‘Coming, Mrs. Cooke,’ Samantha replied releasing her grip on Flicker. ‘Brendan!’ She exclaimed when she saw him. She was covered in tears down to her neck. ‘Fred, this is my classmate, Brendan. Brendan, this is my brother, Frederick who had been missing for two years!’
Fred gave a short laugh. ‘Looks like we meet again, Eriksson.’‘You’ve already met?’ Samantha was beyond surprised.‘Yeah, a while back,’ Fred answered, his grin still spread across his face.‘And you didn’t tell me, Brendan?’ she shrugged in protest. ‘Fred, we’ll catch up later after school, okay?’‘Sure, sis.’‘Coming, Brendan?’ She beckoned him and they both walked into class.‘Our fight isn’t over, Eriksson,’ Thomas whispered in his direction as soon as he sat down.
‘You really think I’m scared of you, Bradl‘Owen, this is my best friend; Simon Drewmorphin, and I’m Brendan Payne.’‘Brendan what?!’ Simon almost roared in surprise.‘It turns out that my parents’ last name is Payne. It sounds crazy, I know, but maybe it will give me a better chance of finding my father,’ he said.‘You should inform the principal though,’ Simon advised him.Owen had already sat down beside Simon again, listening to what they were saying.‘Samantha’s missing brother has returned,’ Brendan continued their conversation.‘What…What in the world?!’ Simon bellowed.‘Yep. He just appeared from nowhere somehow and he’s calling himself, “The Flicker”. ’‘The who now?’ he asked again in astonishment.‘Who’s Samantha?’ Owen joined the conversation whispering.‘Oh, no one special. Just a witch who likes to rui
‘I want you to count my inheritance money for me.’ He was proud of himself for using the word “inheritance”. Much more subtle.‘Money?’ she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.He nodded.‘Howard left you money?’ Her eyes continued to widen in bafflement.‘Yes,’ he answered plainly.‘It must be a fortune if you can’t count it yourself, right?’‘That’s why I’m asking you to do it…If you are willing to do it.’‘Wow! I cannot believe you trust me this much but yes…yes, of course I will,’ she nodded her head quickly as if this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.‘I never said I trust you,’ Brendan said coolly, but inwardly he was relieved that she had said yes. ‘I have my own reasons. So, I’ll drop it by your house tomorrow?’‘Yes, yes, tomorrow’s perfect.’ She stood
Brendan sighed too. Simon was trying to hide it but there was a glint in both eyes. If Brendan kept pushing it then who knows which side of the cliff the conversation could slide down on?‘So…what now?’ Brendan asked him after a moment. They were now approaching their classrooms, only a handful of students now lingering in the corridor.‘You’re my best friend, Brendan,’ Simon said. ‘My only friend, I guess. But even I have my limits.’‘What do you mean?’ Brendan was now worried. Simon’s tone sounded more regretful, unprocessed. He was no longer looking at him.‘What I mean is that as friends, it’s important to always have each other’s backs, to understand the other’s pain.’‘Simon, what are you trying to..?’‘If you want to keep this friendship afloat, you’ll have to ditch her. Immediately.’ Simon’s bluntness was a s
The bell for recess rang and he headed for the table where he usually sat with Simon in the cafeteria. He was there and so was Owen.‘Don’t even try talking to me,’ Simon began when Brendan sat in front of them.‘I’m not,’ Brendan said maintaining his calm. ‘Has any of you seen Samantha today or did she come into your classroom at all?’ he asked them. Owen had been placed in the same class as Simon.‘Like that’s any of my business,’ Simon responded with spite in his voice.‘Look, just tell me if you did or didn’t, that’s all.’Simon sighed furiously then said, ‘Well, she called me last night. I don’t know how that witch got my number but she did.’‘What did she say?’‘It was distorted, I couldn’t hear it.’‘So you captured not a single word at all?’‘She sounded like she was in trouble
When he told them to come in, Brendan noticed that Miss Putin’s rage-filled eyes were fixed tight on Thomas who, to Brendan’s surprise, looked outdone. He felt overjoyed, not that Thomas had committed such an offence, but because there was a great possibility of his expulsion.Unnoticed, Brendan went into class and grabbed his books and left school. From Principal Johnston’s office there had been a debate in his mind. A debate about Samantha. Simon said that when she had called him, she sounded like she was in a great deal of trouble. And she had mentioned the words “Fred” and “help”. Was it her brother that had been in trouble last night or had it been her? Even still, either case was not something he could easily dismiss. If it were her brother in trouble, a boy who could create…wait, the Finch said “manipulate” particles to create, or was it to summon…fire, what kind of trouble could you be in, except if t
‘He’s just a boy,’ the officer in charge said to the female officer, chuckling in the process. ‘You failed to restrain, a what..? A seventeen or eighteen year old junkie? You are a disgrace, Sergeant Stone.’ In Bradwield, the highest police rank was lieutenant, followed by commissioner then the sergeant and then the corporal and below corporal were the trainees. The sergeant gulped, ‘His flame weapon is what makes him irrepressible, sir.’‘So you’re telling me that with all your guns you were chased away by a seventeen year old junkie who happened to hustle some jeans or a skateboard to get that flamethrower? Humph! Where’s the flamethrower, boy?!’ The officer in charge had resumed communicating with the Flicker through the megaphone.‘What flamethrower?’ The Flicker’s smile had changed to a smirk. His entire body was covered in ash but the crimson of his hair was still noticeable eve
He waited for almost half an hour for the signal, then he made up his mind that waiting any longer would only shorten Samantha’s life. He walked slowly in order to prevent himself from starting the Flicker into doing something illogical. He had almost given up hope when suddenly he saw it. The flame burned in the air above the trees for roughly five seconds but he could tell where it was. Using his enhanced speed, he rushed to the northwest of where he was standing.In a split second he arrived at the location of the signal. About eight hundred yards from where he now stood was a pine tree and bound to the foot of that pine tree with ropes was Samantha. She was only wearing violet colored pajamas and her feet were bare which backed up Simon’s story that she had called him the previous evening.He walked forward to untie her but just as he did, the Flicker emerged from behind the tree and stood beside her.Samantha looked unconscious but then sh
‘That tree won’t save you, Eriksson,’ said the Flicker rubbing his hands together, a little blue still visible from beneath his skin, like a kitchen stove after use. ‘I understand that you have principles, but so do I. You have a good heart. My sister told me all about how badly she treated you…she even wept over it. And you’re still willing to save her all the same. To risk your life for someone that treated you like garbage. Dissed you for being an orphan etcetera. And you helped those people back there, at the bank. I mean, if it wasn’t for you, they’d be toast right now. Literally.’ He shrugged, now getting closer to Brendan’s hiding spot. ‘I guess I can respect those principles, Eriksson. But it doesn’t mean they won’t get you killed some day.’The Flicker began hurling electric spheres at the tree Brendan was hiding behind. The impact of one of these spheres would produce a whip-like sound, ripping a huge amount of the bark and scattering it in many places, progressively de