Usually Rowan waited up for Faith on Friday nights regardless of what mood he was in, but tonight, for whatever reason, was different. She didn't want to disturb him if he'd simply fallen asleep early or wasn't feeling well, but on the other hand, after that recent disappearing act of his, she needed to make sure he wasn't giving her a round two. She needed to know that he was there and was okay.
She would just check on him, and let him know she'd gotten home safely. "Hey...I'm home. Are you feeling okay? Do you need me to get you anything?"
The door never opened for her, but she could hear an annoyed sigh from the other side. "No. I don't. Worry about yourself for a change," Rowan mumbled irritably.
Faith was taken aback, but tried to ignore his callous response. As much as that had hurt, it was better than no response at all, she supposed. "You did eat while I was gone, right?"
"Why does it matter? I keep telling you, I'm not a child, or some patient in a nursing home--as much as it feels like it in this house."
"I asked you some simple questions, Rowan," Faith said, her patience beginning to wear thin. "You know, I really hope we're not about to have an argument."
"We won't. Not if you quit talking and just go away."
Fuming, she had to make herself hold her tongue and walk away from the door and to the kitchen, and maybe see if there was some Ramen still in the cabinet. It was times like this when she felt more alone than ever. No matter what she did or what she said, she just couldn't seem to make him understand that she was the only one who could provide him with anything remotely close to a normal life. Everyone else was simply unable, if not outright unwilling.
She got some of her anger out of her system by slamming the microwave door (a part of her kind of hoping it would keep Rowan awake), a cup of Ramen she found now inside, and stabbing her fingernails into the microwave's buttons to time her dinner. Whenever he acted like this, she wondered if everything she was doing was all in vain, or what it might actually feel like if he did just...leave one day, whether of his own will or not. Of course these thoughts always left her with time, and she and Rowan always apologized to one another after an argument once they'd cooled down, but still...it sometimes felt as if he was getting worse lately.
Even after her noodles were out of the microwave and had cooled, she stared down at them for several minutes before finally taking the first bite. Once she was about halfway through eating, her phone vibrated on the kitchen table next to her, announcing a new text. Ugh. What now?
Picking it up, she saw that it was a message from Sherm: "YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TODAY. MY LIFELONG DREAM HAS OFFICIALLY COME TRUE. I MET A SUPERHERO FAITH, A REAL LIVE SUPERHERO."
Faith scoffed, especially at the all-capital letters. She thought she had endured her full ridiculousness quota for today, giant Happy Scoops sticker and all, but this text had proven her wrong. "Alright, so what exactly are you saying?" she responded reluctantly.
It was only a few minutes before she received a sizeable wall of text in her inbox: "Okay, so you know how I'm always looking for info to give the police whenever I find some, with how overwhelmed they've been with all the crime in recent years? Well, I've always made sure I was anonymous each time, but somebody might've finally caught on. I'd gone out for a run like I usually do after work, and someone pulled me into an alley and tackled me. I don't remember all of what he said, but he pretty much told me he knows who I am and that I was about to pay for trying to get one of his friends arrested. BUT DON'T FREAK OUT, I'm okay now--this guy in a long gray coat and a scarf just came from out of nowhere and used what might've been an electric baton on the guy that attacked me. Whatever it was, it worked and the attacker guy backed off. The hero guy told me to just call him Cobalt, and I tried to buy him a drink or something to eat but he wouldn't take anything. HE AND HIS GROUP EVEN HAVE BUSINESS CARDS, AND HE GAVE ME ONE FOR IF I EVER NEED THEM AGAIN."
A photo followed soon after, of a card reading 'Salvagers After Sundown' in large print. Whoever had designed the cards hadn't wasted any time on aesthetics, as it displayed only their group name, followed by a list of four different phone numbers in smaller print. No address, no website. Only phone numbers.
Obviously, this story from Sherm was a lot to take in, from the idea of her friend having come close to being killed to wondering who exactly these people were...and if maybe this had anything to do with Aaron's sister. Faith had so many questions, she didn't even know where to begin. She eventually decided to start with just asking how he was doing now and whether he might have an idea who his attacker might have been.
Sherm must have still been hyped from the entire incident, as he almost immediately texted her back in response to her two questions. "I'm really okay, aside from a few scratches. And all I know is the guy wore a typical black hoodie that covered most of his face--I didn't get a good look at his pants or shoes--but I saw a glimpse of his eyes and a small part of his face, and he might've been in his mid-forties. I kinda hope Cobalt got a better description of him."
