And It Arose from the Deepest Black (John Black Book 2) by Keith Soares Read Free Book Online

question?”
     
    “Tell me something no one else knows about you.” Still her eyes were locked on mine.
     
    I had to say it. Because, you know, nerd conquers all. And throwing someone else’s joke back at them when they least expect it is the height of comedy. “That’s not a question.”
     
    “You know what I mean,” she said, laughing.
     
    I wanted to do it. I really, really did. To tell her about the powers. “I have —” I started.
     
    “Have what?”
     
    No. She was going to think I was a freak. I couldn’t tell her. No way.
     
    But.
     
    Carrie had told me that she liked the idea that I was double-jointed. Maybe she’d like it even more to know the truth. Since it was actually an infinitely more awesome truth, in many ways.
     
    “I can, um. Well, how do I put this?” Carrie leaned close to hear what I had to say. I could smell her perfume. Something floral and sweet and intoxicating. “I can —”
     
    And then people started shouting.
     
    The first thing I thought was Cut it out, I’m trying to say something important. That didn’t matter.
     
    “There’s someone fighting the Gorgols!” Two people were huddled close together, staring intently at a phone.
     
    Um. Of course. The military has been fighting the Gorgols all along , I thought. But no, wait, did this person literally mean there is some one fighting the Gorgols? A single person?
     
    No, stop. I was about to say something.
     
    “What’s happening?” Carrie said, leaning away, starting to stand. The moment seemed to be over. As she stood and turned, I sighed deeply. There would be no truth told on this day after all. I followed Carrie into the crowd of people.
     
    “Look!” the man with the phone said, pointing at the screen. As if we were going to look at something else, given the commotion. “I can’t believe it! Some guy is fighting the Gorgol! The slower one, Armigon .”
     
    “ Omicron ,” someone else corrected. “Like the Greek letter?”
     
    “If you say so,” phone man replied, eyes still glued to the screen. He chuckled in an I’m stupid and I don’t care kind of way.
     
    We pressed close together, all of us strangers. On the screen, live news footage showed Gorgol Omicron standing on the rubble of some seaside building. And something tiny was standing before it. Something human. In a red mask.
     
    Oh my God, what is Bobby doing? That was my first thought. Dammit, the mask was my idea! That was my second thought. But the figure seemed different. Thinner than Bobby. And whoever he was, he held a sword or long stick. Like he knew how to use it.
     
    Omicron swooped down with one massive, clawed hand, and common sense told you that the human figure was going to die. But he didn’t. His body sluiced and shifted. And as it reformed just to the side of the blow, he struck hard with the long weapon in his hands. It shouldn’t have done anything to the giant monster. But again, that was wrong. Omicron was slashed. The creature screamed in anger, a pained cry.
     
    “What the hell?” someone in our group yelled. “How did that guy do that?”
     
    “This isn’t real. This is special effects. It’s gotta be,” another person said. “Where’d you find this video?”
     
    “No, it’s real. This is live from 24News.”
     
    “He’s hurt the thing!” someone shouted. A cheer went up. People were rooting for the masked human warrior fighting the giant creature.
     
    Bobby was right. We should have gone and fought it . Easy to say when you’re a couple of thousand miles away, watching someone else do the dirty work.
     
    In pain, Omicron slashed again, and again the fighter’s body shifted.
     
    “How is he doing that?” a person behind me asked. Beside me, Carrie clutched at my arm, maybe in fear or maybe just to angle for a better view.
     
    The person slashed at Omicron once more, and the monster screamed again, definitely wounded. Then, gesturing with one hand, the fighter sent large rocks