Jackson Humes is Not a Superhero

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Haven't you seen it yet?" he asked. "It's all over social media."

He pulled up a website on his laptop and slid it over to me. It was a local blog that usually reported the mundane goings on in the town. Although it usually focused on local city council decisions, garage sales, or who was getting married to whom, the blog had grown hugely popular during the days that Marv had been missing. The top headline read: DINOSAUR SPOTTED IN KANE?!?! I clicked the video below the headline, trying my best to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

The clip started off shaky and out of focus. The guy recording the video was mid-sentence, incoherently cussing up a storm. The picture was completely washed out before it darkened again, revealing a street I instantly recognized. It was the same one we had driven down when we had dropped Marv off by the woods.

He cut across a yard and shot out into a narrow alley. "Holy shit!" the man shouted. "Did you see that?"

Cold panic washed over me. The image was a little blurry, but I caught a quick glimpse of Marv's long tail about half-a-block-away before it quickly whipped out of sight. The guy tried to follow him, but by the time he was able to get to the spot where Marv had turned the corner, the supposed dinosaur was long gone. I rewound the footage and paused at the exact moment his tail was in the frame. I wondered if someone could zoom in on the image. Would it still look like a tail or would it be nothing more than elongated pixels?

There were over a hundred comments under the video, which I quickly scrolled through. Most people thought the video was a fake or some sort of prank, but there were a few dissenters who suggested that the proper authorities should be informed.

"It looks fake." My voice came out tight and unnatural.

He studied me for a moment. I tried not to squirm. "Tell me the truth," he leaned in closer, "do you know anything about this?"

"Why would you ask me such a stupid question?" I said defensively. "Like I even care about some dumbass prank."

It was exactly the wrong way to play it. Judging from his reaction and body language I knew that I had hurt his feelings. He pulled his laptop back and handed me some papers without looking at me. I flipped through them and saw that he had basically finished the rest of our presentation and had highlighted all of my lines. I felt like an epic ass.

"Seriously," I said, trying to sound both reasonable as well as a little apologetic, "you don't really believe a dinosaur is somehow alive and roaming the earth after millions of years of being extinct. I mean, think about it for a second, there wouldn't just be one, there would have to be others as well. There's no possible way they could've gone all this time without being seen by anyone until now."

He didn't look at me when he spoke. "I wasn't suggesting the footage was real. I just figured since your brother is on the football team you knew something, but we don't have to talk about it since it bothers you so much." 

I felt foolish. It was exactly the sort of stupid prank the football players would engage in to kick off the season. "It's just that, we're not all that close. Once, I overheard him telling his friend that he wished he had a straight brother." I don't know why I said it. It was an outright lie. In my attempt to undo the damage I'd done with Jesse, I'd come up with something even worse. I felt awful for throwing Tanner under the bus.

"Oh," he mumbled. "Sorry."

We spent the next two hours rehearsing our dialogue until we were getting through the script without making many mistakes. I felt irked about what I'd said about Tanner and wanted to set the record straight, but I realized I would only lose credibility with him, not to mention look like a compulsive liar.

We were just about finished when Wendy walked into the café. Even though it was a warm afternoon, she was wearing a pair of purple satin gloves, a red hoodie, black tights, white boots, sunglasses, and a scarf. When it came to making weird fashion statements Wendy was in a league of her own.

Jesse leapt out of his chair as soon as he saw her. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before they hugged. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better." She gave his shoulder a quick squeeze and smiled. "Sorry I wasn't able to make it." I noticed that she avoided looking at me, which I found a little insulting.

"Do you mind if we're done for today? I can fill Wendy in on everything she missed." I could tell he wanted to hang out with her.

"I'm good," I said. "I'll text you if I have any questions."

"Great," he said, packing up his stuff quickly. "Don't forget to bring your costume tomorrow."

With everything else going on, I had completely forgotten that he wanted me to wear a suit. I wanted to protest, but I decided to suck it up after snapping at him earlier. I packed up my school stuff, trying not to imagine our classmates' reactions. I could practically hear everyone snickering.

I was straightening the chairs when I noticed a wallet on the floor. I opened it up and saw that it was Jesse's. I was about to text him but figured I could probably just catch up to them. I left my backpack in the kitchen and headed out the back. I was just about to turn out of the alley and onto the side street when I heard Jesse and Wendy arguing.

"I know something is going on but I don't think he's involved," I heard him say.

Although I couldn't see them, their shadows were visible on the ground in front of me. The two were facing each other just a few feet away from where I was standing. If they decided to take a few steps forward towards the alley they would see me standing there. I had all but decided to walk back to the café and just text him when I heard something that sent a chill up my spine.

"Jackson knows something," Wendy said defensively. "Why else were all those cops around his house?"

"He said he thought they were doing some sort of drill," he replied.

"Did he say anything about how he got that bruise on his cheek?"

My mind began to race. What did she think I knew? And how did Wendy know about the bruise on my cheek? She hadn't so much as glanced at me when she had come into the café. I checked to make sure there was no one else in the alley and inched backwards a little, making sure to stay pressed up against the wall.

"Did you even ask him about it?" she asked when he didn't respond. I didn't have to see her face to know she was annoyed with him.

"It would've been awkward. Trust me. He seemed on edge today." There were a few seconds of silence.

Wendy's shadow moved. She looked over her shoulder before she pulled something out of the bag she'd been carrying and handed it to Jesse. I saw one hand shoot up to his mouth at the exact moment that he let out a gasp. He handed whatever it was back to her. The mystery item quickly disappeared back into her purse.

"I found it stuffed at the bottom of his laundry hamper," she said. "The blood on it is still fresh." Jesse let out another gasp. He must've been on the verge of saying something because she continued excitedly. "But listen, that's not even the strangest part. While I was searching his room, I saw Shannon parked at his neighbor's house. And guess who walked out of the house?" Jesse's shadow shrugged. "Marv Morgan."

I felt like I'd been hit by a two hundred foot tsunami. Before I left the house, I had given Marv a clean hoodie and had stuffed Mr. Saltzman's bloodied T-shirt at the bottom of my laundry hamper.

Wendy had the bloodied shirt.

Wendy had seen Marv.

Wendy had been in my room.