Threat to Society
Chapter 3: Electric Insanity
My eyes cracked open. I gasped, crying out as pain flared through my entire body. The events of what just happened rushed back to me faster than my foggy brain could process it. Mike's car had spun out on ice and we had flipped over, and crashed. But where had we crashed?
"Mike..." I whispered, my voice thick. "Mike, are you there?" I turned towards my friend to see him slumped over the steering column. I reached towards him and shook him gently. "Mike..." I whispered.
Mike gave no response.
Slowly, very slowly I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached towards Mike again. I pushed him off the steering column, seeing the deflated airbag. So they had activated. Shame they did absolutely nothing during the roll over. I looked at Mike and in the faint light I could see dark lines running down his face. I reached into the glove compartment for a flashlight and pulled it out. I turned it on and froze.
Mike...Blood covered his face, and his eyes were wide and staring.
"Mike..." I whispered. I reached for his wrist and pressed my fingers against it. I adjusted my grip several times, my eyes getting wider and wider every time.
I couldn't find a pulse. He wasn't breathing either.
"Mike..." I gasped. "Mike no..." I leaned away from him, pressing myself against my door.
Bzzzzt
I screamed, electricity slamming into my body. As the electricity ceased its current, I sat up again, gasping for air.
That should've killed me... I thought. I looked out the broken window at the thing we had crashed into. It was an electrical substation. The car had dented the metal casing, exposing several of the high voltage components within. Every time I got too close to it, the electricity would arc and strike me with enough volts to kill me. Hell, that last strike should've killed me, but it didn't for some out of this world reason.
A high pitched ring cut through the air, my frayed nerves making me scream and jump. I recognized it as my cell phone. Agonizingly, I turned around and slowly reached towards my bag in the back seat. I pulled the device out and flipped it open with shaky hands.
"H-Hello..." I gasped.
Toby?
"M-Mom..." I fell back against the seat.
Toby, are you all right? Where are you?
"N-No I'm..." The electricity arced again, drawing another cry from my lips.
Toby? Toby, are you okay?
The electricity stopped and I leaned away from the window, getting as far away from it as I could, but still keeping my distance from Mike.
"Mom..." I gasped. Then I started cry. "Oh god, mom..."
Toby? What happened?
"The car...Mike's car. We crashed..." I sobbed. "Mike...Mike...I think he's...Oh god mom..."
Where are you? Cole, call 911. Use the cell phone.
"I...I don't know, mom..." I gasped. "We crashed into a substation. That's all I know."
You crashed into a substation? Mom cried.
"Uh huh..." I said weakly.
Are you okay?
"No!" I cried. "I'm in a lot of pain, Mike's..." I trailed off. "And its...It's hit me...twice...no three times..."
You... My mom trailed off.
"The electricity." I whispered.
Mom began relaying as much information as she could to Cole as he dialled 911.
Just stay awake, okay Toby? Don't move.
"I..." I was blacking out. My breathing came out in ragged gasps as my head spun. I sat up straight again, hopefully to clear my head.
Bzzzzt
I yelped again, my body convulsing. When the arc ended, my head was just slightly clearer, but I was trembling violently and uncontrollably.
Here, talk to him. I heard mom say. I'll talk to them.
I gripped the seat tightly, my heart racing in my chest.
Toby? It was Cole's voice.
"Where's mom?" I gasped.
She's talking to 911.
"Oh." I fell slightly and my hand slammed on the door to steady myself. Stupid idea. The electricity arced again. I screamed in both anger and shock. "God damn it!" I cried.
What's wrong?
"Why am I not dead?" I cried. "I should be dead! What the hell is happening?"
What happened, Toby?
I didn't answer. My breath just came out in horrible, ragged gasps. I could feel a foreign energy flowing through my body. It made me want to move, to run, burn it off. I didn't know whether it was adrenaline, or some crazy effect of getting struck by high voltage electricity five fucking times
Toby?
I had to get out of this car now. I began to move, trying to think of a way out of the vehicle.
Bzzzzzzzt
"NO!" I screamed, my free hand thrusting towards the substation. Electricity shot from my hand and began arcing all over the substation. Sparks flew everywhere as the coils heated up and shattered into pieces. The metal casings tore off the equipment and the whole thing exploded in with loud pops and crackles accompanied by a light show of bright blue electricity and a shower of sparks.
"Holy shit! HOLY SHIT!" I gasped, launching myself into the back seat of the car and slamming against the driver's side door back there.
