With Ellison and her brother no longer holding her down, my hope was she’d found the peace she needed. Everyone deserved a better ending, if not a semi-happy one.
As for me, this wasn’t exactly the life I’d looked forward to, but Emily helped ease the burden left by Heather’s passing (something that I still wasn’t complete over, and doubted I ever would be). I didn’t think I was worthy of a second chance with an amazing woman. She seemed to think otherwise. Emily didn’t mind that I had more baggage than a flight to Hawaii.
Since that night, the two of us had become a lot closer.
Yeah, maybe I moved in with her.
After getting the pizza, I pulled into the street, side parked (I wasn’t the greatest parallel parker just yet), and joined Emily on the couch. “I still don’t understand why we can’t split the pizza, half pepperoni and half bacon.”
“The grease gets on my side.”
She leaned over and kissed me. A small spark flicked between our lips. “You’re not getting your powers back, are you?” she asked, teasing me.
“No, that’s what we call static electricity,” I said sarcastically, before kissing her again.
“Smartass.” It was her turn to initiate contact, which Emily did with zest.
This time, the lights might’ve flickered—just a bit…
The End
The Cast
Jericho Staley – The Negative Man
Kyle Wonderton – The Morning Lynx
Becky Wonderton – Partner; The Morning Lynx
Father Michael Reigart – Priest; St. James
Ellison Staley - Volkkenkrüger
Erin Cieslik – Titan Prototype
Phil Jenkins – Clubs
Wilson Fetts – Tech Genius
Rich Shock – Black Lagoon Gang
Wade Williams – Black Lagoon Gang
Andrew Harrison – Black Lagoon Gang
Parker Lattimore – Providence
Constance Eubank – Destiny
Merrick O’Donnell – Fate
Tim Berkheimer – PSPD Police Chief
General Davy Whisnant – President
Dr. Jeremiah Presley – Lead Researcher
Christopher Bain – Security
Tony Eubank – Bug Tooth Tony
Frank Boosman - Mayor
Kim Krummel – Abaddon
Adam Morales – Husband; Angela Morales
Brandon Howard – Reporter
When stories end, sometimes there is always
that one question…
What If…
That’s when the rest came. Strike after strike collided with Skyline Tower, my theory correct. The electron generator Ellison had below was attracting all the power. If built properly, it would contain everything and, when the situation reverted back to normal, could be neutralized. It was just surviving until that moment.
“Jericho, your destiny is here!” Destiny was back beside me. “Takes what’s rightfully yours—become The Negative Man once more.”
The temptation was certainly there. Becoming him again would mean I’d have the chance to rule this city, maybe even more, just how I saw fit. It was what I’d always wanted, even if that dream had been born on a lie.
A strike of Stormfall struck ever so close to us. Destiny gave me an encouraging smile, one that strengthened my resolve. Instead of turning my back to a second chance that was about to be given, I freely walked toward it. The next blast came dangerously close again, but it was the third and final one that connected with me. The Stormfall energy poured into me, every nerve ending in my body tingling with excitement as once again, I became The Negative Man.
Kyle had been watching from his vantage point. Between the shock of seeing me walk into the blast, coming out unscathed was even more of an eye opener for him. “Jericho, are you insane? That could’ve killed you! Don’t you remember what happened last time?”
He was just like his father, not wanting anyone else to have the glory! “Sorry Kyle, but The Negative Man is back!” I grabbed Destiny and together we exited the rooftop together, hand in hand.
Ellison and Whisnant may have tried their best to take over this city or even the country, but they failed. I did it once before; I could do it again.
“What do we do now, Jericho?” Destiny asked me.
I leaned in and pulled her close, giving her a kiss with such passion, it reminded me of my time with Heather. “We show everyone how it’s to be done.”
Sparks jumped between my fingers. “We make a lot of people regret bringing me back out of the desert.”
Epilogue –
Two Weeks Later…
“No word yet on just how many people are without power this morning, but The Negative Man’s latest attack has once again left this city on the brink.”
Destiny rubbed my shoulders, sensing my agitation. “They don’t want to feed the public’s fear, my love. You need to give them a reason to accept this.”
I knew exactly what she meant. I’d been avoiding a direct showdown with The Morning Lynx in the days after the Skyline incident. It was more out of the friendship we’d forged, but the moment I stepped into the Stormfall, it all changed. I returned to my side of the law and Kyle would never leave his. Our confrontation was building, whether either one of us wanted to deal with it.
It was ironic that Kyle had been late to most of my attacks so far, getting there just in time to stop me from causing the worst of it. He had chances and opportunities to confront me and he didn’t.
As the day went on, I thought over Destiny’s words and decided that the longer I held this off, the longer it would take for our plans to really go forward.
Twilight had taken hold of Pacific Station and it was the perfect time to go to the one place I knew Kyle would be. Like two trains passing in the night, we both at different times had visited The Dark Lion’s memorial in Waves Park. Knowing he’d be there, I waited.
“It comes to this, Jericho.”
“It comes to this.”
The two of us faced each other. “I have plans and in order to execute them, I need all roadblocks handled.”
He settled into a fighting stance. “And I’ll always defend this city and the people who live here.”
There was only one way this ended. Blue electric sizzled all around me as I let my powers go. Kyle and I each gave a small nod to each other as a sign of gratitude and respect for our very complicated past, knowing what the likely outcome of this fight would be.
With no more reservations, we attacked.
The (Alternate) End
About Us
Bolt Publishing, LLC is an independent publishing house located in Orlando, Florida. Our mission is to bring quality books to our readers that lead to many different worlds.
Be sure to check out our website for upcoming events and book releases. You can find us at:
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Thank you for reading The Negative Man: Twilight Days! Just because this adventure is over doesn’t mean more aren’t to come in other worlds…
-Stephanie (Owner, Bolt Publishing, LLC)
More Reading
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Jeremy Croston:
Malice of the Cross
Rise of the Seventh Reich (Winter 2018)
K.G. Croston:
Mystery of Sleepy Hollow: Ride on
Mystery at O’Gills Vineyard
M.P. Ness:
That Much Water
Jack Crosby:
Demons in D.C.
In the Nyx of Time
Abaddon Rising
Sins of the Father
Witches of Oz
From the Author
Thank you for taking the time to read my book. I appreciate your time and effort in doing so. I would love to hear from you and hear feedback about my work. I encourage you to write a review on Amazon to help other readers, as well as me. Again, thank you for being an awesome reader!
Warm regards,
Jeremy Croston
JECebooks@gmail.com