The Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill is an amazing supernatural read! If it isn't on your TBR, at the least, I recommend you try it out. Find it HERE. Even if you aren't a huge fan of fiction, if you like a supernatural thriller/mystery and have an insatiable taste for entertaining yet captivating read, this is the book for you. I caution you, however, because you may find yourself as helpless as I. I recall when I first found this book some years ago now. I was so engrossed in the book that I read it in one night. I didn't eat a thing the entire day and couldn't even be bothered with the thought of going to the bathroom--there was no way I was about to put the book down and make the grueling trek out of the door, down the hall, and to the bathroom. Haha. It isn't very often that I am that lost in a book, so I figured that I should mention it to all of you when I was thinking about the books lining my shelves. This book has received quite a bit of love over the years. Enough that I had to replace it before we relocated. I am very glad I did, too. You can't beat a fantastic book that's also in fantastic condition. I don't think any book lovers would argue with that. I know that Halloween has come and gone, but can one ever be too late to get excited for Halloween all over again? I'm definitely planning to share a couple good Halloween reads this year.

Happy Monday Everyone. Haha. I never thought I would put the words "happy" and "Monday" in the same sentence. Oh how the times have changed. > < Anyhow, back to the post. It has come to my attention that I never shared the bonus image for Crystal Key: Door to a New World here yet. If you have the eBook by chance, you've been able to see this image in full color, but for those of you who have the paperback or hardcover, that isn't an option. So, today I am fixing this. I will also be providing the bonus images for everyone to see after every book's release so no one is missing out. While I have your attention, I wanted to remind everyone that Book 2 of The Crystal Key Book Series will be releasing soon! The release date had actually been pushed back since I lost the contents of my SD card some months ago. No worries, Book 2 was not a rush job. It took 6 months for me to start re-writing it after I lost everything, but I also had most of an unedited rough draft at my disposal. Thus, all these months later, things are going well. As the release date for Book 2 nears, I will post a chapter of the book here. Oh! Almost forgot. Book 2, also known as Crystal Storm: Battleground, front cover has been revealed on the Books page!! Please Note: Book 2 has a slightly different feel the first book's cover. This is exactly as intended and reflects the other books in the series. By the series end, you will see how they all fit together. That said, here's the Bonus Image (Bonus Images change with every book in this series). Look familiar? Yep. Have you watched the short promo vid on the homepage lately? Thanks for all your support. If you enjoyed the first book please think about leaving a review and creating a profile on the website to receive your badge. Enjoy!

Hello, Hello Everyone. Today, because it's now the jolliest day of the year, I've been reminiscent. In particular, as it concerns Christmas films. Although somewhere close behind is the thought of finally getting to eat the fruity candy canes off of my grandmother's Christmas tree (I never cared much for peppermint but I'd eat the crappy ones for just one more holiday with her), and this one year in particular that my mother surprised me with a shallow, sleeping/breathing puppy toy in a box. I thought it was a dying pug (the box didn'thave any air holes and the "dog" was curled up with its eyes closed). So like any sensible child frightened near to death , I screamed, and chucked the thing by reflex, which made me feel even more guilty. I cried as I checked on it, everyone else laughed, and I finally realized I hadn't thrown a dying dog out of my lap. I became totally unable to trust opening another gift for the rest of the day after that🙃. But, anyway.. back to the movies. Since high school, Christmas has never really been "Christmas" for me. But I was always in a better mood, year after year, when I got to watch specific Christmas movies. As we all know, I'm a fan of film. Although, I'm disappointed to say that I find less of them to enjoy every year. Even when there's a constant flow of "new" content per week nowadays. At least in my case, I just add some of the good stuff to my DVD collection and enjoy those as time goes on and attempt to forget about the rest. So, I figured I'd share some of the Christmas movies I enjoyed most growing up that I still watch around the holiday (check out the videos w/ sound for song ). If you're currently in the Midwest like me, you probably got hit with that winter storm a couple days ago. Maybe you're enjoying the White Christmas this year. Perhaps you're even feeling the nostalgia and would like to wrap up under a blanket, drink hot chocolate, and enjoy one of these films yourself. - The Polar Express - Santa Claus is Comin' to Town - The Ultimate Christmas Present - Eight Crazy Nights - Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer - The Year Without a Santa Claus - Last Holiday - Home Alone - The Santa Clause - Jack Frost There's no way I'm the only 90s kid that still enjoys these movies, right? Also, sorry to anyone who was hoping to see any of The Grinch films above, and I'm so going to get some pitchforks for this, but I never liked a single one of those movies. Old or new. Not even the one starring Jim Carey (and I mean, who doesn't like Jim Carey?). Anyhoo. Keep warm, keep safe. All love and blessings to you. Merry Christmas.

Hello again everyone.ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ I didn't have any "new year, new me" resolutions, but I was super busy setting up things for the next book in The Crystal Key Book Series! I can now officially announce that the second book, Crystal Storm: Battleground, will be available in the coming days. Words simply cannot express how glad I am to have one less thing to worry about. I'm stressed just remembering that I fully expected this book to be released in 2021 when I posted the first bonus image. Life obviously had other plans for me (haha, no pun intended, if you read the book then you know). Now that I'm think about it, I don't think I explained why I put the bonus images up on the website. I post them on ADMCreations since the books are printed in black and white. I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer them in full color. Sometimes I think to put them in color for the book printing but I decided against it because it costs extra. They already increased the price of printing the books since Crystal Key was released (which curved changes in my end). But back to the positive thought. Haha. Just thinking about this and the amazing color schemes throughout the book series makes me wish it was time to open the merch shop already. Sorry to disappoint but you'll have to wait a bit longer for that one. Anyway, that's all for today folks! Enjoy! 💖😊❤️

Lovelies, With only 128 days left to go in the year and much to be done, I've been putting together a new daily schedule for myself. It is a simple series of changes I often do when I'm feeling overwhelmed and less productive than usual. Not to mention wanting to escape the current negativity swarming its way through my head and hopefully any more asinine drama with my sister. Anyhow, for those of you who might've already thought me a recluse, this is as close as I'll probably get as I shut myself off from most of the outside world and dive deep into the many creative obs in my path. I'll be trying to wrap up some website projects, get more comic episodes up on the LP2T Comic page (some of which I'm SO excited to share), work more consistently on my novels, and keep figuring out things for the merch shop. Wish me luck! Also!! I realized just how close we are to my favorite time of the year! Come on Autumn days, Fall rains, and Spooky movies! I was thinking I'd give some eerie book suggestions and write a page of two-sentence horror stories for you all this year. I might even throw in a spooky short story for the blog😄. Thoughts? Is there anything in particular you guys are interested in? Let me know!

Good Afternoon Loves! Today, I'm posting this short story I wrote. Hoping to post one every month. Things have been busy on my end, and some medical issues and my migraines have been kicking my butt, but I still managed to finish it! I'm hoping to get the next LP2T episode up soon as well (comic), but I don't have the exact day down since shading and effects take forever. Haha. In the meantime, here's a bittersweet story. ⚠️ Please be forewarned that the following story might trigger you, AdmFam and visitors, if you have depression, are dealing with loss or have a history of suicidal thoughts. Please take care of yourselves. If you are in danger of self-harm please seek help immediately! We want you to stick around here so please keep fighting!😉💕 Paige remembered the days before the accident in much the same way as one would a sweet dream fading upon waking. She could never forget the way her husband looked at her. Or their long walks and midnight picnics situated under moonlit skies and beautiful mountains scattered across the landscape behind them. After the accident, however, those days vanished, and the rest of her life seemed to follow suit. In an effort to protect her, her husband Cody had removed all the mirrors, covered most reflective surfaces in waterproof matte film including the windows, and reduced her access to the outside world. It was no surprise that those star-kissed nights no longer existed outside of her memory. Today was Friday, and Fridays meant the two of them would go to the town. Usually, she was wrapped in bandages with only her hair and eyes in public view from the neck up. But today wasn’t a Friday like the rest. Four years had passed since the accident. And within the first two, she made her husband swear that, come what may, she would show her face for the first time again. If everyone recoiled in disgust or spoke ill of her behind her back it wouldn’t matter. After all, Cody would be there beside her. He would hold her hand and support her. Just as he had been doing. She couldn’t say she wasn’t nervous. Truth be told, she was a million more times terrified than excited now that the day was upon them. She didn’t think she could bring herself to look at her reflection, so she would wear a hood and Cody would be there to block her mirrored image on surfaces. She thought his presence would be even more helpful aided by the sunlight dissappearing to make way for the night. The chances of her having to face her deformities significantly decreased then. She'd waited impatiently since the early morning, pacing half the day. She didn’t know when she'd began picking at her skin. She felt Cody's warm hand on her shoulder. His eyes softened as he looked at her. "You know it's alright if you don’t want to do this. If you're feeling sick again. Or if you're just not ready--" "No, no. I just need to take a breath." She shook her head. Clutched her fist in front of her. Ignored her trembling limbs. "I want to do this. I will do this." She didn’t know if it was out of worry or disbelief. Either way, his gentle smile and melty eyes grew rigid. He sighed in frustration and grumbled under his breath while he fetched her coat. She didn’t know what to say to him. She felt like she owed an apology but she couldn’t think of what to say. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and went in for a kiss. He stopped her short, opted for one on the cheek. It stung. Cody was not always the most outwardly effectionate man, but he'd had very little trouble burying her cries in kisses in the confines of their bedroom. Multiple times a week. Or holding her close and telling her she would never be less beautiful, surrounded by a shadowless dark in every corner of the room. So she could try to feel beautiful again while they stared into each other's eyes. Even in the dark where she could hardly make them out, she felt his gaze, powerful and full, trained on her as he spoke until she could finally sleep. If she didn’t feel beautiful those nights she at least always knew his love. "I- I'm sorry, Cody. Was I--" "-I'm sorry Paige." He kissed her knuckles. "It's just the day is all." He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes followed an unspoken path across her features. He rubbed some of her blonde strands through his fingers and kissed them too. "Have I told you how pretty you look today?" She loved this man so much. He was so much more than everything she ever wanted. The kind of man who didn’t pretend to be a prince in a fairytale. But rather, the kind that built one up with his own hands. She was just lucky enough to be swooped along in it. To hell with Prince Charming. Cody, if ever he was snobbish enough to do so, could easily have him eatting out of his shoe. "I could stand to hear it again." Paige smirked as he slid her coat on her back. He chuckled and swooped her up in his arms. He grabbed his wallet and keys, slid the door closed and rushed without warning to the edge of the driveway. The colors of sunset were fading quickly from the sky. "My wife Paige is the most beautiful woman on Earth and is looking particularly sexy today!" "--C-Cody!" Paige gasped. "She's feeling a bit low and terrified today so anyone who disagrees will get a fist to the face!! She's the bravest person I know! Oh, and Fuck you Richard Patterson!!!" Paige's eyes grew wide, her heart skipped and she cupped her hands over his mouth. When he winked, she quickly burried her face in his shirt. She didn’t know what to think. He'd never done something like that before. She didn’t know what to feel; touched or utterly embarrassed? "Cody!" She hushed him, slowly removing her hands from his mouth. "What's gotten into you today?" He looked down at her, his eyes catching a glimmer of moonlight. "You know I'm the luckiest man in the world right?" "Because I'm the most beautiful woman on Earth or because you've had to come home from work every day worried about me and live like a groundhog afraid of his shadow?" "Both." He smiled. "Cody, be serious." Paige frowned. "I am serious, Paige." He replied quickly, "Absolutely, and without jest." "You're not making any sense. I don’t understand you." "I'm the luckiest man in the world because I'm with you. And I'm lucky to have you to worry about. To return home to. Lucky that you're still here, that you are willing to do something most people would never. Today is a big step i worried for a moment that maybe it would be too big. Or that once you were out here again you'd either come to hate this world, or fall in love with it all over again while we lose what has been 'just us' in this house for the past four and a half years. But I realized, the least I could do was lend you a little more strength, a little more courage today. So, I wanted to do something else too. Something big, and just for you." "You didn’t need to do anything more." She could feel the words become heavy in the back of her throat. "You've given me everything. You keep sacrificing a life out here for me. You come home without fail every day. You console me. You fight away my demons. You could have left me." "I could not. You and me, we are bound to each other by more than our vows. Right? My love for you didn’t go away the moment you got into that accident. Forever and ever, Paige." "Forever and ever." She repeated and began to cry. That's right. She and Cody were bound. They'd chosen each other and loved one another harder every day. Though she felt he embodied it more than she ever could nowadays. Forever and ever. The same words they ended every night with since the day they got married. Even though they were headed out tonight and not off to bed. They never guessed back then that it would become part of an unspoken ritual. Cody never forgot to say it. It never grew old or tiresome. She closed her eyes as he kissed her salty tears. She listened to his footsteps as he pulled her as close to him as possible and made his way to car. She almost didn't want to let go as he gently placed her down into the passenger seat and strapped her in. She leaned her head against the cool window and kept her eyes shut. Worried she might catch a glimpse of herself as she felt Cody slide into the driver's seat beside her. She reached her hand towards him as he started up the car and waited for the heat to circulate around them. She almost wanted to watch the warm air chase the frost away from the windowsill too, but didn’t dare. A thought occured to her. "Cody?" He kissed her knuckles again in response. Each one a roadmap up the length of her arm. She tried not to get distracted. "I meant to ask before but..who's Richard Patterson? Someone from work? A new neighbor?" For a moment, she felt his grip tighten on her arm before he apologized and ushered it to her lap. "That's the fucker who hit you." "Oh." Paige mumbled. She'd forgotten the man's name. Perhaps it was a consequence of being loved so well by a man better than a prince. Since those first couple of weeks home and the calls from the insurance companies, she never thought of him again. Even though he was responsible for their current suffering. "Shit!" Cody exclaimed, suddenly pulling back into the driveway and parking the car with a hard break. Paige almost opened her eyes. "Sorry. One second. I almost forgot to actually lock the door." "Once they went on the inside they'd turn right back around. It's so dark in there with all that matte." Paige laughed. "What kind of psyco would dare?" "The kind that loves his wife very much. He's very territorial so anyone else coming into their love nest is bound to be in the pot by dinner." Cody hollered back as she listened to the sound of his feet receeding for the moment. "I wasn't aware we had a love nest. Wasn't aware that we were cooking people in pots either." Paige made a face. "Now that you mention it, with all the work you missed, I wondered how you kept food on the table. Not eating your beef stew anymore, that's for sure." Cody let out a light sigh as he got back into to car. "Excuse me? In this relationship we don’t waste food. Besides, it's been four years. You might get the cannibal disease. And~ you love my stew." . . . _8 Years Later_ Paige could almost weep from the state of him. Most days, she did. When she spoke to him, he walked by without a glance in her direction. He went on a walk yesterday only to return hours later worse than when he'd left. He wasn’t sleeping. He hardly ate. As she silently watched him pulled out their old photo albums, he smiled for the first time in days. She leaned up against him, watched him shift with her weight. He didn’t recoil. Just continued stroking the photos in front of him. Sometimes he'd stop and reach into his pocket and then repeat the actions in some unforgiving loop. One too many times to count. Each one made her more uneasy than the last. Though she didn’t know why. "Do you remember this day, Paige?" Cody asked, in a voice too broken and tired to belong to any Prince in a fairytale. But that was okay. He was better than those. Even like this, she would listen to him until he had no voice left. So long as he continued to speak to her. "Only you could trip us both and send us toppling down the hillside. We ended that trip early battered and bruised strapped onto emergency airlift boards. I don’t know how we survived." He sighed through a laugh. She'd missed his smile, his laugh. She tried to ignore the sadness that weighed it down. "Of course, I do." Paige nodded into his shoulder, then pointed at the newspaper clipping from the incident. "You said something strange after we were laid up next to each other in the hospital beds. I'd never forget it. You said..." "This must be what it feels like to be a boulder." Their voices overlapped, and a silence set in between them. A long time later, Cody's voice whispered their ritualistic phrase. "Forever and Ever, Paige." And though she meant to reply, she found herself drowsy and quickly fell asleep. When she later awoke to a loud bang, she jumped to her feet in panic. She looked around the room. The photo albums were still scattered around her, but Cody was nowhere to be seen. She willed herself to calm down. She hasn't heard any more noises. Maybe she'd woken up on the tail end of a nightmare without realizing? Was that possible? Regardless, she wanted to look for Cody. Perhaps he'd gotten upset again and stormed out of the house. By the time she exited the room and started down the hall, Cody exited the bathroom and shut the door behind him. They'd nearly run into each other. She looked at him, eyes wide, as it dawned on her that they were now staring directly into each other's eyes. A waterline from building tears danced along his gaze. "Paige..." An acute sense of panic and horror settled somewhere inside her. Something wasn’t right. It had been years and years since Cody looked at her. She felt herself shaking as her hands cupped her mouth. Her breathing became ragged. What was this feeling? "Cody..w-what have you done?" He ignored her question as tears streamed his face. He grabbed hold of her, kissed her, unfazed by her tense reaction. "Last night. For only a single moment, I'd heard your voice. Realized you were there beside me. For just an instant I saw you, and I knew it would be alright. Even though I was ashamed." "I don’t understand. Cody what are you--" Paige stammered. "I was so ashamed. I kept thinking about how long it had been. How many years did you suffer here beside me without my noticing? Without me seeing you? How did you endure the pain?" "--Cody please." Paige pleaded. What had he done? He grabbed hold of her shoulders. His eyes shaking wildly in their sockets, tears still falling. His breathing more labored, more terrified than her own. He pulled her to him and then looked her wildly in the eyes. She knew what he was asking, but it hurt more now. She suffered more now. 8 years had passed since that night of bravery. Since he had boldly cursed Richard Patternson and made jokes about his stew. Since they'd had a candlelit dinner on Rebecca's rooftop and surprisingly faced minimal looks in their direction. They'd ended the night with ice cream and snacks, drunk on love and wine. Stumbled in the doors of their home and she hadn’t even thought to look towards her reflection on the way in. Cody stripped the covers off the bed, started the fire, and threw them and a few pillows from the sofa onto the floor. They clumsily threw off their clothes. She accidentally tossed her coat into the fire and Cody scrambled to put it out. Then they laughed until their stomachs hurt, and found themselves much more sober than when they'd started. But sober was good. Because outside of their drunken stupor, they appreciated the moment more. They took their time basking in the warmth of the other's skin. They relished every detail of their partner's body and melted in their kisses. Then, they made love. The kind of love that was without any thought of themselves and made them forget any other thoughts or feelings. Paige couldn’t remember the woman who was afraid of her reflection. There were no burdens from a life outside their living room, no cold beyond the crackling fire. Cody was simply her husband and lover, without any other labels. They simply allowed themselves to love one another. And Cody, somehow, still found it within himself to whisper sweet words into ear until their breaths muddled into one. If she'd known it would be their last night together, Paige was sure she would have never fallen asleep that night. But she had. And she died. Laying somewhere beside him wrapped in most of their sheets, filled with love and expectations for the next morning that never came. It wasn’t until later that she found out that she had an infection. Her body had been weak, her immune system compromised, since the accident. Cody was always careful with her. Took care of her the moment she seemed sick. Even that day before their outting he'd mentioned it, that if she wasn’t feeling well again they could postpone their plans. But she always got well again. Paige thought she should have known that it would eat away at him. Cody was a doctor. His wife died from a reoccuring infection weaking havoc inside her body. It wasn’t as if they neglected the doctor visits. No one knew how bad it really was. Cody was her prince, but they lived outside the realm of magic potions and mystic remedies. And somewhere in the midst of all of that, time ticked away and she was never able to leave him. Not even years later when a woman began to visit. Who later became his wife. Paige couldn't find it in herself to hate the woman who tried to rid him of his guilt. She couldn’t hate her for loving him when he was so easy to love, so deserving of every ounce of it that existed. Nor could she dispise her ability to uncover the surfaces in the house and bring back a sense of normalcy to what used to be their nest. Cody never saw her. Perhaps because that's just the way it worked with the dead. "Vivan was a wonderful person. I knew she was trying to make me happy, and she tried to help me forget..but I couldn't forgive myself. Maybe if I woke up that night I would have noticed something! I kept thinking like that." He wiped at his tears, seemed to try and bury the emotions he felt so he could explain. Even though Paige wasn’t sure she needed one. Nor did she know if she could bring herself to listen. This was not what frightened her. "Paige, please don't be angry with me. I couldn't take it anymore." "Cody, tell me you didn't?" She reached past him, gripped the doorknob. "What did you do?!" He placed a hand over hers, forceful. His tone solemn. "Don't. I don't want you to see it." The confirmation was too much. It hurt. It hurt so much. She'd felt it since the moment she woke up from her place on the floor. Been terrified of the possibility since his eyes met hers. Somewhere in that bathroom, on the other side of the door, was Cody's body. Paige lashed out in anger at what he had done. She slapped him and punched him in her emotional frenzy. Years worth of pain welled up in her blows. He took them all, almost without a sound. Until she was too tired to do it anymore, and they both slumped down onto the floor and cried together. At some point, she allowed him to hold her again and they sat there in front of the bathroom door that she couldn’t bring herself to look at. Paige watched a small spider scurry across the floor. She didn't know the last time Cody cleaned up the place. She supposed it didn’t matter now--they were both dead now anyway. Though she never wished for them to be together again like this. "I'm sorry for loving someone else. Though the truth is, I never managed to love her the same as you, Paige." Cody admitted as he kissed her knuckles. She almost didn't want to hear it. "It's my fault then. That you both couldn't experience love like you deserved. Vivian was kind." Paige said sadly. "I don't see it that way." He shook his head. "I wish I never tried. It didn’t feel like our love. Just an escape I could immerse myself in. Almost... like another reality, only one I willingly stepped into if only it could offer me excuses or ways to forget. "But I never forgot, not really. After every compliment I gave her, every time we shared a bed or she got dolled up for a night out, I could only picture you in front of me. I couldn't bring myself to tell her. Not even the children were excluded. I tried to think they belonged to the two of us." Paige couldn't hide her surprise. There were moments he looked far away or sad, but she'd thought things were fine. When the two of them had children, she was convinced he had truly moved on from her then. Sometimes, that he may have forgotten her altogether. "We'd been waiting until you could face the world again to raise a family. We made that promise. And you were fighting so hard for it. That night we went out, I was thinking maybe we were almost ready." She could hear the pain in his voice. "But in the end, I had them with someone else. And whenever they showed a personality outside of myself and the opposite you -which was to be expected, they'd come from an entirely different woman- it broke apart my fantasy. It saddened me to no end, almost enraged me sometimes. "Eventually, I began to distance myself more and more from them. Rejected the dream, the alternate reality I'd been more than willing to escape to before. Until there was nothing left. I lost so much time. I hardly remember those days. We got a divorce. I retired early. Emptied the house of anything outside of our life together." Paige remembered some of it. She had holes in her memory, but she was there too, when his ex-wife and the children left the house for the last time. And she remembered Cody sitting at the front door the entire night until he got up to take a shower. Then, he left and didn't come back for days. She wanted to ask where he'd gone but decided against it. "I arranged every detail of the house the way I remembered. From when our love -when you and our dreams, were still alive. I waited. And waited. Passed the time talking to you and looked through our photo albums. Anything I could do within the bounds of this house. And when I felt too restless, I went for a walk. To places we'd been. " Even cried on the sidewalk like a madman when Rebecca's closed down a year ago. Sometimes, I was so lost in retracing moments from our past I could barely find my way back home when it got too late." "I'm so sorry, Cody." Paige sobbed. She placed her hands on his cheeks and looked into his eyes. She truly suffered more now than any moment since her death. She didn't want him to spend the rest of his life stuck in place. She had wanted him to live. "I'm not." Cody shook his head. "Maybe I'm supposed to be, but I'm not." He kissed her and and they rested their foreheads together in a bittersweet silence. Somehow it upset her more that his kiss was just the same as she remembered. Like no other woman came between them at all. What was she to do? She couldn’t make him regret his decision and it was already too late. "How long do we have left?" Cody asked, suddenly breaking their silence. "Left until what?" Paige asked, as he shifted and led her up from their spot on the floor. "I guess, until we move on to the next place?" Cody shrugged. "I don't know what's true and what's not. I know nothing about the next place, but I've never left. So, I haven't a clue." Paige answered quietly. The thought of anywhere else unsettled her. She didn't like how they'd gotten back together, but she wasn’t ready to leave. What if they were separated? Cody hushed her. He placed his hands in hers to stop her anxious picking. "It's alright. We'll deal with it if it ever comes. For now, let's go for a walk." "I've never gone outside." Paige shook her head. "Maybe we'll be stuck in here." "We won't know until we try." Cody smiled. In that princely way of his that made her believe their life was better than fairytales. Only, it wasn't their life anymore. And this wasn't a fairytale. They were dead. Nothing would bring them back to their old lives. And somewhere on the other side of the bathroom, her husband's body had probably gone cold. "Worst case scenario, we stroll around our own backyard. It's a win-win." He reassured her on their way to the door. "What do you say? Today is Friday after all." "Friday..? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try." Paige conceded. She didn’t understand how he managed it. He wasn’t worried about anything. In fact, he looked happier now than the last couple years combined. She wondered if she would ever feel differently about this. He'd said he used his ex-wife to escape his pain. Did he not also just do the same thing? He'd escaped living painfully by suicide. But what if she had been gone? Generally, there's no reason to believe there's any happy ending awaiting you on the other side. If he had never seen her, would he have taken this route? Or was this an inevitable ending because he'd given up on life and succummed to his guilt? Was it a consequence of their love? Paige supposed she had a long time to question it, maybe even ask Cody after some time passed. For the moment, regardless of how it came, she wanted to take another big step with the man she loved and loved her endlessly. She never thought about what would happen after, but it felt like it brought an entirely new meaning to their words. Almost as if he'd been thinking of them too, Cody kissed the tears lining her cheeks as they stepped out onto the porch. "This time, you won't get to leave me behind. Forever and ever, Paige." She couldn’t help but laugh. "I didn’t try to leave you. Don't talk like it was on purpose." "I don't know. I distinctly recall you saying you wouldn't eat my stew anymore. We go out to dinner, have a good time and then you left me behind the day I was going to make it for dinner? You must admit that's pretty suspicious." He laughed. "I love you. Forever and ever." Paige smiled. "I love you, too." He replied, holding her hand as they walked down the steps and into the grass. "But if you keep looking at me like that we'll never go on our walk. Unless you're trying to get me back in front of the fireplace..." This story actually has love bits in it 😀. I hope you were able to enjoy it. Sorry for the rollercoaster. Paige and Cody are such a duo. I love their banter. Even though their situation crushed me. How did you like it?

