"Fuck," Ken muttered under his breath, while looking at the cityscape through his binoculars.
…I agreed with the sentiment from what I witnessed, after I texted Elise to give her an update of where we were right now.
When we neared Philadelphia, Ken started looking through his binoculars, which he used his power on to amplify the viewing distance.Combined with his glasses that allowed him to see through obstacles, we could see danger before it saw us.
And I'm glad he did, because the airport which we wanted to drive past was an active warzone.
And going north and around, there was fighting there as well. Entering from the west was not an option.
So we opted to head south, crossing the Delaware river and loop around to enter the city from the east.
And halfway through, Ken saw that there was also heavy fighting there.
I could guess it was the same situation in the north.
The whole city was in chaos. It's even worse than my worst expectations.
And Ken, his expressions when he looked at the burning streets, violence and corpses in the crashed cars that tried to flee the city, told me all the horror that I never wanted to encounter.
But I had to get my brother out of there. So as the sun was setting, and looking at the map one more time, I got an idea.
We could enter the city another way. A route that would let us avoid all the fighting. But it was a one way street, we would at the same time be completely exposed if someone was paying attention. I just had to hope that nobody did or they missed us because it was getting dark out.
I told Ken, and after explaining my reasoning, he agreed. So, I was now standing on a dock with him, and I made him look across the water at the river flowing into Philadelphia, as a last assurance check.
And after Ken was done looking, he lowered the binoculars and gave his verdict.
"I don't see anyone at the entrance, but I can't see far enough ahead to see beyond into the city."
"…That's fine. Once we enter the city and you see something, we can always go ashore."
He considered what I said and then nodded stiffly. He also realized this way wasn't completely safe, but the safest option we could think of.
"Let's get in then."
He nodded again, and let the binoculars dangle around his neck from the cord. He grabbed the medkit off the ground, placed it in the rowing boat and carefully stepped inside while holding onto his self-made slingshot sticking out of his pocket.
A weapon made of an enhanced durable plastic car funnel, supernaturally elastic bands, and superstrong duct tape. We tested it both after grabbing palm sized smooth stones of the riverbed which he made supernaturally durable too.
It was strong. Ken could barely draw it. I could, especially with my power. And the shot velocity was way more than the force put in. It was like a gunshot, definitely lethal.
Ken put those stones in his coatpockets as ammunition. As did I, but I could also just throw them regularly. They weren't pebble sized, so I was sure I could keep things non-lethal with them if I used my power when throwing them.
But I hoped that it would be smooth sailing as I untied the small four person boat from the dock, stepped in and sat down on one of the benches.
I grabbed the pedals, but before I started I glanced in reflex at the dark water.
I felt a slight hesitation fill me. I remembered when I had lifted that bookcase with my power to save that officer, the strain I felt then upon my body. And rowing, the resistance the water would create if I increased the speed, could I handle it?
…I took a deep breath. It didn't matter how much of my body would be spent. For my brother, I would bear it.
I looked at the horizon and started rowing, while Ken was sitting on the other bench, scouting ahead through his binoculars for danger.
Cold wind was rushing across my body, as the boat glided at high speed through the colder water. But what kept me warm was my muscles burning. I started feeling it almost immediately when we were halfway across the Delaware, but I gritted through it.
The pedals in my hand started feeling heavier and heavier with each stroke, but my power kept them moving all the while.
My body made the same repeated motion over and over and over again, in perfect rhythm, though I felt each stroke required more force as I felt us speed up.
I didn't care. Stroke after stroke after stroke, until…
We crossed it, and rowed into Philadelphia.
I couldn't look around me well because I was hyperfocused on rowing, but what tipped me off was the sound of constant gunshots.
It filled me with anxiety, but I could only trust Ken.
So I kept on rowing for a few moments longer, until…
"Slow down. There's… debris in the water because a bridge collapsed."
I immediately complied and backpedaled to slow down.
"Grr"
A grunt escaped my lips. It felt like the sudden reversal of momentum almost ripped my arms out of their sockets. But they held on, as did my now painful hands on the pedals.
And as we were almost still, I looked around briefly across the water, at the pieces of the bridge sticking out.
And at the… the corpses floating around.
I continued rowing at mostly mundane speed, under Ken's navigation to avoid everything. And when we were clear, I picked up the speed again.
We flew across the water again, until we neared another bridge.
"Stop! There are people fighting there!"
I backpedaled again, coming to a complete stop on open water.
My heart was pounding. Everything hurt, my hands the most of all. We were about two thirds of the way there. Just a little more, just a bit more until I reached my brother.
"Describe what you see. Can we slip past them?"
