I teleported to the party—I know, Mr. Mimic would have a fit—but Pete was dropped off, so we run for a good ten minutes, getting out of the neighborhood.

I’m a little surprised how well Pete keeps up, considering he hates almost all things that involve physical activity. He’s much more content working on computer systems, re-wiring motherboards, or working on science experiments. The closest he’s ever been to sports is either watching from the stands or playing video games. We slow to a walk as we reach the south side of the city.

King City is an amazing place. You know how some cities have nicknames like ‘The City of Festivals’ or ‘The City of Brotherly Love’? Well, King City is called The City of the Future. Not only is it home to the three most famous, and arguably most powerful, superheroes in the world, it’s home to some of the smartest and wealthiest people in the world.

Leading scientists, investors, and tech moguls have all established their companies in King City. But if King City has anything that would be considered the ‘bad part’ of town, it’d be the south side. Most likely because it’s one of the oldest parts of the city; the luster and shine have worn off on the south side. It’s not the greatest area to be walking through, but it’s the quickest way to our neighborhood on the west side since Pete lives three blocks from me.

“What was going on back there?” I finally ask as we turn down another street.

“Nothing,” he answers bluntly.

I glare at him. “It didn’t seem like nothing. Those guys were getting pretty mad.”

“Just forget it, okay? I said it’s nothing.”

I don’t say anything, but continue to stare at him, unsure. Pete usually never keeps anything from me, nor I from him. But after these past few months, things seem to be changing. Maybe I left him hanging one too many times this summer, and it’s finally starting to show.

“Okay,” I finally say, hoping to ease the tension. Then remember what Jasmin told me. “Oh, and thanks for telling Jasmin I like her.”

He cringes, casting me a sideways look. “Oh … sorry.”

“It’s cool.” I smile back.

“It’s cool?”

“Yeah, we kind of made out.”

He stops walking, delivering a shocked stare, and gives me a high-five. “Nice!”

We laugh and keep walking. A few street lights flicker, making the dark street seem eerie; we’ve been down here before, though. There’s an old movie theater we’re heading toward that’s been closed for a couple of years, but Pete and I used to come and watch movies. Only a few people are out on the street. It’s too bad Pete doesn’t know what I can do, because if he did, I could just teleport us home.

I hear an engine revving up and glance behind us. Up the street, about a block away, I truck revs up again, sitting in the middle of the road. I narrow my eyes, unsure why it’s parked in the middle of the street. The engine roars a third time, this time louder.

“Uh, Pete?” I ask, stopping to stare at the headlights.

We’ve reached the shutdown theater. Pete doesn’t respond, instead looking at the building. “Hey, this place was playing the latest Quigley Rides Again when it shut down.”

“Pete?”

“Yeah?” he answers, still gazing at the theater.

“I think we might have a problem.”

“What are you talking about?”

He turns around and finally looks back at the truck. “Is that …”

“Yeah, I think it is.”

It’s hard to make out, but I’m almost positive it’s Craig’s truck. I remember seeing the same truck parked outside of Cheryl’s as we left, though I didn’t have a clue who it belonged to. 

I take a step back, bumping into Pete, who’s frozen. My first instinct is to teleport away, but Pete’s with me, and I can’t just reveal my secret identity to him.

“What do we do?” he asks, panic filling his voice.

I nervously look around. There are a few shops on the street, but they’re all closed. Some are boarded up. We could make a run for it, but Craig and his goons are in a truck, so there’s no way to outrun them now. Looking over at the abandoned movie theater, I see that it’s boarded up by two-by-fours. If we get inside, we could hide, then run for it when we get a chance.

“Come on!” I yell, running toward the box office. Reaching for a nailed board across a door, I frantically pull at it. 

Pete follows my lead, and we pry it loose, throwing it aside. When I look back, the truck is still sitting there, the engine revving up more and more. Craig’s playing around, trying to scare us. We grab another board and pull at it. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the truck start to speed toward us.