Hello, Hello Lovelies! Today, I'm back again. After a lot of medical trouble and illnesses last month, I've come with a treat--part two of Super Sound Blake! I wanted to post it last month but here we are. Thank you for your patience. I wish you all the happiest and healthiest of holidays! Please enjoy the next part of Blake and his family's journey💚💚. PART TWO. Day 91. It took longer than Blake thought to return to the forest. On their way, Ark cried often. He was scared. Blake couldn’t blame him for that. It felt entirely different with just the two of them traveling on foot such a long distance. They hardly stopped to rest in the two towns. A feat somehow made easier by Blake's generally sleepless nights. Whenever Ark was too tired to keep walking or refused entirely, Blake hoisted him up his back and held his legs, piggybacking him for as long as he could. Usually after a nap with his face nuzzled into his shoulder, his little brother was more willing to continue their journey. Sometimes, it even lessened his complaints for a while. For that, Blake had been more than grateful. For however long it lasted. The last official stop they'd made was the convenience store. The very same that Blake and their father stopped by. It was the only closed space he felt comfortable enough to sit still. Even if that wouldn’t have been for very long. Moreover, the store was much closer to the outskirts of the forest, and they were low on food. When Ark saw the Choco bars, his face lit up. Blake told him that they would be sure to get some but first, they had other things to get. He recalled the moment with clarity. The clerk stepped out of a brown door, tucked away in a corner behind the counter Blake hardly recalled seeing his last time there. The moment their eyes met, the man adjusted his glasses with a cheery smile. By some miracle, his shirt almost fit him that day. "Well, well. Welcome back. Did you enjoy the sweets?" He beamed. He looked at Ark and raised a brow. His eyes surveyed the empty space in the store. "Who's this little guy?" Ark quickly shrunk behind Blake. Maybe he'd learned a lesson after the incident with Jake. "This is my little brother. He doesn’t like people much lately. The candy was great, thanks." Blake was being honest. He'd forgotten about them when they initially left the motel, but on their long trek aiming for the woods, they occupied Ark for a time. " Man . Join the party. I haven’t liked people since the day I left the womb ." He huffed, unoffended by Ark's behavior. Fog spread across his lenses, which seemed to go unnoticed. "Can't blame him for it. Especially with the people on your mom's side, right ?" Blake blinked as he masked his uncertainty. He quickly realized he was referencing the previous conversation with their father. Although it had been full of lies. What had his father said about their mother's 'family' again? "Did anyone come here, looking for us?" Blake asked, careful. "Yep." The man nodded as he grabbed a Choco bar from the front, ripped it open and took a bite. Ark shuffled forward and stared at him with wide, unmoving eyes. Practically drooling. "I was planning to tell your dad, but I don't see him." "We're here by ourselves this time." Blake searched his brain for an unsuspicious lie. He wasn't sure where the ideas were supposed to come from. Lying wasn’t his specialty. The clerk choked on his chocolate. "There's nothing out this way, though? How far have the two of you..?" Blake shook his head. "Not far." He lied. "Dad said it is important for us to be able to survive on our own, but I don't think he really meant it." Ark's head whipped hopefully in his direction. Blake gave his hand a squeeze and shook his head as he spoke. He hoped he would understand. Or at the very least, keep quiet. "I've seen him watching us a lot and today's the last day. If you tell me what happened I'll let him know." He looked at his brother and then back to the clerk. So far, so good. The clerk silently looked them over and took another bite of the chocolate bar, prolonging Ark's agony. Then he shrugged. Maybe the lie was convincing. Or he didn't care enough to question it. Blake wasn't sure which, but it was better than him calling the police. Either way, their luck hadn't quite run out yet. As Black Diamond put it, many ingredients make a hero. Including 'a little luck and a whole lotta badass.' He was sure she hadn't said it about 10-year-old Super Sound, but he figured he would grow into it. Like a pair of shoes three sizes too big. "Well, you tell him that there was a whole group of military-esque looking fuckers around here a couple days ago." He quickly looked down at Ark, frowned, and shook his head. He grabbed a Choco bar and tossed it to him. "Excuse my French." Blake smirked. It pleased him somehow, to be on the other side of things. "Thank you for the Choco bar, those are his favorite, but he's heard worse." What did he mean, military-esque ? The clerk laughed and went on. His smile replaced by a look of annoyance as he spoke. "So, as I was saying. There were a whole group of them wearing similar clothes. They didn't really look alike or anything but most of my cousins don't either, so I don't judge. They went around the store and one of them went in the bathroom. A few of them eyed the booze in the back, then they surrounded the counter. When they described your dad, I knew this was some sketchy stuff. "He was right, of course. They gave me the 3rd degree. Asked if I had seen him with a woman and a boy. Never seen your mom of course, but they described her real pretty-like." "Mom's beautiful ." Blake nodded. Then he gestured for him to go on. This wasn't the time. The men that suddenly showed up looking for them were the current priority. "Right. Of course , she is." The clerk snorted with an amused look on his face. Blake didn't think he was being rude. It wasn't disbelief. "Well, they tried to intimidate me, but I don't scare so easy, right? I was thinking, these guys think they're so tough . I don’t know if your dad was ever in AA or what, but they kept hounding me!" "What's AA?" Blake asked curiously. "Alcoholics Anonymous. If you've got a drinking problem, you go to these meetings and talk about your feelings with a therapist. Other people share their stories about what made them start drinking away their livers and the whole deal. Basically , they help you try to get sober again." "I don't think my dad's ever been in that kind of program. Aside from work, he never really leaves." "No extended solo-trips? No hush, hushed vacations? He never left you with just your mom?" "None of that stuff. Unless trips to the grocery store count." "Was he there overnight?" "Who spends the night at the grocery store?" Blake asked sarcastically. Although now that he thought about it, a grocery store would have been much better than going to the forest right now. But those weren't safe. This wasn't like the Canine comics. Blake and Ark weren't dogs, and the world wasn't full of zombies, abandoned places and half empty stores ripe for the taking. "Oh? Probably not then." He shrugged. "But you wouldn't know it the way those guys were acting!" He smacked his hands against the countertop. "All of that just for some beer ? They're too strict!" "Family, what can ya do about em?" Blake shrugged, mimicking a scene from a tv show he'd seen a couple years ago. He had no idea what the man meant, but he liked his accent, and it always got a good laugh out of whoever he was talking to. The clerk was no different. He slapped a hand across the counter as he laughed. Ark smiled a clueless smile, but he seemed amused enough. His attention was still focused on his remaining chocolate. That day, as excited as he had been to get it, he picked it apart in small pieces to eat. Maybe he was worried about not having any more, but Blake had told him they would buy some. That one he just so happened to get for free. The clerk pushed up his glasses with a proud expression. He tried to puff out his chest, but it did more with his round belly than it had for his upper half. "You tell your father that they didn't get me. "I told them that the store had been empty all day just like I'd said I would. The losers stomped right back out the door. They asked me about the video tape, as if they had the authority for that. I told them they needed a warrant for it but it wouldn’t matter because the video is backed up somewhere else by the owner and wiped from the store." "Is that true?" Blake questioned. Considering that he had already lied to them once. After all, he and his father had gone into the store that day. "Sort of. They do need a warrant. The videos go to this old school tape thing in the back, but the owner is the only one who can work the thing." "Then, you're not the owner of this store?" "I'm not," he chuckled, "but my grandma is. They don't need to know that. They looked like a bunch of bullies. I'd die before I let them intimidate my nana ." "Thanks for doing that. Dad would say thank you." Blake gave a polite smile. On the inside he was grateful, of course, but he was also anxious. He'd wondered more than once who they were running from but he never expected to be this close to finding out. After all, if they'd only missed them by days then they were closer to them than he thought. It felt even more dangerous when Blake considered that they had no idea how close or far behind his parents were. Going back to the forest was probably the right decision. ... That trip to the store was three days ago now. The emergency money their father had given them was spent there. Mostly just on fruit, water, and Choco bars. Not surprisingly, Ark loudly complained of missing the motel bed and the tv. It was cold, much more so now than it had been weeks ago, and every night the dark unsettled them more than it should have. There was something about impending danger, a wet, forest night, and no knowledge to build a fire that solidified every wave of anxiety and fear crashing around inside him. Blake couldn't catch anything either because he lacked skill. He wondered if Super Sound should have used his power to render a wild animal helpless, but it felt too villainous for comfort. The world had enough of them as it were. So, Blake spent most of those three days mimicking forest noises and having Ark guess what they were. Day 92. The next day they had to stay put because of the rain. Which only made the cold that much worse. Their bodies shook, their shoulders brushing each other, huddled together under the motel blankets in a partly hollowed out tree trunk. For a long time, they silently watched the rain pouring down to the forest floor. Eventually, Ark was the one to break the quiet. "Blake, do you really have superpowers ?" Ark asked quietly. Blake was surprised but tried not to show it. He supposed they never really talked about it. And with the motel incident, Ark had hidden himself under the bed where he wouldn't have seen anything. For his brother's ears, Blake was sure his headphones forced the world to a complete silence. It was probably a good thing that Ark only saw the aftermath. " Yeah ." Blake sighed. "I do." "What kind of superpower do you have?" He asked with focused eyes. "I don't really know..? Sound powers, I guess. That's what it seems like. That's why they call me Super Sound ." Blake answered and reached past Ark to grab hold of his headphones. "I hear a lot of stuff. A lot of the time, stuff no one else hears. Which is why I wear these . Mom and dad had them made for me so I could sleep. Well, not just for that I guess." " Wow ." Ark mouthed breathlessly. "What did you think they were for?" Blake asked, now curious. Albeit a bit embarrassed by his reaction. "Dunno." He shrugged. "You always wear them. I thought it was music and I wanted to listen." He replied in a thoughtful tone. "Huh. Well, that does make sense." Blake nodded. "Too bad though, there's no music." "Yeah. Too bad." Ark shook his head. "Blake?" "Yeah?" "What do sound powers feel like?" Blake blinked. He'd never really thought about it before. "I guess.." Blake looked off in thought. "Kind of shaky ." "Like an earthquake?" Ark asked, his mouth open. Blake shook his head. "Not that shaky. More like..the kind that happens when you say hmm. Like the vibrations in the back of your throat and it tickles a little, but in your ears ." Ark nodded a bunch, as if he understood. Then proceeded to constantly say 'hmm' in different pitches. Then he went silent again. "Blake?" Ark called, breaking their silence for the second time. "Yeah?" "Hearing sounds is how we got away from Jake?" A pain struck Blake's chest as Ark's question sunk in. For a moment, he saw the man's image again. His broken sunglasses and awkwardly angled body against the cold metal staircase. The lack of noise around the motel as they made their escape floated somewhere nearby in the back of his mind. " No . Not exactly." He didn't have the words to explain what he had done to him. Nor did he know how to describe what it felt like to manipulate the sound from his throat. He didn't know if those red blotches that sometimes crossed his vision were related or not either. Luckily, Ark didn't ask. "Blake?" " Yes , Ark?" "It's cold ." "Yes it is." Blake frowned. He felt emotional. He didn't know how to make a fire. If he did, he'd have done it days ago. The blankets weren't enough. He knew they couldn't keep this up forever. Super Sound didn't have the power to combat the cold. "If I had superpowers, I'd make it rain Choco bars." Ark said excitedly. "Oh yeah?" Blake gave an amused smile. "Yep! We'd never be hungry. And I'd start fires with my breath!" He exclaimed, blowing out his mouth with pursed lips. A swirl of air became visible ahead of them. "That'd be cool , huh?" Blake wrapped his arm around him with a nod. He tried to remember when and why his little brother became so obsessed with chocolate. Not that he didn't have a point. They wouldn't come close to starving if every drop of rain could potentially be chocolate bars. It was unique. He didn't recall a single super with that kind of power, but he knew for certain that he'd be sick of them after a few days. "Those would be very useful powers." "Yep! Super useful!" Ark celebrated. When he yawned, Blake knew he'd soon be off to sleep. Day 93. Near dawn, Blake awoke to the sound of footsteps. Realizing that he must have fallen asleep curled up in the remaining warmth between Ark and motel bedsheets, he woke his brother. "Someone is coming." Blake told him with a finger to his lips. "Don't move from this spot, okay?" Ark nodded, but his eyes were already filling with tears. Blake leaned forward on his hands, put an ear towards the open trunk, and listened. He filtered out the unimportant noises as he closed his eyes. Every raindrop. The sound of Ark's rapid breaths muffled by the sheets. The flapping of a nearby bird. The scurrying of a four-footed animal on the other side of the tree. Even an insect whose fast-fluttering wings nearly sounded like buzzing. Blake realized he recognized the tired footsteps shuffling through dry leaves. As they closed in on the other side of the trunk, he was sure there was no mistaking it. "It's okay, Ark!" Blake smiled. "It's safe ! It's mom !" " Mommy ?! " Blake watched as he fought his way out from under the blankets, kicked one of the pillows with his foot as he rushed out into the open. " Mommy !!" Ark cried as he rushed toward her. Blake couldn't contain himself and ran to her side too, immediately aware of his lip quivering. Their mother sobbed as she dropped to her knees, her belly pressing into Ark's face. They embraced each other as she kissed them noisily. "My boys. Oh , my sweet boys! Your father and I were terrified !" "Are you and the baby okay?" Blake asked. He remembered all too well how pale she'd been the last time they saw her. Just as well, their father's intense worry as they drove to Beckham's Motel. Last he'd heard, they were going to the hospital. "Yes. Mommy and the baby got a little sick and had to stay in the hospital until your sister was all better. Daddy was there with me the whole time, but we were so worried about you two." She kissed them again. "We had to leave the motel." Blake frowned. "It wasn’t safe anymore." "Yeah. Blake used his powers to get rid of Jake. I think he died ." She looked at him with wide eyes. "Who is Jake?" "The bad man. Not everyone with Choco bars is good , momma." Ark shook his head in disappointment. Almost as if he was giving them much needed life advice. He was the only one almost tricked by a villian with chocolate. Blake felt tears threatening to fall but he wiped them away. "He said his name was Jake . He tried to get into the room but I wouldn't let him. He almost tricked Ark twice , but it was all my fault. The first time I didn't know he had left the room. Even though dad said we had to stay put. And then he broke the door and Super Sound blasted him away. He fell on the steps, but Ark's right . I think he died. I left a note." His mother pulled them in even tighter than before and kissed them again. When she looked back at them, tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry. None of this was your fault. You did so good, Blake. Protecting your brother. We should have been there." "Did you get my note?" Blake asked. "From the suitcase?" She gave a curt nod. "Yes. The door was broken in. Our things were there, untouched. We found your note. We probably missed you by hours , at most. Only..there wasn't anyone on the stairs." Blake's heart raced away in his chest. He tried not to speak since he was sure his voice would shake. He didn't want to scare Ark again. His stomach was in knots again. "To be more specific , there was no one at all . Not a single soul around. Even the lady who checked us in, according to daddy, was nowhere to be seen. It was too empty ." "What does that mean? There weren't a lot of people, just a few guests other than us, I think . But..." "Your dad and I had a few guesses. It looked like someone might have been in a rush to clean up something, but you don't need to worry about that now. We had some car trouble, but we knew where you were headed. Daddy was fairly confident that you would avoid people until you made it here. He was so sure." A sad smile crept across her face. "You made it here safely , so I guess he was right . We split up to find you so all we have to do is sit still. Daddy will come and get us." "We did talk to one person." Blake admitted. "The clerk dad spoke to before. Where we got fruit." "The convenience store where you.. picked up the diapers and Choco bar?" Their mother asked, clearly avoiding anything close to the word steal. "Yeah." Blake nodded. "But he won't tell because we spoke to him last time. And probably because of his nana , too." "His na--I see ." His mother clicked her tongue. Blake wasn't sure she truly understood but she didn't ask for details. "He said that 'military-esque' men came looking for us." Blake cleared his throat. He tried to be careful with his words. Maybe if he said it right Ark wouldn't realize it was something more to fear. "Military..." His mother repeated quietly, her face showcasing her unease. As she opened her mouth to speak, their father's voice bellowed from the distance. " RUN!!!! " The panic and urgency shrouding his voice made them freeze. They looked at each other. Their mother scurried to her feet and pressed her palms to their backs, forcing them forward. " Run ." She said in a harsh whisper. "As fast as you can." Ark had begun to pant long before they took off. In no particular direction, their soles crunched against the leaves, their surroundings lost to a blur. Eventually, Blake and Ark fell slightly behind their mother, too worried to be in front as she struggled. Her hands cupped her stomach. Following the same motion of her chest with every rise and fall. Blake couldn't focus his ears well as they cut between the trees. He wouldn't be able to figure out where their father was like this. Panic rattled around his insides. He watched puffs of his warm breaths clash against the cold air as he followed at his mother's back. How long would they have to run? Their mother couldn't keep this up forever. A quick whistling through the trees redirected his attention and Blake turned his head to look around them. He heard another, then another. The sharp noise chased after them, but he couldn't pinpoint their original direction. As Blake turned his head back ahead of him, intent on warning his mother that something was coming, his eyes caught a flicker of light. It shot passed him towards her. Too fast for him to utter a word. She staggered. Ark slowed to a stop, having realized that something was wrong. Blake called to his mother as she took a few more unsteady steps ahead of her and fell forward. Down a large, uneven slope. " Mommy !" Ark cried, as her body rolled to a stop. Their father's voice called out to her. Blake could see him closing the distance between them. Only, he wasn't alone. A shadow of a man creeped out from behind a tree. Ark tried to climb down the slope after their mother as Blake screamed a warning in his father's direction. "There's a man behind you !" He shouted. He could hear Ark below him, trying to force their mother awake. As he started towards them and down the drop, he paused. His father struggled with the shadow as several other voices cut in from behind. " Fuck me ." A man cursed. The wind blew past them. Blake could feel his body shaking. Was their mother alright? Ark was crying uncontrollably now. Could Super Sound do it again? The thing that he'd done to Jake? Even if he could, this distance would be too much. He'd have to let them get closer. He fought to keep his head fixed in their father's direction. If he looked back towards their mother instead, he wasn’t sure what would happen. "I told you to be careful with your aim , stupid ." Another sighed in frustration. Their silhouettes just becoming visible slightly further behind their father and the first stranger. Their father was on his knees now. His breathing labored. He sounded hurt. Blake reiterated it to himself: he couldn't reach them from so far away. "What if the baby dies?" "Wake up! Wake up please !" Ark shouted in a broken voice. "How was I supposed to know she'd fall down a hill in the middle of the forest? It's uncharted territory in the area. Literally ." The other dismissed with a tone of annoyance. " Kuh !" The man in the back made a stifled noise as his father broke away from him. The guy sucked air between his teeth with a curse. "You mother --!" As he began to chase after him, one of the others stopped him. Blake and his father met eyes for an instant. Just enough time for him to register his panic and fear as he stumbled towards him. But his father's focus was behind him. He wanted, Blake knew, to check on their mother. " E-Eliza !" " Daddy ! Mommy is --!" Ark called from the bottom. Blake tried to keep still as their father continued to try and cut their distance in half. His movements were abnormal. He couldn't put weight down on his other ankle properly. Was it bruised? Broken? " Right . The next time you get stabbed I'll let the guy go too." The first man scowled. Obviously unhappy that one of the other two intervened. "They're not going anywhere anyway. Mom's out cold and might need medical attention. Plus, the others are only a few minutes--" A series of beeps cut him off. "Speak of the devil." Blake made out the sound of shuffling closing in around them. A crisp jumble of quick footsteps and snapping twigs. Distinctly forming the shape of a crescent as they inched near. He was able to make it out that time, as the small pointed metal passed his face. The thing that made their mother fall just minutes ago. If he'd have blinked, he would have missed it. Their father crashed to the ground on his side. His trembling hand stretched out in his direction. Blake could only take a single step forward before he felt something sharp sting him in the neck. He turned around on dizzy feet. Ark's sobs stopped abruptly as he slumped over their mother's chest. Blake could feel his body swaying moments before he dropped on his back. His head hit the ground with a painful thud as the men's faces came into view above him. He opened his mouth to send them flying but his voice was nowhere to be found. Day ?? "Thought we'd take a little off the top for the company's pain and suffering . You know ? You understand , don't you?" "A little off the top my ass ! You stole everything !" Blake made out the sound of his father's anger-soaked voice. He didn't know the other person. "What did you expect to happen? You ran off with Alister's favorite toy. Pretty little E-dash-zero of all things. I can't knock your taste ; I'll give you that. Besides , who do you think paid you most of that money? "Although, all things considered, it did take a while to weed you out. What's it been? Five. Six years? Did you think we wouldn't find you? We've practically got unlimited resources nowadays." Who was he talking to? Blake became vaguely aware of opening his heavy eyelids. Of turning his neck in the direction of their voices. His head ached. The movement made his tongue heavy and moist. Was he going to hurl? "Don't you dare talk about her like that! Her name is Eliza ! Where is she?!" Their mother? Blake felt every time he closed his eyes to blink it became harder to open them again. His vision was unclear. " Right . Well, she hasn't been Eliza since the day she fell into Alister's clutches now, has she? But you knew that. My God . I forgot you actually went and married her, didn't you? Eloped. You didn't even tell me of all people. Alister wants to destroy you." "I didn't know whose side you were truly on, and it was dangerous. I couldn't give you the option to pick a side. What if you hadn't picked mine ? Why are you doing this , Cayden?" Who was Cayden? Blake had never heard that name before. " Uh , because it's my job ? Unlike you , I love it here. So , I guess I can't blame you for the lack of trust. And it pays well, so who can complain? Oh. Other than you , I mean." "Fuck you!" Blake could hear the quick movement of his father's feet as he rushed forward in his anger. Overlapping footsteps stomped from different corners of the room then paused abruptly, eventually receding. They weren't alone. Blake couldn't handle the extra nausea that came with moving his head, so he opted out of looking around to see them. There were a lot of people along the edge of the room. His father coughed painfully as Cayden's fist struck his abdomen. Blake watched his blurred form drop to his knees with a grunt. " Come now, Gabriel. Don't you see the odds aren't in your favor? Although if I know you at all, that's kind of your thing . Isn't it? Any one of these men could have decided to end you right there. To make you a red stain on an otherwise clean and polished floor. Hell , I'm showing off my favoritism just talking to you here." Blake didn't like the way he spoke. If it was favoritism, why didn't he just shut up then? As he watched, his vision cleared up. Only, not nearly enough. Was that thing some kind of dart? Was it poison? Super Sound wasn't immune to poison. Or at least, he was fairly sure. How should he know? He'd never been poisioned before. What if it wasn't? What was that stuff? Would he ever be able to see again? If he remembered correctly, in one of his comics there was a blind guy who retired from being a hero. He said all his senses strengthened when he lost his sight, even his hearing. Which is how he defeated a gang of intruders one winter night. If he went blind could his power get even stronger? What are you thinking? Blake chided himself. Being blind would be bad. Very, very bad. Especially in some place you've never been. He focused his attention back ahead of him. Ugh. He shouldn't have gotten carried away thinking about blind retired heros. It didn't help his head. More than that, what if he had missed something important while spacing out? Super Sound might not make it to his own retirement if he kept that up. "If I'm honest , the place has been such a dud without you. And you were so good at your job, you know ? I even asked Al to let you back in. Even if it meant we had to chain you to the equipment and watch you 24-7 . I wouldn't even attempt that for anyone else. "Although I don't know if he will accept my proposal under the circumstances, you know ? You brought her back pregnant after all. He hates your guts . He probably wants to string them across his office like a garland . It's been 5 days since you got here. You're lucky he's still deciding ." Did this man, Cayden, like his father or hate him? His father, having recovered from the earlier assault, edged forward on his knees. "I didn't ' bring ' her back. You bastards hunted us down and dragged us here. With my fucking children , no less ." He locked eyes with Cayden and blinked away the expression on his face, though it was still out of focus for Blake. He assumed at the very least, his father's face was deluged in anger. He watched as he quickly pressed his forehead to Cayden's shoe. Something he'd never seen him do before. " Fuck . I'm sorry. P-please! Listen. Eliza..the baby . Is our daughter alive? When you surrounded us Eliza took a nasty fall. Cayden, please!" Cayden recoiled with a look of unmistakable disgust. Disgust that quickly morphed into anger as he yanked his father to his feet by the collar. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Gabe?! Sorry? You're sorry ?! Don't lie ! You used to hunt , didn't you? Say it!! We hunted you like wild rabbits!! "You meant what you said. What do you think you're doing right now, huh ?! Groveling to me like some weak , pitiful , insect ? Are you a dog ? Do you lick shoes for fun now??!" He shouted, shaking his father violently. Then, in the heat of his anger, he raked a flurry of hard blows across his face and threw him to the floor. Blake felt a rage building up in him as his blurred vision eyed the scene in front of him. He couldn't move his body. He couldn't make a sound. His attempts only fueled his nausea. He wanted to help his father. Wanted nothing more than to send this man flying across the room or somewhere else, like oblivion. Oblivion sounded good, even if he didn't exactly know what it was. Maybe that was a good thing. If everyone knew where the end was, it wouldn't be far enough. What had they done to him? Doesn't matter, Blake thought crossly. He's one of the bad guys. His father spat a line of blood out of his mouth then looked up in Cayden's direction again. Blake could see his face already beginning to swell. He could hear the sound of his quick, raspy breaths clearly from across the room. His fists opened and closed. His wrists scraped noisily behind him, chained by two thick, heavy chunks of metal. Some sort of handcuffs from the look of it. Blake wondered if he was also wearing them. He didn't know. His body was too heavy. Too numb. As many of the booted men along the walls snickered and made snide remarks as they watched the scene unfold between them, Cayden turned his anger on them. "Shut the fuck up you worthless pieces of shit !! This man is worth his weight in gold three times over! His pinky is worth more than the sum of your lives !!!!" The men fell silent, though many of them still grumbled their displeasure as Cayden passed them. He headed towards the double doors at the other end of the room. Blake listened to several beeps and a rhythmic jingle as he pressed buttons on a box near the doors. When they opened, Cayden paused and turned back to face them, eyeing his father, still seething. "E-0 was taken to the infirmary ." The doors began to close and jolted to a stop, likely registering him on a sensor. "She retained minor bruises excluding her broken wrist, and a bump from the fall. That baby is fine , shockingly . Although I don't know what Alister plans to do about it." His father's head dropped backwards and he let out a shaky sigh of relief. Cayden didn't share his feelings. The rage on his face seemed to increase with every passing moment. "That stunt you pulled a minute ago? Don't you ever do that pitiful shit again. I don't know what happened to you out there while you were playing house, but that's not a version of you we can use. He's the one that gets you killed ." He turned back around and stepped the rest of the way through the opening. "Hell, I'd probably kill him myself if I see him too often . Even if Alister doesn't." He jeered, and the doors shut smoothly behind him. Day 100. A large man with tawny skin fumed his way through the doors. He passed another booted stranger with a glare as he went. His hand scratched away at his trimmed beard as he tramped across the floor. Blake thought, if not for the endless noise, he might've been able to eavesdrop on the people around him. Especially the ones that strolled in and out of the double doors at all hours of the day. Not that he had a good concept of time in the well-lit building, but he would have known what was bothering him. Maybe, he'd even have made better sense of the other men as well. Truthfully, Blake would rather hear some news of his family than listen to any random bit of information he could otherwise acquire had he been less bothered. He hadn't seen his father since the heated exchange with Cayden. In fact, save for a few similarly dressed men with rock hard expressions and little words, he'd seen no one. The man with the dark hair and copper glasses was the first face he'd seen wearing an actual readable expression in front of him since he found himself behind the bars of his current boxed space. " Hurry up my ass ." The man scoffed bitterly. Blake swallowed. Mustered up his courage to try and talk to him after days of radio silence from the others. "What's wrong?" He asked as he looked over the man's clothes. Like the others before him, he wore all black attire. Save for his colored glasses and a blue-pocketed belt around his waist. He flicked his thumb across the corner of his mouth repeatedly, then frowned deeper. "Can't smoke in here." He seemed to say more to himself than to Blake. "You got any friends?" He asked. Blake nodded. "Well, you're a kid so you probably don't know it yet, but not everyone is your friend. There's different levels to it. That's why we give people labels . So, we can distinguish between the ones we like , hate , and anything in-between. There are people in this world that will stab you in the back. Some people are just jerks . Some hate you secretly. " Hell , even the ones you save could stab you in the front-end while they look into your cold, dead eyes, and sleep like a baby the next day. You'll learn that lesson when you're older. We all do." He stopped talking with a groan then shook his head. Blake was only certain that the man was bothered. Why did he bring up friendship? Why death? Had someone betrayed him? "We have to get going. You've got somewhere to be, apparently , and I'm your escort." Blake didn't know what he was talking about, but he was afraid to go. Maybe it was worse than the cage with the constant hum. He'd seen how they treated his father and last he'd seen him, he wasn't even in one. Besides that, he still felt drowsy. His body was heavy, and it felt like he had water in his ears. Still, his mind was clear enough. And right then, he was attempting to use it. Blake recalled the conversation in the car with his father the day they met the foggy-glasses clerk betting on sports games from the radio. He'd said "talking to people can do a lot of things. It can give you information about people and how they are feeling--It can even buy you time in an uncertain or dangerous situation." Now seemed as good a time as any. They were alone, and this guy, Swanson as per the shiny name tag, was already talking. "Is Alister hard to get along with?" Swanson paused, squinting behind his glasses. "What do you know of him? I've only seen the guy once, but damn right. He's all of the list and then some. Bastard thinks he's better than everyone , too. "You don't have to be around him long to realize he's a sick one either, but being a psycho must pay well since he heads all this lettuce." He gestured to the space around them then leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "If I didn't need the money and hadn't owed a favor , I'd have left this dump my first day here last week. Or never shown up at all." "I've never met him. I've only heard his name. In my comic books, we call people like that a villain . Is he a bad guy?" Swanson laughed, amused. "He is in my book. I'm sure I'm not the only one with that edition, eh ? Then again, I don't think anyone in this line of work belongs exclusively to the light ." Blake shook his head. "My dad isn't a bad man and he's here . Used to work here..?" He wasn't sure which was most relevant to their conversation. In any case, he knew his father was a good man. That wasn't up for question. Swanson gave him a long look and clicked his tongue. "Well, I wouldn't know him. I just got here. Who knows ? Your dad might be a white knight in this place." He cleared his throat and scratched his head. "So, you like superheroes and comic books, eh? I used to love that kind of stuff when I was a kid. What do you like? Got any favorites ?" Blake nodded. He was fairly sure this conversation was going well. At the very least, Swanson smiled at him now. That, and he hadn't stopped talking yet. "I like to read Captain Bubble , Canine , and The Invisible Spark . Sometimes I watch Gyre Power on tv. And I like Black Diamond too, even though everyone says that's for girls ." "Black Diamond , eh? Sounds like a hot chick. Is she hot?" Swanson smirked, rubbing his hands together. Blake shrugged. "I don't know." " Damn , you must be young. You look it." He shifted on his feet against the wall. "I got it. What kind of suit does she wear, this Black Diamond hero?" Blake thought back to the images, not entirely sure what importance it had but didn't mind it so long as he kept talking. Maybe he could stay there the rest of the day if he kept him going long enough. "A black leather suit. With gold and blue jewelry and stuff. And her weapon is made out of diamonds." Swanson clutched his hand closed and clicked his tongue triumphantly. " Hell yeah. A leather suit with blue and gold accents? And she's loaded ? Hot . I knew it. She's a babe . Bonus points if she's deadly . How good is she at getting the bad guys?" "She's really good, actually." Blake bobbed his head. He was being honest. Black Diamond was probably the most capable lady hero he'd seen. It was his personal opinion that she made even better known heroes look like amateurs . Of course, Super Sound aimed to one day surpass her in the hero business. The box near the door beeped twice and flashed green. It really was the same kind Cayden used when he abused his father. Even if this one didn't play a beepy tune. The large doors slid open and another man, dressed similarly to Swanson, shook his head at them. " Yo , Swanson! What's the hold up? You were supposed to bring W3 for a check-up 10 minutes ago." "I dozed off," Swanson lied. "What are you gonna do?" "You don't look sleep to me." The man scoffed. "Because that stupid door beeping woke me up, asshat ." "I told them they need to get rid of the old guys." The man shook his head. "You already losing your memory, old man? We have to get moving ! Put today's code in. I'm not getting docked for you." "What do you mean today's ? And fuck you, you infant . I'm 35 . What are you even? 13 ? Do you even have hair on your sack yet?" The man stomped over to them, slid down a black matte cover from a keypad on the outer column, clicked an asterisk, then angrily stabbed a series of buttons. Blake read the name on his chest. Reede. "The fucking codes change every week , grandpa ." He glared at Swanson as he turned around. The constant hum finally slowed to a stop. Almost a dream come true, if only Blake was allowed to stay there and sleep instead. A few seconds later, the bars quickly disappeared into a space above his head. "And I'm 19, for the record. Move your asses. Now !" He tipped his head to one side then the other as he pitched his voice higher. " You even have hair on your sack yet ?" Reede mocked. Swanson watched him go towards the doors and flicked him off when he wasn't looking, motioning for Blake to follow. " Right . 