Wednesday

A network of canals and smaller ditches wove through town and Erick had found a large culvert that was mostly dry where he could hide out in and spent the night there. A thin rivulet of water ran down the very bottom of the culvert but there was plenty of space on either side that was flat enough for him to sit or even lie down. In the morning, he awoke stiff and cold. His few blankets were not sufficient to pad his back against the ribbed surface of the culvert and he was surprised he’d slept through the night considering how uncomfortable he was.

He didn’t have much left that he could eat and finished what rations he had. While he ate, he went over his powers so far. He could read minds, become functionally invisible, fly, enhance his physical strength, create a shield, absorb energy from others, heal, and of course his energy blast. He also thought he’d done some telekinesis recently but everything from the last couple of days was a blur. There’d also been those times when everything had slowed down around him and he wondered if that was another of his powers manifesting out of reflex.

He needed more practice with all of them, as well as to build up his endurance. Already he’d been surprised by how much more he could do compared to just a few days ago. There was no way of knowing how long his rapid improvement would continue before he plateaued but for the time being he hoped it would continue.

Doing anything on an empty stomach would be pointless, however, so he packed up his blankets, left the rest of the spoiled supplies behind, and climbed out of the culvert and back onto the road. The next town over had a few stores and he could get what he needed there, not to mention keep moving so it would be harder for anyone to find him. Not wanting to waste time, Erick tried to slow the world down around him, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he was speeding up. This power was difficult to learn because he couldn’t just focus his energy into a particular place and have it work. Flooding his body with energy made him stronger, or healed him, but it didn’t seem to speed him up. Surrounding himself with energy allowed him to fly, allowed him to read people’s minds and become invisible to them, or made his shield. Concentrating energy outside of himself into a specific place made an energy blast or allowed him to use his telekinesis.

As he tested things out, he found that, with effort, he could maintain two such powers at the same time. Three, however, was too much for him and one of the three would fail. In any case it drained him quickly to use more than one power at a time.

It wasn’t until Erick focused his energy into his own mind that he began to see results with slowing down the world around him. It made sense, in a way. He was speeding up his mind to process his senses even faster, thus slowing down his perception of time. The more energy he put into it, the slower the world became. If he split his energy between his mind and body, he could move at a normal rate, from his perspective, but must be several times faster than an ordinary person. It was strange. To him he was moving normally but his hair and clothes were being whipped around in slow motion from the air resistance.

He tried to run while in this state but the air around him felt too thick for him to easily do it. For short bursts it was alright but his eyelids and cheeks began to be pushed back painfully if he went too fast for too long. Perhaps if he had the sort of gear parachutists wore then he could maintain it for longer. As it was, Erick practiced his powers all the way to the next town over, a small city called Warren. Even with his speed enhanced for much of the journey it took him until almost noon to get there. It was a surprise to Erick that his energy had lasted the entire trip and that he still had some left over when he arrived at the store.

It was one of those super stores with one side being groceries and the other side being home goods and the like. He made himself invisible to everyone around him and began his shopping in the small camping section of the store, getting himself a hiking backpack, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad to make moving from place to place and sleeping in random places more comfortable. He also grabbed a small pop-up tent and a single burner cooking stove. A mess kit and utensils were next. As he shopped, he added everything into the backpack to ensure he didn’t get more than he could reasonably carry in it. It was nice not to have to carry everything around in a blanket anymore.

As he was nearing the end of his shopping, he discovered a problem with how his invisibility worked. An employee walked into the aisle he was in, looked around surprised, and then pulled out a radio.

“He’s not here,” they said into it, “where’d he go?”

“He’s right in front of you,” came the response.

They looked around the aisle, dumbfounded. Erick realized what was going on almost at once and cursed himself for being so stupid. The security cameras would see him, and whoever was watching those would be out of his invisibility range since it wasn’t true invisibility but more of a bubble of ignoring him. They could still see Erick on the monitors, wherever they were, but the person in the aisle couldn’t.