In the dusk, I saw Ken focus again, scanning the entire bridge. He spoke once he got the full picture.
"It's a gunfight in the middle of the bridge. They're mostly taking cover. No one is near the edges."
"…So, it sounds like we can slip past them."
"…I… I think so. Are… are you sure?"
"…Yes. Just keep paying attention and give me your slingshot. If someone notices I'll shoot him down with my power."
Ken twisted his body immediately and looked back at me.
"…Can you do it?"
"Yes."
"…Why not your gun?"
"The slingshot is quiet."
He stared into my eyes, thinking. And I held my gaze.
"…Okay then, here," he said while taking the weapon out of his pocket and then placed it next to me, together with some rocks."
I nodded, took a deep breath, and rowed.
As hard as my body could take.
*Splash* *splash* *splash*
The water gave away rhythmically, and we shot forward again. The splashing sounds bore to me a resemblance of gunshots themselves.
*Splash* *splash* *bang*
I heard it coming from the bridge now, the sound of actual gunfire.
I kept on rowing.
The gunshots grew louder and louder with each pedal stroke, until it completely overtook the splashing sounds.
And soon after…
All grew suddenly dark and muffled.
We were under the bridge.
And I kept rowing.
Then light again. Violence again.
Ken said nothing. I kept going.
The pain in my hands became almost unbearable, like knives were stabbing through them.
I knew this would happen. I could grit through it. I kept my focus and powers going.
I heard the sound of gunshots grow in distance, until only splashing sounds remained in my ears.
And after a few more strokes…
"We're past them, and it's safe in front of us. Can you keep going."
"Arg."
A pained grunt unwillingly escaped my lips as I lost focus. My rowing stopped, but the momentum still carried us forward.
I glanced at Ken, who was looking worried at me and my… hands?
I looked at them.
I saw red.
I nodded at Ken and continued rowing, ignoring my body's protests.
And after a few more agonizing strokes, I heard him say we arrived.
I looked ahead and saw the river curve, and a quiet park stretch before me.
I slowed my rowing down and navigated us to the edge. I then rowed the boat partially on land, coming to a stop.
And finally, I stopped ignoring my sweat-drenched body, and tried to get my heavy breathing under control for a moment.
"Jack, can you let go?"
…Ken seemed to have opened the medkit and had grabbed antiseptic spray and bandages.
After another deep breath, I found the courage to loosen my grip and lift my hands.
"Arg, shit!"
Gravity took a hold on the pedals, but they kept sticking on my torn skin and congealed blood.
"Ken, gr…grab one."
He quickly put the medical supplies down next to him, and grabbed with one hand the pedal and with his other hand my wrist.
And without warning, immediately pushed and pulled.
"AAH!"
The sound of my scream suppressed the sound of something being torn.
Ken was stunned for a moment, unsure what to do with my other hand.
…I gritted my teeth and put my wrist on a part of the pedal myself.
And pulled my other hand free.
"Uurg."
Only a weak, defeated moan came out of my throat as I heard my skin tear again.
I… I faced the palms of my shaking hands in front of me.
They… they looked worse than when a knife had gone through them.
"Jack, give me your hands."
Ken had grabbed the antiseptic again. More pain.
I put my hands in front of me, palms up.
He immediately grabbed a wrist and started spraying.
"Fuck!"
I reflectively swore and pulled my wrist back, but he held on tight and my hand remained unmoving. I could only accept the pain.
He did the same to my other hand. My muscles were burned out,I didn't have the strength left to pull away from him.
Once he was done with disinfecting, he wrapped the bandages around them.
By the end, my hands were half covered with them. But they felt better, the pain was bearable.
I balled them into fists. It hurt and the grip was weaker, but I could still hold stuff and move my fingers.
"Thanks," I said when Ken was done closing the medkit again.
"…Yeah, but did you really have to row so hard?"
"…It was better than going slow and increasing the risk of getting shot at. Also, we barely have any daylight left. We've got to hurry."
I stood up with another grunt, originating from the protesting muscles in my upper body, but I bore through it. I'd have a moment to walk it off.
"Let's go."
"…Okay," Ken simply responded.
He packed the slingshot and rocks again in his pockets, and with medkit in hand stepped out of the boat with me.
Then we started walking towards our destination through a quiet park.
Violence hadn't reached here, so I could let my guard and pace down a bit.
I needed a brief respite. At the start my whole body was stiffened from the rowing strain, but the soft movement and cold air soothed my muscles.
It was only a few minutes before we had walked through the entire park, but it felt like it definitely improved my condition.
And I definitely needed to be in top form for what was still to come, what I expected to be the most dangerous part.
