TOUCH | Part 6 (Finale)

Melted snow left a slick puddle of water on the tile floor of the Bayfield police station’s entrance. Officers and civilians cycled in and out of the building, striding through slender hallways with determined purpose. The arrest of two armed mercenaries and the refugee family currently sitting in the crowded break room was more drama than the town had seen all winter.

~ Missed the beginning of the story? Read PART 1 here. ~

An officer waved to Sean as he approached the front door. The man wore a soggy police windbreaker over a long-sleeved uniform. Sean walked inside with the officer trailing on his heels.

“Thanks for the help, Mitch,” Sean said. “I thought I was a goner.”

Mitch rubbed his salt-and-pepper beard with a gloved hand. “You wouldn’t answer your phone. I thought you teenagers were always on your phones.”

“Rude.” Sean smiled, though. Mitch was three times Sean’s age, but the two had formed a close bond as Sean started using his abilities to help the community. Sean saw him as a friendly uncle.

“We’ve recovered everyone,” Mitch said, pointing Sean to the break room. “Ten Iranian refugees cooped up in a truck trailer for three days after a grueling international flight. I’m surprised that most of them don’t have frostbite. But they’ll all be fine.”

Ten? Sean opened the door to the break room. The older men and women sat there, along with the three children, drinking tea from steaming mugs. Ten people in total. No sign of Farhad or Daria.

“I know that look,” Mitch said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sean answered.

“You’re a horrible liar,” Mitch shot back. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure out what you’re hiding eventually.”

That was typically true. Sean nodded and smiled to the refugees as he and Mitch left. “Where’s the driver?” he asked.

“A squad car picked him up after we rounded up your friends,” Mitch said. “He said he never suspected that there were people in his truck. Paperwork checks out, so he could be telling the truth.”

“What do you think?” Sean asked.

“I think he’s lying.” Mitch ushered Sean down another hallway. “I assume you already know the truth.”

Sean smiled. “Let me talk to him.”

“That’s a bit unorthodox,” Mitch said.

Sean raised his eyebrows. “As opposed to everything else I’m doing here?”

“Fair point.” Mitch led Sean to Interrogation Room A and unlocked the door.

Edwin sat in a folding chair, staring at the ceiling. He wore no handcuffs, as the police hadn’t yet charged him with anything. When he noticed Mitch at the door, he smiled.

“Am I free to go, officer?” he asked innocently.

Mitch stepped aside to reveal Sean standing behind him. Edwin groaned.

“Hey, Edwin,” Sean said. “How’s your cover story?”

Edwin ignored the bait. “Officer, I believe this kid is suffering from delusions.”

“Of what?” Sean asked. “You haven’t even heard my delusions yet.”

“I’m assuming they’re yours,” Edwin said without missing a beat, “based on the way I’m being treated here. You fed these fine men and women some crazy story about me partaking in, what, human trafficking? That’s absolutely insane. I’m a law-abiding, red-blooded American citizen and I know my rights. I refuse to indulge to the fantasies of some kid hyped up on violent video games!”

Sean watched in silence, letting Edwin breathe out his frustration in heavy sighs for a few moments.

“You finished?” he said.

Edwin glared. “Do your worst,” he said. “What’s your story?”

Sean sat down across the table from Edwin and spoke, keeping his eyes on the driver the whole time. “Officer, this man attacked me. He knocked me out with a rock and threw me into a trailer with the refugees he was transporting. He most definitely knew what he was doing, and those two cronies we picked up can confirm that they knew who he was. Does that sound right, Edwin?”

Edwin snorted. “Ridiculous. And I can prove it.”

“Really?” Sean leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I gotta hear this.”

Edwin looked up towards Mitch, who still stood in the doorway.

“If I knocked him out,” Edwin said, “he would have a bruise or cut on his head. Check him, officer.”

Sean looked back at Mitch, who stepped up and ran his fingers through Sean’s hair. Sean raised his eyebrows as if to say, Really, Mitch? We’re doing this? Mitch’s face betrayed no emotion.

