The Next Generation (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 12

Ben froze in place. There was no way that these people couldn’t see him. His metallic skin was like a spotlight in the middle of a night sky, painfully noticeable. Ben looked around in panic, trying to find a place to hide. All around the bank, there were only the large rocks on slopes to help contain the river during flooding. They were large, but not nearly big enough to hide him. On top of that, because of the slope, not even his super speed could get him out of there fast enough. He was trapped. 

    Ben whipped his head around to look at the rafters head on. In total, there were twelve people, sharing one giant raft. The people were laughing at each other as they pointed at Ben, clearly poking fun at his silver skin. A couple of them had their phones out and were taking pictures of him as they floated by. He could feel color coming to cheeks, probably turning that bright blue that Lucy loved to make fun of. He hid his face in his hands, not wanting his face to be seen in any of the photos. 

    “I like your style!” One of the girls on the raft shouted at him as they passed, clearly drunk. “Where did you get your makeup?!”

    “U-um...Balmart?”

    She laughed. “Never seen makeup like that there!”

    “Maybe you just didn’t look hard enough?”

    “She laughed again and hopped off the raft, telling one of her friends to hold it in place in the shallows. She then waded over to Ben to get a slower look. 

    The girl looked to be college aged, with flowing red hair that fell down her shoulders in waves. She had a bright smile and clear green eyes. She was wearing a black one piece with a scooping neck and slits in the sides and back. She walked up to Ben and immediately began feeling his arms, giggling to herself. 

    “C-can I help you?” Ben said, clearly uncomfortable. 

    “This is really good makeup. It even feels like metal.” She looked up at Ben. “I’m Ashley, training to be a makeup artist, so this stuff is really cool to me. What’s your name?”

    “U-uh...Jackson,” Ben stuttered, trying to get away from her.

    “You’re funny!” she laughed. “Do you want to come have a drink with us?”

    “You don’t even know how old I am. What if you’re offering a drink to a minor?”

    “Oh, c’mon. You’re not scared, are you?”

    “I-I, no.”

    “Then why won’t you come?”

    “I don’t know you!”

    “We told each other our names! That means we do know each other now.”

    Ben stopped. She wasn’t wrong.

    “Just come, Jackson. I promise you won’t regret it,” she pleased, smiling at him.

    Ben thought about it for a second, then shook his head. What was he thinking? He was sixteen, not old enough to drink in this country. 

    “No.”

    Ashley frowned and chased after him. “Just let me take a picture with you then!” 

    Ben tried to run away from her, but he tripped over a rock under water and fell face first into the water. When he resurfaced, Ashley was there with her phone at the ready. She leaned down next to him and took a couple quick pictures while he tried to clear the water from his face. He stood back up and Ashley took one more picture of her smiling next to him. She then turned to him, kissed his cheek, and smiled at him again. “Thank you!” she said as she ran back to the raft and jumped back on. All of her friends laughed at his confused expression as they continued their float back down the river. Ben stood in the river, frozen in place. He touched his cheek, first confused, then fuming. That girl had stolen his first kiss! He turned around to stomp back up the river bank only to trip and fall into the water again. He stood back up, shaking the water out of his hair, and climbed back up the riverbank. He sat down on a rock at the top and put his hands in his hair. Hearing soft footsteps as someone softly landed next to him, Ben groaned.

    “Please don’t tell me you saw all of that,” Ben said to the person that had landed and now was sitting on a rock a couple feet away from him.

    “Unfortunately for both of us, yes,” Talon answered. “I came to check back on you because you were taking an awful long time to come back.”

    “Great,” Ben said, looking back up at the river. “I hope you don’t mind if I just jump in that river and drown.”

    “Are you sure you-”

    “Yes I can drown!” Ben snapped, whipping his head around to look at Talon. He jumped back in surprise when he saw Talon’s face. One half of it was red and covered in blistered burns. It looked beyond painful. 

    “What happened to you?”

    “Our little ‘friend’ that we picked up at the building decided to test my heat resistance and shot a fireball at my face. Needless to say, I do not have fire immunity.”

    “Dude go down to the river and cool off your face before it gets any worse.”

    Talon chuckled and shook his head, grinning to himself. “Fine. But only because this hurts like no other, okay? Not because you told me to.”

    “Wow, isn’t someone petty,” Ben replied sarcastically with a chuckle. He then got up and followed Talon back down to the river and sat on one of the boulders near the edge. He watched as Talon took his shoes and stood at the edge of the river, almost seeming shy of it. He carefully dipped his toes before picking his way down to about calf deep water, refusing to go any further than that. 

    “Are you scared?” Ben asked suddenly. Talon, having been ripped out of his state of extreme concentration, nearly jumped out of his skin, causing him to lose his balance and fall over forwards. Ben stared in shock as the guy he had always been so intimidated by suddenly was reduced to the level of a toddler struggling to stay afloat in the water.