Help! I'm Housing a Hero

I deposited myself on the bed and wondered how much damage the radiation had done to my body. It wasn’t like I had a radiation sensor anywhere telling me that I was about to explode. I couldn‘t help but wonder what Frank meant when he said that radiation wasn’t a problem for me. All I knew that whatever he injected me with was far from protecting me from radiation. It was to knock me out. If he was that sinister I wondered if Mum even knew. She seemed oblivious to his work even when I was in the x-ray room banging on the door. Maybe she was too in love with him to realize that he was a monster.

I flipped on the television and attempted to watch anything that wasn’t news but every other channel had someone being interviewed for destruction or their opinions on the events. I stopped on one channel that had people talking about hero. There was one man in particular that seemed to be Hero’s doctor of sorts. They were eagerly interviewing him and for some reason it was interesting.

“So what you are saying is that Hero is not a human?” The newscaster asked.

“Well- he is a human in the sense of some things but he is not completely human, no. He is not from Earth. He is a remarkable creature from an unknown planet. Even he would not tell me about it.”

“What makes you think he is telling the truth? Couldn’t he have formed these powers by accident?”

“He has no reason to lie, and someone as unexplainable as that all you have to go on are the facts that he tells.”

“So you don’t think that he was bitten by a radioactive beetle or maybe took a bath in radioactive waste?”

“I am sorry to say those presumptions are only to be found in comic books. He isn’t the only hero we have had on Earth. I know that there have been others, some just wanted to stop by to examine the world, others came to escape.”

“Are you trying to tell us that there are aliens that came to Earth just to protect us?”

“Oh no, not in the slightest. In fact, I believe that they came here for other reasons such as observing, studying, and experimenting. When I asked Hero why he was here he did not seem to know anything about his past or the reasons for his Earthly visit. I tried all sorts of things such a hypnotism and memory exercises but he just can’t remember.”

“Are there other aliens here now or do they come in shifts?”

“I do not pretend to know everything about these aliens. I have only ever encountered about five and two of those were not in person.”

“How do you go about finding these aliens?”

“They sort of find me.”

“So an alien superhero comes from somewhere amidst the planets and lands on Earth just to find one person, you, and then they go away?”

“It isn’t like that- I don’t know why they come to me. I think that mostly it is by accident or because of the work I do.”

“And what work is that?”

“I am just a scientist.”

“These stories are terribly interesting, and may need some debating but let’s move on to the past week.” The newswoman did not sound anywhere near convinced of his story. It seemed the more he explained the more impossible his story was. I didn’t get the feeling that he was lying, though I did think he might have been a bit loony. None the less I was interested and I wanted to hear what he had to say. It was better than watching my face pop up on the screen and have people debate about my decisions.

“Do you think Hero could have done something different to survive the explosion?”

“He could have run away from it.”

“Doctor, this is no time for joking.”

“I am being serious. He didn’t have to destroy himself for us, he made a decision to save the city from the bomb and it resulted in him taking his own life.”

“Why would he make a decision like that?”

“I believe that it is mostly because of his character. It wasn’t in his nature to be comfortable when there was trouble. He had this need to protect things. I believe this stems from him not knowing who he was. He had grown an attachment to his life here and did everything he could to protect it. Wouldn’t you do the same?”

“Well, what about Riel Glace, his girlfriend? Do you think she had anything to do with his downfall? What are your opinions on the matter?”

“First of all I do not believe that young woman was his girlfriend. He lived a very dangerous life and I don’t think he would have wanted to put anyone in danger. I think he knew that if he did get involved with a human he would have had to be extremely cautious with them. I think that young lady may have been just like any other girl he had rescued except for the fact that the media wanted to finally distort the truth and have him settle down with someone.”

The newscaster could be seen visibly swallowing hard. The topic of Hero and I was one of the biggest scoops out there and he just shot down the idea of any kind of relationship. The news team probably didn’t want information like that out there especially from a professional that claimed to know Hero better than all of us. I was beginning to like this guy.

“Do you think it is possible for Hero, being an ‘alien’ to even have an attraction to the humans of Earth?”

“Of course. If you take away his powers, and the fact that he wasn’t born on this planet he is just as normal as any of us. Except for the fact that he is a genius. He learned the basics of English by just walking around listening to people. I assume he could learn all the other languages if he hasn’t already.”

“You’re saying that not only does he have super strength among other powers, but he is also smarter than all of us?”

“Not smarter, he just has an incredible ability to think, process, and solve problems.”

“Well, I suppose it is too bad that a person like him had to go to waste over some girl and a mad scientist. We’ll be talking to Doctor Spruce more as the day goes on. For now we will head back into the studio for more news on the explosions.”