19 . So, that's a no on the sack then!" He looked down at Blake and raised an eyebrow with a wink. " Apparently even the young ones are screwed too, eh ?" Blake found something about their interactions amusing but he was much too afraid to laugh. Where were his parents? Was Ark okay? What was going to happen to them? Where were they taking him? Day 102. "I came bearing gifts like the wise men and that little shit tried to turn me away." Blake eyed several men as they walked through the door from his place in the corner. He slowly crawled forward to get a better look, almost certain he knew that voice. "When that didn't work, he nearly rendered me deaf . For three days I couldn't hear shit . And I had a concussion . Don't get me started on the rest . It was ugly business. I told them to do something about his mouth, but apparently my word's not good enough." The man, who once claimed the name Jake , strode towards Blake as he spoke. His heart pounded painfully. He could clearly see his silver bangs now. On his face, he sported a new pair of sunglasses. A dark smile spread across his lips as he slid them up his forehead to reveal his light brown eyes and peered down at him. When their eyes met, Blake thought he'd have to clutch his soul to keep it from leaving his body. He blinked away his disbelief. Super Sound had made a rookie mistake . He hadn't made sure the villain was dead . The dead don't talk. Or at least, he didn't think they did. He eyed the tag on his shirt. Willow . Blake knew it the day he saw him. His name totally wasn't Jake . Still, it couldn't have been good that Jake-not-Jake was alive and well. Especially now that he was there in front of him, clearly healed up like new and still sending chills down his spine. Save for the man's words and his own memory, Blake had no indication that their motel showdown ever happened. Why was that? Where were his scars ? His broken bones? Worse than seeing him was knowing he remembered their entire encounter. His fall to the stairs hadn't been enough to make him forget what happened. Nor did it instill fear in him that would keep him from opening his big mouth in the first place. He fit the expression too well, this 'Jake-not-Jake.' This Willow was a wild card. They don't exactly teach you how to deal with those in the comic books. Blake registered the annoyance that poked its head out from beneath his blanket of fear. He had been worried about him that day, and haunted by his image. Now, as he stood in front of him, Blake wished nothing more than to go back in time. For Willow to have never been capable of peeling himself off those cold, metallic steps of Beckham's Motel. "Willow, sir. It looks like he doesn't like you." One of the others laughed from behind him. Sir ? Was he important ? Even more reason , Blake thought to himself, that it would have been better for him to have never returned . Had Ark seen him? He hoped not. "I'd say so." Willow flashed him a dark but entertained smile as he leaned in towards the bars in front of him. "The feeling is mutual , little shit ." Blake imagined grabbing him by his ears and ramming his face against the bars. Maybe it would break whatever was causing the hum if he did it right. In reality, of course, he knew he was too weak to do it even if he tried. And it probably wasn't a good idea either way. He was locked in a cage-room. Totally at a disadvantage. "What happened to your ear anyway?" Blake frowned as he looked him over again. His left ear had a sizable chunk missing from the top. Curved and jagged. Almost as if it had been bitten off. " Mr. Jake-not-Jake ?" His words must have struck a nerve. Williow's face fell dark as he grabbed hold of the bars and his sunglasses fell noisily back over his eyes. Blake could hear the sizzle and broken pop pattern as smoke rose up from his hands. His body jerked, but his twisted smile didn't fade. The men behind him took an uncomfortable step backwards. "Sir, let go of the bars . You'll be killed !" One warned. Willow didn't listen, assuming he could. He didn't spare them a glance. Blake swallowed as he saw his hair jut out from its proper place. A peculiar smell filled his nose and Blake realized with every jerk of Willow's arms; he was being shocked. There was no possible way that he wasn't in pain. "Sir!!" The other called. Both hesitated to touch him. "We can't let you touch W-3. Alister's orders!" Again, with the strange title. They'd done it with his mother too. What were they calling his father? His baby brother? They couldn't open the cage. Which meant Willow would continue to be shocked. It disturbed him to be watching, but somehow Blake couldn't turn his eyes away. Especially with Willow's glasses trained on him. Almost as if he were daring him to be afraid. Instead, they rushed out of the room, informing them that they would return with help and a medic, as quickly as possible. Blake got the feeling that this man, with the chilling smile, would not die so easily. Willow, as far as Blake was concerned, was crazy. And crazy normally didn't. In this case, he definitely hadn't died the first time. The question now: How much of Willow's crazy was going to pose a problem for his escape? Not that Blake had it all figured out yet. In fact, he had very little figured out at all. Day 104. Swanson shut the doors and quickly shuffled over to the bars, peeking away occasionally. When he stood across from Blake, he sat down on the floor with a childish sway to his movements. The smile on his face and the glint in his eye revealed the level of excitement his large frame couldn't openly display. "Check it out. I got a surprise for you, kid." Blake scurried forward, putting his hands on the bars. The steel bars zapped his palms. With a grimace, Blake quickly pulled his hands towards his chest and took a step backwards. Swanson cursed under his breath and a part of his glee faded away with it. "Don't touch those things. They'll fry you quick. It increases every time it registers touch within seconds of each other. Although holding them won't get you any better result than playing hot-and-cold with it." Blake thought back to Jake, aka Willow, with a slight nod. He knew as much. He'd witnessed it first-hand. "Look there." Swanson motioned to a long horizontal piece the bars of the enclosure attached to towards the polished floor. "There's about a quarter of an inch between the floor and the base. I'll pass it under there ." Blake nodded, crouched down, and carefully pulled the booklet inside. In his hands he held the first issue of Canine. He looked up towards him after admiring the cover. Swanson gave a series of short, quick nods. The man looked very pleased with himself. Blake could almost see the glint in his eyes shining past his lenses. "I figured we could pass some time like this. Since I'll be keeping watch over you for a while." He pulled out another book, held it up to his chest, and pointed at it. "I even got this one." He said, a shaky smile slowly forming across his lips again, betraying the rest of his composure. He smiled back himself as he eyed Black Diamond's powerful pose on the front. Blake wanted to be happy about this moment without reservations, but he couldn’t. What if this was simply a ploy from Alister or whomever else? What if Swanson was doing this for some nefarious purpose? To trick him into trusting him? To use him? Maybe that didn't matter. After all, he used Swanson to stall for time before. It wasn’t as if things were getting better in the cage. The noise never stopped so he couldn’t sleep. Blake was sure he could read anything a million times a night if it would pass the time. Especially comic books. At least this was something he liked. And he did need more time. Time to figure out how things worked there, to gather information, and plan his next move. That was the kind of thing superheroes had to master if they were captured. Besides, even if it turned out to be true that Swanson was simply trying to build his trust and use him, how would it really matter? Right now, Blake himself was willing to do the same thing. He wondered if he had to lie to do it. Even though he managed with the clerk in the convenience store, he didn’t like it any more than he had when he did it to Ark. So much for hoping he would never have to do it again. But maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to. At least, maybe not to Swanson. Day 106. "Sound has to reach roughly 105 decibels to shatter glass. 150 to burst an eardrum." "And your son ? How does he do?" "I don't know." Blake looked across the room from his place in the bed. Rhythmic beeping sounds overlapped each other. His father stood next to Cayden, eyeing him sadly, their bodies partially blocking a large computer screen from his view. He could see the hint of his face, a graph, and words too small to read from the distance. He wanted to talk, but the thing the men before them stuck in his mouth forced him to silence. "What do you mean you don't know ?" Cayden scoffed as he followed his father to something on another side of the room. "I mean , I don't have a damn clue." "And you actually believe I'm going to believe you?" "Fuck you and whatever you believe!" His father hissed. Blake still wanted to send him to oblivion, this Cayden. He struck a wounded man to the face and dropped him like he had meant nothing. Even though his leg, from the sound of his father's footsteps, was all better now, and so too the swelling from his face. Even though Cayden also said that his father was worth gold. Blake didn’t understand him, but he didn't like him either. "Fuck you too , Gabe. Come on , even if you never actually did it, there's no way you weren't curious . You mean to tell me that you never , not even once , wanted to study him? You know? Never once felt that itch ?" "He's been a kid as much as I could let him. Some itches you just don't scratch , Cayden." " Bullshit . You know, I bet you did . Of course, you did?" His father slammed him against the machines whirling and beeping behind them. Tracking some sort of data and feeding it into the computers. Blake's heart jumped as his father's voice dropped, as cold as winter. "Did you not hear what I just said? Do you think being my son is a joke ? This is the problem with you! Back the fuck off! I said I'm not doing it! You can try to make me but it'll be over my cold , dead , body !" Cayden raised his hands in the air, a gesture of submission, and shook his head. "You're right . It's the same reason I didn’t end up being found , living in the middle of a forest . Some fucking father of the year you are." "I will end you." His father spat, smacking him against the machines again. They shook in unison. Blake willed them to fall. They didn't. He wished he had telekinesis. Maybe in another life. Sometimes heroes got those. "Look. This is more complicated, you know ? If you can think about killing me , and I've been helping you, your head's not on straight. There you go again with that pitiful bullshit." "Are you telling me not to think like a father ? Not to care about my family and my kid ?! You are helping me now , is that it? But you also helped them find us. Don't you start with this trust bullshit today. You don’t have a family to protect !" Cayden flinched at his words. He struggled to loosen his father's grip. "That's why I'm saying your head's not in it! You said over your dead body. That's the truth, isn't it? If you aren't useful , you fucking die . Alister still wants you dead . His hatred clouds his judgement! Don't let being a father cloud yours in the middle of a goddamn minefield! You know ? Your son is in the same spot!" Blake watched a shadow fall over his father's features as some realization hit him. He glanced in his direction looking more than wounded. With a tone heavy with misery, he stepped away from Cayden and stopped in front of Blake on the bed. He gritted his teeth and dropped his head as he lightly stroked his face. "You bastard . Why didn't you just come out and say it? You gave me all that shit about not saying what I meant.." Cayden straightened his clothes and cleared his throat. "You're just having a hard time hearing . If you had your son's ears that wouldn't be a problem." Blake wanted to ask him what was wrong. He hated the look on his face and the tears filling his eyes as he looked at him. And he still hated Cayden. He wasn’t sure he was helping them at all. He heard his words but didn't understand him well enough. "You're saying that it could be over my dead body or his . That if I don't do it, if I don't test my son and give Alister the information he wants , someone else will ." What kind of test? What did Alister want ? Blake wanted to know how they could escape. Where was his mother ? Where was Ark ? He was probably terrified right now. In this large, endless building with booted strangers , alone like he'd never been before. "I'm so sorry, kiddo." His father closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry . I wish I could have your ears . I wish I could take your place." Blake's eyes shook painfully in his sockets as his father fed something from a syringe into his I.V. He quickly lost focus and a threaded darkness surrounded his vision. They continued to swipe across his father's figure like pen marks to a detested photo until he couldn't see him or anything anymore. "Good choice." Cayden's voice arose, sounding far away and garbled. Like he'd been speaking underwater. Blake hated that it was the last thing he heard. Why had he almost sounded impressed? He thought that if he could see him, Blake would have found a smile spread across his lips. Day 110. At some point, Blake could no longer feel excitement when he was wheeled in the bed, chained at the wrists, and brought into laboratory 6 where his father and Cayden were waiting for him. They never got to speak. His father's eyes glossed over into a nothingness, and his tone gave nothing away. He never asked Blake how he was doing. It was almost enough to question if he had really stood up for him that day with Cayden after all, or if he had simply imagined it. Every time, Blake had only a handful of minutes to take in his surroundings. To peep a few sentences from the open tabs on the computer screen, and then be sent into an etched-out darkness. Only to wake up an unknowable time later, back in the humming cage. The sore veins, a pricked finger, and a few new band aids were all that remained from his time there. That, and the headache that he suffered for several hours upon waking. He tried to think positively. At least he was resting in a way. He didn't feel so exhausted after the drowsiness wore off. And, he knew that his father was okay. That Alister, whoever he was, hadn't decided he wasn’t useful. But aside from his conflicting emotions concerning his dad, Blake was anxiously awaiting news about Ark, or their mother. He didn’t like the knowing. And it was at precisely that time, when he was raking his brain on how to find out, that Blake saw an opportunity. Swanson, for whatever reason, was not in the chair across from him. He eyed the stranger, who looked much too like all the rest, snoring with his head rested against the wall. He couldn’t see his nametag clearly. He called to him, anyway, echoing a "Mr." in the most child-like voice he could muster. Eventually, when he finally stirred, the man walked towards a squirming Blake. He pressed a hand towards his legs and the other behind his butt. In a similar way to what he once saw Ark do. His little brother had been even younger then. "What?" The man asked with a hint of annoyance. "I'm sorry mister but I have to go, really bad." "You can't hold it for another hour? I'm trying to catch some Zs." Blake made a show of squirming again and shook his head furiously. "Damn it." He mumbled under his breath and jabbed the keypad with his thumb. "It's hard enough to sleep under these damn lights." The cage's sounds faded to silence and the bars disappeared above him as they always did. Blake tried not to scoff. He complains after hours. Meanwhile, he himself had been stuck behind bars like he'd committed a crime. Blinded by the same lights every day without end, trying to keep his sanity intact in spite of the annoying hum. He almost welcomed the looming unconsciousness laboratory 6 would afford him. Swanson had tried sharing some eye band he was using a couple times, but the noise was so loud it chased away Blake's exhaustion. Nowadays, Swanson came prepared with an arsenal of goods to watch him. Where was he anyway? It was probably for the best. If he'd been the one watching him now, Blake wasn’t sure he would feel up to putting the plan he had into action. It was easier than he suspected, duping a sleepy booted man into a trip to the bathroom and rendering him unconscious with the sound of his voice. Even though Blake understood nothing about the mechanics. He just pretended to stumble, waited until the man bent his head down towards him, and put his mouth to his ear. He almost wished he could ask his father about it as he struggled to pull the man into a stall. Super Sound needed a sidekick for moments like these. Maybe someone who could slinky any of those booted oafs into a stall without difficulty, so he'd never have to do it. Or strong enough to break through the bars of his cell and stroll out the doors without breaking a sweat. Blake looked at the nametag and read the name. Tyler. He nudged him with his toes as a trickle of blood slid out the man's ear and to the floor. He shook his head as he unclipped the man's access card, locked the door, climbed out the stall, and exited the bathroom. Super Sound would be rendered the sidekick if ever a man like that existed beside him. He couldn't step out of a person's shadow as big as that. He'd probably end up nameless. That wasn’t going to work. How could he expect Super Sound to one-up Black Diamond if he was swallowed up in someone else's shadow? Blake shivered as he peeked around the corner. The floors were cool under his feet. Colder than in his cell. A part of him wanted to go back to the bathroom, huddle up in a stall, and take a rest in the absence of the hum. He let the thought pass. It was possible that he wouldn't have another opportunity like this. There was a clock on the wall diagonal to his current position. It was 3am. He ducked back towards the bathroom and focused on the space around him. He hadn't seen anyone yet, but he could hear talking in the distance. And a soft whirling sound, overlapping at slightly different intervals nearby. It didn’t take long to realize they were the sounds of cameras. He needed to get a closer look. Blake expected more men to be guarding the halls at that time of the night, but he soon realized why it probably wasn’t necessary. He eyed the large round glass with a series of lenses behind it as he pressed his body against the wall and tip toed in the opposite direction than where Tyler had brought him. The camera followed. Flashing a menacing red in the middle. Blake tested the device, and even tried to escape to what seemed like a blind spot underneath it. When the dot disappeared, only to reappear larger right above his head, Blake shuddered. Creepy. And totally not safe. Blake realized how crazy it was for him to have any plan in his head about a place he'd hardly seen. And with a series of freaky stalker cameras along the walls, without a man on the inside to hide your movements, or some electric superpowers, sneaking around was out of the question. A heavy dread swept over him; anxiety close behind. Just minutes ago he thought he needed a sidekick. Now he knew why superheros worked in teams. He needed a group. His own arsenal of capables just to get out of there. What does a superhero do when their plan is not an option? Blake sighed and pushed himself off of the wall. They wing it. What choice did he have? The reality was, he might have been caught already. But if that was the case, why wasn't he rounded up by the bootmen? Either they were laughing, enjoying the show like that had the day Cayden struck blows to his father's face, knowing there was no escape, or maybe they weren't doing their jobs. Someone was off getting a snack, or maybe even dozing off. Even Tyler was attempting it before. Blake made up his mind. His bare feet tapped quickly and quietly across the floor. His ears could steer him away from people, even if he could do nothing about the cameras. He would just try to take in as much information as possible and get a good look around. Maybe he'd stumble upon a few exits that they could use to escape in his next plan. Whatever that was going to be. In the back of his mind, Blake thought about what he would do if he really found an exit. Could he make it out the doors and find his way to freedom? No. Probably not. And even if he could, his family was still inside somewhere. Or at least he was pretty sure they were. Likely trapped behind a door or another set of bars in the seemingly endless, nearly identical hallways. Just as he was rounding another corner, Blake heard the sound of a familiar voice. He scurried backwards and pressed his body to a corner as doors slid open. Two men with their arms full exited. "Just throw one of the boxes down there. I'm tired of using the card to open it with my arms full every time." "But protocol .." the other began. "No one cares about that in the middle of the night. Most of the guys are living it up in the rooms right now . Lester brought back a bunch of goodies from his last trip. While we are stuck here slinging boxes. If we hurry up, we can get something before it's all gone. Or are you saying you want to miss out?" "I missed the last two guys bringing stuff back too." " Exactly . So just leave it. We're going right around the corner dipshit ." The first ordered as their voices drifted further away. Blake supposed that answered that. He didn’t know who Lester was. Nor did he care, but he'd given him an opening. And because of him, apparently no one was watching the cameras tonight. Even side characters have their uses. Though, Blake was cautious. Blessings in the villain's lair never lasted. He followed the familiar sounding voice to the other side of the doors. He walked around stacks of boxes with sticker labels, detail numbers and words he couldn’t begin to understand. Past a large desk and swivel chairs to a old chunky box in the corner. A fuzzy video played on the screen. Behind it, a wall with a solid white bottom and large glass windows. He could just make out the image of several other men on the other side. "What are we even looking for in this mess ?" "Some damn video for the boss upstairs. Who even has VCRs anymore?" "Alister is old-fashioned . Of course , he wants to watch old movies." "Will you two shut up? I'm trying to get out of here." Some mixture of arguments and complaints ensued as Blake caught the shadow of the first two men skate across the glass. He ducked behind the desk as they loaded their arms up again. As they went out again, Blake realized the voice he knew was coming from the video ahead of him. It was his mother. He could just make her out in the dark corner of the screen. She was wearing a long dress. Her hair, too, was much longer than he'd ever seen it before. Someone, out of view of the camera, called to her. A slither of her face caught the light. "A friend ?" His mother's voice sounded small and insecure. It didn’t hold the same presence as it did today. Still, he was sure it was her. He'd heard her voice all his life after all. "Yes. I want you to be happy , E-0 . You're better when you're happy . The light's going out of your eyes again. And that won't do. So you can pick one from the laboratories downstairs. Any one you want ." Blake watched his mother's face bathe in the yellow light in the room as a man's hand turned her face from one side to the other. There was a visible open scar across her cheek and a line of blood dripped to her shoulder and stained her dress. Blake stomach churned. His mother's eyes looked empty. As hollow as the tree trunk he and Ark huddled inside those days in the forest, waiting to be found. The man was right. Light reflected in her irises, but caught nothing. As if they were the eyes of a new doll. The video ended there. And when the men came back to grab another arm full of boxes, Blake ducked out from under the desk and made his way back to the hallway. He felt an unnatural sense of urgency as he followed the halls further away. It took everything he had not to shout after his mother. Where was she? Locked away in this fortress of a building. Behind one of those doors? Which one? His thoughts became more jumbled and panic stricken as his feet slapped against the floors. At some point, he stopped caring about being stealthy. He wasn’t so careful with his path or to keep away from the voices on the other side of the doors. He didn’t understand what the video was, why it was taken, or what it meant. He only knew that it was that place, or one just like it, that was responsible for that nothingness behind her gaze. They had been there for too long already. He needed to find her and the rest of his family. And as if by luck, or by curse, Blake bumped into a booted man. One accompanied by a woman marking something off a board in her hands, and Ark . His wrists weighed down with the same heavy metal cuffs he'd seen on his father after their capture. As their eyes met, Ark's eyes bubbled with tears, and he immediately crashed into Blake's stomach. His sobs echoed through the hallway; his words muffled by something in his mouth. Blake only had moments to embrace him before the booted stranger, with the ugly spiked hair, struck his face with his fist. For a moment, Blake thought he'd been sent to oblivion instead. Day 118. A series of events followed the day of Blake's temporary escape. Several, of particular importance. First, Blake awoke with a raging headache and a very tender blackened eye. He had no clue where Ark was taken but he had heard several complaints as he was wheeled through the dizzyingly florescent hallways of a little brat that kept biting everyone. A problem that immediately got worse after the day's events. It was then that Blake understood why his brother's mouth had been closed. He figured maybe Ark's questions had started it, but turns out he had been fighting in his own way. On the one hand, it was impressive. On the other, very worrying. That spikey haired bootman didn’t hesitate to punch him square in the face. What about his little brother? The thought of them touching a single hair on his head made his mind haze with fury. That was, until his conscious mind was swallowed by nothingness. The next time Blake remembered anything, he'd heard his father and Cayden. Arguing in harsh whispers about what would happen when Alister realized he had altered the data. Which would, according to Cayden, happen sooner rather than later. His father's words, besides something directed at Blake's bruised face, floated away from him like a dream. At just the moment that his father, given Cayden's audible reaction, punched a sizable whole through one of the computer screens in the laboratory. The time after, Blake's wrists and ankles were dreadfully weighed down by large cuffs. Identical to those he'd last seen on Ark. He was shoved into an unfamiliar room with even more unfamiliar people. Dressed in white coats, comparing something on charts to the rest of him. Soon to be strapped to a chair, loaded up from syringes, in a dark room no one else would enter. Wires connected to everywhere he could see, practically glowing in the dark, were his only company. Save for the voice on the speaker that asked him questions that he never knew if he answered. The voice became quieter every time it spoke. Until it was practically not there at all. Blake had been glad to be out of the light, but he'd had the faintest feeling that he had some reason to be worried. What followed the eventual disappearance of the voice in the dark room was only disaster. Blake could hardly recognize his own thoughts in the moments of silence. All short lived. The black box soon became his own living hell. An uncountable number of distinct noises and sounds of every day life bounced around the room. Each one louder than the next. And more painful than the last. Until a sickness overcame him, and he cried. Until vomit burned its way up his throat and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, finally ending his torment. Only to repeat again and again. Encouraged by the speaker's voice, between questions he no longer understood. For an endless time. To the point that Blake almost no longer knew that Super Sound ever existed at all. Day 122. It took several days for the fog in Blake's mind to lift. To recognize that he was back in the place he'd started, behind the bars of the steel-caged room. At first, he didn't even hear the hum. Swanson was back. Assuming he wasn't hallucinating, of course. Blake was vaguely aware of something like that. Some memory teasing his consciousness. Something recent.. A conversation about comics and heroes and villains. Of the mystery man Alister's head on a spike, roasted over a fire by Jake-no. Willow's hand. The entire building melted away like warm ice cream. Into a sizable puddle. Not unlike Captain Bubbles the time he was tricked by Spike. There was more, he was certain, but couldn't make it out. " Kid ?" Swanson called from the other side of the bars. The free side. Or so it was supposed to be. The expression on his face made Blake think that he was the one trapped inside instead. He felt a kind of pity for him but it soon got lost in the thickness swimming through his veins. It both terrified and disgusted him. Blake didn't know what they'd been giving him, but it felt foreign and intrusive. A sneaky nano culprit, altering his body chemistry. Stealing his functions away. Probably to control him. Blake looked at Swanson weakly. Had he always been a twin? God. Why couldn't they stay still when they spoke? "It's the first time you reacted to anything I said since they brought you back." His voice was distorted by his double. Their voices overlapped at the wrong intervals. "I met your father recently." He continued. "When he thought I was responsible for your black eye." Blake wished one of them would shut up so he could hear. "Dad..?" A small, dry voice asked. It sounded like his own, sort of. It took time to register that it had been. "Your father's ballsy , eh? Seems like." Swanson smirked. "Maybe." Blake shrugged. Or at least, attempted to. He wasn't sure he ever moved his shoulders. "I did some digging. Your mom's E-0 right?" " No !" Blake shouted, making his ears ring. Swanson winced. " Eliza . Don't call her that ." He fumed, though he hadn't meant to yell. " Shhh !" Swanson cursed. "Keep it down , boy. The security's tight as is . Since your little escape ." Swanson explained. "I get it. Got it. Eliza , then. Though apparently that's what they call her in here . She had a baby recently, right ? A little girl. Couple weeks ago, I think." "Mom had the baby ..?" Cayden's words came back to him then. Alister hadn't decided what to do about it. He'd made it sound like he had a bad plan in mind. Blake remembered that . His mind battled the heaviness in his head. He felt sharps pains attack him from the inside. He could hear himself whine. His mother had the baby in that terrible place. "H-hey, don't cry ." Swanson said, his hand zapped from the bars. Blake couldn't tell if his arms were moving towards his face to check or not. Was he crying? "Listen. In a few days, we might have a shot. I don’t know if everything I heard about you is true, but it doesn't matter right now. On the third day, you can't take the medicine . Whatever you do. Fight it ." Last time he got in trouble, they sent him to the box. Blake didn’t want to go there again. "To the box again ? No..please." Thinking was painful. He wanted to stop thinking. "The box ? What box? Did they put you in something last time? Don't worry , eh? Wherever they put you, if they do, I'll find you and bring you out." "I don't know days." Blake attempted to explain his loss of time. He didn't know one from the next. How was he supposed to know what to do or when? He didn't even know when they gave him medicine. Had they done that today already? What about his family? "I'll be here. You listen for me and I'll tell you. I'll count them up." Swanson offered. "They've gotta come in the middle of the night and top it off." Was it a trap? What difference would it make if it was? Blake couldn't ask another question. He couldn't try to make sense of anything else anymore. And listening to both of them was numbing his mind. Or maybe the pain was doing that? He didn't know anymore. In what felt like seconds, the world was swallowed up behind Blake's eyes until there was nothing left. Day 123. "One." Swanson's voice echoed out into the nothingness around him. Blake wasn’t sure if he'd ever opened his eyes that day. For all he knew, the world could have come to an end. Was it a consequence of the medicine or his time in the box ? Day 124. "Two." He definitely never opened his eyes. Nope. That wasn't it that time. A temporary blackout? At least according to a fitful curse on the other side of his cage room. Had there always been someone on the other side? Blake knew it was really happening now. Or at least, that something would. It was easier now, somehow, to pinpoint the sounds nearby. Even though the medicine still filled his veins. Blake heard the sounds of heels clacking away towards the doors. Fifty-two heels to the exit, though he didn't exactly remember counting them. He heard Swanson shifting in the corner. Could almost see his shape outlined in the dark. "Right on time." Swanson's low tone suggested a mixture of pride and relief. Day 125. "Three." At the sound of Swanson's deep voice, Blake felt as if his entire body was on fire. Heated like a gas flame whose knob had turned too quickly. Swanson's words echoed through his head. Whatever you do, don't take it. Fight it , he'd told him. He would fight. He had to. Super Sound had to. If it wasn’t a trap, this might've been the last opportunity he had in the making. There was something in his mouth. And a band around his head. His eyes shot open. Blake made out the woman with the familiar footsteps. Accompanied by four men he didn't recognize. She smiled in his direction. He didn’t know if it was genuine. Or even if he wanted it to be considering the woman was walking towards him with a double syringe. Blake wasn’t confident he could take on them all in his current state. He tried to force a whistle past whatever was obstructing his mouth as words or screams weren't an option. Nothing. They'd expected, as per the woman's words, that he wouldn’t wake up as always. The smile on her face had been mostly one of surprise. She didn’t seem worried, even though only his chest was strapped in place. How lucky for him. He would make them regret it. As the woman came closer Blake lashed out like a madman. He kicked her in the chest, hard. She cried out and dropped the syringe. The needles broke and bounced off the floor. The containers cracked but didn’t break open. The men in boots wasted no time to charge at him. Before they could secure him, or maybe punch him unconscious as he'd experienced recently, Blake wrapped his fingers around the I.V. tubes in his left arm and yanked it as hard as he could like he'd seen in the movies. He felt his face contort and a broken whimper escaped his shaking lips. He blinked, trying to will his mind to the other side of his pain. To the place where it wouldn’t hurt anymore. Or at least, that he would be more capable of ignoring it. The second whimper told him that it wasn’t working. He felt blood running down his arm but still reeling from the forced out I. V., didn’t manage to get a good look at it. What followed was a colorful amount of curse words, fumbling about, and the woman scrambling to do something about his arm. They forced his arms under the straps while she fixed him up and two of the men slammed his legs back down and held them still. He should have known better. The stunts on tv didn’t prepare him for this. No one ever bled that much when they ripped out their I. Vs on television. No one said how painful it was. It was better now than the first 30 seconds but there were still lingering sharp pains, throbbing, and the memory of almost passing out the moment he'd done it. Blake eyed the broken syringe. At least he didn’t take the medicine. She'd have to get a new one, or transfer the contents, assuming it was possible to do. For the moment, he accomplished the goal, but what about now? How was he going to keep it that way? As he began to wonder how he was supposed to take out four beefy guardsmen in leather boots and the medicine lady in the current situation, Blake saw a figure dart past him. The two men responsible for tucking his arms hardly had time to struggle before they dropped noisily to the floor. By the time Blake's brain registered the familiarity of Swanson's form, he had already taken care of the other two men at his feet. He wasn't sure what impressed him most, the short time it took him to deal with four men, or how light the sound of his movements was. The woman squealed and Swanson tutted at her. " Quietly finish up with him. No medicine. Then you wait here without a word , or I'll deal with you like one of these annoying men, eh?" The woman bobbed her head quickly as Swanson freed Blake from his confines and watched him sqeeze all four men under the straps in his place. It looked like someone froze the frame during a very uncomfortable gymnastics stunt. Even when they get unstrapped, they'd have to unwind from each other first. For some reason, it made Blake uncomfortable just thinking about it. But the feeling passed quickly, replaced by amusement. The woman soon finished with Blake's arm and was directed to a back corner. She slid slowly to the floor in quiet submission. Then, Blake supposed for good measure, Swanson used a extended I. V tube to tie her up. When he was satisfied with his work, he turned towards Blake and asked if he was feeling well enough to walk. "I can walk." Blake nodded. He was fairly certain of it, though he hadn't taken many steps from the immediate area yet. He was no longer bound, but his heart was still racing and he didn’t quite feel less trapped. They still had to find his family. They still had to get out of the building and away from what was probably a terrifying amount of bootmen. Swanson released him, and as grateful as he was, he had questions. Was he really helping him or was it a trick? Maybe he was set up since he escaped last time? " Perfect . You did good, eh?" Swanson gave a hearty pat on the back. Blake stumbled. He wasn’t feeling that good. "Oops. Sorry about that. Let's go. We'll be short on time soon." He started towards the doors. Blake hesitated. "You said you heard a lot of stuff about me. I escaped last time. Did you hear about that?" "Don't do this . Let's talk and walk, eh? Our window of opportunity is small ." "I need to know ." Blake answered, his voice less forgiving than intended. Even if he was telling the truth. "I heard about it. Everyone has . Plus, the stuff Willow has been saying. They were getting something big ready. And a series of new rules were going to be set in place tomorrow. For you. Or you and your family. So, we are right on time." "But I lied . I used that man to get out.." Blake started. Feeling a tinge of guilt, but he knew he would have done it all over again. If not for that day, he wouldn't have seen Ark. Or understood how dangerous that place must have been for his family. It was one thing to see Cayden's interactions with his father or hear their exchanges. It was a whole other to know what it could do to his mother. She was so kind and lively. In the video, she looked almost lifeless. Beatings and pain were bad enough but there was something much more terrifying about a place that could take you away from yourself. "I know you used him. Messed him up pretty bad too, eh? He's deaf or something, I hear." Swanson shrugged. "It doesn't come close to anything I've done. I would've done it too. Sometimes you gotta use people." "Did you also know I was using you ?" Blake asked nervously. He didn’t know why it was important. It just was . "I know you tried ." Swanson sighed. "And you're still helping me? Why ?" Blake asked. Maybe this was why it mattered. He needed to know the motivation behind this man's actions. Why risk helping him? Unless he wasn’t helping him at all, really. Swanson could lie. Maybe he would , but Blake hoped he would be able to tell the difference. "Of course , I knew . I didn't know if you were just a master at manipulation or what. I wondered if you were as dangerous as they say. But I was also so God-damn amused . I thought, ' man this kid's got some balls , eh ?' And I really did end up venting here or there, just like the first time, without meaning to. You were a good listener and a better conversationalist than I expected. " Also , like I said . I'm new here. This whole thing," he said motioning frustratedly with his hands, "is not my thing , eh ? If not for owing a favor, I wouldn’t even have been here. I know something weird is going on in this building, and you're part of it. I heard some wild shit about you every day. All of what's going on here's just about anyone's