A Blond Ray of Sunshine

Chapter 17

The following morning, Fireball awoke with a noisy yawn. He sat up in bed, sighing contently as he stretched. The early sun peered in through a gap in the drawn curtains.

"Looks like another nice morning ahead," he remarked. "Guess we didn't have to worry about the police questioning you after all, huh?" He turned to Antoshi, who stared back at him with a deeply serious expression. Fireball immediately became concerned. "You okay? What's wrong?"

"I sensed him," the boy replied, staring at his bedsheets. "I finally sensed where he was. His energy was so clear to me last night, it was like he was right next to me. It was that same, rotten energy I felt before. I don't know what he did, but ... it felt like he used a decent amount of power to do it."

"What should we do?"

Antoshi chuckled, weakly. He got out from under the covers and sat up. "Nothing now. Honestly, though, his energy seemed really intimidating — and I don't even know if that was his maximum power that I sensed. Whatever training he's been doing, ... it's certainly working out for him." He let out a heavy sigh before perking up, giving Fireball a reassuring smile. "Still, now it means I have a better idea of where his level of strength is. I don't think I'm ready to take him on, yet. I'll just have to do my absolute best to train even harder if I want to show him up."

"That sounds more like the Antoshi I know," Fireball replied, smiling back. "Just don't leave me out of your training. I'd like to watch, at least!"

"All right, fair enough," Antoshi said, chuckling.

The boy proceeded to call the hotel's room service to have their breakfast sent up to them. He got up, and got dressed in his newly favored outfit of a red t-shirt and blue jeans. As they waited for their food, the two friends joked and laughed, helping to lighten some of the dour mood they'd been going through as of late. Despite the storm that was Hurricane Latoshi swirling in the distance, Antoshi finally felt like things were at least getting back to normal between himself and Fireball. Just by being there for the boy, Antoshi recognized how much Fireball was helping him to feel whole in his time of need.

Once their food arrived, Antoshi brought it over to the table and chairs set up in the room's small dining space. Fireball turned the television toward them and turned it on before eagerly shuffling to his seat. He licked his chops at the sight of several plates of food before him. Antoshi chuckled, idly turning his attention to the TV as a newscast resumed.

"We want to take you back now to the scene at Goldenrod Penitentiary," the lady reporter said. "If you're just joining us, seven officers and one hundred twelve inmates were found dead, with dozens more injured. Part of the wall of the prison, as you can see, has been completely blown away." Antoshi and Fireball were stunned by the sight. The grassy field outside the prison was littered with plastic yellow tarps and evidence markers. "At this time, officials do not have any suspects or any possible motives in mind. No explosives or any sort of explosive device was found at the scene, though there is some speculation that there may be multiple perpetrators at large, given the swiftness of how the scene unfolded. Officials tell us that these victims were all slain within a matter of less than a minute."

Fireball turned to his friend. Antoshi's hand was trembling as he held his glass of orange juice.

"Latoshi, ..." the boy muttered. "This is it. This is part of his horrible 'plan' to exterminate people he believes are evil. ... What better place to strike than a prison?"

"None of the officials on scene could give us a cause of death for any of the victims," the reporter continued, "however, a police spokesperson has said they're investigating whether there may be a connection with the explosion at Sunset Park yesterday."