The camera changed to two people sitting at a news desk. They had pictures as well as streaming videos of the smoke that was in the sky.

“It seems the sky is finally beginning to clear after the explosion Metrolis suffered just yesterday. There is still no sign of Hero’s body and it is assumed that he was destroyed along with the robotic remains.”

“That’s right, Tom, and experts say that Hero was able to lift the robots quite near the atmosphere. There is a slight chance he was able to calculate a launch that would send the explosion of the pieces mostly upwards and out of the sky into space. We do know that the only damage caused by the robots was not from the explosion but from their rampage through the city. Quite a few people are without homes tonight and will be for a while until the city can rebuild. Now we will go over to Jackson for news on casualties-“

I flipped through the channels. It was odd thinking that Hero was gone. Part of me wanted to believe that someone that seemed so indestructible couldn’t just die. The other part of me made me realize an explosion was an explosion and if one of the robots could wound him what could three have done all at once?

I watched television for another few hours trying to learn any new information about anything. Memorial services for Hero were being advertised and the commercials were mentioning how the prime minister was going to dedicate a day to Hero. I finally got frustrated with the news and bored of seeing my face so I flipped the channel to something silly and kid friendly and went to bed. The soft drone of the cartoons in the background helped me drift off to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning Tellietubbies were excitedly watching some little kids ice skate thanks to their mini televisions on their stomachs. I stretched and turned the TV. off and made my bed as neatly as I could. I knew the cleaners would be in soon but I hated leaving a mess. I walked downstairs to graciously thank the girl for allowing me to stay the night. As I got to the lobby I turned the corner and heard a familiar voice that made my heart stop. I quickly ducked back behind the wall and peered around the corner. There was a decorative plastic tree right next to the entrance so I could peer through the leaves without being noticed. Frank was talking to someone at the counter in a rather frustrated tone.

“Well if she does come by here we need her back. She is going to be taken to the safety of the States until things have settled down around here. She doesn’t need to be out on the streets in her condition and with the information that she has.”

“I understand, Sir, but there is no girl that has come in last night or today that fits your description. I am sure she may have caught a taxi home. I will let you know if she does turn up.”

“Thank you. Here is my card. Tell her that if she doesn’t make the plane by 3:00 today she won’t be safe.”

“Will do. Have a good day.” She motioned to the door with a gentle hand wriggle and Frank walked out. He was obviously holding in anger. The woman at the desk was much older than the girl I saw last night and I figured she must be her mother. I watched as she read the card, crumpled it and shot it into a trashcan across the small lobby.

“Oh there you are.” A familiar voice rang out behind me causing me to jump. It was the girl from yesterday. “I was coming to tell you that some strange man was here looking for you but I can see he’s already left.”

She walked out into the lobby and I followed. “I already told Mum about you last night. She is on my side and thinks that you need to be safe. Mum- this is Riel Glace.” She motioned to me, “the one from the news.” She added the last bit excitedly as though I was a celebrity.

“Well, you’re prettier in person.” The woman said from behind the desk, “It’s a shame about that friend of yours, Hero. Are you going to one of the memorial services today?”

“I think it would be better if I stayed hidden until Mum and that man leave the county.”

“Good idea, I didn’t like that man. He had a conniving look in his eye.”

“No kidding.”

“Feel free to hide out here for as long as you want. We’ve got plenty of rooms to spare for now. We’ve only had a few people need shelter, others have gone to the fancier places.”

“I don’t want to be a burden.”

“A burden? It’s a pleasure having a city-saver just under the roof. Please stay for a while, and have some breakfast. It’s on the house.” She directed me to a small sitting area with some breakfast type food along the counter. The girl grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the room.

“You’re as thin as a rail. At least eat something. I’m sure all this fuss over Hero has made you lose your appetite, but someone like you has to eat.” She handed me a small Styrofoam plate and pushed me towards the counter. It was filled with bagels, cereal in plastic containers, instant oatmeal packets, coffee, tea and juice. “I’m Amanda, by the way. I think I’ve become a fan of yours somewhat overnight.”

“A fan?” I asked while picking up a bagel and thumping it onto my plate. I carried it over to the table.

“Well sure. There are Hero fans out there. He saved people and made things better, but what they don’t realize is you did the same. I don’t think I could do what you did. That’s why I’m really amazed by you.”

It felt good having someone show that much confidence in me. “I didn’t exactly have a choice.”

“Sure you did.” She quickly grabbed handfuls of objects off the counter and piled them on another couple of plates. She directed me towards a table and dumped the plates of food in front of me when I sat. She instantly started slathering cream cheese on one of the bagels and sat down across from me. “You are so brave. I’m terrified of spiders and beetles. I can’t possibly imagine running into a building with bombs.”

