The flared tempers trump the cool night. Luna has crept back out of the man's sight. We raise our hands on the first level, but I guarantee she's ready to do something reckless. I think the rest of us know that if we use our powers, he may still be able to get a shot off. It's not worth risking one of our lives. Luna and I share a moment of eye contact, and I use it to shake my head, slowly, at her. She winks back and blows a kiss to me, smiling. I don't know what she's thinking, but it might get someone killed. I creep a chain up the wall behind her, just in case.
"Sir, please, we don't want to hurt you. Just let us leave," Snap pleads.
The man squints at us, shuffling a toothpick around in his mouth.
"Hurt me," he laughs, "you must be mistaken. See, I'm the one with the gun. And would you look at that, you brought me dinner. I really appreciate it."
"You're gonna let us go, or you're gonna die," Luna says jumping down from the top. Her arms are engulfed in flames. The man stumbles back with terror.
"No one is going to die, Luna!" Snap yells.
Luna walks toward the man, who is now crawling backward for his life.
"Wait! Wait!" He exclaims.
"Mmm, I love when they beg," Luna says, cynically.
"My son, he's like you! Different! Please, can you help us?! You're in hospital gowns, were doctors going to fix you?"
"Fix? Do we look broken to ya?" Luna replies.
"He's just... so afraid of being different."
Luna extinguishes her flames. I didn't think there was any reasoning with her up until this point. I guess everyone has a soft spot. Snap runs past Luna and extends his arm to the man. He helps him to his feet while Luna picks up the shotgun and burns it to ashes in her hand.
"Please, just follow me. We don't know what to do, please," the man begs.
Decoy carries large chunks of deer meat in his arms, struggling, while we all turn to him.
"What? I'm hungry. I'll cook this myself if I have to."
Snap turns back to the man, nods, and we follow him up to his house. It's a big house, an old style, cozy abode. The porch is filled with chairs and bug zappers, spazzing with the buzz of fried insects. The entrance to the home is below a sign the reads "In God we Trust." The interior smells of fresh peppermint and lavender, it reminds me of a warm summer day.
"Junior! Come meet our guests," the man says.
A teenage boy comes running down the stairs, skipping a few steps as he jumps to our floor. He looks maybe fifteen or sixteen. That age where you're old enough to know better in most situations but young enough to still choose to be naive. He has innocent eyes and short, dirty blonde hair.
"Show them what you can do," the man says.
"But you told me to keep it a secret," Junior replies.
"It's okay, son. They're like you, special."
Mute lifts her hand and floats a nearby vase toward us. She begins spinning her finger and it twirls in mid-air. Junior inhales deeply, and lets out a short screech, shattering the vase. We all stare at him in awe.
"It sounds loud, but it won't hurt your ears. I learned how to focus it," informs Junior.
Decoy holds his chin, deep in thought. His eyes search, without looking for anything, as he tries to find the words to use to express his mind.
"Got it! Echo is your superhero name. That was awesome!" Decoy says.
"Junior, Linus, I said none of that in the house!" A woman says, entering the room.
"Oh, Lord, you didn't tell me we were having company," She says, grabbing a broom from the closet. "The house is such a mess; I'm so sorry." She begins sweeping up the pieces of the vase. "Wait, Junior, you used your power in front of them?" She stares at us, putting down the broom.
"It's okay, Susan, they have powers, too," Linus says. "They can help our boy."
"Lovely," she says, "will you all be staying for dinner?"
"Not only will we be staying, we brought dinner with us," Decoy says.
"Not looking like that, you aren't. Linus, show the women to our room, they can use the shower and borrow my clothes. Junior, show the men to the shower on this level, and bring them some of your father's garments."
Susan grabs to deer meat from Decoy and takes it back to the kitchen. Linus gestures to follow him up the stairs. I guess this is where the term "southern hospitality" comes from. The yellow wallpaper makes the lights in their house look that much brighter. The furniture and picture frames look like antiques, gathered from at least a few decades ago.
