Inversion Read online

  Her quick pace slowed when she came into view of the blackened pieces of what was once a tall building. The embers had long since died out but the smell of fire still lingered. She had seen the explosion on the news but this was the first time she was able to see the aftermath in person. What remained of the Aldridge Museum looked foreboding under the moonlight. It looked haunted.

  Lily walked faster now that she had an uneasy feeling clawing at her stomach. A pale white hand suddenly reached out of the shadows. Cold, thin fingers wrapped tightly around her neck. Nick was surprised at how warm she was. She radiated a heat he longed to have for himself. Lily tried to fight him off but couldn’t escape his grasp. His skin barely registered her punches. He felt no pain. She clawed at his arms, her nails slashing into the small dark blotches that covered his skin. Nick tightened his fingers around Lily’s neck. Her eyes bulged out, stars popping up in the darkness that was clouding her vision. Her lungs burned from the lack of air. Just as her vision started to fade, a pale blue light crawled up her attackers arms, slowly inching towards her.

  The blue light continued to move, stopping only when it met her skin. An incredible sense of exhaustion overtook her. Her punches grew weaker. Lily’s arms dropped to her sides. Her eyelids grew heavy. She no longer cared about getting away from the boy who was attacking her. All she wanted to do was sleep.

  Lily blinked a final time, her deathly stare fixated on the steady stream of blue light that flowed in front of her.

  The blue light dulled, plunging them back into darkness. Nick unfurled his fingers. Lily’s lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud. He relished the warmth that pulsed through him before the cold returned. Whatever he had done to her, whatever the blue light was, it pushed the cold away. It made the voices disappear as well. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so good. Nick threw his head back and looked up at the stars.

  The voices returned, starting off as quiet whispers but gradually growing into something more deafening. He tried to focus on what they were saying but couldn’t make anything out in the flood of noise. Even though he couldn’t understand them he knew what they wanted. He could feel it.

  Nick stepped forward, his bare feet finding the hard cement. The whispers told him to keep going and so he did, clinging to the darkness that covered the street.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

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  “Again.”

  Carson focused, reaching out into the forest with his mind. A blanket of darkness filled the spaces between the trees, making it impossible to see any further than a few feet into the black. He could sense the five stones that had been hidden from him. Although he was still far from the amount of control that Abigail or Jacob had, Carson could tell that his powers were growing. He didn’t have to put much effort into recreating the magnetic pull that attached him to rocks and stones whenever he tapped into his powers.

  “Bring all of them through at the same time,'' Jacob whispered into his ear, tickling it with his breath. Carson cringed at the odd feeling. He shrugged Jacob away, and focused on the stones. He had discovered that working in steps was the easiest to control the energy coursing through him. First he felt for the invisible strings. Hundreds of them, all varying in intensity, branched out from the forest. He blocked out everything except for the five that he needed to pull out from the trees. Carson steadied his breathing and lifted his hand. The movements made it easier to direct his power. With a pull of his hand the stones shot forward, flying through the trees and continuing straight towards them.

  “Crap,” Carson exclaimed. With no time for them to duck Abigail summoned a gust of wind to deflect them.

  “How was that,” Carson asked Jacob, breathless.

  Jacob impersonated an instructor that was grading a dance routine.

  “Focus: A. Power: C plus. Control: Not worth a damn.”

  Carson pushed him aside. Jacob let out a laugh.

  “Just be careful,” Abigail warned. “I’m not always going to be around when you are slinging rocks at mach speed.”

  Carson felt the familiar creep of jealousy scratching at the back of his throat. She didn’t need to tell him how bad he was at controlling his powers. The past few days of training made it clear how far behind he was, how much he was lacking. Abigail’s phone went off, her alarm clock startling the three of them.

  “Crap,” she said, looking over the screen.

  “What,” Jacob asked. His hand brushed the back of her arm. It looked to Carson to be more than just an accidental touch.

  “I forgot that I have my speech prep today.”

  “Prep? Is the graduation speech that big of a deal,” Carson asked.

  Abigail glared in his direction.

  “It’s only going to be the biggest speech that I’ve ever given.” She turned to Jacob. “Can I borrow your car?”

  “Sure,” he said and tossed her the key.

  “What? You never let me borrow the car.”

  Jacob just shrugged his shoulders.

  Abigail picked up her backpack and started towards the car. Carson followed closely behind her.

  “What are you doing,” she asked him.

  “Isn’t training done?”

  “For me it is. You guys still have all day to practice, so do that and I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  Carson groaned. “All day?”

  She smiled at him, her eyes crinkling at the edges.

  “You’re the one who wanted to do this, remember?”

  By lunchtime Carson and Jacob were both exhausted. Sweat dripped down Carson’s face as he gathered together food to take back out into the forest. It was a relief when he was finally able to sit on the rough ground and eat the junk food that he had found for them.

  “You’re getting better,'' Jacob said between handfuls of chips.

