Captain Stellar Read online

  She glanced at the crumpled piece of paper and her eyes went wide. “Last time I checked, it was August. This isn’t funny if you’re pulling some April Fool’s joke.”

  “I’m being serious.” Cal’s stomach sank when he noticed the skeptical look in Nessa’s eyes. He wished it was a stupid prank. It would make his life much simpler.

  She shook her head.

  “And if you don’t believe me, then you need to see something…outside. But we have to be alone.”

  “You’re scaring me.”

  “I’d never hurt you, Nessa. Never,” he reassured her.

  She opened the study room door and led him to a desolate part of campus outdoors. Nessa jutted her chin. “Fine. Show me.”

  Cal closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Nessa had that look she got when she thought he was messing with her. Like when he told her he had found the courage to ask out the cute guy in his Philosophy 101 class. She finally believed it when he brought Jin to the coffee shop to hang out with her and Dayvon.

  A shiver ran through him, and the knots in his stomach tightened. Cal didn’t like the idea of flying again so soon. He was pretty shaky and his first landing had been rough to say the least. But it was the only way to prove to Nessa that something strange had happened to him. That he had woken up with new abilities.

  Cal opened his eyes. He ran, lifting into the air. He heard Nessa shriek as he soared up to the second story of one of the university buildings. He tried to focus on a smooth flight, but Nessa’s screams became louder, distracting him. Holding out his arms to steady himself, he landed with a jarring thud onto his back.

  “What the hell was that?” Nessa hit him on the arm as she knelt to check on him.

  Cal grimaced, but not from the pain in his back. He hoped Nessa wouldn’t turn away from him, now that he was some freak with powers. The thought of being alone in this terrified him. He needed guidance, someone to tell him that no matter what, things would be all right again. “This all started today. This morning when I woke up in a cell in some lab,” Cal huffed. “Sorry I scared you, but I figured this was the only way you’d believe me.”

  “You’re right. I’m losing my damn mind. How is this possible?”

  “I don’t know how. Somehow, I woke up with superpowers.”

  Nessa stared at the grass and played with a few blades. She twirled a dandelion in between her fingers and appeared deep in thought. Cal could feel tears building in his eyes as he waited for her reaction. “Does Jin know?”

  “Not yet. You’re the only one.” Cal touched his watch instinctively and his hands went clammy. What would Jin think of this? What was he supposed to do now? With superpowers? “How do I go back to normal? I want to travel the world, have a good time, get paid for my photos.”

  “Well, you can fly for free now.”

  “Too soon,” Cal winced.

  “I don’t know what to tell you.” Nessa paused. “All we can do is take one day at a time, superpowers or not. So, I suggest you do the same.”

  “One day at a time. I guess I can do that.”

  “Who do you think did this to you? I mean, I can’t even begin to understand how they did this to you, but-”

  “I don’t want to think about any of that right now,” Cal interrupted. He didn’t want to divulge his theory that the meteor shower may have given him powers. One strange piece of information at a time seemed wise.

  “But if there’s a way to get answers, to find-”

  “Nessa, just drop it.”

  “Hey, you tied me into this. I’m only trying to help.”

  “And I appreciate that, more than you’ll ever know, but for now I want to keep moving forward. Figure out what to do next.”

  “Call Jin.”

  “I don’t have a phone, remember? They took-”

  “Use mine to call him. And then call your mother.” Nessa handed over her phone. “I have their numbers.”

  Cal eyed the phone but didn’t reach for it.

  “At least tell them you’re safe, even if you’re not ready to tell them about your powers.”

  He took the phone and scrolled for his mom.

  * * *

  “Cal, you’re home!” His mother greeted him at the door with a bone-crushing hug.

  “You’re not mad?” he wondered as Valerie held him close. His mom never yelled when he was in trouble. She was a quick wit, faster than he could ever hope to be for comebacks and repartee. He feared her words, not the delivery.

