Ascension (The Ascension Series) (12 page)

Both of them closed their eyes. “Up,” Clark thought to himself. He took a deep breath and his feet were several inches off the ground. His eyes opened and he laughed
.

“I’m floating!”
Clark shouted.

A moment later, Sarah was doing the same.

“We’re still not flying,” Sarah said. “We’re just floating.”

“Concentrate a little more,” Clark told her.

Clark raised his hands into the air with closed fists. The ground slightly shook as he shot into the air at the speed of a rocket. Sarah followed right after. The two of them were floating in the sky just slightly below the clouds above.

“This is amazing!” Clark laughed.

The feeling was exhilarating and incredible. The cool air blew against their faces as Sarah grabbed Clark by the hand. They looked down and the row of houses within Clark’s neighborhood looked as if they had been transformed into an ant colony.

“We’re flying!” Sarah shouted. “But it’s so cold.”

“Yeah, I should have warned you,” Clark told her. “The atmosphere is always going to be a lot colder the higher up you get. It’s like being on top of a mountain.”

“This is kinda scary,” Sarah admitted. “What do we do now?”

“We get to school.”

“I’m never taking a car again,” Sarah shouted in the sky. “I’m going to do this every day!”

With their hands firmly gripping one another, they tilted as if lying on their stomachs and flew forward at a slow speed. They flew upward for a moment, high enough to touch a cloud, until moving back down due to the cold temperature.

“We’ll go faster next time,” Clark said as they slowly flew through the sky. “Once we get the hang of this.”

“Which direction is the school?” Sarah asked. “I can’t tell from this high up.”

“Just follow me,” Clark said as he pulled her closer. As they both faced downward, Clark grabbed Sarah by the waist and pulled her into a hugging position.

“Have you ever flown before?” he asked her in a romantic sort of way.

“Not like this,” Sarah answered as she closed her eyes.

Suddenly, with his arms wrapped around her, Clark began to pick up speed. They blasted through the air like a bullet
. Faster and faster with the wind blowing against their faces. As Clark hugged her, Sarah spread her arms out akin to a wingspan.

Minutes later Clark slowed down and came to a halt while in the sky.

“The school’s right over there,” he pointed out. Sarah looked down west and saw Franklin Pierce High. Then Clark turned east toward a large forest of trees.

“What are you doing?” Sarah asked.

“I’m dropping us down in the trees,” he answered. “I don’t want anyone to see us.”

“Good thinking.”

Once they reached the tip of the forest, Clark, still hugging
Sarah, turned their feet toward the ground and slowly lowered them. They landed softly and Clark let Sarah go.

“I think that was the most amazing, most exhilarating, and most romantic thing we’ve ever done,” Sarah smiled.

“You said you wanted to do it again?” Clark asked as they exited the woods and headed for school.

“Let’s do it every day.”

Minutes later Clark headed into first period history class. He rushed to his seat next to John. The bruising on John’s face had diminished and he was in slightly better spirits.

“John! John! You won’t believe this!” Clark
said but spoke softly so no one else could hear.

“What’s with the big smile?” John asked.

“Dude, I just flew through the air!”

“What? How is that possible?”

“The same way you can lift an object up─ you can lift yourself up. Just use your powers!”

“Are you serious?” John asked.

“Yes! It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever done in my life. Imagine bungee jumping or sky diving times one hundred!”

“I thought I had done everything
there is to do with this,” John said. “Guess not.”

“I’m telling you John, there’s still so much to do with powers like these.
We haven’t even scratched the surface.”

“You think so?” John shrugged.

“I know so, man.”

They
stopped speaking and turned around when the history teacher, Mrs. Tessler, entered the room and began class. The moment the teacher started lecturing, Clark rubbed his eyes. After getting little sleep the night before and an unforgettable morning, drowsiness finally set in. Clark couldn’t pay attention to a single thing the teacher was saying. “What the hell is this woman talking about?” he asked himself before nodding off. John focused on a piece of balled up paper and made it hit Clark in the face. It was enough to wake him up but only for a moment before his eyelids dropped again.

Clark woke up and yawned just as the class bell rang.
He felt more alert as he headed to his next class. Andrew was sitting at his computer with his rosary around his neck and his backpack in his lap when Clark noticed a huge grin on his face.

“What’s with the big smile?” Clark asked. “And why were you missing yesterday?”

“I was with Big Dan,” Andrew informed him.

“Yeah, I noticed he was missing yesterday to
o,” Clark said.

“This is what we were up to,” Andrew told him as he unzipped his backpack. Clark looked into Andrew’s backpack and s
aw stacks of twenty and fifty dollar bills.

“How much is that!?” Clark asked.

“Fifteen hundred dollars. It’s a start.”

“
Dude, how the hell did you get that?” Clark continued to question him.

“Big Dan is eighteen,” Andrew said. “So yesterday we skipped school, pooled three hundred and fifty dollars together, and w
ent to the racetrack. We bet on a specific horse and made sure it won.”

“How?” Clark asked.

“Big Dan concentrated on the other horses and made sure they moved slower,” Andrew said. “I concentrated on our horse and made sure it was the fastest. Fastest money we ever made. I wasn’t sure what to think about our powers at first, Clark. But now I see these abilities for what they really are─ a way out. This is the way to a better life.”

“You’re gonna use your powers to cheat your way to a better life?” Clark questioned him.

“That’s funny coming from you, Clark,” Andrew said. “The only thing I’ve been hearing on this campus all morning long is how Clark O’Sullivan just made the football team playing leagues better than everyone else.”

“That’s different!” Clark said. “I’m not using this for financial gain.”

