Morris stood in the middle of the practice field at Calvin Middle. Darryl stood a few yards away from him like an old-school gunfight. It was just after 6:00 am on Saturday. Morris closed his eyes and focused on what he wanted to do.
It was a bit of an adjustment telling the voice what to do. For all twelve years of his life, people told Morris what to do or not do. He wasn’t the one doing the telling.
Until now.
He pictured what he wanted in his mind, held it there a moment, and then looked up.
Across the field, Darryl saw his best friend’s eyes flash red behind his inch-thick glasses. The air around Morris blurred and shimmered. Suddenly, two enormous red arms appeared on either side of him.
As Morris stood perfectly still, the two arms extended forward in the air. Massive red fingers cracked their knuckles and returned to Morris’s sides.
The arms lashed out to the left and right, striking two unfortunate trash cans and sending them hurtling into the air. They landed as crumpled heaps in the nosebleed sections of the field on either side.
Darryl whooped and punched the air in front of him.
“Holy Crap, Morris, that was awesome!”
THAT WAS NOTHING.
Morris smirked at the voice’s remark, but Darryl’s eyes went wide.
“I heard him that time, Morris! “ He said.
CONGRATULATIONS.
“Hey!” Morris said, looking over his shoulder, although no one was visible there, “He’s my friend! Don’t talk to him like that.”
There was a pause, then the voice responded.
UNDERSTOOD.
The voice sounded annoyed, but it obeyed Morris’s instruction.
In contrast to Morris, Darryl’s new powers felt natural to him. As a short, nerdy middle schooler, being ignored was a blessing most of the time. The blade of grass that stood too high in those halls was the one that got cut down or made miserable on a daily basis.
Darryl didn’t know why he could hide himself this way now, but doing it felt like the easiest thing he’d ever done.
Morris blinked and refocused on the surrounding field. Where was Darryl? He’d been right in front of Morris just a second ago.
The early morning sunlight lessened and faded considerably as a large cloud drifted in front of the light. Morris thought he felt a breath of air beside him and turned towards it. As he did this, something slapped him on the back of the head.
“Ow!” He muttered.
Just then, the air in front of him darkened in a way that had nothing to do with cloud cover. Morris felt air rush past him again and then felt his glasses slip off of his face.
He reached out to grab them, but the suddenly murky air made it hard for him to see where they went.
“Okay, Darryl, you got me,” Morris said as he stumbled forward with arms outstretched, “give me my glasses back already. I can’t see anything.”
Unfortunately for Morris, Darryl was no longer playing fair. The feeling of power his shadows gave him was intoxicating. Why should he stop now? If Morris was so tough now, he would have to prove it.
Darryl stood a few feet away from Morris, watching him flail and stumble on the uneven turf of the practice field.
He ran past Morris and slapped him again, this time just below his ear. He watched Morris flinch, and this made Darryl grin.
Darryl slid past Morris and stuck his foot out, making Morris slip and crack his head on the ground. He watched Morris stagger and slowly get back to his feet.
Darryl laughed. It sounded harsher than it should. A part of Darryl grew uneasy, but the urge to keep going was getting stronger, and it was hard to fight it off.
He built up speed and ran straight for Morris’s face, arm outstretched.
Morris looked back and forth, trying to find Darryl. His eyes stung with fresh tears, and he looked desperate to make this stop. Why was Darryl doing this?
Just before Darryl made contact, Morris turned his head to look right at him.
Except it wasn’t Morris. His eyes burned like embers, casting an eerie light on his tear-stained cheeks. An enormous red arm caught Darryl’s outstretched fist in mid-lunge. Darryl heard an angry growl and was shocked to realize it was coming from him. Unfazed, the hand threw him up in the air like a rag doll.
As he fell, another red hand smacked him like a tennis ball. It was not a malicious hit. The hands just wanted him away from Morris as quickly as possible.
Darryl flew backward, arms flailing. He bounced off the astroturf once, twice, and finally flopped onto the ground face down with a muffled thud.
Morris came back to himself and ran to see if Darryl was okay. As he got closer, Darryl rolled onto his back. He spat out turf and dirt and held his hands up in a gesture of non-violence. Morris’s glasses lay unharmed in his right hand.
“M, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just got carried away.”
Morris helped him to his feet and slipped the glasses back on.
“I know you didn’t Dare, that wasn’t like you at all.”
They dusted themselves off and had an awkward hug five before stepping apart.
They both had a lot to learn about these new powers. After some discussion, they agreed to meet tomorrow morning and practice again. However, this time they would take it slowly and not let it get out of hand.