“He’s literally ten feet from you, stop him,” the voice said from the radio.

Erick could feel the resistance to his mental intrusion increasing as they fought against him. Another employee entered the aisle from the other end, presumably in search of Erick as well, and stopped dead in their tracks when they failed to see him.

He could walk past them, but that wouldn’t resolve the issue with the security cameras and the people watching their feeds. From where he stood, Erick counted at least half a dozen cameras and knew there were more throughout the store. This was a problem he was likely going to also have at Fort Stag so if ever there was an opportunity to learn how to deal with this, now was the time.

“Oh my gosh, just walk forward and you’ll hit him,” the voice on the radio said.

Both employees obeyed and Erick had to side step them while he thought. Breaking the cameras would be simple enough, but that would certainly draw attention. He thought of what real invisibility would look like. Could he make light pass through him? Not likely, but perhaps he could be more like a chameleon. It wouldn’t be perfect but it could be enough. Making every contour of his body look correct for all angles was a big ask, but perhaps he could modify his shield so that instead of stopping objects, it would replicate and emit light that hit it so that no matter what angle someone was looking at him, they’d see whatever was directly behind him.

The shield glowed its familiar blue at first. He was still invisible to the two employees in the aisle with him but whoever was on the other end of the radio was going crazy. Erick couldn’t blame them.

“He’s glowing blue!” they cried. “How can you not see this?”

“Are you sure someone hasn’t hacked the system and is just playing a prank?” one of the employees asked. “Because there’s no one here.”

It was getting harder to keep the two employees from seeing him as he worked on this new power and his energy reserves, already depleted from his journey to Warren, were in need of refilling.

His shield was shifting colors now, but not really in any useful way. It was becoming even harder to keep the workers in the aisle with him from seeing him now so Erick ducked away from them and into the next aisle over. For the brief time it would take for the others to follow him, Erick let his mental block on them drop to rest his mind. Just because he could maintain two powers at once didn’t mean it was easy.

With his mind freed up he was able to focus on his energy bubble around himself and the shifting colors it was changing into. Right now it was mostly random but as he concentrated on what he needed it to do, it began to follow suit. From within the bubble, Erick could see out like he was looking through colored glass. It was disorienting, at first, seeing the reverse image of what was behind him being projected in front of him. Slowly, the double image faded into just a single image so that all Erick could see was the reverse image. It was just in time because the store employees walked into the aisle just at that moment.

“He was just there,” the voice on the radio was saying, “but he faded, like he was going invisible.”

“I’m pretty sure someone’s just hacked into the system,” one of the employees said. “There’s no one here.”

“How do you even hack the cameras?” the other employee asked. “I thought it was a closed system.”

They both shrugged, glanced up and down the aisle on last time, and then left. Erick had to watch them by looking over his shoulder. It was all very disorienting and became even worse when he tried to leave and had to move in the opposite direction than what it looked like because the images were all backwards. This was not an ideal situation and it took Erick a while of fumbling around the store before he could get out. Fortunately he’d already grabbed pretty much everything he thought he’d need so he didn’t have try to gather anything else.

Once he was outside it was a lot easier to maneuver. He flew up so he didn’t have to worry about traffic or other pedestrians and flew to the edge of town where he’d seen an old boarded up building. It turned out to be an old YMCA building. Erick removed the boards blocking one of the windows on the back where it would be less visible and climbed in. He replaced the boards just in case but made it so he could easily take them back off again when he wanted to leave.

There were a few offices but most of the space was dominated by a basketball court. The spacious area and wide ceiling would be perfect for practicing his powers, though for now he was conserving his energy since he was mostly drained now.

He set up his little camp, not using the tent for now since he was indoors. The little stove he’d stolen heated the little pan and soon he had sausages and eggs sizzling away. Erick didn’t like to think about the fact that he’d stolen all of this but he was desperate and didn’t know what else he could do. He ate his lunch and then wiped his dishes clean with a few wet wipes.

