Rivals by David Wellington Page A

riding on his back. It was nice at least not to be alone when he
rambled all over town like this. They were walking home from school along a
busy side street, just off the highway. A news van with a satellite dish on
top was crawling along behind them, holding up a lane of traffic, and he had to
raise his voice over all the honking horns. “And anyway, he’s just one bully.
There are others out there and I’m not doing anything about them. A lot of
freshman have been leaving notes in my locker asking me for help—but I
can’t be in two places at once. If only Maggie was still around she could help
me.”
    “You’re
kidding, right?” Lucy asked, leaning her head over his shoulder. “She would
probably organize the bullies and hold the whole school up for protection
money.”
    “Hey!” he
said. “She’s still my sister.”
    But he was
getting used to it, unfortunately. Nobody believed in Maggie anymore. Nobody
wanted to give her a second chance. The newspapers had been merciless after
she destroyed the Hunt house. They claimed that she had been trying to kill
Mandy. It didn’t help that Mandy seemed to think so too, and had told every
reporter she could find just how awful her ordeal had been.
    The police
were pretty clear on the fact that they were going to arrest her as soon as
they found her. Weathers had said there was nothing he could do. But Brent
knew there was still some good in her. Before Mom had died she had been a
pretty cool sister. Even afterwards she had always looked after him. She had
saved him from the green fire—didn’t that count for anything?
    “If I could
just talk to her,” he started, but even to himself he felt like a scratched CD
skipping over the same line over and over again. “Maybe, then—”
    He stopped
because he saw two girls standing at the street corner ahead. It was Jill
Hennessey and Dana Kravitz, and it looked like they were having an argument.
Or at least—Jill was having an argument, and Dana was just agreeing with
everything she said, her head bowed as if she deserved whatever nasty things
Jill had to say. Jill was holding on tight to Dana’s arm and Brent wondered if
he should intervene.
    But
no—that wasn’t right. That wasn’t what he was supposed to be doing. Dad
wouldn’t have wanted him to intrude on everyone’s personal lives, he was pretty
sure. “When I saved Mandy Hunt I didn’t have to think about it,” he told Lucy.
“I didn’t have to wonder whether I was doing the right thing. I didn’t have
to calculate what would happen every time I broke through a wall or kicked a
pile of bricks out of the way. I just did it. If every problem was so
clear-cut this would be so much easier!”
    “But they
can’t be, Brent. The world is complicated, and that’s why heroes are so rare.
Superheroes have to make the right decision every time, and—”
    “Hold on,” he
said. Something looked wrong. Out of place. There was a line of cars coming
toward them. Dana and Jill had a DON’T WALK light. But they were stepping out
into the street, Jill’s hand on Dana’s back, right between her shoulder blades.
    “Jump down,”
he told Lucy, and felt her weight fall off his back. Then he was off like a
shot, sprinting toward the two girls. They weren’t looking where they were
going, and the cars were getting awfully close—
    He could see
them perfectly as he ran. It was as if time had slowed down. Jill still had
one foot on the curb. She had turned slightly to face the oncoming traffic and
it looked like she was about to jump back. Dana, on the other hand, was all
the way out in the street and was falling forward, her hands out to catch her.
She was going to land on all fours right in front of the cars.
    The car in
front had already slammed on its brakes—the driver saw Dana. But Brent
just didn’t know if it would stop in time or not.
    He dashed up
between them, one foot forward sliding across the asphalt. He started turning
sideways before he’d