The Sky's Gonna Call My Name

I'm floating, completely weightless as I hover just about the ground. I look to the sky as it calls my name. "Erin," the voice whispers, "come explore." I oblige—flying among the clouds, rising and falling as if controlled by the tides. 

I always imagined clouds as fluffy marshmallows. Instead, they dissipate as soon as I reach for them, a dewy mist rolling over my hand and through my long brown hair as it flutters on the wind. They disappear to reveal the landscape below. My little town of Mason. How long have I yearned to leave this place, to find freedom outside the confines of this one-light town? 

"Faster," the voice calls out. 

I push myself faster. My hometown is gone, only a blur of green and blue lie below me. I breathe, really breathe for what feels like the first time. 

A shadowy figure appears before me. I skid to a stop. Can you skid in the sky? Dark smoke encircles him. I can't make out his face. Does he even have a face? The air cools, and the sky darkens around us. Something is wrong. The figure extends a murky wisp toward me. Gravity tugs at my legs. 

I'm falling. I reach out to the figure, begging for help, then turn to see the ground getting closer. I squeeze my eyes tight, I can't watch. 

My alarm goes off. I feel myself crash, not onto hard-packed Earth, but into my own bed. I turn over and smack the alarm off, trying to stay in my dream. I can almost taste the clean, crisp air of the sky. I live in a world where heroes are more than imaginary. People can harness the powers of ice and fire, move mountains with a single push, float on the clouds. Or at least they could. The last Super disappeared over a century ago. No one left but us Norms, relegated to the world of the mundane.

"Mom! Erin is still asleep!" My annoying little brother Ethan is standing at my door. At only eight, a full decade younger than me, I firmly believe his sole purpose is to annoy me. 

"Shut up, Ethan," I say as I throw my pillow at him.

"Erin," my mother yells from the kitchen. Somehow, she still makes us breakfast every morning despite working double shifts at the hospital as much as possible. She insists it's her motherly duty, but we know it's the only time she has with all three of us—me and the twins. My Dad died three years ago and this is her attempt to hold onto tradition. "Get up!" 

"I am up!" I call down to my mother. The feeling of the sky lingers on my skin. It may be just a dream, but it's always the same. And every time it leaves me feeling emptier and more trapped than before. 

Two more months, I tell myself. It's cliché, I know, the small-town girl wanting to get out and go make something of herself in the big city. It's not that I dislike Mason, it's a great town to grow up in. Everyone knows everyone else. Knows their problems too, their past. I can't walk down a street in this town and not be assaulted with the lingering looks of pity from people who knew my Dad. 

Having made my way downstairs, I grab the TV remote and flick it on. I can't stand silence in this house anymore. "Breaking news, an explosion has rocked Mason overnight," says anchorman Rob Tobin. He has one of those faces made for local news: square jaw, bright blue eyes, artificially white teeth, and very-apparently-artificially-tanned skin. 

"No TV at breakfast," demands my mother. 

"Since when?" I say. 

"Since now. I only have two more months with you, and I'm not going to spend it with Rob Tobin yammering in the background. Now turn it off, please." The dark circles under her eyes are even more apparent today. She didn't sleep at all. Again. Even the nights she doesn't work a double, sleep evades her.

I turn off the TV and take a seat at the counter, breakfast waiting for me. "It's not like you're never going to see me again. UNC is only three hours away." 

"I know, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can. And on that note, I need your help. Can you pick up Katie from her sleepover today?" 

Katie, the other half of the dynamic duo determined to overrule any plans I had of a typical day. If Ethan was the loud and obnoxious yin, Katie was the sweet and silent yang. But with that innocence came my desire to do anything for her. We all did. There was just something about her that made people love her.

"Yea, I'll get her. What time?" I ask. 

"I haven't heard from Mrs. Keller yet, but—" 

A monstrous boom echoes outside. 

"What the hell?" I say.

"Language," my mother claps back. 

"Mom, really?" Another boom shakes the house. I run outside to see what's happening. 

"Erin, be careful!" my mother screams as she holds Ethan back from following me. 

There's a massive plume of smoke just down the street. Another burst sounds behind me, but this time I see the source—a transformer blew up. Sirens erupt in all directions. 

I run back inside and flip on the news. Rob Tobin is still there, but his tie is loosened and he's standing to leave. "I repeat, attacks are occurring across the city. Reports of explosions, fires, and," he pauses, "ice storms? Are they back?" he questions an off-screen entity. He turns back to the camera, "The authorities urge everyone to get somewhere safe and stay there. God help us all." 

The screen cuts to the rainbow emergency signal. I look at my mother. 

"I have to get to the hospital," she says, grabbing her go-bag that she keeps in case of an emergency. Being an ER nurse means you may be called into work for a few days. "I need you to get Katie, pack a bag, and head to Grandpa's, okay? Can you handle that?" 