“I’d rather not talk about it.” I said feeling sick to my stomach at the thought of making the situation worse for Hero. Plus, the fact that some areas of the city got destroyed because of my attempt to shut down the robots wasn’t sitting well in my mind.

“Oh- ok. Well- want to talk about Hero? I bet you get asked so many questions about him. It’s only because people are curious. I’ve never even seen the guy in person so I don’t know what he’s like.”

“He’s polite.” I said, not exactly sure what she wanted to know. I hardly knew anything about him either.

“That’s good. We don’t need a rude person flying above us. I never really thought he would be rude. Kind of weird about him being an alien, though. Sounds really sci-fi.”

“You heard that scientist’s interview too?” I asked.

“They’re only replaying it on every other station. He really doesn’t think you guys were going out either.”

“Finally someone with sense.” I mumbled and bit off a bit of the bagel. She placed the cream cheese layered bagel on my plate and pushed some of the other bits of food towards me. I slowly ate while she talked on and on. I enjoyed hearing her stories. They kept my mind off the situation outside. It felt good to just listen for once and not be the one that has to supply information.

She told me about how she and her mother ran the small inn by themselves. Her father was overseas working on some pretty large business operations. They were both terrified about the robots but they had so much faith in Hero. She said she had been on my side the entire time.

“I don’t care what they were saying about you. After Mum and I watched that first news story about you escaping the school situation I knew you were special and interesting. I never thought I’d be meeting you ever. I’m sure the media must be driving you crazy about Hero.”

“They were so desperate for information about me that they paid my classmates for information. The news was how my Mum and her husband found me. I don’t think Mum knows how awful that man of hers is.”

“What did he do?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I deliberately took another bite of the bagel in front of me to keep form explaining. She looked curious but began to talk about herself some more to fill the silence. I felt so comfortable with her and it made me wonder if this is what having a real friend felt like. We were just two girls sharing breakfast and talking. I had downed about three bagels when I finally began to feel full. She handed me a glass of cold juice and continued talking. She had apparently been very good in school but she was bullied when she was younger. She had a friend that defended her but he moved away. Her story almost seemed like mine. She didn’t really have friends either. She spent most of her time running the inn with her mother. At least she was able to study at the counter when work was slow. She was two years younger than I was and quite interested in writing.

“I really wouldn’t mind you staying here longer.” She finally ended, “Mum doesn’t mind either. I don’t think anyone would suspect you’d be here. You’re pretty fun company, plus you’re the only person my age that has come here in a while.”

“Well-“ I started as she looked at me expectantly, “If I really won’t be a burden to you, would you mind if I stayed until I know that their plane has at least taken off?”

“Of course!” She nearly jumped out of her chair in excitement. “I’ll go tell Mum.” She skipped excitedly from the room and was back within a few minutes. We talked for a bit more and she invited me to her room. It looked almost exactly like the room I was staying in except or the fact that it had a few personal details added. There was a desk piled high with journals with bits of scrap paper and drawings sticking out. She had posters on her wall of colourful pictures of faraway lands.

“I’ve always wanted to travel like my dad.” She explained when she saw me looking at a picture of mountains in Japan. “I guess seeing people that travel is the closest I am going to get. We have one old couple that are regular customers here and they travel all the time. They brought me back a few things as souvenirs.” She opened a drawer in her nightstand and revealed plenty of knick-knacks from all over the world. She flipped on the television and of course one of the news casts were on. My face was plastered on the screen and they had drawn HERO on my forehead. Amanda turned up the volume.

“We now have reason to believe that Riel Glace could be related to Hero somehow whether she is his sibling or from his planet we do not know. All we know is they seem close. Riel has not been seen since the incident but we can confirm she is doing well. Eyewitnesses say they saw her return home in a weakened state but was able to make it to work a few hours later. We think the only reason she was so wanted by the Madbe Corporation was because she knew information that could have been relevant to Hero himself. If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of this female hero please let us know.”

I sat on the bed and placed my head in my hands. Once again the stories were getting more outlandish. I was beginning to think I’d rather be Hero’s girlfriend than another superhero. Amanda looked over at me and had a look on her face that seemed to look just as in disbelief as I felt.

“Are they serious?” She asked and laughed, “You can’t be a superhero- wait- are you?” she turned serious.

“No, of course not.”

She flipped the channel and there was a woman giving an interview, “You know what I think? I think that Hero really survived and he went back for his girl. He was tired of the lime-light and they flew off into space.”

Amanda flipped the channel before any questions could be asked.

“Well at least that theory is dispelled.” She smirked at me. “You became famous over night. It is like they are so focused on you.”

