in all directions, obviously building a virtual reality environment for each man, though Mephisto seemed unable to tell that Damocles was merely a hologram. Maybe his projector couldn’t see mine.

  Mephisto sneered. “Well, I see that Damocles has decided to stop hiding behind a pair of children.”

  Damocles bowed his head. “And I see that you’re still showing the entire world what a coward is really like — murdering innocent people, blackmailing the world to fill your pockets with loot, and masquerading as a half-plucked hen.”