  “I’m furious,” Valerie let go. “But I’m relieved. When you didn’t come home after work, I thought you were at Jin’s place, but then when he came here looking for you-”

  “Jin’s here?” Cal perked up, peering into the kitchen for any sign of his boyfriend.

  “He showed up flustered that you missed your date for lunch. I’ve never seen him so emotional. He’s always so reserved,” Valerie brushed a strand of blond hair away from her face. “I knew something must be wrong.”

  “Did he stay?”

  “Yes, he’s still here. We were ready to call the police and then you called.” Valerie smiled, her expression relieved. “He’s in the den with Gary.”

  “Oh, he’s here, too?” Cal tried to mask his disappointment. Gary was the last person he wanted to see in his current state, imagining his potential commentary about his own rough times back in New York City. Cal had little interest in his glory days, but Gary was never one to pass up an opportunity to share an anecdote.

  “I’m glad nothing happened to you. What were you thinking? Falling asleep on a park bench at the construction site last night?” Valerie patted her son’s broad shoulder. “Thank goodness you weren’t working in the city, that’s all I can say. God only knows what could have happened.”

  “Well, I’m fine, and that’s what matters.” Cal swallowed, knowing full well he wasn’t fine. He hated lying to his mother and to Jin, but he had no choice. Explaining his new abilities over the phone would not have been effective. Even Nessa had a hard time believing it, and she witnessed his powers firsthand. Besides, if he was in danger with someone from Almighty Labs, the safest decision for his loved ones was to keep them in the dark.

  “I know you’re in a daze, but I can’t believe you didn’t notice this.” Valerie lifted her hand and a bright diamond ring glimmered on her finger. She reached out to Cal to offer a closer look.

  “Oh, wow.” Cal’s stomach tightened, unsure of what to say.

  “Gary proposed at dinner last night. It was so romantic.” Valerie’s eyes closed as if she were replaying the memory in her mind. “You should have seen it. The other customers were cheering and clapping. Someone paid for our meal, and we got a bottle of champagne and-”

  “That’s great. Congratulations.”

  “Once more with feeling,” Valerie teased.

  Cal could tell she was disappointed by his lackluster reaction, that he didn’t look pleased with her news.“I’m happy for you, Mom,” Cal assured her, glancing into the den. “But I want to see Jin.”

  Valerie shrugged her shoulders and Cal saw a smile spread across her face as she eyed the sparkling gem on her finger.

  Cal plodded to the den, dreading what Gary would say in front of Jin. He didn’t have enough time to prepare his boyfriend for Gary’s crazy stories.

  “Hey, the man of the hour!” Gary stood and approached Cal like they were best of friends. “Glad you’re okay.”

  “Thanks, Gary, and congratulations.” Cal shook his extended hand.

  “Hey, thanks, man.” Gary rubbed his forehead, brushing his eyebrow ring. “And listen, we’ve all had our crazy days. If I had a dime for every park bench I slept on back in New York…well, you know how the saying goes.”

  Cal faked a laugh to avoid groaning at Gary with his New York stories.

  He turned to Jin, wishing they had some privacy. The only thing he could think of to say was, “Do you hate me?”

  Jin stood from the couch and ran to Cal, throwing h
is arms around him. He kissed his cheek. “You smell awful.”

  Cal melted into the hug, cradled by Jin’s firm embrace. Even after missing their date and all that had gone wrong between them, Jin looked genuinely happy to see him. Cal hadn’t expected Jin’s public display of affection in front of Gary, either. It was so unlike him. Maybe things weren’t as rocky as Cal had imagined. “Sorry I missed our date.”

  Jin took Cal’s hands in his own. “You look terrible. Are you overdoing it? You called me so late last night.”

  “No, I’m okay. It was my fault to take on such a late shift.”

  “But it’s like your boss has it out for you. He’s so hard on you.” Jin squeezed Cal’s hands, rubbing his fingers.

  “I give him plenty reason to be on my case. It’s all right,” Cal reassured him.

  “I promised your mom and Gary that I’d take them to our favorite Korean barbecue place for dinner tonight to celebrate their engagement. If you want to get cleaned up, I’ll drive us over there.”

