Power (Book 1)

Chapter 8

I leaped over the railing and landed on my feet on the floor, hitting the ground running. Cassie followed, landing a second after me.

I wasted no time, smashing into the hulking figure's side with my momentum. He instantly let go of my dad and was forced to stumble to the side. I didn't do much though; he was too big.

Remembering what I was taught at school, I mentally steeled myself for this battle. Hit hard, hit fast, and don't get hit back. Don't let your opponent intimidate you- you're just as powerful as he is. Use your sarcastic mind as a defense in stressful situations.

The creature turned towards me, all 5oo pounds of him. Then, faster than a guy like him should move, he lunged forward and swiped me to the side. I landed on the couch, thankfully, but now I needed something else besides "avoid and evade." This creature was too fast for that.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The creature said in a rumbly voice. "Is this your son, Peter?" He chuckled, I think. "Well, that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, now, was it? Too bad you had to pay before he came by himself, though."

Cassie, previously frozen in fear, leaped to action. Her hand outstretched towards the monster, she started throwing everything she had at it, using her telekinesis to throw common household objects. I saw my math book fly into the creature's hide. I didn't miss it.

Whatever Cassie was doing, it wasn't working. The thing wasn't affected in the least, and we all knew it.

I jumped off the couch as the monster brought his fists down to crush me and ran clear to Cassie. "I need you to do something for me." She stopped assaulting the monster with plates and looked at me, a look of intense concentration crossing her face. The thing slowed to a crawl, almost not moving at all. You could almost see the pressure on his limbs.

"Go," I said. "Get my dad out of here, take him with you." I saw the look of defiance on her face and stopped her before she could speak. "Don't fight me, Cassie. You can't help any other way. I can take this guy." I tried to seem confident, but really I was scared. My mom was nowhere to be found, my dad was close to death, and I was about to face a 10-foot-tall monster.

Something I said must have made sense to her because she nodded her head in agreement. Then, her face relaxed and the hulking monster charged towards us. I threw up a quick force field just as he reached us.

The monster pounded my barrier and roared in anger. "I am the mighty Metagor! Who dares to stop me?"

"Me, apparently!" I yelled. I took a quick glance behind me. Cassie was nowhere to be found...and neither was my dad.

I grinned. Way to go, Cassie. Now to deal with the other problem.

With Metagor still pounding on my force field (what kind of a name is that?), there was nothing I could do. But he couldn't hurt me, either. He was nowhere near strong enough to get past my defenses, however fierce he looked.

I think he realized this, too, because he stopped pounding on my shield a second later. Standing back, he bent down low, then leaped into the air, jumping so high he left a hole in the roof at his exit point.

I took down my force field and moved right under the giant hole Metagor left in the ceiling. I could see the dark sky above, but not the monster himself.

I stood there for another two seconds. Suddenly, there was a giant cracking sound and Metagor came crashing down back to Earth. I was thrown backward into- no, through- the front window. I landed faceup on the ground, coughing out all of the dust and plaster that I had inhaled. My face was covered in blood, cuts and bruises over every inch of it.

Metagor emerged from the wreckage of my house, not a scratch on him. He walked over to me and picked me up by the neck like I was a rag doll.

"Remember this, boy. You are a puny, weak, insolent little child. You are nothing compared to me. You think you're doing something, facing a, a god!" He gestured to himself with his other hand. "You have just signed your own death warrant. Oh, don't worry, I won't kill you now. No, I have a much better use for you." Then he laughed, in a real, evil, there's-no-way-he's-in-his-right-mind kind of way. Then he started rambling about how much more powerful he was than me. And I was stuck in his grip like a fly in a spider's web.

My confidence broke down. I couldn't help but show fear in my face as Metagor waved me around. Despite what he said, I begged him to spare my life. "Please don't kill me," I whispered. I didn't want to die. I had my whole life ahead of me. I was only 17. My life expectancy hadn't passed yet.

"Quit sniveling, idiot." Metagor squeezed my neck, and I gasped for air. Then he loosened his grip. "Listen to me. I will be contacting you soon. When I do, be ready." He dropped me back on the ground, and I sucked in mouthfuls of oxygen. Then he leaped into the air.

And this time, he didn't come back.