  “You think so?”

  “I mean you still have a lot of work to do but you’re doing a lot better than when you started.”

  Carson swallowed hard. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like it.”

  “Don’t be like that, man. We all have to start somewhere.”

  “I guess.”

  Even though the sun was directly above them the forest remained cool. Carson was glad that Jacob had picked such a good day to train.

  “Why do you want to be a superhero so badly,” he asked Jacob.

  Jacob put the bag of chips down and wiped the crumbs off of his hands.

  “If I tell you then you can’t tell Abigail.”

  Carson thought that the request was weird. Of course he wouldn’t. He nodded.

  “Well, you know I sort of feel alone a lot. You know how my family is and with the exception of you and Abigail I don’t have any friends.”

  “What do you mean,” Carson asked. “What about all the other popular kids that you’re hanging out with at school?”

  “Who? Ryan and those other kids?”

  Carson nodded again.

  “Please. If I wasn’t as loaded as I am they wouldn’t even bother talking to me. Having superpowers gives me something to be good at that none of those kids can be. I get to be part of a group with you and Ab. We have our own secrets and stuff. We’re our own thing.”

  Carson found himself agreeing with everything Jacob was saying. He liked being part of the group as well. It helped him understand everything that was going on. He hated the thought of not having them around.

  Jacob sighed. “What about you?”

  Carson quickly swallowed the water that was in his mouth. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you have the power to control rocks and your old man’s whole life revolved around rocks. Don’t you feel a connection or something with him.”

  “I don’t know,” Carson started. “I guess that I---.”

  The sky suddenly shifted above them. Dark clouds blotted out the afternoon sun. A chilling wind blew through the clearing.

  “Uh oh,” Jacob said, standing up.
“She’s angry.”

  Abigail came storming through the trees, her face red with anger.

  “I’m so tired of them,” Abigail said before either of them had the chance to ask.

  Jacob was the only one bold enough to ask her what she meant. “Tired of who?”

  “My parents. Who else?”

  Carson felt a raindrop on the back of his neck. He shivered.

  “What happened,” Jacob asked her calmly. He didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was.

  “I’ve done everything they’ve ever asked. I made Valedictorian. I volunteered. I did everything.”

  Thunder shook the air. Abigail shook along with it.

  “Just try to calm down,” Jacob said. “Just tell us what’s going on.”

  Abigail sat on the damp ground and put her face in her hands.

  “My parents are controlling every part of my life. I already had a college that I applied to and this morning they showed me an acceptance letter to some university that's closer to here.”

  Jacob rubbed her back. “What are you going to do?”

  “I honestly don’t know. I mean I have my scholarships to pay for school and everything but if I don’t do what they say then they’ll practically disown me.”

  The clouds started to swirl above them.

  “They’re just looking out for you,” Carson chimed in.

  “What?” Abigail’s stare was as cold as the howling wind.

  “I don’t know what you’re complaining about. It just sounds like they’re trying to do what's best for you.”

  Jacob glared at him. “Dude. What's your problem? Weren’t you just complaining to me that your mom was picking out your school for you?”

  “That’s different. She isn’t picking a specific one for me,” Carson said.

  Abigail got to her feet, holding her hand up to Jacob. The temperature quickly dropped. Carson could see his breath misting in front of him.

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Abigail’s voice was shaky. She walked closer to him.

  “You don’t know anything about me. I wasn’t born into some happy-go-lucky family that could give me everything that I wanted. I had to work hard for what I have. Imagine pouring your heart and soul into everything you do just to have someone else ignore it and make the decisions for you anyways.”

  Hail fell around them. Carson lifted his hands to cover his head.

  Abigail’s nostrils flared in anger. “Don’t think that you have any right to say anything about this. You don’t know how much I’ve sacrificed to get here. How could you? You have no motivation to do anything but run away from everything.”

  Jacob stepped in between them. “Easy, Ab.”

  The hail stopped but the clouds remained. Carson rubbed his arms, trying to get some warmth back into them.

  Jacob grabbed Abigail’s hand and started walking back to the edge of the forest. He turned back to face Carson. “We’re done for today.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

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  THE OLDER ONES WERE easier. They had hardly any strength left to hold onto whatever life was left in their shriveled up bodies. Although they were the easiest to steal life from there wasn’t much to keep him going before he needed to find someone else. No matter how many people he lured and attacked it wouldn’t be long before the hunger pains came back and the cold, dark blotches on his skin reappeared.

  Nick let go of the old man’s wrist that he was holding and threw his head back. He relished in the momentary warmth that stealing life gave him. The whispers that swarmed around in his head stopped, but only for a short while. As the warmth faded they shoved their way back in. He was doing all of this for them. Their will was now his will. They urged him to move on to his next victim.

  Nick crouched over the lifeless man, staring into his hollow eyes. He had watched him for hours, followed him through the busy streets and into the empty alleyway where they were now.

