The Next Generation (FIRST DRAFT)

Chapter 16

Ben and Talon had decided to walk to the hospital to seem less suspicious. Sneaking in would be easier than if Talon was seen flying down on a camera. They stopped by the doors before it was time for them to go in. Talon turned to Ben.

    “Take this,” he said, handing Ben his backpack. “I don’t want to have to explain the matches if they search my bag before I can go in.”

    “How are you going to find them?” Ben said as he took Ben and held it by the top strap.

    “I can hear thoughts, remember?” Talon recalled. “I’ll listen for their voices. I’ve found that they do get louder or softer based on proximity so it should be a good indicator.”

    “What are you going to tell the people up front?”

    “I’ll tell them that I’m here to visit myself. They’ll tell me that I’m not there, but then I’ll ask to see the body to say goodbye. Once I’m in, I’ll ask for a moment alone and sneak off when they aren’t paying attention.”

    “Definitely a lot more thought out than what I would have done,” Ben said weakly. “I probably would have just barreled in there and fought my way until I found the girls.” 

    “Well it also would be a lot harder for you to sneak in with your looks.”

    “You calling me ugly?” Ben joked. 

    Talon laughed. “Yes, totally,” he said sarcastically. “That is exactly what I mean.”

    Ben and Talon stood there for a few more seconds before Talon made a move to go inside. 

    “Remember, fifteen minutes. No more, no less. You only come in before then if you feel it's absolutely necessary.”

    “Okay.”

    Talon turned around and stopped for a moment, staring at the broken glass door in front. He turned back to Ben.

    “Was this you or…,” he asked, trailing off.

    “Yeah…,” Ben said, scratching the back of his head. “Lucy and I were kind of in a rush to get out of there.”

    “Man, you really do not know the meaning of subtlety, do you?”

    “I guess not.”

    Talon smirked and stepped over the broken glass and into the hospital. Ben stayed outside, awkwardly standing by the edge of the doorway. Soon he walked over to a nearby bench on the front campus of the hospital and sat down, so he didn’t attract more attention than he wanted from passersby. Closing his eyes, he put his head on the back of the bench and let out a long sigh. He took off his baseball cap and ran his hand through his hair. After a second, he opened his eyes to stare up at the clouds lazily floating across the azure sky. It was the middle of summer here, there was a soft warm breeze blowing through the clearing. If the situation wasn’t as dire as it was, Ben would rather enjoy just sitting here, relaxing in the heat. He lifted his head to look back at the sidewalk in front of his, hands in his pants pockets.

    This was a bad idea. No matter how Ben looked at it, he couldn’t see it going anywhere but south. To think that they could even realistically rescue the girls was dumb of them. Ben sat forward and put his elbows to his knees, letting his hands hang in his lap. 

    By the looks of it, the new super was probably working with the people that had created the operation that gave them their powers in the first place. They had no idea what they were up against other than the clue of the strange crystal spikes all over the scene where they found the girls. In fact, what was even more frightening is that other than the crystals everywhere, there was no sign of a struggle in the slightest. There wasn’t even any burn marks from the new girl. The more Ben thought about it, the more the scene they had found didn’t make sense. How would the person have been able to stop Lucy? If she had seen him coming, she probably would have immobilized them on the spot.