My mind is swimming with questions about the news report, explosions, fires, and ice storms? Could Supers really be back? How? Who? Where have they been? A familiar voice calls from the back of my mind, clawing at it, itching to be set free. 

"Erin," my mom pulls my focus. She's grabbing my face, "can you handle this?" 

"Yea," I say. The voice disappears. "Go, I've got the kids." 

"Okay," she turns to my brother, "Ethan, I've got to go, okay, sweetie? Listen to Erin. I need you to be brave, okay?" He’s crying, clutching his Superman toy.

”Yes, Mommy," he manages to get out between sobs.

"I love you both. Be careful," she says to me before turning to leave. I can't help but feel a finality to her words.

"Okay," I say as I squat down to Ethan's level, "this is our mission. We're going to get ready and then go get Katie. Do you accept?" 

"I accept," Ethan whimpers. He's trying to breathe through the tears, I know he wants to be brave. 

"Okay. Race you back here?" 

His eyes light up, he can never turn down a race. "Okay!" He runs off towards his room. I quickly get to packing my own bag. My grandfather's house is probably the safest bet. We may live in a pitifully populated town, but he lives in the middle of nowhere. The only living things within miles of his house are either furry, have six legs, or are covered in leaves. 

Within minutes we're headed to the Keller’s just a few blocks away. The scene is something out of a movie—houses on fire, garage doors opening and closing at random, sprinkler systems gushing out of the ground like Old Faithful. But no people to be seen. The usual hustle and bustle of the neighborhood is stalled. 

What is going on in our town? I try to call my mom to make sure she got to the hospital, but my phone won't connect. It won't even go to voicemail, it just says, "Call Failed." 

"Tree!" A voice screams. My voice. I slam on the breaks as a tree slams down in front of us. A branch catches the corner of the car, we spin to a halt. I'm met with the face of my friend Brianna. She's leaning on her knees, panting. She stands up and proceeds to conjure—is that even the right word—fire in her fist as she hurls herself forward, flinging the burning ball of flame in our direction. I reach for Ethan, to cover him, to hold him, to do something as I close my eyes and wait for the heat to reach us. 

It never does. 

Something explodes behind me. I turn to see Logan—Brianna's ex—jump out of the way of another fireball. In return, he picks up a truck. Literally picks up a truck, then heaves it back at Brianna. 

She slides toward us. Before I can even contemplate what is happening, she's opening my door. 

"Get out of here, Erin, now." 

"Wait, what is going on?" I stammer. "How is he lifting a truck, how are you flinging fire? What the hell is happening?" 

"Short answer, I have no idea. I woke up and my hands felt like they were on fire. Then Logan comes over shouting and proceeds to throw a mailbox through my bedroom window. I put my hands out to cover my face, but instead, fire shoots out and destroys the mailbox. I don't know what's gotten into Logan, but he won't talk to me, he won't calm down. You and your brother need to go." 

"He's a Hulk…" whispers Ethan from the passenger seat. I almost forgot he was even there. He’s looking out the back of the car at Logan attempting to pull another tree from the ground. 

Logan finally pulls it free when Brianna yells at me. "Go!" She runs away from the car, drawing Logan's attention. 

I slam on the gas, but we don't move. The tires squeal, the smell of burnt rubber fills the air. I look out my window, and the tree from earlier is stuck underneath the car. The tires can't reach the pavement. 

Ethan screams. I look up to see Brianna pinned underneath a light post. Logan lumbering toward her. He stops when Ethan screams, his attention now squarely on us. I unbuckle my seatbelt and fight to free Ethan, but his buckle is stuck. I can hear a roar erupt behind me, I've never heard such a guttural sound from a human being.

"Dammit! Come on, you stupid piece of—" It finally unlatches. I grab Ethan and make for the small yard between two houses. I can feel the ground shuddering beneath me.

"Faster…" the voice from my dream echoes again in the back of my mind. "I'm trying," I scream. My foot catches a hose. I fall, cradling Ethan in my arms as I do. 

Logan lets out a loud roar. I open my eyes expecting him to be right on top of us. Instead, I see him on the ground 10 yards away, his shirt on fire. He rips it off and begins to run back toward Brianna. She's still pinned, but she's firing back at him with everything she can. "Go!" She screams over the sound of her own fire. 

I pick up Ethan and run—run from Logan, from the fear, the panic. From the final thud that shakes the ground. The sound of fire falls to silence. 

When my breath is long past gone, I slow and put Ethan down. "Are you okay?” 

I know he's not okay, I'm not okay. The world has turned into a different place overnight, and I don't know which way is up anymore. 

"Are you hurt?" I ask instead as I squat down to his level.

"No…" he whimpers. If anything had happened to him… I inhale, trying to force the tears back where they belong. Now is not the time. 