“They are searching for someone else to protect them now that Hero is-“ saying that he was gone out loud wasn’t very comfortable. She gave me a sympathetic look and continued flipping through the news.

“What did Hero look like up close?” She asked as she skimmed so quickly through the channels that they didn’t make any noise. The question was so out of the blue that it caught me off guard.

“Well, you know- black scaly costume, slim mask.”

“No-I mean didn’t you get a good look at him? They don’t have any pictures of his face. What colour are his eyes? Does he have a green tongue? How does he fight?”

“His tongue is not green- it is a normal tongue. He looks like a human only he’s not.”

“And his eyes?”

“Blue.” Blue didn’t cut how pretty his eyes were. I remembered being shocked at their gentleness and shape. He actually had the prettiest eyes I had ever seen on a boy, but that could have been just because he was wearing a mask. I didn’t realize she had asked me another question until she nudged me. I had been so deep in thought.

“Earth to Riel.” She smiled and knocked on my head playfully with her hand.

“Sorry, what?”

“I asked how he fights. Is he violent or gentle? Does he only use powers?”

“I haven’t really been able to watch him fight. I think I had my eyes closed most of the time he’s been around. I guess from what I’ve seen, he fights in such a way not to hurt anyone, but to still get the job done.”

“A defensive fighter.” She smiled and grabbed one of her journals. She began scribbling down information.

“What is that?” It was my turn to ask questions.

“I’ve always wanted to be a writer or a newspaper journalist. Hero always seems like the perfect character, why not use him as a base for one of my own?”

She looked back down at her journal and flicked her wrist quickly over the page. She got so into her writing that I didn’t want to disturb her. I grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels again. There was one camera focused on a memorial service at a nearby park. I watched it with the volume down while she wrote. Every once in a while she would pop her head up and ask me a random question.

“What do you think of colour changing elves?”

“What?” I asked but she continued scribbling. A few moments later she asked another.

“What would you call a creature that speaks every language?”

“Talented?” I offered. She laughed but continued writing. She was serious about this hobby of hers and I didn’t want to get in the way. It sounded like her imagination was a whole other land of its own. The memorial service on TV. was halfway complete when she shut her journal and tossed it back on her desk.

“Sorry about that, when I get an idea or hit with inspiration I have to write it down.”

“No problem.”

I continued to glance at the clock above her DVD player. It was getting closer to three and I was hoping they wouldn’t send out one last search party for me. We both watched bits and pieces of other memorial services and halfway through one of them I could see that Amanda was beginning to get teary eyed. I was surprised to see all the fans of Hero dressed in black and I assumed that she was just as sad as they were. I was beginning to feel a bit emotional too when Amanda’s mother knocked on the door.

“Come in.” Amanda announced as she wiped away a tear.

“Riel, darling, Amanda told me how far away you are from your home. I don’t want you to feel like I am rushing you out of the house, but I called a cab for you. If you aren’t quite ready to go please feel free to stay longer.”

I glanced at the clock again and it was nearly four. Their plane had already taken off. I was safe to go home at least out of their reach.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll go now.” I said. I was eager to get back to a familiar environment, even if it wasn’t as nice as this room.

“Are you really going to go?” Amanda nearly pouted.

I nodded my head.

“Well, it was really nice having you. You’re the closest thing I’ve had to a friend in a while.” She smiled.

“I could say the same.”

She tore a page out of her journal and scribbled on it. When she was finished she handed it to me.

“If you need a place to stay or hide you can always come here. I know we are kind of far from where you live, but if you’re in the area please drop by. That is the number to this place. You won’t need to make a reservation. Just come on over.”

“Thanks.” I said and carefully folded the paper to make it fit in my pocket. They walked me to the front door. A white car was sitting out front labeled TAXI.

“Good luck with the media.” Amanda offered.

“Good luck with your writing.”

She smiled and I climbed into the car. The Mum poked her head in the passenger window.

“This cab ride is on us- take her as far as she wants to go.”

I tried to debate her kindness but I realized I didn’t have any money with me. She winked at me and the cab driver nodded his head. Within seconds we were off and heading towards East Metrolis. Forty five minutes and the most terrifying car ride of my life went by and I was soon staring down the shabby building that was my home. A few people were walking around the stairs wearing black and there were black ribbons all over the railings. I hopped out of the car while simultaneously thanking the cab driver and I ran up the stairs so I wouldn’t be stopped. I made my way up to my room without any incident.

I glanced with pride at my humble, familiar room. I was only too happy to be back, and I looked sadly over at my window. The last time I had entered this room Hero had brought me through there. He told me to stay put but I just had to go and try to stop the robots. People were giving me too much credit. It was my fault parts of the city got ruined. I fell face first onto my bed and groaned. I flipped my radio on with my hand just to have noise.