guess, and we can't afford to have that conversation now when we hardly have time for this one, but there's a few things I am sure of. "One, you're still a damn child . Whatever is going on, there's no way you should be doped up in here like that, losing your senses half the time, and constantly separated from your family . Two, I'm not a good guy. I've done some messed up shit in my lifetime. I've killed many people, even caused deaths of more than a few children. Whether I knew it or not. I have tried to live, and want to continue to, making up for those mistakes. Some shit, I don't feel a shred of remorse for. But there's also things that I have and would regret . "This is one of those. So, I'm also using you . To absolve me of a little guilt . To confirm that I'm still choosing the light in spite of other circumstances. Sometimes , usury is multifaceted and mutually beneficial . "Last but not least, number three." Swanson urged him forward then. Hearing his words, Blake was fairly sure he was being honest. It wasn’t that he understood everything. Nor that he had any real way to check his statements. It was just a feeling . Some solid, warm inkling settling in his body. Something that, without clear explanation, gave him the confidence to be led forward. Swanson gave Blake a bright wink. His face exposed a mixture of pride and absolution as he finished, " Alister can kiss my ass ." ... Blake followed Swanson closely through the building. Not particularly paying attention to anything around them. He ignored the labels at the doors, felt no need to peek through windows, nor cared about the secrets hidden behind the other doors. He was worried about his family and how much time they had before someone looked for the missing men strapped in his place, but Swanson had reassured him that they had a plan. In fact, between his time stealthily taking down men that Blake made sure to warn him of nearby, Swanson quietly offered him more than just reassurance. He'd given him useful information and boosted his mentality because of it. Though Blake had mixed feelings about one part in particular. According to Swanson, the building has 13 floors. They were currently on the 6th. Which is where they've been keeping Blake since their arrival. Downstairs, unsurprisingly, the security is the tightest. It's where all the exits are, "plus a shitload of nasty stuff they don't want getting out the doors," Swanson remarked. He said that it was never an option to go out the from the first. Or floor zero which is some sort of unofficial basement level. He never offered details about it. Alister's office takes up half of the 13th. Clearance is crazy difficult up there so he's never been. However, he gathered enough information to know that on the opposite side of the same floor Blake's mother was there. Which highlighted a potential problem. She would have been the most difficult to reach. A problem, which found an unexpected resolution. It was also the part of the plan Blake was most conflicted about. Even more than how ever they would actually get out of the building. The solution to getting Eliza from the top floor was Cayden . Someone who apparently laughed when he found Swanson snooping around. And showed footage of catching a glimpse of him sneaking away from restricted areas. When Blake questioned him about it, Swanson shook his head. "There was no way to know it was actually me. Nothing was caught on video that even suggested it. Not a hair, eh? I wasn't wearing a nametag when I did it. I took every precaution. Ones that you wouldn't understand if I told you. "To top it off, my friend that got me into this mess took care of those cameras. He's good at what he does. It was some lesser scale of what we are using now. A device that slowly disables the links the cameras have to each other for seconds that don't show on the clock. Somehow without detection. He explained it but I don't understand all the fancy bits, eh? I just about zone out when he gets all 'genius brain' on me. " Anyway , that Cayden bastard confronted me and somehow knew it was me. He laughed and left. After three days of silence and no one coming after me, I assumed he either wanted to blackmail me with it, or had something to hide himself. I'm not the guy for waiting around to see which one, eh? So it was my time to confront him . "Before I knew it, I was having hushed conversations in a dark room. Like he was waiting for me to come to him. He didn't explain much. But I've done sketchier ops on less info with people even less trustworthy than him so when he said I wasn't going to get it done without him, I chose to believe it. All in all, he was right . At least not without some more guys , resources , and time . I was short on them all. There weren't a lot of options." After hearing Swanson's explanation, Blake figured he couldn’t argue with the logic. He wondered if Cayden really knew it was Swanson sneaking through the building and what he might have seen doing it. He questioned if Cayden was a double agent in their plan. Could he really be trusted? If memory served, his own father opted out of that when they escaped before. Blake tried not to let his mind run wild. He had other questions too. About his mother and father, their relationship. Why they escaped the last time and why he felt something familiar tugging at the back of his mind every time the thought crossed it. He didn't have time to get lost in those curiosities. It was obvious that Cayden had enough clearance to get to his mother. Who, Swanson reasonably suspected also had access to the baby. I.e. Their new little addition to the family. Who was also undoubtedly being watched sound the clock. If nothing else, the baby was a bargaining chip. Swanson said that Cayden told him very matter-of-factly that he would have two guys pushing her in a cart away from level 13. Apparently carts regularly exited the floor for different reason. He wasn't going to man the cart himself because it would raise suspicion. At that point, Swanson was sure to tell Blake that he thought there was some truth to that, but Cayden also said he "never does those meaningless tasks" so he was pretty sure it was more about him seeing it as being beneath him than trusting the process and lack of suspicions. Blake considered what Cayden had said about his father when they first arrived. It seemed extremely likely that he was right. "What about Ark? He's my brother. And dad?" Blake eventually asked. Surely their plan had to include them too. Somehow. "Cayden said your brother has been kept on the 10th floor somewhere. He and your father came up with something so he could go get him. They're probably together right now. Our meet point is on the 8th floor. Since there's a space we can use if we are quick enough." "Dad will definitely bring him." Blake said with conviction as he followed Swanson up a large staircase behind an unmarked door. He read the sign on the wall. Level 7. Just as Blake turned his attention back towards Swanson, a deafening sound pierced his ears. So unexpectedly loud, high-pitched, and excruciating that it stopped Blake in his tracks. He uselessly covered his ears as his tears dotted the floor. He couldn't scream. He couldn't speak. Blake barely registered Swanson's touch as he caught his arm. Saving him from a all-too-possible deathly fall down the stairs. He didn't seem bothered by the sound. Almost as if he couldn't hear it. Blake could see his mouth moving, probably full of silent curses as lights flashed around them. He knew then that someone realized they were missing. One of them, or all of them. But it did nothing to keep him from losing consciousness a moment later. Day 127. By the time Blake regained consciousness, he saw that he was no longer on the stairs. He was in a dark room, with minimal light touching the floor from small, single square windows lining a wall to his left. It was an incredibly large wall. Nearly identical to a blank canvas if not for some box and a switch in the corner. He looked around, almost expecting to see something terrible. Instead, he saw his family, Cayden, and Swanson who had him fastened onto his back by a dark strap. Not unlike the ones that held him captive during medicine time. Just a different color. And thicker. Blake felt a familiar weight over his head and took comfort in the silence around him. It took some time to realize he was wearing his headset. Or at least, he saw after pulling it down around his neck, one similar. When Swanson felt him shifting against his back, he quickly set him free again. "You good?" He asked with a face showing genuine concern. "The color's back in your cheeks at least, eh?" "What happened ..? We were on the stairs..." He tried to offer up his memory quietly. Aware that something else was happening now and they were right in the middle of it. "You were knocked out as soon as the alarms went off. You were bleeding out your whole face. I've never seen that shit before." Swanson sighed. "I hauled you up the stairs and everyone just barely made it to the 8th floor. The safe spot was compromised. Your dad handed me those headphones and said they were special. I asked if he knew what was happening to you and he said that he saw something that gave him pause after news of your escape. When they took you to a black room. "I guess it was the box you mentioned, eh? He said that he eventually managed to get the data from those days. Something about testing frequencies and your threshold in the dark room? He used it to make that headset. I understood that much. The rest went away from me. Your father has a ' genius ' setting too, seems like." Blake was in awe. He had no idea his father made the first ones. He was equally thankful and impressed. Every day he was more convinced than the last that his needed to learn more about his parents. "They really helped." "That's good, but the situation was still a shitfuck. We couldn’t stay exposed so we had to make up another plan. We ended up finding a suitable entrance into the ventilation shaft. Spent a day backtracking and then finding our way up towards the top floors. "Security on the lower side would be a million times worse, not to say most of the building isn't similar. Some of the men are off on other jobs for Alister so that helped. We ended up following Cayden here. I know a way to another exit out of an unused room, but we are on the 12th floor. Which we can't stay on. "We ended up in here and they've been talking since Cayden closed this room off from the other side. I've never been in here but once we are out I can get my bearings. Only thing is, there's two controls in here. Cayden seems to know something about it." Blake wondered if this was the moment. Where Cayden would show his true colors. If he was about to betray them and use his secret knowledge against their family amidst their escape. If he tries it , Blake thought, Super Sound will send him flying just like Jake- not -Jake. Or Swanson can pummel him. At least, he was pretty sure he could with the way he took down those other men. "I was being honest, you know ? When I said this place was a dud without you." Cayden scoffed as he spoke, facing their father. "I was hyper focused on getting you back here after a while. Especially after S-4--I mean , Sarah.. Especially after Sarah was gone. It's been so long since I said her name. "It struck me that day in the lab , you know? When you got angry at me for bringing you to work on your son. When you said I didn't have a family to protect . I haven't been able to say it aloud since. Since she died..the two of you, and E--"He cleared his throat. "The two of you, and Eliza by extension , were the only family I had. I could bury myself in my remaining interests. You know, scientist by heart and all. But I couldn't escape it. The mudane . The atrocities committed behind every door. I couldn't escape my place in it. Likely, I never will. This place will follow me. Karma, you know ? For us following you, maybe . "I was too afraid to leave when I should have. If I had been brave , Sarah and I could have found you two on the other side somewhere. We could have lived some kind of life. Who knows ? Living in a forest wouldn't have been so bad either, you know? "We would have made it. The four of us. I thought it all the time. More since you've been back. Hated myself for not doing it. I should have followed you back then. If not for me , Sarah would still be alive . I should have escaped with her , you know? "I think I always saw it when I looked at you. Especially since you've been back. We're so alike , you and I. You once offered to be my brother , do you recall? I couldn't give you an answer. "Likely because we felt like that. Actually, much more. So similar in any way that mattered. Like the same soul in different bodies. A few more of my choices and you would have been me . A few more of yours , I could have been you . It's uncanny when you think about it, you know?" "Cayden I--" his father began, stopped by a shake of the head. "Don't interrupt me damn it! Just listen ." Cayden hissed. Blake watched his father's frown deepen but he obliged. Cayden continued on, his voice calm yet solemn again. As if he'd never been interrupted. Somehow, his ability to do so creeped Blake out to no end. "If I'd known what I do now, I'd have probably steered them away every time they got close. You know? Kept them far away from your family. I can't erase that. Sarah and I couldn't escape it. But you and your family, you just might. Forever this time." "Then come with us . There's room for you too , Cayden." His father said, his voice hoarse and emotional. He stuck out his hand but Cayden slapped it away and took several steps backward. "I don't know what your son did, but he got one of the only good ones by his side. The kind that played by the books in everyone's faces but did his own thing when no one was looking, y'know? Swanson doesn't take any shit . Never seemed to like Alister either, by my estimation." Blake turned his eyes toward Swanson who shrugged a shoulder with a tilt of his head. Seemingly in agreeance. "Swanson is very experienced. He's patrolled the outskirts as well. You always did like shotty chances, didn't you Gabe? Well, the odds are against you, but I think you can make it." Cayden turned his eyes towards their mother. She looked tired but more alert than Blake expected. Her eyes were sad. It hurt him to see her expression, but he was glad to witness any feeling in her at all. It was better than the doll eyes he saw on that video. He hoped he would never see it in person. Hoped, she would never go through it again. A bundle was in her arms. Ark clutched her leg tightly. "Sarah always loved Eliza . And your love . She's probably going to escort you out of here personally. From wherever souls go. Assuming they ever go anywhere. I'm a man of the technical side of the sciences. I'm not very informed on the rest. But I hope she is here, watching me get my shit together." "Just come with us already, you damn idiot !" Their father shouted. Blake took notice of the blood staining his shirt. Small splatters were on his pants too. Just what else happened when he wasn't awake? How did this change things? Did this make Cayden a bad guy or a good one if he didn't betray them? "He's one of the greys ," Swanson said with a curt nod, almost as if he had read Blake's mind. "The guys that aren't hero or foe . Right now, you're watching a grey with a whole lotta dark, officially turn to the light." Swanson's words felt heavy and meaningful. Like the kind of quote that deserved a fancy speech bubble with bold letters in the comic books. He was sure he'd never forget it. Blake's mother cried silently. He didn't know how to feel, but wondered if she pitied Cayden. "Let's go together. We're one soul . Remember ?" His father offered in a desperate tone. One that suggested to Blake that his father's feelings towards the man with the light brown ponytail, still wearing a clean white lab coat, was much more complicated than his own. "That's just it," Cayden said, typing away on the keypad across the room. "That's not probable. Once I figure this out, we have one shot. You have to put the code in simultaneously or it won't work. It will lock and the code will reset in seconds. There's no conceivable way I'll get across this much distance in time. Don't be an idiot. You see it, too." "There's another way. There's always another way." His father voiced, his poster deflated like an old balloon. "No. This is it. This is the right way. Besides, you think I came out here, showed my cards and then want to go back to the magic show by tomorrow? I'm not that pitiful, you know? This place is going to die forever . And all of us left are going with it." He said, revealing a flashing red button stowed away in his coat. A timer slowly ticked away, silently flashing 27 minutes left on the countdown. "Swanson knows where to go for the quickest way out of this place. And, as luck would have it, he can fly a damn helicopter. Get out before you get swarmed in the building. Alister's leather-booted-trash fucks are looking for you as we speak. Of course, they don't know time is running out. Nor who is helping you. Yet ." Cayden and Swanson's eyes met, their stares unwavering and stark. "He'll probably be waiting for you out there, you know? Somewhere . Too bad I can't tell him off to his face after all of this. But actually, I'm okay with it like this, you know?" A soft smile lit up his face. For the first time, Blake couldn't see anything malicious or uncomfortable behind it. The keypad shined green beneath his fingertips. He turned around and nodded towards the other side of the room. Swanson quickly shuffled across the floor as if he'd been waiting for the opportunity. Then put his thumb in the air. "Go on." Cayden prompted. Their father hesitated. " Daddy ?" Ark called, his eyes filled with tears. "I want to go home." Blake blinked away his own. This was no time for Super Sound to get emotional. The danger wasn't over yet. "Gabriel, please." His mother implored weakly. "We need you." Their baby sister cooed against her. Younger siblings had it easy. Most of the time. He really hoped she'd have the easiest life of all. Blake turned his attention back on his father and watched nervously as emotions fluttered across his face. He knew his father was fighting in that moment. Some cruel battle between his past with Cayden, the present, and the future. Important men tended to have that problem because they cared. Heros too. His father was probably a hero in his last life. "Same souls." His father echoed painfully. A final attempt to oppose the inevitable. Cayden laughed and shook his head. "I'm actually okay with it like this, you know?" He repeated. "Because the truth about the two of us having the same soul in different bodies is...we wouldn't do so well in the same one . Eventually , we'd have to make a choice. About which of us would obtain limitless freedom and happiness. "I don't want to rough it out with you, Gabe. My joy left me a long time ago so it's not a hard decision. And I like being the one making all the choices. This time, I just so happen to be making this one. Although, it might be the dumbest one I've ever made. Or, if you live, I guess it would be the smartest. So, please make my dumb ass, fucking decision the right one. I almost wanted to live for a second, you know." A tear slid down their father's face and he turned around and let Blake and Ark lead him to his mother's side. There was relief in his eyes when he met Blake's, but the sadness on display never faded. His father kissed their sister's head and turned to look at Cayden again while their mother thoroughly checked Blake's face and ears. "I'm sorry for not trusting you back then. Maybe things would be different now." Their father said. And Blake knew it was an honest statement. " Maybe ," Cayden shrugged as he turned back to the keys. "Or maybe not. You chased your freedom long before I could ever look straight at mine. My fear trapped the love of my life here, too. So, you know, it actually could have been just the same. As for your sorry ... apology accepted . " Asterisk !" He called loudly as he pressed the button on the keypad, effectively ending their conversation. Swanson quickly followed suit. "Asterisk." He repeated. "E. Zero. A. Six." "That sick son-of-bitch." His father hissed under his breath. E-0. Their mother's alphanumeric title, although Blake couldn't place any relevance to the others. " E, 0, A, 6 ." Swanson echoed back as he fumbled his way around the keys. "Nine, four, K, One. Pound." " 9, 4, K, 1, # ." Swanson finished. Both keypads strobbed green, and the doors opened. Their father and Swanson directed Ark through the gap as soon as they were able. Then passed him their baby sister and told him to craddle her head. It was smart. Going as it opened could give them a few more seconds. As their mother stepped through the opening, Blake felt time stand still as their father bolted across the room in the other direction. Just as quickly and without thinking, he followed close behind. Blake felt like he had seen it coming all along. Knew in his bones that his father would try something. Shocked, their mother cried out to them at their backs. Swanson cursed as he paused, then forced her forward. The doors were nearly completely open now. His father's face fell as he looked over his shoulder to Blake dashing a step behind him. Clearly terrified that they could all end up trapped on the wrong side of the door. Truthfully, so was Blake. But, he had an idea. Cayden's face was full of surprise as he registered what was happening with the two of them thundering his way. Gabriel, his father with apparent nerves of steel, had decided they were going to make it out - if they could- together. Even if he hadn't accounted for one of his sons following suit. They lept across the last legs of space between them and his father grabbed Cayden by the arm, dragging him towards the opening as fast as they could go. Their window of time was closing. The doors were beginning to shut. And if they did, they'd be lost with the rest of the building soon enough. To make matters worse, according to Cayden, those doors weren't controlled by motion sensors. Please, please work. Blake pleaded with himself. Be, Super Sound! He demanded as he turned and pressed his back clumsily against their large adult frames. He grabbed hold of their clothes at the sides, nearly toppling over. Then when he found some semblance of footing again, he let out a loud, hard, reverberating belch. The sound sent harsh waves around the room and broke apart the first door and the opposite wall, yet somehow left the keypad untouched. Blake, his father, and Cayden were hurtled across the room. Their bodies rotated to the side as they flew through the doors and crashed painfully down several feet away. Ouch . From their messy pileup on the floor, Blake eyed the doors and the red button Cayden had been keeping tucked away in his coat. In just enough time to see the number 10 get crushed between them. Swanson, Ark, and their mother, now with the baby back in her arms, rushed over as the three of them groaned. They untangled themselves and made their way to their feet. Cayden, suddenly enthusiastic, slapped his hands on Blake's shoulders. "YOU'RE A HOLY FUCKING GRAIL , KID! How did you think that one up??" He turned towards his parents. "How did that sound not kill us? Or the crash?! Your son might be a genius! You know?!" Their parents scowled. Clearly unimpressed. " Or not so much a genius ..." their mother shook her head. "--As a very, very , dead Super ." His father finished. "No time." Swanson said quickly, forcing them away in another direction. Thank you Swanson! Blake sighed as they were guided quickly down the hall. They turned right. Blake allowed himself to feel just a moment of relief. Somehow, they managed. He wanted to celebrate their lives, but his parents had been upset. He hated when they went all angry-in-sync . He was going to get in so much trouble later. Swanson may have saved him for the moment, but sooner or later he wouldn't be able to save his ears from all their shouting if they ever made it out of there. The noise of their narrow escape had attracted more than a few men in boots. Blake warned them as they inched closer, tried to tell them each direction as they went. Until, eventually, they were closing in on them from every direction. He was really getting tired of being surrounded with his family. The men in the hallways were clueless. Meanwhile Blake, just like the rest of the group, had the misfortune of being aware of a very important detail they were not: the entire building was minutes away from being blown apart. Cayden had made sure of it. Blake didn't suppose there was an undo button. "We tried." Cayden shook his head. "We really tried." Swanson slid between them and rushed to a nearby window. He looked out and motioned for them to join him with a smirk. "You heroes afraid of heights ?" "Probably." Blake answered nervously. " Especially from this height..." They were 12 floors too high for his comfort. If his feet were going to make contact with the ground and not air the moment that he stuck a foot out of the window, he'd have had no complaints. Clearly that wouldn’t be the case right now. Blake watched the adults look out the window and his mother cast a look of concern in their father's direction. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Maybe worse than he thought. " Seriously ? With the baby ?" His mother asked, hesitant. Their father clicked his tongue. "It's the only way," he said as he took their sister from her arms,"but I'll protect her. I promise you." Their mother didn't argue. She simply grabbed hold of Blake and Ark, directed them to keep their eyes closed and their hands over their heads. "Tuck your knees in really hard towards your stomach. And pull your elbows in as tight as you can." She said sternly, showing them as best she could what she meant. Blake's heart thumped away an anxiety induced crescendo as he tried to imagine what was next. Swanson used a small tool to scrape the glass. Then, kicked his boot hard against the window until it broke away. Then again for the rest. And, without pause, used the bottom of his foot to swipe away the excess shards. Swanson pressed Ark to the floor in the position their mother said to do. Again, just the same for Blake. Without warning, he felt his body sway. Moments later, they were freefalling. Blake could just see Ark ahead of him, his eyes shut tight. His clothes shook wildly as he teetered from one side to the next. The only sound audible as they continued to fall was the wind as it loudly whistled around them. His own clothes flapped like birds with broken wings. Soon, Blake found himself wishing he had listened to his mother and closed his eyes. The air stabbed away at them like sharp, angry needles. He would have screamed too, if the wind hadn't kept his mouth shut. And a bubble of air hadn't been pressed to the back of his throat. Their terrifying descent led to a long shade attached to the side of the building by brown ropes. The diagonal slope kept them sliding down the fabric, faster with each passing second. It was uncomfortable, and Blake was sure that nothing good could await them on the other end, but it was better than pins and needle eyeballs in the sky. Grunts of effort made him turn his head. Spinning down the shade to his right, Blake made out Swanson quickly passing him by. His copper glasses, he was almost sure, had been clenched between his teeth. And once he was several feet ahead of him, Blake watched curiously, albeit nervously, to see what would await him. Swanson, however, looked more focused than nervous as he grabbed a knife from his pocket. How was he able to do anything while rolling that fast? "To me !" He shouted towards Blake, holding out a hand. "Roll down, now !" Blake gulped, but tried his best to channel his fear. He reached out a hand and pushed himself forward on his side. At first he wasn't sure how it would work, but his velocity carried him on. His spin down the shade rocked the rest of the world around in an almost nauseating loop. He could hear the sound of decompressed air and the fabric underneath them coming apart as his body suddenly jerked and swung painfully to the side. When he opened his eyes again, Blake let out a small cry. His body was dangling over the edge of the fabric, caught by his Super Sound Cape rather than his arm. Unsure about the slight blue movement below him, he instinctively clutched the fabric nearest his neck. Afraid the thread would snap and send him to his death. Swanson's knife had cut the shade apart and effectively slowed them down to a stop mere inches before the fabric ran out. Ark was caught on his other shoulder, wrapped around his arm, staring at the blade with wide eyes. The rest of his family swayed against the far end of the shade. His father held their sister in one arm and a large bundle of the knife-cut fabric in the other. Cayden's elbow was wrapped around his feet. And their mother's arms and legs were clutched tightly around Cayden's body. Her feet pressed into the back of his knees and one of her hands clawed nervously at his hair, yanking his head backwards. Blake wondered if it hurt as much as it looked like. In the end, they were told to let go and dropped down into a bed of water Blake hadn't clearly seen from above. He hadn't lost his mind from spinning after all. By the time they came up for air, the building had begun to blow, several floors at a time. The sound was too much for Blake's ears and he fell back into the water. Lost to time. Day 128. When he awoke sometime later, Swanson was carrying him again. This time, towards a large truck. " Swanson ?" Blake called, groggy. He looked down at him and motioned towards his parents slightly behind them. "What happened..?" He said, his head throbbed. Blake felt sick and his ears hurt. "You passed out on us in the water. Do you remember what happened, kiddo?" His father asked over Swanson's shoulder. He looked relieved. Without the sadness this time. Nothing in front of them looked familiar. Blake touched his ears, seeing blood. "The explosion was loud . Why did you use the knife on the thingy ?" Blake directed at Swanson as he put him down and fastened his seatbelt. "So we didn't die ." He answered back with a chuckle. The point of stopping, Blake had been told, was to save them from hurtling themselves straight into the water. The pressure from the drop, going that fast, could have easily killed them. A dislocated shoulder was better than death . Swanson looked fine enough. If he dislocated something, Blake couldn't tell. He smiled and closed his eyes. Maybe he was getting good at this. Superheroes escaped death often. How many times had it been now ? He was exhausted . ... The seven of them were still trudging forward through unknown terrain when Blake stirred awake. His head still hurt, but it was manageable. His ears ached, but they had stopped bleeding again. He was fairly sure the dried blood had clogged them a bit. A surprising comfort for the time if there ever was one. His mother sat across from him, asleep. The baby was awake but quiet, cradled in his father's arms. Ark snored away splayed along the third row seat behind them. "Where are we going?" Blake asked through a yawn. His father looked up and shook his head. "Somewhere else." "To the helicopter ?" Blake asked. He'd never been in a helicopter. In the comics someone was always dangling from them with the threat of death looming overhead. He never wanted to see one after that. But now, having been thrown out a window a deathly number of floors above ground, freefalling, and pretty much dangling nearly to his death anyway, they didn't seem quite as terrifying. If he was in danger of falling maybe he could belch himself to safety or something. Although he didn't have a clue how to do it. He'd never meant to burp in the first place. Not to mention, he didn't really know how the other part of his power worked. The only things he ever tried to 'train' were his ears. "Not the helicopter." Swanson answered from the driver's seat. "It's not an option anymore." "Why not?" Blake asked. The car fell silent until Cayden broke it. "What's the point of not telling him? Might as well. He is going to deduce it one way or another with those ears." He huffed. "We went there, to the place with the helicopter. It was gone . You and your brother wouldn't know that though. You were out cold and he cried himself to sleep, you know? The boy's definitely a crier. I can tell. Pitiful fucking thing." "Cayden you watch your mouth or we'll have to stop this car." His father threatened, not missing a beat. "I meant it in the least offensive way possible , I assure you." He mumbled. "What do you mean? Why was it gone?" Blake asked, not bothering with the other topic. "Alister took it." Swanson scoffed. "By my estimation, right around the time you blasted us through the doors." Cayden sighed. "According to a note tacked to a nearby tree, he heard everything. Or rather, most of it." "The intercom system is very advanced in the building-or rather, it was ." His father chimed in, watching their sister shift in her blanket. "To put it simply, he eavesdropped on us in the room. Not that he was should've been awake but most of the building is like that. Excluding the ones with the most equipment, since it interferes with the rest of the tech." Cayden explained. "So, places like the labs and security room are excluded. Although, there are a few exceptions outside of those. Most notably , the ones related to the barracks. Anywhere his leather-booted shits stain the place on a regular , masturbate , or rest their heads , aren't on this list." " Cayden !" His father exclaimed, trying not to shout. Cayden raised his eyebrows with a laugh. " What ? He's a growing boy. I mean, he's probably already done it. Right ? You've done it haven't you?" He asked Blake, turned around in his seat. "Done what?" Blake asked, aware of his father's unhappy, watchful eye. He was absolutely lost. " Solo time with your winky . You know? Extra fun in the saddle ? Tissues for your lotion issues? I don't know what you might call it instead." "What's a winky ? Why would I have a lotion issue that needs tissue ?" Blake asked, genuinely confused. " Oh . My . God . What kind of-what do you do all day at home??" Blake shrugged. "Read comics. Eat food. Play outside ?" " Play outside ? As if children do that anymore. You surprise me. You seemed more mature for your age so I just assumed --" Cayden rambled. Blake was still uncertain. "He's talking about bullshit you will be interested in at your own time." His father said. His eyes sharpened daggers ready to plunge into their next kill. Cayden, amusingly enough, seemed first on the list. Blake didn't know if he was still supposed to want to blow him to oblivion or not. "Cayden you sound like a damn pervert . Mature for his age? Maybe he's just smart enough to care about other things more right now. If you ask him another question even a foot away from that line , I will wrap that lab caot around your neck and have Swanson go for a joyride ." Cayden gasped sarcastically. "You would go through all that trouble to save me just to kill me? Besides , maybe it isn't that he cares more for other things so much as he doesn't know what he's missing and you got lucky . The boy idolizes humans in spandex for crying out loud." "I tried to save you when I felt bad for you. My son selflessly saved your life and now you want to corrupt him. The moment has passed . I can get rid of you without guilt now." His father scoffed. "Swanson we've worked together in the same hell . We just survived death together. Would you kill me?" Cayden asked coyly. "A few weeks ago I didn't even know you." Swanson said dryly. "And you're not his father , eh? Don't overstep ." "But a few weeks ago you didn't know them either , you know?" Cayden emphasized with an air of disbelief. " Yeah , but I like them ." Swanson smirked as he turned into a dirt road. Blake smiled. He didn't know that his conversation with Swanson would lead to this moment, but he was really glad it did. "Then luckily for me , I know Gabriel secretly loves me and doesn't actually want me dead . You prick ." "I thought you loved mom ." Blake more stated than asked. "You know I do. There are many kinds of love in relationships. He's saying useless bullshit . Ignore him." His father said with another quick look to the passenger seat. "Does Alister know how to fly a helicopter too?" Blake asked. Cayden said Swanson could do it. As if he couldn't be any cooler. Maybe Swanson could become Super Sound's sidekick. Wait, he ruled cooler people out of that. Swanson would definitely overshadow him. " Nah . He's the egotistical type who thinks everyone is beneath him. As far as he's concerned, most of the world is his for the taking . Filled with endless servants to do all the things he can't be bothered about, eh? Learning to pilot a machine? It's not his thing." Swanson said, certain. "Which means he would have left knowing the place would blow up, and took someone with him that could . Apparently Swanson wasn't his regular." His father chimed in. Swanson nodded. "I never flew it once. He must have a few options. My work changed often but I ended up babysitting as soon as you guys got there." "One of Alister's worser qualities, considering his personality , is that he isn't totally mindless . When it comes to planning , he's methodical and persistent . If he wasn't, all those resources would be for nought, you know? Although, I'd say Alister is more psychotic than he is smart ." "Still, a smart villain is the worst kind." Blake sighed and rubbed his neck. Swanson had said he was a sicko. When would be a good time to know more about him? He didn't think asking right that second would be a good idea. "Can't argue with that , eh?" Swanson let out an amused cackle. "But right now, we need time to figure out a gameplan. Alister, I'm sure, has not one iota of forgiveness in him. Like lab coat said, he's relentless . Which is why he found you guys in the first place. There's no way in Jake Jack's green asscrack that sick bastard is going to let us free either. He said as much in the letter." Jake. Willow had used that name. Blake scrunched his nose. He didn't want to think about his butt. "You know, Willow is his favorite . And his nephew . He wouldn't be quick to leave that building without him. He treats him like his son. He probably took his usual pilot, his sharpshooter and his bodyguard with him. Even if that meant he had to pile them in that helicopter like a clown car ." "So how bad are we talking here? Sounds like a band of misfits to me." Swanson shifted in his seat. "Not so bad." "Yes, pitiful piece of shit that you are , you don't have a clue . If by 'band of misfits ' you mean fully trained , multipurpose killing machines then, yes . They're a silly misfit pile of shit and we can all go live happily ever after over the rainbow ." Cayden said spitefully. "The way you talk is really starting to get on my nerves , eh?" " Enough you two. Silence . For sanity . Please shut the hell up for a while." His father sighed deeply. "Well, before we officially 'shut up,' we should find somewhere to ditch the car as soon as possible." Cayden sighed. " Why ?" Swanson asked as he turned down another dirt road. " Because it has a gps tracker in it." " Whaaaat??! " Swanson stomped on the break and brought the car to a screeching halt. "What do you mean it has a tracker ? This old ass model ? Why didn't you say something sooner ??! We've been driving for hours !!" Ark slid to the floor noisily, their mother jumped awake, startled, and the baby began to cry. His father cursed and glared towards the front of the truck. "It is an old model, but the specks, where they matter, are custom . I was around when they changed everything over. Under the hood and in the shell, there's an unbelievable number of additions. I thought you knew . Alister likes to give the illusion of freedom and dangle the good bits in front of you, you know? I assumed you were aware." Swanson apologized to the rest of the car and then turned back to Cayden. "Why the fuck would I know that? I just got here for fuck's sake." He turned around and let out a frustrated sigh. "What do you want to do now?" His father frowned in thought "I might have an idea." Blake held his nose as the stench of burned rubber circulated around them. "But you might not like it..." There it goes. The end of part two. I hope you all loved this one at least as much as the first! Thank you for reading. After creating both Cayden and Swanson, I had a fun thought: imagine them in a long debate. All I can hear is Cayden constantly saying, "You know?" To Swanson's "Eh?" Both on a constant loop😅🤭.

