Average Joe and the Extraordinaires (2 page)

Chapter
2

Boom

BOOM!

A large
rippling explosion reverberated throughout the stadium, knocking many people
over into the aisles below them.  Fires came from seemingly nowhere.  Chaos
erupted throughout the stadium as everyone sprang out of their seats and to the
exits.  Joe kept sight of Kate and her brother Mod and moved down the crowded
stairs and into the hallways of the stadium.  They all ran towards the exit. 
Kate and Mod had a sizable lead on Joe. 

Another
explosion then ripped throughout the stadium, causing the panic to erupt into
pandemonium.  Joe lost sight of Kate amongst the sea of desperate people
seeking the exit.  The smoke coming from the lower levels of the stadium was so
black and thick that it began to obscure the field.  It had begun to choke Joe;
his eyes were starting to water.  He wiped them, and when he did, he saw the
most beautiful girl that he’d ever seen in real life.  There were women on TV who
came close to this beauty, but no woman he’d ever seen or met in this reality
was even close.  He was forced to question if he was still even alive, or if
the smoke and heat had gotten the better of him.  He was as hot as a slab of
ribs on the fourth of July, so that gave him a clue.

For some
reason, the woman was running the opposite way from the rest of the crowd, like
fighting a tide, but she managed gracefully and with marginal effort.  There
was a loud pop and the beauty ducked, another and she ducked again.  She did
all this without losing her running pace, and Joe realized the woman was being
chased and shot at.  After another pop, Joe saw someone in the crowd fall to
the ground.  He looked around for the shooter, but had a hard time seeing
anyone specific in such a large crowd.  He waited for another pop, and maybe a
flash.  The anticipation was killing him. He knew he should be trying to escape
with the others, but he was compelled to find this shooter.

There!  He
caught sight of the man in the black suit with what Joe could tell was probably
an M9 handgun, thanks to his years of playing Call of Duty.  The crowd had
thinned considerably around the man, and he ran forward after the woman.  He
pushed a small child out of the way, and then shoved an older lady to the
ground.  He carefully aimed his gun and drew a bead on the olive-skinned
beauty.  He stopped and anticipated the way she might move and BLAM! 

The
bullet flew upwards and clicked against metal near the ceiling.  Joe had
slapped the gun out of the man’s hand. After the initial moment of shock, the man
clad in the black suit glared down at Joe, who had fallen clumsily.  Thick red
veins bulged from the man’s neck.

Man in
Black: “What the hell do you think you’re doing, kid?  I’m going to pop your
head off your skinny little shoulders. And guess what?  I’m going to love every
second of it.”

The man
picked Joe up and threw a wild punch into the defenseless boy’s stomach.  Joe
tried to double over and heave up everything he had eaten today, but the man
held him up for more punishment.

Man: “I’m
not done with you yet, boy.”

Joe saw
the man wind back for a punch that he just knew was a gift for his face.  If given
a choice, he would reject the present, or re-gift it, but he currently didn’t
have that luxury.

Joe then
fell under the force of several people.  He felt the floor and was free to
crawl away from the pandemonium.  When he looked back, he saw that a group of
very big Fowler fans were going to town on the man in black’s face.  He
couldn’t stomach any more of the carnage, so he looked forward to see where the
woman had went.

Joe just
had to make sure that she was okay, then he could leave.  He wasn’t sure if any
of those bullets had hit her, and he wasn’t quite thinking straight.  It could
have been the drinks.  It could have been the chaos.  It could have even been
the lack of breathable air.  He hadn’t noticed that there was no blood trail. 
He hadn’t even noticed that he had run past another man in a black suit or that
the man was drawing a bead on the back of his skull.  The only thing on his
mind now was a scent.  It had disrupted Joe’s surroundings.  It didn’t fit in
with all the running people, fire, sweat, blood, and chaos.  It smelled…

Joe was
halfway to the ground before he heard the popping sound.  He floated seemingly
forever between the sky and the ground, waiting to descend.  The smell came
back to the forefront of his thoughts and was stronger now, enjoyably aromatic,
but that wasn’t all.  There was a weight on his chest, and it was warm,
comfortably so.  He instinctively cradled it and felt arms go around his hips
and to his back.  For no reason, Joe felt the moment was framed in gold.  He
had just enough time to see her dark tresses spread about his chest as he and
this golden person fell.  A perfect moment.  A perfect meeting.