Toby? Cole was still on the phone.
"What's happening?" I cried, tears of panic flowing down my face. "What the hell is happening?"
Toby, what happened?
"It blew up!" I cried. "The whole substation exploded!" I gasped. "SOMEONE HELP ME!" I shrieked.
Toby, I'm here. Stay calm. The paramedics are on their way. Cole told me.
I screamed again, this time it was wordlessly. I was in full panic mode, wanting so desperately to run, but not wanting to leave my best friend behind. I had been struck by electricity six times, and I think I exploded the whole substation. I didn't know what the hell was going on. I was scared. In fact, all I could do was curl up into a ball in the back seat, listening to Cole relaying to my mom that I was still alive, I was just panicking. Mom tried to comfort me, but in my panic, I couldn't say anything.
When the paramedics finally arrived, probably tipped off by the local hydro provider that something went screwy with one of their substations, I was taken into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital. I passed out on the way there.
...
When I opened my eyes again, it was to a bright light and white washed walls.
"Toby?"
I looked towards the voice to see mom and Cole sitting in chairs beside my bed.
"What happened?" I whispered.
"You crashed." Mom told me.
I remembered the crash again down to the last detail.
"Mike..." I breathed. "Where is he?"
Mom's face fell. "I'm so sorry, Toby." She pulled me into a hug. "He's gone."
"No..." I whispered. "No..." I began to cry. "He was my best friend..."
"I know, Toby. I know." Mom sobbed.
...
Mike. He had been my best friend since elementary school. We did everything together. But now, he was gone. Dead. I couldn't believe it. I cried for hours in that hospital bed, wishing I could've done something to help him. But I knew I couldn't have done anything.
And that's why it hurt so damn much. I couldn't save my best friend.
Cole had this look of sympathy in his eyes he should never have had. Hell, he even cried a little bit. I didn't know what he was thinking, but all I knew was that I was pissed off that he could look so damn sympathetic. Especially since I still hated his guts for being my father. If he even so much as tried to give me sympathy, I would've yelled at him. Hell, I probably would tell him he wasn't my father. That's how horribly distraught I was.
...
I was woken up the next morning by that same energy I had felt back in the car. It felt like power, unbelievable power. I remembered the way the substation exploded and fear raced through me. I felt something similar to static snap between two of my fingers. I raised my hand just in time to see blue lightning start crackling out of the palm of my hand, arcing across my fingers and jumping every which way.
I cried out and stared at it, trying to think of how to get rid of it. I didn't know what was going on, but...
The realization suddenly dawned on me.
Holy shit...I have freaking electricity sparking out of my freaking hand...this shouldn't be happening...
I screamed.
"Toby? Oh my god. Cole!"
I looked up to see mom entering the room. Cole looked in curiously, still wearing the baseball cap to disguise himself. His eyes widened at the electricity sparking all over my hand. I was panicking, wanting to do something to stop the electricity from sparking from my hand, but not knowing what to do. I didn't want to touch anything, but...
Cole reached towards my sparking hand. I flinched away from him, but just then electricity started to spark around his hand as well. I froze in my tracks and his electric hand took mine and drained the electricity from it. My hand stopped sparking, and I could only stare at his as he dropped it back to his side. The electricity disappeared.
"H-How...W-What..."
The nurse bustled in. "Is everything okay here?" She asked.
"Yes, I think so." Cole answered for both me, and mom. I knew he didn't want anyone finding out what had just happened to me. I was glad for it too. I didn't want to be a freak show. It barely even occurred to me that this was the first time I was hearing Cole's voice in person.
The nurse checked my charts and then left the room.
I stared at my hands, my fingers trembling from what had just happened.
"Say something!" I hissed, wanting closure, to hear that this wasn't happening.
Mom pulled me into a hug. Nope. Not what I wanted at all. It just made me shake even more, mom probably thinking I was some kind of miracle because I had electricity sparking from my hand like Cole MacGrath who was sitting in the same goddamn room. Did I mention he could possibly be my father? If that was the case, this was going in the direction of 'like father, like son'. Fuck, I officially hated that saying.
"W-What's happening to me?" I whispered into her shoulder.
My mom couldn't answer that. She didn't. Nobody did. Not even Cole who looked like he could tell me the answer, but didn't, either because he couldn't put it into words, or his answer was just too 'you've got superpowers, Toby'. Please, nobody say that. Please don't say anything like that. Don't even say I'm like Cole MacGrath. Please, let it not be true. Please tell me I wasn't turning into a superhuman freak like my supposed father with electric powers.