Recently I've had movies on the brain again, and for some reason in particular, the weird and weirder of them. While not a comprehensive list, I thought I'd share my thoughts. So here are some movies you just may have seen, and consequently, the stuff I still can't get over in them. 1. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The entire movie still feels like a whimsy acid trip. From grandpa's song as he floats away, to the flying car, the love tropes, musical toys for the childish king to the candy temptations for children capture (in ironic opposition to the previous). Speaking of candy to kidnap children, it would be near impossible to mention this film without a specific eccentric character--The Child Catcher. Aside from the entirety of his strange, creepy, and questionable demeanor, the guy looks like the Wicked Witch of the West, and Goth Eric Draven** birthed a love child with a personality disorder. That said, I have no choice but to list a related film next. *The Wizard of Oz film reference (1939). ** The Crow film reference (1994). 2. The Wiz (1978 film). A different spin on The Wizard of Oz classic we all know. Although I found that the original could almost be on this list for several reasons, The Wiz takes the cake. Aside from the dark ambiance shadowing the entire film, the fact that Miss One, the Good Witch of the North, and children spirits peel of the walls, let alone talk and sing the way they do, definitely weirded me out as a kid. The questionable happenings of the pleasure house - or whatever the poppy girls scene where they were glitter drugged was supposed to be - was like stomping on the big red button 🔴❌️ everyone tells you not to touch. Speaking of red, that disaster which introduced us to The Wicked Witch of the West, is also permanently etched into my subconscious. Just another weird thing to add the the pile. To this day, Michael Jackson's portrayal as the Scarecrow and the piano keys bringing the subway columns and the rest of that entire subway peddler scene to life still creep me out. Yep. No amount of Diana Ross' beautiful singing voice, glitter, or Black representation could make me forget it. 3. The Dark Crystal. I used to watch this film every few months. I was absolutely in awe of Kira's gentle nature and thought she was very pretty, even if she was a puppet. Of course, I also got a kick out of Fizzgig's wild personality, who had his own kind of fascination with her. I think it probably wins first place as the most disturbing depiction of puppets eating I'd ever seen (thank you, Skeksis with those atrophied limbs). It was a super strange experience to see sensitivity and beauty in certain characters, be weary of others like Aughr's at-will eye socket and eccentric personality, and somehow go to the full-on disquiet of The Emperor's death. 4. Leprechaun. One of the most insane movies in the 90s, yet we totally watched it anyway. Think..Lucky Charms on acid , with a horror spin. He murders for his gold. And although he looks the same and has the same actor, I believe they aren't supposed to represent the same figure coming back to life every time. If that's the case, it's something they probably should have touched more on because I'm still not certain. He was most definitely a little creep in the movie, but it was interesting that they'd given more thought to the background story for murderous magic beings (giving a king powers in exchange for gold and the job of protecting King's Gold to the point of bloodshed before eventually being able to return home to the wood). Anyone who has seen this series has to agree that the bicycle scene where he is racing to the hospital, the obsessive shoe shining, the flour leaf clover in the gum trick, the boobs to lawnmower incident (no that wasn't a typo for the rest of you), Cody's weird decision after he caused so much havoc in the second film, the Leprechaun bite and woman's body pretty much inflating in the third, were all crazy weird with a pinch of wtf. I only recently found out that there was Leprechaun 4: In Space before Back to the Hood. Though I don't know how to feel about it. Also, was I the only one who didn't know there was another movie in the franchise released in 2018 (sequel to the first)? I can't figure out if I want to watch them, but my brain won't let me forget them anyhow. 5. Voldermort's portrayal in Deathly Hollows. Ever since I was forced - yes forced , as I have never been a Harry Potter fan and a friend of the time wanted me to binge the series during covid sickness - to watch, I could not handle Voldemort's horrendous reveal. Already, the guy looks weird. They could have depicted him as snake-like without the watermelon seed nostrils, which used to give me the creeps as is. But no, they required further scarring. Some people, since the time I watched the series, mentioned that this bloodied fetal position skeletal figure was a representation of the child in him. I have no idea if they were correct and couldn't manage to get past the other feelings that overwhelmed me to find out. I keep thinking back to this moment as of late, and I SERIOUSLY can't be the only one who thought that "He who shall not be named," in equal parts hilarity and disgust, looked like a skimpy buffalo hot wing??? Albeit, the most horrendous one in existence but I digress. I was so disturbed at the time by his appearance in those few moments. When I understood that it was some alive.. thing I literally had to pause the movie so I could laugh until I cried. All the while, I was also absolutely mortified that I had thought of food for even a moment. Of course, tortured by my brain for weeks after, I feared eating anything that even slightly resembled hot wing Voldemort. Needless to say, I stayed away from chicken for a while after that. And buffalo wings are my favorite 🙃😭. The memory still haunts me today. I know I'm pretty strange but am I the only one who felt this way? Every movie on the list had laudable moments with some creepy factored in. Can you think of any other films you've seen that might belong on the list?