The force
of his body hitting the floor unmercifully interrupted all that.

“Are you
an imbecile?  Get up and run!  Go!”

Her voice
had an unmistakable foreign flare to it, but didn’t distract from the message
she was trying to convey.  The curtness of her voice jolted Joe to his feet to
meet her.  When he looked up, she was already on her feet.  He waited for her
to move before he did.

“Go! 
Now!”

She
hadn’t even looked at Joe when she’d said that.  Her eyes were on her shooter. 
She reached for her ear and took off a large earring.  The silver pendant bore
a symbol that Joe thought looked like a lightning bolt.

She threw
the thing hard and Joe heard it smack the guy dead in the chest.  He flew back
on impact and landed painfully hard on the floor, convulsing. 
He looks like
those guys on
Cops
after they’ve been Tased
, he concluded.

“Why are
you still here?  I told you to leave!”

Joe: “I’m
sorry, miss, I just want to make sure you’re not hurt or anything.”

“I’m
not.”

Joe:
“Well I … I just want to help you.”

“Oh no! 
You’re ‘inspired’ … I really don’t have time for this.”

She
forcibly grabbed Joe’s hand and started running.  Joe saw that she looked
determined, and that the earring she had thrown earlier was now back on her
ear. He must have been mistaken; she must have thrown the one from the opposite
ear. 

They
continued to run against the crowd and away from the doors.  Joe was sure they
were actually going deeper into the stadium.

Joe:
“Where are we going, miss?”

“Just
enjoy the ride.  Since you’re so gung-ho about helping me out.”

They
found an elevator and the woman called it.  It opened as soon as she pressed
the button.

Joe: “Is
this safe, miss … miss?  Um, what’s your name?”

“Just get
in.”

Joe:
“That’s a funny name.”

Joe
offered a smile, but dark tresses pushed him into the freight car.

“This is
as safe as we need it to be, and if you must call me anything, call me
annoyed.”

Joe:
“Seriously!?”

“The
concept of sarcasm is lost on you, isn’t it?  So to say you’re an imbecile
isn’t too far from the mark.”

Joe: “I'm
not stupid.  I just wanted to know your name.”

"Call
me what you like.  If I'm lucky I won't have to see you after today."

Joe:
"Well, the only thing that I can think of is Beauty."

Beauty:
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.  Though that is a curious concept, isn’t it? 
Beauty can be learned, perfected, and mastered, and yet it is utterly
subjective.”

Dark
tresses studied Joe’s face and laughed.

Beauty:
“I’m going to think about that one for a while.  I suppose I could use your
help.  Yes, that’s it!”

Joe
scratched his head, both out of habit and in general confusion.

Beauty:
“You have a chance to do a really good deed today.  Something that can really
help a lot of people out.”

Joe:
“What are you trying to do?  Why are they trying to kill you?”

Beauty:
“I don’t have time to explain.  Just know that I'm trying to save someone. 
Once this elevator stops we’re going to have to run, and if you stick with me
your life will be in danger.  You need to decide before we reach the next
floor.”

The
wooziness brought on by the drinks and lack of oxygen had disappeared and Joe
felt his head was clear now.  He wondered why he had even done what he did
earlier to save this woman. 
It was simple
, he thought,
Mom and Pop
taught me early on to do the right thing
.  It was only natural to help when
big men with guns tried to hurt little women.  Joe knew he couldn’t just sit
back and do nothing.  He wasn’t raised that way.

Joe:
“This person, are they important to you?”

Beauty:
"Not to me, but to someone else, I'm sure.  Today is the only day I can
get them out."

Joe
thought about it for a moment, but he knew he couldn't pass up a chance to save
someone's life.  He would want the same thing if the shoe was on the other
foot.

Joe:
"I'll help you."