“And in other news the local schools will be shut down until next Monday. The schools will be thoroughly checked and made sure that they are safe environments once more. With Hero gone we will need to depend on our own resources to make sure everyone is safe.”

“You should have already been doing that.” I grumbled into my pillow at the radio.
After reveling in my joy at being home I decided to keep myself busy. I didn’t have to worry about school for the time being and I had plenty of rest the past couple of days. I wondered if Hank would let me come back to work yet. I took a shower and changed into some clean clothes. Even though I had taken a long bath it still didn’t pass much time. Listening to the radio became boring. I found it difficult to hear them reiterating a play by play on multiple memorial services about Hero. Apparently some famous people had even come out to some in other parts of the country.

I finally decided to go try my luck at work again. I pulled my hair into a pony tail and realized my side didn’t hurt when I lifted my arm. It almost felt like it was back to normal. I didn’t think much of it at the time and I left my room, making sure to lock it securely behind me. I didn’t get down five stairs when Ms. Hodgens’s door swung open and she stared up at me.

“You’re here!” She sounded surprised. “You are supposed to be with your parents. They can keep you safe. I can’t promise any protection here.”

“Ms. Hodgens, it will be dangerous everywhere without Hero. Besides, I don’t trust my step father.”

“That doesn’t matter. They care about you. They were here demanding to be allowed to search your room to find you. Your step father seemed generally worried. He even offered to pay the rest of your rent this month if I would even tell him where you were. I told him I didn’t know but he paid anyway.”

“You shouldn’t have accepted that.” I said, “I am capable of paying my own rent.”

“I know. But he was determined and very worried about you. He said in your condition he should be helping out his step daughter. He’s a doctor, you know. If he says something is wrong with you, you should go to him and get help for it.”

“They’ve already left the country. They were going to the States for protection.”

“Well why on earth didn’t you go with them?”

“I didn’t want to.”

“You’re not hoping that hero of yours will come back? Are you making these decisions because of a boy?”

“Ms. Hodgens… have you been drinking?”

She stopped and for a moment looked down as though she was a child that was caught doing something wrong. The only time she ever really got into my business was when she was drunk.

“Well-“ She started and her mood changed, “I thought you might be gone for good now that your Mum came back to get you. I must say I’ve grown attached to you. Did I ever tell you that you are a lot like my granddaughter? I just don’t like seeing you in trouble.”

“That’s no reason to get drunk.” I said calmly and walked down the remaining stairs to close the distance between us. I guided her back into her room and she continued to talk.

“I didn’t mean to get drunk. I just went over to that little bar across the street. I went there and we all sort of got into a conversation about you. You’ve got some real nice friends over there. Apparently no one can break up a bar fight like you can.” She hiccupped.
I helped her into one of her musty smelling chairs. Her apartment was a mess. I had only ever come in here once and that was because all the lights had gone out and the fuse box was in her room. I never got to see what this apartment looked like lit up. It was cluttered with numerous amounts of mismatched furniture. There was one particular desk that was piled high with paper that seemed to be documents of the residents and their bills everywhere. There were dusty pictures of what I assumed to be her family but the mot surprising thing was an entire wall of books stuffed on to dusty shelves.

“Are you going to be ok here?” I asked, “I am going to go over and work.”

“Skip work today. I only just got you back. Besides, your rent is paid off for this month. You can help me with some chores.”

“Chores?” I asked and glanced around the room. She always had me do things outside her apartment. If she was going to have me help in here it could take days to get through anything. I didn’t have an excuse to get out of this time if my rent was paid, plus Hank probably wouldn’t let me back to the bar for a while. I hung my head in defeat. “Alright, Ms. Hodgens. What can I do?”

“First off I need those papers organized on my desk. I haven’t seen what most of them are for years. Then I’d like my library organized. My carpets need cleaning.” She hiccupped a few more times and her eyes closed. She fell asleep in the chair. She always was a very interesting old woman. I took a look at the work load ahead of me. At least it would help me keep my mind off the past couple of days.

After covering her up with a raggedy old afghan I set to work on the desk. There were hundreds and hundreds of papers to be organized. She had a filing cabinet next to the desk crammed with papers. It looked like she had attempted to at least try and file things but had stopped. These documents were probably from years past. I worked well into the night and was overwhelmed with the amount of work more than once. I found myself slumping down in the squeaky desk chair and placing my head in my hands to block out the impossible amount of work ahead of me.

By the time I left I had barely dented the work load. Ms. Hodgens was still sleeping in the chair and I made sure her door was locked as I left. I knew I brushed my teeth and went to bed but I hardly remembered doing them. All I knew was that my head was soon lying on my favourite lumpy pillow and I was about to drift off to sleep. I hoped that Ms. Hodgens would come to her senses in the morning once the alcohol had time to wear off.

