Super (22 page)

He spoke, his voice croaky and broken, like someone desperately in need of a drink of water. “Help me,” he said.

Herman wasn’t the Shades’ master. He was their prisoner.

“Daniel, what … what is that?” Mollie whispered, but Daniel didn’t have the words to answer. After all, what they’d found deep inside the Shroud-Cave was an entirely new kind of horror.

And somewhere in Daniel’s head another voice was saying his name. It was the memory of a dream. Or a nightmare …

“Daniel, what are you doing?” asked Mollie. “Daniel, stop!”

But Daniel didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He wasn’t even sure
why he was moving, why he was walking toward that web. It had something to do with the voice, with that nagging itch in the back of his brain.

The voice was talking to him. Telling him to take something out of his pocket, something he’d been carrying for a long, long time.

Out of curiosity, he looked down. There in his palm was a small ring of black rock. The emerald light of the cave caught the polished stone and danced along its edges like firelight. It was beautiful.

H
erman Plunkett was alive, but that looked to be small comfort for him. His normally thin face was almost skeletal now, and his eyes burned feverishly inside their sunken sockets. The rest of his body was bound up tight and dangled in the middle of a web of the Shades’ making. Even without the benefit of flashlights Daniel would have been able to see here in the cave, because of the sickly glow that spilled out of the meteorite pendant dangling from Herman’s neck. The Shroud pendant was split down the middle, and from that crack oozed forth the grainy light and something else—Shades. The shadows were drifting in and out of the stone, flitting about here and there along the web, testing and
strengthening parts of their trap. They were intent on keeping the Shroud, and his stone, around for a long, long time.

“And so … we meet again, my dear Mr. Holmes,” said Plunkett, a tired half smile forming on his cracked lips.

Plunkett’s words seemed even weaker now compared to the other voice Daniel was listening to. The Shroud was in his head.

“Bring me the ring, Daniel. Bring it to me.”

“What the …? No way!” said Eric as he and Rohan stumbled into the chamber. Behind them, Daniel could hear, Theo was still back in the tunnel, barking orders at Shades. Daniel found himself getting annoyed. Why couldn’t everyone just shut up and let the Shroud talk?

As he started forward again, Mollie appeared in front of him. She put her body between him and Herman, blocking his line of sight.

“Daniel!” she said. “What’s wrong with you? Why do you have that ring?”

“I … I’ve had it all along,” he said. “I’ve been carrying it around in my pocket. Funny I couldn’t remember until now.”

“Use it,”
said the Shroud in his head.
“All you have to do is touch her. Take her speed and free me!”

He reached out a hand toward her.

“Daniel!” Mollie shouted. “Snap out of it before I give you a bloody nose!”

Daniel hesitated for a second, his hand outstretched. What was he supposed to do?

“Huh?” he said.

Herman’s pendant flared bright, illuminating the cave like a lightning flash. When the spots in Daniel’s vision cleared, he was back in the nightmare, caught in the throes of his wrestling match with the Shroud. The flesh of his fingers was blackening in the flame; he could smell his skin burning. The Shroud was shouting in his ear.

Then, just as quickly, Daniel was back in the cave, only he was flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling. His nose throbbed and his eyes were tearing up from the pain. Both Mollie and Eric were standing over him.

“Sorry about the nose,” said Mollie. “But I warned you.”

Daniel gently examined his nose. It smarted, and there was a tiny spot of blood on his fingers. The black ring was on the ground next to him. How did that get there?

“You were freaking us out,” said Eric. “Like a zombie boy. Mollie smacked you in the face with your own backpack.”

Daniel sat up and saw the Shades hovering in a circle around them … waiting. For what, Daniel didn’t know. It reminded him of animals gathering for a feeding.

The black ring gleamed green in the dark. Daniel pointed at it.

“How did …?” Daniel asked.

“You pulled it out of your pocket,” said Eric. “Don’t you remember?”

Daniel looked at Herman, hanging there so helpless, so weak and frail. But his eyes were powerful. They were hungry eyes, and they were focused on that ring like it was
a last meal. That look scared Daniel more than all the Shades.

“Mollie, give me my backpack,” he said.

Mollie handed him his backpack, her eyes still wary.

