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Fractures

By Jason C. Joyner

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Demarcus Bartlett stepped into the street, focused on the latest text on his phone. He had to find the perfect meme to respond to Lily.
“Look out!” Harry’s voice caught Demarcus’s attention. A car bore down on Demarcus, seconds away from impact. He noticed the driver drinking from a cup, distracted from the road in front of him..
No problem.
The car drove past and Demarcus ended up next to Harry, whose face was redder than usual under the streetlight’s beam.
Demarcus finished his text and put away his phone. Distracted walking was really a thing.
Harry pulled Demarcus toward the alley and they ducked into the dark. “What do you think you’re doing? Is it my turn to save you now?”
He couldn’t hold back a laugh. The first day they met, Demarcus had rescued Harry from an oncoming car.
“Who were you texting anyway?” Harry asked. “Is it a certain girl?”
Thankfully the dark alley would hide his embarrassment. Demarcus’s texting Lily shouldn’t come as a surprise to Harry, but he felt guilty for not paying attention.
“It’s not like you weren’t checking in with Sarah Jane earlier,” Demarcus said. Harry shot him a look. “Never mind. You’re right, we need to keep focused on our patrol. If we’re going to find out who is behind the attacks in J-town, we need to be sharp.”
Harry exhaled, flipping his bangs into the air. He looked good with his hair grown out shaggy. His crush was changing him into a stylish guy.
“Okay, Demarcus, I’ll let you off the hook this time. But if you keep acting braindead, I’ll teleport you into a jail cell or something to keep you out of trouble. By the way, where are we?”
Demarcus leaned out of the alley and looked around for a street sign. Laguna Street. The attacks from gang members had been occurring mostly between Broadway Street and Geary Boulevard. All of Japantown was upset with the disturbance, and residents were starting to hide in their apartments at night.
Demarcus and Harry usually didn’t wander this far north into San Francisco. Demarcus’s mama would be freaking out if she knew he wasn’t in the South Bay area. He said he would only be ten minutes away if she needed him.
With his speed, the range was a little farther than Mama realized.
“Let’s head for Lafayette Park and see if anything turns up.”
They exited the alley and turned north. Demarcus could survey things a lot faster if he did it himself, but he did have to be careful in an urban area. The whole cabbage stand incident at the farmer’s market reminded him of that. Harry had his own way of doing things, hopping all around with his teleportation. Tonight, they needed to practice some restraint.
John preached discretion seemingly every chance he got. Their mentor was a godsend, but it got old sometimes when he kept on about the same things. Yes, they had to be careful with their powers and use them responsibly. Yes, they needed to stay humble and trust the Lord instead of their own abilities.
But, it was hard when they could do so much more.
“I wish there were a tall building here to get a good vantage point,” Harry said, scanning the roofs of the neighborhood. The local apartments and buildings were only a few stories at most.
“Man, you’ve changed a ton since the Launch Conference. Remember how hard it was to get you to teleport to the roof of the Alturas HQ?”
“That didn’t have to do with heights. It was more about not knowing how to control where I ended up. And I’ve been practicing on my own time as well. My mum keeps wondering where I’m off to all the time.” Harry’s mother was British, so he dropped occasional Queen’s English terms, which always threw Demarcus off, since Harry didn’t have an accent.
They crossed another street and walked past a street café. The employees were pulling the tables in for the night. Scents of stir-fry wafted through the air. Demarcus would have to settle for another protein bar before they left the city. His super speed did tax his metabolism. Between that and his constant need for new shoes, his money disappeared faster than he could run.
Angry shouts sounded from around the corner of the next building. Harry looked at him and grinned. Finally, a little action.
“I’ll run ahead and see what’s happening. If it’s the Jade Dragon gang, then I’ll take out their guns. You get any victims or bystanders out of there. Got it?”
Harry held up a hand. “Hold up. First of all, we should stick together. Remember what John says. Second, why do you always get to take out the bad guys?”
Before Demarcus could argue Harry’s points, a gunshot rang out in the night air. A scream followed. No time. He had to help.
“Sorry!”
Demarcus pumped his arms and legs, and in a moment he was around the corner. His shoulder-length dreads whipped around his face as he turned the corner. A woman stood with her hands up to her face.
He skidded to a stop to assess the situation. Right then another crack rang out in the air. A sharp pain tore through his upper thigh and he collapsed onto the sidewalk. Fire burned in his leg and he grabbed for it. Hot, sticky blood pumped out of the wound.
Voices argued back and forth. “You hit a guy!”
“He just appeared out of nowhere.”
“Let’s get out of here!”
Demarcus glanced up to see three figures in black take off toward the park. The woman sobbed and dropped to her knees.
He screamed for Harry. Demarcus had suffered other wounds with his speed before—nasty road rash and the like. But he’d never had blood pour out like this. Had they hit an artery?
Harry knelt next to him. “Dude, what happened?”
Demarcus clenched his teeth. “I ran right into a bullet. The hoodlums took off. I think they hit something bad. Get me some help.”
The redhead nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
“No, take me with you.” Demarcus tried to grab him.
It was too late. Harry disappeared, leaving Demarcus bleeding out on the sidewalk.

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