“Come on, come on!” I yell at the boards. We get another one loose and reach for a third. If we can get this one, we can squeeze through and get inside. “Watch out!” I yell at Pete. 

Pete backs up, and I kick the board. It cracks but stays intact.

“Come on, you stupid wood!” Pete yells.

One more kick and I break through, pulling half of it out of the way.

“Go, go!” I yell, letting Pete go first.

We run inside just as the headlights reach the door, and we scamper up a flight of stairs, dust and cobwebs hanging off of the handrails. Pete reaches a door, and to my surprise, it’s unlocked. We shut it behind us, and I grab my phone, turning on the flashlight. It’s a projection room. Quietly, Pete leans against the door, listening for any commotion, and I head over to the small window the movie projector would show through. Down below, Craig and his friends stalk through the seats. An idea hits me.

“I’m gonna go out,” I whisper to Pete.

“Are you nuts? No, let’s just wait for them to leave.”

“We could be here all night. I’ll go out and make a distraction. Then, when they leave, you make a run for it out through the front. I’ll catch up to you.”

“A distraction? How?”

“I’ll figure it out,” I answer, though I already know how. Teleportation style.

Turning my flashlight off, I quietly head out of the room, trying to find my way through the dark. I can hear them, still looking around through the theater seats.

I teleport in front of the movie screen. “Hey, dummies!”

Craig lets out a growl, and the other two, who are in the middle of the theater, start running toward me. I dive in front of the first row of seats and teleport to the back of the room.

Peeking up over the back row of seats, I watch as they run down to the front. They’ve split up, hoping to try and trap me—Craig and one of his friends on one side, and the third guy on the other side. I scan the dark theater, trying to think of my next move when I remember the foyer we ran through when we broke in. There’s a huge chandelier, hanging from the ceiling. I quickly teleport to the guy that’s by himself, grabbing his leg, and then teleport to the front and drop him on top of the chandelier.

Teleporting back into the theater, I hear him screaming from the foyer.

“Help! Craig! David! Hey, someone help!”

I watch as they run out of the theater.

“Up here!” he calls out.

“How the hell did you get up there?” David asks.

“How the hell do I know? Get me down!”

Following them out, I stay in the shadows and watch as Craig looks around. There’s something about the way he’s looking. He’s not freaked out or even confused. He’s suspicious. Peering through the darkness in the building, he continues to look around, and it seems like he’s smelling the air. He closes his eyes, and that’s when I make my next move.

Teleporting behind David, I grab his wrist, and in the blink of an eye, I teleport outside, to the roof of the movie theater. Dropping David there, I teleport back inside, to the shadowy corner I was in.

“Hey! Hey!” I hear David’s muffled yell from outside.

Craig continues to look around, still seemingly unfazed. He moves slowly, almost like a lion stalking prey. Following at a distance, he walks down a hallway, getting closer to the projection room door. I’m waiting to make my final move when I see Pete move out of a shadow. He’s already left the room, and Craig lets out a chuckle, seeing him, too.

Craig’s body seems to tense up, about to take off like a missile at Pete, and I know I have to do it. Staying as much in the shadows as I can, I teleport behind Craig, grabbing his wrist, and then teleport to the inside of the closed bodega across the street from the theater I saw as we approached the theater. It’s much lighter in the store, with the street lights and the moon shining in through the windows and locked front gate, so I jump away as fast as I can before Craig can turn around and see me.

Walking back over to Pete, I can still hear the guy hanging on the chandelier yelling for help. 

“Let’s go,” I whisper loudly to Pete, and we run out through the front of the theater. 

Squeezing through the boarded-up door we came in through, we take off down the street. As we do, I take a chance and look across the street. I can hear David yelling from the roof, but Craig stands behind the locked-up bodega, staring at both of us. Not yelling … as a matter of fact, he looks calm. Feeling triumphant, I humorously give him a salute, thinking it’ll get a reaction out of him. It doesn’t. He merely stands there, arms crossed, with almost a grin on his face.

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