Tori sighed, watching the cars below sway to and fro. The Thomas Williams Memorial Building, which Norman had introduced her to, had become a favorite of Tori. Tori put one leg over another and stared at the large city buildings stretching into the sky.
Tori thought more about the anomaly that is Norman Knight. Why did he have to tell her that? Why did he have to... No, this was her fault. She should've noticed before, it was so obvious! The way Norman stared at her, the way his eyes looked, it was all so obvious, but she didn't even look twice.
After a while, Tori decided it was time to pack it up and head home. Tori stood from the ledge where she and Norman Knight fell from only weeks earlier. Tori walked across the gravel-covered roof and back to the rusty fire escape.
After a ten-minute climb, Tori was back on the streets of New York City. Cars slowly disappeared from the street she walked next to, the dark sky unleashing a torment of rain. Tori took the hood of her pink jacket and flung it over her head, blocking out the rain.
Tori stopped in her tracks, as a sleek limo cut her off at an intersection. Tori paused and stood there, waiting for the sleek-black limo to continue its path. Instead of continually driving, a door opened and exposed a leather and wood interior. Inside was a man who dressed nicely, and someone who looked familiar.
"Miss Robson?" Tori asked.
"Hello, Tori!" Miss Robson greeted. "What are you doing out here all alone?"
"Just... out for a walk."
"Well, come on in. I'll give you a ride back to your house."
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea."
"Are you kidding? It's freezing out, and it's raining."
"Umm... okay."
___
I opened my stinging eyes, a white light burning them. A voice in the background became clearer and clearer.
"Mr. Knight? Mr. Knight, please respond."
The light went away and I realized the light was a flashlight being shone in my eyes. There was an oxygen mask on my mouth, helping me breathe.
"Mr. Knight? Norman?"
"What?" I croaked. "what's going on?"
"Sir, what were you doing in that building? Sir?"
"Bryan?" I gasped. "He's inside. He's with him."
"Who's with him?"
I slowly realized I was in an ambulance, my body resting on a gurney. The ambulance wasn't moving and I saw my leg was heavily bloodied.
"You..." It was difficult to breathe. "Have to save him."
"Who?"
"Save Bryan."
___
Outside the ambulance, Cora watched as the flames that previously danced around the building sputtered out. The street was covered in ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, and bomb squad officials. Once the building blew up, cops assumed the fake bomb was just a ploy, and the real bomb was in the abandoned building.
Three firemen walked out of the crumbling building, their uniforms covered in ash and soot. Cora rushed towards them, practically tripping over herself.
"Did you find him?" Cora asked, frantically.
"Ma'am, trust me. If anyone else was in that building, they're not now." The firemen walked away, and Cora was left speechless.
Bryan couldn't have just... disappeared. Could he? Cora thought for a moment more. The Chronicle... he took Bryan.
___
"Where's Cora?" I coughed.
"She's right outside." I tried to sit up, but they nudged me back down. "Sir, your leg is cut badly and dislocated. We're going to take you to the hospital."
"What?" I sat up completely. "I can't go to the hospital!"
"Sir, please, sit back down."
I saw a police officer in the ambulance doorway, a hand on his gun. At that point I realized something. I wasn't just a victim. I was a suspect. I sighed slowly, as I laid back down.
The ambulance doors were closed and it was started seconds after.
___
Cora rushed to the space the ambulance previously was.
"Where are they taking my friend?" Cora asked the medic standing where the ambulance was.
"To the hospital. He'll be fine." Two people, one male, and one female, dressed in nice clothing walked up to Cora.
"Are you Amelia Tate?" The female asked.
"Yes. Who are you?"
"I am Agent Amanda Hessler and this is my partner, Johan Wyatt. We're with the FBI."
"FBI?"
"Do you realize you're under investigation for the alleged bomb threat and the Chronicle killings?"
"What?"
"You," Agent Wyatt sighed. "And your friends, Norman Knight and Bryan Everdale. If you can come with us, please?"
"I can't. I have to look for my friend."
"Bryan Everdale?" Amanda Hessler asked.
"Yeah. He was in that building with my friend, I think he may have been hurt."
"Well, we'll help you look for your friend, just come with us." Cora was starting to panic.
"Cora?" Cora and the FBI agents turned to see a slim woman in a pantsuit walking toward them.
"Who is this?" Johan Wyatt questioned.
"My name is Sabrina Miller. I am Cora's lawyer."
"Lawyer?" Johan asked.
"Lawyer?" Cora questioned.
"Now," Sabrina said. "If you'll excuse me, my client and I have to visit someone in the hospital."
"You two aren't going anywhere," Hessler commanded.
"Really?" Sabrina humored. "Are you charging my client with anything?" Neither of the FBI agents answered. "Then me and Miss Tate are leaving."
Sabrina and Cora swiftly walked away. Sabrina hailed a Taxi and the two got in.
"Um, Norman's Mom, why are you here?" Cora wondered.
"Save it. What happened to Norman up there?"
"I don't know. The three of us were supposed to meet..."
"Tate, I know when someone is lying." Cora sighed before telling Sabrina everything. About the Chronicle, about Norman's powers, about what happened the night of the party. After, Sabrina just sat, staring at the back of the driver's seat.
"I need to speak with my son."
___
The ambulance drove me to New York Presbyterian Hospital. They wheeled the gurney I was on through the hospital halls and eventually into an operating room.
Despite being on top of a building when it collapsed, my injuries weren't bad. My leg was dislocated and had a bad cut, but other than that I was fine. The doctor fixed my leg up well, and afterward, they put me in a joint hospital room. I didn't see who I was sharing the room with, as a sheet-white curtain separated us.
I was sitting there, waiting for the hospital staff to call my parents. The entire time I thought 'Well, the whole secret identity thing was fun while it lasted.' The FBI would be looking for answers and so would my parents. There was no way I could come up with a believable lie. Not this time.
