Mod Superhero

Chapter 4.16 - Guy's Night, Interrupted

And running around on patrol made it even easier to forget that people had lost their homes and their livelihoods. Seeing everyone now brought it all into stark contrast.

But it wasn't all bad.

The kids running and playing were clearly having a good time, and there were smiles and laughs mixed in throughout the rest of the room.

Emmett managed a small smile at their resilience.

For the next few hours that evening, Emmett went through similar ups and downs.

Marlene hugged him close. She laughed and cried as she told him how she'd been airlifted out by a drone. Emmett was grateful that she seemed fine and in good spirits, but he couldn't bear to look at the few things under her cot. Neither she nor Max mentioned the repair shop, which was underwater in more ways than one.

Emmett found his family. They were a few rows down from Max and Marlene. Emmett introduced both groups to one another, then spent the next two hours catching up with his family.

Every one of them had made it out safely—Mom, Dad, Antony, and Darryl's family. The nephews couldn't stop talking about how awesome the drones had been. Mom, Dad, and Antony had nearly made it out of the city before getting stuck on the highway and airlifted out.

They went on like that for a while, exchanging details about the last few days. Thankfully, no one pried when Emmett and Max gave a quick story about being airlifted off the roof of the repair shop.

Antony didn't arrive until later. He'd volunteered with the relief effort, spending the day helping to bring in supplies and shuttle them between shelters. Emmett hugged his younger, slightly bigger, brother.

Eventually, Emmett and Max mentioned that they'd been helping out with the Summit. Emmett made sure to describe it much like Antony had—just moving supplies. Nothing dangerous. Max added that they'd help rewire one of the meeting rooms.

It was a good cover story. Or at least, that's what Emmett thought.

Mom wasn't so sure.

"They better not tell you to go anywhere near the flooding."

"It's okay, Mom. Besides, do Max and I look like heroes?"

Mom cracked a smile. "You don't need to have powers to be a hero. I'm proud of you boys just for volunteering."

Darryl patted Antony on the shoulder. "Good on you, youngin's."

Max asked, "Are you volunteering?"

Just then, the nephews sprinted by, cackling at whatever imaginary game they were playing.

Darryl nodded toward the quickly receding boys. "My volunteering days were over when they started walking."

~

That night, the shelter served chicken alfredo, spaghetti, cooked carrots and peas. Max and Marlene mingled with Emmett's family for dinner.

The food was good—especially considering that the city was still underwater. Antony had learned a little about disaster relief as he volunteered and explained that, in times like these, food was sourced locally as much as possible. Most of it came from grocery stores and distribution warehouses on the outskirts of the city. Since the wave had come on so quickly, most of the food from stores inside the city was probably ruined.

Mom asked how many days' worth of food the shelter had, but Antony claimed he didn't know.

After dinner was a blur. Cherry, Larian, and Krystal came back, and then it was a whirlwind of introductions to family members.

Larian's family reminded Emmett of Darryl's... At least at first. Larian was one of several brothers, but that was where the similarities ended. The brothers were all older, and everyone in his family was soft-spoken and reserved. It felt like the norm for them, rather than because of the current circumstance.

That was fine by Emmett. The less questions someone asked him, the less he had to keep track of.

After the quick introduction, Cherry and Krystal pulled him aside. They explained that they'd met a few weeks ago. Cherry and Krystal's dads had started dating, and soon after, Cherry and Krystal realized that each other were both masks.

Emmett glanced around the shelter. "So, where are your dads now?"

Cherry replied, "Volunteering."

Krystal scoffed. "Probably holding hands beneath the moonlight."

Cherry snorted a laugh. "No, seriously. They're smitten. It's cute."

The group went on like that as the evening winded down. They exchanged stories and made sure to talk in code about their superhero antics so they didn't draw attention. Doing so had become second nature.

All around them, dozens of other families and groups of friends carried on like the world wasn't in turmoil.

For a while, Emmett had slipped into the same false sense of security. He only noticed when it began to get dark outside and the rest of the volunteers came back. The growing static of conversations grew overwhelming and oppressing.

Eventually, he walked outside to get some air.

~ ~ ~