Only Superhuman by Christopher L. Bennett Read Free Book Online Page B

be among family since he’d made his break with the Vanguard. It was the one subject on which Emry and her parents could never see eye to eye.
    October 2091
    “Mrs., uhh, Blair-Shannon?”
    “Yes, hi! What can I do for you?”
    “You have a daughter named Emerald?”
    “… Is she all right?”
    “I’m afraid there’s been an … accident, ma’am.…”
    “My Goddess … please, is my baby all right?”
    “She hasn’t got a scratch, ma’am. But the boy she attacked is in critical condition.”
    *   *   *
    Emerald’s mommy and daddy never yelled at her like the other kids’ parents did. They never did anything mean to punish her. They just got very disappointed. And it worked. Emry didn’t understand how other parents thought yelling and punishing would make their kids feel guilty. Usually it just made them feel angry and defensive, like they were being treated unfairly. But when Emry saw that her parents were sad or hurt because of something she did, it made her feel that she’d been unfair to them. She couldn’t pretend, like the other kids did, that she’d done nothing wrong. Because she loved Mommy and Daddy more than anything and couldn’t bear to think she’d hurt them.
    Lately, she’d been starting to think that was very smart of Mommy and Daddy, because it got her to do what they wanted. But she didn’t think of it as a trick. It made her feel like they were treating her as an equal, trusting her to be responsible for them. And there were never any grudges. They always forgave her, and never did anything that she would need to forgive.
    Right now, though, Emry didn’t know how they could possibly forgive her. When they came to the police station and held her and comforted her, she almost pushed them away, because she didn’t think she deserved it. But she didn’t push them away, because she was afraid of what would happen if she struck out at anyone again. And she was afraid of getting the blood on them. It looked like it was all washed off, but she could still feel it.
    “Is he going to die?” she asked in a tiny, timid voice. She was only six, but she knew death. She’d crushed that little bird last year without meaning to. The strength in her fast-growing hands had frightened her then … but that was nothing compared to this. The other kids were right … she was a freak, a monster. A killer.
    Daddy stroked her hair and smiled reassuringly, even though he was still sad. Until now, his strong, gentle touch had always comforted her, because she knew she’d be completely safe so long as he was around to protect her. But now it wasn’t her own safety she was worried about. “No, sweetie,” he told her. “Sean’s in the hospital, and they’re taking good care of him. He’s going to be fine.”
    “Do you know? How do you know? He was, he was so … broken and, and it was all bleeding out and I felt things squish in him! I’m sorry, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to, I just got so angry! I didn’t know he’d break so easy! I only wanted him to take it back, Mommy!”
    “Take what back, love?” Her voice was the most beautiful sound Emry had ever heard. Every night that voice sang her to sleep, made her feel safe and loved. Sometimes she thought she remembered being tiny, still small enough to be carried in Mommy’s arms, and hearing that sweet, soft sound as she was rocked back and forth. And even here, even now, that voice was so gentle, so forgiving. It made her feel like everything was all right. But she knew it wasn’t.
    “What he said.”
    “Did he insult you?” Daddy asked.
    “No, he—” Emry didn’t want to repeat it.
    Daddy knelt closer. She was already big enough to be eight or nine—Sean was nine—but he was big too and had to kneel pretty far. “Emry, tell us from the beginning. The whole story, okay?”
    So she told them. Starting at the beginning was easier. The kids on the block had decided to play Annie Minute and the Time Trippers . Emry asked