Lucas Ryan Versus: The Return

  “Ahhh!” I screamed, before whipping the book at the wall. My tattoo lit up in a golden fire as I fell backwards over the desk and chairs behind me. My hands flailed in front of me, hopelessly swinging at the terrible spider-snake. Olivia quickly ran up to me in a panic.

  “Lucas…”

  “Where is it? Is it on me?”

  “What? I don’t see anything,” she said, scared.

  “It was on my book…it freaking jumped on me…in my face…”

  “Lucas, there’s nothing here. What are you talking about?”

  Urgently, I searched all around me, my shirt, my hair, the floor, the wreckage that used to be my school desk. Nothing. No snake. No spider. It was gone, just like my dignity. Finally, I let Olivia help me to my feet. She was obviously worried about me. As I searched the room again, my heart began to settle itself.

  “Sorry about that, Olivia,” I said, painted in embarrassment.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, with a smile. My mouth returned the gesture.

  “I think so.”

  The school bell rang signaling the end of the class. Olivia and I gathered our things and headed for the lunch courtyard. Thank goodness, because I needed a break. This day was getting crazier by the minute.

  The last time that happened, I ended up saving the world.

  LEVEL 07

  HEROES - WE COULD BE

  “Unbelievable.”

  “Yup,” I agreed, with Taylor. He had anxiously skipped his lunchtime football practice to hear all the gory details of my disappearance and impossible journey back to our dimension. Morgan and Roland sat quietly on both sides of him listening intently. They made sure to catch every word. Especially Roland. He was a geek at heart, like me. All this interstellar travel and galactic monsters made him giddy with excitement. I could see it in his eyes he was already working on a new conspiracy theory to explain all of this.

  “I still can’t believe all that happened in just a few hours, Lucas. Why do you think it was over a month for us until you showed back up?” Morgan asked. She leaned against Taylor’s thick arm and he eased into her softly.

  “Mo, I’m not completely sure.” With a twist of my wrist, I continued. “Ripley said it’s just how it works. Time in that dimension is much different than ours.”

  “Ripley? You mean that mystical beast that lives in your tattoo? You’re still calling it Ripley?” Morgan asked, unsure.

  “Yes.” I slid my arm into the middle of the circle with my open palm faced upward. Tiny rolls of flashing smoke spun in a miniature tornado just a few inches high. Ripley’s serpent-like form appeared. It cracked a metallic snap along its spine before nodding to my friends and melting back into my skin.

  “Whoa,” Taylor smiled. “What can it do, Lucas? What can you do?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’m still learning. But it seems Ripley and I are one.”

  With a rustle of his thick blonde mane, Taylor sulked, “I guess you don’t need me as your bodyguard anymore…”

  “T, are you kidding? There is only one true superhero in this gang and that’s you. It’s always been you.” I tried to ease his unrest but it didn’t seem to help much. He looked over his shoulder as a distant whistle blew. It was Coach Kitna, and he looked annoyed that Taylor wasn’t leading the football team in midday workouts. Taylor slowly stood up, offering Morgan a quick kiss on her cheek before jogging toward the team. It bummed me out that he may be taking my unique situation as a sign that I didn’t need him or his strength. Taylor was the single reason I made it this far in high school. Bullies are around every corner and boy did they always seek out us nerdy kids.

  “Don’t worry, Luc, he’ll be fine. You know how he is, a big softy locked in a warriors body,” Morgan eased, with a gentle smile.

  “I guess.”

  “He just needs some time to adjust to your secret powers,” she smiled.

  “Secret powers?” I gasped, looking down at my arm.

  Roland jumped in the conversation, “That’s right!”

  I mumbled, “Uh, oh. I feel a new conspiracy theory coming on.” Morgan rolled her eyes at her brother and turned her attention back to Taylor across the campus.

  “Well, I do have a theory about our new Biology teacher, Ms. Strickland,” Roland grinned wildly.

  Morgan began to chuckle, “And here we go.” Roland huffed and ignored her. With a flip of his hand he opened the top of his backpack and removed his large touchscreen computer tablet. After a couple well-timed swipes he pulled up a page on the internet.

