Chapter Nine – I is for Invisible

"You okay?" Sam asked offering his hand to help me up.

"Fine," I exhaled ignoring his hand and pushing myself back up to my feet. Together Sam and I stood there watching Six leaning casually against the truck as she continued her conversation with Mr. Greasy.

"She knocked you on your ass," Sam commented.

"Yeah, well." I immediately stiffened up, tightened my muscles. "I let her."

"Sure you did," Sam elbowed me. I'm pretty sure he continued talking but I wasn't listening. I was pissed. Really pissed. As Henri used to say I was "seeing red."

Red.

Like her fucking thong.

Yes.

That was it.

"Come on, Sam," I said, leading my human friend away from her and back toward the sad excuse for a repair shop that also graced the gas station's property.

"Where are we going?" Sam whispered as he followed behind me.

I ducked inside one of the bays and crouched next to an old open top Jeep. "Keep an eye on Six," I instructed Sam.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just tell me when she starts freaking out."

"Uh, why would she freak out? What are you going to do to her?"

"Watch and learn Sam."

Just a few hours earlier, Six had suggested I practice manipulating objects I couldn't see. And that's exactly what I was going to do. I closed my eyes and concentrated. In my mind I pictured her body; the soft white skin of her bare back. Then I painted the mental image of her underwear; their crimson hue in contrast with her pale backside. Once I had the scene set in my mind, I clenched my fists and imagined the delicate red fabric being yanked hard – all the way up her ass. I used my telekinesis to move the material until it was digging up through her pussy and her butt crack. I hoped it hurt.

"Uh, John, I think you better stop whatever you're doing," Sam said worriedly as he tapped his foot against the ground. "She just looked over here and… oh shit… now she's coming!"

I heard him but I didn't care. In my mind I pulled it harder. Let her try to walk with an Atomic Wedgie.

The pain between my legs came from nowhere. I fell onto my side cupping my groin with my hands. "Holy shit!" Sam exclaimed at the sight of me writhing on the ground. "John, are you okay?" He was kneeling beside me now. "What the hell happened?"

"Fucking bitch..," I choked out. "…kicked me in the balls."

"What?" Sam gasped incredulously. "How? She's like twenty feet away."

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I was in too much pain. Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!

When I opened my eyes and saw her black boots, I immediately closed them again.

"Go to hell," I told her. Taking a cheap shot like that she deserved worse but unfortunately my balls hurt too much to come up with anything better.

"It's all fun and games," she remarked.

When I heard her mocking tone I lost it. I worked through the pain, fueling my telekinesis with sheer willpower. As the material start to rip Six let out a small yelp. My eyes opened to the glorious sight of her removing the now torn thong from the back of her jeans.

Sam stood inches away, face full of wonderment as he gazed upon the red cloth in Six's hand.

"Is that…?" his voice trailed off as his jaw dropped open. "... panties?"

Six didn't answer him instead she stood over me and dropped her underwear on my chest. "You're getting me a new pair," she said to me as she delivered another squeeze to my testicles with her telekinesis.

"Fuck," I groaned, wondering if I'd ever be able to get up.

"Time to go," she said addressing both Sam and myself as she strode off toward the truck. Once again, Sam offered his hand to help me to my feet. This time I accepted it.

I took my place in the back of the truck, wedged between her stupid bike and the metal rails. There was no way to be comfortable so I brought my knees up to my chest and ducked my head in attempt to avoid the wind.

I hated this. Hated every second of running like a scared rabbit. I wished Henri was still alive. I wished I could have my life back again. I wanted to be back in Paradise. I wanted to see Sarah again. I missed her so much. I could feel the ache in my heart when I thought about her.

"I love you Sarah Hart," I whispered to myself. "And I will see you again."

About an hour into our ride Six swerved across two lanes of traffic and made an illegal U-turn over the stone median in a divided highway. With the centrifugal force the bike fell on top of me, its metal body slammed into my skull. It was all I could do to keep myself from throwing the damn bike out onto the road.

"What the hell!" I yelled as I banged on the cab window. Bernie Koser hopped up, pressing his paws against the glass. He barked once. Eat!

Eat?

I looked over and saw the golden arches. Sam must have been bugging Six about McDonald's. Despite my headache, I smiled when I thought about Six being trapped in the truck with Sam as he annoyed the shit out of her whining about how much he wanted McDonald's.

Six pulled into the lot and slammed the brakes on as she flew into a parking spot. This time I slammed the back of my head hard against the window. Next chance I got – I was going to give Six a taste of her own medicine. Sam's door opened and he jumped down to the pavement with Bernie at his heels.

"You sure you don't want anything beside coffee," Sam asked Six.

"No," Six replied as she too got out of the truck. She dropped the tailgate and jumped into the bed to check on her bike.

"John, what do you want?" Sam asked me as I jumped over the side of the bed, thankful to be out of that cramped position. I noticed he was holding up a fifty dollar bill. Clearly Six had to bribe him to get him to shut up.

We walked into the fast food restaurant and got in line behind a pair of girls probably a year or two younger than us. Immediately, Sam lowered his head and stared at the floor, no doubt whatever Six had said to him had the desired effect. It irked me that Six would be so cold. Sam deserved a life. Hell, we all deserved one!

