Contractor (5 page)

And then Daniel drew out the aluminum

baseball bat from under the back of his

hoodie.

He walked over and kicked Kyle until

he twitched away from his friends. The thing

still clung to his back. Daniel took the

opportunity to give it a more clinical

inspection.

The Vorid was slimy, pulsating. Half of

it seemed solid. Other parts were like

sludge, shiny, moving, oozing into Kyle’s

body in some places and back out in others.

The tentacles shifted when Kyle moved, but

he was totally oblivious to the fact that it had

its hooks set into him.

Freaky.

Daniel brought the end of the bat to rest

against Kyle’s temple. Kyle managed to

crack his swollen eyelids. He moaned

something unintelligible.

"Let me make this clear." Daniel

crouched down next to him. "Screw with me

again and I’ll ruin your shit so badly it’ll be

closed casket." He stood straight and touched

the bat against the bridge of Kyle’s nose.

Kyle cried louder.

Daniel brought the bat up and swung like

a golfer going for a long drive.

He planted it into the ground a few

inches from Kyle’s face, kicking a clod of

dirt and dead leaves into his mouth. Kyle

flailed and spluttered.

"Next time," Daniel said, "I break your face in." He looked back. "That goes for the rest of you assholes, too. You mess with me,

or any of them, it gets paid back double. And

in case you think you can tell someone about

this, think again. It’s all recorded, and all it

will show is us coming to talk and you

making threats and attacking us. So unless

you want to spend the summer in Juvie, back

off. You’ve been warned."

Jake sniffed and rubbed at his nose.

"There’s a lot of the spray floating around.

Let’s go."

Daniel was starting to tear up a little

himself. "Let’s."

They formed a line to walk back through

the woods. With the battle won, the party

transformed into the Magnificent Seven like

night giving way to dawn. Each retelling of

the peppery defense was more dramatic than

the last; they were giddy with adrenaline and

an unaccustomed rush of victory.

Hypocrites to the end. But they were his

hypocrites.

Once they reached the front of the

school, there was practically a line to give

Daniel high-fives. Daniel put on what he

hoped was a smile and let them have their

fun. Any idiot knew you always brought guns

to a knife fight. It wasn’t like he was a

genius—just better prepared.

After overseeing the terms of their future

alliance and grudgingly accepting a few

sweaty dork hugs, Daniel started his walk

home. It wasn’t long until Tom caught up

with him. His extra pudge jostled as he

jogged. "Hey, Dan!"

Daniel stopped and waited for him to

catch up. It was an effort to keep the disdain

off his face. "What’s up?"

Tom caught his breath for a second. "I

just…wanted to say…thanks, man." He

wiped his hand across his soul patch.

"Really."

"You’re welcome."

"And…sorry for going off, back in the

AV room. I thought it was gonna be bad."

"He who laughs last," Daniel said.

"…could they really go to Juvie for that

stuff?"

Daniel shrugged. "Dunno. They’d

probably get off, or just get suspended or

something. But they don’t know that."

Tom grinned, then frowned again. "Can I

ask you something?"

"What?"

"Before, when you asked everyone if

they were eighteen? What was that about?"

"Ohio state law only permits those who

are eighteen or older to carry pepper spray,"

Daniel said. "I wasn’t going on camera to

incriminate myself."

Tom made a smirk. "You were looking

out for us the whole time, huh?"

"Not really. I got it all before this

started, just in case. I didn’t know if some

guy twice my size would come up behind me

while I was keying his car. They had a bulk

deal online."

"Dan?" Tom asked.

"Yeah?"

"…you know, if you want, you can come

by the club whenever. Honorary membership

as far as I’m concerned." He rubbed the back

of his neck. "I mean, it’s almost summer, but

we could hang out. The computers look like

crap, but we’ve actually done a lot of work

on them. We can run Wing Blade

Commander at 30 FPS."

Daniel thought about how to respond to

that for a moment, but nothing clever came to

mind. "Yeah, maybe. See you around."

"See you."

Daniel left the school behind and

trudged along the sidewalks of Aplington.

Lines of Cape Cod homes sat on either side

of the road in uniform rows. White trimmings

and preened lawns stared at each other from

across the street in a lazy competition to be

the most boring house on the block. He felt

out of place, a splotch of movement in the

middle of a scowling stillness.

A car passed, slowly. Daniel felt the

brush of air as it went by. He glanced at the

driver.

There was a Vorid latched onto his

back.

The man rolled over a manhole cover,

making the car shake. The black pustule on

his neck quivered slightly as the vehicle

absorbed the shock. The car rolled around a

corner, and was gone.

Daniel swallowed.

And then, Xik was there again, this time

floating in midair alongside him, as if sitting

in an invisible hammock. He didn’t say

anything for a bit, so Daniel ignored him. But

privately, he was almost glad to see the

creepy frog.

Funny. He’d just won what might be the

biggest showdown in recent Aplington High

memory, and he was already…he didn’t have

a word for it. Maybe that’s why he was

going crazy—the monotony was getting to

him. Xik was a fantasy free from the

mundane hostility of suburbia.

"I expected you to take him up on that,"

Xik said. "He seems to be offering an honest

friendship."

"I’m the type with a thousand

acquaintances."

"Are you sure you aren’t just a

misanthrope?"

"Out of the crooked timber of humanity,

no straight thing was ever made," Daniel

quoted. He glanced at the alien frog. "I don’t

necessarily dislike people. I just hate high

school."

"Wise beyond your years? An old soul,

perhaps?"