  “I was watching the way she carried herself,” Roland began.

  “I think every boy in school was watching the way she carried herself, Ro. She’s like a supermodel wrapped in a business suit,” Morgan interrupted.

  “You’re right, Mo, but that’s not what I was talking about. She seemed to be brimming with confidence. Her posture alone screamed big brass military.”

  “Military?” I asked, confused.

  “Yes!” Roland roared. Some kids within shouting distance of us turned their disapproving attention toward us. Morgan cringed but Roland just used their judgement as fuel to his creative fire. He leaned in closer to me and slid the tablet in front of my face.

  “But not just any government branch of soldiers, I’m talking about Black Ops…” he trailed off. Flashing along the screen of his tablet was three bold words…

  BEWARE THE PHANTOMS

  “Who the heck are the Phantoms?” I asked, regretting it as I did.

  “The Phantoms are the elite of the Black Ops. The Black Ops of the Black Ops. No government will even entertain the idea that they exist. They’re complete and total shadows…they’re ghosts.” A weird smirk pulled along his lips. I let out a long breath and shrunk a little. Roland suddenly withdrew his tablet but before he did I stole a peek at an unusual reflection in its glass.

  It was another spider-snake. It was just over my shoulder and looked as if it was lunging right for me. I whipped around to find nothing there. I grabbed at my shirt and hair, making sure it wasn’t anywhere on me. Nothing…again.

  Morgan smacked her brother in the arm. “Oh, jeez! You’re not talking about those Phantom Ops again, are you? Ugh! You play too many video games.”

  “That is true, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. You’re always naysaying my theories, Mo!” Roland pouted.

  “That’s because they’re stupid!” she snapped.

  “They are not!”

  As their tempers flared I looked around us, scouting the grass in a feverish search. I knew I saw something. I wasn’t going crazy. The Saint twins continued their debate.

  “What proof do you have that Ms. Strickland belongs to the elite of elite armed forces?” Morgan folded her arms across her chest, completely annoyed.

  “First, there’s no records of a Scarlet Strickland anywhere, and I mean anywhere. No credit reports, no driver’s license, no address, no phone number. Second, her posture and strut are straight up military. I’m talking old school militia stuff, like Hitler and his cronies. Third, her style. No normal civilian dresses that way!”

  Morgan interjected, “Oh, that’s right, no ordinary woman would wear an expensive power suit and designer shoes.”

  “Shut up! I know what I’m talking about.”

  “You do know how to do one thing perfectly…annoy me,” she nudged.

  “Mo, just trust me.”

  “Well, Bro, I think you’ve finally lost your mind.” Morgan let a polite laugh out and turned to me. “What do you think, Luc?”

  Still in a fog of delusion I tried to focus again. “Huh? What?”

  “Did you hear any of Roland’s stupid conclusions?” Morgan asked, worried.

  “Yes, I mean, no.”

  “Lucas?” Morgan leaned into me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Did either one of you see…something?” my voice asked desperately.

  “Like what?” she asked, softly.

  “Umm…like a snake thingy…” r />
  She jumped up almost knocking over her brother. “Snake! Where?”

  “Luc, the only snakelike thing around here is embedded in your wrist,” Roland said, calmly. I glanced at my wrist and then, back to the green terrain below our feet.

  “I guess…” I mumbled, scratching my head. This was crazy. What was gong on? I saw that creature as clear as day but now it was nowhere to be found. Maybe I was slowly losing my mind. Everyday I would fall deeper and deeper into loonyville. The price to pay for having this growing power inside of me. I inhaled a long deep breath and tried to focus on Taylor throwing a football in the distance. He chucked the ball to a group of teammates and they all fought to scoop it up into their arms. He noticed I was looking his way and gave me a polite nod. I smiled back but it was only a half smile.

  Fully ignoring me now, Roland continued his insane thoughts. “You know, if I’m right about Ms. Strickland, we’ll have to be extra careful around here.”