“It’s okay,” said Daniel.

He threw the backpack over the ring and managed to scoop it up, careful not to let it touch his skin before he zipped it inside. With the ring buried in the deep folds of his backpack, he felt immediately better. The pain in his nose actually helped him clear his head, focusing on it helped to drown out the Shroud’s whispers. He dared to face Plunkett’s stare.

“What … what did you do to me?” asked Daniel.

Plunkett didn’t answer. Instead the old man shifted his gaze to let it drift over them all. His skinny bald head used to remind Daniel of a turtle’s, but now it looked more like a snake weaving back and forth, ready to strike at any second.

“So, you’ve brought the whole gang,” said Plunkett. “The super-kids and my watery little wisp of a grandnephew, eh? Is that him I hear back there? What a joyous reunion we’ll all have. You, me, and
them
!” Herman cocked his head to indicate the gathering shadows.

“The ring,” said Daniel. “I’ve been carrying it all this time. The sleepwalking …”

“You’re strong, I’ll give you that,” said Plunkett. “You fought me at first, never fully giving in, but I am stronger. It was only a matter of time.

“Use it, Daniel!” he continued. “Together we can stop them! You can free me!”

“What did you do to me?” Daniel shouted, his voice echoing through the cave.

Herman finally dropped the forced smile—it looked as if he hurt too much to keep it up for long—and locked eyes with Daniel.

“I’m losing strength by the minute, Daniel,” said Herman. “They keep me alive yet weakened. But I’m not totally powerless, not yet, and I’ve always been particularly good with dreams.”

“Daniel?” said Mollie. “What the heck’s he talking about? Why were you carrying that ring in your pocket?”

“Nightmares,” said Daniel, realization slowly dawning on him. “In my nightmares I’m still fighting the Shroud.”

“Our battle never ended,” said Herman. “You only thought you’d won.”

“Daniel,” said Eric, “what’s going on?”

“He’s been in my head all this time,” said Daniel. “In my dreams. He manipulated the memories of Supers for generations, and somehow he found a way into my head. Maybe he did something to me when I was his prisoner; I don’t know. But he’s been controlling me, making me use the ring without even knowing I was doing it.…”

They were interrupted by Theo, emerging from the tunnel with Louisa. The Shades were crowding the two of them, mobbing Theo like a pack of fawning admirers. But there was something menacing in their attention too.

“Hey, not so close, okay?” Theo was saying to the Shades as they pressed in around him. “I’m getting claustrophobic here.”

When Theo spotted Herman dangling from his web, the boy’s bluster instantly vanished. Despite what Eric had said about Theo, the young Plunkett was not dumb. He was as clever as they came, and he understood the new situation immediately. He saw what the Shades had done to his relative and he realized the danger that put him in as well. Daniel saw that the trick was to keep him from panicking.

“It’s okay, Theo,” Daniel said. “Just stay calm.”

But Theo wasn’t listening. He was already trying to back out of the cave, only to find the way blocked by Shades. He shouted at them to move, to clear a path, but they weren’t obeying, and his voice had lost the deep bass of command that he’d been using. A sharp edge of fear crept in as he began insulting them. He shouted obscenities as they closed in, cutting off his escape.

“It’s the powers,” said Herman. “Powers make them angry, and having you all here, together, in their home, it’s only a matter of time.… But Daniel can stop them now! He can save you all by giving me my ring!”

Herman Plunkett was right—the Shades were getting agitated. The dark corners of the cave were alive with roiling shapes, and Daniel could spot the faces now as the Shades revealed themselves to them: a chubby boy with braces; a little girl with her hair done up in ringlets and bows, her expression a snarl of rage. The Shades pulled back their
shadowy disguises to expose the faces of children twisted with hate.

“They’re just kids!” said Louisa. “How can they be kids?”

“Let’s back up,” said Daniel. “Slowly.”

Daniel and the others began moving backward toward the tunnel entrance, careful not to make any sudden movements. But Herman saw their retreat and began squirming, pulling against his bonds and trying to wiggle his way to freedom.

“No!” he cried. “You can’t leave me here with them!”

One of the Shades—the one with the chubby boy’s face—pounced on him. The boy used a long black claw to rake Herman across the face. Although the attack drew no blood, the old man shrieked in pain and was left whimpering, the last of his energy expended.