"Are you ready?” I ask.

He responds with the most pitiful nod, "let's get Katie." 

"Let's get Katie," I echo. We’ve made it to Keller’s street, they're only a few houses down. Everything seems quiet—no hurdling balls of fire, no airborne trees, just silence. 

As we get closer, the air begins to cool. The chill is unmistakable, and it's growing. As we approach the Keller's home, I feel an ice-cold drop on my arm. Then another. And another. I look up to see the sky filled with snowflakes gently wafting down around the Keller's house, only their house. 

I leave Ethan on the front lawn as I knock on the door. It slowly drifts open with the sound of cracking ice.

"Katie?" I call out, "Mrs. Keller?" I can see my breath. The entire house is covered in ice—tiny snowflakes flitter across the room. My hands begin to hurt, burning against the icy air. As I turn the corner into the kitchen, I see her. Katie. She's sitting in the middle of the kitchen, snowflakes almost frozen still around her. She's petting the Keller’s dog.

"Katie!" I yell as I run toward her—more of a slide on the icy floor. My hands are completely numb as I try to pull her into a warming embrace. "Katie, are you okay?”

She sits in silence, petting the sleeping dog. Except it’s not asleep, it's not moving a muscle, not even breathing. It’s frozen solid. I look to Katie, she doesn't even seem bothered by the cold. "Katie, sweetheart, we need to get out of here, okay?" 

I struggle to my feet and carefully lift her in my arms. As I pass the living room again, I notice something I didn't the first time. Amber Keller, Katie's best friend, asleep on the couch. No, not asleep. Everyone in this house is frozen, everyone except Katie. 

"Katie!" Ethan squeals as I walk outside. I can feel the warmth of the sun begin to thaw my hands. She leaps from my arms and runs toward her brother. Then the pair look up at me. As if wordlessly asking for direction. Where do we go next? My phone still isn't working, the car is unusable, but… The Kellers. I turn back to their icy abode, and the vehicle in the driveway as a grim thought crosses my mind. They won't be needing their car…. 

"Alright, you two stay here. I'll be right back." 

"No!" Screams Katie as she grabs my hand. "Please, it's too cold in there…” Her head drops as if she knows what happened to the Kellers. She knows who's responsible. 

"It's okay,” I reassure her, “I'll be right back. I just need to borrow Mrs. Keller's car. If you see anyone at all you hide and wait for me. Okay?" 

They nod in unison. 

I cross the creaking doorway into the Keller's home. I try to avoid looking at young Amber on the couch, but I can't. She almost seems peaceful. Frozen in an eternal dream. 

I hear a scream. Katie. 

I run for the door to find her hiding behind Ethan. I follow his gaze to see… No! Logan must have followed us. He's barreling toward the twins. 

"No!" I scream. I run for them, desperate to push them out of the juggernaut’s path.

“Faster…," the familiar voice echoes in my mind. It's soft, barely a whisper. I let it grow. 

"Faster," the voice finds purchase in my soul. With every step, the voice gets louder.

"Faster!" it demands.

Logan is only a few feet away. 

"Faster!" Now the voice is my own, pleading for speed. I reach out to them. Pushing off into one final leap, I grab hold of them and brace for impact. 

Instead, a comforting sense of weightlessness comes over me. I only feel like the soft embrace of air surrounding me. The warmth of the twins fills me. The only sounds are their tiny heartbeats. I could fall asleep to the steady beating knowing that in this one moment, we're together, we’re okay. 

"Erin!" yells out Ethan. I open my eyes. Ethan's focus is darting from me to the ground. The ground! It's ten yards below us. We're hovering just above the house. Logan never caught us, he never had the chance. I squeeze the twins tighter to me, afraid they’ll fall. 

"Higher," whispers the voice in my head. I look skyward, the whole of the world opening itself to me. I take off toward the sun. The sound of childish squeals fill the air as we soar this way and that. From the clouds, we can see all of Mason below us. The twins call out each landmark as I fly through the sky. Flying, am I really doing this? I expect fear, concern, trepidation, but I feel none of it. I was born for this, to walk amongst the clouds, to breathe real freedom. 

"Grandpa's house!" calls out Ethan. We made it. I can't believe how fast we made it here, but we did. I swoop in low, attempting the softest landing I can. Firmly on the ground, I let the twins go and run to knock on the door. I can only imagine what we look like based on his face when he answers the door. Windswept is probably an understatement. 

Ethan begins his regalement of the day. From the booms that shook the house to the fire lady, then the ice house, and finally to his big sister that can fly. My grandfather looks at me, not with fear or apprehension, with something else. Understanding? 

"Come in," he says. "You're Mom called, it’s good you’re here. We need to talk.” 

Before I walk in, I turn back toward town. Only one thought pervades my mind, things will never be the same.