Hulk or Captain America?”
“I think we are all hoping for Captain America,” he answers softly.
“And you are supposed to be the first to try?”
“That was the idea.” I am not sure how he feels about this from his answer.
I s hake my head hoping everything will fall in place. This answers most of my questions. It is nice to finally know the whole story. The power I possess is amazing, no wonder my father has always been so paranoid. It was a pretty good move to bring us to a state where eighty-nine percent of the cities have a population under 3,000 people. If I am going to cause a doomsday event, it is better to do it in a lower populated state.
There is one ace up my sleeve. There is no way Dr. Cox knows about these new things that are happening to me, the bursts of power strong enough to blow holes in bathrooms. Can I control them? It will become a priority to try.
It must also be acknowledged that I probably have the potential do more. Being from the same mold as all the others, surely the radiation activated more inside of me…could I be any stranger than I already am?
J ohn guides us smoothly up the on-ramp to I-80 east; oblivious to the inner turmoil he has stirred up. I finally know where we are, not that I have been paying much attention to the scenery for the past hour. It makes me nervous to be on the biggest road in the state. “Are we safe?” I ask.
John shrugs his shoulders, “Have you ever been?”
That has always been the real question.
Chapter 11
“One last thing,” I break the silence of the past couple minutes.
“Only one? I’m amazed at your restraint,” he smiles and I am mildly distracted by how much a genuine smile changes his countenance.
Recovering, I ask, “What is this group you keep talking about?”
“They call themselves the Pandora Project. They are a very select group of Dr. Cox’s colleagues, backers and brass that he has recruited to his cause. They all believe very strongly in what he is up to and will go to great lengths to see its success. Although, I am pretty sure most of them have ulterior motives.”
“Pandora?” Not liking that at all my voice goes an octave higher. “As in the girl who opened the box and let all the evils in the world out? And I am supposed to be Pandora?!” This strikes me as the most distressing news so far. I have always known I have the potential to unleash horrible things on the earth, my grandmother’s visions let that be known right up front, but to know that this is what people expect of me is a horrible reality.
“Pandora also released Hope,” John argues. “Don’t forget about hope.”
“Don’t feed me that crap ,” I’m too upset to be appeased.
“I have to have hope, without it, I would really start to wonder if anything good can come out of any of this.” I have to remember all that he has been through. Neither one of us asked for this.
As another couple of minutes pass, I am struck by another crappy reality. I really have to use the bathroom. Trying to distract myself, I go over all this new information in my head. It doesn’t work for long. I start to squirm, not wanting to admit to this most common human condition. Thankfully, John notices, “I guess we should start to look for a place to rest, shall we?”
“Yes, please .” On top of my bladder being about to explode, I am exhausted. It seems like the nap I took in Dad’s office was years ago. I’m not sure if I should tell him about the urgency of my situation, but I hope my bouncing and crossed legs are the universal symbol for, Hurry up!
John passes an exit that advertises a couple of gas stations, one hotel and a McDonald ’s so I am surprised when he pulls off at the next one that just gives access to a country road. He drives for a while, searching for something on both sides of the road. I have to go so bad my eyes are watering, it might be harder for him to think of me as a super hero if I pee pants right here. I don’t know
“I think we are all hoping for Captain America,” he answers softly.
“And you are supposed to be the first to try?”
“That was the idea.” I am not sure how he feels about this from his answer.
I s hake my head hoping everything will fall in place. This answers most of my questions. It is nice to finally know the whole story. The power I possess is amazing, no wonder my father has always been so paranoid. It was a pretty good move to bring us to a state where eighty-nine percent of the cities have a population under 3,000 people. If I am going to cause a doomsday event, it is better to do it in a lower populated state.
There is one ace up my sleeve. There is no way Dr. Cox knows about these new things that are happening to me, the bursts of power strong enough to blow holes in bathrooms. Can I control them? It will become a priority to try.
It must also be acknowledged that I probably have the potential do more. Being from the same mold as all the others, surely the radiation activated more inside of me…could I be any stranger than I already am?
J ohn guides us smoothly up the on-ramp to I-80 east; oblivious to the inner turmoil he has stirred up. I finally know where we are, not that I have been paying much attention to the scenery for the past hour. It makes me nervous to be on the biggest road in the state. “Are we safe?” I ask.
John shrugs his shoulders, “Have you ever been?”
That has always been the real question.
Chapter 11
“One last thing,” I break the silence of the past couple minutes.
“Only one? I’m amazed at your restraint,” he smiles and I am mildly distracted by how much a genuine smile changes his countenance.
Recovering, I ask, “What is this group you keep talking about?”
“They call themselves the Pandora Project. They are a very select group of Dr. Cox’s colleagues, backers and brass that he has recruited to his cause. They all believe very strongly in what he is up to and will go to great lengths to see its success. Although, I am pretty sure most of them have ulterior motives.”
“Pandora?” Not liking that at all my voice goes an octave higher. “As in the girl who opened the box and let all the evils in the world out? And I am supposed to be Pandora?!” This strikes me as the most distressing news so far. I have always known I have the potential to unleash horrible things on the earth, my grandmother’s visions let that be known right up front, but to know that this is what people expect of me is a horrible reality.
“Pandora also released Hope,” John argues. “Don’t forget about hope.”
“Don’t feed me that crap ,” I’m too upset to be appeased.
“I have to have hope, without it, I would really start to wonder if anything good can come out of any of this.” I have to remember all that he has been through. Neither one of us asked for this.
As another couple of minutes pass, I am struck by another crappy reality. I really have to use the bathroom. Trying to distract myself, I go over all this new information in my head. It doesn’t work for long. I start to squirm, not wanting to admit to this most common human condition. Thankfully, John notices, “I guess we should start to look for a place to rest, shall we?”
“Yes, please .” On top of my bladder being about to explode, I am exhausted. It seems like the nap I took in Dad’s office was years ago. I’m not sure if I should tell him about the urgency of my situation, but I hope my bouncing and crossed legs are the universal symbol for, Hurry up!
John passes an exit that advertises a couple of gas stations, one hotel and a McDonald ’s so I am surprised when he pulls off at the next one that just gives access to a country road. He drives for a while, searching for something on both sides of the road. I have to go so bad my eyes are watering, it might be harder for him to think of me as a super hero if I pee pants right here. I don’t know
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