Mom let me go and sat back in her chair. She wrung her hands for a few seconds then looked towards Cole who was still staring off into space, trying to think of something to say to me.
In the end, the doctor came in and pronounced me with surprise that I was good to go. Thus, I left the hospital that day.
...
I had just been about to get into moms car when Cole put a hand on my shoulder. I spun around and glared at him.
"What?" I asked.
He flinched slightly. "It...Might not be a good idea for you to get in the car."
"Why not?"
Cole ran a hand down his face. "It might explode."
I had to admit, I nearly laughed. "Explode? Why would it explode?"
"Toby,"
I looked towards mom who was standing beside the car, the door open for her to step into.
"I know you probably don't want to hear it, but..." She bit her lip, trailing off.
"You won't be able to live a normal life anymore." Cole finished to my dismay. "I learned the hard way when I sat in a car and it exploded because of my power."
"So you're saying I have to walk home now?" I growled. "In the bloody snow."
"So do I, Toby." Cole reminded.
Right. I wasn't the only freak in the city.
I angrily kicked a pile of snow into the parking lot and began to march towards home. My teeth were gritted in absolutely fury as I stomped across the concrete. The moment I stepped onto the sidewalk I stopped, realizing I didn't have the slightest clue how to get home.
"Toby,"
I ran for it. I didn't want to speak to Cole freaking MacGrath. I ran down the sidewalk, the icy air burning at my lungs as my feet thudded into the concrete. I didn't look back to see if he was following me. Instead, I whipped into alleyway after alleyway, trying to evade anybody who could potentially be following me. Eventually, I couldn't run anymore and I collapsed to the ground and cried. Why me? Why did I get these powers? Why did my best friend have to die? Why was my father Cole MacGrath? Why did my father come home after all of these years?
Someone sat down beside me. I gasped and looked up. Unbelievable.
"How the hell did you follow me?" I cried.
Cole didn't look at me. "I know these streets better than anyone in this city. I was a bike messenger before I got my powers." Cole stated. "One day I was asked to deliver a package like always. But halfway through my delivery, the man who asked me to deliver the package called me. He told me to open the package, and inside was a strange ball about the size of a basket ball. The man, Kessler was his name, gave me directions on what to do with it. Next thing I knew, I woke up in a crater."
I stared at the ground. I realized at that moment he was talking about the Blast.
"I later found out that the ball was known as the Ray Sphere. It was like a bomb in a way, except it drained neuroelectric energy from the people around it and concentrated it into the user, mainly myself. I had unknowingly killed thousands of people. My powers started to develop just days later. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. I didn't know what was happening to me. There were no experts to consult. I was on my own."
I wondered why he was telling me all this. Regardless, I hung onto every word he said.
"After the quarantine was put up, I slowly began to master my new power. As I tried to find Kessler, I protected the city and kept it safe from the gangs and super human people called conduits."
"Conduits?" Whoops. I had spoken.
"We're conduits, Toby." Cole stated. "We both can heal quickly, correct?"
I bit my lip and nodded.
"That was why I was chosen to detonate the Ray Sphere. Because I was a conduit, I could survive the explosion, and the massive intake of the electric energy. Even so, Toby, you're not alone like I was."
I gritted my teeth. "So you think I'm better off than you were?" I snarled.
"Toby-"
"No!" I cried. "My best friend died in that crash! I should've died with him! That electricity should've killed me!"
"But it didn't." Cole pointed out.
I stared at the ground again. "So why didn't it?"
"I don't know." Cole stated. "I can only guess that after the crash, you absorbed some of the electricity and it manifested itself inside you."
Without my saying so, my hand began to crackle and spark again. I stared at it, willing it to go away and never come back. It just kept on crackling. I let my hand fall, my arm propped up on my knee as my hand continued to spark.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" I whispered.
"Do you feel it inside you, Toby?"
"Feel what? The lightning?"
Cole nodded. "It feels like energy."
I tried to see if I could feel it, but I was filled with such irritation and pain that I couldn't do it. I just shook my head. Eventually, it fizzled out, but the impact was still there. These powers weren't going away.
"I can teach you to use them, Toby." Cole stated.
I continued to stare at the ground.
"Don't be like me, having to control this on your own." He sighed. "Someone else has been through what you're going through, and that's me, Toby. I'll let you make the choice, but just know, I will teach you to control your power."