  Despite Gary’s eccentric appearance and personality, Cal knew that Jin liked him. Gary never made rude comments about his Korean background and wasn’t phased by their relationship. He knew that meant a lot to Jin, since Dr. and Mrs. Park had no interest in getting to know Cal. He listened to Jin complain over and over about his parents showing him photos of beautiful young Korean women. Cal hated to admit it, but it felt good to see Jin and Gary getting along. No matter how scary his life had become, he had people he could count on.

  “That’s so nice of you.” Cal squeezed his hands before letting go. “How’d I get so lucky?”

  Jin blushed and looked away. “Get ready. You smell.”

  Cal kissed him on the cheek before heading upstairs to his room. He took a navy blue polo shirt and a pair of chinos from his closet and walked to the bathroom. He peeled off his uniform, checking his neck and shoulders for other scabs from the lab. The ones on his neck had faded from a few hours ago but his arms were still marked with bruises from pushing against the door.

  Cal wanted to tell Jin everything, at least the little he knew of last night’s events. He had always been honest with Jin, the entire three years they’d been together. Lying to him made his chest ache. The knots in his stomach returned with a vengeance.

  He turned on the water and stepped into the shower. He gasped at the contact with the floor, which felt as cold as the white tiles in the cell. Cal leaned against the foggy glass door and let his tears stream as the water cascaded down his body. He could wash away the sweat from the past two days, but he couldn’t cleanse himself of the powers he now possessed.

  Chapter 8

  Cal walked to the lot where he had parked his mom’s car after finishing his shift on Monday. Given the incident on Saturday night, she insisted he take it until they went car shopping together. He’d grown accustomed to taking the bus over the past six months, after he was too lazy to buy a new car when his old one died.

  Work was uneventful. He arrived on time, completed his duties, and left after the shift ended. Rick informed Cal that his diligence did not impress him. It made no difference that Cal had witnessed Miller’s fall. He figured his boss would drop him down a sewer if he threatened to speak to anyone on Miller’s behalf anyway.

  But Rick’s assessment of him as an employee was no longer Cal’s greatest concern. His focus was on figuring out how to do physical labor without using his new powers. Before lunch break, he’d lifted a heavy crate of bricks that should have required the work of several men without asking for help. Realizing he was using his powers, he dropped them onto the concrete, making a mess which only prompted Rick to yell at him again. But he made it through the shift and no one observed him using his superpowers, a victory in itself.

  One day at a time, as Nessa advised.

  He hoped he hadn’t frightened her too much. Cal didn’t think she would tell anyone, including Dayvon, about his powers. Nessa had always kept his secrets back when they were teenagers. But those had been about silly crushes on cute guys, not dangerous ones about sudden superpowers. He almost regretted showing her he could fly, but having powers isolated him in a new way. More than being the only out gay kid in high school. Or on a construction crew. Nessa sharing his secret made him feel less alone.

  A screech followed by a deafening crash interrupted his thoughts briefly but Cal shrugged his shoulders. Car accidents happened every day. It was impressive they didn’t happen more often given how people drove in Chicago. He’d avoided several potential fender benders on his way to work this morning alone.

  Since the parking garage was in the same direction, he walked toward the car crash. As he approached the scene, bystanders circled around the crash and watched as a woman screamed in horror and pointed to her overturned car. “My daughter’s in there! Someone, help!” Her face was pale as she used all her strength to shout for help.

  Cal took in a deep breath, trying to ignore the desperation in the mother’s voice. Where were the police? They’d show up at some point. Right? Someone must have called 911 with this nosy group gawking.

  “Please, help me! That’s my girl in there,” the woman cried, pacing in front of her car. “Somebody! Anybody!”

  Dark hair from the girl hung upside down in the back seat. She looked seven or eight if Cal took a guess, but he was never good at estimating children’s ages. She squeezed her eyes tight as streams of tears poured over her forehead.

  His gaze shifted to the girl’s mother and she stared into his eyes. “Help,” was all she could muster. She seemed to go into shock, sinking to her knees. A few women from the crowd ran to the mother’s side to stop her from falling.

