Ch.4

Her Power

Carley looked around and noticed the cavernous space in the warehouse was filled with beautiful black tiles and pillars of fire on either side of the massive structure. She would have never guessed the inside of the warehouse would look so beautiful. Echoes filled the room as nervous chatter escaped the contestants. She gulped and glanced at her boots and hot pink sweater wondering if she looked as inadequate as she felt. The other contestants looked sophisticated with detailed designer costumes that looked comfortable and like professional gear. Trying to push her dark thoughts from her mind she focused ahead and tried to make out where they were headed. The length of half a football field was in front of her and she could just see the entrance to a room, it looked like they were going through a bouncer before they made it into the main space.

The men in front of Carley were bouncing on their feet and guffawing as they talked about how wild this was going to be. “Yeah, man! I can’t wait to show what I can do. No way will they see my powers coming.” She thought to herself that it appeared everyone looked just as excited without any fear. That awareness made her that much more nervous.

Mind racing Carley wondered, how could she fight people with powers when she had none? How could she prove herself when she had nothing tangible to show?

Remembering her Grandmother’s words helped her to slow her uneven breathing. “You’re my wise girl,” Grandma whispered as she rubbed a sobbing Carley’s arm. “You see things others don’t. In people, in the world. I know how capable you are.”

Carley had been eleven, in the thresh of tears. Cradling ripped shreds of her once friend’s sweater. Her friend had told her that she was a nobody, that it wouldn’t matter what she did, she’d never be important. Swept up in her rage she shoved her friend and the two had pushed and pulled to the point that her friend’s sweater ripped. Like the sweater, their friendship had been shredded. Carley had been unconsolable with a constant heave to her chest. Her Grandma had been her only salvation.

Steeling herself she thrust her feet forward as the line pulsed towards the open doors ahead. She felt like a very colorful sheep being herded towards the slaughter. The buzzing energy in the hall felt overwhelming. As she approached the door and the din of the room ebbed away she tried to see around the rambunctious would-be contenders.

The doorman, a man in a solid black skin suit with a black mask gave her a questioning look before growling “Let’s see some ID.” she gulped and pulled out her driver’s license. Hands shaking she gave it to him and he shrugged “Alright, go ahead and follow the others. Don’t get too close to the judge’s table.” Without another glance he shooed her through the door. A silent gasp left her as she stared in awe at the black room with nothing but starlight on the ceiling. The space was cavern-like and the floor had the same black marble flooring as outside. There was a bright light surrounding the table in the nexus of the space, the judges. Her mouth suddenly going dry she moved forward to join the throng of onlookers.

The judges were intimidating and glorious. Each one had a gorgeous outfit, complete with a coordinated mask. She felt impossibly frumpy in comparison. “Alright Carley” She whispered under her breath “Pull yourself together, this isn’t like you.” She tried to remember her confidence and demeanor. She moved with a fixed purpose, chin raised and shoulders squared. She pushed between onlookers to make her way towards the front of the judge’s table.

One of the judges was a superhero she had seen on T.V. before as a child, Cemeterra was renowned for her ability to bring back the dead. Carley felt a surge of self-assurance. This was where she needed to be. If she won they would have to grant her one wish. She would ask for them to bring her parents back.

The head judge a man revered for his ability to travel through time was front and center, his superhero name Zeitguard. She’d never seen so many powerful superheroes in one place. The psychic superhero Madam Psi was sitting back examining her long nails clearly bored. Carley chuckled to herself, maybe she already knows what’s going to happen.

Zeitguard stepped in front of the table presumably about to address the growing crowd. Carley glanced around and saw the developing group, there were more than five hundred supers here. She couldn’t understand how they would vet each contestant, that would take so long.

Clearing his throat Zeitguard yelled to the audience “Hello! Hello! Gather around, please. Everyone get closer so we can ensure all are able to fit.” Carley was jostled as contestants bustled closer, an arm snaked out balancing her before she could fall. She caught the eye of her savior, black eyes stared back at her. His eyes were hidden beneath the shadow of an intricate gold mask, its design hauntingly resembling the hollow, stitched face of an old scarecrow. His body was draped in a long, flowing red cloak, the fabric deep and rich. Carley flushed as she felt a zing of heat at the place where they touched. She was staring transfixed until she remembered to school her features, get it together Carley! her mind admonished. Quickly she refocused on the front and shifted away from the strange man. Zeitguard was speaking in hushed tones to the other judges.

