passion as I can. You and I, we’re the same
in a way. So, please , can I stay here? I’ll even sleep in the bathtub.” The kid
gave me a sympathy filled look. “I know I don’t know you, and this
is asking a lot. But it’s just for tonight.”
I thought about it, and was about
to answer. But then I saw the red and blue lights flashing through
the window. They were here.
I walked over to the window and
peeked through. Cops stood in the parking lot, talking to people. I
didn’t have to be smart to know what they were asking. I saw one of
them pull out a picture and show it to someone. A picture of
me.
“ We gotta go!” I said, making the
kid jump.
“ What?” he asked, walking towards
the window. “Why? What’s wrong?” I walked over to him, grabbed his
shirt, and lead him to the back of the room into the bathroom. I
threw him in there, not even caring about his confusion.
“Crawl out of
the bathroom window. I’ll meet you out there. Don’t be seen by anybody. ” I slammed
the door shut and turned towards the front door. Then, I
waited.
I heard footsteps getting closer
to the door. They were coming for me. But I was ready. First came
the knock. Then came the voice.
“Nick? We know you’re in there. We
don’t want to barge in there. But we will if we have to.” I didn’t
respond. I only slowly lifted my hand at the door.
“On the count of three, we’re
kicking down this door! One! Two! Thre-”
The door caught flame in matter of
milliseconds. I heard the cops yelp and back away from the burning
door. They smashed the window, but a wall of fire replaced the
glass. That’s when they started shooting. Bullets whizzed passed
me, hitting the wall. I turned around and went into the bathroom,
noticing that the kid had done what I said.
I slipped through the window,
landing softly on the grass. The kid was sitting in front of me,
looking terrified and confused, but stayed where he was.
“ What the hell’s
going on?” he hissed. Bullets were still being shot behind us. They
thought I was still in there. Perfect.
“Long story, kid. And you may not even live to hear it.” I walked
passed him, letting him get up and follow me. He didn’t ask
anything after that. He just looked back and listened to the firing
of bullets.
We hid in the trees, walking in the shadows. We did that until we
were about a mile away from the motel. Then we started walking in
the streets. I was surprised the kid hadn’t said anything for this
long.
“Well,” I said, “it seems like we’re gonna have to get used to each
other. What’s your name, kid?”
“It’s Luke. And don’t call me kid. From what I see, we’re the same
age.” I laughed. Fire spread over my whole arm and stopped at my
shoulder. Luke stopped and stared at it.
“You apparently just learned how to use your power. From my point
of view, you’re the kid.” I turned to him and put the fire out. “So, Luke , how’s about you
show me that power of yours now?” Luke looked into my eyes
disappointed. He knew I hadn’t forgot.
“ I don’t know where to do it at or
what to shoot at.” He looked around, stalling. I looked around with
him.
“ Well, you could
shoot up in the sky, but that’d be too noticeable from far away.” I
looked at a tree. “You could shoot at that tree, but I don’t know
how to put out fires I didn’t create.” I looked around some more,
and found nothing. Then I got an idea.
“Do you have to shoot it?” I asked. Luke thought for a moment.
“I never thought about that.” He looked at his hands and studied
them. “I mean, I guess I could try. Let’s just hope it doesn’t
explode in my face.” He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His
muscles relaxed and shoulders slouched down.
A sudden, blue glow started to rise up from his forearm, as if it
was riding in his bloodstream. Small, electrical bolts followed the
glow, then it made a pattern. Glow, bolt, glow, bolt, and so on.
Then, a small ball of electricity
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