I’ve started rewriting, but I haven’t seen it all the way through. I’m only 80% confident that I know what happens. This version of Chapter Five is significantly different from the original, but since no one has seen the original, I guess that doesn’t matter. Chapter Five is pretty long, too, so I’m going to give it to you in pieces.
______________<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know this is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeff was just barely speaking directly into Lisa\u2019s ear. The wind was still rushing past them, so they could hear each other only if their lips were right up next to the eardrum, an arrangement that suited Jeff just fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t,\u201d Lisa whispered back. \u201cBut it\u2019s got to be either this one or the one across the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
They hovered over an apartment complex with a neglected pool in the center. The water was covered with floating leaves, which were as brown and dingy as the surrounding walls. He set down behind a flimsy black railing on the second floor overlooking the pool, and Lisa seemed a bit too anxious to get her own feet on the ground.<\/p>\n
Jeff, still in his tights, mask, and glasses, felt out of place and wished he had taken the opportunity to change clothes when he\u2019d had the chance. He told himself that he just didn\u2019t want to be recognized from the video footage, and that this had nothing to do with how silly he looked in front of Lisa. He also knew that the second thought would have never even occurred to him ten minutes earlier, before his nose had gone and complicated his thinking.<\/p>\n
Lisa scrambled down the stairs to the front gate and quickly returned. \u201cIt\u2019s the right address,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich means,\u201d Jeff said, \u201cthat his apartment is 212, which would be – \u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight over there,\u201d Lisa finished, pointing at an apartment directly facing them from across the pool. The lights were on, but the front room looked empty.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight,\u201d Jeff said. \u201cSo now what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow,\u201d Lisa said, \u201cyou get us in there and we look for information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get us in there?\u201d Jeff sputtered. \u201cJust how am I supposed to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa\u2019s face hardened, which Jeff took as a sign that she hadn\u2019t thought this through, but she didn\u2019t want Jeff to know that. Jeff smiled. I\u2019m more perceptive than you think I am, lady.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s so funny?\u201d Lisa snapped, misreading Jeff\u2019s smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s funny,\u201d Jeff answered defensively.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cThen do your job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeff did a double take. \u201cExcuse me? My job<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Lisa said just a little too loudly. \u201cYou\u2019re the one with the \u2013 the tights,\u201d she said, waving her arms absently in Jeff\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n \u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo \u2013 kick the door in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh, good plan,\u201d Jeff smarted back, pressing the tips of his fingers together. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a better idea?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Jeff said, \u201cbut doing nothing would be preferable to pounding down a bearing wall and waking all the neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to pound down the wall! Just the door!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, really?\u201d Jeff was shouting now. \u201cYou know how this works, do you? A lot of experience in breaking and entering?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNever mind, then,\u201d she said quietly, and then she ducked below the railing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Jeff turned to see what had changed her demeanor so suddenly. Then he saw it, too.<\/p>\n There was someone in David\u2019s apartment.<\/p>\n An older guy had just walked in front of the window, between a small break in the curtains. He was old enough to be David\u2019s grandfather. Or great-grandfather. He was smoking a cigar and gesturing wildly, talking to someone just out of sight.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s Leo Chakiris,\u201d Jeff whispered, now stooped down next to Lisa.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a geezer<\/em>,\u201d Lisa said.<\/p>\n Jeff nodded. \u201cBeen around the block a few times, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s he talking to?\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff vaulted over the railing, and Lisa made a gasp of protest before remembering that Jeff could do that sort of thing without falling to the ground below. It\u2019s impressive, isn\u2019t it? Jeff thought, tiptoeing through the air delicately like a ballerina en pointe. He knew it was silly to waste time showing off, but he couldn\u2019t help himself.