"Norman?" A voice asked.
"Umm... hello?"
The curtain was slid to the side to reveal the second bed in the room. My father lay in the bed with a bandaged shoulder, red with blood.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I rode a garbage truck here."
"What?"
"It doesn't matter. What happened to you."
"Oh... um... me and Bryan were hanging out in that abandoned building on Riverside, and a fire started."
"What? Norman, what the hell were you doing there? We talked about this, you have to be careful!"
"I'm sorry, Dad. Look, Bryan went... missing after, I don't know where he is."
"Is he still in the building?"
"No. The firemen searched the entire place, but they didn't find him."
"Norman, you can't keep lying to me. Eventually, I will find out what's happening."
"...you're right."
"Norman..."
"I have powers," I blurted out. Dad stared at me. "And... I've been looking for the Chronicle, but he set a trap for me and Bryan. Now, the Chronicle has Bryan."
"What?"
"I'm... sorry. I should've told you, I should've told you everything, and..."
"Norman..."
"And I'm grounded, and I, I'm going to boot camp, and..."
"Norman..."
"Yes."
"Calm down." He sat up with a grunt and so did I. "First off, pull shit like this again, and you'll be grounded 'til college."
"Yes sir."
"Second, I'm not mad."
"You're not?"
"No. How can I blame you for making the same stupid mistakes I did?" Dad sighed. "I'm done."
"What?"
"I'm done. With it all." I stared at him. "It almost killed you," he reminded me. "It almost killed me. I can't keep doing this."
"How did it almost kill you?" Dad stared at the tiled floor.
"Norman..."
"Tell me."
___
Sabrina walked into the hospital room, Cora trailing behind her.
"I'm here to see my son," Sabrina told the secretary. "Norman Knight."
"Norman Knight," The secretary hummed, as she checked the computer. "Yep. Bombing vic. Came in for lacerations and a dislocated leg. He's fine now, the doc just finished operating on him, you can both go on in. Room three-fourteen."
Sabrina and Cora swiftly walked down the halls until reaching the room.
___
Dad finished telling me everything. I stared at the tiled floor, turning the broken watch around my wrist.
The door swung open, and two people walked in. I looked to see my Mom and Cora rushing into the room.
"Norman," Mom huffed. "Cora told me everything! How could you do this to me? To your father? Do you know how seriously hurt you could've been?" Anger swirled in my chest, each nerve burning. I stood from the hospital bed, looking at my mother with anger.
"Like you could've been, every night you go out dressed in that ridiculous suit?"
"I cannot believe you are trying to turn this around!"
"Mom, come on! This is all your fault!"
"Excuse me?"
"You and the Chronicle worked under the same roof for months, and you've never told anyone what he was doing! You never warned me about how he was trying to kill me! You never, ever, thought about anyone else but yourself!"
"Norman..."
"You said you do what you do to support me? Well, how does it feel to know you almost got me killed? How you almost killed my Dad!"
"Norman!" Cora yelled. "Look!"
Cora showed me her phone. Bryan was calling her.
"What?" Cora hit answer and clicked the speaker button.
"Bryan?" Cora asked. "Where are you?"
"Sorry," a voice answered. "Bryan can't come to the phone right now." The voice was all too familiar. "Put Norman on the phone."
"I'm here," I spoke.
"Hello, Mr. Knight. How are you doing?"
"Where is Bryan?"
"He's resting. We had a rough afternoon." I thought of something.
"Mathew," I said slowly. "Is that your name?" He didn't answer. "Mathew..."
"If you want to catch me, you'll have to take a page from Charles Darwin's book. Have fun." The Chronicle hung up.
"What was that?" Cora asked.
"I have no idea. What the hell does Charles Darwin have to do...."
"What?" Cora asked me.
"Charles Darwin. Darwin."
___
The Taxi zoomed down 204th street, the cabbie driving as per Dad's instructions. Dad sat in the passenger's seat, and Cora, Mom, and I got squeezed in the back. The car rumbled as we approached Queens.
The four of us jumped out, Mom practically tossing the cash at the cabbie. I ran to the front door, quickly pounding at the door.
"Darwin? Darwin, open up!" The door opened and Darwin's mother was behind it.
"Norman? Mr. and Mrs. Knight?"
"We're not married," Mom and Dad grumbled in unison.
"Hi, Mrs. DeCade, is Darwin home?"
"Yes, he's in his room."
I rushed past her, running into Darwin's room.
"Darwin!" I yelled, as I practically kicked in the door.
Darwin wasn't there, but the window was opened slightly. I jumped through the window, seeing blood on the grass. I followed the blood trail, running towards a back street.
I kept following the trail until I saw Darwin on the street. He was unconscious and someone in tactical gear was dragging him.
"Hey!" I yelled.
The man looked at me and I ran at him. The man fired a gun and I pulsed, the bullets exploded around me. I knocked the gun from his hand, quickly punching him in the face. Darwin was dropped to the ground as the man ran off. I would've followed, but Darwin was hurt. Darwin had a bad bruise on the back of his skull and he was unconscious. Blood was seeping from his mouth as I lifted him.
I carried Darwin back to the backyard where my parents and Cora were waiting.
"I can't believe Robson is doing this," Mom sighed as Cora worked on Darwin.
"Robson?" I asked. "Our principal?"
"Robson is Oblivion. She's the CEO of Shadow Global, and Aquarius Investments is a branch of Shadow Global, so it's not surprising they got Robson into the school."
"Why would they do that in the first place?" Dad asked.
"She wouldn't do that unless..." Mom shook her head. "Robson knows. She knows Norman is the one causing them all that trouble."
"But if she knows about me that means she knows about... Tori."