"Look Sherm, I get that this is exciting and all, but you really don't want to end up on the wrong side of this--I've been there before, back when I first met Rowan. It's a miracle we're both alive today. I'd advise letting 'Cobalt' handle this, okay?"
"I know, I know. But I mean, you're the one that inspired me to start doing this to begin with--because you and Rowan came out on top in the end. Even when you thought you might not see your family or your home again, you never gave up on escaping. I don't want any other victims out there giving up on the idea of justice either."
"Sherm, stop. You're gonna make me cry here. Even now I sometimes question whether we ever actually won, with that Spencer guy still being out there somewhere. That's why I'm telling you to watch yourself, and maybe come up with an indoor exercise routine since it's fall and the days are getting shorter now."
"Look, maybe you haven't won yet, but winning is a process. You're still heading in the right direction, it just takes patience. You and Rowan have already made a lot of progress, and his life is a lot happier than it could've been."
"Let me guess--Violet's program of study has been rubbing off on you?"
"Guilty as charged. But anyway, I'll consider just getting a gym membership or something, since Cobalt gave me the same advice."
Faith was beginning to cheer up, ever so slightly, when suddenly she heard Rowan's voice behind her. "Who's that you keep texting?"
She had no idea how long he'd been watching her, and it was a bit startling, even though she didn't have anything to hide. It was probably his slight build, that made it so easy for him to be sneaky like that. So now you wanna talk, do you? "It's just Sherm. See?" She held up the phone to show him.
"It's alright, that wasn't an interrogation or anything. I was just curious."
Looking away, Faith found herself muttering out loud, "Sometimes I almost wish it was, though..."
"What?" Rowan squinted with understandable confusion.
"I don't know," Faith said frustratedly. "Sometimes I just think you don't care enough about what I do lately, whether it's good, or bad, or--just in general. You act like you don't need me anymore."
Rowan raised an eyebrow at her, and maybe a slight hint of remorse was beginning to show. "Why would you even say that? I'd probably be a science experiment or worse by now if it hadn't been for you."
"I know..."
He started to reach out to hug her, but when she tensed up he held back, taking the hint that she still hadn't completely gotten over their earlier exchange.
"About Sherm, though...he might've ended up in a similar situation earlier today. That's what we were texting about. He says some guy attacked him for trying to get someone arrested, but he's given so many tips to the police in the past that he's not sure who it might've been. But some guy calling himself Cobalt intervened at the last minute, apparently. Look for yourself." She once again held the phone up to him that showed Sherm's account of what happened, and the more Rowan read, the more anxious he appeared.
"Wow... Whatever he does, I just hope he doesn't get involved with--" He stopped abruptly mid-sentence, glancing at Faith.
"With who...?" Faith asked. She hated when Rowan stopped mid-sentence like that, as if he didn't want her to know something. Or was it that he knew something she didn't think he knew? Did she even want to know right now?
"No... Forget it. I think I need to take my meds. I'm starting to feel weird." Rowan brought his palm to his forehead, blinking rapidly a couple of times.
Faith normally would have seen this as an act--a poor attempt at a convenient excuse to avoid confrontation--but technically he did have some prescriptions he needed to take every evening, and if he didn't take them he might act worse than he had earlier. "Yeah...you should probably do that."
"Also, I'm sorry about earlier... I've just had a lot of things on my mind lately."
"It's fine," she sighed. But suddenly, Faith had a thought come to her. "Rowan, wait. I know it's been hard for you...being housebound and everything. You know that local art festival that our city has every fall? It's supposed to be here in about a week. I was thinking that maybe we could go, you and I. And some friends too, if you want."
"Oh--the same one your parents took us to one year?" Rowan asked.
"Yeah...that one. Remember how fun it was? We snuck away to look at the weird Picasso-looking paintings, while Mom and Dad stared at pictures of cabins and cottages for most of the time."
Rowan laughed softly. "I remember that... Then they wouldn't stop yelling at us both for running off when they found us." His smile faded once again. "I don't know, Faith. I'll sleep on it."
His reaction surprised her, even though it was obvious he wasn't feeling his best tonight. She'd thought he would be thrilled at getting to go somewhere for a change, after probably feeling like he'd been under house arrest for all these months.