  “Careful of what?” I barely asked.

  “Careful not to track too much attention our way, especially your way, Luc.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because, if she is what I think she is, she is here for one thing and one thing only. You, my friend.” Roland shrunk in his stance a bit. “The last secret military person that ended up snooping around this campus turned out to be a demon from another dimension that fed on unimaginable power and death.”

  “The General,” Morgan whispered.

  General Love, the galaxy hopping entity that hunted Ripley down to this planet and tried to end all life on Earth just because he could. I almost died trying to stop him. Yeah, I remembered him.

  “He’s dead,” I promised.

  “Are you sure?” they both asked in unison. I just looked at both of them, not knowing what to say. I saw him die. I saw him be wished into nonexistence by Felicity just before we disappeared over a month ago, but I’d be lying if I said he was gone for good. So, I didn’t say it. I didn’t say anything. Morgan and Roland settled themselves and stepped closer to me. Our little circle closed itself to the outside world.

  “Don’t worry, he’s not coming back,” I said, with fake confidence. Suddenly, a shadow fell over our bundled group. It was long and thin, and brought with it a new chill in the air.

  “Who’s not coming back, Mr. Ryan?” Ms. Strickland inquired, as she marched toward us. With her long legs she managed to greet us unnaturally fast. Her voice was deadly calm and her makeup and hair were still perfect. Too perfect. Roland made sure his tablet was snugly back in his bag and pulled it to his chest. He frowned and looked at me as if to say, “I told you so!” Morgan took a small step back, keeping her eyes from directly making contact with hers.

  After what felt like a minute, I said, “No one.”

  Ms. Strickland circled us with her long strides. Her steel eyes locked onto each one of us as she passed by. “Is that so?”

  I nodded yes. She stopped just in front of me, in the same exact spot I thought the spider-snake fell to the ground. One of her heels tapped on the grass gently.

  “Mr. Ryan, I will see you in detention after school.”

  “I remember.”

  “Good.” She turned from us and began to walk away. Just as she did, her head turned back to us. “Don’t be late.” Before I could make some kind of smart comeback a voice called out from behind us.

  “Look out!”

  Just then a football rocketed past us, directly for the back of Ms. Strickland’s head as if her tight bun of hair were a bullseye. In the last possible second she spun around just enough for one of her hands to snatch the spinning ball from the air. She never even looked at it. She just grabbed it like she had eyes in the back of her head. She dropped the ball to the grass and continued walking away.

  Morgan, Roland, and I stood stunned with our mouths agape. Taylor ran up on us in a reserved panic.

  “Did you see that? That was impossible,” he gasped. I reached down and plucked the football from the grass and slowly handed it back to Taylor.

  “Nothing’s impossible, T. Not in this school.”

  LEVEL 08

  BIG FREEZE

  Detention. Again. Story of my life. At least I was able to share this latest round of punishment with Olivia. She quickly walked past my desk, pulling her long brown hair up into a ponytail. Strips of vibrant purple were painted throughout, highlighting her perfect face. She impatiently tapped her fingernails along the surface of her desk and looked my way.

  “Hey,” she whispered.

  “We meet again,” I teased. She playfully rolled her eyes and leaned closer to me.

  “I’ve got some good news.”

  “Really? What?”

  “Homecoming Dance!” she announced. A disgruntled kid in the back of the room grumbled disapprovingly. We tried our best to ignore him.

  “Homecoming?” I asked, wide-eyed. Was she going to ask me to the dance? I hated school functions, especially dances, but for her, I’d make an exception.

  “Yeah. My band just got the word, we’re playing the dance.” She sounded so excited but all I could do was pout. I thought for sure she was going to ask me to be her date. For a split second I thought maybe she had reconsidered our arrangement.

  “Oh,” I mumbled. “That’s great, Olivia.” She could tell I was upset but she pretended not to notice.

  “Lucas, I was hoping you’d be there.”

  “I don’t know. I’ll probably still be grounded then, and I really hate school dances.” I searched my brain for more excuses not to come and she looked hurt by my words.