"Whatever."

"Do you think yourself better than your

upbringing?"

"Correct me if I’m wrong here, since

you seem to know so much about the human

race," Daniel said, "but it’s pretty common to expect the bare minimum from the confines

of government-funded secondary education."

"I thought we were talking about the

students, not the high school itself."

"We might as well be," Daniel said.

"Here’s hoping college isn’t as shallow as a

mud puddle."

"I see," Xik said. The two small words

came together like ponderous footsteps, as if

he suddenly understood some great secret to

which Daniel wasn’t privy.

Daniel didn’t pause in his walking, but

he squinted. "What?"

"You’re not arrogant. Not terribly.

You’re just very jaded. It’s a shame, really.

You’re a ball of potential."

"Are you here to screw with me for

kicks, or do you have something to say?"

"Well, you did certainly show me," Xik

said. "I won’t underestimate you again."

"Gee wiz. Now I feel all warm and

fuzzy."

"No, it was something!" Xik made his

awkward frog smile. "I believe the one

infected with a Vorid spawn lost control of

his bladder from fear. He won’t be bothering

you again soon."

Daniel’s face lit up with the evil grin of

a jack-o-lantern. "No. He won’t."

"Did you mean what you said?"

"What, about killing him?"

"Indeed."

"He’s not worth risking murder

charges."

Xik put a finger to his lips. "Pragmatic.

So, have you given any thought to the

contract?"

Daniel sighed. He seemed to be doing

that with increasing frequency. "Upon further

consideration, the answer is still no."

"Well, my mother always said I was an

optimist."

Xik left Daniel to his thoughts after that.

His purple-and-red pinstripe suit drifted and

zipped about the rooftops. He examined the

brick chimneys and power lines with a sort

of condescending curiosity.

Daniel put his hands in his pockets as he

watched the frog glide about. Assuming he

hadn’t gone insane, Xik was, apparently, a

magical alien from another dimension. He

wondered how strong he was—a magician

that could do a few tricks, or some kind of

powerful wizard? For some reason, Daniel

was leaning toward the latter. As odd as he

was, Xik exuded that type shameless

confidence.

He wasn’t sure if it was wise to feed

what might be a hallucination, but as far as

he could perceive, Xik and the Vorid were

very, very real. That spawn thing looked

pretty unhealthy, but at the same time, there

wasn’t anything to say Xik could be trusted.

Daniel didn’t like the idea of being a pawn

in a multiversal war. He needed more

information.

The internet had to have something. Xik

hadn’t mentioned how many people already

had powers, or for how long this had all

been underway. Even if there was some

secret war going on, people would see

things, hear rumors. Other chosen fighters

might be talking about it themselves. He

should do a little research. If he really was

crazy, he wouldn’t find anything.

Then again, if he was really crazy,

maybe his imagination would make up stuff

for him to find.

A mile and a half from school, Daniel

reached his house. It was the same cookie-

cutter version as the rest of them—garage on

the right side, two windows in front, steeped

roof. He unlocked the door and kicked his

shoes off on the wood floor next to the stairs.

"Yo!"

"Hey Danny!" Felix’s voice called. His

brother scampered in from the kitchen,

waving an envelope in his hands. "Guess

what came?"

"…a college?"

"Yeah, it’s from Northeastern!"

Daniel snatched the envelope from his

brother. His hands crinkled the edges. The

Northeastern University seal was stamped in

the corner. He ripped open the top and

gingerly extracted the papers from inside.

Mr. Daniel Fitzgerald,

We are pleased to inform you that

Daniel crunched the letter in his hand

and punched the air. "I’m in!"

Felix hopped around on the floor. "Does

this mean you get to go to the crimin—

criminin -"

"School of Criminology and Criminal

Justice?"

"Yeah, that."

"That’s exactly what it means."

Northeastern was Daniel’s top pick, and he

was officially accepted. Finally, some good

news. Finally, he was off the treadmill and

moving forward.

"You did it!" Felix shouted. He went up

on one foot and spun around; his socks were

slick on the wood floor.

Daniel turned into cold marble.

Sitting on his brother’s back was a

black, pustuled monster. Its tentacles snaked

through Felix’s skin and clothes, embedded

themselves in his spine. It quivered slightly,

gooey and disgusting.

A Vorid.

Felix turned back to his brother with a

smile on his face. Bit by bit, it faded, the curl

of his lips turning down. "Dan? What are you

looking like that for?"

"…I’m gonna go upstairs. History test to

study for."

"Huh? You never study for -"

Daniel ran for his room before Felix

could finish.

Chapter Two

Legal Text

"Are you alright?"

Daniel sat in his chair and said nothing.

Xik rested on his bed, one leg folded

over the other. He sipped a drink he’d

produced from nowhere. Daniel stared at the

liquid as Xik swirled his cup. It looked like

dark purple syrup.

"You know," the frog said, "if you

agreed to the contract -"

"Shut up about the contract for five

seconds!" Daniel shouted. He heaved the

anger out, propped an elbow on his desk, and

rested a hand on his forehead.

Xik unfolded his legs and cupped his

drink in both hands. They stayed like that for

a time, neither one moving.

"It’s plain that you care about your

bother very much," Xik said. "I apologize for my insensitivity."

"…Kyle was infected. He seemed

normal. What happens with one of those

things?"

"I’m not to tell you the details until the

contract is sealed."

"Look," Daniel said. "I’m not agreeing to anything until I know every dirty bit about

the consequences, so either start talking or