Linus opens the door to his room and lets us know that we can wear anything that belongs to his wife. The thought of a hot shower dances in my mind, but my body slumps into their bed as he leaves. Luna lays next to me as Aroma and Mute search through the clothes.
"We hit the jackpot, ya know," Luna whispers to me.
"I know, food, shelter, I'm glad there's still good people in the world."
"Don't be stupid," she says, "we kill them in the middle of the night and everythin' here is ours."
"You disgust me," I say, standing up to join Mute and Aroma. Luna grabs an outfit and leaves the room. Maybe she's skipping a shower, but at least she's changing out of the gown filled with burn holes.
"We need to watch her," I say.
"Trust me, love; we are always watching her," Aroma replies. Mute nods, firmly, for reassurance.
Aroma showers, then Mute, then me. Seeing Mute without her face paint leaves me awestruck. Her usually hidden freckles have finally revealed themselves. I can't remember the last time I felt so refreshed. It was like shedding my skin and being reborn anew from it. Now all I need is food, and I'll be complete. It's nice to take these bandages off, too. I put on a black dress; I suppose I can look nice for once. My wounds on my arm aren't completely healed, but at least they're closed so I won't need stitches. We're all dressed comfortably, for the night, and for tomorrow. I'm hoping they'll drive us to Snap's tomorrow. I noticed a van out on the side of the house. As I walk into the hall, I'm greeted by Decoy.
"Even though I prefer you with sticks and leaves in your hair like earlier, you still look gorgeous," he says.
"You sure know how to charm a girl," I respond.
It's happening again. The smile I can't force away. Maybe I should just embrace it. It's been years since a guy has flirted with me. I've always been the one they never looked at, a wallflower at every school dance. My face feels hot; I can tell I'm probably bright red right now.
"Are you blushing right now?" He asks.
"No, I'm just, allergic to something."
We both share a laugh. My usual defense mechanism of pushing every guy away is starting to subside. It's not too late to be interested in someone, right? I'm only in my twenties. I don't think it's a trick either. Maybe he actually likes me, unless this is a sick joke. No, I have to stop thinking like that. I'll just see where it goes.
"Just came to let you all know the food's ready. Why use an oven when we have Luna, ya know?" Decoy says.
Sweet, sweet food. I almost sprint past him, searching down the stairs for the dining room. I try to follow the entrancing scent of the venison. The long dining room table is set with plates and silverware in front of every chair. The venison is at the center of the table, accompanied by salad, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and dinner rolls. I can hardly keep myself from drooling everywhere. Everyone is already seated, except for Decoy, Mute, and Aroma, who just entered the room behind me. Decoy takes a seat and pats the seat next to him, looking at me, smiling a cheesy smile. I smirk and sit next to him while the others fill in their seats. Gadget immediately reaches across the table to the food, only to be smacked on the back of the hand by a wooden spoon.
"First, we say grace. Bow your heads and join hands," Susan says.
Snap and Decoy fight to hold back their laughter. Gadget pouts and sits back in his chair. It's the first time I've seen him actually act his age. Everyone joins hands and closes their eyes. Decoy's hand feels warm and safe in mine. He uses his thumb to caress the back of my hand as I do the same to his. I peek out of the corner of my eye at him, to see he's already looking back at me, smiling. Butterflies fill my stomach for the first time in a long time. I miss this feeling. But the flutters halt when the picture on the wall behind Decoy cracks and falls to the ground as something whips past us faster than we can register. I turn to it, and then back to the window across from it, showing a small circular crack in the glass. Decoy's hand loosens in mine. Blood begins to course from a wound in the front of his neck and out of one in the back. He gurgles and spits out a seemingly endless stream of gleaming, ruby fluid. I try to hold on to him as he falls to the ground, choking and fighting for air. Aroma screams and holds on to Mute, who looks mortified herself. Snap jumps to his side and tries to cover the wounds with his hands. A flurry of gunshots begins to rain from the outside.
They've found us.