  Cal looked around the buildings and the nearby intersection for flashing lights or anyone in uniform. No one was coming, at least not anytime soon.The way the girl’s mother panicked, the desperation in her voice, tugged at Cal. And if the girl was hurt, she would need medical attention. Right now he was the only person strong enough to get her out of the car. Cal thought of the tears streaming across the girl’s face.

  He knew how terrifying it felt to be trapped, that smothering fear of no way out. What if she started to panic or struggle in her seatbelt? She could choke herself or make her injuries worse. He could help her, yet all he had done so far was stand around and wait for someone else to step up. A waste of time. He was the one she needed. The mother’s cries rose above the murmuring crowd jolting Cal into action.

  He was the one they both needed.

  Cal threw on his sunglasses and hardhat and sprinted toward the overturned car. As he picked up the pace his feet lifted. He focused on flying low to the ground, struggling to keep his new powers under control.

  “Holy shit!” a young man shouted, watching Cal land next to the overturned car. Cal saw the teen pull a phone out of his pocket and hit record but he needed to focus on the trapped child now.

  An even larger group gathered near the scene. The bystanders stood still, mouths agape. A hush fell over the crowd as they pushed for a closer look at the construction worker who could fly.

  “Stand back!” Cal ordered, his voice deeper than usual. Where did that voice come from?

  Almost everyone in the group held out their phones, recording every second of the scene. They took several steps back, bumping into each other, their eyes shifting from their screens to the actual scene.

  Cal made sure the area was clear before gathering his strength. He peered at the little girl inside the car.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” he promised.

  She wiped a few tears away and nodded, her hair shaking.

  He tried to open the door to get her out, but the angle made it impossible. He would have to lift the car to reposition it. There was no other way to free the trapped girl without emergency equipment or people willing to help him. Could he do this? So much could go wrong if he messed this up. A life was in his hands. But there was no sign of flashing lights or sirens; he had to make the call. He watched the girl begin to s
quirm and gasp as she struggled in the seatbelt.

  “I’ve got you. Take a deep breath with me.” Cal watched the girl inhale.

  He lifted the car with one arm and ripped off the door.

  “That’s some Avengers stuff right there!” a man shouted. The crowd gasped and went silent. A tiny grandma made the sign of the cross, rosary in hand. A few teens dropped their phones, their jaws on the ground.

  Cal set down the car with a quiet thud. He examined the girl, not finding any broken bones or injury other than scrapes and bruises. Her forehead was bleeding, but it looked superficial.

  “Where’s my Mommy?” the girl squeaked.

  “She’s right over here.” Cal gestured toward the sidewalk. “I’m going to bring you to her.” He focused on speaking gently, not wanting to startle the girl. He unbuckled the seat belt and pulled her from the vehicle. Carrying her away from the car, he sat the little girl next to her mom.

  “Wait for the paramedics. I don’t know how to help you from here.” Cal adjusted his sunglasses, unsure of what else to do.

  The woman stood on shaky legs to hug him. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You saved both our lives today.”

  Cal’s heart pounded. “I have to go.” He caught a glimpse of a police car’s flashing blue lights zooming around the corner. The wail of the ambulance sirens blared louder.

  “What’s your superhero name?” someone shouted from the crowd.

  “Captain Construction?” Cal couldn’t help but laugh at that suggestion from another stranger.

  “That was amazing!”

  The shouts from the group continued as Cal fled the scene, trying not to lift off the ground. As he ran, the woman’s words echoed in his ears, drowning out the noise from the crowd. “You saved both our lives today.”

  After running several blocks out of his way, he arrived at the parking garage. Pausing to catch his breath, he was relieved to see his mom’s car, a sanctuary. He sat in the car to soak up the silence, but his ears were ringing. Despite his super strength, he hurt himself lifting and setting down the vehicle. As the adrenaline wore off, his shoulders and back burned as if he had used too much of his power at once. He had special abilities but no idea how to use them.