Subject: Website updates! Hi-Ho Adm community and visitors! If you have been to the website before today (04/2/2021), you may notice that there are quite a few changes on the site. I just wanted to run through the most pressing ones. Yes! The Website and the mobile site are optimized a little differently, but the page content and basic set-up is the same. It should be very self explanatory and user friendly. If you have any important issues, please let me know and I will work to fix them. Please be patient with me, I'm still getting used to the website process! YES! You can totally log in now (always FREE access)! I didn't realize that I hadn't added that feature before. Oops. Haha. Forgive me. It is here now. Sign-Up/Log-in via Facebook, Gmail, or Email. Quick and easy. Any content that costs will aways be clearly marked. There is a member's page for everyone to see who has decided to join and interact on the website now. Click their profiles to see a little about them. Please, kind words and interactions only! Please only comment on blog posts in response to the blogs themselves or as the subject directly relates to other peoples' comments. If you have other commentary or the like for me please reach out via the contact page. Member Badges are available! This is a new feature that I've added. You can earn badges many ways. You can earn a badge just from creating and filling out your profile. Other ways to earn badges include submitting/sending Q&A Author Interview Questions via email/the contact page, sending photos of your copies of any book listed on the the Books page, commenting and or/liking blogs, earning other badges, making purchases on the website (when available), and MORE. \(^ ^)/ Soon, I will have the merchandise / shop page up and running. Please check it periodically for art/décor and related items. Including but not limited to stickers, notebooks, bookmarks/bookmark sets, clothes, tumblers, and more. All of these items will be original creations. I will check the website often. Please be respectful and mindful here. This is not a public space, but I fully intend for it to stay a safe and kind place to find yourself in. I have added more features with the thought in mind to interact with more of you who have been supporting me, the charities and my art in general. Any of you who would like to interact with more people from the website, feel free but please keep these things in mind. 😉💕 Anyone who does not want to sign-up, please don't feel obligated to do so. I would love to interact with all of you, but I understand that these things take time and there may be some of you who are silent supporters (Ironically there is a badge for that in a different capacity, Haha). You will still be able to interact in other ways with the website, as very little has changed in that regard, so no worries there! **Please note: Only website members can read the comic after the prologue!! I hope this was clear enough. Thank you for sticking around and reading. 😊