As if reading her mind Zeitguard addressed the crowd “I’m sure you all are curious how we will be determining who will be allowed to enter the competitions. We are honored to be in the presence of a true super the one and only Noetica!!” The crowd cheered as she came forward, some were whispering hurriedly. “Oh my god she’s the best mind reader out there, she’ll be able to determine our powers in a single glance.” Carley stiffened. That was not something she had thought of. If they had a mind reader, how would she trick them? She was starting to feel the prick of a headache behind her eyes. Noetica stepped away from the table and began walking towards the crowd. Zeitguard rushed to add “Noetica will give you a nod if she believes your powers are worthy of moving you forward.”

Starting on the other side of the room Noetica began giving contestants either a slight nod or a subtle shake of her head. Carley could hear the angry curses as some contestants left the room irate. There were excited squeals from the ones who had been nodded ahead. Carley felt the anxiety bubbling within her. She decidedly began concocting a convincing speech of why she believed she belonged in this competition. Noetica, now twenty heads away, was focused on one of the girls who had been dismissed. The girl’s tears were dripping onto the black marble floor. The room had become so quiet you could hear the Plip Plip as her tears made contact with the unyielding surface.

Noetica spotted Carley and at first, she looked bewildered but then her face turned to a look of horror. Carley jerked to look behind her as screaming broke out. Her breath caught in her throat as the room began to warp and shift, filling with an immense sphere of searing, gaseous light. The ball pulsed and writhed, its surface shimmering like molten lava, glowing with a fiery intensity that mirrored the sun itself. It cast an unnatural, blinding glow across the room, the air crackled with a suffocating heat.

Carley covered her eyes and shielded herself as the crowd screamed. Zeitguard thrust a door behind the table open and ushered all who remained in. “Everyone move quickly to this path, quickly!” As bodies tore towards the open door everyone tumbled into an eerie expanse of tunnels, the walls resembling the cold, industrial interior of a warehouse. Above them, Carley could just make out the outlines of large, metal ducts stretching across the ceiling. The tunnels stretched in every direction, their paths unclear, and the only light came from flickering candelabras mounted on steel beams, casting long, wavering shadows in the dim, oppressive space. Carley was tearing in all directions inside but tried to maintain her calm, there’s no point in breaking down now she told herself.

She quickly threw herself into helping Zeitguard gather the remaining contestants, guiding them through the open door and into the safety of the tunnel. She knelt to assist a man who had hurt his leg in the panic. Hoisting his lanky arm around her shoulders she helped him hobble to the others. “What is this place?” she implored as Zeitguard helped a girl who had been burnt find a spot on the floor. “This is where the games begin.” He turned to address the crowd of two hundred or so contestants. “This is not a competition for the faint of heart. You’ve seen what can happen here. There will be factions. There will be imminent danger. I see no point in prolonging the process. This is your one chance to turn back.” All of us were swinging our heads this way and that to gauge the other’s reactions. Meekly most gave a swift shake of their head, some looked weary but ultimately it seemed everyone was determined. No one was leaving.

Zeitguard glanced towards Carley “Thank you for helping the others. Because of your selflessness, I’ll give you a piece of advice. Turn back. You will not be able to defeat the others, this is no place for a child.” Her face burned as she assessed those who remained. Most were older than Carley by at least five years and all had the gear of true superheroes.

With a grimace she looked down at her highlighter yellow boots, it was clear she wasn’t cut from the same cloth, literally. However, Carley knew that thanks to the distraction outside no one knew her secret. Summoning her painstaking supply of bravado Carley glared at him and replied, “I came here to win and that’s exactly what I’ll do.” Zeitguard looked at her pensively “Alright, there will be no more chances.” With that, he turned and left slamming behind him the one remaining path to freedom.