Chapter 1: The Bay

 

Lockridge Bay — the city — lay sprawled on the edge of Lockridge Bay — the bay. For the sake of convenience, its residents referred to it as Lockridge, Locks, The Ridge, Clay City, The Big Cheese and, in recent years, the Shady City, because of a particularly famous resident who stalked the streets day and night and helped those in urgent need. Everyone knew about Penumbra, of course, the superhero who terrified and intrigued in equal measure. She had become something of an unofficial mascot, and the city’s police force had given up on trying to catch her doing anything illegal, though she had refused to work with them in any official capacity either, so she was vaguely tolerated by the city officials and practically worshiped by the city’s youth, who were just glad to have their own Gritty. 

In the suburbs, people tended to see the presence of the creature known as Penumbra with a wary curiosity, something that happened downtown and that many hoped never to see out of the window of their Lexus. In the suburbs, superheroes were something that happened elsewhere. 

The suburbs had their own heroes to worship, after all. Men and women in black and especially blue, weaponized and militarized and ready to keep the Bad Guys out. Sure, they tended to see the world in black and white, but if the people felt safe, that was what mattered, wasn’t it? 

There was a house, halfway down a lane. The front lawn was identical to that of everyone in the neighborhood (one wouldn’t want to risk the ire of the Homeowners Association, after all) but there were some slight differences. Most obvious was the lack of a sign in the front yard. It was so visible in its absence because whoever had removed the sign hadn’t removed the post, the nails bent out of shape. 

The other was that, while the lawn had been mowed, it had been done so haphazardly, as if by a child who really hadn’t wanted to do it but it was summer and it really needs to get done, sweetheart, it’s getting long, and I don’t have time this weekend and you’re all done with your exams, it would be a great help, I know you already do a lot around the house but think of it as exercise and you’ll get some fresh air and sunlight. 

Inside, hiding from the aforementioned not-nearly-as-fresh-as-advertised air and oppressive sunlight, were Eric, Anthony and Serena, celebrating the end of their studies the only way they knew how: by sequestering themselves away in the living room with the curtains closed and an 80s action movie on the television. 

“Dick, you’re fired!” Tony said with a gruff accent, pointing at the screen at the same time as the character. 

“Thank you,” Eric and Serena both responded robotically, at which point all three cackled maniacally, just as Eric’s mom came in. She overlooked the devastation in the middle of the living room, which had been converted into a pillow fort, two large mattresses on the floor, the sofas moved to the side. As it turned out, kid-stuff didn’t get less fun past the age of twelve, it just became harder to justify. But his friends didn’t judge, and he didn’t judge in return. His mom judged a little, though.

“You know,” she said, “I’d open the curtains but I’m worried you’d combust on the spot.” She put a tray with lemonade on the table as the three of them hissed at her. “Go on, drink up. Just because you’re inside doesn’t mean you can’t get heat stroke.”

“Thanks, Mrs. McCoy,” Anthony said as he grabbed the smallest glass. “You really shouldn’t have!”

“Oh, hush,” she said. “And if you don’t stop calling me that, you can do the lawn with Eric, next time. It’s Lauren. You’re making me feel old enough as it is.”

“Not a day over thirty, Ms McCoy,” Serena said with a shit-eating grin. 

“Miss Sessions, I know your mother,” Lauren threatened casually. “But it’s better than ‘Mrs’, at least. Are you almost done?” 

“Yes, Mom,” Eric said. “Just about the end of the movie. You need any help in the kitchen?” He started to get up. Helping his mom around the house was less a matter of gallantry and manners, and more just good sense. If he didn’t, the house would slowly silt up, dirt and stuff gathering in the corners until suddenly it was too messy to clean up all at once. He and his mom had both realized at the same time that they had a penchant for clutter, and only by working together could the clutter be overcome. 

“No, I’m good,” she said. “Though I will ask that you clean up the living room when you and your friends are done. All of it, okay?” 

“Yes, Mom,” Eric grumbled, more for the show than anything.