Hello Lovelies. I've been meaning to make a quick little post like this for a little while, so here we are. This fine Tuesday afternoon I was thinking about some of wonderful films I've watched and the versatile actors that have lit up those screens. It made me realize I haven't mentioned any of my favorite actors yet! We can't have that, not with all the movie and series content on my website, right? So, today I'm fixing that a bit. This list isn't as specific as it could be, so I'll break down my favorites in subcategories over time. And of course, I'll have to do a list for my favorite actresses as well. Anyway, the following list, excluding #s 0 & 1, are in no particular order. Do you see any of your favorites? 😉 0. Anton Yelchin 1. James McAvoy 2. Chris Tucker 3. Donnie Yen 4. Evan Peters 5. Morgan Freeman 6. Freddie Highmore 7. Leonardo DiCaprio 8. Denzel Washington 9. Liam Neeson 10. Ryan Renolds 11. Jet Li 12. Keanu Reeves 13. Bruce Willis 14. Samuel L. Jackson 15. Simon Pegg 16. Robin Williams 17. Mike Colter 18. Benedict Cumberbatch 19. Hugh Laurie 20. David Tenant 🎖🫡 Honorable Mention: Nicholas Cage!🫡🎖

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is magnificent!! Of course, this is a personal bias, but I digress. Buy it HERE. I know, I know. I'm an author and normally, authors will tell you that they can't pick just one. I used to think that way too, before I read this book! I was in the 8th grade when my aunt Minette took me to Books-A-Million (it was the first time that I had ever been and I was very overwhelmed). She decided to buy me a book for my birthday and I was so excited. Even if she was torturing me by taking me to a mega store with hundreds of books to choose from and only two hours to pick a-yes, you read that correctly, one single-book. Spoiler: I didn't take 2 hours. I hardly recall the time I spent scrambling through the place while she spoke to one of the workers. What I remember most was not the first pages of the book (I committed a taboo that day and didn't even skim it), nor the cover, but the simple, slightly vague, description on the back of the book. Something with a few details that immediately sent my brain on a mission to guess at the invisible words between lines of text amidst that warm feeling of a thick book against my palms. There was something about it that drew me in, like a magnet. I have never had the same experience buying any other book to this day. Although, it may come as little surprise that I have a strong preference for physical books rather than other options (although I am more than glad that there are now other options as well). I often find myself musing over the pages or binge-reading the entire book even though it has been almost 12 years now. Somehow, no other book I have read since has been able to knock it down the ladder. Probably also because it is a little weird. And I like weird. Haha. I am fairly certain that it will hold its place for the rest of my life at this point. Haha. The book took a lot of love over just the first few years and I purchased another paperback and later, even the hardcover. I am sure that it will survive a good many more years as I don't read it as often as before, even though it holds the same place in my heart. Maybe one of you will enjoy it as much as I? **Note: Even though I read this in 8th grade, this book is not a children's book by any means. Not really anyone in my family liked to read so they were always disinterested in what I was reading and did not care what I read. I have, as long as I can remember, read above my grade level. To put this into perspective, for example , when I was a freshman in high school we were required to take government tests to see if we were "at grade level" for English/Literature (as well as our other general subjects). My freshman/1st-year test results showed that I had a junior in college (college, 3rd-year) reading level. So, please keep this in mind when I referenced my age.** Bonus! The following is a quote from the beginning of the book!! "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, often violently, just like love. It was Good Friday and the stars were just starting to dissolve into the dawn. As I drove, I stroked the scar on my chest, by habit. My eyes were heavy and my vision unfocused, not surprising given that I’d spent the night hunched over a mirror snorting away the bars of white powder that kept my face trapped in the glass. I believed I was keening my reflexes. I was wrong. To one side of the curving road was a sharp drop down the mountain’s slope, and on the other was a dark wood. I tried to keep my eyes fixed ahead but I had the overwhelming feeling that something was waiting to ambush me from behind the trees, perhaps a troop of mercenaries. That’s how drug paranoia works, of course. My heart hammered as I gripped the steering wheel more tightly, sweat collecting at the base of my neck. Between my legs I had wedged a bottle of bourbon, which I tried to pull out for another mouthful. I lost my grip on the bottle and it tumbled into my lap, spilling everywhere, before falling to the floorboard. I bent down to grab it before the remaining alcohol leaked out, and when my eyes were lifted I was greeted by the vision, the ridiculous vision, that set everything into motion. I saw a volley of burning arrows swarming out of the woods, directly at my car. Instinct took over and I jerked the steering wheel away from the forest that held my invisible attackers. This was not a good idea, because it threw my car up against the fencepost wires that separated me from the drop. There was the howl of metal on metal, the passenger door scraping against taut cables, and a dozen thuds as I bounced off the wood posts, each bang like electricity through a defibrillator. I overcompensated and spun out into the oncoming lane, just missing a pickup truck. I pulled back too hard on the wheel, which sent me once again towards the guardrail. The cables snapped and flew everywhere at once, like the thrashing tentacles of a harpooned octopus. One cracked the windshield and I remember thinking how glad I was that it hadn’t hit me as the car fell through the arms of the convulsing brute. There was a brief moment of weightlessness: a balancing point between air and earth, dirt and heaven. How strange, I thought, how like the moment between sleeping and falling when everything is beautifully surreal and nothing is corporeal. How like floating towards completion. But as often happens in that time between existing in the world and fading into dreams, this moment over the edge ended with the ruthless jerk back to awareness. A car crash seems to take forever, and there is always a moment in which you believe that you can correct the error. Yes, you think, it’s true that I’m plummeting down the side of a mountain in a car that weighs about three thousand pounds. It’s true that it’s a hundred feet to the bottom of the gully. But I’m sure that if only I twist the steering wheel very hard to one side, everything will be okay. Once you’ve spun that steering wheel around and found it doesn’t make any difference, you have this one clear, pure thought: Oh, shit. For a glorious moment, you achieve the empty bliss that Eastern philosophers spend their lives pursuing. But following this transcendence, your mind becomes a supercomputer capable of calculating the gyrations of your car, multiplying that by the speed of the fall over the angle of descent, factoring in Newton’s laws of motion and, in a split second, coming to the panicked conclusion that this is gonna hurt like hell."