  Nick picked up the damaged God Complex and continued in the same direction that he had been walking in ever since he left the museum. He had already attacked several people since then, leaving behind a path of dessicated corpses in his wake. They were all old and alone like the one that he had just left in the alley.

  It wasn’t until later that night that he got a taste of something more desirable, something that did more than just take the edge off. As Nick grasped the back of the teenager's ankle, the blue light that snaked around his now ebony arm became supercharged. Something was different about it. It crackled with a strange, new energy. The voices were going crazy, building up to a crescendo just before the warmth drowned out their cries. Nick was elated. Whoever this kid was, he had an energy that the others didn’t have. Not the old people or the young girl he had attacked when he first emerged from the rubble. Ready to move on yet again, Nick reached over and lifted the God Complex from the ground. The moment he touched it a bright blue light burst from the machine. The device hummed to life. Metallic concentric circles spun around its core. Static filled the air. The warm feeling in his chest strengthened, amplified by the strange device. For a few moments he was perfectly fine. There were no voices. There was no cold or pain. Just warmth and a feeling that he felt like he hadn't felt his entire life. He felt powerful.

  Nick was just getting used to the feeling when the light faded. The machine powered down.

  “No, no,” Nick grumbled. He slammed his fist against the metal hull, trying to get it to turn back on. The voices returned. They commanded him to find more of the strange energy. They screamed at him to do so. Luckily for Nick, they already knew where it was, and through them he could feel it too. It was far but it was an enormous amount.

  The whispers were speaking in a frenzy. Nick was more than happy to oblige, hungering after the energy himself. He set off, walking where they were leading him. The tall buildings of the city disappeared into the horizon behind him. As Nick crossed over the town line and into the countryside the sparks grew stronger. They were still faint but growing ever so slowly. He clutched onto the God Complex, holding it close to his chest. He was going to repower it, no matter what he had to do.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

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  NOTHING HAD CHANGED SINCE the last time he had been in Dr. Taylor’s office. Carson was just as uncomfortable as he had been every other time.

  Dr. Taylor sat across from him as she always did, a glass of hot red tea in her hands.

  “It’s been a while,” she said with a thin smile. “I was surprised that you called. How has everything been?”

  “Fine.”

  Dr. Taylor tilted her head. “Fine? You were in a coma for three weeks after nearly losing your life and you’re ‘fine’?”

  Dr. Taylor laughed to herself. “Your ability to lie gets worse and worse every time I see you.”

  Carson played with his watch as she talked. He regretted even coming.

  “How’s Jacob doing?”

  “Fine.”

  “And that girl. What was her name?”

  Carson squinted his eyes at her. “Abigail.”

  “Right, Abigail,” Dr. Taylor said, pretending that she had forgotten.

  “How’s everything going with her? Have you told her how you feel yet?”

  Carson huffed. “Not yet. I want to but everything has been happening so fast lately. First was the party and then the museum and now I’m so busy trying to catch up on school that I hardly have time to do anything. I can’t even get a moment alone with her. Not with Jacob always hanging around.”

  Dr. Taylor nodded. “Jacob is always with Abigail?”

  “Always.”

  “Interesting,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing.” She quickly changed the subject. “How have you been sleeping?”

  “I’ve been having more strange dreams.”

  “The one with the smoke monster?”

&nb
sp; “No. These ones are different.”

  Dr. Taylor eagerly pressed her pen to the notepad..

  Carson recalled the new nightmare. He gave her as much detail as she could. He spoke so quickly that she had trouble writing down everything he was saying. He told her about the burnt museum and the never ending street. He told her about the voice and the girl under the streetlight. When he finished recounting everything he fell back onto the couch.

  Dr. Taylor continued writing for some time after Carson had finished talking.

  “This is a good sign,” she finally said. “I think we’re making some progress.”

  Carson sat up. “So what’s wrong with me?”

  Dr. Taylor reviewed the words she wrote down before talking.

  “I think your problem is that you are running away from your problems rather than facing them head on.”

  Carson stared at her blankly.

  Dr. Taylor quickly continued, not wanting to give Carson the chance to argue back.

  “I’ve reviewed all of the dreams that you told me and there’s a clear pattern in all of them. You have a tendency to run away when things get hard for you.”

  “I-I don’t run,” Carson stammered.

  “This newest dream of yours is so terrible to you because you can’t run away from it. It’s keeping you near the museum, which is something you want to run from rather than dealing with.”

  Dr. Taylor took a breath before starting again.

  “You know that I’m right, Carson. I can see your mind putting the pieces together. It’s the same theme as all your other dreams. The smoke monster is literally you running away from your father's death. The smoke is a dead giveaway. Can’t you see? It symbolizes---.”

  “Stop,” Carson said.

  “It symbolizes you watching your father burn to death in the car.”

  “I told you to stop.”

  Dr. Taylor closed her notebook and stood up. She pleaded with Carson.