“Hey, Ms. M, someone took the sign on the lawn again. Do you want me to get a new one?” Tony offered. Eric knew he and Serena didn’t much care for it, but he appreciated the sign of respect at least. 

“No, I’m sure someone from the precinct will come by soon to have it fixed anyway,” Eric’s mom said. “Thank you for the offer!” 

With that, Lauren walked out of the room, and Eric turned back to the movie, sipping his lemonade. Alex Murphy had saved the day(-ish) and the titles were now slowly crawling across the screen. 

“Your mom is cool,” Serena said. 

“Not that cool,” Eric shrugged. “She’s a mom.”

“True, she did make you,” she giggled.

“Up yours,” Eric laughed as he hit her over the head with a throw pillow. 

“Could have been worse,” Tony agreed, “you know, you turned out alright with how much of a little dipshit you were in middle school.”

“I’ll fight you both at the same time,” Eric said, holding up a pillow, “and I’ll win.”

“Have at you!” Serena launched herself forward with her own weaponized pillow, and Anthony followed closely after. Despite his bravado, Eric was completely outmatched, and had to tap out after only a few minutes of getting the world’s slowest bruising. 

“I yield, you bastards!” he squeaked from under a mountain of fluffy pain. Even the couch cushions had been involved in the carnage. “Lemme out.” He felt a weight on top of the pile. “Pfweeh,” he said, although that wasn’t of his own volition. 

“I’ve conquered Mount Dweeb!” he heard Serena crow through several layers of cloth. 

“Serena, make sure he can breathe,” Anthony said, sounding like he was in the other room. There was some rustling, and some of the pillows were lifted. “Those are his knees.” Pillows were shuffled around again. Then, the one directly above him was replaced with Serena’s face. Her nose almost touched his. 

“Hey,” she said with a big grin. “You alive?”

“Yuh,” Eric said. He was a little uncomfortable with her being this close to him. Serena was a whirlwind of energy at the best of times, and the two had bonded as soon as they’d met in grade school. Their brands of ADHD had bounced off each other, and they’d spent days sitting opposite each other and making up stories, or running around her house and playing make-believe. Ironically and despite her energetic nature, she’d been a rock when he’d need her. She was also very pretty and had never had a boyfriend. That had led to their peers assuming things about them, which they’d both always vehemently denied, even if it had always stung him to. Whatever, she was his best friend, and he was more than happy being exactly that. But right now she was very close and he felt her warm breath on his face.

“Can you breathe?”

“Yuh.”

She retreated. “See? He’s fine, you big teddy bear,” Serena said to Tony. “You worry too much.” Eric found purchase under himself and clawed his way up with a roar. 

You are reading story Penumbra: Redshift at novel35.com

“Revenge!” he bellowed as he threw Serena off of him, and attacked Anthony with renewed vigor. “You fell for the oldest trick in the book, you fiends!”

“You tapped out!” Tony laughed as he shielded himself. “There is no honor in this!”

“A ninja seeks no honor!” Eric said as he hit Tony over the head with a pillow his grandmother had carefully embroidered. “Only victory!”

“Then you shall find neither!” Serena’s muffled voice shouted from the pillows. 

“Quiet, you!” Eric laughed. “You’re dead!” He turned around and smacked the mountain of fluff for emphasis, and realized too late he’d left his back exposed to the other threat. He felt Anthony’s arms wrap around him. 

“Gotcha!” Tony whispered in his ear, and Eric suddenly had a rush of a lot of feelings run through him. Even as Anthony rallied Serena, shouted at her to attack him while he was defenseless and he protested, Eric was trying not to be too aware of the fact that Tony was strong, smelled fantastic, and that his heartbeat was steady and detectable against Eric’s back. 

He’d met Tony in middle school, when the taller boy had picked a fight with one of Eric’s bullies. Even though he wasn’t as close to Anthony as he was to Serena, his emotions were just as noisy as they were around her, and once again, it was one of those things he kept in a little jar in the back of his brain where it couldn’t get out and start trouble. Neither of them needed the grief of his crush in their lives.