  “Is that so?” she frowned.

  “Yes.”

  Looking away from me, “Okay.”

  An awkward silence began to fill the void between us. I shuffled in my seat nervously. I felt bad. Surprisingly, my arm began to tingle and Ripley came to life inside my head.

  ~ Lucas, you should accept her invitation. ~

  I should? I responded back with only my thoughts.

  ~ Yes. ~

  Why? She said she needed to take things slow. I think the fact that I have an all-powerful dragon living inside of me is just a bit too much for her.

  ~ You’re wrong. ~

  How would you know?

  ~ Because I believe. ~

  With a huff and a slap on my desktop, I snapped out loud, “Don’t start that again!” Olivia looked at me with shock. Quickly, she glanced down at my tattoo along my arm and smiled.

  “What’s Ripley saying now?” she barely whispered.

  “Umm…nothing…” I said, embarrassed. She locked her eyes on mine and tilted her head my way as if to say, ‘stop lying to me’. I shrank in my chair a little before finding my courage again. Maybe Ripley was onto something. Why would she be upset that I refused to come to the dance if she didn’t still have feelings for me? I held my breath and slid closer to her.

  “Maybe I could stop by the dance for a few minutes.” Her face lit up a little at my words.

  “Really?”

  I nodded my head yes, and asked, “Would you save me a dance?” Her eyes spun with anticipation.

  A playful smile crawled along her lips. “Maybe.”

  Time slowed down and I felt my heartbeat in my cheeks. Olivia always seemed to do this to me. I returned a goofy smile and leaned back in my chair. I could’ve lived in that moment for at least a week but like the rest of my day, things were about to get complicated.

  “Are you two done?” Someone asked disgusted from the back of the classroom. “I understand detention is supposed to be a punishment, but listening to you two lovebirds is just plain painful!”

  Olivia and I whipped around to find Rory McConnell, the school’s worst bully. Red hair, pimples, bad teeth, all wrapped in a leather jacket and attitude. He was one of my regulars. A bully you could set your clock by. Looking into his bloodshot eyes, I knew two things. He hadn’t slept in a while and this would surely suck.

  “How’s it going, Rory?” I said, sa
rcastically. He cracked his knuckles and stood up.

  “Shut up, Lucas! If I wanted to hear anything from you, I’d smack it out of you!”

  “Calm down, we’re already locked up in this room for the next hour. Maybe we should try getting along,” I helplessly tried to reason with him. It was a waste of time.

  “Don’t tell me what to do!” he roared. With a stomp of his booted feet, he made his way toward us. Olivia immediately jumped in front of him.

  “What’s your problem, Rory?” she scolded.

  “You and the nerd are my problem,” he said, with his eyes stabbing me. Man, when would these bullies get new material? “I’m here to serve my time, not watch a couple of idiots play the Dating Game!”

  Olivia shoved herself into him only inches from his face. “Call me an idiot again. I. Dare. You.”

  “Ha, ha, ha, are you serious?” Rory wiped his mouth in anticipation and stared past Olivia directly at me. “You really gonna let her fight your fight, Lucas?”

  His words made my blood boil. The lines of my tattoo warmed with a dull glow as Ripley dared to make an appearance. I quickly hid my forearm behind me as I turned to face him dead on. His eyes focused harder on me. Olivia placed a hand on my chest, firmly.

  “Lucas, no. He’s not worth it, not today.”

  “He’s the only one who’s in trouble, Olivia,” I smiled, and snapped my fingers behind my back. Ripley spun to life inside my slightly opened fist, tiny and fierce.

  “Bring it on, geek!” Rory taunted. I nodded to Olivia just as she noticed my coiled fist behind me. She looked unsure but slowly backed out of the way. Rory didn’t waste another second. He lunged forward with teeth clenched and dirty fists pushing outward. I gulped a large piece of oxygen and closed my eyes. Instantly, I shot my arm in front of me and slammed my open palm into his chest. A puff of blue and black smoke painted his T-Shirt and lower neck.