The woman
didn’t look all that surprised.

Chapter
3

She Can
Do That!?

Ding!

Joe:
“Okay, we’re here, let’s go!”

Beauty:
“Get back in here!  This isn’t our floor.”

Joe
hopped back into the freight elevator and looked at the button panel.

Joe: “But
it says we’re at the ground floor.  We can’t go any lower.”

Beauty:
“Shhh.”

Beauty
ran her fingers through her hair and produced what looked to be a keycard.  She
took the keycard and inserted it into a small slit on the back side of the
elevator.  Three glowing squares popped up in the middle of the small glass
display on the wall.  They were marked UG5, UG6, and UG7. Beauty pressed the
square for UG6; the elevator began to move and the display disappeared.  The
card reader ejected Beauty’s card and she grabbed it and placed it back amongst
her dark tresses.  Joe wondered where exactly she had put the card, but didn't
linger too long on that thought.  He had other things on his mind.

Joe: “Do
you have a gun or anything?  Seems like all these guys might have guns.”

Beauty:
“No, I don’t need ‘em.  I have everything I need right here.”

She touched
the earrings on her ears.  Joe didn’t know what she meant or how her missing
earring was back on her ear.

Joe: “What
will you do with those?  They’re just earrings.”

Beauty:
“I’m tricky.  They won’t even see me coming.”

The
elevator had finally come to a stop.  For some reason Beauty was still facing
the back wall.  Joe went to tell her that they had reached their stop, but was
halted when the back wall of the elevator suddenly slid completely open.  Joe
gaped down the hall to see if there was anyone there, but didn’t see or hear
anyone.

Beauty:
“Just follow me, Joe.”

Joe: “Okay,
but how do you know my name?  I haven’t told you yet.”

Beauty:
“You look like a Joe.  A real average Joe, as the saying goes.  Now come on.”

Joe
followed her as close as he possibly could.  He figured that even if he somehow
lost his sight he could still follow her as long as he had his sense of smell. 
The woman smelled as delightful as she looked, and Joe was taking it all in. 
It was one of the perks of following a woman, he supposed.

Beauty:
“Remember to watch me and not my superbly sculpted buns, little guy.  I need
you to be alert.”

Joe
snapped to attention and looked mortified.

Joe: “But
I … I mean I wasn’t.”

Beauty:
“Save it.  Let’s go!”

Beauty
ran down the hall with the speed and grace of a creature of the night.  Joe had
never seen a person move like she did.  Complete confidence in her movements,
she hugged the walls as if she were a part of them whenever she checked her
surroundings.  Joe felt awkward and clumsy as he tried to keep up.  He wasn’t
used to sneaking around, and seeing Beauty in action just made him feel like
the kid he was.  In that brief moment, he felt oddly uncomfortable in his own
skin.  A very strange thought crept into his head.  He imagined some small
creature piloting his body and now cursing itself because it didn’t pay
attention to lessons in human piloting school.  The creature also cursed
Beauty’s pilot for being a know-it-all goody-goody and an overachiever.  His
daydreams ended when Beauty signaled him over to her side.

Beauty:
“I’m sure this floor was successfully evacuated.  I didn’t see anyone up ahead,
but we should have company pretty soon.  Let’s clear this hallway and I’ll lead
you to our destination.”

Joe:
“Okay, but what do you want me to do when we get there?”

Beauty:
“Don’t worry, I’ll let you know soon.  You’ll come in handy.”

They ran
down another hall filled with doors that mostly led to empty rooms.  Joe had no
clue what these rooms could have been used for or even why the stadium had
hidden floors to begin with.  None of it made sense.  Far behind them Joe heard
the elevator doors slide open, and shortly after heard voices as well.  The
sound hadn’t escaped Beauty.  They turned a corner and entered a large room
filled with lockers that seemed like the coldest part of the building.  Joe
wondered if it was a backup locker room for the sports stars, but couldn’t see
a visible showering area nearby.  He did spot one thing though, a beautiful
blonde girl bound with rope and gagged.  She wore some sort of blue security
pants with lots of big pockets and a white tank top but no shoes.  She had a
few bruises on her face and upper back near her shoulders.