“No, but you’re cheating someone else out of a team spot they deserve. The way I see it─ Big Dan and I are doing way less damage than you. We’re not looking for attention.”

“Come on, Andrew. D
on’t be like that,” Clark reached out as Andrew stood up from his seat and zipped his backpack up.

“I think we’re done here, Clark.”

“You’re just going to leave before class starts?”

“What’
s it matter? Kelsey never takes roll,” Andrew said before turning around and walking away. 

“Andrew, wait!”

Andrew stopped as Clark got out of his seat and caught up with him before he reached the door.

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve got to say
, Clark. I’m on my way out. And I mean for good. It’s not you. I’ve just got to go.”

“I just wanted you to know that we can fly,” Clark said.

“Thanks, man. But I already know that,” Andrew said. “How do you think Dan and I got all the way across town to the racetrack? His truck broke down after you had him carry a thousand pound crystal in it.”

And with that, Andrew patted Clark on the shoulder, turned around, and left the room.

“Where’s Andrew going?” Donny asked as he entered the classroom with a wide grin.

Clark informed him of what transpired and Donny was unsurprised to see Andrew leave. Donny told Clark that even he realized Andrew never felt any sense of belonging at Franklin Pierce.
Clark said he wasn’t sure if Andrew would return but he didn’t want his last goodbye to be on such a sullen note. Later during lunch, Clark left Sarah at a table in order to catch up with Big Dan. “I’ll be right back,” Clark told his girlfriend before he found Big Dan.

Dan
was pensively sitting outside the school. Clark sat next to him on a cement block and told him that Andrew mentioned why they skipped class the day before. Big Dan began to question himself and his purpose. He told Clark that Franklin Pierce was no place for people of their magnitude. When Clark asked what he meant by that statement, Big Dan told him that he didn’t want high school and poor grades to keep him down. He was ready to leave.

“But you’re graduating in four months!” Clark exclaimed.

“That’s too long to wait, Clark,” Big Dan told him. “The horse racing is just the tip of the iceberg. If there’s one thing I believe in, it’s taking the bull by the horns. And with with what we’re capable of, I feel like I got the world’s biggest bull by the horns and the balls. I’m not about to give that up or waste another moment in a high school. I feel like I need a drink and a new life.”

“What do you mean, Dan?” Clark asked. “Are you leaving?”

Big Dan nodded, “Tell everyone I said bye.”

And with that, Big Dan stood up and walked
off school grounds.

“So what happened?” Sarah asked when Clark returned to the lunchroom.

“Everybody’s dropping off like flies,” Clark told her. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten into them.”

Sarah grabbed his hand. “
This has been a really tough situation. Not everyone knows how to deal with this. Just know that I’ll always be right beside you, Clark. Always.”

After school, as promised, Clark was sitting on the bleachers in the gym as Sarah showed up in a blue cheerleading outfit.
She and Jessica eyed one another with contempt. The other cheerleaders were whispering as tension ran high.

“You look beautiful, baby!” Clark yelled from the bleachers
to change the mood. Sarah looked up and waved a pompom at him.

The cheerleading coach, Miss Paige, showed up and looked at her clipboard.

“So Sarah, I see you want to take Jessica’s spot as captain of the squad. Alright─ may the best gal win.”

The cheerleaders began with synchronized dance moves before moving on to cartwheels, backflips, being lifted onto the other cheerleaders’ shoulders, and kicking their legs as far into the air as possible. Coach
Paige then told them it was pyramid time. Jessica went first as she directed the other cheerleaders to stack themselves into a pyramid position. She climbed onto the other girls, stood tall, and cheered.

“Not bad,” Coach Paige said. “Your turn
, Sarah.”

As the girls dropped to a pyramid position, Sarah vaulted to the top. She balanced herself, closed her eyes, and did a perfect backflip─ landing in the same spot on the pyramid.

“Now that took talent!” Coach Paige clapped.

Sarah jumped down and the girls got back into their standing position.

“I’m sorry Jessica,” Coach Paige said, “But I think we have ourselves a new head cheerleader. I’m relegating you to second in command after Sarah.”

“No!” Jessica screamed, “That’s not fair!”

“Sure it is, sweetheart,” Coach Paige said. “Did you see the precision on Sarah’s cartwheels? That backflip on the pyramid? I’m sold.”

The other cheerleaders hugged Sarah before leaving the gym. Clark hopped off the bleachers and told her how proud he was.

“You did it!” Clark said. “You deserve it."

He offered to take her out for dinner an
d when Sarah asked how they would get there. Clark answered, “I suggest we fly.”

***

Later that evening, Charles was in the large second floor kitchen of his mansion. He was eating with John who was staying with him for a few days.

“Just got a message
from Clark,” Charles told John. “His girlfriend made cheerleading captain.”

“A
nd Clark’s on the football team now?” John asked.

“Yep,” Charles nodded.

“They sort of cheated to get there, didn’t they?” John asked thoughtfully.

“It’s not cheating, John,” Charles shrugged. “It’s just taking advantage of your resources.”

“I guess you’re right. I’ve been thinking what I can do with these powers,” John said. “I mean, how to really put ‘em to use. Changing clothes isn’t exactly enough. And Clark told me about flying.”

“We gotta try that soon,” Charles said. “In fact, how about tonight? Let’s go downtown. Forget the car, we’ll fly there!”

“I guess I could be up for that,” John said.

“Alright, I’ll just tell my dad we’re leaving.”

Charles stood up from his seat and ran out of the kitchen. He jogged down the red-carpeted hallway and stopped in front of his father’s office room when he heard his father talking through the speaker on his phone.