“There’s no injury,” Mitch said finally. Edwin sat back in his chair, smirking triumphantly.

Sean could see Edwin’s gamble. The trucker assumed that Sean, like any other superhero in the United States, would keep his identity a secret, especially from the police. Sean would have to reveal his healing ability to confirm his story. In Edwin’s eyes, that was a huge risk for Sean. Juvenile superheroes faced heavy consequences, even imprisonment, for using their powers in public. The revelation could cost Sean his freedom.

“Officer,” Sean said, “I have a confession to make.”

“You do?” Mitch asked, deadpan. At the doorway, two more officers had stopped to watch the scene, peering over Mitch’s shoulders.

“I…” Sean took a deep, dramatic breath. “I have superpowers. I can heal from any injury. And I can’t feel pain. I’m breaking the law. You have to arrest me.”

“Whoa,” Mitch said, voice still flat and expressionless. “That is certainly new information. Whatever will we do about this?” He turned to the officers behind him, who burst out laughing.

Edwin’s smirk disappeared. “What’s going on?” Edwin asked.

“They know,” Sean said. “They all know.”

“Heck, the whole town knows,” Mitch added.

Edwin sank into his seat. Sean knew the man was beaten, but he couldn’t resist one more jibe.

“Mitch, can I see your phone?” Sean asked.

Mitch handed Sean his phone. Sean tapped in the passcode – earning a frown from the older man – and activated a voice command. “Call Sean Taylor,” Sean enunciated.

Something buzzed. Edwin jumped. The buzzing noise came from his pocket.

“I’d like my phone back, please,” Sean said, hanging up the call and returning the phone to Mitch.

“I’d like a lawyer,” Edwin retorted. But he placed Sean’s phone on the table and let Mitch cuff his hands.

~

Three hours later, a freshly showered Sean stepped outside of his house with a trash bag. He waved to a couple walking on the other side of the street as he placed the bag in the recycling bin. They knew who he was. Everyone knew who he was.

Sean Taylor was Bayfield, Wisconsin’s hometown superhero, as well as its worst-kept secret. Nobody outside the town even knew that he existed, but within the town limits, everyone knew the kid who could heal from any injury in seconds. Heroes were supposed to have secret identities, but in a place like Bayfield, secrets never lasted long.

Another couple, bundled up against the February chill, walked down the sidewalk next to Sean’s house. Sean waved as he stepped up to the porch, then looked back.

“Hello, Sean,” said Farhad. He’d gotten cleaned up and found some new clothes. Next to him, Daria waved shyly, huddling behind her older cousin.

Sean grinned. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, coming down from the porch to meet them in the driveway. “I didn’t tell the police about you.”

“And we greatly appreciate that.” Farhad looked around the street. “I learned your name at a local diner. You’re very popular.”

Sean shrugged. “It’s a blessing and a curse,” he said. “Will you two be okay?”

“We will be fine,” Farhad said. “We have connections further south. They are expecting us. The rest of our family will follow, but I had to keep Daria away from the authorities.”

“I understand,” Sean said.

“Do you?” Farhad asked.

Sean shook his head. “No. But I think I can see why you wouldn’t trust the American government with what Daria knows.” He met Daria’s eyes, and she looked down. “You’re very brave, Daria.”

Daria looked up at him. “You are brave too,” she said slowly, and Sean smiled.

Farhad tugged at Daria’s hand. “We must catch a bus,” he said, “but we wanted to thank you. You are a true hero. Even if you must learn some manners.”

“I’ll do my best,” Sean said. “Stay safe out there.”

Sean watched from the porch until Farhad and Daria were out of sight, disappearing into the darkness beyond the streetlights. She had a gift, Farhad said. Like Sean.

Maybe there were more of them. Young people with extraordinary abilities, searching for an opportunity to change the world. There had to be hundreds, maybe thousands, spread out across the globe. One day, when Sean became an adult, he would find them and help them grow. He would help them save the world.

~

Thank you for reading TOUCH, the first story from the Young Heroes Guild anthology. Subscribe for more and submit your story ideas to [email protected].