Standing on the edge of the park, hidden behind trees, Ken looked through them with his binoculars scanning the upcoming streets.
His head moved a few times from left to right, sometimes stopping in between sweeps. And when he put his binoculars down…
"No one's there…" he said with a slightly confused expression.
And… I caught some hesitation in his voice.
"What are you thinking?"
"I… the houses are empty, no crashed cars or corpses. I think everyone here managed to evacuate when the violence started."
…I let what he said sink in. For us it's the best news possible, since there isn't any danger.
But then, what worries me, disturbs me…
Why is my brother still stuck here?
"Let's move, and keep an eye out. We're almost there," I said to Ken.
He nodded after a moment, and then we exited the park, and crossed a few quiet streets and alleys.
Until we stood at the exit of the last alley and gazed upon the college house where my brother supposedly was.
I asked Ken to look, and he did through his binoculars.
And he immediately froze and gasped.
My heart started pounding as I saw him starting to shake and turn ash white.
"K… Ken? What… what's wrong?"
He lowered his binoculars and said under his breath.
"There… they're all dead."
"Wh… what?"
"There are corpses everywhere… I… I can't."
No! No! No that can't be!
I looked in panic at the top floor of the rectangular building, where my brother's room was.
Ken… I only saw him look at the lower floors.
"Ken, I need to know what happened there. If… if my brother is still there. Please."
"I… just… give me a moment. I… I feel sick. They… they're all"
"Ken, hey, look at me."
He did, he stared into my eyes.
"They're dead now. Don't think of them as people anymore, but something else. Like… like broken puppets leaking red paint. It's… it's the only way to bear the sight. Can… can you please try it for me? I… I need to know."
"…Al… alright. I'll… I'll try."
He took a deep breath and once again begrudgingly gazed into the building through his binoculars, slowly shifting his gaze to higher and higher floors, describing all the while to everything that he was seeing.
"There are a lot of armed men in the lobby, and also a lot on one floor. They… they shot everyone, they… they're all…"
"Don't finish that thought. On the upper floor, what do you see there?"
He craned his head upwards. And then, his expression grew confused.
"What is it?"
"There's nobody."
"What?"
"It's empty. No people or corpses… ah! I see four people. I… I think it's them, but…"
"R… Really?"
"Show me their pictures again… to be sure."
I pulled my phone out and showed Ken the pictures of my brother and Willow again, whereafter he confirmed one last time through his binoculars.
"Yeah, it's them. They look fine… but… there are two of each."
"…What do you mean?"
"I mean, a pair of them are sitting next to each other, and their… doubles are standing somewhere else."
"…It might be one of their powers. But you said they're fine, right!?"
"Yeah… I think so."
"Thank god," I exhaled.
Finally some relief… and questions. Lots of questions, but I had no time to theorise what was happening in that building. Answers would come when I got my brother out of there. But how?
"Keep looking at them. I'll try calling my brother again."
Ken agreed, and with the phone still in my hand, I started to dial my brother's number again as I put it to my ear.
And I immediately heard an unexpected sound.
Not his voice, nor a voicemail.
"It's just static."
"What?"
"The sound, all I hear is static. Wait."
I canceled the call and saw that I still had a 5G connection, so I tried searching something on the internet.
And it didn't work.
As a last resort, I tried calling Ken, and I immediately heard static again.
"It's being jammed," was the conclusion I said out loud to Ken.
"...One of those guys," he said while looking back at the building.
"I think so too. That explains why my brother is unreachable, and likely why no one in there has called for help."
"So… what then?"
The easy way didn't work, so I stared with Ken at the building once again, thinking about how I could reach my brother.
What happened in that building? Where did all those people on the top floor go? Because if I could figure that out, I could figure a way in and out again.
"Is there a roof exit?"
Ken shifted his gaze slightly upwards and looked through his binoculars once again.
"Yes, there is."
"And there is a railing around the roof, right? If so, can you see something with what they could have climbed down with?"
"...There… I think there is a rope. But… it's not thrown down and still tied up there."
"...Okay, look around for a rainpipe or something that lets me climb up there.
"What!?"
Ken put his binoculars down and looked aghast at me.
"Are you insane! It's like twelve floors up!"
"Well, I'm confident that my powers let me climb up there, and then I'll throw the rope down and pull you up. You can manage that, right?"
"No no no how can you even know your powers let you do that!?"
"Well… I never rowed before either. Look, unless you have a better idea, this seems like the safest option to me. So?"
"I… damn it… there's… there's indeed a pipe at the corner. Just… fine. Let's go then."