If he was going to rescue his family then he was going to need information. Scouting out the base didn’t seem like a good idea but there was a library not far from here and that seemed like a much safer place to start. He left his new supplies behind and climbed back out of the window. It was a short walk to the library and it was a nice relief not to be focusing on any of his powers for the time being. He was far enough away from home that he doubted anyone would recognize him, and in the library he’d look like just another high schooler doing homework.

Without a library card he’d be a little limited on what he could do but Erick was still confident he’d be able to get enough information. Once he arrived, he made his way over to the information desk.

“Can I help you?” the librarian, a middle-aged man with tan skin and salt and pepper hair, asked.

“I’m doing a report on Fort Stag and was wondering if there were any books on it?” Erick lied.

It took the librarian only a few moments to look up what information they had on Fort Stag and soon Erick was walking through the bookshelves, gathering the books the librarian had recommended. There were a couple of histories, as expected, but the one Erick was most interested in was the photographic series that documented a number of military installations, Fort Stag being one of them.

There were plenty of empty tables and chairs so Erick sat himself down and began going through the books. Skimming was a skill he’d learned early on in high school to get him through most book reports and it was paying off now. Looking for key words, photographs, and especially maps or aerial photos were the most useful. A good number of the images were labeled, explaining what the building was and how it was used. Barracks, mess hall, administrative offices, and so forth all began to be identified and the large map of the fort he’d found in the photographic series.

The library had loose sheets of blank paper and pencils for anyone to use so Erick took notes, traced the maps, and generally tried to get as much useful information as he could. The most important find that Erick made was the brig, or military confinement facility that was connected to the security forces building. That was where the military police were stationed and where he thought it most likely that his family was being held. It was also one of the most secure buildings in the entire fort and not likely an easy place to assault. All the more reason to go for stealth.

Even skimming, it took Erick several hours to gather all the information he could get and he left shortly before the library was going to close. On his way out, the librarian he’d spoken to earlier stopped him.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry,” he said, “but are you alright?”

Erick hesitated. What had he done to draw attention to himself?

“I’m fine,” Erick said after an awkward pause and moved to leave but the librarian blocked his way. “Am I in trouble or something?” Erick asked.

“No, I mean, I don’t know, it’s just, you look like you’ve been in a fight or something.”

Only now did Erick look himself over and realized his clothes were still the same ones he’d been wearing since Saturday. They were torn in places, dirty, and there were even a few splotches of dried blood here and there. He probably also smelled pretty bad since he hadn’t been able to take a shower for several days.

“These are my painting clothes,” Erick lied. It was the only thing he could think of saying. “I was painting this morning.”

“You didn’t go to school today?” The librarian narrowed his eyes. “Do you need me to call someone for you?”

What did he think was going on? Did he think Erick was homeless? Maybe. Erick was homeless, he realized with a start. His expression must have changed because the librarian put his hand on Erick’s shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze.

“It’s alright,” he said softly. “What do you need?”

Erick tried to think of something to say but nothing came to him. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. He felt his throat tightening and his eyes began to threaten tears.

“There’s a shelter that takes youth,” the librarian said, “I can give you ride there, or give you money for the bus. Or we can just talk if that’s what you’d like.”

Why was he doing this? He didn’t know Erick, didn’t owe him anything, and yet he was going out of his way to check in on him. Tears began to run down Erick’s face and he wiped them away hastily.

“It’s okay,” the librarian said. “When was the last time you had a good meal?”

“I had some sausages and eggs today,” Erick said, glad he could at least answer that question.

“Well you don’t look like you’re starving,” the librarian agreed. “Still, I can get you something to eat if you like.”

“I have food,” Erick replied with a shake of his head. “And a place to stay.”