*^*^*^*

I awoke to a knock on my door the next morning. I glanced over at my clock to see that it was 8 in the morning. I was getting used to sleeping in and getting back to my regular sleep deprived schedule for school was going to be hard. I scuffled over to the door wiping the sleep out of my eyes. Ms. Hodgens was on the other side when I opened it.

“Rise and shine you’ve got plenty of work ahead of you.” She shoved a cup of dangerous looking black coffee into my hands. I wondered how old it must have been. So much for my hopes of coming to her senses. It almost seemed she was more enthusiastic about me working for her now than when she was drunk. “I heard on the radio that school is canceled for you until next week so that gives you plenty of time to do some odd jobs for me. I like what you’ve done with the papers so far. I haven’t touched those things in who knows how long.”

She continued to chatter away as I followed her sleepily towards her room once more. She began to point out different things to do around her apartment but I tuned her out as I glanced over at the stacks of papers. They seemed to have grown overnight. I bravely sipped at the coffee knowing I would need all the energy I could get. It was thick and not very hot. I dumped it in the nearest plant which was dead anyway. I figured I’d just work to drown out thoughts of Hero and the problems I had faced.

I worked for hours on the papers, organizing them and stacking them differently. Ms. Hodgens left the room for a while but would come back and check to see how I was fairing. I stopped for lunch around three, mostly to give my back a break form all the leaning over. I had moved all the papers to the floor (which I also had to clear to make space) and I had been hunched over them since I started. I took a quick bathroom break while I ate a bit of bread and turkey.

When I went back to the room I worked until evening and finally the papers were completely filed, alphabetized and out of sight. I had too many paper cuts to count but at least that job was done. Despite being extremely tired I felt accomplished. When Ms. Hodgens came back into the room she looked surprised at my handiwork.

“Well, that looks amazing. I haven’t seen that desk in years. Why don’t you go upstairs and take the rest of the night off? I heard they’re going to have people telling stories about Hero on the radio tonight. You might want to listen about his deeds.”

“I thought you didn’t know about Hero.” I said while stretching all the cricks out of my back, arms and fingers.

“Well ever since you got in trouble I’ve been finding out information about him. Those people in that bar over there have been the best source of information. I’ll have to admit you chose to work with a good crowd.”

“Good maybe I can start work there again soon.” I hinted hoping she wouldn’t make me do anymore work.”

“I don’t think so. I heard about your little escapade a few days ago. I think you’re better off working here until things settle down over there. I heard it also might be dangerous.”
I restrained myself from rolling my eyes. I disliked how everyone was trying to protect me. It seemed anyone that did, got hurt. Just look at what happened to Hero. He got blown up.

“Go relax. You look tired.” She commanded and pushed me out the door.
I walked up the stairs realizing how great it felt to move my limbs after sitting all day. I never wanted to see another document again, though I did realize that all of the documents weren’t just for her tenants. It seemed she had a few official looking papers about a paranormal club. They were towards the bottom of the pile and looked the oldest. I couldn’t imagine her being part of a group like that but I figured it was probably just something that seemed interesting to her.

When I got to my room I put a kettle on the stove and went over to get my pajamas on. I pulled on my old threadbare bottoms but I walked over to the cracked mirror to check out my rib before putting on my shirt; what I saw surprised me. All of the dark purple bruising was gone. I ran my hand gently along my side to make sure the bruising had really healed. I didn’t feel any pain until I ran over my rib. It was slightly tender but it was bearable. Not like the agonizing pain earlier. Whatever that cure stuff was that I had taken a drink of in the lab was potent enough to cure bone fractures in a few days.

I lifted my arm and moved it in circles but it didn’t cause any problem for my rib at all. I figured by tomorrow or the next day I would be completely back to normal. As I looked at my fading injuries I began to wonder about Hero. It had been four days since the robot attack and no one had heard anything about him. People still wore black in the streets and I saw lots of black sheets and ribbons hanging from windows. It was hard to believe he was really gone. He saved us all, and I didn’t do much to help him.

I wondered if Hero DID survive how long it would take his injuries to heal. Would he ever heal from something like that? I was just about to pull my shirt on when I heard a whistling sound. I walked over to my tea kettle, surprised at how quickly it had heated, but I noticed there wasn’t any steam coming out. If it wasn’t my tea kettle what was it?

I rushed over to my window. Just as I was about to fling open the curtains there was a loud crash and I suddenly found myself engulfed in heat and I was hurling backwards. The heat wrapped around me and burned my throat. I would have screamed had my breath not been knocked out of me.