I nodded, and then we walked towards the rain pipe going down from the roof while Ken explained exactly where the rope was and how I would hoist him up.
And once we arrived, I tucked and pulled a few times on it to feel how secure it was, and the pipe didn't move at all. It would hold me.
Then I hung briefly on it, hands on the cold pipe and feet on the wall. The bandages didn't help, but my fingers could make a secure grip and my shoes had enough friction on the wall. I could make the climb.
I let my feet touch the ground again and let go, turning towards Ken to make the final confirmation. But he spoke before I could.
"Are you sure you can make it? And the rope… I need to wrap it around the top of one foot and secure it with the other one, right?"
"Yeah, I can make it. And it's just like gym class. Even easier, after all the training you did. You'll be fine."
"You won't drop me, right?"
"I promise, I'll never let go. If something happens, I'll fall with you. And I promised Elise I'll come back to her, so that won't be happening."
"Fine… okay, fine. Just… go do what we discussed."
"Alright see you soon," I said as farewell.
Then, I looked up and started climbing.
Once again a rhythm of sounds filled my ears, the soles of my shoes hitting the wall and the metallic vibrations of my hands gripping the pipe.
And I reached higher and higher. I felt almost weightless, as I quickly reached the edge of the roof.
I pulled myself up and hoisted a knee over the edge. I then dragged myself completely on the roof while holding the railing.
I vaulted over it and walked a few steps along the edge of the roof until I reached the rope tied securely to the railing.
Then I kicked the other end down the building with a smile.
I watched until it went taut, then grabbed it with my hands.
I felt some movement from the other side, and after a few moments felt three short tucks.
I started pulling the rope up, and quickly more and more rope fell loosely beside me.
My body felt it was a little bit more strenuous than climbing, but tremendously easier than rowing.
And in no time, Ken's face emerged above the edge. I quickly grabbed him and hoisted him over the railing.
"F… fuck," he muttered between pants once he had his boots on the ground again.
"...Remind me, you're the guy who jumped out of his bedroom window, right?"
"That… that's different! I tested it out beforehand in my bedroom!"
"Well, we left the medkit down there. Not sure there was something you could have used in there, but I'm sure we can find a new sheet for you in one of these rooms so that you don't have to climb down."
"Down? Oh… oh no, I didn't think that far ahead. And… wait, you didn't mention that either!"
"Well… I didn't think about it either. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't need to leave you behind, and we'll figure the rest out later. I want to see my brother now, can you guide me?"
"...You… I… just… promise that you'll get me down again, otherwise I'll talk badly about you to Elise!"
"Fine, fine, I promise."
"...Yeah, sure… At least you seem relaxed again," He finished muttering under his breath.
"There's one more thing, regarding my brother…" I continued saying with a serious tone, pulling Ken's attention towards me again.
"Like with all that I had gone through when I still lived in my father's household, James went through a lot. So I want you to know that he's dependable and trustworthy, but… my father… because of him, if James now has to pick sides between me and him, he'll always choose my father."
"...What!? Even… even after what he had done to our mother."
"Yes…, at least we should assume for now. So I want to ask you to not mention anything and let me talk to my brother regarding my situation. We have to hide it for him, but I'll see if there is a way to convince him."
Ken looked at me with an unsure expression. He found it hard to believe.
"Because you know what happened to me…, please trust me on this."
"...Okay," He managed to say, doing just that.
"Good. Shall we go in then?"
He nodded, and he took the lead, while I followed from behind.
We reached the roof entrance and Ken opened the door. Apparently, it wasn't locked.
We then descended down the short staircase and entered the top floor.
Tension filled us two again and we went quiet, because armed murderers were patrolling below us.
Ken guided me towards a room, the one where my brother and Willow were.
Or… two of each of them, still sitting in the same spot, according to Ken.
And as I stood in front of the door, I moved my hand towards the doorbell.
*Ding dong*
A melody rang out from the room, and I waited for a few seconds.
And waited… and waited…
?
I glanced at Ken, who I saw was looking also slightly confused.
"They're not moving, just… staring at the door."
I looked in front of me again, and my hand moved towards the door handle.
And I pulled it down and pushed.
The door opened, it wasn't locked.
Suddenly, across the hallway, I was face to face with one pair of them sitting on the couch.
I immediately looked at my brother.
He just stared at me with no expression on his face.
And then Willow, exactly the same.
It made the hair on my neck stand on end.
I wanted to say something, but before I could…
The air shimmered in front of me for less than a second.
And another Willow stood there, same expression.
She grabbed me and pulled me towards her before I could react.
She threw me across her hip.
The world spun, and then my back hit the ground.
The first meeting with my brother's girlfriend was painful.