Hello Everyone. As promised, I am here this year with some reading suggestions for Native American Heritage Month 2022 (and officially back on my website after a bunch of changes)! To make things easier on all of you I have provided the Amazon links to each book below! ** CLICK the book cover images below to be directed straight there! How neat is that? ○ Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine is a story of family, love, and bounds of hardship with a strong female lead set in the 1930s. 🐎🕯🪶 ○ Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot is a book of life reflection (includes abuse and mental health struggles), with a touch of humor and a glimpse into a different aspects of Native life. Both raw and forgiving. 🫐🍒🫐 ○ Looking for a super quick and enjoyable read covering a range of topics about Native culture? Then look no further, Spirits of the Earth by Bobby Lake-Thom is the book for you! 🌎🦎 ○ ⚡️🪰Try out Trail of Lightning and Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse for an interesting and creative story in a pos apocalyptic world. If you like those, she also has more books like Black Sun ⚫️☀️. ○🔥❤️‍🔥 Read Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley if you enjoy a powerful relatable protagonist living a double life. This book follows an 18 year old who is stepping into both identity and new prospects of life. ♡ Book Covers (w/links for your convenience)!

Hello All. Today I am simply writing about a short story I've read called "Brothers" by Sherwood Anderson (another 1920's read). If that name sounds familiar to you, I'm not surprised. Sherwood Anderson is one of the authors credited for making "short stories" a thing, so-to-speak. He authored several books including "Dark Laughter" and the more widely known, "Winesburg Ohio." He was also Ernest Hemingway's mentor even though their friendship, as I understand it, didn't end in the most positive of ways. This story is even shorter than "The Gay Old Dog" mentioned in my previous short story blog. It essentially follows moments of four nameless people's lives (five if you include the short bits about the mother-in-law), loneliness, chaos, obsession, taking life for granted, and a murder. Which sounds amazing if I were to stop there, right? Sadly, I found this story to fall a little short. The entire premise of this book was amazing and it even has moments of good descriptions, but that's all you get--there are only moments of being drawn into the book and the rest of the timeline is flat. Sudden shifts in focus and a slightly skewed sense of the timeframe forces you out of the story. Aside from the fact that there was quite a few repetitive parts of the book, which I assume were meant to be foreshadows emphasizing other elements, the execution didn't yield the best results. Believe it or not, this is the first work of Anderson's that I've actually read, even though I've known of him. Even more than that, I actually would be willing to give a more full-length novel of his a try some day. Perhaps because I like his ideas and have a pretty good feel for where "Brothers" was supposed to go. Perhaps I wonder if the story would come together better with more details and a chance to use foreshadowing in a different light. After all of this, I still don't know if the premise of the ghost possessing the old man and the stories were only supposed to be figurative in nature. Maybe at some point I'll re-read it and figure it out. Considering the tag-line for his book "Dark Laughter" (on the provided over image above), it seems like Anderson had a thing for writing about "desires" awakened by third parties to a relationship. Sounds very much like Brothers...? Have you ever read any of Sherwood Anderson's works? What's that? Where do you find the story...? Well, as far as I understand it, your best bet is through one of Anderson's books of short stories. I do have a goodreads link that may yield some results if you're really searching. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27395489-brothers In the future when a short story title is hard to find, I may scan my copies for your convenience. Feel free to let me know if that's something you guys would like. 🌟💛🌟

Hello. I just wanted to explain the lack of November read suggestions to celebrate Native American Authors. I actually did create that post, but something happened as I added the last URL on the 24th and the entire thing went away without saving. I still don't know why but I was so stressed and disappointed that day that I couldn't bring myself to rewrite the entire thing. I apologize. I debated remaking that blog today but I would rather just wait until next year and have twice the number of read suggestions and post it a little earlier in the week. Happy 1st of December. It is officially Candy Cane Season! Hot Chocolate Time? Both. I guess? Haha.

🌌 Hi All! 🌌 Just sharing something pretty cool today. I just found out that BWW aka Black Writer's Workspace (Facebook /Online Entity) has featured Crystal Key: Door to a New World in their catalogue! It doesn't make me famous or anything but it is very nice of them to feature my paperback and hardcover! If any of you are interested in the catalogue or finding out more about them (and possibly a new book by Black authors to add to your shelves/tbr lists), I am attaching a link below. Mind you, BWW does much more than feature writers. They also post information regularly to help new/upcoming authors, post contests and lift voices of many Black writers. It's always nice to be noticed. 😊📖🖋 https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackwritersworkspace/permalink/4033622200065286/ Link to other information/website: https://www.authormichelledjackson.com/ Note: The photo showcases Crystal Key: Door to a New World paperback (Right), and hardcover (Left) copies.

Today marks the first day of Spring! Coincidently, it is also my mother's birthday. She's turning 47 this year, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA--and a Happy Spring too! Haha. Today, I thought it would be a great idea to go ahead and suggest two amazing books that remind me of Spring, and not just because of the floral covers, either. You can find The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow HERE and The Language of Flowers by Vanessa DiffenBaugh HERE . These books also have central themes that revolve around a sense of belonging, growth, and the future. Sounds a lot like Spring, right? It is my hope that with the beginning of Spring in 2021, we can also find some relief from our stressors and continue moving forward, growing stronger, and loving harder every day. We cannot forget the pain and loss of Covid-19, and the virus is still prevalent now, but perhaps we are headed to a better tomorrow? Whatever the case, perhaps you'll find these books to your liking as well. Please continue to take care of yourselves and your family/friends. Do you have a favorite Spring read?