I slammed to the floor and crashed into the wall and was suddenly released. I rolled away and started gasping for breath. I grabbed my stomach in panic hoping I hadn’t broken any ribs again. Just then there was a loud groan of agony and I immediately looked up. There, lying in front of me was a steaming boy, and it wasn’t just any steaming boy, it was Hero.

I did a double take and was a little surprised. How was he here? Why was he steaming? He groaned in pain again and grabbed his stomach. His lips curled around his perfectly aligned white teeth and he winced. I had never witnessed so much pain from anyone before. I was scared to go near him and yet I didn’t want to stay away. He yelled out and curled into an almost fetal position.

“Hero?” I asked warily. He didn’t respond and instead continued to groan. “H-Hero, it’s me, Riel.” I crawled slowly over to him. Most of his costume was blown away revealing a great majority of his flesh. He had burns along his arms and chest. I couldn’t see his stomach area very well because he was holding on to it painfully. The outfit had dissolved from around most of his legs and his arms and chest, too. His boots were completely blown off and I was glad that he seemed to retain all of his fingers and toes. I looked to his eyes and for some reason I was glad to see that even though it was horribly broken, his mask was still intact. I wasn’t ready to know who he was, and I was sure it wouldn’t be good to know that information anyway. I was next to him when my tea kettle decided to explode with its wailing and I realized I still wasn’t wearing a top. I grabbed my shirt which had flown clear across the room from the impact and I pulled it on just before taking my kettle off the heat.

I rushed back over to him and sat on my knees near his head. He continued to groan and writhe in pain. I reached out to touch his cheek. As my fingers grazed his skin they burned like they were on fire. I quickly jerked them away and I sucked on them to make the burning stop.

“Hero, how can I help you?” I asked desperately as his muscles contracted and he yelled once more.

He began to breathe quite hard and more steam flew from him. Then I heard a terrible sound. The stairs were creaking. If Ms. Hodgens was coming up and she found Hero in my room- a boy- who knew what would happen. That might mean immediate eviction. Sure enough there was a loud knocking on my door.

“Riel, I heard a loud crash. Are you ok? What happened?”

I ran over to the door and opened it a crack.

“Hello, Ms. Hodgens. Sorry, I’m being clumsy again. I accidentally tripped over-my- uh- glass table.”

“I’ve never known you to be clumsy.” She said and tried to push my door open and look inside.

“I’m not decent, I can’t let you in.” I said, “I just got out of the shower.”

“Oh- well, someone said they heard groaning.”

“Yeah- I stubbed my toe when I tripped over the table- sorry, I’ll try and keep my agony down next time.”

Hero groaned in pain once more.

“What was that? Was that a boy?” She fiercely pushed on my door.

“Nope, just my radio- I’m listening to horror stories.”

She paused and I wasn’t sure if she was going to buy my fib. She wasn’t the most brilliant woman but she also wasn’t daft. To my great relief she stopped pushing against the door.

“Alright, well, keep it down your neighbours below you are complaining.” She took a few steps away from the door. I was just about to close it when she turned around.

“If I do find out you’ve had boys in your room- you’ll find I can be worse than your mother. You know I don’t tolerate that sort of business.”

“Yes, Ms. Hodgens.” I groaned and shut my door. I locked it and waited a few seconds to make sure she left down the creaking stairs before rushing back over to Hero. He was still steaming and I didn’t know what I should do. The only thing I could think of was to try and cool him off. I grabbed a towel and a facecloth and filled one of the buckets I used to collect raindrops when my ceiling leaked with cool water. As soon as it was full I lugged it back out into the main room. I deposited it by Hero and threw the face cloth and towel in the water. I grabbed the cloth and wrung it out slightly. I didn’t want it sopping wet, but I didn’t want it dry. I didn’t know if it was ok to touch him, but he was still burning. I lowered the cloth to his forehead and slowly dabbed it across his brows. Steam rose from his head like a sauna and the cloth was heated almost immediately. Hero barely reacted to the water so I figured it was ok.

I dipped the cloth back in the water and continued dabbing at his face. His brows remained furrowed and he continued to grit his teeth. I almost wondered if he was coherent enough to realize I was there. I worked as best as I could around his pretty eyes without disturbing the mask. When I finished his face I worked carefully down to his neck and across his shoulders. It seemed that his head wasn’t steaming any more. My plan was working. I grabbed the towel from the bucket this time and moved towards his chest. Carefully, I dabbed the towel across his muscles and into his deep rifts that defined them. He looked like a bodybuilder but he wasn’t overly huge. It was like his muscles were just the right size for him. I could only imagine the strength beneath the skin I was trying to cool off. When the towel became too hot from absorbing the heat I dipped it back in the bucket to cool it off and I continued working. I wanted to avoid his stomach because it seemed like that was where most of the pain was. Instead I worked on his arms. They were also insanely muscled and looked tense and clenched in pain. I tried my best to work around them but he still held so tightly to his stomach that I couldn’t get most of the surface area.

