Epilogue
We drove all through the day and all through the night. Putting as much distance between The Agency and us seemed to be the only thing that made sense. The others were asleep. Only I was awake as I maneuvered the motor home across the desert. We were passing through Monument Valley, one of the beautiful parts of the United States, on our way to the Grand Canyon.
I'd never been there, or if I had, I didn't remember it. Last night I'd grabbed a few hours of shut-eye and had the dream again. It was the one where I was in a field of wheat. I was running my hands through the tall grass and walking towards a farmhouse. A boy was sitting on the step.
I think he's my brother.
Maybe he was alive. Maybe he was waiting for me. Maybe my parents were too. For all I knew, a family was sitting around a dinner table awaiting my return. Or maybe there was no one. Maybe I truly was an orphan, and I was already home.
It was a strange world. Solomon Wolff told us The Bakari weren't the only aliens on Earth. There were others. Who knew what they were planning? I had a feeling a big change was coming. Maybe events that would change the whole world. Whether we liked it or not, I had a feeling we were going to be part of this superhero business for a while.
My eyes scanned the ageless rock formations to the stars fading from the night sky. The horizon was growing lighter by the moment. The sun was about to crest the horizon; dawn was only minutes away.
There was movement at my side as someone clambered into the seat beside me.
Brodie.
'Pull over for a moment,' she said. 'It's important.'
Who am I to deny a beautiful girl?
Bringing the vehicle over to the curb, we both got out and gazed across the desert. It would be hot later, but for now, it was cold and motionless—a quiet, peaceful place. Peaceful was good.
She pulled out a book. It was the one Doctor Richards handed to me back in the hotel room. The book with all the blank pages. It seemed like a million years since I'd last looked at it.
'Open it,' she said.
I flipped to a page in the middle. It was as blank as any other. Now Brodie produced the strange device we'd found buried in the book's spine.
'That Ferdy's amazing,' she said. 'He spent five minutes playing with this thing and had it all worked out.'
Gripping the glass tightly, she suddenly seemed to twist it in both directions at once. It clicked, and a pale beam of light shone from it.
'How—'
'Don't worry about how,' she advised. 'Just look.'
I held the glass over the page. The crystal shone a kind of infrared light that made the writing visible. Various formulas were written on the pages, as well as addresses.
Our homes?
'What…' I begin. 'How…'
I couldn't find the words, and it became even more difficult as Brodie grabbed the book from me and pressed her lips against mine.
'Like I said,' she said, drawing back. 'That Ferdy's a bright kid.'
We kissed again as a gentle breeze swept over us. After a while, we returned to the van, and I started the engine. We'd all been through so much and come such a long way.
I should write all this down, I thought. I should keep a diary.
It's not every teenager that becomes a superhero.
But first things first. My stomach rumbled. We'd need to eat soon, and that was another crisis that needed fixing. I was able to talk Mister Jones into giving us some money, but that wouldn't last forever.
'We need cash,' I told Brodie as we drove across the desert. 'We need to buy some food.'
'Oh, we'll be fine.'
'Yeah?'
She held up a rose. It was perfect in every way. I remembered seeing Ebony with it the previous day. She'd bought it at one of the rest stops. Ebony was saying how lovely it would be to preserve it forever.
Now it was made from gold.
Solid gold.
'Money won't be a problem,' Brodie said.
Laughing, we drove into the dawn.
To be continued…
There are seven books in the entire Teen Superhero series! This thrilling adventure continues in the next book in the series:
The Doomsday Device
You can find the book here: https://darrellpitt.short.gy/FCyeQs