<\/p>\n He floated over to an angle better suited to see deeper into the apartment, or, at least, to see who Leo was talking to. And there he was, just on the other side of the window.<\/p>\n Walthius.<\/p>\n Jeff put his hand over his mouth to keep his jaw from falling to the pool below.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d Lisa whispered. Jeff motioned for her to come over and look. She ran around the side of the second floor closest to where he was hovering.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s your friend, isn\u2019t it?\u201d she whispered. Jeff, too stunned to talk, nodded absently. Lisa didn\u2019t seem shocked – just puzzled. \u201cWhat\u2019s he doing in there?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Jeff tried to summon some words to answer, but it was all he could do to shrug helplessly. He could think of no earthly reason why Leo Chakiris and Walthius could possibly be in the same room together, let alone that room.<\/p>\n \u201cIs he a prisoner?\u201d Lisa asked.<\/p>\n Jeff shook his head. \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d Walthius looked perfectly relaxed, and he wasn\u2019t all that far from the front door. He could have made a break for it if he wanted to.<\/p>\n That seemed to confuse Lisa even further. \u201cIs he a friend of David\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot that I know of,\u201d Jeff answered.<\/p>\n \u201cThen how do those two know each other?\u201d Lisa demanded.<\/p>\n Jeff shot her a look. \u201cAnd how am I supposed to know that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d said Lisa, annoyed. \u201cHe\u2019s your<\/em> friend. If anyone would know, it would be you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d think so, wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d Jeff said, turning his attention back to the front window.<\/p>\n Things were starting to get heated. Leo Chakiris yelled \u201cno!\u201d so loudly that it almost shook the walls. Jeff and Lisa stared at each other, wide-eyed and shocked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was that<\/em>?\u201d Lisa whispered. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need to know what they\u2019re saying in there,\u201d Jeff whispered back. He crouched down and practically crawled up to the door. He gently placed both of his hands on the door\u2019s base. Lisa waved her arms in a frenetic silent protest, a panicked look on her face.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going in,\u201d Jeff whispered harshly. He then put his ear up against the door in the hopes of hearing the low volume portions of the conversation.<\/p>\n Lisa opened her eyes a little wider and then dropped down and scurried over next to Jeff to join him in his eavesdropping.<\/p>\n \u201c- bleachers full of dead teenagers,\u201d Jeff heard Walthius say. \u201cIs that really\u2026\u201d the last part of the sentence dropped off.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did he say?\u201d Lisa whispered. \u201cI couldn\u2019t hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNeither could I.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid he say something about dead teenagers?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think so,\u201d Jeff hissed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s that supposed to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa looked slightly manic. \u201cIs he talking about us<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLook,\u201d Jeff hissed, exasperated, \u201cI can\u2019t very well listen to this and give you a play-by-play at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa shot him a dirty look.<\/p>\n Leo Chakiris was talking now. \u201cEarthquakes happen when they happen, kid,\u201d he said. And then Walthius said, \u201cOh, don\u2019t give me that,\u201d and then the conversation dropped down too low to make out any actual words.<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Earthquakes happen when they happen?\u2019 \u201d Lisa repeated. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff shushed her, probably a little too loudly. Was it his imagination, or had the conversation inside stopped after he shushed? His heart seemed to stop until he heard the low rumble of voices again. But was someone coming toward the door?<\/p>\n Jeff heard distinct sounds of movement, and he motioned Lisa to make a break for it, but she just stayed there, her arms wrapped around her knees, paralyzed with fear.<\/p>\n Someone was standing right in front of the other side of the door, which Jeff was sure was about to open.<\/p>\n But it didn\u2019t open.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right, another hero,\u201d came Walthius\u2019 clearly audible voice from just inches away, blocked only by a thin piece of wood. \u201cWal-me-thius did it before, and now I\u2019ve done it again.\u201d<\/p>\n Huh? Wal-me-thius? Jeff had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Is that like \u201cMe, Walthius?\u201d Shouldn\u2019t it be \u201cI, Walthius?