Nicholas

   

             Nicholas was running.

               

“Join us, Nicholas!” screamed the creepy bearded man who was running behind him.  His cry for his attention was followed by several murmurs and shouts of agreement from other creepy people.  But Nicholas did not want to join them.

               

Thus, he was running.

               

More specifically, he was tracking sneaker prints in the miles of thick mud behind him.  He was still in gym uniform, having been chased out of his school during gym class.  He was in a coniferous forest full of tall pine trees near the outskirts of the town he lived in, where a dam had burst, transforming the ground of the forest into a muddy swamp.  Behind him, about a dozen or so men and women in hastily put together costumes were running as well. 

"ATTACK!"  A man in pink shouted.
       
            "GRAB HER!" said an obese woman trying to fit into a Catwoman costume.  Nicholas didn't bother correcting her.

            Above, another costumed man was flying.

               

“No, Evilliam, he’s joining us.  The Good Guys.  You retard.” said the man.  He forced his voice to be lower and charismatic, but it always slipped when he got excited.  He was wearing a faded blue outfit made of some cloth or another.  Since he couldn’t afford spandex, it hung off of his thin arms causing him to cast a birdlike shadow on the ground beneath him.  He always told people it was supposed to do that.

               

The bearded man looked up, annoyed.  He was exhausted from running, but the kid he was chasing had thrown his Evihicle off a cliff.  He was in a horrible mood today.  On top of losing his Evilleague’s only mode of transportation, his favourite dark green robe was getting completely ruined by the mud. 

No point worrying about that.  If I can get this kid onto my side, I’ll just get him to lift the stain particles right out of the molecular structure of all my clothing.  Or something.

“Goodman!”  He choked for breath.  He hadn’t ran in ages.  “You won’t foil my…weeze…my plan…gasp...this time…goddammit.”

Evilliam stopped and doubled over, sucking in as much air as possible.  He now realized that wearing the metal body armour he had built for himself was a horrible idea.  Luckily, he had forgotten his equally thick helmet at the Evillair.

“Evillains, don’t let that boy get…gasp...away!  We need someone with powers like his on our side!”  The sixty-something man fell over, faceplanting into the mud, to take a short break.

Nicholas, being much younger and healthier, was able to continue running.  Although he could easily transport himself without moving his legs, and at a speed about twice as fast as he was running now, he chose to keep his breathing at a constant rate and try not to get tired.  He looked back to see the bearded man’s colourful minions run around and over his tired body, now being led by Evilliam’s second in command, Todd.  Many of the Evillains looked equally tired.  Some of them were covered in mud from tripping.

Goodman looked down as he soared like a pigeon, grateful that he didn’t have to run.

“Nicholas!  Don’t listen to that ridiculously dressed maniac!  Bring you and your amazing powers onto the Good Side!”  He emphasised the “Good”.  He had waited years for something like this to come along, and he wasn’t going to just let it run away.  “You could become my sidekick!”  A dreamy smile crossed Goodman’s face, as he thought of all the adventures they could have together.  “You could be…GOODNESS-BOY!”

Nicholas stopped. 

The minions who were chasing him stopped too, out of surprise.  They had planned to chase him until they caught him, but they were completely unprepared for what to do if he had stopped running.  There was a silence.

“My name…”  A slight shudder became noticeable on Nicholas’ shoulders.

“…is Nicholas Sampson!”.  Nicholas Sampson spun around.  He shot out his opened palm at a nearby stone.  The stone immediately jumped off the ground, and hovered in the air.  As Nicholas moved his hand, the stone aimed itself towards the flying man above it, sharp side forward.  With a movement of Nicholas’ hyper-kinetic arm, the stone suddenly shot at Goodman, at twice the speed of a bullet.

While pulling off a silly face of surprise, Goodman spun his horizontal body vertical.  The stone made a whooshing noise as it flew past him. 

A collective sigh of relief came from the Evillains on the ground.  The stone continued flying upwards towards the sky, like an upside down meteor.

There was another moment of silence, as Goodman caught his breath and thought of what to do next.  Finally, he turned to Nicholas.  

“You could have fucking killed me!  What’s wrong with you, kid?”

Nicholas didn’t say anything.  He stood, bug-eyed, realizing what he had just done.  His breaths became little sobs.  After a moment, he turned and continued running.  The Evillains all groaned and continued their chase.

“Hey, no, don’t go!  I’m not mad anymore!  Come back!” Goodman hit his forehead with the palm of his head.  Fuck.

Then, he threw both his arms up in front of him in a superman pose, causing his suit to make a loud ripping noise as large holes appeared at the armpits of his costume.  Fuck Number Two.

He ripped his blue sleeves off, and continued flying.  This was going to be a horrible day.