“Let me grrr,” Eric growled as he wriggled free. He turned around and saw a possible savior. “Mother! Save’st me!”

“Wow,” Lauren said as she put a hand on her hip. “Can’t even defeat two goblins.”

“Excuse me?” Serena said as she lowered her pillow. “I’m a gremlin.”

“Yeah, you are,” Eric and Tony grinned in unison. 

“Well, whatever you two are,” Lauren said to Tony and Serena, “you’re going to have to start heading home.” She caught their eyes and shook her head. “No, your parents didn’t call, but we’ve got a pretty big weekend coming up and I want to go over some things with Eric the Ignoble.”

“Eat me,” Serena said sweetly to Eric as she stood up. “Okay, Miss M! Oh, Dad said that we have more shrimp if you want them. We got too many again.”

“Oh, that’s very sweet,” Lauren said. “That’s not… I’ll talk to him.”

“See you tomorrow!” Serena said with a little wave. “You better not chicken out!” And with that, she was out the door. She lived just half a block away, and even though the suburbs were clearly a maze designed to keep people in and good taste out, if you knew your way around you could quickly and easily find your way. 

Tony dusted himself off, and helped Eric get up. “It was good, you know, hanging out like this again,” he said. “It’s been too long.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And who knows when we’ll have the chance again.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Eric said. “You make it sound like they’re shipping you off to Europe or something. It’s just college. We’re going to be, like, thirty minutes apart.” Anthony had been accepted into a pretty good law school (too much Ace Attorney growing up), which was so far from Eric’s own desire to do something with photography he felt lucky they were even friends in the first place.

“Yeah, but you know,” Tony said, a distinctly disingenuous tone of emotionality seeping into his voice, “you’re growing up so fast, you know? Before you know it, you’re all grown up, and you’ll have a white picket fence and a wife and there won’t be any time for your old man any more.”

Eric put his hands on Tony’s shoulders and looked him deep in the eyes. “I’m going to fucking kill you,” he said with all the sincerity he could muster. Anthony grinned and softly headbutted him. 

“You better show up tomorrow, dork! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you don’t get lost!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Eric said, wishing he had a better comeback as Anthony closed the front door behind him. He turned around and saw his mom pick up one of the couch cushions, put it down, and then sit down. “Mom?”

“I’m fine,” she said, looking at the room and then closing her eyes. “You hungry?”

“A bit,” he shrugged. “Want me to make something?”

“It’s fine,” she said. “It’s all a lot.” She looked at the cupboard, where a picture with a black ribbon smiled back at her. 

“I’ll start cleaning this up,” Eric said, and started picking up pillows, but stopped when she stood up. 

“Hold on,” she said. “You know what? Leave it.” She looked at the curtains. It was probably going to be dark soon, anyway. “How about we order a pizza?”

“You sure, Mom?” Eric asked. They didn’t usually splurge like that. 

“Yeah,” she said as she walked over to the cupboard and opened it, retrieving two glasses. “I want to talk to my son, and I don’t want to stress about it.” She kicked off her slippers as she grabbed a bottle of wine. Eric raised an eyebrow. Lauren raised one back. “How about this: I keep pretending I didn’t hear you stumble your drunk ass into your room after your last exam-’celebration’, and you get to drink too.”

“Deal,” Eric said. “You, uh, you knew, huh?”

“Honey,” she said as she held up a finger, “One, I’m your mom. Two, you don’t drink, so I can tell what you look like when you’re hungover as hell. I didn’t buy ‘stomach bug’ for one second.” 

“Ouch.”

“And finally… Anthony’s mom told me. Asked me, actually. What, you think his mom doesn’t know what goes on under her roof?”

“Betrayed on all sides.”

“Truly, nobody has ever been more persecuted,” Lauren said with a grin as she handed him a glass of wine and sat down in the pillow fort.