\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa looked confused, too. \u201cWho is – \u201d<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t get a chance to finish. An explosion rocked the entire building, blowing the door off its hinges and out into the courtyard, and Walthius along with it. He came flailing out directly above Jeff\u2019s head and behind a massive wooden chunk that slammed up against the metal railing and splintered in every direction.<\/p>\n That cleared the way for Walthius, who arrived at where the railing used to be just a split second after the top half of the door. Walthius arced slightly upward and before he dropped like a stone on to the patio below. In that briefest of moments, just before he fell, he managed to make eye contact with Jeff.<\/p>\n Walthius was smiling. Smiling!<\/p>\n And then he was gone.<\/p>\n Jeff was about to scream, but then he heard Lisa screaming for him. He turned to face the apartment which was now engulfed in flame. Lisa had been pulled into the center of the room by the backdraft, and she was hysterical, screaming but still cradling herself, rocking back and forth almost in a fetal position, a stream of blood mixed with grime was trickling down from her forehead. Jeff could barely see her through the wall of flame that stood between them.<\/p>\n She herself was not on fire, though. Indeed, she seemed to be sitting in the eye of a blazing hurricane. Jeff walked through the flames as the heat shattered his glasses and consumed his mask. He was blinded by the brilliant, searing flames. He could feel the hot wind rushing past and hear the crackling flames engulfing everything around him.<\/p>\n Then he got to the center of the room, and Lisa.<\/p>\n The entire building was being consumed now. Jeff wasn\u2019t injured at all, but the smoke was making it impossible to breathe. He grabbed Lisa and leapt upward, pushing effortlessly through the ceiling and soaring into the night sky, still struggling to see anything. The cool breeze rushing past him revived his spirits, and after a minute of staring upward, he thought he could actually see stars \u2013 real ones, not the ones burned onto his retina by the colossal blast. <\/p>\n He looked down, and despite his myopia, he could see the apartment building being devoured by flame. As he got closer, he realized it was better than he\u2019d thought – the flames were actually localized, focused primarily on the one apartment. Thankfully, the majority of the building was essentially intact, and the other tenants were gathering out near ground zero, looking frazzled but unharmed.<\/p>\n Good, Jeff thought. I don\u2019t have to worry about them.<\/p>\n \u201cWalthius!\u201d he shouted. No answer. He knew there was no way anyone could have survived a fall like that, but he refused to let himself believe it. He was hovering above the pool, away from the prying eyes, hands and questions of the other bewildered residents. With Lisa, bleeding and unconscious, cradled in his arms, Jeff looked everywhere for a glimpse of his other friend. He was practically blind without his glasses, so he squinted with all his might. All he could see was blobs of motion, which he guessed were probably people.<\/p>\n \u201cWalthius!\u201d he shouted again. He saw a blue blur over to his right and whisked over to see if it might be him. It wasn\u2019t. Not even close. It was a very old woman who didn\u2019t seem pleased to see him.<\/p>\n \u201cExcuse me,\u201d Jeff asked. \u201cDid you see a\u2026\u201d he stopped himself. See a what? A guy with wavy hair come flying over the balcony? How could he possibly ask this question without freaking her out anymore than she already was?<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the devil!\u201d the lady yelled. \u201cThe devil!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably,\u201d Jeff said, turning his back on her and gliding out over the pool.<\/p>\n The pool.<\/p>\n Jeff felt a rush of hope as he considered the possibility that the trajectory of Walthius\u2019 fall might have landed him in soft water instead of hard cement. The pool was wavy and the water was disturbed, but there was no one swimming. Walthius landed in the pool. He was all right. He wasn\u2019t dead.<\/p>\n So where was he?<\/p>\n Lisa moaned.<\/p>\n Jeff looked at her and then glanced up at the balcony, which was missing a large section of railing. He saw blobs of bodies up there, too \u2013 a mass of people demanding answers. In a corner of his mind, he wondered whether they had gotten a good glimpse of his unmasked face, but that did not distract him from his purpose.<\/p>\n Wherever Walthius was, he didn\u2019t need him right now. Lisa did. Jeff floated upward past the angry horde, far from the chaos and back toward the real stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I'vestarted rewriting, but I haven't seen it all the way through. I'm only 80% confident that I know what happens. This version of Chapter Five is significantly different from the original, but since no one has seen the original, I guess that doesn't matter. Chapter Five is pretty long, too, so I'm going to give ... 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