“The ring, Daniel,” moaned Herman. “Give me the ring.…”

The cave exploded into chaos. Theo was already making his dash for the tunnel leading out when the Shades attacked. Like a swarm of rats, they closed in on the Supers.

The battle would have been over then if it hadn’t been for Eric and Mollie. As soon as the Shade children began to surge forward, the very instant they started to peel off the walls, the two fliers went into action. Eric shouted something at Mollie that sounded like “Spin and sweep!” In the close-quartered cave they couldn’t really get airborne, but Mollie had just enough room to twirl, which at super-speed turned her into a girl-sized twister. The force of her minicyclone
blew the Shades into the rock walls or bounced them off each other. Those that weren’t stunned by Mollie’s sudden attack looked up to find they were being punched in the head. Eric’s brawn and Mollie’s speed. For the moment, at least, the Supers had the advantage.

But it couldn’t last. They were far too outnumbered. They had a few seconds at most before the Shades could regroup and overwhelm them. Rohan was already leading Louisa and Rose out through the tunnel, following Theo. If they moved quickly, they had a chance of making it out before the Shades counterattacked. They had a chance, which was why Daniel was so surprised to find himself running
away
from safety. In the opposite direction, toward the Shades. Toward Herman Plunkett.

But this time he wasn’t listening to the Shroud’s voice. He was in control.

The Shroud stuff was not sticky, like he’d expected, but it was thick, and Herman was wound up tight in a web of it. Herman watched as Daniel pulled at the black strands, his face ghastly in the green ghost light of his cracked pendant. Daniel shoved the backpack with the ring in it over his shoulder, careful to keep it out of the old man’s reach.

“Always the hero,” said Herman.

“Shut up,” replied Daniel as he yanked at the webbing. It was coming loose, but slowly.

“What are you doing?” shouted Eric, appearing at his side. He kicked at a Shade with the face of a red-haired boy with glasses.

“I need Herman!” said Daniel. “I need answers!”

Eric didn’t argue. There wasn’t time. He grabbed the web with both hands and yanked. The cave split with the sound of tearing, and that was followed by a loud, wailing moan issuing from the mouth of every Shade at once. It was the first time Daniel had heard their voices clearly, and the sound of it made him want to curl up in a ball and hide. He wanted to cover his ears or pull out his hair. A hundred fingernails on a chalkboard.

But Eric had succeeded in freeing Herman, throwing him over his shoulder as easily as he would a sack of potatoes—and about as gently.

“Now can we go?” asked Eric as he eyed the Shades closing in.

Daniel didn’t even have time to nod, because the next thing he knew, he was being dragged/pulled out of the cave by Mollie Lee.

“You can’t even run away when you’re supposed to,” she was saying as she yanked him backward, his butt skidding along the rocky floor. “We are leaving!” she shouted as the two of them came flying out of the hole and into the cool night air. It felt good against his face for about two seconds before he was deposited, rather roughly, onto the leaf-strewn forest floor. The smell of fresh pine air was quickly buried beneath a noseful of dirt.

But he was free of the cave, and for the moment, at least, he was safe.

T
he first thing Daniel did was to get a head count of his friends. Mollie, Rohan, Louisa, Theo …

“Rose?” he asked.

“Here!” said the empty air.

“Where’s Eric?”

In answer came the sound of rocks breaking in the distance. A lot of rocks. Then Eric appeared above the trees with Herman in his arms.

“I closed the tunnel behind us,” he said. “Though I doubt that’ll hold them for long.”

Eric tossed Herman onto the ground, then wiped his
hands on his pants. He looked like he’d just finished handling a snake.

Herman lay in the dirt, gasping for breath and watching them all. The green light bleeding off his broken pendant had dimmed to a weak glow, little brighter than a firefly. But it was enough to catch Plunkett’s glassy eyes. They shone like narrow mirrors in the dark. He was worse than a snake, Daniel thought. So much worse.

Theo broke the silence.

“So, you’re not dead?” he said, arching his eyebrows at his granduncle.

“No,” answered Herman.

“And those creatures back there … those Shade thingies, they’re because of you?”