She honestly wouldn't have minded going by herself, but leaving Rowan at home by himself was simply too risky of a move.
Everything had felt like such a blur. All 16-year-old Faith could remember before waking up in this windowless room was being chased through the woods by a man who she'd threatened to call the police on, after she'd seen him strike a boy in the face while yelling at him. The door of a house, in the middle of the same woods, had been hanging wide open, and she'd seen everything transpire by peering inside, after making the stupid decision to get involved.
The room's one light source was a bare lightbulb fixated to the ceiling, and a red-haired boy who looked to be about her age stared back at her nearby. What appeared to be a TV, which was turned off, sat against the wall next to her, but other than that, the room was empty. This was definitely not her room, and this boy was not Sherm or any of her other friends.
Faith instantly sprung up from the bare mattress she'd been lying on, coming to the full realization that she'd never made it back home. As she lunged for a door she spotted on the wall opposite her, the boy quickly jumped in front of it. "No! You can't go out there," he whispered through clenched teeth.
"And why not?" Faith asked, her fight-or-flight instincts once again in full swing.
"Spencer's out there..."
"S--so, who's Spencer? And why are we here?" she asked shakily.
"Spencer's my grandfather. He's a scientist, with his own company and everything. But he's an evil scientist. He's so dangerous that most people are afraid to even come near his headquarters. And we're prisoners--because I won't help him with the evil things he does, and because you threatened to turn him in." It disturbed her, the way he said all of this so casually. The answers he was giving her were only leaving her with more questions.
"What...? Ugh, how did I even FIND a place like this? I mean, this has to be a sick prank, right?" She slowly sat back down, bringing her hands to her forehead.
"It's not a prank," the boy said sadly. "I wish it was, though. I hate this place, but I don't have anywhere else to go."
She frantically glanced around the room, taking in the four blank, gray walls surrounding them, with a door that was apparently useless if this Spencer guy was outside of it. She also noticed now that the room actually wasn't windowless, but the one window was simply boarded up. "Is Spencer the one that...chased me and brought me back here?"
The boy nodded, and as much as Faith tried to continue to focus on a strategy and understand what was happening, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Her head hurt, and all of this was simply too overwhelming. Now she remembered, though--she and Sherm had ventured a bit farther than usual into the woods behind his house yesterday, each of them going in separate directions in the hopes of 'finding something interesting,' as they often liked to do. Well, this time she'd found it alright.
This boy didn't even know her, but yet he'd already moved to sit beside her and wipe some of her tears away. Maybe she just needed time to process it all, but did she even have that kind of time? "...Tell me, what does Spencer plan to do? Now that I'm here, I mean."
"He said he hasn't decided yet... He's never had to deal with a trespasser before." He then narrowed his eyes. "But don't worry--I won't let him hurt you. Even if he tries to make us his next experiments."
So she had been right--she truly didn't have much time if she wanted to see her parents and friends again. Faith paused. "Was that you? The boy I saw before?"
"Yeah... Thanks for trying back there, but even if I did get out of here, I'd still be alone and have to stay hidden so Spencer or his company never found me again. If they found me and brought me back...it would all be over for me."
"But the way he was treating you...it's not normal. It's not right. None of this is!" Allowing herself a few more minutes to collect herself and figure out her next move, she finally asked, "What's your name? You never told me."
"Oh, sorry. I'm Rowan."
At least he seemed to trust her, and if she was going to make good use of whatever time she had left in here, she would just have to trust him back. "I'm Faith. Now I'll make you a deal, Rowan. You know way more than I do about who exactly this guy is and what all he's capable of, so if you can make a way for us both to get out of here--find something to break those boards over the window with, knock him unconscious, I don't care how you do it--I can get you a better life. My parents could help us do something about Spencer, and you could have a family, once you help me get back to mine."
Rowan's eyes lit up, as if trying to imagine such a thing. "You really mean that? I could stay with your parents? I could look for my brother, too..."
"If you help me escape, yeah. Are you with me here?" Faith took his hands into hers, staring at him intently. This boy who called himself Rowan was her lifeline now. And if he pulled through and got them away from this craziness, she would be forever grateful.
He looked afraid, but not so afraid that he wouldn't be willing to take the risk for the both of them. "...It's not gonna be easy, but I'll see what I can do."
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