I elbowed Sam, silently communicating that he should try to talk to the girls. But he shook his head 'no', and returned to watching his shoelaces. One of the girls was now placing her order, not that I often eavesdrop, but being right behind them it was hard not to overhear what was going on. Seems the girls didn't have enough money for what they wanted. I looked at Sam's fist where the fifty dollar bill was being held tightly.

And that's when yet another brilliant idea came to me.

"We got you," I said stepping up beside the girls. They both turned around and looked at me. "Whatever you want. Our treat." I indicated Sam as my wing man.

"Thanks, but we, uh, have boyfriends," the taller of the two replied giving me the "who the hell is this freak talking to us" look. It took only a moment to realize that after my time in the truck bed, I probably looked like shit.

"Then we'll buy for them too," I offered.

Sam leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Give me the money," I replied.

"Why?" he said suspiciously.

"Sam, just give it to me."

And he did though a bit reluctantly.

I slapped it down on the counter.

Both girls whipped out their phones and texted rapidly. Their thumbs turned to a blur with the speed. Even with my Lorien powers, I was very impressed.

"Okay," the other girl said with a nod as her friend began reading from her phone. I swallowed hard when I realized they were ordering for much more than four people.

After Sam and I placed our orders the total came to well over fifty dollars – which I thought I was damn near impossible for fucking McDonald's. Fortunately the girls were able to cover the difference. Sam shifted from side to side uncomfortably, his hands kept moving from fists to his pockets then through his hair. He was even sweating a little.

"Relax," I hissed to him.

One of the girls dropped thirty four cents in my hand. The change from our order. "Thanks," she said with nothing more than a shrug as she and her friend took the trays piled high with food over to the soda fountain. Sam and I stayed at the counter waiting for our order to be filled.

That's when Sam mumbled a very audible "What the fuck?"

"John," he grabbed my sleeve and curled it between his fingers. "Where's Jane?"

We both turned our attention to large glass windows where we had a clear view of the parking lot. The space where we had parked was now vacant.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Sam cursed angrily. "She left. She fucking left. With my dad's truck!"

"Sam!" I said, trying to calm his outburst before he made yet another scene today.

"This is ALL YOUR FAULT JOHN!"

Now he was yelling at me. People were turning to look at us. Even the girls we'd just bought dinner for were watching us curiously.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE LEFT! WHAT THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW!"

"SAM! Shut up!" I tried to cover his mouth but he batted my hand away. "Will you just listen to me?" I grabbed him, looping my forearm around his neck and catching him in a head lock. "You need to calm the fuck down. NOW!" I said forcefully into his ear.

But even as I said those words I could feel myself getting worked up over this. She wouldn't leave. She couldn't leave. No. There's no way she would leave us behind. What she had said to Sam was an empty threat – right?

A sliver of doubt crept into my mind. Neither Sam nor I really knew Six that well. What if she wasn't bluffing? What if she had left us? Then I remembered my chest was in the truck! Shit! How could I forget about The Loric Chest. My Inheritance. Henri said that it was the MOST valuable thing we had. And she took it! That bitch took my fucking chest!

"John, uh, uh, "Sam was stuttering.

"What?" I growled.

"Your hands…,"

Looking down I saw that my palms were faintly lit. I hadn't even realized that I'd lost control. I released Sam, balled my fists and shoved my hands in my pockets. A quick scan told me there were quite a few people who had witnessed my Legacy.

"Hahaha," Sam laughed a very fake laugh. "Glow sticks. Good one, John."

"Glow sticks? Seriously?" One of the girls commented from the soda fountain. She and her friend began coming back toward us to investigate. While I appreciated Sam trying to cover for me – clearly we needed another plan. And I needed to focus and turn off the damn lights in my fucking hands.

"Let me see your hands," the taller girl said to me.

"Maybe another time." I stepped away from them, shouldered the doors open and went out into the parking lot. As I wasn't paying attention I nearly got run over by a car flying through the drive thru lane. The driver laid on the horn for a good five seconds and called me a few names. I stepped back up onto the curb and took a breath. After running from the Mogs for so long – would it be ironic to die from being hit by a car in a fast food drive thru? Lucky thing the guy saw me in time… saw me…

I looked up and over to the parking spot again, the beginnings of a smirk growing on my lips. I had Six's little trick all figured out.

"John, you okay?" Sam asked as he rushed up beside me.

"Yeah," I told him.

"That car almost turned you into a chalk outline," he added

"Almost," I smiled. "Can I see that?" I asked, not waiting for his reply just taking the cup of coffee he'd gotten for Six from his hands. I threw it across the lot, aiming it directly at where the truck had been (or still was) parked. As it flew through the air, the lid came off leaving a coffee rainbow in its wake. It descended through the air where it should have landed in the truck bed. But instead it fell to the ground. The remaining contents splattering all over the asphalt.

"O. K. " Sam said slowly.

"It's not there…," I uttered in disbelief. "The truck's not there." I ran over to the spot, waving my arms around, expecting to hit metal but there was nothing. The truck wasn't invisible like I thought. It really was gone.

Six had left us.