Beauty:
“She’s still in here.  This makes things a lot easier.”

Beauty
quickly ran over to the girl and tugged at her ropes.

Beauty:
“What an amateur.  I can’t believe you got caught like that.  You’ve made my
job one hundred times harder.”

Joe: “I
don’t think she can hear you.”

Beauty:
“Can’t a girl vent her frustrations?  This girl really mucked things up for me.”

Joe:
“Sure but what made you both come here anyway?”

Beauty:
“I guess I can tell you that.  I have no clue why she’s here but I’m here to
get something precious to me.  It’s supposed to be down here somewhere.  I
thought I’d free her in the process.  She got caught, a few weeks ago.”

Joe: “Who
is she?”

Beauty: “Ask
her yourself whenever she wakes up.  Here take this.”

She
handed Joe her elevator card and grabbed the earring from her ear.  It looked
like she was squeezing it but when she opened her hand Joe saw a shiny curved
knife there, not an earring.  She took it and sliced through the ropes cleanly
as if she were using a katana and when she was done the knife turned back into
a little earring and she put it back on her ear.  Joe couldn’t believe that he
wasn’t dreaming right now.  The woman tried shaking the girl awake, but to no
avail.  She looked over towards the back row of lockers and only saw one that
was lockless.

Beauty:
“Okay, I need you to listen very carefully, Joe.  A group of those guys that
were shooting at me earlier are going to arrive here any minute now.  I need
you to do a few things for me.  Starting off, I need you to hurry and tie me
up.”

She
lifted the girl off of the chair that she was sitting on and gently placed her
on the floor.

Joe: “But
I—”

Beauty:
“No time to explain, Joe.  Just do as I say.  I’ll be just fine.”

Joe
nodded his head and waited for further orders.  Beauty picked up the rope that
had bound the blonde girl and handed it to Joe.  Joe was shocked to find that
the rope had none of the cuts on it that Beauty had made earlier, but he
decided not to linger on that thought.

Beauty:
“Make sure you do that nice and tight, country boy.  Knot it good.  Once you
finish that, I want you to pick up Sleeping Beauty and head straight to that
locker over there — I’m staring right at it — and hide.  Once the room clears
out, I want you to wait a few minutes — at least until you don’t hear any more
voices — and then I want you to escape with her.”

Joe: “Who
is she?”

Beauty:
“She’s important.  I need her alive, and if anything happens to her I’m going
to find you and besmirch you.”

Joe:
“Besmirch?”

Beauty:
“Now go.  Hurry, we have no time.  Make sure you stay hidden.”

Joe
grabbed the mystery blonde and walked himself and the girl to the only locker
that he saw without a lock.  He opened the locker and saw nothing but a Pantera
t-shirt inside.  He lifted the cute blonde up and placed her inside first.  She
kept falling to the bottom of the locker, so he leaned her up and propped her
at an angle.

Beauty:
“Hurry up!”

Joe
hastily draped his legs over the girl’s slumbering body and squeezed in as best
he could.  It was definitely a tight fit, and it was definitely uncomfortable. 
He could feel the girl’s tiny breaths on his chest, and could feel the weight
and warmth of her body against his belly.  The only girl he had ever been this
close with was Kate.  He peered out through the slits of the locker and nearly
dropped his jaw.  Where Beauty had sat before, there was now another blonde
girl.  No … the same blonde girl, but that was impossible.  Joe looked down
again at his locker mate and examined her face.  He then looked at the girl in
the chair and saw that they were identical right down to the bruises they
shared. 

This was
madness.  More importantly, where was Beauty?  Joe had only looked away for a few
seconds and had lost her. 
Wait, something was off
, he thought.  The clothes
didn’t match up.  The girls wore completely different outfits.  That’s when he
saw it.  Before his eyes, the blonde in the chair’s outfit changed from the one
that Beauty had worn to the same blue security outfit that his locker mate was
wearing.  It was then that he knew.

Joe: “She
isn't like us.”