“Not to be rude,” the librarian said, “but you look and, uh, smell like you could use a shower. You have one of those?”

Again, Erick shook his head.

“Well I know I’m a stranger and inviting you into my house might be a bit much for you but there’s a truck stop that has showers. You want me to take you there? Or, again, I can give you bus fare.”

Erick knew he could get to wherever he needed to go but something inside him wanted to accept the offer. Before he knew what he was doing, he was nodding his head and the librarian was leading him to the door.

“I need to leave a little early,” he called over to the other librarians.

It seemed they understood what was going on because none of them questioned him and a few smiled and waved. He led Erick to a car and once they were both in he started to drive.

“I’m Saif, by the way,” he said. “Do you need a change of clothes? We can swing by the store and get you something new to put on after you get cleaned up.”

“Sure,” Erick heard himself saying.

This was so utterly bizarre. What was he doing? He needed to lay low, not go around with some stranger and run errands. Fresh clothes and a shower all sounded nice but was that really what was important right now? Erick couldn’t bring himself to stop Saif from taking him shopping now that they were on their way and a part of him was glad for it. When they got to the store they only had a short while before it was supposed to close so they hurried and picked out a couple outfits and some toiletries. Saif paid for it all and then he drove them to the truck stop where Erick could take his shower. There was a short waiting list Erick had to get onto and while they waited Saif bought them both something hot to eat from the deli there.

“It’s not much,” Saif said, “but hot food is hot food.”

Erick ate his grilled sandwich and had to agree that it was good. When his turn came to go take a shower he made his way back to the closet-like showers. There was a space to put his clothes so they wouldn’t get wet and a full length mirror. This was the first time seeing himself since all of this had started and he was shocked at how disheveled he looked. No wonder Saif had been concerned. Erick took off his old clothes and took what felt like the best shower of his life. It wasn’t until he was clean that he realized just how dirty he’d gotten.

In an effort to get the most out of this shower as he could, he placed his dirty clothes on the floor of the shower and smooshed them around with his feet to work some of the soap into them and wash off some of the dirt and blood. He brushed his teeth, put on his new clothes, and then styled his hair. Finally he looked like his old self again. He wrung out his old clothes and then folded them, still damp, and carried them back out to where Saif was waiting.

“You’re looking a lot better,” Saif said with a grin, “and I’m not just talking about the clothes and lack of dirt. You’re smiling.”

“Thank you,” Erick replied. “I didn’t realize how bad things had gotten.”

“Well, can I take you to the shelter? It’s a bit late but they might still have a bed for you.”

“No, thank you,” Erick replied. “I have a place to stay not far from here.”

In reality the abandoned YMCA building was several miles away but Erick could get there on his own quickly enough without inconveniencing Saif any further. Besides, Erick was pretty sure Saif wouldn’t like the idea of Erick staying in an abandoned building all by himself.

“Alright,” Saif said without pressuring Erick. “Here’s my number and address,” he added, handing over a piece of paper written in neat handwriting. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m happy to help.”

Saif also handed Erick a wad of dollar bills.

“For the bus, or anything else, in case you need it,” he said.

Erick thanked him again and Saif left. Erick watched him drive away, wondering how many times he’d done this for other people who’d come into the library. As soon as Saif’s car was out of sight, Erick started walking away from the truck stop and towards the YMCA building. He could have flown or sped himself up but he didn’t feel like wasting the energy. It was only a few miles and walking felt good.

There weren’t a lot of stars visible in the sky due to all the light pollution but the moon was out and waxing. The evening was still warm and there weren’t any bugs out to bother him. Without his cellphone he had no way to tell what time it was exactly but he figured it was around ten or eleven at night when he arrived back at YMCA building. Everything was just as he’d left it and he set out his damp clothes to dry. His cot and sleeping bag were already set up from before and he climbed into bed feeling much more relaxed than he had in several days. He fell asleep almost at once and had no nightmares.