What caused this kind of heat? Where did he come from? I wondered if he had flown through the atmosphere. Most meteors can't get through, so how could he? I suppose he came through once when he arrived to this planet. My heart started to throb but I forced it to calm down. This was not the time to panic.

Finally, he stopped steaming but he was still in incredible pain. He breathed through his teeth because he kept his jaw clenched to help keep the agony at bay. I didn’t know what else to do or what his symptoms were. He was just in pain. Maybe if he was as hot on the inside as he was on the outside I could help, but I didn’t want to interfere with anything in his stomach. I hoped a glass of water wouldn’t hurt. After all, I felt parched after flying across the room in a few seconds, he must have been starving for water. I went over to the sink and filled up two glasses. I brought them over to him and placed one on the floor.

“Hero- can you drink some water? Do you even want any water?” He seemed to be too preoccupied by pain to respond. Surly the explosion hadn’t deafened him? It was a miracle he survived at all. What on Earth was he doing in my bedroom? Well if he couldn’t hear me I might as well let him know I had water for him. I placed the glass near his lips and poured a little in. I waited to see if he would spit it out or choke on it, but after a moment I saw him thickly swallow. If he had that much trouble swallowing water then his throat must have been drier than I could imagine. Once more I placed the glass to his lips and poured the water slowly in.

He swallowed.

Sip by sip he drank the two glasses of water. I went back to the sink and filled them up again. I continued the slow process until he had downed at least twelve. At that point I had hoped I wasn’t forcing him to drink. Maybe swallowing was just a reflex and I was over hydrating him.

“It would be a lot easier if I could get some information out of you.” I said as gently as I could. I touched his cheek and found it still incredibly hot. I didn’t have to jerk my hand away from the burning, but I couldn’t touch him for long. I dabbed at his head again with the cloth trying to keep him cool. I had plenty of experience of taking care of the sick. When my little sisters got sick they all seemed to be sick at the same time and I remembered taking care of them constantly. I wasn’t familiar, however, with taking care of intense pain. I didn’t know how to help him through it. I was also pretty sure it would be hard to find a cure for healing pain after surviving a near nuclear sized bomb explosion. I needed a superhero manual or guide.

By the time he finally calmed down from his pain light was pouring in my broken window. I’d have to make a mental note to somehow get it fixed. I stood to stretch my legs and survey the damage. Glass was scattered everywhere and I was sure a great deal landed in my bed. I was planning on washing my sheets anyway. I’d just strip them off later and take them to the basement for cleaning.

I glanced down at Hero. He had stopped most of his writhing and he had cooled down considerably. He had stayed so hot at one point of the night that I nearly dumped the entire bucket of water on him. I realized that was probably too overzealous of a thing to do. Besides, I didn’t really mind dabbing him with the cloth. It made me feel like I was at least doing something to help. I went into the bathroom and grabbed another towel from the rack and brought it out to him. It wasn’t much but I figured I could give him a makeshift pillow. I would have given him mine but I wasn’t sure if it had shattered glass all over it. I knelt down next to him and slowly lifted his head. I placed the towel underneath and set his head back down. I couldn’t think of anything else to do for him so I retrieved the broken bristled broom that came with my room and I started sweeping up all the broken glass. It amazed me just how far glass could shatter. When I had seen Hero crash through the window to rescue me from Madbe the shards had fallen in a somewhat neat little array close to the window. What did he do, go to a window breaking school?

This entrance through the window was different, though. It seemed out of control and dangerous. With all the glass everywhere it was amazing I didn’t get hurt. I almost wondered if Hero had protected me when he came through. Remembering back, he did change positions with me so that when we hit the ground he took most of the impact. Even in his torturous mind-blowing pain he still took the time to protect me. It got me to thinking, why would he choose this place? Of all places he could have chosen to crash into, what would make him come here? I didn’t know where he lived, or if he even lived in a house, but if I was in danger this might just be the last place I would come.

I swept up all the glass and scooped it into the trash can. It tinkled as it fell to the bottom. I figured I had cleaned most of it up, but just in case I went over and put my shoes on. I returned the broom to its corner and then went back to Hero. He was no longer lying in a fetal position but he still held on to his stomach. I was amazed to see that the majority of his burns seemed to have lessened in damage and were beginning to heal over. I guess he wouldn’t need bandages after all, I just hoped that whatever he was using to quickly heal would have the same effect on his stomach.